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Who Wants to Roll Their Own Coins?
The other day we noticed our piggy bank is getting really full. We decided to take it to the bank and get it counted. Much to our surprise and dismay, the bank told us they don’t count piggy bank small change anymore. In fact, they stopped that about 6 years ago. Then they gave us…
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Releasing Your Inner Nerd
Getting the new laptop reminds me of my pocket protector nerd days. That’s because the modern laptop is a sharp contrast to the big heavy desktops. I worked for consulting engineers back in the stone age and I wore a pocket protector. Some people might not know what that is. It’s a little plastic pen…
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Is Cribbage Mostly Luck?
I found this cribbage YouTube site that does a really nice job of teaching you how to play Cribbage. Here’s a video about whether Cribbage is mainly a game of luck or skill. It turns out it’s a mix of both. I play computer Cribbage games with high level computer opponents who-let’s face it, don’t…
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Thoughts On Laptop Computers
We bought a laptop computer. It has been years since I’ve used one. I forgot how exasperating a touchpad is. Luckily, we have a spare wireless mouse and a USB port. The laptop is slim and very light, like most laptops these days. I remember the first “laptop” I had early in my career as…
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About That Artificial Intelligence…
I’ve got a couple of things to get off my chest about Artificial Intelligence (AI). By now, everyone knows about AI telling people to put hot glue on pizza and whatnot. Sena and I talked to a guy at an electronics store who had nothing but good things to say about AI. I mentioned the…
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In Memory of L. Jay Stein
I was thinking of one of the Johnson County judicial mental health referees I often worked with years ago. L. Jay Stein died in 2014. I looked up his obituary the other day and was a little surprised to find I had written a remembrance for him. I’d forgotten it. “I will always remember my…
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Svengoolie Movie: The Tingler!”
We saw the 1959 movie “The Tingler” starring Vincent Price on the Svengoolie show last Saturday. Price plays a prison pathologist, Dr. Warren Chapin, who’s trying to scientifically study a parasitic creature called the tingler (tingles up and down your spine means you’re scared right out of your mind!). It sits on your spine and…
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The Mumbo Jumbo on Some Big Antique Cribbage Boards
Today, I’m going on a tangent about big, mostly antique cribbage boards which were specially made for making the scoring more complex. The main perpetrator (I mean manufacturer), was Drueke (variously pronounced as Drooky, Drew, Drooka). The Drueke name turns up on most of the big two, three and four track vintage cribbage boards you…
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Thoughts on Down Time Activities for Land Survey Technicians
I was just thinking about the old-time land survey crews. When I was getting on the job training as a survey technician, the typical land survey crews were at least 2-3 persons. One rodman, one instrument man, and a crew chief who organized the job, which could be property or construction jobs. Nowadays, you get…
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What Kind of Mailbox Does the USPS Really Want from Us?
I just saw the latest headline about the United States Postal Service (USPS) new recommendation that we all get a nice, big mailbox. Huh? I gather one reason for the suggestion is to cut down on mail theft. I don’t think I’m allowed to put a lock on a mailbox, no matter how big it…
