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This computer, which predated Apple & the TRS-80, was instrumental to the beginning of “personal computers” and resulted in the creation of Microsoft. This in turn resulted in Linus Torvalds wanting something better so he created Linux.

Looking into taking a sightseeing plane flight

Why haven’t I looked into this before?

I live minutes from the ocean… rarely go anymore. When I was young I’d bike there with mask, snorkel and fins. I live hours away from Disney… rarely go anymore. And with Disney’s woke management… no desire to. I live minutes away from a small airport, but until today… never even thought into taking a sightseeing plane flight.

When I was younger, I thought about trying to get my private pilot’s license. Too late for that to become a reality now. I do like to fly my X-Plane flight simulator. So I have some very, very basic knowledge of flying in small planes, Mostly the Cessna 172. Which is actually one of the planes shown below.

I have flown in a Cessna Citation for work many many years ago. That’s all I know, no other details. Today I’d ask more questions. I have no pictures. This was way before smart phones.

With a little digging I found it’s very affordable. Are you kidding me, $99 for a taste? There are other options but these 2 really… whet my appetite.

A little further down on the page…

A few popular movie titles you’ll never see in my collection

The Lord of the Ring series. I bought them “back in the day” for my kids, but they bore me to tears. I watched them once… and that was enough. I’m not wasting disk space on movies I’ll never watch again.

Star Wars. I watched this when it first came out in the movie theater as a a young adult. Another snooze fest as far as I’m concerned. The most memorable thing about it to me was the sound.

DVD ripping recap

This whole journey started because my beloved MASH S01E01 went bad. It’s a series I watch through at least 3 times a year. I assumed since the very first episode was bad that there were probably many others, now I’m not so sure that is true, so I repurchased the complete season and still had a lot of trouble ripping them… and as of now, I’ve given up.

The Munsters Season 1 DVDs ripped fine. Had a lot of problems with Season 2, I assume it may be because the DVDs are double sided. I repurchased Season 2, which was not double sided and it ripped fine.

Leave it to Beaver, only season 3 ripped fine. Had a lot of problems with Season 1 & 2, I assume it may be because the DVDs are double sided. Won’t repurchase these because it seems like they are still double sided. Season 4, discs 2, 4 & 5 failed. OK, now considering repurchasing season 1, because my TV DVD player can’t read them either and they could at one time. So they’ve def gone bad. Perhaps being double sided is not directly the problem, but perhaps double sided discs have a shorter shelf life. If I can successfully rip season 1, I’ll repurchase season 2.

The Wonder Years all ripped fine except season 3, and every disc in that season has gone bad. How can that be unless they were recorded on bad media. And why is that particular season so high priced on Amazon? It’s like more than half the price of the whole series. Is it possible that it is so expensive, because it seems popular because other people are repurchasing them?

Dick Van Dyke, had a lot of trouble ripping them… and as of now, I’ve given up. Haven’t repurchased these because they are not that old.

Wild Wild West, a lot of problems with Season 1. Season 2&3 ripped fine. So I will repurchase Season 1 and purchase season 4.

Mad Men every disc in the series ripped fine except 1 episode in Season 5 wouldn’t rip. So I ended up repurchasing Season 5 because you can’t buy 1 episode.

Why do some of my oldest TV DVD series, rip with no problems. I assume because the media used was better. Perhaps

Also why do most of my old movies, that use 1 or sometimes 2 DVDs rip with no problems. Did someone from accounting mandate using cheaper media for TV series because they often require many discs? Just a thought.

One last thing. Most of the problem DVDs have visibly gone bad (you can see damage under the surface). It’s rarer, however a few bad discs, visibly look fine.

Can I back up my legally purchased DVDs?

I might add in some cases… legally purchased more than once, because some of the original DVDs went bad.

Short answer… YES! I’m summarizing what I read here https://thetechylife.com/can-i-legally-backup-my-dvds/

Under fair use, individuals may be able to make personal backups of their DVDs for archiving or convenience purposes. However, it’s important to note that fair use is a subjective concept and can vary from one jurisdiction to another.

However the DMCA also has their say concerning encryption…

While the DMCA prohibits the breaking of encryption for unauthorized purposes, it does allow individuals to make personal backup copies of DVDs they own. This means that as long as you’re creating a copy for personal use and not for distribution or commercial purposes, you are within your rights. It’s worth noting that this exemption does not apply to rented or borrowed DVDs; it strictly pertains to DVDs that you legally own.

The emotion filled YouTube thumbnail

Benny Johnson, who I’m increasingly finding click baity, often has YouTube thumbnails that look like this.

Now I’m finding Officer Tatum, who so far isn’t as click baity, doing the same thing. His thumbnails typically use to look like this

Now they’re starting to look like this…

Also, Now he has a Members Only podcast. I guess it’s that increasing desire to make Mo Money.

Wow, I better see what’s caused such a reaction.

It’s just so ridiculous.

Buying new Blu-Ray discs

I don’t have a lot of Blu-Ray discs. The main reason for that is I never saw a great increase in quality vs regular DVDs. And the reason for that is limitations of my TV, because I’m cheap. I’m sure I’d notice a difference if I had a better TV. I already do notice a difference in watching Higher def videos on YouTube. So in the future I think I’ll primarily buy Blu-Ray discs. I don’t have the real estate for a super large TV in my house. I think 55″ is the limit for my TV stand. I guess I could go a little larger if I mounted it on the wall.

Lightning missing from Thunderbird

Actually I didn’t remember that the Thunderbird calendar extention I use to use all the time was called Lightning. I searched for thunderbird calendar and it brought me to a page that asked “Looking For Holiday Calendars?

If you’re looking for holiday calendars, please click here.”

With no other suggestions.

Umm no I’m not!