Are we all ready for Christmas? Every year it seems like there's a time jump and all the sudden Christmas is just days away. I still have a few gifts to pick up then I'm done.
The stars aligned this year getting a tree and it was pain free. For the first time my haul trailer that I keep far out in the yard was not snow bound so we were able to take the trailer. Last Saturday morning, with rain forecast for the day, we headed out to our first stop looking, a tree farm a few miles from here, I had driven by that farm the day before and there were no trees set out for sale. When we got there we were the only customers there, I pulled the trailer right up to line of pre-cut trees. The very first tree we looked at was the perfect height and a very nice tree, the farmer came over and told us he had just cut those trees early that morning, price, $28! We set the tree in the trailer, got home just before the rain, brought it right in, trimmed the bottom cut flat and put it in the stand. From starting out that morning to having it up in the living room is was only about a half hour. We got a nice tree, fresh cut, perfect size, good price, easy hauling, one stop shopping and shortest time spent ever, and we beat the rain! Records set across the board!
The stars aligned this year getting a tree and it was pain free. For the first time my haul trailer that I keep far out in the yard was not snow bound so we were able to take the trailer. Last Saturday morning, with rain forecast for the day, we headed out to our first stop looking, a tree farm a few miles from here, I had driven by that farm the day before and there were no trees set out for sale. When we got there we were the only customers there, I pulled the trailer right up to line of pre-cut trees. The very first tree we looked at was the perfect height and a very nice tree, the farmer came over and told us he had just cut those trees early that morning, price, $28! We set the tree in the trailer, got home just before the rain, brought it right in, trimmed the bottom cut flat and put it in the stand. From starting out that morning to having it up in the living room is was only about a half hour. We got a nice tree, fresh cut, perfect size, good price, easy hauling, one stop shopping and shortest time spent ever, and we beat the rain! Records set across the board!
SO you didn't go the Griswald route. How can you call it a tree without having to pull it out of the ground by the roots, then having the branches break windows when you cut the retaining rope? What kin of fun is that!
I know, it isn't the same...
Up until four years ago my wife and I use to cut our trees, we really liked knowing we had a truly fresh tree but neither my wife and I can do it anymore. Trying to walk the rough grounds on the tree farms with my leg then hauling it back out to the car with my bad back and my wife's bad hips, it just got to be too much for both of us. Last year she suggested we get an artificial tree, I told her I really wasn't ready for that yet. She wasn't disappointed, that told me she was thinking of me.
Call me Scrooge, but artificial tree that folds out with built in lights. I used to enjoy holidays when I was young, but over the years the hassle of getting everything out, putting it up only to do the reverse a few weeks later has worn on me. I used to have custom C9 strings that I made that went along every ridge, valley, and gutters and I installed outlets on each end of the roof for them to plug into that were controlled by a time clock. One year the wife complained how long it was taking to take them down because she had something else she wanted me to do and I decided that was that for those lights and they haven't been put up since. She wasn't happy, but I held my ground because of how nasty she was the year before about it. For the past 20 years or so I've really wished I had a Christmas closet in the corner of the living room with a rolling platform that pulls out with tree on it all ready to go.
No more Windows 10 machines for me, thanks!
I bought four Windows 10 machines this year and I am really getting sick and tired of them. Thank goodness I have plenty of older Windows machines still around. I used one of the Windows 10 machines yesterday that I rarely use just to make sure it will be fine to play music while I slept. Easy enough task for even a Commodore 64 8-bit machine (as long as they are MIDI files) to handle.
Of course the hard drive was pegged for hours at 100% usage yesterday. That makes this Pentium 4415U run Windows very slowly. Task Manager says it is because of Windows update. Oh great, after I told it last month I don't want the update, it is going to try again to put 1903 on again (20GB update). Well I'll worry about that later and it's time for bed and time to sleep to music.
