Thanks For Asking! -- 04/01/24

No AMA thread this month.














Of course there's an AMA thread this month. It's April Fools' Day, duh.

Ask me anything in the comment thread below this post. I'll answer in, or linked from, comments.

 

Thanks For Asking! -- 03/01/24

Yay! It's the first of the month! Let's make this AMA thing happen!

• Ask me anything (yeah, anything) in the comment thread below this post
• I'll answer in comments or somewhere linked from comments

Hit it.

Thanks For Asking! -- 02/01/24

You've got questions.

The good news: I've got answers.

The bad news: They won't necessarily be the answers you think you want. I may be incorrect, and it could get weird.

But hey, ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread below this post, and I'll answer you there or linked from there.

Thanks For Asking! -- 01/01/24

New year, same old drill ... you ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread below this post, I answer in (or linked from) the comment thread. Hopefully you're having a great 2024 already!

A Bonus Thanks for Asking! Answer to a Question That Wasn't Asked in a Thanks for Asking! Thread

Somewhere -- and now I can't find it, so perhaps it was in a dream -- reader Thane Eichenauer (who recently had a scooter stolen) asked me what anti-theft measures I take vis a vis my 50cc scooter.

Thanks for asking, Thane!

I haven't had a lot of occasion to consider anti-theft measures, as the only time I've parked the scooter away from home has been for brief runs into stores to pay for a buck or so in gas.

The "on-bike" anti-theft devices are, so far as I can tell, two:

1. The theoretical need for a key to activate the ignition (I doubt this is much trouble to get around); and
2. A "steering lock" that holds the front wheel in a single position so that the scooter can't be scared (I also doubt this is much trouble to get around).

I live in a low-crime area, I park the scooter near my front door ( a motion-activated porch light would come on if anyone walked up to it in the night), and I don't leave the key in the ignition.

I've been thinking about additional measures, such as running a bicycle cable lock through the front wheel and around into the passenger compartment (or around a tree, bicycle parking rack, etc.), or a bicycle "U" lock through the rear wheel, possible also around some other part of the bike.

Of course it's small and only weight 200 pounds or so, so a determined thief could just throw it in a truck, haul it off, and deal with locks at his leisure unless those locks actually connected the scooter to some more permanently placed object.

One reason I've so extensively decorated the bike is to deter theft. There are a bazillion scooters in Gainesville, and I figure a thief cruising store parking lots, etc. for one to steal will tend to go with the most anonymous-looking models instead of something that will stand out on surveillance video of his truck driving down the road later. If the police cared, which seems unlikely.

It's a conundrum. More so when and if I can get the damn thing running.

Thanks For Asking! -- 12/01/23

The song does not remain the same from month to month, but the theme does -- ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread below this post, and I'll answer (either in, or linked from, comments). Have at!

Thanks For Asking! -- 11/01/23

Questions? Ask!  It's that time of month -- ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread below this post, and I'll answer in (or linked from) comments.

Thanks For Asking! -- 10/01/23

1. You Ask (in comments).
2. I Answer (in, or linked from, comments).
3. Any Questions? See Above.

 

Thanks For Asking! -- 08/01/23

Ask (in comments)!

I'll answer (in, or linked from, comments)!

Thanks For Asking! -- 07/01/23

The routine:

1. Ask me anything (in the comments thread below this post); and
2. I'll answer (either in the comments thread, or linked to from the comments thread; but
3. First, a music video.

Thanks For Asking! -- 06/01/23

I stopped smoking a month ago yesterday and I'm still pretty crabby about it. But ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread below this post, and I'll try not to bite your head off when I answer (in comments, or linked from comments)!

Thanks For Asking! -- 05/01/23

AMA thread time! Ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comments below this post, and I'll answer there (or elsewhere linked from there).

Thanks For Asking! -- 04/01/23

Yep, it's monthly AMA time! Ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread below this post, and I'll answer (in the comments, or linked to from the comments). In addition to questions feel free to share any delicious rumors you've heard lately.

