Category: ‘Thoughts From a Clicker’

My “New” Old Car (2026-11)

November 1, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
by Tiny Ruisch

I had a small auto accident this past month.  As a result, my ten yard old vehicle was declared irreparable by my insurance company.  This required me to spend a lot of time buying a “new” old car.  It is a 2022 model which is old, but new to me.

Like so many other things in this modern age, our vehicles are loaded with computers and other technology.  I am fast deciding that I could live without most of it.

There are so many buttons and controls that I’m beginning to think I’ll have to take a college refresher course to learn about them all.  At least my wife has learned how to start the car with a button push instead of turning a key.

When the check engine light in my car goes on, I can’t hit CTRL-ALT-DEL, start the task manager and begin diagnosing the problem. I’m stuck with visiting a repair place that is certified to do the repair. I know I can interface with my vehicle’s computer. Of course, to do it efficiently would cost at least a hundred dollars for the proper equipment and the software. Then I would still probably end up having to go to the certified technician for my repair.

Do I really need to have a computer tell me when I need to stop and check the air pressure in my tires? Could a missed firmware update cause a flat tire? Do I want to take a chance on my transportation being infected with a computer virus?

I guess there isn’t any sense in complaining. Computer chips in our automobiles are here to stay.  Since we have them, I can only wish the technicians would install some useful programming.

I remember a Plymouth my father had when I was a young man.  It had a push button gear shift.  On the left side of the dashboard was a light sensor that automatically dimmed the headlights whenever another car approached. Your headlights also dimmed when they were reflected off of a white building.  I wonder why the designers/technicians have decided automatic dimmers aren’t as important as your tire pressure?

I wish that someone would invent an automobile application that automatically turns on the radio and tunes in programs I want to listen to.  I would never miss “Tech Nation” again.   Good programming could also change the station when a show I don’t like comes on.

If that GPS thing knows where I stop to use the toilet and can help unlock my car from afar, why can’t they program my vehicle to hit the brakes when an accident is imminent?  It would sure be a lot cheaper than my car calling for the ambulance.

It looks like they have finally invented those robot car drivers that I’ve read about for years in the Popular Science magazine.  It hasn’t stopped me from worrying about the other driver talking on the phone, reading the newspaper, eating their lunch, combing their hair, etc.

My new old car has a program that keeps it from drifting into the adjacent lane?  Couldn’t they put in a subroutine so the car will stop when the traffic light turns yellow?  I sure wish they would put in a line or two of code to stop other cars from tailgating me.

I’m impressed that I can tell my car to call Pat and tell her I’m going to be late for a meeting.  I wish I could say “Set cruise control” instead of looking for a button to push.  Sometimes I’d like to say “Eject passenger”, but that would probably be illegal.

I figure that if every time I drive somewhere, if I learn what one of the controls do, in a year or so I will be proficient in operating my machine.

Enough wishful thinking.  They’ve already made the best technological advancement possible.  You can plug your coffee cup in and keep the coffee hot.  What will they think of next?

Thanks for reading.

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Time Waster (2026-10)

October 11, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Lately, it seems that every time I sit down to work on the club newsletter, I find myself getting distracted by something.  Often, I have no control over the distraction.  After all, when the Mrs. interrupts me, I’m smart enough to say, “Yes ma’am.”  When the phone rings, I have to take some time to decide whether or not to answer it.  Texting is worse.  Most of them require a reply.

“The Internet is a big distraction.” Ray Bradbury hit the proverbial nail on the head when he said that.  For instance, when I searched for a quote to place in this article, I spent time looking at the list of his books and short stories to check if there was any I wanted to reread.  Then I had check out other authors that I might find interesting.  Time wasted?  I often justify my side incursions on the internet by telling myself that I’m just looking for trivia questions for a “Quizzler Puzzle”.  In the future, if you need to know that Ray Bradbury’s first book was “Dark Carnival”, you’ll know how I found that question.

I hate to admit it, but a big distraction for me is games.  I just plan on taking a short break to play something.  Just one more usually turns into a bout a half hour.  Sadly, the same thing is true of YouTube videos.

This months newsletter has even more distractions than usual.  I’m finishing it on a cruise ship.  I have to admit that I often look up from my laptop when someone drops a plate of food.  It seems that someone is always yelling at somebody else  Then there are always one or two people that have had a few too many alcoholic libations.  The Cruise Director has to make a lot of announcements telling about all the fun things that are happening aboard the ship.  Luckily, I don’t get distracted whenever a pretty girl in a bikini walks by.

