Tinys World of Technology BS

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

With the COVID-19 pandemic in raging at full speed, there are a lot of changes in everyday activities.  All of my computer clubs and submarine veterans meeting are being held on‑line.  About the only time I ever leave my apartment is to dump the trash and check the mail.  With almost every thing being done electronically, the mail usually increases the amount of trash.  This is just another one of life’s little circles.

One of the biggest changes is in schooling.  Livingston Parish, like many other school districts, has shifted to on‑line instruction.  My youngest grandson is starting his Freshman year.  He is one of the students.  The school has issued him a thirteen inch Dell laptop.  I would describe him has being almost home schooled.

His parents live in the country.  Their internet service is via satellite.  He’s convinced his parents that he should come to Grandpa’s to do his schooling.  After all, he needs fast internet.  That does make sense, doesn’t it?

It only took me a few hours to realize that there was a tiny amount of smoke being blown into the air in the direction of my rear end.  It turns out that it is much more difficult to do farm chores when you aren’t at the farm.

I’ve written before about why he likes to visit.  He doesn’t come to see me.  He likes to play games and comes to visit my desktop computer.  When he is here, I am usually relegated to using my laptop.  It really isn’t a problem, except when I’m writing or coding.  I mostly miss having a full size keyboard.  The extra monitors are also nice.

So far, the typical Grandpa School Day starts with a student drop off around seven in the morning.  This is dependent on whether Mom or Dad is driving the school bus.  The classroom is in a bedroom.  His desk is a fold‑able card table.  His text books are stacked on the clothes dresser.  So far, the school uniform has been t‑shirt and shorts.

Class starts at eight.  So far, I don’t think there as been a lot of actual teacher to student instruction.  Mostly it seems to be assigning worksheets.  To be honest, I haven’t paid a lot of attention.

The first day, I told him that I was going open my router settings and block YouTube during school hours.  That turned out not to be feasible.  Blocking YouTube meant that I couldn’t watch Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, The Rifleman and many of my other favorite old time TV shows.

I’ve been attending a lot of Zoom meetings. This has caused an occasional conflict of interests.  I won’t let him use the desktop.  I’m not giving up my good camera and microphone.  Student break to play a game or Grandpa club meetings.  I’ll let you guess who wins in this situation.

So far, the best thing about home schooling at Grandpa’s house is that Grandpa got an idea for an article to write.
Thanks for reading.

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’m still not a millionaire.  Back in June 2013, I thought for sure one of my Tiny Inventions would be picked up for production.  Tiny Inventions II in March 2017 didn’t do any better, so I tried again in March 2019 with Tiny Inventions III.  You would think that I should have learned by now.

I haven’t so here are some more of my ideas for inventions to make those big bucks.
1) Battery technology has really advanced in recent years.  The problem is that they still have to be recharged.  You need to always carry cables, battery packs, solar chargers, etc.  The Tinarger will solve this problem.  This small device is a dongle that will connect to the phones USB port.  Simply speaking into the Tinarger will active a mini‑wind turbine to recharge the device.  Hot air blowhards can finally put their talent to a good use.

2) The Tinoilet is a modification to a standard toilet that will replace the flushing mechanism.  The tank lid that is usually used for storing odd things like decorative soaps will be replaced with a hand washing sink.  After using the toilet, users would wash their hands under running water that fills the tank.  When the users hands are cleaned, the waste wash water will then flush the Tinoilet.

3) Speaking of bathrooms, don’t you hate it when the mirror fogs and you have to wipe it with a towel?  The TinyWiper will solve that problem.  It works like a standard car windshield wiper and is powered by a small battery that is automatically recharged by light from bathroom fixtures.

4) The TinyMill is a needed exercise device.  Many doctors recommend walking.  Unfortunately, walking can be bad for your knees.  The TinyMill is a large tub with a revolving surface.  You can walk and soak at the same time.

5) The Tinife is an electrically heated knife with multiple settings and uses.  You can replace your toaster by toasting the bread while you slice it.  If you use pre-sliced bread, simply rub the Tinife over the slice.  If you’re slicing meat, you can warm it at the same time.  Hard butter pats are no longer a problem.  They melt as you spread.  The best feature is that the Tinife sanitizes itself.

I sure hope that someone will take my ideas and put them on the market.  I could use the money.  I’m also running out of ideas.

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

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I often wonder about a lot of things.  Lately I’ve been thinking about magnitude.  Does size matter?  No, I’m not writing a post with innuendos about things that you might find in someones bedroom.  I’m not thinking about how big your car might be or even the size of our President’s ego.  I’ve been contemplating the size of the various electronic stuff that I use.

It all began when I recently purchased a new tablet.  I’ve routinely used a tablet since the Nexus 7.  My portable needs were never very high.  I use my tablet mostly for reading library books and magazines, listening to podcasts and playing a few games.  I never needed high end performance or top of the line components.  My biggest requirement was always buying a 7 inch tablet.  I liked that size because they easily fit in the side pocket of my cargo shorts.  This time, I couldn’t find a decent 7 inch tablet for less than $100.  I opted to buy a Chuwi 8 inch.  It works fine and I like it a lot, except for the extra inch.  It fits in my pocket, but not quite in my hand.  The feel just isn’t there.  I often feel like it is ready to fall out of my hand.  I’ve found that size does matter.

I have the same problem with phones.  I’ve had phones smaller than 5½ inches and larger than 6 inches.  They just didn’t work for me.  I need a machine that easily fits in my shirt pocket but doesn’t overwhelm my hand.  Size does matter.

I once owned a 10 inch laptop that I gave away to one of my grandsons.  It was a good machine with decent specs, but I couldn’t use it.  It was so small that it didn’t fit on my lap.  The smaller size meant a smaller keyboard which made it extremely difficult for a touch typist.  My new laptop is a 15 inch, the perfect size.

Another item where size matters is desktop monitors.  I’ve got five of them on my desktop.  I look at the 32 inch monitor all the time.  I seldom look at the 16 inch screen.  Size does matter.

The minimum RAM requirement for Windows 10 is 2 gb.  I don’t think anyone will agree that is the right size.  You should run at least 8 gb.  Size does matter.  (This is probably the one time where it can be said that “bigger is better”.)

I usually have about 10 mouses in my electronics box.  Most of them are there partly because they are the wrong size.  I like a full size mouse that fits my hand and doesn’t cramp my fingers when I’m computing.  That’s why I won’t buy a mouse online.  I need to check the fit in the store before I use it.

This article is starting get get a little long.  Does size matter?
Thanks for reading.