The Padre brings home another fantastic Rewind series today. Fantastic work, sir.
52 thoughts on “March 29, 2020: Game 7”
I'm thinking all these Zoom meetings I'll be doing for the foreseeable future might be better if I had a headset. This article has some details about different kinds, but I'm not totally sure what to do. Does anyone here have a headset? And do you like it?
I do and am neutral about it. I have the Jabra UC Voice 550. It was previously recommended by Wirecutter. It's fine. I don't find it comfortable for wearing more than around 90 minutes. I do like the in-line audio controls. I rarely adjust the volume and the hangup button is a good way to accidently leave the meeting, but the mute button gets frequent use. The mic seems to have good noise cancellation because it doesn't pick up my clicky keyboard.
I have been searching for a replacement for a year. I recently realized that online gaming means there are many choices available if you search under the gaming section. The larger market means wider selection if you don't mind the gamer styling.
Some earbuds have mics; while it might have better audio, not sure about the mics on them.
We had 11 connections on a 2-hr family Zoom call last night. 25 on the choir call Thursday night. Today we have two calls, including the nursing home singers FINALLY weeding through our material virtually. Zoom and its ilk have been real sanity-savers.
Tip I learned recently: if you're Zooming on a laptop and you're on mute, you can hold down the space bar to temporarily unmute, then let off of it to mute again.
Oooh, this is a tip I definitely needed! There's too much of a lag when I unmute for a brief comment by clicking the icon.
There is a slight delay when you use the space bar, too, but it's a lot easier to slap at the space bar than to focus the mouse pointer on the little [unmute] button and then again to mute.
Alt-a to toggle betw mute and unmute on Zoom. Didn't know about space bar.
I have a Vont bluetooth headset that I like and it wasn't too expensive. Bluetooth is a nice option since you can pair it with your phone for hands-free calling when you're driving.
I’ve been using the standard Apple wired earbuds that used to come with iPhones (before they stopped having a standard headphone jack), and that’s been working fine. Using the headphones cuts down on the ambient noise from the kids, so definitely recommended.
Seconded
Three weeks ago, if you had told me we would all eventually have the expertise to be sharing tips on videoconferencing tips and techniques...
Hey Twayn - I successfully swapped out a faulty lift gate actuator on my wife's car yesterday! My main tools were YouTube, Ebay, a pry bar, and a T27 bit borrowed from my neighbor. Now if only I could fix her tire sensor problem.
Did you have to replace the motor or just the lift arm? Tire pressure sensor fixes usually require replacing the wireless data transmitters inside the tires. They're attached to the valve stems and run off little 3 or 1.5 volt batteries that eventually lose their juice. Once they're replaced the system has to be retrained so the receiver can recognize the new wireless signals. It's not a hard job but most people don't have a tire changing station in their garage.
Just the actuator itself -- $17 delivered. It's recommended to also replace the window trim with a thicker one to prevent the water seepage damage, but at $130 and a lot of hassle, I'd rather take the risk of having to replace the actuator again at some point down the road (or not).
Yeah, I'm not tackling the tire sensor myself. And anyway, I have one of these high tech devices:
That'll do.
For the tech folks, what is the best way to amplify our existing WiFi? We have an AirPort Extreme that does good, but a stronger signal would allow us to sit outside and zoom from the yard. Thoughts? We can’t move the router unfortunately.
If you're using a laptop, make sure it has a receiver that is advanced enough to take advantage of higher speeds. I had to add a wifi adapter to my PC in order to achieve the speeds that our network would allow.
I got a Realtek for the Mrs' desktop. It works great.
But my laptop seems not to be compatible (or at least I couldn't get it to work mid-meeting when Zoom said my wifi connection was "unstable").
If you update a laptop's wireless adapter, be sure to disable the internal adapter, or it's still gonna want to use that.
I see the "unstable" warning periodically, but have never noticed any degradation.