One thing that doesn’t distract me like a lot of other people is email.  I have several email addresses, but only a few are allowed to notify me when there is a new message.  I usually check my email twice a day, in the morning and evening.  If a message is important, I’ll either get a text, a phone call or sent to my “special” addresses.  I’ve got enough other stuff to misdirect me.  Oops! I was just distracted my looking up the fact I could say misdirection instead of distractions.

I try to get the monthly newsletter finished and ready for the proofreaders seven days before Pat sends it to the members on the Saturday before the Thursday meeting.  Almost without fail, I have another four or five days of distractions left.  Someone almost always has a last minute item or change to input.  Luckily, there isn’t usually many typos that need correcting.

That’s enough distractions for now.  Thanks for reading.

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Email Addresses (2026-08)

August 2, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Sometimes we have to make changes, even if we don’t really want to.  I was always a buyer of Windows phones until Microsoft abandoned the OS.  I was forced into changing to Android.  Secunia PSI, EULAyzer, Key Tweak, Kaspersky TDSS Killer and BlueGriffon Web Editor are just a few of the programs that I have quit using because they are no longer supported.

Now I’m in the process of having to make another change that I dislike.  For years, I’ve usually had about a hundred email addresses.  This was easy to do because Hostgator (my website host) offered unlimited email accounts.  I always found this useful for controlling spam.  I made a separate address for each account I created.  If I started getting junk mail at that address, I knew that my information was sold.  Then I would simply delete the email address and quit my association with the said business.

Unfortunately, Hostgator has changed their plan and raised their prices for unlimited emails.  The new plan only allows ten email addresses per count.  This means that I have to either change my web hosting or change my method of handling my email.

This is not a quick task.  I have to log in to about a hundred web sites, change my address and then wait for confirmation.  So far, the hardest part is deciding which email address to keep.  It has come down to my Clickers address and others that I deem really important. I even have a secret email that is only known to five people.

I’ve just noticed that this is one of the shortest articles I’ve written.  It’s probably because I’ve been changing.

Thanks for reading.

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Mouse Shortcuts and Other Tips (2026-04)

April 5, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Although its hard for me to write an April article that isn’t about trickery or pranks, this year I’m going to talk about some equipment that most of us use – the computer mouse.  Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse in 1968.  It had two wheels and one button.  This lowly piece of equipment has evolved over the years.

The mouse that I use with my desktop has eighteen programmable buttons.  I’ve found that this is even faster that using standard windows shortcuts.  For instance, instead of pressing CTRL-W to close a window, I just push a button.  Over the years, using the mouse has become force of habit.  When away from my desk, I often find myself trying to use a button that isn’t on the mouse I’m using.

There are several other things you can do with your mouse that do not require any special programming.  For instance, many people think that a mouse has two buttons.  On many modern mice, the wheel in the middle can can be clicked like the other buttons.  In most browsers, middle clicking a link will open it in a new tab or window.  Check software manuals to see if middle click is supported.  In most programs, pressing the wheel anywhere makes it possible to fast scroll through the page to move quickly through the page.

You can select any word by double-clicking on the word.  If you want to highlight an entire paragraph or sentence, click the mouse button three times on any word.  If you double-click and then drag your mouse, it will highlight one word at a time instead of only one letter.

There is a mouse shortcut that allows you to select full paragraphs of text.  Place the cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to select, then scroll down to the end.  Hold down the Shift key, and then left-click where you want the selection to end.  The entire paragraph or paragraphs should highlight at one time.

You can also highlight portions of text that are not adjacent to each other.  Highlight the first portion of text the traditional way.  Then hold the CTRL key while left-clicking whatever else you want to highlight.  This can be useful when you’re trying to copy only parts of a table or a list.

These are only a few tips that I personally use every day to make my workflow easier.  A search of the internet will find many more.  Give them a try and see if you can be more productive and efficient with your computer tasks.

Thanks for reading.

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Typeless Review (2026-03)

March 1, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

I haven’t jumped on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) bandwagon.  Sure it is fun to create silly pictures and write funny songs while demonstrating at a club meeting.  In my real life day to day computing, I haven’t found much use for it.  Why should I spend time writing prompts to create a picture when I can download thousands of them.

