Knock on Wood

On episode 356 of Geekiest Show Ever, we talk to Bob Wood of ThinkBob.com. Bob is also President of the Tucson Macintosh Users Group of which Melissa is a member. We discuss the value of user groups and how you can join or support one near you — or — not so near you since many are now online for virtual attendance.

Bob's Links

ThinkBob.com

DangerousBobPhotography.com

TMUG.com

GretchenLima.com

Bob's Notes

Mac User Groups

• Apple Podcasters and pundits should become members of their local MUGs and volunteer to give presentations a couple times per year.
• This would provide them with more listeners and readers, strengthen the Apple Community, and perhaps add to their advertising base.

Apple CarPlay

• Easy and safe way to be more productive
• Listen to podcasts instead of music (learn stuff)
• Send and receive phone calls and texts
• Bluetooth Apple CarPlay is not needed, wired is better

Check the Apple Security Updates page to see if your Apple gear is up to date.

Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Twitter for additional tips and conversation: https://twitter.com/GeekiestShow. We'd like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Artwork for this episode is by Bob Wood. Elisa can be found at https://twitter.com/senseidai

Check Your Cleaning Products

Lots of cleaning wipes on the market say they kill viruses and bacteria on contact, but what about SARS-COV-2 specifically? When they say, "on contact" what does that really mean?

Here are some examples and how you can check your own products online.
Click this link to use the EPA's List N Tool: COVID-19 Disinfectants where you can type in the EPA Registration Number found on the package label of your cleaning product. It will most likely be in tiny print, so have your magnifying lens ready!

product label example

References:

About List N: Disinfectants for Coronavirus (COVID-19)
https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/about-list-n-disinfectants-coronavirus-covid-19-0

Link to PDF Infographic
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2021-04/documents/cleaning-disinfecting-one-pager.pdf

Apple Fitness Plus Review

If you're thinking about trying a new fitness program, you won't want to miss the well-rounded, multi-perspective review on episode 355 of Geekiest Show Ever! We discuss Elisa's Apple Fitness Plus experience. Listener Scott shares his thoughts, too. Melissa has a tip for redeeming Apple Gift Card codes. 

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Listener Feedback & Recommendations

Scott recommends a book called "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution - 25th Anniversary Edition"

 

Apple Gift Cards

When you've been gifted an Apple Gift Card in a digital format like an email from a friend or from a third party like the one Apple uses for its Trade-In program, follow the instructions found on Apple's Help Topic page: Redeem your Apple Gift Card. In the case of Apple's current Trade-In processor, Phobio, they email you a "PIN" which a series of numbers containing spaces. Simply copy this "PIN" to a new note in your Notes app then delete the spaces between the numbers. Copy the modified "PIN" number into the text field where you're redeeming the code and the "Redeem" button text will now be accessible.

Home Smart Home

On episode 353 of Geekiest Show Ever, we discuss how we’ve been hacking our way through this pandemic. Elisa and I discuss the merits of using the word ‘hacker’ to describe someone who does something good with technology superpowers. Here is an article written by Chris Williams of The Register that examines the etymology in depth and where it might end up in our lexicons: “So it appears some of you really don't want us to use the word 'hacker' when we really mean 'criminal''
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Terrible UI Prize Goes to Vaccine Registration Sites

COVID-19 Vaccine appointment scheduling has been frustrating to say the least, but we are finally starting to feel like we’re making some progress. Elisa has flexed her online ticket-ordering muscles and now has appointments down and underway! I finally managed to get an appointment for one family member and now I must wait my turn.

Locked Down

Hacking and scamming incidents are on the rise. It’s a sad fact of pandemic life now, but on episode 351 of Geekiest Show Ever, we’re here to tell you that you can take back some control if you know what to look out for and how to implement best practices. We will give it to you straight because we believe that online security should be a regular part of our overall well-being. It’s why we so frequently discuss security issues and using password managers. Tune in to hear us share our field experience for ways to help your loved ones become safer in our digitally connected world.

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🗒 Complete show notes are here: https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse351-locked-down/

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
⏯Audio file is here: http://www.mymac.com/podcast/GSE/GSE351.mp3 🎧

🦉Follow us for even more helpful information: 

 https://twitter.com/geekiestshow

This Means Something

Did you ever have one of those flashbacks where you think you remember something that happened, but then you're no longer sure if it really happened or not? I have this memory from Kindergarten and now I'm not sure if it actually happened or if it's just a dream I remember. Either way, it's a super cute story even if it's not true.

Mrs. Trowbridge's Kindergarten class, 1979

I was wearing one of my favorite shirts. My hair was in two long pigtail braids. My shirt had a print on it that resembled lined notebook paper. Printed on the shirt was a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Trowbridge asked me to volunteer in the front of the class and we proceeded to follow the instructions on my shirt, put the ingredients together, and then bake cookies for the whole class. I was a human recipe book. I remember feeling very special that day, like I was a big helper. I think it was a lesson about following instructions — something very important for kids to do.

I don't know if this happened or not, but I have been able to recall this story for some time. It's the kind of story I'll probably still know how to tell when I have dementia. So, to whoever my future handlers are, I'm sorry if I tell you this story over and over, but please have fun with it and bake some cookies for yourself!

Muddy Waters

I drove in the RAIN today! I can't remember the last time I did that. The reason for leaving the house was to see my neurologist today. I can't wait to get more answers soon.

When I got home, Keagan greeted me like a little gentleman and said, "Your umbrella awaits." Then he escorted me through the back gate. He was so sweet and I thanked him. As I looked down, I noticed he was barefoot and his feet were caked in mud. He cracks me up because he LOVES to play in the dirt! Not that he needed an excuse to get muddy, but this was certainly one of his more creative ways of doing so.

In other news, I received the exchange parts for my AirPods Pro. They're almost perfect and I'm glad I could get replacement parts so quickly during a pandemic.

Shortcuts with Scott

Have you ever wanted a quicker or more automated way to do something with your iPhone? That would be a job for shortcuts and we found just the right geek to tell us all about them! On episode 348 of Geekiest Show Ever, Scott Willsey educates us on iOS Shortcuts: what they are, how they work, and why you might like to learn how to use them to craft your own.

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Graphic by Melissa Davis

 

Follow us for additional tips and conversation on Twitter @GeekiestShow.

Apple's Shortcuts User Guide Data Jar is an app for storing shortcuts.

Here is a link to the Reminders Backup example shortcut Scott made for us to follow along: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/158c4d1995ed4f9a9965853f8b9eb743

 

Use these settings to allow your device to work with shared shortcuts.

Learn more about Scott Willsey and check out where he podcasts over on BubbleSort Show.

Check the Apple Security Updates page to see if your Apple gear is up to date.