Ponderings and Musings

OK, I’ve kind of lost interest in the litany of superhero movies we’ve been assaulted with over the past few years. However, the trailer for Superman, coming out in July ’25, looks really interesting and has a beautifully familiar feel to it.

As a young lad I was always fascinated with the business calculators in use at the family owned lumber yard and contracting business. I suspect Grandpa Country was a bit of a geek at heart, as he invested wisely in these sorts of pieces of technology. For example, the Accounts Receivables at the store were maintained in house, originally using a Burroughs Bookkeeping machine purchased in the 1950s. I never saw this machine, but being the dork I was and continue to be, I could tell which entries on old ledger cards were made with this machine, just by the way the printing appeared on the cards.

In 1972 (I tracked down the exact date by the change in dated entries on the older ledger cards), the Burroughs machine was replaced by an NCR Class 160 Bookkeeping Machine.

I can easily remember this bookkeeping machine, as it’s what was in use when I did the accounts receivable for the family after Grandma Country retired but before my aunt took over the duties for the family business. I learned how this machine worked by watching Grandma Country do the invoice posting every morning during summer vacation. I found the machine fascinating. It was replaced by a computer in 1990 or so, running software I wrote that basically replicated the functions of this wonderful piece of technology.

Grandpa invested in the right tools and that’s something I learned from him.

The store didn’t have a proper cash register of the time, much to the chagrin of my technological ways. Instead, there was a very large “black box” built into the sales counter. The box had a tractor-fed stream of blank invoices that were there for handwritten detail, and a journal tape where we wrote the sub total of the sale, followed by a dash, and then the amount of tax charged on the sale. When the lever was pulled to advance this journal tape, the cash register drawer popped open. At least, until that functionality was disabled because of the amount of paper wasted just to pop open the drawer in a “No Sale” situation.

All of the calculations were performed on adding machines/calculators made by Monroe Systems for Business. We had a few of these machines scattered around the business, one in the back office, one on the sales counter etc. Because they were so robust and had some nifty features for their day, they lasted for literally decades. In fact, the Monroe 525 calculator, purchased in the mid 1970s, lasted until the store was sold to a new buyer in 2010.

For the back office there were printing models of these Monroe machines and they were the closest thing we had to something like a cash register.

Today I did a little search on Monroe Systems for Business and found that they’ve continued the tradition of quality calculating products, and the robust functionality is present in their equipment over 50 years later.

I was happy to see the layout of the keyboard is nearly the same as it has been for decades, and the approach to separating multiplication/division functions from the add/subtract/accumulator functions is intact.

My geek heart is happy. I might have to get my hands on one of these machines for my office.

For those that follow along on Mastodon, the alternative social media network that is not corporately owned, I have moved to my own private instance.

You can now find me at https://social.realmofmachias.com/@jp

I’ve tried Bluesky, the latest trend in all the social media rages, and while it’s nice, I don’t feel as comfortable there as I do on Mastodon. Mastodon is part of the Fediverse, and honestly, I find the network fits my mindset quite well.

There’s a big light in the sky!

I have a brain that likes to jump from topic to topic, in multiple directions, at the same time, at any given second. This tendency comes and goes with my general mental state, and it’s the leading reason I “consider all sides” when making a decision.

This trend is especially present when I’m addressing my geek needs. I’ve mentioned before that I have a habit of bouncing between applications and operating systems. Luckily, I’ve figured out ways to get this under control a bit in 2024 and I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made in this part of my life.

In 2025 I’m going to focus on taking this to the next level, at least a little bit. As I get older and technology becomes more complicated, usually for the sake of generating more revenue for the parties involved, I find that the amount of ‘friction’ introduced by an application or tech gadget is one of my strongest factors in considering its prevalence in my life.