The music only played for about 30 minutes and I was too tired to get up to see what was wrong. So in the morning, I checked and all of my open applications were closed and now this machine has 1903 on it and GlucoseOne doesn't work and all of my saved Windows positions are gone and Task Manager is in the minimized view. What a mess!
Things are going backwards with computers instead of forward. Windows used to play DVD movies natively. And they used to play music all night long if you wanted them to. But not no more.
I bought four Windows 10 machines this year and I am really getting sick and tired of them. Thank goodness I have plenty of older Windows machines still around. I used one of the Windows 10 machines yesterday that I rarely use just to make sure it will be fine to play music while I slept. Easy enough task for even a Commodore 64 8-bit machine (as long as they are MIDI files) to handle.
Of course the hard drive was pegged for hours at 100% usage yesterday. That makes this Pentium 4415U run Windows very slowly. Task Manager says it is because of Windows update. Oh great, after I told it last month I don't want the update, it is going to try again to put 1903 on again (20GB update). Well I'll worry about that later and it's time for bed and time to sleep to music.
The music only played for about 30 minutes and I was too tired to get up to see what was wrong. So in the morning, I checked and all of my open applications were closed and now this machine has 1903 on it and GlucoseOne doesn't work and all of my saved Windows positions are gone and Task Manager is in the minimized view. What a mess!
Things are going backwards with computers instead of forward. Windows used to play DVD movies natively. And they used to play music all night long if you wanted them to. But not no more.
We use an artificial tree with the lights already on it. Pop it out of the box, set the base in the stand, put the center piece on top of that and plug in the light harness, then the same with the top section. It looks fairly "real" but really doesn't quite make it. The ornaments are all in a special box that has partitions for each one and we rarely have to go looking for extra hooks since they stay neatly in place. Takes about 45 minutes from start to finish and always looks pretty good.
I reduced my outdoor "Griswald" footprint this year and just hung icicle lights on the gutters. I used to do the fence at the top of the driveway but the tree I used for an overhead feed point is gone so until I trench under the driveway that won't be happening. I also used to hang lights on a big, 25 foot, spruce in the front yard. I use a pruning saw, with a modification to be a wire hook, along with an eight foot step ladder to reach the top. Last time I took them down one of the strands snagged and ended up getting damaged so I'm not keen on doing that again. Loots of lights still in the basement. Maybe next year.
I reduced my outdoor "Griswald" footprint this year and just hung icicle lights on the gutters. I used to do the fence at the top of the driveway but the tree I used for an overhead feed point is gone so until I trench under the driveway that won't be happening. I also used to hang lights on a big, 25 foot, spruce in the front yard. I use a pruning saw, with a modification to be a wire hook, along with an eight foot step ladder to reach the top. Last time I took them down one of the strands snagged and ended up getting damaged so I'm not keen on doing that again. Loots of lights still in the basement. Maybe next year.
The wife has a Google Home Mini on the night stand and plays all her bedtime music from Spotify Premium. Works like a charm, with no hassle and the little puck sounds decent. It will attach to a Bluetooth receiver/speaker as well.
The Amazon Echo Dot will do everything the Home Mini does but doesn't sound as good on the built in speaker, it's advantages are a Line Out jack and Amazon Music Unlimited.
The devices are dirt cheap these days and very useful IMHO.
Christmas trees: Went from Real (Miss the Pine smell) but they have air fresh units or candles for that. Then came the fake ones, 12 ft then 9ft then we got small and use a 3 ft with battery LED's on a high table. Lot's of room under the table for Santa Claus gifts for 1 grand kid, 6 children and two parents (still with us thank the Lord). As for lights, I was lazy one year and decided to hang lights up around the windows from the inside of the house. It's nice to take them down in my BVD's and Bunny slippers drinking coffee and watching the neighbors out in the cold all bundled up. Merry Christmas to ALL and Happy New Year to you and yours.
We picked up a prelit artificial tree last year and it was the best thing we ever did. No more fussing with lights, took the wife forever to find one she liked that wasn't either $700+ or had branches that looked like a bottle brush.
