In praise of Google Calendar

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It is fashionable of late to bash Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon et al. There’s plenty to complain about I suppose (and I’ve done my share) but after the fire has been peed on and the dogs have been summoned, I really like Apple, Google and Amazon (I’ve never used Facebook). I like them a lot. Do I like everything they do? Of course not.

But this post is about Google Calendar. I’ve been using it for years. Anything of importance, anything I want to find later… goes into Google Calendar. Case in point: I’m in the process of switching health insurance companies and today I got a call from a representative of the new company, checking on one of the drugs I take. He also asked about a drug I didn’t recognize and said it was a one-time script on February 4, 2014. I had Google Calendar open so I hit the “G” key and typed in that date.

That was the day I hit some black ice and slid off the highway, getting just banged up enough that Barb insisted I get checked out at the ER. They gave me a muscle relaxant as I recall. Here’s a screenshot of that entry.

Note the link to my blog post on the event as well as links to PDF scans of the towing receipt; a summary from the ER visit; and a couple of insurance documents. Four years ago and I had it all from a 5 second search.

Is Google doing something with all of my data? I assume so. But I never see ads an they don’t charge me a dime. I call that a good deal.

Brunei skyline

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Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is located on the north coast of the island of borneo in Southeast Asia. (Wikipedia) My sister-in-law, Tonya, shot this brief clip. She and my brother make frequent trips to southeast Asia and spent most of the last 20+ years in Indonesia and Malaysia. My brother make several trips to China each year and returns with wonderful stories. Some interesting facts about Brunei:

  • Much of Shell oil comes from offshore drilling platforms in Brunei.
  • The 2015 per-capita GDP in Brunei was US $54,537 — ranking them 10th in the world. The U.S. GDP in 2014 was US $54,629.
  • Citizens in Brunei receive free education and medical services from the government.
  • Brunei has one of the highest rates of obesity in Southeast Asia. An estimated 20% of schoolchildren are overweight.
  • The literacy rate in Brunei is estimated at 92.7% of the population.
  • Caning is still a method of punishment for crimes in Brunei.
  • Brunei is just a little smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware.
  • Brunei has one of the highest car-ownership rates (roughly one car per every two people) in the world.

40 years of crud

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We pulled the bench seat out of the pickup today and hosed out forty years of nastiness. There are some rust spots but no more than you’d expect from a truck of this vintage. I’m having new upholstery put on the seat (as well as some new foam) and it should be ready in a few weeks. I might put down a couple of floor mats but I like the idea of being able to turn a hose on the cab when it gets dirty.

As if the fuel tank (right side of the photo) wasn’t large enough, there’s a second one. Still trying figure out how that works.

Why the Land Rover Defender is so expensive in the US

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“Used examples of the North American Spec (NAS) Defender can cost between $70,000 and $150,000 while the same car in Europe can be had for as little as $10,000.”  (CARSCOOPS)

When I started lusting for a Land Rover it was the Defender the turned my crank. I was completely unaware of the Series Rovers but SO glad I got nudged in that direction.

Stuck in the woods

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I briefly considered keeping the pickup truck in a storage unit but it was too tight a fit so I decided to keep it at home. We have about three acres so plenty of room and lots of trucks live outside. Today, while experimenting with just where to park it, I managed to get down in the woods and couldn’t get back up.

The grade isn’t that steep but the ground was soft and slick from last night’s snow. And I didn’t know how to engage 4WD. Not at all like the Land Rover. Lock-out hubs on the front wheels, unfamiliar shifter, my utter cluelessness.

But this will give me an opportunity to use the fancy “snatch rope” (I love that term) I purchased for the Rover. Once rescued, I’ll wait for dryer weather and firmer footing (and a lesson in 4WD’ing) before driving down in the woods again.

UPDATE (11/16/18): Mechanic George had the truck out of the woods in about 90 seconds after engaging the lock-out hubs on the front wheels and putting the transfer gear in four-wheel low. I’ll have to practice this a bit before the next snow.

Little Black Holes

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“Every time someone in a group of people deploys a screen, the whole group is affected. Each disengaged person in a crowd is like a little black hole, a dead zone for social energy, radiating a noticeable field of apathy towards the rest of the room and what’s happening there.”

— The Simple Joy of “No Phones Allowed”

The Truck’s first snow

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Not much of a snow (so far) but a chance to try out the defroster. Took about 10 minutes to warm up enough to keep the windscreen clear and the wipers did their job. Not sure I’d want to go far in a real blizzard but that’s unlikely. Four-wheel drive seemed to work fine coming up our hill. Let’s hope the pickup does as well.