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photos.ALBj.net → Miscellaneous Photos → Miscellaneous 2017

Miscellaneous/random shots taken in 2017 which I did not include as part of any other set of photos.

iOS devices immediately offering a keyboard when my Apple TV is in text input mode is an Awesome Thing™
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Papa John's iOS app requires SEVEN steps to access an item in the app menu!
Due to the frequency of messages, 95% of the reason I open Papa John's iOS app is to view a message that has arrived (usually some sort of special offer). But every time requires a whopping SEVEN steps before something in the menu can be accessed! As the eight different screenshots in this image depict, here is everything you MUST to do just to get at a menu item: (1) Sign in. Touch ID was a much appreciated time-saver, but the app should be able to remember you were logged in for at least a few days, if not indefinitely. (2) Select carryout or delivery. Why force this at the beginning? It's an unnecessary step if all I want to do is look at messages or check my rewards points. Don't ask this until after I've filled a cart with a planned order. Better yet, how about a simply toggle that STAYS on one or the other so I never have to choose, considering I essentially always order carryout. (3) Determine my location. I get that this one may be necessary, but why not an option to always detect so I can skip this screen as well? (4) Choose a store. For the love of Pete, I order from the same store pretty much always. Let me define a default store and skip this step! (5) Splash screen. This isn't even the main menu and is a completely superfluous step. "View local specials" and "Order from our menu" are the same thing. "Repeat past order" and promo code entry could both be at the top of the actual order/menu screen. (6) Still not quite there yet. Access to housekeeping items is still two taps away. (7) The app menu, at last! Here's where I can FINALLY get to the message inbox, rewards, etc. (8) Finally, the inbox. Exhausting journey. Dear Papa John's, PLEASE take a clue from other restaurant apps such as Taco Bell and streamline this process.

Seeking a gadget bag to hold my iPad Air 2 plus these items
I'll happily accept advice on a gadget bag that will suit my needs and not break my wallet. I've seen some Tom Bihn bags that I LOVE, but I can't justify the price. Looking for alternatives. All the items in this photo (plus my iPad) fit in my current bag, but it's crammed full with no organization. Some comments on the contents: Yes, my rarely used checks are in a Vera Bradley cover. My old vinyl cover wore out and my wife put them in this case, and I've never had an excuse to change it. And yes, I do carry a SIM tray opener tool from a long-ago iPhone model since Apple doesn't bundle them any more. Two sets of earbuds? Yep, one with the 3.5mm jack and one with the Lightning jack for my iPhone 7. Yes, I'm redundant enough to carry the 3.5mm earbuds plus the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter. And yes, I still carry a Lightning adapter for old 30-pin Dock accessories. Why carry the bulky add-on cable for the charger brick? It actually has less to do with grounding and more to do with lengthening the charge cable as I often need to do. Last comment is to identify the gray square at the bottom as a little pouch holding multicolor sticky note pads.

Crane kick pose
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Happy kids wrapping up a fun afternoon at the beach
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Just three minutes to cook a Blaze Pizza
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My brother-in-law has this crazy notion that Apple, Inc. is getting into the cosmetics business
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It's *only* $500! Can't I have one?
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Subterfuge remote control
One of the amusements at Disney Springs is the Strolling Piano—a pianist/singer who sits at her piano on a roving platform. Another employee controls its movement, and I found him—with a sneaky RC device disguised as a Super Big Gulp-type cup!