Early on, I did a lot of experimenting with AI.  I had it create a quiz for the newsletter and write a couple of articles for my website.  They were okay, but I didn’t think very good.  About a year ago, I downloaded a Microsoft AI app called Seeing Eye.  I demonstrated it at a club meeting and at Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.  It was a lot of fun and did quite a few things.  I haven’t opened it for several months now.

I’m not giving up though. I’ve found some AI software that actually seems to be useful for me.  Typeless is a voice productivity tool that converts spoken words into polished text in real time.  It removes filler words, detects self-corrections, and structures content without requiring manual editing.  The idea is that anywhere you would normally type something, you just speak it instead.  Instead of typing, you just say it.  Typeless takes out all the errors and converts your speech to text.

On my phone, it works by replacing the keyboard with a large microphone icon.  If you need your regular keyboard, it only takes a tap.  It works great for texting.  On my Windows computer, it is activated by holding down the Right Alt key and speaking.  Other than composing emails, I haven’t used it all that much on Windows.  It is not yet available for Linux,

Typeless requires an email address to register the app.  After registration, there is a 30 day free trial of the pro version.  After that, the cost is $30 a month or $12 if you pay annually. The free version limits you to 4,000 words per week.  As I write this article, I’ve got four days left on my trial.  I like the program but am not planning on paying for the Pro features.

You can find out more about the software on their website.
Thanks for reading.

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Android Developer Options (2026-02)

February 4, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Did you know that Android has many hidden advanced settings that you can change?  Most people don’t.  Android has an impressive hidden settings menu called “Developer options”.  Although meant for application developers, these options contain a number of advanced and unique features that can be use by everyone.

In order to access any of these menu options, you first need to unlock the hidden Developer Options Menu on your device.  To begin, go to the main Settings menu.  Then select About Phone (or Tablet or About Device).  Then find the “Build number” entry.  Tap it seven times in rapid succession.  You’ll get a message informing you that the Developer options menu has been unlocked.
Here are just a few of the options you might want to consider enabling or changing.

1) When you move between apps and screens in Android, some of that time is spent looking at animations and waiting for them to go away.  You can disable these animations entirely by changing the Window animation scale, Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale options.  If you like animations but just wish they were faster, you can increase the speed.
2) The first option I always enable is Stay Awake While Charging.  Android will keep your device’s screen on while charging.  It won’t turn off unless you hit the power button.
3) If you find that you are often running short on memory, you can limit the number of background processes that run.  The “Limit Background Processes” option allows you to limit the number of background processes that are allowed to run or not allow to run.  For example, you can select “At most 2 processes” in the dialog box.  Then the current app and the two most recent apps you ran and switched away from are the only processes that can run at one time.  This should free up a memory on your device.
4) The Force allow apps on external setting allows you to install any application to the SD card, whether it was programmed to do so or not.  Keep in mind that sometimes there is a good reason the developer of an app blocked the ability to install the app to an SD card.  Some apps look for files in a specific place and the app won’t be able to find those files if it’s installed in an unexpected place.  If the app doesn’t work when installed on the SD card, be prepared to uninstall it and reinstall it on internal storage.
5) The “Force activities to be resizable” setting forces applications that don’t normally work in split screen to do so.  Split screen view might cause some apps to not work correctly.  This is usually because they have not been optimized for split screens.  Once you turn on this setting, you have to restart your device.  Theoretically, all your apps will work in split screen mode.  Be prepared for some of them to not look too great or to crash.

These are just a few of the many things you can do after enabling Developer Options.  You can spoof your location, use the Android Task Manager, change your screen refresh rate and much more.  If you are curious about the myriad of other options, just do an internet search.  You will find many sites that tell you what each option does.

A word of caution:  Changing Developer Options will effect how your phone operates.  Double check before before you edit.

That’s all for this month.  Thanks for reading.

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A to Z – It Used To Be (2026-01)

January 4, 2026 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Over the years, I’ve written many articles on technology terminology.  This is another one of them.  It originally started as a puzzler quiz for the newsletter.  It soon evolved into a list of obsolete technology, terminology, companies, etc.  I hope you enjoy learning the alphabet from A to Z – it used to be.

