J M Wetherington Sr

Music CDs No More?

Posted on February 7, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Best Buy announced recently that they would stop selling music CDs in all of its stores by July of this year, while Target is considering moving to a consignment only deal for any music CDs it sells. The news has a lot of people asking if music CDs will be no more.

When I heard the news I stopped and started rummaging through my memory. The last time I bought a music CD was in July of 2016 in Rapid City, SD at the James Taylor concert I attended. And I only bought his CDs because my wife asked me to so she could play them in the car (we have an ancient vehicle that does not allow you to plug in your digital music device to listen to music through the speakers). But I can’t even recall the last time I bought a music CD for myself. I do a lot of individual song downloads digitally to my iTunes account; not so many of entire albums because I seldom want to listen to every song on an album.

At the cabin, I have a couple of good-sized boxes of music CDs that I have accumulated over the years. And every time I get t spend a few days at the cabin I take the time to rip songs from those CDs to iTunes, then place the CDs back in a box. Why? Why not sell them? It’s true that I could definitely use the space in my office that those boxes take up.

But as much as I enjoy digital music, photos, videos, books, etc. I also have this fear that one day, they will be erased, corrupted, or in some form or fashion be unable to be played or viewed. In other words, the technology will fail in some manner.

It’s silly, I’m sure. But I worry that it will happen.

There’s also another reason.

I used to have a ton of vinyl record albums and 45’s that ended up being sold at yard sales for a buck because, “Who needs ‘em? I’ve got my music on little reel-to-reel cassette tapes.” Then I had cassette tapes that eventually bit the dust from non-use as in, “I don’t need these cassettes because I have my music on 8-track cassettes with much higher quality.” And soon after it was, “My music is on these high-quality CDs, so I don’t need those 8-track cassettes anymore.” Now it’s, “I can carry my entire music library with me digitally in a device only slightly larger than those old reel-to-reel cassettes, so I don’t need these bulky CDs.”

And yet, over the past few years, there has been a resurgence of audiophiles who only want to listen to music on vinyl records. Just think; if I had saved those albums for forty years I could be making a fortune by selling them now. Maybe the same thing will happen in another 40 years with reel-to-reel cassettes, 8-track cassettes, or even music CDs and my grandchildren could become millionaires from my boxes of CDs.

I could be sitting on a ton of money.

But, this is the digital Age of Aquarius and so digital downloads have prevailed and will make the music CD obsolete as a mass consumer delivery method for musical content. Such is the way of progress; the old making way for the new…and the better.

When was the last time YOU bought a music CD?

Posted in Music, Technology | Tagged Best Buy, CDs, James Taylor, music, Target Stores | 1 Comment

My Blog Was Hacked – What I Learned

Posted on February 5, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Last night before bed I scheduled my post about the anniversary of The Family Circus comic strip to post just after midnight and went to sleep. I awoke this morning and wanted to check my overnight stats, but when I tried to log in I found that my blog was hacked. Someone changed my login credentials, both username and password, which I discovered when I tried to change my password through the usual means and was presented with a username I’ve NEVER used.

When I discovered it I was eating breakfast before leaving for work and did not have time to devote to solving the problem, so I spent most of the day dreading what someone might be doing to my blog or what they might be posting under my name.

So, as soon as I arrived back at the hotel I contacted my hosting service and found a way I could go in through “the back” so to speak using my hosting credentials to reset my username and password for the blog. While in the files I looked around (even though I’m nowhere near conversant enough with my database details to know what I was looking at) to see if I could find any obvious changes or dates/times when this could have happened.

Nothing.

I’m at a loss to explain how it might have happened. I haven’t added any new software to the blog; I’ve kept WordPress itself updated as each new release comes out; my password was rated strong (my new password is rated VERY strong), and I’ve never given my username/password out to anyone.

I was also confused as to why anyone would bother to do all this and then do nothing over the following 12-18 hours to make use of the site…until I read this. Seems like there are other reasons for hacking into a lowly WordPress blog.

Anyway, that’s the best I was able to come up with and I’m just glad I was able to get back control of my blog. Oh, and for good measure I removed the login meta links from my blog pages, just to remove the temptation of anyone who might be so inclined to try and use them. The upside is that I learned some new ways to work behind the scenes of my blog. But if any of my friends or computer whizzes are reading this and have any further information as to what might have happened and why I’d love to read it.

In the meantime, stay safe out there.