Grandpa was teaching Maddox how to catch the football
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Godzilla vs. the Sandcastles—Mason happily volunteered to knock them down when it was time to leave
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This is the Strolling Piano I mentioned yesterday with a photo of the guy I found using the disguised remote controller
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Check out who got straight A's last quarter
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Found in a small Mt. Dora bookstore—hilarious stuff inside
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Possibly the most creative thing I've ever seen done with a fork
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Proud of this girl—second chair flute at Volusia All-County Music Festival
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Dear Criminal Minds producers: that is NOT Tampa
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Seeing these on Wawa gas pumps makes me very happy
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Chillin’ (literally) with the penguins
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Rockin’ with the sea lions
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Well I didn't plan to sit front and center at tonight's Prophecy Encounter program by Doug Batchelor, but somehow, here I am
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Depart from me, foul liquid that pricketh my skin—nevermore shalt thou come unto my presence
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Big flock of gobblers in my neighborhood
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Final result of a craft/prop project for a Vacation Bible School event
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Wow—more than 100,000 steps this week!
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Visiting Peach World on the way home from S.C. was, shall we say, an experience
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107° heat index on April 2‽ Good gravy train!!!
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So, a funny thing just happened…
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…and now for the reveal
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I was surprised today to see Calvary Orlando refurbished with brand new multicolor seats, replacing the pews
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Third Annual Myers’ House Easter Egg Hunt
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Always a treat to come here
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1,370 pieces printed, collated, stuffed, and stamped in 40 minutes—1.75 seconds per piece: not bad!
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What is this miracle product that keeps your food off dirty grill bars but can still leave dark grill lines?
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"Please do not bend" — (there was literally nothing but this piece of paper in the envelope!)
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I know you guys think this is funny—looking like a turban—but would you please let me have the rest of the blanket?
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It's time for another exciting chapter of "Can Lee publish this month's podcast before the end of the month?"
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32 bits
This is my list of apps on my phone that are going to die when I update to iOS 11. Yes, the vast majority of them are old junk that I played around with, never used much, and/or forgot about. Those, in addition to some that are useful but I've found other means of accomplishing the task, are marked with a red X. The remainder, with a green question mark, I'm genuinely mildly distraught over the likelihood of losing: HopeChannel. I use this to stream content to my Apple TV. Not only does it need to be updated for iOS, but I'm itching for tvOS support. Scorekeeper. This is a very handy tool for group games. Wits&Wagers. Sadly I think this game has been abandoned. The developer doesn't list it on their site any more. It was loads of fun, and I enjoy the physical board game when I have the opportunity to play. ANN. This is one of a few apps I may not really use much, but still hope the developer updates. You Don't Know Jack. This game is SO much fun. It would be very much missed. Convert. A wonderful conversion tool I hope isn't permanently neglected. Word Lens. A fabulous Augmented Reality translator. Declaration. Strangely, the app for the US Constitution is good for iOS 11, but not the Declaration of Independence. Google Earth. Far better at 3D views than either Google or Apple Maps, in spite of being terribly out of date. AutoStitch. This one has two ?? next to it because it's the one I'll miss the most. I use this app all the time and I cannot find a suitable replacement. Yes, it generally produces far better results than Apple's baked-in panorama tool. Astronut. A really fun little game made by a company owned by an acquaintance of mine. Sadly, it probably won't be updated. Related: the company sold off another app, Ramp Champ, which broke years ago, and in spite of promises to the contrary, the new owner *never* did a thing with it. Super 8. This app was released in conjunction with the movie and makes a great simulation of Super 8mm style film recordings. Fix-it. Companion game to the Wreck-It-Ralph movie that I seriously doubt Disney cares enough about to update. NAD. Like ANN, another app from my church denomination that I don't actually use much, but I'd hate to see it die. WhatTheFont. I'm on the fence with this one. It was a promising app to identify fonts out in the wild, but it never really worked well.

Hey pastors—ever accidentally drop your wireless mic transmitter pack while standing in the baptistry?
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Say whaaaaaat‽
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Lunch with the family
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Happy Birthday, USA!
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I guess I'll always know when I spent a week of vacation climbing up and down to and from a 4th floor condo
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The Facebook profile cloning phenomenon takes on a whole new level of scam when a deceased person's profile is used
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Meeting Terry Benedict
Enjoyed a fabulous workshop day with special guest Terry Benedict, producer of Hacksaw Ridge and producer/director of The Conscientious Objector.

Prepping my iced tea, I asked Meg to "hand me some yellow stuff" and this is what she gave me
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Parent orientation for our new high school freshman—wait, what? We have a freshman‽
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Still wish you'd traveled to a region of totality?
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That feeling when iOS Pedometer app adds achievements, and most of them are already unlocked due to past activity
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Big double achievement day #AppleWatch
Totally stoked that I not only reached a 200-day consecutive streak of meeting my 500-calorie daily move goal, but also today earned the badge for reaching my move goal a total of 500 (nonconsecutive) times!

I'm not quite sure how a metal box with no electronic parts can be "out of order"
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iPad on a monopod—that's a new one for me
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Moving day
I have officially transferred to a new department now that Communication has been deprecated. I'll tell more in a blog post next week. For now, I'm sharing a farewell image of my previous office and a glimpse at the early stages of setting up my new workspace.