the iMentor

Hints & rants

This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

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Author: Rick Thues

Components

June 22, 2020 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode 595 June 27, 2020 Everything is made of parts. Structures are made of materials. A story has integrant scenes. Groups are composed of constituents. Food is made of ingredients. Decisions are based on factors.  Personalities are a collection of aspects. The universe exists in many dimensions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRaQ1qAAuCE Modular component construction makes for easy repairs. If a part in a machine fails the part can be replaced instead of the entire machine. One of the critical decisions in repairing a system is to determine what component level to replace. On a camping trip the side crank tongue jack on my...
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Not as it Seems

June 15, 2020 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode 594 June 20, 2020 “Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it’s always something — if it ain’t one thing, it’s another.” — Roseanne Roseannadanna (Gilda Radner) When your computer slows down it is very frustrating. All you know is that everything you do takes a long time. Every command results in a spinning beach ball. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVEmvtJiIOo Was your computer hacked? Is your Internet connection slow? Is something broken or failing? Ask yourself, "when does the slowness occur?" Is your computer slow when you are in an Internet connected application? Email, browsers like Safari, text apps, online databases...
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Search

June 9, 2020 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode 593 June 13, 2020 Search is the modern operating system. You must search to find something on your computer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnlJw9H0xAM Searching for contact information is how you… well … contact someone. You search to calculate, spell, argue or know. On the Mac, Spotlight is central to searching. Command-F (for find) will open a Spotlight Finder search window. The search window allows you to find something where you just were or in the entire Mac. Search for files by Name, Contents, Kind and many other options. There are more than 250 file attributes available for search.   Each attribute can...
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Mostly Right

June 2, 2020 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode 592 June 6, 2020 “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” -  Friedrich Nietzsche   My life is riddled with mistakes. i wouldn’t have it any other way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpqV3dzYOgk It is a truism that every project requires a minimum of 4 trips to the hardware store. Projects also require a dozen trips to the shop/garage for materials and tools. Good planning can limit these trips, but i have never seen them eliminated. After each project, my planning gets better and the number of trips are reduced. i cannot count the number of procedural mistakes i have made....
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Silver Lining

May 28, 2020 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Episode 591 June 30, 2020 "Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud Turn forth her silver lining on the night?"… “I did not err; there does a sable cloud  Turn forth her silver lining on the night,  And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.” John Milton, 1634 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl89GNC2gDw There is no doubt the the Corona Virus pandemic is a very black cloud. It has brought sickness, economic woe and death upon the world. But does the pandemic cloud have a silver lining? The most obvious silver lining is that the pandemic will pass. A vaccine will be created...
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Shop Apron

May 20, 2020 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode 590 May 23, 2020 i wear my shop apron for the mistakes i might make. The apron has paint splashes, grease from engine repairs and stains from various solvents. It is a comfortable full sized apron that shields me, holds my tools and is easy to work in.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W77Kwh6f0TE The apron’s job is to protect my clothing from the projects around the ranch. Sometimes i mistakenly put on my “going into town” pants on the morning of a paint job. When i am carrying a terra cotta pot for Paula the dirt and cactus needles do not ruin my...
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