press CTRL+F5 to pay respects
Yes, I redesigned my site. Don't freak out about it.
This is the first redesign I've done in a while. A long while, actually. Years, in fact. I have regular readers, so yeah I had to write about this. When a site has a specific design that it carries for a long time and then changes, the regulars get alarmed by that.
So what prompted the change?
I've been wanting to make this place both big-monitor and smartphone friendly for some time now, and finally got around to doing it.
Let's step back to 2004 for a moment
I started blogging in '04, which means I've been blogging for 20 years (and yes, I get that feel-old moment from saying that). In those days there were no smartphones, but also no widescreen monitors. Or to be more accurate, few people at home were using a widescreen computer monitor.
To put this in perspective, the Apple iMac G5 15" version had a native 1440x900 resolution, and that was new in '04. On the PC side of things, yeah the widescreen monitor existed, but hardly anybody had one. Everybody was still using 4:3 monitors, with a fair amount of people still using CRTs!
Fast-forward to present
Now, 20 years later, there are smartphones and ultra wide monitors. And you'd be surprised how cheap an ultra wide is now. It's not a grand to get one anymore. Not even close. Try about 82% less.
I had to punch up the fonts for the bigger PC monitors. But I also had to redesign for phone screens.
This site now has a sidebar. That sidebar auto-stacks itself for tall/skinny displays like a phone has. If you load this on your phone, you'll see it. Or rather not see it until you scroll down, then you'll see this part you're reading right now is on top, then the sidebar moved underneath.
I very specifically had to put in some code so the site only widens out to a specific length and then stops. If I didn't, anybody using a browser maximized on an ultra wide would see the text go way too wide to be read comfortably.
No, you don't need another computer just to view this site.
If you're a regular reader, thanks for coming back. If for some strange reason the site looks messed up on your end, just reload it with CTRL+F5, which should fix everything up.
a list of brown and khaki casio watches
While it's really easy to find a black Casio (I wear a black W735H daily), there are brown and khaki color models that are definitely worth a look. In fact, I own one that I'll talk about in a moment.
An earth tone color watch is a feelgood thing, and said honestly, it fits most men's daily wear better. Lots of guys wear earth tones, be it with brown shoes, brown boots, maybe a brown hunter's cap, and so on. Earth tone also works with anything camouflage, like a hunter's jacket.
There's another perk to a brown or khaki Casio. It looks good both when new and when beat up. A black Casio looks like trash when beat up, but not the brown or khaki.
Okay, let's get to the list.
One last note before beginning the list: I'm not listing any of the negative display models, because I would never recommend a watch that's difficult to read.
This is the one most guys go for because it's cheap, highly legible and can take a beating. It's a lighter khaki that leans more towards a sand look.
I own this one. Fabric strap with Velcro fastener, ana-digi and looks nice for what it is.
This one is actually camouflaged. Not my style, but it's technically brown and khaki, so I'm including it.
Again, a lighter khaki leaning towards a sand look. Smaller than the AE1500WH but still has a large time display.
This one is a true brown, and has extra fancy features like moon phase graph and a fishing mode (which I've heard actually does work). I like that the top left digital subdial is also brown. Nice touch.
We have a khaki-ish look here because it also has silver surrounding the bezel. It does have atomic timekeeping which is its best selling point.
Basic watch with F-91W type features, but larger with fabric strap and Velcro fastener. Highly legible, great night light.
Definitely an older model, but in a true brown offering. This one displays everything you need to know right on the home screen. Weekday, time, month, day and even year.
Dare I say, this is the most elegant brown watch Casio makes. Brown case complemented with a khaki fabric strap. It's a tough G-SHOCK all the way through but looks fantastic in earth tones.
This is like the W219HB-5AV but in a squared-off flavor. The dial is black but everything else has the leans-towards-sand appearance. Very nice basic watch with high legibility. And cheap.
This one is best described as a "light camouflage" look. Very outdoorsy type of timepiece, and has features that hikers like as it is a true ABC (altimeter-barometer-compass) watch. And it's solar.
Which is the best?
I actually like the Casio AE1500WH-5AV best, even though it's one of the cheapest on the list. For a brief period I did own the big AE1500 (a black one), and it actually fit my small wrist. It's a big watch that can basically fit anybody, and that's good. I like the 10-year battery life, the features, the price, it's all great...
...but I could totally understand if you went for that brown G-SHOCK, because wow, that thing looks nice.
shoutout to dave
This is Dave's Ferd Exploder. How do I know? His name is on it. Dave announces himself wherever he goes because darn it, he's just that important.
Dave's truck smokes like an incinerator. You might think that's because the engine is on its last leg. No. Dave did that on purpose to keep people from tailgating him. Safety first.
Dave always keeps Black Ice inside, because Dave keeps it fresh.
Dave has the coolest steering wheel cover you've ever seen.
Dave wears nothing but cool guy t-shirts and awesome pants, because Dave knows fashion.
See that American flag sticker on the back? That's because Dave eats nothing but raw meat on a stick and washes it down with whiskey.
What's Dave's job? Looking better than you.
All women love Dave, and all men want to be Dave.
Keep on Dave'n, Dave.
tapes. i don't get it.
The proper name for this specific audio technology is called the compact cassette. Amazingly, you can get new blanks easily (sometimes as new old stock) for all those mixdowns you're never going to make. More on that in a minute.
