Bob's Bytes for 15 April 2021

Topics of the Day

• News & Comment & Qs
• Random News
• Space News - SpaceX & Space Tourism
• Leftover - Saving Passwords from Browsers
• Progressive Web Apps - what are they and how can you use them?
• Our new Rav4 Prime - is it worth it?

Links:

• Luke's Entrance but with the Force Theme:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AI-m0rhZG8  A re-mix of the final scene of the Mandalorian, it's even better!
  
• Westminster Dog Show Non-Sporting Group Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slhghbO2gbM  Funny commentary from the "How it's Actually made" guy, Huggbees.
  
• Car turds:   https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/carbon-car-tailpipe-solid-chunks/  What if the carbon your car emits came out as solid chunks?
• Adorable dog listening in the snow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyuL5biOQ94
  
• Want to be an astronaut?  Jeff Bozos' Blue Origin is offering flights on it's New Shepard rocket to space for a reasonable $200k.  https://www.space.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-ns-15-launch-landing-success
• What it says:  https://www.howtogeek.com/718611/how-to-make-a-website-into-a-windows-10-app/ 
• There are lots and lots of reviews, here's a link to the PC Mag review of the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Prime: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/2021-toyota-rav4-prime 
  
• It's easy to compare operating costs of electric vs gas.  For both the Prius Prime and Rav4 Prime running on electricity is ~25% cheaper than running on gas.  (Running on gas can be cheaper if it drops to $2/gal, but that doesn't happen often.  Spreadsheets available <grin>)  For a deeper and more complex comparison, watch Jason Fenske's (aka Engineering Explained) "Is A Toyota SUV "Greener" Than A Tesla?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEqxaH47DTs

 

Understanding the Electric Power Grid

April 1, 2021

Ken Shackley talked with the group about “The Electric Power Grid”.  You are probably curious about the recent winter power outage in Texas.  What caused it?  Could something similar happen here?  We will talk about the electric power grid and how it works.  And we will take a quick look at the interesting twists and turns in the history of electric power, beginning with Thomas Edison.  You won’t look at your electric outlet quite the same again.

A Bob's Bytes - One Year Later

(13 March 2020 was my last 'normal' day before COVID shut everything down.)

Topics of the day:

• News & Comment – mostly Space news
  
• What Windows Utilities are recommended?
• What’s a VPN and do I need one?
• Internet of Things Security (Geeky)

Links:

Great Pre-show Video:  "3 Important Life Lessons from a 99-year-old Blogger" https://askleo.com/99-year-old-blogger/

My Senior Surfer presentation from 1 year ago: "Bob’s Bytes: 8mm Film, Background Android, the Wow Computer, & lots of other stuff"  https://nscsurfers.blogspot.com/2020/03/ which, on reflection, was one of my better efforts.

VPNs:  From PCMag, the best free ones: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-free-vpns and the best paid ones: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-vpn-services

And the main show: