I'm thinking about a phone upgrade this year and the model I want is around $1,000. Scary thought to pay so much for a phone, but there's an interface that connects it to a monitor, mouse and keyboard creating a desktop environment. That way, you don't have to squint and pinch.
That model is also available in a 5G version for $300 more.
If I go for the 5G model, It will probably be the single most expensive device I own, exceeding the GPS drone I purchased a few years ago.
I'm not a power user and don't spend time streaming videos on my phone so the idea of 5G isn't a requirement.
To 5G or not to 5G... that is the question.
My Yahoo news feed has been running stories about adult film star Ron Jeremy.
On Friday, he pleaded not guilty to charges of rape dating back to 2014.
He's got a preliminary hearing scheduled for August 31st to determine if there's sufficient evidence to allow the case to proceed. Get this... he was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of a $6.6 million bail.
We're talking more than 60 days in the hole and they are holding him despite bail?
Something went wrong here.
With crazy stories (like this) I usually jump to the comments first:
6.6 million bail, Ron really must have ticked somebody off.
The day a porn star is charged with rape....
The verdict will result in a hung defendant.
6.6 million-dollar bail? that's ridiculous, you better have some pretty damning evidence to justify that amount
6.6 million really, we are talking about rape, not murder
He is the most filthy, disgusting looking human
He's far, ugly and gross...
The best blog of the week... disappeared. I checked in Friday to see a blog (with video) about the residents of Palm Beach County in Florida appearing before the city council hearing to express (protest) their views ahead of the meeting to determine if masks will be required in public places. When I returned Friday night, the blog was gone.
Despite having their say, the measure was approved. Masks in public are mandatory.
The numbers of new COVID-19 infections are on the rise, especially in south Florida.
I had a conversation this morning with someone who claimed it was due to the additional testing. He blames the testing. My comment was testing didn't create the new cases, it only gave proof to those who already had symptoms. The serious part of this pandemic are the people who are asymptomatic and unknowingly carry the virus to others.
Here's (a short video clip) what some of the people have to say:
I scanned an old photo to send to my brother last night and my computer wasn't connecting to the email server. I tried to access the main website and it too appeared to be offline.
They sent messages a few days ago about upgrading to an entirely new system!
So much for the improvement.
The main page was functioning this morning but most of the links didn't work and the email doesn't respond. Hopefully incoming messages aren't lost while this issue gets resolved. I'll send some test messages from my corporate account.
No doubt some heads are going to roll by this foul up.
From 1975 to 1982, I was working for one of the largest cabinet manufacturers in South Florida. The factory would turn out more than 350 cabinets per day. The most popular door style was flat with a plastic laminate face with a material referred to as Formica.
Similar to the way people call tissues Kleenex, Formica is the name brand of plastic laminated products
While this may not be 100% accurate, I've always heard the history of the name came from Micarta, one of the first companies to manufacture melamine resin laminates that had several layers of impregnated brown papers with the top layer being a decorative paper. The process involved heat and pressure and to created sheets of material that could be glued to boards to create countertops and cabinet doors.
During the war, Micarta switched to making products for the military that included helmets. Instead of fabricating flat sheets, the process involved fitting strips of the resin papers into curved molds that were shaped for the helmets.
After the war they went back into the manufacture of laminated sheets using the name Formica that comes from 'formerly Micarta'. Good story... yeah?
There were several housing corporations in Florida that built condominiums. Business was booming and often we had contracts to provide cabinets for hundreds of units. I recall many years of this type of work.
Recently, I received a sales lead to one of the condo communities with a name I recognized. The owner had some water damage and wanted to replace the cabinets. The condo was built in 1980 and I'm certain I was working for the original manufacturer of that kitchen. It had mica doors and a decorative scoring they had popularized. We made zillions of these doors.
The guy buying the kitchen is in his 80's and not the original purchaser of the unit, but he enjoyed my story about his 40th anniversary kitchen!
Thanks for reading my blog!
Up until last week, I knew about 2 basic masks used in the medical profession. The surgical mask and the N95 respirator mask.
Surgical masks are designed with a paper filter element, pleated construction and elastic ear loops. Usually in a blue or greenish color, sometimes available in white. Designed to be
single use disposable, they are designed to keep your germs from getting to someone else.
N95 masks are a multi-layer white pre-shaped mask with elastic loops, usually in white and usually have a foam strip along the top to seal around the curve of the nose. Often used in construction to filter out dust, some models have a small exhaust vent to make exhalation easier. It's the N95 mask said to filter out coronavirus.
This is the style mask I used when sanding drywall in my home renovation projects. Because if it's effectiveness, it's the N95 mask the health professionals use and have a shortage of.
There are other versions of the N95 including some with a layer of carbon filter. From what I've read, a single N95 respirator can be worn all day.
Yesterday, I found a variant to the N95 as the KN95. From what I've seen, it's shape is different. Instead of the smooth curved appearance, the KN95 can be folded as the parts are somewhat angular. Resistant to water (where the N95 isn't) it is also oil resistant and can be used several times, good for 1 week.
All of these models are manufactured in China, but it's the KN95 I read is not allowed for medical use in America. I haven't found the answer... perhaps it's because it's listed as industrial use and not medical use?
More research is needed.
Please protesters, stop tearing down national monuments... I just heard for every one you take down, Don Jr. will have one erected of his father!