Before you order one, open your laptop and make sure you get one with the right configuration so the screw holes match up, some will have two holes on the corners and some will have one hole in the center. You're looking for a half/mini PCI express 802.11 a/b/n/ac wireless LAN adapter, most likely with Bluetooth. Some will have two antenna terminals and some will have three, so make sure that matches as well. If you want some help, shoot me your model number or a pic of your current card and I can find an exact match for you.
A wireless repeater/range extender is an option w/o shelling out for a new mesh system. It does mean you'll have more lag (or slower speeds depending on how you want to look at it). Mesh is definitely better, but I used this (https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-Wireless-Extender-EX6200/dp/B00HQ883QW/) with success.
Interesting on the second. It just picks up and amplifies the signal? How much range from the router/WAP?
The further from the router the weaker the signal it's repeating so it really depends on your usage, but when I was using it I was about mid signal (half bars) and didn't have any problems. So I guess I got about 50%-75% more distance depending on how many obstructions there were.
Anyone have thoughts to share on this option? Looking for something a bit more mobile for my laptop than the Realtek
Zoom, I made your bloody mix last night (well mostly. I was missing the horseradish, which I thought I had). It is fabulous. I had a head of garlic, so I roasted it instead of using paste. It's good with vodka and also goes really well with the tobasco barrel aged dickle.
Can you link to the comment/post so I can file the recipe away?
Also, broader audience, how in the blazes should I be searching post history? I don't think I've ever successfully gone back and searched for a comment I recalled and wanted to find.
I can barely remember two days ago...
I try to keep up with the convo, but missed that, obviously. Not sure I want to make a half-gallon, but just looking at the recipe is making my mouth water.
I also like a good mule, though I prefer tequila.
Thanks!
The search function at the top only scans post titles and post text, not comments. One way to search comments is to do a Gggle search and add a "site:wgom.org" wildcard, but that's not as effective as it could be...
If you have access to the backend of the site, searches through the comments are pretty good if you can remember what you're looking for.
HJ--Thank you for the compliment. We'll have a couple of season wrap-up posts, and then start a brand-new feature (well, a twist on an old feature) Wednesday!
Mrs. Hayes just told me. I’m not ready for a world without him. We saw him pass through on tour last year; it was one of my favorite shows ever.
One of the very few performers I have seen live more than once. I have never seen such a warm personable on stage presence, every song has a story and every story has a song. If for some reason any of you are unfamiliar with John, please check out Sweet Revenge, or Bruised Orange, or The Missing Years or any of his albums.
I've mostly dispensed with the idea of having heroes, but John Prine is one of the few I kept.
It sucks so much. His music has been on the soundtrack of my life since I was a teenager in the 70s. I hate this fucking virus.
He was one of my grandpa's favorites. I have always had the two intertwined in my mind.
Usually celebrity news doesn't get to me more than my baseline "someone died, that is sad. I feel for their loved ones" reaction to deaths. This one though, it's different.
My college housemate was a subscriber. I remember this issue.
On this day 1985 - The April 1 issue of Sports Illustraited contains a fictitious article about a Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, whose fastball has been timed at 168 miles per hour. pic.twitter.com/izDQny7UeW
I was a high school junior. I bought in hook , line and sinker. I think it was partially because I was the Sidd Finch of my high school team. We grew up in a poorer town 7 miles from the school. My sophomore year, I was asked to make an early trip up to Proctor to play varsity in a double header on a Saturday. No one told me we would not have access to the school locker room. Luckily, I had brought my uniform and glove home. But my glasses and my cleats were locked up. I pitched 3-4 inning in game 2 with no glasses. The catcher had to just guess what I was going to throw, as I couldn't read his signs. I had bright blue tennis shoes on, which didn't help with traction, etc. So, the rest of my baseball career, my teammates gave me crap for not being able to afford cleats or glasses. Looking back, I can't believe that I was fooled by that article.
yep, my roommate at the time got SI, and were initially sucked in. Plimpton was a treasure.
I'm thinking all these Zoom meetings I'll be doing for the foreseeable future might be better if I had a headset. This article has some details about different kinds, but I'm not totally sure what to do. Does anyone here have a headset? And do you like it?
