garmin drivesmart 76 (because i don't do smartphone navigation)
There was a very brief period of time when I tried using navigation on the phone. Twice. The first time I tried it, I could barely read the screen due to sun glare. The second time, the phone overheated from Florida sun in less than 10 minutes and shut down. I went back to using a Garmin and stayed there.
And that brings me to one of Garmin's current offerings, the DriveSmart 76.
There was a December sale on the DS76 with a sizable discount, so I bought one.
I've been using Garmin automotive navigators for close to 20 years, bought many different models just because I like them, and have even performed repair on a few. In other words, I know these things, very, very well.
With the DS76, I get something I've never had with a previous Garmin model. Support for three satellite networks. It receives GPS, Galileo and BeiDou. In plain English, that means if the GPS satellite network encounters a glitch and temporarily doesn't work (rare, but it happens), Galileo and BeiDou are there as backup so the unit can continue to work. The technical name for this is multi-GNSS support.
Do I still get traffic reporting? Yes. The DS76 (specifically the 'full' model and not the EX version) receives traffic reports over FM, mostly for highway and interstate traffic. I happen to live in an area with traffic coverage, so it works.
What's good about the 76?
Multi-GNSS as mentioned above is nice. Screen is plenty bright for daylight driving, and at night dims to a level that's just right to where I didn't even have to adjust it. Route calculation and recalculation speed is plenty fast. The "OK Garmin" voice control works great. Definitely the best voice control system Garmin has ever come up with.
The best part however is the legibility. I thought the 6" model DriveSmart 66 (which I do own) was going to be good enough, but the 7" (it's actually 6.95" but whatever) display on the 76 really does make a difference in the positive direction. You wouldn't think a 1 inch physical size increase of a display would make much difference, but it really does.
I should also mention yes, there's the 8" DriveSmart 86, but I have nowhere to mount a display that large in my car. The interior of my car can fit a 7" display, so that's what I went with.
Interestingly, the 76 is the "smallest 7" you can use. If you look at 7" tablets, they all have a fat/wide bezel. Not the 76. The screen goes right to the edge. This means if you decided to get a 7" tablet with GPS antenna, that takes up significantly more real estate in the car compared to the 76 - especially when you take the mount into consideration. And that tablet is going to weigh more than the 76 does.
I was on the fence on whether to keep the 76 or not after the purchase, but after using it for a little bit, yeah, it's a keeper.
i finally watched it's a wonderful life
Over 20 years ago, I said to myself that one day I'm going to watch It's a Wonderful Life. I finally did.
Yeah, that movie. The one everybody has seen at least 10 or 20 times if not more. The one where many make it a tradition to watch every year. It was not until December 2024 at the time I write this that I finally saw it. Yeah, I'm not kidding. I never saw the movie as a kid nor as a young adult. It took until middle age before I finally watched this.
Did I purposely avoid this movie? A little. Even though the flick was shown for free on television every year (and probably still is), I just didn't watch it whenever it was on. My thought was that it's a black-and-white thing, it's really old, probably really campy, and I probably won't like it.
Well, old this movie definitely is since its original United States release date of January 7, 1947. It was released in Poland first on December 20, 1946. Whether you consider it a '46 or '47 release, the movie was released over 75 years ago. Yeah. Old.
I had the choice of whether to watch this in black-and-white or color. Three colorized versions exist. One from 1986, one from 1989 and the last from 2007. I purposely chose black-and-white since that's the format it was originally released in.
Here's what I observed and what I got out of the film:
I like the way George Bailey's story was told. In particular, every time the movie starts getting sad, there's an imaginary emotional floor of sorts where things could go from sad to depressing. The movie never crosses that line. When sadness starts, the movie bounces off that line and gets back to feeling good again. Said another way, the pacing is excellent, nothing ever gets too sad nor too serious, and the great story keeps going from beginning to end. It's amazing.
There's really obvious war effort Americana in the film. That's totally understandable, since World War II ended in September 1945, just a few scant years prior to the movie's release. However, the fact that's there didn't shake the film off its rails at all, but instead added more interest to it as part of the overall story.