Thanks For Asking! -- 03/01/23

Wow ... I just completely missed a month! Sorry about that. My brother's death in late January discombobulated me for some time and left me running on defective auto-pilot in some respects.

But Thanks For Asking! is back. Ask me anything -- yes, anything -- in the comments below this post, and I'll answer somewhere (in the comments, in a blog post linked from the comments, maybe on a podcast, who knows)?

Thanks For Asking! -- 01/01/23

On last month's Thanks For Asking! Podcast, I mentioned the possibility that I'd be dropping the podcast.

That possibility is now the reality. I don't feel like continuing it, and the evidence says not very many people feel like listening to it.

But that doesn't mean there won't be a monthly AMA thread!

Ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread for this post, and I'll answer (in comments or, linked, elsewhere).

KN@PPSTER -- Thanks For Asking!: The Final (Podcast) Chapter?

The latest AMA episode is up at Callin here (yes, that means "click the graphic"):

Should be up at Apple Podcasts and Spotify within 24 hours or so if you prefer those venues.

It may (I haven't really decided yet) be the final episode.

Why?

Well, it's not getting very many listens or much participation. I can talk to myself all day long without using a computer, phone, or application. It's talking to you that requires those things.

If I knock off the AMA podcast, I'll probably still try some other stuff out with Callin. Maybe a very periodic interview show? Who knows? It's a cool service with really good support. I like it.

And I'm planning at least four more episodes of The KN@PP Stir Podcast, at my convenience, so I at least get up to a prime number of episodes, because reasons. Those will likely appear at the Soundcloud channel where I've always done them (episode 145 is there now -- episodes 144 are available at archive.org thanks to Joel Schlosberg).

I'm also looking at one or two services where (as with Soundcloud) I can record audio at my leisure and upload it rather than doing things live, and some other live possibilities (e.g. Zoom).

I'll never possess the talent or voice quality of the late, great Jeff Riggenbach, but I'm considering one or more "limited series" podcasts where I produce, say, five episodes on a subject, issue, historical period, or whatever that interests me and might interest you.

Another possibility that I'm both itching to do and dreading doing is "getting regular" with a (weekly, maybe?) "Tom rants about some news cycle thing that's on his mind" show not entirely unlike The KN@PP Stir Podcast at its kinda sorta "height."

Hell, maybe I'll just do TikToks of myself falling off skateboards or something.

The possibilities are endless. I just need to find myself excited/obsessed with some particular thing for long enough to get started.

What do you think I should work on audio or video wise? Let me know in comments.

Thanks For Asking! -- 11/28/22

December's AMA podcast is scheduled for noon on Friday, December 2 here. It's a call-in show on, um, Callin, so you can ask me anything (yes, anything) live at the time or pose your questions in the comment thread below this post and I'll answer them in comments, "on the air" Friday, or elsewhere (linked from comments).

I await your questions.

KN@PPSTER: Thanks For Asking! Podcast, 11/04/22

Here it is (on Callin -- you can wait a day or three for it to show up on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you prefer).

My headset mic sounds way to hot on this episode. Sorry about that. In the future, I may switch to my good mic w/pop filter.

Content: I cover the questions from the month's Thanks For Asking! thread, with the most emphasis being on the Arizona race for US Senate.

Thanks For Asking! -- 10/31/22

It's AMA time! This is the Monday before the first Friday of the November, so ask me anything (yes, anything) in the comment thread and I'll answer there, on this Friday's podcast (11am Eastern), both, or elsewhere and linked to from comments. The podcast is on Callin, so you can also, you know, call in.

Podcast Reminder

Update, 12:30pmish: And the podcast is up at https://callin.com/link/lbAZqhbNsd. It should be available at Apple Podcasts and Spotify within 24-48 hours for those who prefer a different source.

This month's episode of KN@PPSTER: Thanks For Asking! happens live today on Callin at 11am Eastern.

• Here's the link to listen live (or afterward)
• Here's the monthly Thanks For Asking! thread to get any last-minute questions in (if you prefer not to call in live to ask)

"See" you in a couple of hours!