I do and am neutral about it. I have the Jabra UC Voice 550. It was previously recommended by Wirecutter. It's fine. I don't find it comfortable for wearing more than around 90 minutes. I do like the in-line audio controls. I rarely adjust the volume and the hangup button is a good way to accidently leave the meeting, but the mute button gets frequent use. The mic seems to have good noise cancellation because it doesn't pick up my clicky keyboard.
I have been searching for a replacement for a year. I recently realized that online gaming means there are many choices available if you search under the gaming section. The larger market means wider selection if you don't mind the gamer styling.
Some earbuds have mics; while it might have better audio, not sure about the mics on them.
We had 11 connections on a 2-hr family Zoom call last night. 25 on the choir call Thursday night. Today we have two calls, including the nursing home singers FINALLY weeding through our material virtually. Zoom and its ilk have been real sanity-savers.
Tip I learned recently: if you're Zooming on a laptop and you're on mute, you can hold down the space bar to temporarily unmute, then let off of it to mute again.
Oooh, this is a tip I definitely needed! There's too much of a lag when I unmute for a brief comment by clicking the icon.
There is a slight delay when you use the space bar, too, but it's a lot easier to slap at the space bar than to focus the mouse pointer on the little [unmute] button and then again to mute.
Alt-a to toggle betw mute and unmute on Zoom. Didn't know about space bar.
I have a Vont bluetooth headset that I like and it wasn't too expensive. Bluetooth is a nice option since you can pair it with your phone for hands-free calling when you're driving.
I’ve been using the standard Apple wired earbuds that used to come with iPhones (before they stopped having a standard headphone jack), and that’s been working fine. Using the headphones cuts down on the ambient noise from the kids, so definitely recommended.
Seconded
Three weeks ago, if you had told me we would all eventually have the expertise to be sharing tips on videoconferencing tips and techniques...
Hey Twayn - I successfully swapped out a faulty lift gate actuator on my wife's car yesterday! My main tools were YouTube, Ebay, a pry bar, and a T27 bit borrowed from my neighbor. Now if only I could fix her tire sensor problem.
Did you have to replace the motor or just the lift arm? Tire pressure sensor fixes usually require replacing the wireless data transmitters inside the tires. They're attached to the valve stems and run off little 3 or 1.5 volt batteries that eventually lose their juice. Once they're replaced the system has to be retrained so the receiver can recognize the new wireless signals. It's not a hard job but most people don't have a tire changing station in their garage.
Just the actuator itself -- $17 delivered. It's recommended to also replace the window trim with a thicker one to prevent the water seepage damage, but at $130 and a lot of hassle, I'd rather take the risk of having to replace the actuator again at some point down the road (or not).
Yeah, I'm not tackling the tire sensor myself. And anyway, I have one of these high tech devices:
That'll do.
For the tech folks, what is the best way to amplify our existing WiFi? We have an AirPort Extreme that does good, but a stronger signal would allow us to sit outside and zoom from the yard. Thoughts? We can’t move the router unfortunately.
If you're using a laptop, make sure it has a receiver that is advanced enough to take advantage of higher speeds. I had to add a wifi adapter to my PC in order to achieve the speeds that our network would allow.
I got a Realtek for the Mrs' desktop. It works great.
But my laptop seems not to be compatible (or at least I couldn't get it to work mid-meeting when Zoom said my wifi connection was "unstable").
If you update a laptop's wireless adapter, be sure to disable the internal adapter, or it's still gonna want to use that.
I see the "unstable" warning periodically, but have never noticed any degradation.
What make and model is your laptop?
mine? HP Envy, i7-7500U
Try this... and this. It's a can of corn.
That looks disturbingly easy. Thanks!
shouldn't he be looking at 802.11ac instead of n?
Oh, good catch. Something like this should work.
Sooo spendy!
Before you order one, open your laptop and make sure you get one with the right configuration so the screw holes match up, some will have two holes on the corners and some will have one hole in the center. You're looking for a half/mini PCI express 802.11 a/b/n/ac wireless LAN adapter, most likely with Bluetooth. Some will have two antenna terminals and some will have three, so make sure that matches as well. If you want some help, shoot me your model number or a pic of your current card and I can find an exact match for you.
