MY OWN FAUX LITTLE FREE LIBRARY

For a long time now, I want to host a Little Free Library.  Usually it's a wooden box in the shape of a house with a clear door.  Inside one would put books, free for the taking.  Ideally, others would add books to it.  "Take a book, share a book."  Of course, some people would just take and not give, but it's the hope that in the long run things balance out.  An official Little Free Library would be registered with the organization, be assigned a charter number, and be included in the organization's web site, so that people can find you.  I admire people who are good at carpentry and build one.  Or people who buy a kit and register them.  I am not sure if I can sustain the supply of books.  In the end, around November 2024, I took the plunge and built a ghetto version of the LFL box.  It's just a milk crate of sort attached to an I.V. pole.  At one time, in my house someone needed a daily I.V. drip, for plasma perhaps, with a visiting nurse.  When the treatment was over the I.V. pole was used to hang wet clothes on.  Now it is the base of my LFL, which I call "faux LFL" because I don't plan to register it.  I already volunteer much time with my local Buy Nothing group, as well as regularly checking the Buy Nothing app and Next Door app about people giving away books.  I have some success with getting books from neighbors but something even better happened today.  I happened to notice that there was a book for the movie Thelma and Louise.  It was a screenplay about the movie.  That definitely wasn't there before.  I went inside the house to do something else, when I came back out there were three books by James Patterson.  You know, that policeman in the Washington D.C. area.  Wait, maybe Patterson writes about other characters, too, but that's the first thing I thought about.  My faux LFL is getting participation from the locals!  That's the best case scenario.  I add some books, people take some, hopefully to read or to put in other LFLs, people add some, things get moved around and hopefully enjoyed.  Yes, one minor, but good, problem I have lately is I do find books I think I will enjoy so I took them, now my To-Be-Read pile is getting higher and higher.  I was reading Book 1 of Isaac Asimov Foundation series, but then I found the book Dad Jokes Too (Two, get it?).  I don't know where the Jokes book went so I probably will go back to Foundation.  Among the pile is Motherless Brooklyn, The Hurt You Give, and The Time Traveler's Wife.  Anyway, hope the flow of books keep going, no books get trashed, and people enjoy books.  Should you want to visit my fLFL, it's on Bay 40th Street in Brooklyn, NY near 86th Street, look for the huge tree.  Remember, take a book, share a book.

HAPPY JAR 2025

 For the New Year (2025), I am going to try the idea of collecting happy weekly notes in a jar.  Failures and disappointments affect me more than they should, I think having happy notes will balance things out.

I consider Sunday January 5 to be the end of the first week of 2025.  The happy note will be about the re-discovery of my iPod Classic music player.  I love listening to music but haven't done much of it lately.  Sure, I have a sizeable collection of music files on my cell phone, but with all its notifications the listening experience can be interrupted.  My first music player was actually one of those iPod with FireWire connection.  It served me well but one day a leftover dish of spaghetti meatballs spilled and killed it.  It was not that healthy at that point anyway, the battery didn't hold well.  Plus, I think I already had an iPod touch.  The iPod touch was basically an iPhone without the phone functions.  It too eventually wouldn't boot up any more, I still have it somewhere around the house.  One holiday season, I decided to treat myself to an iPod Classic, bought it in person at the late TekServe on 23rd Street near Sixth Avenue.  Used it for a while then somehow I decided to just use my phone instead.  Many years later, the current phone's Lightnight connection is finicky and I can no longer easily sync with a computer.  I think it may be possible to sync wirelessly but I don't remember what needs to be done for that to happen.  It doesn't help that my Mac is old, too.  What got me really interested in the iPod Classic is that through my work with running a local Buy Nothing group that has a regular in-person meeting, I end up with an expanded collection of music CDs.  I also have some music CDs from my sister and brother.