I’ve been editing my latest video, scheduled to come out sometime this week, and I decided to bring my GoPro MAX along on my most recent hiking adventure. The GoPro MAX is a 360º camera, and while it doesn’t capture footage in 4K, it does capture footage in great 3K, and it’s fun to have 360 shots spinning around and the like once in a while.

The thing is, the GoPro MAX relies on GoPro’s proprietary video editing software to, at the very least, export the video to something any other video editing package can use. The GoPro Player is not a great piece of software. I don’t find it particularly intuitive and I usually end up feeling frustrated after processing a couple of video clips.

This is why I don’t feature a lot of 360º video in my YouTube episodes. There’s just too much friction between capturing the clips and getting them to the episode.

Don’t tell my husband, but I might need to look for another 360º camera that has a bit more compatibility with existing video editing suites.

Another area of friction that I’m always concentrating on is my note taking habits. For the past six months or so I’ve been using an application called NotePlan. Designed for the Apple ecosystem, the application does include a web version that is nearly on-par with the native application experience. This allows me to use NotePlan on my Linux computers as well, which is a must for me. In addition, NotePlan uses standard text files on the back end; I can edit these files directly from the command line, which is nifty. However, NotePlan is a bit expensive and has the dreaded subscription model for access. I really, really, really don’t like subscription based software. But this is where we are in the Informational Dark Ages, and greed will continue to rule during these times. To borrow an increasingly popular term, subscription based software is just part of the ‘enshittification’ of computing. However, I’ve tried other note management systems similar to NotePlan, and they introduce too much friction to actually capturing and managing my data effectively. When I can’t write things down quickly, even through digital means, there’s a fair chance that thought will leap out of my brain as another one moves into its place, and I’ll miss a good idea. So, for me, NotePlan is worth the subscription price and hassle.

It’s all part of the balancing the good and the bad.

And now I have the theme from “The Facts of Life” (season 2) jumping through my head.

I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, fresh out of the shower and with a face full of shaving cream, when I said, “Hey Siri, play ‘Your Love is Lifting Me Higher and Higher’ by Rita Coolidge”.

Now, I expected the smooth version of this track from the late 1970s to start playing on the small speaker in the bathroom as I started scraping the shaving cream and bits of stubble off my face.

Instead, I got a much older version of Rita Coolidge croaking out the track in question in a key that was much lower than the original recording. I feel like there may have been whiskey or something involved with the vocal stylings of the track.

I told Siri to stop and asked it to play another song from that era. “Undercover Angel” by Alan O’Day started playing, but again, it was not the original track from the 1970s but rather some re-recorded version that had way too much in the way of late 20th or early 21st century stylings to the instrumentation.

Still lathered up and feeling my blood pressure go up a little bit, I decided to try something completely out of the blue. “Hey Siri, play ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ by Sister Janet Mead”. This track was originally released in 1972 and has a very early-1970s sound to the entire thing. It’s also the only reason I can recite The Lord’s Prayer when required to do so; I have to have the song playing in my head while being solemn in a church setting.

The HomePod mini started playing the track in the right key, but it definitely was not the original recording. The fuzzy guitar seemed to be replaced or, at the very least, augmented by very 1980s sounding synthesizers.

Curious, and with the Barbasol drying out on my face, I fetched my iPhone and pulled up Spotify to play the same track. Yep, it was a re-recorded version as well. The vocals sound like they were an older Sister Janet Mead, but the instrumentation was missing that early 1970s goodness.

To reset my expectations, I pulled up the track on YouTube and confirmed that I remembered the song correctly. The streaming services were definitely claiming a re-recorded version was the original.

I don’t like that.

One of my complaints about the streaming services is that a lot of our musical history simply isn’t included in their libraries. There are remixes and edits and all sorts of variations from the original releases of pop songs back in the day that are not available for streaming. And now, it appears the streaming services or record companies don’t want to release the originals but rather are starting to rely on soundalikes or re-recordings.

I’m going to delve a little further into this to see how much is being re-recorded and the like and probably write about this a bit more.

