Probably Jinxing Myself

It’s been quiet here tonight. Dad has been okay. He hasn’t gotten out of bed which is good for my stress level but not so good for his recovery. He needs to get some strength back in his legs and staying in bed is not going to get him there. I’ll see if I can coax him up during the odd coffee break tomorrow.

My mother was in a lot of pain when I got here, but after her last round of meds she went to bed and has been sleeping soundly ever since.

I got a jump on the work day by setting up my computer and everything I need for tomorrow tonight. The last blog post was written on my MacBook while sitting in the living room. This one is being written on my work issued HP while sitting at the workspace in the dining room. That cheap little USB fan is running and as always it is glorious.

I still need to set up my CPAP machine in the living room. I will have to do it in the dark as dad is in there sleeping. I’ve heard the odd snore, so he’s definitely asleep. Mostly I am sitting here writing this because I am waiting for my iPhone and my Apple Watch to charge before I turn in. On previous trips here I would setup a power strip near the couch I sleep on and plug everything in there. It’s not easy to do now as we had a hospital bed setup in that room yesterday and all of the places I would sit things on while they charged have been replaced with piles and piles of stuff. I don’t want to sit a power strip or a laptop on top of that stuff as I’m not sure if any of it might be a fire hazard or not. Shoot me for being extra cautions. So now I’ll just use one plug for the CPAP machine and keep my phone next to the machine with an alarm set. Of all the times I’ve been here over the last couple of months, I have never actually needed the alarm. I’ve always managed to be up long before it goes off. That’s not necessarily a good thing.

I thought about trying to write a little music while I sit here waiting. I have the MacBook and GarageBand with me after all. No… I can’t get into it. I feel too uncomfortable with headphones on.

Okay. I am going to start the turning in process now. Wish me luck.

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Photo Booth?

Patches was laying down on my desk.  I thought it was a good candidate for today’s photo-a-day.  Unfortunately she was sitting on my phone, and my Nikon was not quickly accessible.  What can I do?

Well, I have a webcam on my laptop.  Could I use that?  I did a Spotlight Search for camera and webcam but they didn’t turn up anything useful.  I checked Launchpad to see if there was a camera app of some kind.  That’s when I saw it.

Photo Booth?

Is that still a thing?  I popped it open and sure enough, it’s still a thing.  I angled my lappy to face the cat and BANG, photo acquired.  I opened it up in Photos to clean it up a little and, as always, was a tiny bit saddened by the lack of groovy filters.  I messed around with it a tiny bit and then clicked the export button to see what my options were.  It used to be able to connect to Flickr, but not any more.  I clicked the “more” option at the bottom of the drop down and saw something I never noticed before.

Extensions?  In Photos?  Huh.

There were no options available but I wasn’t ready to let it go so I did something I never do… I went to the Mac App Store.  I searched for Photos Extensions and sure enough a few things came up.  I searched for Photos Filters and much to my surprise a Free app displayed.  I figured I would install it just to use it as a guinea pig for the Photos extensions.  Much to my surprise, it worked!

Now my Flickr Photo-a-Day pic is a Photo Booth snap, edited in Photos, using a third party filter app.  It’s just a day of firsts for me!

253/365 - I took this with Photo Booth because... it was there.

robertjames1971

Worlds Colliding Part 2

This is insanity on a level hereforto never imagined.  Is herforto a word?  No… no it isn’t.

I am back on my MacBook, but now I am using the keyboard from my work PC.  Oh the humanity!  I have the MacBook, my work PC, my work keyboard, and the USB mouse I use on my normal telecommuting laptop and they are all mixed and matched and both computers are using the same monitor and keyboard and mouse all depending on the pressing of one button and the plugging of one cable.

Goodness gracious me, what have I done?

robertjames1971

RPM Prep Work — I am Such a Nerd

I started some of my annual RPM Challenge prep work. I created a new soundcloud account to use for listening to works in progress on my various mobile devices. Also, I created a new trello board to keep track of the progress of each new idea. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

I still have to do some test work with my new MacBook Pro. I’ve used GarageBand on it, but I haven’t recorded any live audio. I have to make sure my Lexicon audio interface will play nicely with the USB 3 connections via an adapter. I don’t expect any issues, but who knows. If I can’t get audio into the computer then it will be another iPad based project. Of course, Apple went and updated GarageBand for iOS yesterday. Couldn’t they have waited until March so I wouldn’t have to waste time learning any new features? How inconsiderate of them, eh?

Then I have to set up my amp and my pedal board and my mics so that when the urge hits I can just plug in the lappy, switch on the amp, and play whatever needs to be played.

The January prep work always makes me feel like a super nerd, but I don’t care. It’s fun… in a super nerdy way.

robertjames1971

Apple Awesome!

Kneel before the awesome power of my brand spanking new MacBook Pro!


I am still waiting for my old MacBook Pro to back up. Not sure why it’s taking Time Machine multiple days to finish, but what can you do. I set the new puppy up, fully intending to wipe it and restore from the back up, but I just couldn’t wait!

The touch screen is intersting. My function key fears were assuaged by the little fn key on the lower left of the keyboard. Right now as I type this, the touch pad is offering suggested text. Ummm… that’s getting turned off right quick!

The keyboard is totally different than my 2013 model. I’m not sure I like it, but I know I’ll get used to it. The fingerprint scanner is awesome. The only downside to all of these features is that more often than not I use my MacBook in clamshell mode with an external monitor. Maybe some day Apple will release a USB keyboard with the touch pad strip. We’ll see.

For now though, what is my first impression? Laptop Love!

robertjames1971