The first thing I tried to do was to connect the iPod Classic to my Windows 11 Lenovo laptop.  It has plenty of room and is newer than the poor Mac.  Installed iTune sometime ago, now is the time to put it to work.  Nope, it didn't happen.  Either the iPod Classic need to be updated, something or other, it seemed to be too much work.  Back to the Mac, luckily it recognized the iPod easily.  Hooked up an external disc drive and away I went.  I already imported a few CDs via iTune on the Mac and enjoy them on the go.  One minor issue is the iPod has no built-in speaker so I need to have a headphone handy, or an auxiliary cable to connect to the car stereo or external speaker.

I shall title the first Happy Jar 2025 note "Re-acquainting iPod Classic".  Happy New Year!

SURF TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT

 These days (around December 2024), a regular announcement on the NYC subway is about subway surfing.  Someone claiming to be a teenager would say that subway surfing - the act of standing on the roof of a moving subway car - is uncool and definitely unsafe.  That it can kill you.  I don't know how effective that is, to have someone supposedly your peer, but not someone you know personally, to tell you subway surfing is unsafe.  It is totally stupid but kids, many of them, are stupid and will do stupid things.  I have an idea that probably can never be put into practice but let me outline it anyway.

A different, common occurrence in the subway system is people getting onto the track to retrieve things they accidentally dropped there.  It is not too difficult to hop onto the track, but it is really difficult to climb back onto the platform.  Sure, I haven't actually done it, but the typical subway rider doesn't have the upper body strength to easily pull themself up onto the platform.  News stories with happy ending reveal that some Good Samaritans aided the daredevil.  Unhappy stories, well, another life lost over something that may not even be that valuable.

My idea is to build a wall somewhere publicly accessible, with MTA personnel guarding it, and let wannabe daredevils take a shot at it.  With our litigious society, the wannabes would be required to sign some waiver, in case they fall off the wall.  But let them try, most probably won't make it, and in real life would become a death statistic in the subway system.  Publicize such events.  Maybe it's in some wide open space in the subway system, maybe at some local park.  Back to subway surfing.  Same idea, but now make it a subway car, maybe even re-use some real one.  Simulate the motion, low beams, tunnel entrance etc.  Make it seems real, but with foam of course.  Let the stupid kids, under supervision, tackle the challenge, with waivers etc.

Of course it won't happen.  There is no money for it, or at least there's no money for it until the MTA is properly audited and money waste is no longer a thing.  Stupid kids would think it is uncool to even try, better to do something really stupid, and if they don't die, boast about it. 

HOW TO DRIVE IN THE SUPERMARKET

 Adulting has been difficult for both my wife and I.  We need more food and vegetables but no time to go get them.  We finally carved out some time to go to the nearby J-mart Chinese Supermarket on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn where the Waldbaum's used to be.  Many people living in the area had the same idea.

There was a short queue to get into the parking lot, which is somewhat unusual.  But it is the holiday season and the weekend, people need to stock up on supplies for the many banquets and parties in the upcoming weeks.  I got lucky and found a spot right by the edge, the other driver left his spot and I just had to skedaddle right in, no need to make a turn or anything fancy.  Gathered our many reusable bags and away we went.

The parking was busy so of course the inside was chaotic too.  It would be great if people would be more mindful how they drive the shopping carts and how to park them.  Don't block the aisle, don't make your fellow shoppers zigzag through the aisle.  If you have to park, at least look for existing blocker and be on the same side as the blocker.  There usually are some garbage bin for the staff to pick through the produce to get rid of bad parts etc.  Or a stack of bins of produce that is ready to be put out as soon as the stuff is all picked up by customers.  Any time I see a busy aisle in a big box store, with stuff all over and there is little room for customers to walk around, I painfully recall CompUSA, in particular the one on Fifth Avenue near 42nd Street.  What an unpleasant experience that was!

Anyway, sadly, the way some people drive or park their shopping carts inside a supermarket is probably the same way they drive cars on the street.  Just park anywhere that's convenient for them.  Why move a few yards ahead when there's a double-park spot right in front of their house.  Sure, there is another car double-parking on the other side too, people will just have to zigzag around the two cars.