A is for Amiga computers, the last product line of Commodore International.  That was the company that brought us the VIC-20, the Commodore 64 and many other great computers.
B is for Beta Max tapes.  They have become obsolete along with the letter V.
C is for Circuit City.  After the bankruptcy in 2008, the brand name was purchased by Systemax and lived for a while on the internet.  Even that is no longer with us.
D is for dial up modems.  I imagine that someone somewhere is still using one.  Can you remember calling someone on the telephone and getting that unique sound?
E is for ENIAC, the first computer.  It was initially designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army.
F is for floppy disks.  They started big and got smaller.  Finally they disappeared.  CDs and DVDs probably won’t be around very long.
G is for Google Reader, which was an RSS aggregator operated by Google.  Although it was still popular, Google discontinued it.
H is for Honeywell computers.  Still in business today, Honeywell International ceased manufacturing computers in 1989.
I is for Infocom.  If you’ve read any of my past articles, you’ll know that I think they produced some of the best games ever.  My all time favorite was Suspended.
J is for the Jupiter Ace.  In 1983, it was advertised as possibly the fastest computer in the universe.  Instead of BASIC or CP/M, the machine’s default operating language was FORTH.
K is for Kinescope, at one time the cutting edge of video technology.
L is for Laserdisc, a video technology that never really made it to the big time.
M is for Mosaic, one of the first graphical web browsers.
N is for Netscape, once the dominant browser for surfing the internet.  The final version was released in February 2008.
O is for Olivetti, once a well known typewriter manufacturer that branched out into making computers.  They are still in business as a subsidiary of an Italian telecommunications company.
P is for Pager.  It used to be the machine that made the noise in movie theaters.  Supposedly, you were important if you carried one.
Q is for Quantum Link which later became America Online.  Q-Link was one of the first on line bulletin boards.
R is for Rolodex.  Does anyone still use these index cards to keep track of their contacts?
S is for Slide Projector.  The only time you hear about slides anymore is when someone wants to know how to digitize them.
T is for typewriters.  There is still a company that makes them, but you won’t see them in use very much.
U is for UNIVAC, the first general purpose computer for commercial use.  It was also the first computer to correctly predict the outcome of a presidential election.
V is for VHS tapes.  They have become obsolete along with the letter B.
W is for Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.0 Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows Millennium, Windows 98, etc.
X is for the xD-Picture Card. These flash memory cards were only used in Olympus and Fujifilm cameras.  They were expensive and replaced by SD cards.
Y is for Y2K which on January 1, 2000 was going to be the end of the world because computers wouldn’t be able to correctly calculate the date.
Z is for Z-DOS, a forked version of MS-DOS designed to run on the Zenith computer.  I was originally going to make Z for Zenith, but they are still around.  LG owns the brand and sells a few items.

That’s all of my thoughts for January.  My mind is empty again.  Thanks for reading.

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Little Red and Little White Guys (2025-12)

December 7, 2025 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

I was looking over my past articles that I’ve written in December for the club newsletter.  Almost all of them with “Bah! Humbug!”  Almost immediately, a little guy sitting on my shoulder in a white suit whispered in my right ear, “That isn’t very Christmas like.  You should get in the spirit of the holiday.  Why don’t you write something positive for a change?” Then another little man in a red suit sitting on the other shoulder whispered in the left ear, “Start with the Bah!  Humbug!  You don’t want your reading audience to think you’ve changed your stiyle.”  A conversation between those two little guys followed:

Little Guy in White (LGW): You should write about how Christmas is giving and not receiving.
Little Guy in Red (LGR): The readers would rather know about how to create a computer virus.
LGW: How about a nice story of the great food you can eat at Christmas time.
LGR: They would probably rather read about “passing gas” apps you can download from the Play Store.
LGW: You know you shouldn’t listen to that red guy. Write an article on how to install free programs.
LGR: That’s what I said. Most of the gas apps are free.
LGW: You’ve done so many of those kinds of stories in the past. This year you should write about Christmas joy and harmony.
LGR: You know that it is so much more fun to make up something out of your imagination.
LGW: Maybe you could write an informative story about how Facebook and Twitter manipulated their news feeds to get that guy with the orange hair elected.
LGR: That’s actually not a bad idea. You could talk about how stupid users are to believe that stuff.
LGW: I’ve got it. Write a funny story about Christmas shopping on Black Friday.
LGR: That’s got some possibilities. The crowds, the deals that really aren’t so great, the greediness, etc.
LWG: You should try writing something that will make people laugh.
LGR: Are we back to “passing gas” apps?
LGW: Whatever you decide to write, do it quick. It’s almost deadline time.
LGR: We finally agree on something.
LGW: How about another one of those informative articles on how to use the club web site?
LGR: Now you’re hallucinating. Nobody will read an article like that.
LGW: Bah! Humbug!
LGR: Ditto!
Thanks for reading.