In the meantime, I’m going to finally finish my shave.

I found this morning’s sunrise to be quite pleasant. I haven’t been sleeping well this week, but it’s always a pleasure to see the sunrise.

I did a little bit of sprucing around Ye Olden Blogge today. I’m trying out a new font setting and getting rid of some of the cruft in the pipes on the backend.

Mom enjoyed the flowers around our home while she was visiting last weekend. I took a picture of the flowers this morning and sent them to her in a text. The camera didn’t capture the vibrance of the colors I was seeing, but it didn’t do too bad.

I’ve stepped away from social media (again!) for a little bit, allowing myself only check on friends, families, and groups on Facebook in the morning before my shower. I’m finding that social media, in that it’s a lot of people talking about a lot of things in a chronological or algorithmic way, isn’t all that appealing to me at the moment. I’d rather be around people than try to interact with folks exclusively online.

I have been still visiting and chatting with a few folks on subject specific message boards and the like. For example, I belong to a Storm Chasers forum and at the moment we’re talking about the best restaurants we’ve encountered during our chase trips. A favorite for me is Brickhouse Barbecue and Brew in Liberal, Kansas. I didn’t get to go there this past chase trip, and in 2023 it was closed the night I was in town, but the other times I’ve driven through Liberal it has been an excellent experience. Another favorite is Twisters in Colby, Kansas.

I’ve been particularly introspective for the past month or so. I think it’s my way of pondering what I want to achieve in 2025 and for my reconciliation of events in 2024, particularly around the election. I guess my contribution to a better society is to be a better citizen, so I’m doing my best.

I have come to the realization that I’ve fallen back into that hoodie or trailer-trash-hoodie type of guy. Now that temperatures have fallen back in the 70s here in Southern Arizona, I have an excuse to wear a hoodie and I have a few good ones to choose from. They’re comfortable, and I feel the need to be comfortable these days.

I’m so fortunate to not have to work in an office.

I’ve been appreciating the stillness of the Sonoran Desert at this time of year a bit more than previous autumns. Sitting in the gazebo, and enjoying this quiet moment, is a wonderful way to spend the lunch hour.

I haven’t been paying much attention to the news since the results of the election were announced early in November. I really have no interest in watching people like Susan Collins “be concerned” about the cars of circus clowns Trump is undoubtedly using to populate his cabinet (junk drawer). Avoiding the news has been one step in maintaining my mental health. I feel I’m the better for it.

I just recently learned of the death of the UnitedHealthCare CEO. Apparently someone at McDonalds in Altoona, Pa. spotted the suspect and reported him to the authorities. I only learned of this when someone in our family shared a tweet stating that Burger King doesn’t snitch.

Violence is never the answer, but I totally get why folks would start going after CEOs of the insurance companies. It’s a horrible, horrible industry. My mother is wading through all sorts of insurance woes with her health care, my husband is ramping up for some health care coverage changes, and of course, I just went through the litany of “open enrollment”, where you get a very short time to make changes to your health plan for the entire upcoming year. The premiums go up, the co-pays go up, and apparently I’m suppose to be happy that I now have a deductible that’s only in the low thousands per year, and this is using (and paying lots of money for) the absolute best insurance plan offered by my employer.

Unfortunately, Americans sealed their fate when they favored Trump in November and it’s just going to get worse. I really don’t understand why people that paying insurance like your bladder is a car bumper is the way to go. I really don’t understand why your physical and mental well being is dependent on how much of your life you give to working for someone else. And I really don’t get why American society is OK with tolerating loopholes where the insurance company, not the doctor, gets to decide how much anesthesia you’re going to get when you’re getting parts removed or rearranged in an operating room.

I mentioned this to my mother during her visit and I’ve said it before on this blog, I am very grateful to be on the last half of my life. I never thought I’d see society unravel like it seems to be here in “the greatest country on earth”, but hey, God apparently blesses America.