Replies

@Cheri This is great! Wonderful, introspective. Congrats on your new side blog. Subscribed.

@joejenett Still good on coffee. I'd be moving to the emergency bridge if coffee life support failed.

@macgenie I'm so sorry for your loss, Jean.

@cambridgeport90 As a business I'd ask "who is going to be looking after the servers?" Then I'd look at 1. present employees, and/or 2. the pool of server admin talent you will be hiring from: if there are a lot more good people available for one OS over the other that's a big factor.

@numericcitizen @odd

1. Agreed, it's better if DDG remains independent.
2. It's hard to predict what Apple will do. This is the company that secretly kept an Intel chip version of OS X in developement, just in case IBM quit making CPU chips so it would not surprise me if they have some sort of general search engine solution plan in the skunkworks. (It's real important that they crawl the web and build their own index of the web.)
3. It will still take time for any Apple search engine to become good. Once it does become good, it's great advertising for Apple products even if it has no ads.
4. Way back when, I wanted Apple to buy Yahoo so they could get ahold of the search engine code from the search engines Yahoo had gobbled up (Inktomi, AltaVista, AlltheWeb) but now I'm glad they didn't. All those engines/crawlers predated Google. Each was trying to invent the wheel for the first time for a tottally new concept. Today, I think it's better to code a search engine from scratch rather than trying to fix old code. It's no longer something new and frankly, none of those 3 old search engines were all that good.

@numericcitizen What do you think the chances are that Apple will really launch a general web search engine of their own?

@adders My community is taking their stab at it by making a walkable town center. What caused me to post is there are so many things in play all at the same time:

• Retail: Online retail, generational die off of big box stores and strip malls, poss. end of automobile culture.

• Post Pandemic Retail: drive through pickup, delivery, need for social distancing.

• Future of transit and commuting.

• Adapting for climate change. (staying green)

The constants that still matter seem to be the need for population density vs. suburban sprawl. Need for pandemic proof human amenities to make living enjoyable.

@johnjohnston It's something something I've considered for awhile. Unfortunately, it is a factor, not a huge factor for me because I rarely go into dangerous settings anymore, but you never know.

@dezinezync I'm glad you like it!

I like it even more having used it for a couple more days. The surface texture makes it much less slippery than my old clear case. It's nice knowing that the case is Covid free when I pick it up in the morning after sitting on the charging pad all night.

Extra bonus: The copper color looks less like a gun in hand compared to black or silver.

@cambridgeport90 Yes, Vivaldi is Chromium based. Comes in Windows, macOS, Linux and Android flavors.

@dezinezync There is a plastic liner. My cell reception is excellent with the new case.

@cambridgeport90 It's not bad in my opinion. It's not as pretty as copper colored aluminum but that dosen't kill germs and this does. Check the link on my OP for pictures and info.

They make copper cases for both iPhones and Samsung phones.

@iwebthings Looking good!

@Cheri Must it be either/or decision? How about this: 1. finish your Ellie Tappet and Kat V. books already in progress, 2. keep taking notes and world building on the space opera as things come to you, 3. after the current Kat V. novel is out, focus on Ellie Tappet as long as ideas keep coming and the Muse is with you. That way you can pay the bills. Even a couple of years of Ellie Tappet alone is no bad thing. Eventually you'll need a break from Ellie. I'm thinking that the space opera will be that much richer when it finally breaks out of it's vat and you just have to write it, NOW. And same way with Kat V., eventually you'll get back to her when it feels right to you. Or something like that. In any event, what works for you is the right answer.

I kinda say all that for a selfish reason: as a fan, I don't want Kat V. "finished off" just yet. And I'm willing to wait for that story to continue on in it's own time. :-)

@odd I must confess, at the time I was willing to give trickle down economics a try. Now, after 30 or 40 years of trying I'm calling BS on it.

@MitchWagner Thanks for that. I have not read any of the Spencer novels and I really must do.

@macgenie It's a shame we didn't overlap on authors, but I do thank you very much for responding and trying.

I've read most all of the Grand Dames: Christie, Sayers, Marsh and they are my favorites. Camileri I have not read, and I should, but I have seen all the Montalbano TV series (there are over 20 episodes I believe each about 90 minutes long) and they are excellent. Lovesey I'll have to try out, thanks! Rendell, I can't remember if I have read her or not. I'll blame age.

I hope you'll take my list as recommendations, each mystery author is very different but they all bring good things to the table.

Thanks again.

@macgenie

1. Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny

2. Daisy Dalrymple mysteries by Carola Dunn

3. Hamish Macbeth mysteries by M. C. Beaton

Bonus series:

Pitkirtly Mysteries by Cecilia Peartree

Kat Voyzey mysteries by Cheri Baker

@RossA I really like the idea of 'Pumpkin Trails' that seems like a good compromise during the pandemic.

@jeannie I used to live on a busy highway and never had any trick or treaters. Then I moved to this community and there are lots of kids. It's fun seeing the different costumes and reminds me of when I was a kid and got so excited for Halloween.

@yorrike My XR just updated to iOS 14.01 or something last night. I'm hoping that has a fix.

@yorrike Thanks for posting this. I only had this happen once, by the time I noticed I was down to 30% power by Noon and I hadn't really used the iPhone. I thought I had not placed the phone on the charge plate correctly the night before.

@macgenie I've watched a lot of JayveeTV! He's really good, and you are right, he brings a lot of joy to it.

Each reactor has something that really moves them deeply. Sincerely KSO has the most wonderful, emotional reactions to romantic stuff like the Rightous Brothers, or great performers like Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers. And I'm learning as they go along too.

@dejus @Ron To be sure, we have our share of calamities. But here in "fly-over country" high excitement tends to be about opening a new bottle of Ranch dressing at a cookout.

@Ron Yeah I'm in IN, which has no particular bragging rights as a great place but like most of the Midwest, it might be boring but it isn't burning nor getting slammed by hurricanes every year. Ron, you and I are at an age where we don't want to be evacuating all the time so yeah, the Midwest suits us like Hobbits in the Shire. Boring but stable.