I was totally wrong thinking this movie would be campy. It's not. The emotional balance throughout the whole story is just plain good. Also, at no point while watching did I lose track of what was going on. Again, that's due to excellent pacing.
It's no wonder so many people love this film so much. I get it now. I know why the love is there.
Will I start watching this every year now? Maybe!
If you want to see what real Hollywood movie making magic is, see It's a Wonderful Life.
christmas cards for people that like to show off
As I've said before, I am a card guy. Most people don't give much thought to cards, but I do because it takes actual effort to buy one, sign it and send or give it to the recipient in person.
Two types of cards rule above all others for showing off.
First, there's the 3D Christmas card. This is the one most people know as a pop-up. Some contain dopey things like lights and sound, but the better ones are fold-out where it creates a scene upon opening. These things are cool.
The second type is actually the one I like better, the paper art card. Almost all of these cards are, simply put, gorgeous. They are amazing in appearance and have a more traditional appearance compared to the "louder" 3D cards. None of these have lights or sound, nor are they meant to, because the art comes first.
Either of these cards can be used for actual Christmas decoration because they're that good.
Cost per card? Starts at around 6 bucks and tops out around $15.
Yeah, that is a bit to spend, but it pretty much guarantees you'll be giving out the best cards.
And when you think about it that way, $6 to $15 can go a long way.
casio watches i totally don't need but want anyway
The Casio that gets the lion's share of wear on my wrist these days is the W735 model. It's chunky but not ginormous, very legible, unbelievably good night light and can handle life (meaning it can take a knock).
There are, however, a few models I want but totally don't need whatsoever. Even though I get along very well with the W735H, there are a few Casios I want for no other reason than just to have them.
Casio A168WG-9 - This is a "go-to gold watch". I already own two other gold Casios, but this is the one I've never had, even though I already own the A168 in silver-camo. There's just something about this particular gold Casio that gets it just right.
Casio G-SHOCK GWM5610 - The only reason I've not bought this is price, but it keeps getting ever-so slightly cheaper every year. It used to be over $100, but now it's not. While the A168WG-9 is the go-to for gold, this is the go-to "classic square" shape G-SHOCK with all the toys, so to speak. And by that I mean it is a solar atomic.
Casio WS1700H - Newer model, big, chunky and square-ish. Comes in tan, blue (more like a "smoked" blue) and black. They all look good. And cheap. This is the first Casio I've seen where the tan/sand version actually looks pretty nice. It's that sand look that has a utility appearance without being "loud". I like that.
Casio W736H - Almost identical to the W735H I wear now, with the only real difference being the dial. 100% uncluttered, whereas the W735H has slight clutter going on. This might be the one I buy fairly soon just to get that no-clutter digital dial, even though feature-wise it's the same as the W735H.
Honorable mention: Casio AE1500WH. I owned this before just for one day and returned it, but want it again. Yeah, it's huge, but the legibility is top tier.
saving a thrift store acoustic guitar with just strings
It is sometimes amazing that all it takes to save some guitars is just a new set of strings and nothing else.
I was lent a $7 miniature First Act acoustic guitar bought at a thrift store. Yes, it was really just 7 bucks. The guitar had these awful strings on it and the high-E string was missing.
I am pretty sure this guitar would not be able to handle regular acoustic guitar strings (which usually means the phosphor bronze flavor). But I was certain it would take the silk-and-steel type...
...and I was right.
The strings I installed on this little guy was D'Addario Silk & Steel EJ40. Typically, there's only one set size for this, which is 11-47.
You would think there would be no way a little acoustic could handle 11's, never mind the standard 12's. However, silk & steel is a different type of string. Very soft on the fingers, and the tension is different compared to the phosphor bronze stuff.
The end result is that yes, it worked. I was able to string up that little acoustic (it's basically a 6 string ukulele), and even though it has no truss rod, it does hold tune in standard E and neither the neck nor tuners were overly stressed.
Nothing else was needed on the guitar. It had barely been played and just needed a cleaning.
True, silk & steel doesn't project well and has a decidedly mellow tone to them, but on a little acoustic like this, it's a perfect fit.
What's funny is that the pack of strings cost more than the guitar itself.