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WordHippo Website Review (2025-11)

November 2, 2025 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

This month I’d like to tell you about a website that I use nearly every day.  I do a lot of writing for the club website, several newsletters and my personal websites. LibreOffice and Scribus are the two main programs I use to edit the written material.  The WordHippo is a site I often use for tools to (hopefully) help me do a better job with my content.

WordHippo is an Australian site that was originally launched in 2008 to find rhyming words.  It has evolved to include a synonym finder, dictionary, antonym finder, word finder and many other word tools.  There are many sites on the internet that do these things.  This is the only one I have found where everything is on one easy to navigate page.

The site’s “Privacy Statement” and “Terms of Service” pages are clear and easy to read.  Although they state that they use a third-party to provide monetization technologies for the site, I have never seen any advertising. I’ve even disabled my ad blockers to test this.

A complete list of word actions include:
• Synonyms – the thesaurus is the default home page.
• Antonyms – gives an extensive list of opposite words.
• Definitions – a pretty much standard dictionary.
• Rhymes – I would have never found a rhyme for lagniappe without this section.
• Sentences – gives several examples of word usage.
• Translations – only translates from English to other languages.
• Find Words – you can select the number of letters and find words for Words With Friends, Scrabble and Crosswords. You can specify starting or ending letters. There are many more finding functions.
• Word Forms – finds plurals, past tense, present tense and more.
• Pronunciations – reads words and sentences aloud.

For the most part, the website is easy to use.  It utilizes a tabbed layout.  Entering a word in one section carries over to the other functions.  There are apps for both iOS and Android.  I haven’t tested them.  Give WordHippo a try.  Everything is free to use and there are no up‑sells for a paid version.

Thanks for reading.

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My Reading List (2025-10)

October 5, 2025 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Ever since I learned how, I’ve always been an avid reader.  My parents didn’t have a television until I was about ten years old.  That never bothered me. The library had a lot of entertainment.  In later life, when I was in the Navy, I seldom watched the ship’s movie.  I was busy finishing reading one more chapter of my book before lights out.  These days, I still read at least twenty magazines each month.  I am usually reading three or four books at a time.  I’ve got my bedside book, bathroom book, digital book and an audio book loaded on my phone.

This year I did something new.  I created a “summer reading list” of all the books I was going to read this past season.  I’ve never felt the need to do that before.  As I’ve gotten a little older, my memory is starting to slide a little.  I thought that a reading list would remind me of books I’ve wanted to read.

Now that we’re into October, I realize that I haven’t finished my reading list.  I thought I’d take a few minutes and share my books to read list with you.  These are all books that I haven’t yet read.  I’ve included the Amazon link for each title just in case anyone else would like to read them.  I’m not sure, but I don’t think any of them are available from the Parish library.

• The Manly Art of Knitting – The description says it all. Who am I to not read a cult classic.
• Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World – With a sixteen word title, this just has to be a great book.
• Winning Lotto / Lottery For Everyday Players – I’ll read this if I ever start playing the lottery.
• The 2009-2014 Outlook for Wood Toilet Seats in Greater China – I’ve been to China two or three times and never realized this was a problem.
• Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung – Confucius say, “Smooth words and fawning looks are seldom found with love. ”
• Much Ado About Nothing: The Restored Klingon Text – Shakespeare kind of looked like a Klingon.
• What’s Your Poo Telling You? – Sometimes I’m just overly curious.
• Fancy Coffins to Make Yourself – I’ve been thinking of taking up woodworking and this looks like an interesting first project.
• Reusing Old Graves – I need someplace to put those fancy coffins that I’m going to make.
• A Passion for Donkeys – I figure that any book that gets mostly five star ratings on Amazon must be a good one to read.
• The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America – I just hate going to the Walmart parking lot.

I guess you’ve probably figured out by now that I don’t really plan on reading all of these books.  I will admit that I have read one of the books on the list.  I won’t tell you which one.  You can feel free to read any of them and send a review to club newsletter.

A final thought.  Looking at this book list, I’m reminded of one book it makes me want to read it again.  It was one of Ray Bradbury’s best books.

That’s all of my thoughts for October. My mind is empty again. Thanks for reading.

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