Bravo, Brother!

 I recently upgraded my Internet service and the change came with a new router.  Everything in the house that relied on a network connection to work had to be re-configured.  The cell phones were easy, there was even a QR code for scanning, but I did it the old-fashioned way.  All the computers didn't have much problem.  Then came the Brother Black & White printer, model HL2250DW.  I vaguely recalled last time I configured it, some AOSS protocol was involved.  Supposedly by pressing some AOSS button on the router, the printer would automatically joined the new wireless network.  Perhaps AOSS is no longer fashionable, I don't see anything on the new router that has anything to do with AOSS.  I should point out too that the new Verizon router is very stingy with Ethernet ports  There are only three now.  So there seems to be no way to make the Brother printer join the network, to be available as a wireless printer.  It does have a network port so I connected that to the new router.  Nothing lit up at both ends.  Hmm, just my luck the printer's network port somehow doesn't work.  I happened to have an Apple Time Capsule, which used to be my backup device but it's been supplanted by other devices.  What is good with the Time Capsule is that it has a USB port, connect a printer to it and voila the printer is available on the network.  To the Mac devices, that is.  I think it works over AirPrint technology, which is standard with Mac machines.  My wife uses a Lenovo Windows 11 laptop primarily, so I need to make the Lenovo see the wireless printer somehow.  I installed Bonjour Service and almost splurge $5 to buy some AirPrint program via Microsoft Store.  All the bad reviews changed my mind.  So the approach with Time Machine is a no-go.

I gave the Brother printer manual another read and there is a section about temporarily using a USB connection to join the printer wirelessly to a network.  And it actually worked!  Bravo, Brother, I don't know how that worked but it just worked!

LIFE DURING PANDEMIC, JANUARY 2022

 My son thought it was a good idea to have COVID testing done to make sure he's not infected, even though we just had a test about a week ago.  Negative result, whew.  A little bird told me to try the simple, walk-in service at Nathan's Pharmacy at the corner of Bath and 19th Avenues.  Alas, it was closed, possibly because it was Sunday, maybe more so because it was the New Year weekend.  Once or twice I saw some testing van by Calvert Playground so I made a trip there.  Alas, no van.  It was there when I needed it, not there now when I wanted it to be there.  I pulled into a parking spot and searched for "COVID testing near me" in Google Maps app.  I already had my preference for the Brooklyn Army Terminal (B.A.T.), so that was all I could see, in particular a LabQ site in the area.  The site was listed as the LabQ office on some floor in Building A.  I went there once before.  They weren't supposed to take any patience that day, so I was told, but they were nice enough to take me in.  Mobilize to the B.A.T., let's go!

Street parking wasn't readily available as usual.  Cars were double-parked near the few queues in the area.  I decided to park on the pier for once.  There was plenty of room.  A short walk over to Building A and there was a sign on the door that told us to use their Mobile Service on First Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets.  It had to be Rapid Testing because the line went around the block.  Just a block away at the corner of 58th Street and First, near the entrance to the B.A.T. campus, there was another, shorter line.  We took that queue, since the difference is really a day or two, at least from what we experienced on Staten Island, with Pro Health, when we took both PCR and Rapid.  It was a decent day, not as cold as that day we were on the queue for Pro Health.  The line moved fast, too, we were done in about an hour.  With Pro Health, we had to wait for hours just to register, they had to scan our insurance card, asked about our preferred pharmacy etc.  Then we had to go back to our car to wait to be called in.  The queue length maybe the same but because of the extra paperwork the whole ordeal was like five hours versus today's one.  I decided not to waste a test resource and let my son go in by himself, even though I was on the queue for about an hour myself.  Son said it was a saliva test, not the nose-swabbing type that we experienced a few times before.  Whatever, they didn't ask him for his insurance card.  While we were on the queue, a staff member showed us a QR code to scan, to register before going in.  I tried but never got any confirmation email, but the idea is good.  Instead of two or three staff people doing all the typing for the entire queue, let the patients register themselves while they have time to kill.  On an unrelated note, booster shots were still administered, you would enter the gate by the bus stop.  Or wait outside by the gate if the guard tells you so.  Then further toward Second Avenue, there was another test queue, another mobile unit named DocWorks or something like that.

