1977 American thriller film directed and produced by William Friedkin and starring Roy Scheider. (Wikipedia)
Author Archives: Steve Mays
Advantages of Diesel Engines
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I’ve never owned a vehicle with a diesel engine so I know nothing about them. Except that my Land Rover will have one (rebuilt). My first thought was “uh oh” but it turns out diesel is a good thing.
“Because they are more efficient, diesel engines release less waste heat while in operation. Diesel engine parts are generally stronger than gas engine components, and diesel fuel has superior lubricating properties. As a result, diesel engines tend to last twice as long as gas-powered ones.”
I’m told it will take a bit longer to start my truck if left parked in the cold while I sip espresso but that’s only an issue if one has somewhere one must be.
Nobody’s listening to news on the radio
“Digital outlets serve as the main source of news for the majority of those under 35, including 64% of those between the ages of 18 and 24. Meanwhile, TV still reigns supreme for 51% of those over 55.” — Business Insider
Why the Land Rover Defender costs $70K
I started my search looking for a Defender 90 but a few weeks in fell in love with the Series model. This cheeky video explains why an old Land Rover Defender costs $70,000. My favorite line: “Jeeps are for people who get in arguments over iPhone vs Android.”
Hardtop or Soft Top?
Today I learned my truck is being restored as a soft top, even though it started life as a hardtop. This might be a California thing since it’s being restored in San Diego. Nice and warm out there year round, why wouldn’t you want a ragtop? And I’ll be fine with that, Missouri winters be damned (and I’ll rarely be on the road more than half an hour). And it was soft tops that got me started down this (off) road. Every Land Rover that got me tingly (see below) had a soft top.
I included the hardtop for comparison. And the more I see the hardtops, the more I like them. I’m hoping there’s a way I can have both. These trucks seem pretty modular and a guy with the right set of wrenches could probably switch ’em out a couple of times a year. This guy seems to be having a great time without a top.
Google replacing Google Talk with Hangouts
I loved the bare bones simplicity of Google Talk (Gchat?) as it appeared the sidebar of Gmail. Don’t recall why I turned it off. Seeing stories today that Google forcing the switch from Talk to Hangouts. I preferred the spartan UI of Talk but like Hangouts well enough for this.
I only use it with a handful of online buddies who don’t have an iOS device. 90% of my IM’ing happens Messages on my iPhone. But I’ve added Hangouts to the Gmail sidebar and will leave it for a bit.
Land Rover Series 3 Overview
Why a Land Rover?
Renaming files in Apple Photos
Once upon a time file names could only be a certain length. Was 7 characters for he name and 3 or the extension? 8 characters for the name? I can’t recall but somewhere along the way this limitation was lifted and we can name a file something useful. But I never developed the discipline to take advantage of this and have some old files with names like 4777959349_o.jpg . In my OCD moments this bugs me and I might take a few minutes (or a few days) and rename offending files.
I rarely see file names in iPhoto (I refuse to call it Apple Photos), just the Title I enter when adding photo. But my buddy George Kopp pointed out I can change the file name to the Title when exporting images for backup. This short screencast (4 min) shows this feature.
Property Lines
We built our home 30 years ago so I sort of forgot the shape of our 3 acres. Technology being what it is, one can now go online and obtain nice aerial views with lots of County Assessor info to boot.
The placement of our house looks a little odd unless you know we are at the top of hill. Siting our house closer to the middle of the property would have meant going up and down the hill every time we came and went. No, the guy that designed our house knew what he was doing. Still, it seems strange to see the property lines from above.