Posted in Technology | Tagged Hacking, WordPress Blog | 2 Comments

Happy Birthday, The Family Circus

Posted on February 5, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

It was 58 years ago this month that the newspaper comic strip (although not a strip, strictly speaking), The Family Circus, first appeared. In fact, 1960 was a Leap Year and the first cartoon appeared on February 29th, 1960, making it impossible for me to post its birthday on the actual date until 2020, so rather than wait I just used the month. Happy Birthday to The Family Circus!

The first Family Circus comic panel.

As a child, I read the comics page in our newspapers (we had one delivered in the morning and a different one delivered in the afternoon) and for the longest time I thought the cartoon was The Family CIRCLE because, well, I think you can see why.

I don’t remember my exact age when this incident happened, though it seems like I was in first grade, but I was sitting at the dining room table and said something to my mother in the kitchen like, “Today’s Family Circle is pretty funny.” and she looked over toward me with a puzzled look on her face, then noticed I had the newspaper open to the comics page in front of me and said, “Honey, it’s Family CIRCUS, not circle.” I looked down at the heading over the comic and sure enough…

So Happy Birthday, The Family CIRCUS!

Posted in Comics | Tagged comic strips, Humor, The Family Circus | Comments Off

Congratulations Philadelphia Eagles – Super Bowl 52 Champs

Posted on February 4, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

That was SOME game!

Posted in Sports | Tagged Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl 52, Super Bowl Champs | 1 Comment

Restoring Family Photos Damaged by Hurricane Harvey

Posted on February 4, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Here in Texas, we’re approaching the 6-month mark following Hurricane Harvey’s tremendous impact on the Texas coastal area and metropolitan Houston, resulting in 68 deaths directly related to the storm, and in massive property damage and destruction.

Having lived through Hurricane Charley in Florida back in 2004, I have a small idea of what survivors of Harvey have and are experiencing.

When you think of the damage inflicted your mind typically goes to residential and personal property items such as homes, appliances, furniture, clothing, and automobiles. As devastating as those losses can be, they can all be repaired and/or replaced.

But one of the most heartbreaking losses for most survivors is the loss that occurs when one-of-a-kind or single-copy family photos are damaged by wind and water, rendering them, in many cases, unfit to be re-framed or displayed as they were pre-disaster.

So I’m happy to see this feel-good story and video from AdWeek sharing how a group of high schoolers from San Antonio, Texas who are members of an Adobe (makers of Photoshop software) group known as ambassadors, spent weeks employing their Photoshop skills and talent to repair rips, tears, color and water-damaged family photos. The students then returned to those homes in December of last year to present the repaired, printed, and newly-framed photos to survivors, still struggling to recover from Hurricane Harvey.

I doubt that many people can watch the 4-minute video without their eyes at least watering up when they see the joy and tears of happiness from the survivors AND those students with the results of restoring family photos damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

Good work guys.

Posted in Photography | Tagged Adobe, Houston, Hurricane Harvey, photography, Photoshop, Texas | Comments Off

“He’s The Batman!”

Posted on February 3, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Posted in Comics | Tagged Batman, Dennis the Menace, Humor, Superheroes | Comments Off

This and That

Posted on February 2, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Just a collection of this and that from recent things I’ve read, seen, or experienced.

You know, I just can’t find it in my heart or head to blame Mr. Randall Margraves for his actions in a Michigan courtroom today. I fully understand, as I believe Mr. Margraves does as well, that this is not the way our justice system works, but I can’t say with conviction that I would not have wanted to do the very same thing.

Did Robert Wagner kill Natalie Wood? I well remember when Ms. Wood drowned in 1981. Even before the days of social media that centered on Hollywood, the suspicious drowning of one of Tinsel Town’s best and most beautiful actresses made the news programs across the country (especially the nascent CNN 24- hour news network) fill our TV screens, newspapers, and Enquirer-type rags with news of the death and then conjecture that her husband, Robert Wagner, had thrown her overboard from their boat.

And, that’s what we’re conditioned to think. Crime thriller books and criminal procedure TV shows have taught us that the first person you look at is the spouse or person closest to the deceased. But those books and TV shows didn’t make that up by themselves. Historically, law enforcement has shown that indeed, that is where you will most likely find your murderer.

So, did Robert Wagner kill Natalie Wood? I don’t know, and a little over 36 years later I don’t see how the justice system will be able to prove Mr. Wagner murdered Ms. Wood, outside of an until-now-silent eyewitness or a confession from Mr. Wagner.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert, or somewhere in between? I was a shy child. I remember when I was eight or nine years old running home from a friend’s birthday party because I did not know anyone there. I just dropped the gift off and ran back down the street to my house. And even though I took pains in my late teens and early twenties to become more outgoing and engage in a fair amount of public speaking, to the point that today I can stand up in a room full of strangers and speak with no more than the usual butterflies in my stomach that almost all public speakers get, I still prefer my own company or that of those close to me (which ain’t many, lol).