I saw some people carried containers of fried chickens and biscuits so I thought there was a KFC nearby, perhaps in the same building with the Dunkin nearby.  That was not the case.  We decided to patronize Wendy's at Caesar's Bay instead.  Traffic was bad on the Belt Parkway, just before the merge with the off-ramp of the Verrazano.  Took the local to swing by Poly but it wasn't much better.  Once I was on the Belt then it was all good.  The parking area by Five Guys was chaotic, people leaving and pulling in as if they own the place.  There were plenty of space just a few yards away but people just had to park right next to the building.

Now we wait for the results.

WORD BLITZ: HOW TO PLAY NON-FRIENDS

 Seasons change, Facebook changes, and Word Blitz changes.  Especially Word Blitz, I must add.  Ah, the risk of writing documentation, sort of.  The instant it is published it is already outdated.  But no harm, let us update the process of initiating a game with someone who is not already a Facebook friend.  Of course, I am referring to the Facebook Gaming version of Word Blitz, where you play within the Facebook environment.  No special ID to identify you.

After a spate of changes, the latest version of Word Blitz now has two buttons on the Main Screen.  One is Play With Friends, the other is Random Player.  The relatively new Random Player function is pretty good at matching players of similar skills.  It does so probably and mostly on the number of trophies.  Some people think it is not that great or misunderstand that Random really means being matched with people who are too strong, or too weak, compared to them.  And then there are people who want to have a little chit-chat, even if it's not within the game, so sometimes they request players.  The easiest thing to do is to send friend requests.  I prefer not to do that, if I can help it.  There are scammers out there who would gladly steal your info, whatever you put out there for friends to see.  It's just too big of a price to pay just to have people play games with.  I recommend making use of the available option of playing with non-friends, i.e. people who you are not already friends with.

In groups like Word Blitz Players & Friends, from time to time someone would post something along the line of, "I need players!"  Instead of sending them a friends request, send them a message.  That's the white squiggly thing in the black speech balloon, as highlight in red below.

Write in the message something like, "Let us play Word Blitz"

Immediately open Word Blitz in Facebook Gaming and click Play With Friends.  Yes, to Word Blitz having sent a message to someone makes that person a friend you can start a game with.  There are cases where that's not true but in general it works.

You don't get to see your list of friends to choose right away.  Instead, Word Blitz always invite you to play some tournament.  We don't want tournaments for now so just scroll a little bit down.  It always show the last three people you exchange messages with, including people who just played their turn.  If you don't act fast, your "new friend" may be bumped off the list.  That's why as soon as you send that ice-breaking message, go immediately to the game and click Play With Friends.

Go back to that group where your "friend" said they need players.  Comment that you just started a game with them.  Tell them to accept it by clicking on your name and clicking the Message icon, that white squiggly thingy inside the black speech bubble, as shown below.  They should say something back, like "OK, let us do it".  They should then go to Word Blitz and find the game that you started with them.  Back and forth you can play.  If the skill level turn out not so comparable, don't start a new game when one is done.  Or done respond to a new game request and it will go away in a few days.  Rather drastic but I heard of people blocking others just so that the other person no longer start unbalnced games with them.

Perhaps because of different privacy laws in different nations of the world, when the requester is in a country different from yours this little trick may not work.  Facebook, or maybe Lotum, the German-based company that puts out Word Blitz, is an international company and have to adjust their environment to satisfy the different laws.  So far with this technique, I can play people in the U.S., India, Australia, etc.  Not possible are people from Greece, the U.K., and maybe Ireland.  I am sure there are more countries for both lists.  I have enough players so I don't seek people out that often.  As the saying goes, your mileage may vary.