Multiple access points are the best method. A popular way to do that is with mesh networking. Wirecutter has reviewed them and picked a favorite.
A wireless repeater/range extender is an option w/o shelling out for a new mesh system. It does mean you'll have more lag (or slower speeds depending on how you want to look at it). Mesh is definitely better, but I used this (https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-Wireless-Extender-EX6200/dp/B00HQ883QW/) with success.
I've also used one of these which are much cheaper with shorter range: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC750-WiFi-Range-Extender/dp/B07N1WW638/
Interesting on the second. It just picks up and amplifies the signal? How much range from the router/WAP?
The further from the router the weaker the signal it's repeating so it really depends on your usage, but when I was using it I was about mid signal (half bars) and didn't have any problems. So I guess I got about 50%-75% more distance depending on how many obstructions there were.
Anyone have thoughts to share on this option? Looking for something a bit more mobile for my laptop than the Realtek
Net-Dyn
Zoom, I made your bloody mix last night (well mostly. I was missing the horseradish, which I thought I had). It is fabulous. I had a head of garlic, so I roasted it instead of using paste. It's good with vodka and also goes really well with the tobasco barrel aged dickle.
Can you link to the comment/post so I can file the recipe away?
Also, broader audience, how in the blazes should I be searching post history? I don't think I've ever successfully gone back and searched for a comment I recalled and wanted to find.
Here is the answer to your first question. I just happen to remember which day it was put up, so i have no answer to your second.
I can barely remember two days ago...
I try to keep up with the convo, but missed that, obviously. Not sure I want to make a half-gallon, but just looking at the recipe is making my mouth water.
I also like a good mule, though I prefer tequila.
Thanks!
The search function at the top only scans post titles and post text, not comments. One way to search comments is to do a Gggle search and add a "site:wgom.org" wildcard, but that's not as effective as it could be...
If you have access to the backend of the site, searches through the comments are pretty good if you can remember what you're looking for.
HJ--Thank you for the compliment. We'll have a couple of season wrap-up posts, and then start a brand-new feature (well, a twist on an old feature) Wednesday!
Willard!
Look out, meat!
Hungry rats swarm New Orleans' streets
This is probably not the right time to mention that rats harbor the fleas that spread bubonic plague.
*itchy emoji*
Mid-cats are licking their chops.
Aw, crap. This really sucks.
Mrs. Hayes just told me. I’m not ready for a world without him. We saw him pass through on tour last year; it was one of my favorite shows ever.
One of the very few performers I have seen live more than once. I have never seen such a warm personable on stage presence, every song has a story and every story has a song. If for some reason any of you are unfamiliar with John, please check out Sweet Revenge, or Bruised Orange, or The Missing Years or any of his albums.
I've mostly dispensed with the idea of having heroes, but John Prine is one of the few I kept.
It sucks so much. His music has been on the soundtrack of my life since I was a teenager in the 70s. I hate this fucking virus.
He was one of my grandpa's favorites. I have always had the two intertwined in my mind.
Usually celebrity news doesn't get to me more than my baseline "someone died, that is sad. I feel for their loved ones" reaction to deaths. This one though, it's different.
My college housemate was a subscriber. I remember this issue.
I was a high school junior. I bought in hook , line and sinker. I think it was partially because I was the Sidd Finch of my high school team. We grew up in a poorer town 7 miles from the school. My sophomore year, I was asked to make an early trip up to Proctor to play varsity in a double header on a Saturday. No one told me we would not have access to the school locker room. Luckily, I had brought my uniform and glove home. But my glasses and my cleats were locked up. I pitched 3-4 inning in game 2 with no glasses. The catcher had to just guess what I was going to throw, as I couldn't read his signs. I had bright blue tennis shoes on, which didn't help with traction, etc. So, the rest of my baseball career, my teammates gave me crap for not being able to afford cleats or glasses. Looking back, I can't believe that I was fooled by that article.
yep, my roommate at the time got SI, and were initially sucked in. Plimpton was a treasure.