Think about that before you get the rope out...
I grew up in a house where both of my parents were heavy smokers. This may have been the main factor to my childhood asthmatic condition. Although I wasn't sickly, cigarette smoke, perfume and chemicals would bring on asthma attacks. We lived down the street from the incinerator (with 2 smoke stacks) and across the road from a company that packed aerosol containers. Not a neighborhood to brag about.
Moving to Miami was better as we were a few miles from the ocean and never were concerned about pollution. The issue I had was my neighbors with night blooming jasmine bushes that could bring on an asthma attack in a heartbeat. As I got older things got better and in my teenage years, I played sports and my asthma subsided. I controlled attacks with an over-the-counter inhaler.
In the last 30 years I've been involved with the manufacture of cabinets. From production kitchen cabinets to high-end custom furniture. This environment had me directly in contact with products that were painted. First it was lacquer and over the years finishing materials evolved to catalyzed acrylics which are far more hazardous to the environment.
One business, had the office above the factory and the fumes from the freshly painted products would bleed into the air conditioning system. They finished spraying paint around 4pm and I was there until 7 with the garage door open and large fans pulling fresh air into the building. It was unsafe to be in the building with the doors closed and no fans.
I did a project with enamel paint and used multi-layer filter masks. That wasn't enough. I should have used a mask with carbon cartridges. The asthma lingered and my family doctor sent me to a Pulmonologist for an x-ray and evaluation. Steroids and prescription inhaler. That was around ten years ago. Since then, I've become highly sensitive to chemicals in my environment.
The last place I worked at used to supply the air freshener Febreeze in the restrooms. To me, that stuff is like Kryptonite to Superman. I would place a can of Lysol disinfectant next to the Febreze and to my liking my coworkers would use the Lysol!
Under normal circumstances I only use an inhaler once or twice a week. However, I'm now working for a remodeling company and their warehouse is stocked with all kinds of supplies including tile, carpet underlayment and cabinets. The a/c is shared between the office and warehouse and as soon as I enter the building, I start sneezing. Within 2 hours, I have asthma bad enough to restrict my breathing and have been using the inhaler 4 times a day, often no relief until an hour or two after I leave the building.
My outside appointments are 2 or 3 per day and I'm allowed to work from home, but we have walk-in clients and I need to be there or the leads will go to the other salesmen.
Moving 50 miles from the medical center in Miami, I found a one near my office. My new doctor referred me to a specialist who called for x-rays, steroid based inhaler and a lung capacity test coming up at the end of the month.
In the mean time, I bought a special 3-stage HEPA air purification system and ran it in the office all night. The air was noticeably better and I was able to make it to noon before the asthma started affecting me. I need to go through the warehouse and find out what (exactly) is bothering me and possibly cover at area with tarp or plastic sheeting.
Worst case scenario actually has a few possibilities... No decision as I'm not going there. At least not for now.
The Martin guitar that Kurt Cobain used for the episode MTV Unplugged went up for auction this week and fetched more than $6,000,000. surpassing expectations as the black Stratocaster owned by Pink Floyd's guitarist David Gilmour previously held the record at $3,975,000.
The guitar itself, a rare Martin D-18E (number 7 in a production of only 302) had been butchered by the addition of 2 pickups and electronics (right handed) before Cobain had it strung left-handed.
On November 18, 1993, Cobain played this guitar for 14 songs taped on the show Unplugged in New York at the Sony Music Studios. He died on April 5th, 1994.
Busy week for me and I haven't had much free time to read news stories, but I did see an article that suggested Jeffrey Epstein's death wasn't a suicide. Well no shit Sherlock... everyone I've talked to has the same opinion. Sleeping guards, malfunctioning video cameras, neck fracture inconstant with suicide.
The best part of the article...
Who would have wanted to kill Jeffrey Epstein anyway?
52 years of friendship. The news comes as no surprise. I'm sure you had all your documents in order...
No more jokes about getting the band together!
I check the Florida statistics every few days and no longer have hope the number of new cases will decline. We are required to wear masks in the showroom I'm working at. The clients coming in also wear masks. The same for outside appointments.
This weekend at the model airfield, masks are optional and all of us maintained distance. Thankfully no one in my circle of contacts has been directly affected. A few guys my age all agreed they no longer go out to restaurants and don't order delivery. Grocery shopping only when necessary and all their meals are cooked at home.
This is what we do for now.
I bought 100 surgical masks a few months ago and another 100 came in 2 weeks ago. My boss and I made a sales call Friday... he forgot to bring a mask and I supplied one for him. Accidentally, I left my mask in the office, I had to resort to an N95 mask I was keeping for emergency. A year ago I was wearing them for drywall patching and sanding project. I forgot how restrictive they are compared to the surgical masks. However, they didn't fog my glasses. I'm waiting to try the cloth variety. This may encourage me to rethink my sewing machine & mask experiments.
Travels on Saturday, took me to the house I recently sold. My (ex) neighbor was holding several storage bins of tools and collectables of mine and it was time to retrieve those items. Construction at my old house was going as expected. I chatted with the new owner. She and her remodeling crew were doing electrical upgrades and fitting for central air conditioning. While my neighbor and I had masks, none of the remodeling people wore any.
The house is in Dade County... one of the hot-spots for the state of Florida where people who test positive have the highest concentration of COVID-19.
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