The problem I've found with the prelit trees are when a bulb goes out you're screwed. Finding the bulb that is at fault is a gigantic, humungous, PITA plus because they're wound around the branches in such a crazy way.
I played around with MP3 players and I have cheap to expensive ones. And not a single one is perfect. But Windows (besides Windows 10) has been flawless. I record many audio streams per day mainly with a Tascam DR-05. Some are as long as 4 hours each. So say I listened to 2:04 of one on my PC and now want to continue with a portable device. Most players takes forever to fast forward that far. Like one I recently used, you have to hold fast forward down for 6 minutes to jump one hour.The wife has a Google Home Mini on the night stand and plays all her bedtime music from Spotify Premium. Works like a charm, with no hassle and the little puck sounds decent. It will attach to a Bluetooth receiver/speaker as well.
The Amazon Echo Dot will do everything the Home Mini does but doesn't sound as good on the built in speaker, it's advantages are a Line Out jack and Amazon Music Unlimited.
The devices are dirt cheap these days and very useful IMHO.
They are recorded in MPEG 1.0, Layer 3, 64kbps, 44kHz format, joint stereo using ACM. Normally this would produce not so great audio, but that dang Tascam does something that makes them sound really good. They play perfectly under Windows. Under Linux, Android, iOS, and others, one file would lock the whole machine up when played or just the App. Same file would lock up that machine every time. But another non-Windows machine, it will be another file that locks that one up.
I recently bought one MP3 player that so far has never locked up playing these files. Although that is the one that takes 6 minutes to jump one hour. Anyway I bought a second one and that one has older firmware and locks up with some of those files. So I am back to Windows for playing them. But apparently Windows 10 isn't going to cut it. The Tascam plays them fine too, but the Tascam recorders are a bit huge and I use them for recording. And you can't play and record at the same time.
And yeah I don't know about Google Home and Amazon Dot. I don't want Alexis talking when I am not talking to it. I am really starting to dislike anything that has smart in its name. I have three Vizio speakers (Go, 360, Pro) that works with SmartCast, GoogleHome, and Bluetooth. Only the Vizio Go can work wired too. And some days they work flawlessly. Some days they will work only an hour or two and then stop communicating. And they will wake up from off if the last paired BT signals it or something on WiFi calls it (the 360 and Go has internal batteries too, so you can't just pull the plug). Usually they wake up when you don't want them to and not when you want them to. They do sound great though when they work. The Go works perfectly from wire though.
What does work flawlessly is a cheap Best Buy boombox with Bluetooth. You can use wired too. That works 100% of the time except the sound is nowhere near as good as the Vizio speakers.
I'll have to sharpen up the meter probes for that day, shouldn't too hard probing the wire for no voltage...
Too bad LEDs didn't short when they failed.
As far back as us kids can remember Dad had one of these Santa's outside the house with a spot light on it. Dad and his brother each made one of these from a kit. When we bought this house 38 years ago Dad handed it down to me, I use to put it up on the roof above the front porch with a spot light and lights all around the eves of the house. Over all those years the feet finally crumbled away and poor Santa now looks pretty shabby, I still have him in the attic, I just can't part with him. My wife and daughter were at a antique market and found me another one, a little different style but pretty darn close. Santa is about the only outdoor decoration I put up these days, we also put a candle in each window, always have. After the fall from the ladder mashing my foot bones which ultimately cost me my leg below the knee, I don't like getting back up on a ladder unless I really have to.
(ETA: Santa goes in the front yard now, although I liked him on the roof, I'm not doing that anymore.)
Pics I found on the web, this is the same Santa Dad made. More pics here Vintage 1956 Christmas Douglas Fir Plywood Santa Claus Cutout Pattern Lawn Art | Christmas yard art, Christmas, Vintage halloween
(ETA: Santa goes in the front yard now, although I liked him on the roof, I'm not doing that anymore.)