I like the quote from Susan Cain, in this article about introversion and extroversion from thoughtco.com, “We’re not anti-social; we’re differently social. I can’t live without my family and close friends, but I also crave solitude.”

However, come to think of it, I might actually BE anti-social, lol.

I’m really looking forward to the Andre The Giant documentary coming out in April from HBO. I grew up reading about him in wrestling magazines and watching the Eighth Wonder of the World perform in various wrestling promotions across the country until he landed in the WWE.

Those who never saw him in a wrestling ring will more than likely remember him as Fezzik in “The Princess Bride”.

This production is long overdue and should be fascinating as well as heartbreaking to fans.

Here’s the official trailer for the upcoming documentary.

Posted in This and That | Tagged Andre The Giant, Extrovert, Fezzik, HBO, Introvert, Larry Nassar, Movies, Natalie Wood, Randall Margraves, Robert Wagner, The Princess Bride, Wrestling, wwe | Comments Off

This Is Only A Test

Posted on February 2, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

I’m just testing the difficulty of posting from my iPad.

Posted in General | Comments Off

Emotional Support Peacock…Grounded

Posted on February 1, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

So, you may have heard about the lady who wanted to bring her emotional support peacock on board her United Airlines flight this past Sunday from Newark, NJ to Los Angeles, CA, only to have the airline deny Dexter (that’s the peacock) permission to board.

Emotional support animals have become a tricky thing of late, mostly because apparently greater and greater numbers of people have been abusing the status. It’s fairly easy to order a document and vest online for your dog or cat…maybe even your pot-bellied pig. And, it’s a touchy subject as well because most people get confused about emotional support animals and service animals, especially in regards to where they can go. This article helps lay out the differences.

Now me, I’m pretty much of an “Anybody can have any kind of emotional support animal that they want” kind of guy. If you’re not adversely affecting me, and in some cases even if you are, you should be free to have whatever animal you feel best with as your emotional support.

But, matters of safety are a different matter. If your emotional support animal is a crocodile, I might have issues with that while you’re around me in an environment that I cannot easily absent myself from, like an airplane.

Remember “Snakes on a Plane”??

But I like peacocks. I’ve taken some photos of beautiful peacocks in gardens and parks and zoos. Never had any attack me (knock on wood) or threaten me or peck me. Still, I don’t think a peacock could be stowed safely at the feet of its human passenger on a plane or not be a possible deterrent to people on that row safely evacuating.

So this was probably a good call on United’s part, even though I never fly that airline by choice.

Anyway, Dexter (who, by the way, has his own Instagram account) and his human ended up making a road trip of the situation and drove cross-country. I hope he gets to spread his gorgeous plumage in Los Angeles, even if he was grounded.

Posted in General | Tagged Dexter, Emotional Support Peacock, Travel, United Airlines | Comments Off

“I Want To Hold Your Hand”

Posted on February 1, 2018 by J.M. Wetherington Sr.

Fifty-four years ago today The Beatles had their first number one hit in the United States with “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and the British Invasion was underway.

I was 8 ½ years old at the time and since we didn’t have iTunes or Spotify in those Dark Ages, we had to settle for listening to AM radio stations and boy did this song get ample airtime on every rock n’ roll station in the Greater Miami area. In addition, every girl I knew, and some of the boys I knew, owned a copy of the 45 (no, that’s not a reference to the current President of the United States) record and I imagine quite a few stereo and record player needles were worn out from the constant playing of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” across the country.

Recorded in October 1963, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, which was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, was released in the UK on November 29, 1963, and two weeks later it hit the number one spot in the UK Top 50 and remained there for 5 weeks. In the U.S. it entered the Billboard Top 100 on January 18, 1964, and on February 1, 1964, it hit the number one spot and stayed there for 7 weeks before being knocked out of that spot by the group’s second number one hit in the United States, “She Loves You”, which strangely enough was the first million-copy seller song The Beatles had released in the U.K.

Eight nights later, on February 9, 1964, The Beatles made their television debut in the U.S. on The Ed Sullivan Show. I wrote about that night in my house a few years ago, but here’s a video of their appearance.

Posted in Music | Tagged The Beatles | 1 Comment