Nobody I knew back in the day used the term compact cassette. Everybody, including me, called them tapes. That term was so ubiquitous that when the Nintendo Entertainment System came out, we called the game cartridges that went into the system "Nintendo tapes" even though there was never any physical tape in the cartridge.
Portable tape decks are available new, with modernized Bluetooth and USB. Is it any good? I have absolutely no idea. But what I do know is that for whatever reason, people likes tapes enough to keep using them...
...or do they?
Nobody made mixdowns
Creating a mixdown tape, a.k.a. "making a tape" as I and others called it. Let's talk about that. This is where you would go into your tape collection, pick out your favorite songs and then record those over to a blank.
Did everybody used to make mixdown tapes back when tapes were popular? NO! That's nothing but a huge lie and always has been. To actually do that, you either needed a double cassette deck or a system which could take in an audio feed from another deck. And that's assuming the other deck even had a way to send the audio out to begin with. The vast majority of systems were single-deck only.
Yes, I made mixdowns of my own, but it wasn't often, and it wasn't of other songs. It was of my songs that I made myself, or recordings I made with friends.
And what absolutely nobody talks about is that every time you record from one deck to another, the audio quality gets worse. Think of it as the same as dubbing video from one VHS videocassette to another. The copy will never be good as the original. It's just not happening.
Oh, and let's not forget that every time you stopped the tape to get the next song ready to record, there was a loud audible THUMP since most decks didn't have manual record level control. The only way to eliminate that THUMP is if you turned down the record level to zero, start recording, bring the record level up, wait until the song ended, zero the record level again, then stop. If you didn't do that, THUMP happens between songs, every time.
Who cares about tapes now?
Only two types of people. Musicians and collectors.
Musicians champion tapes these days because there's a significantly higher chance of actually making a profit from music sales. If you as a musician or band or singer or whatever have even a small following, selling tapes can actually work.
I would argue collectors never actually play the tapes they buy. Or if they do, maybe they'll play it once just for the experience, then the tape goes back in its case and on the shelf for display.
The tapes themselves do actually contain the music for playback, but it's primarily sold as a collector's piece. Listening to the music is secondary. It's about getting the tape, unwrapping it, reading the liner notes (if any), seeing the artwork and physically holding the thing. I'm totally okay with all of that.
What don't I get?
I don't get why anybody would bother with tapes when vinyl records and compact discs both have far superior audio fidelity, longevity and allow more fancy stuff with the artwork.
Vinyl records, whether 45's or 33's, are just neat. And bear in mind I've never been a vinyl record guy. There's just something cool about them that has a very organic feel for lack of a better term. The larger 33's can have jackets with some really nice artwork on them, sometimes getting quite large when they fold out.
Compact discs are obviously digital but absolutely have that '90s vibe going for them. I do understand why musicians and bands don't sell CDs. Even though the '90s vibe is strong with the CD, it won't be "cool like tapes" until some more time has passed. In other words, CDs haven't come around full circle just yet, but they will at some point. And while you can't put big artwork on the jewel case jacket like you can on a vinyl 33, it's still a larger area to work with compared to the compact cassette jacket.
If you're going to release a tape, do it right the first time for the people who actually buy them.
Any musician or band thinking of selling their music on a physical format should concentrate on the artwork first. Since it's going to be just collectors buying the things anyway, make the presentation good.
If it's a tape, it had better have that fold-out jacket. I remember back in the day that I always appreciated a fold-out jacket that listed all the song lyrics.
Or if not song lyrics, have it be something that folds out and has some nice art in there. A painting, "big" band photo, maybe a cartoon, whatever. Just have it be something special.
If I were ever to release a tape of my own, I would release mine on microcassette just for the goof. Tiny tape, tiny case, tiny jacket. I just think that's funny.
cheap archiving for a data hoarder
Every now and then I check to see what's out there for cheap but good data storage. I'm not talking about the NAS stuff because that's complicated... although I will admit NAS is a lot easier to set up these days compared to years ago.
What I'm talking about is the easy stuff. USB stick, internal drive and external drive solutions.
USB sticks
The best deal going right now are SanDisk 128GB Ultra flash drives. These things are cheap, reliable, and I own several of them.
Generally speaking, you max out at 512GB with these before you start running into problems.
True, the 512GB is just 35 bucks now, but the beauty of the 128 is buying them in packs. There's a 5-pack right now for 50 bucks.
It is genuinely a good idea to have a handful of 128GB sticks. Definitely better than the old days of having a pile of DVDs.
Internal drives
A Seagate Barracuda 8TB is the best option right now. This is of the 5400 RPM flavor. Not good as a primary OS drive, but excellent for backups because the lower RPM means it won't run as hot.
Like with the flash drives, yes there are larger drives out there, but the 8TB in particular is widely available and "normal". No special drivers needed and no special setup needed. Install internally, or plug in to a USB hard drive enclosure and will work easily. Easy is good.
External drives
I'm not a fan of these, but it is a turnkey plug-in-and-use thing that does work.
Seagate once again has the best option with their 5TB offering...
...which brings up my biggest complaint with these. Yes, it's ready-to-use. Yes, it's convenient. But I get 3 more TB if I go with an 8TB internal drive + enclosure for roughly the same price.
However, I will admit that this is the best thing for plug-in-and-go and have somewhat large storage. Works with PCs, Macs and modern gaming consoles easily.
Get the 128GB sticks first
I trashed most of my USB 2.0 sticks since the USB 3.0 SanDisk ones are cheap and good. They're even cheap enough to where you can "manually mirror" by copying the same data to two sticks. It's just a nice thing to have.