Pics I found on the web, this is the same Santa Dad made. More pics here Vintage 1956 Christmas Douglas Fir Plywood Santa Claus Cutout Pattern Lawn Art | Christmas yard art, Christmas, Vintage halloween
I'll have to sharpen up the meter probes for that day, shouldn't too hard probing the wire for no voltage...
Too bad LEDs didn't short when they failed.
The big problem is finding and following the wiring.
Looks like a PC is the way to go with those files for sure, I haven't tried to get any of the Smart devices to play any FLAC files off of my PC yet through Spotify.I played around with MP3 players and I have cheap to expensive ones. And not a single one is perfect. But Windows (besides Windows 10) has been flawless. I record many audio streams per day mainly with a Tascam DR-05. Some are as long as 4 hours each. So say I listened to 2:04 of one on my PC and now want to continue with a portable device. Most players takes forever to fast forward that far. Like one I recently used, you have to hold fast forward down for 6 minutes to jump one hour.
They are recorded in MPEG 1.0, Layer 3, 64kbps, 44kHz format, joint stereo using ACM. Normally this would produce not so great audio, but that dang Tascam does something that makes them sound really good. They play perfectly under Windows. Under Linux, Android, iOS, and others, one file would lock the whole machine up when played or just the App. Same file would lock up that machine every time. But another non-Windows machine, it will be another file that locks that one up.
I recently bought one MP3 player that so far has never locked up playing these files. Although that is the one that takes 6 minutes to jump one hour. Anyway I bought a second one and that one has older firmware and locks up with some of those files. So I am back to Windows for playing them. But apparently Windows 10 isn't going to cut it. The Tascam plays them fine too, but the Tascam recorders are a bit huge and I use them for recording. And you can't play and record at the same time.
And yeah I don't know about Google Home and Amazon Dot. I don't want Alexis talking when I am not talking to it. I am really starting to dislike anything that has smart in its name. I have three Vizio speakers (Go, 360, Pro) that works with SmartCast, GoogleHome, and Bluetooth. Only the Vizio Go can work wired too. And some days they work flawlessly. Some days they will work only an hour or two and then stop communicating. And they will wake up from off if the last paired BT signals it or something on WiFi calls it (the 360 and Go has internal batteries too, so you can't just pull the plug). Usually they wake up when you don't want them to and not when you want them to. They do sound great though when they work. The Go works perfectly from wire though.
What does work flawlessly is a cheap Best Buy boombox with Bluetooth. You can use wired too. That works 100% of the time except the sound is nowhere near as good as the Vizio speakers.
It looks like you to have to buy Bowers and Wilkins, KEF or Naim wireless speakers to get anything with decent and stable connections these days, pricey toys those. Yeah the cheap one that sound like crap always stay connected perfectly, like the guest who doesn't know when it's time to leave.
The Echo dot will beep and spin it's light ring when there is a notification, for us it's an Amazon shipment ready to be picked up at the post office as we don't message through it.
True, fingers crossed it won't happen anytime soon.
I'll have to sharpen up the meter probes for that day, shouldn't too hard probing the wire for no voltage...
Too bad LEDs didn't short when they failed.
They say these work pretty well, the same company makes one for LED's too. We use the old style clear mini bulb strings for the tree. We've got six 100 count strings on the tree this year, 5-6 strings is usually what we use. If one of them gives me problems I won't spend a lot of time messing with it, I just toss them and have new strings in the waiting. A day or two after Christmas you can get a string of the good GE lights for a few bucks. This year even though the old lights worked we tossed them out of caution, they were four years old and we had plenty of new lights on hand. I didn't want to get all the decorations on and have a string or two wink out. My wife puts a ton of decorations on the tree, would not be fun redecorating it.
https://www.amazon.com/Ulta-Lit-01201-Complete-Miniature/dp/B000R8KBOK
https://www.amazon.com/LED-Keeper-Light-Repair-Tool/dp/B007H4I8HY
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