I purchased the Canon imageCLASS MF743Cdw in 2020 just before the pandemic. I purchased the print because at the office we had a Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5535i. The imageRUNNER scanned well, worked with Windows 10, Windows 11, Mac, and all our mobile devices. Scan to email never failed, and it was easy to manage through the web interface. I really liked this printer and I figured the imageCLASS MF743Cdw would work just as well. It worked almost as expected.
My home network is setup for DHCP, and I set the printer with a static IP address and made the reservation in the router. The MF743 is connected by a wired ethernet cable. The MF743 works great when the Mac can see the printer. However, when the printer reboots due to a power outage or maintenance, the printer add extra characters to it’s name and the Mac can find it. I think I found the answer on a Canon community post.
In the IPv4 Settings, turn off all the DHCP options and enter a specific name for the printer in DNS settings and mDNS Settings. I also used the updated Canon driver instead of Airprint.
So far, I’ve restarted the printer several times and I can print and scan with no issues. I do not have to remove and add the printer when the printer reboots. I still have a problem with printing from mobile devices when he printer is in power save mode. Someone has to tap the screen to wake up the printer and then it is listed under the available devices.
I like having the iCloud Drive on my MacOS dock. I do this for my personal and work accounts. Below are the steps to add the icon to your dock and your desktop
Open the Mac Finder and select Go and then select Go to Folder
Enter the follow path and press return /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Applications/
Drag the icon iCloud Drive application to your Dock or Desktop
I dragged the icon next to the Finder icon on the Dock.
I work in the IT department for a great company. I like working for them even on the rough days. Rough days can be brutal. However, this is not a post about the rough days. I was able to attend a Face to Face meeting at Omni Amelia Island Resort in sunny Florida. Fantastic! I get to leave the cold dreary winter in Wilmington, Delaware and fly to sunny and warm Jacksonville, Florida. I wore a light winter jacket for my trip and brought a sweatshirt, but I didn’t think I was going to wear that. Well I was wrong.
The night temperature dropped to the low 30’s and only one day did it reach 70 degrees for lunch. My margarita on Monday night did not melt while sitting outside near the beach. I had to move close to the fire pit. The constant wind shift kept me from staying too warm. On Tuesday I needed a light jacket for a walk during lunch around the grounds. I will admit, the weather was still better at Amelia Island than Wilmington.
Like many, I gained some weight for COVID and I’ve been trying to lose the weight. Any weight I lost was put back on during that week in Florida. The food and service was amazing. Lots of unique snacks prepared by a professional chef and staff. There are so many things to do at the resort. I want to go back with my family for a week of relaxation.
Heading to FloridaThe fire pit that kept me warm Monday eveningMoon riseMoon rise a little laterTuesday at 5:42 AM. Time to get ready for workSunrise while having breakfastSunset at Walker’s LandingEnjoying a walk during lunch near the conference centerHanging out on the beach for a team building exercise
The flight down and back went off with almost no problems. I slept on the flight down and watched See on Apple TV Season 2, episode 1 coming back to Philadelphia. And landing in Philadelphia is where my problems started. Why do I have to wait almost an hour for my checked bag to be dropped off at baggage claim? I’ve never had this problem at any other airport. Are all my return flights in the middle of a shift change?
At the start of the pandemic I was fortunate enough to keep my job and work from home full time. I have an Apple HomePod in my office for background music. I programmed different genre of music for each day of the week and several days I change the music from Apple albums and play lists to radio stations through iHeart radio. I’m back in the office three days a week. I miss the music. Wearing headphones for eights a day is not good choice. I purchased a blue HomePod mini for the office.
I was not too impressed with the HomePod mini at any of the stores. The environment was always too loud and people seem to beat the crap out of demo devices. I took a chance and the sound quality is good for a small speaker. I keep the volume at 26%. Nobody sits near me so I don’t have to deal with people asking me to turn down the music. The sound quality is not as good or loud as the HomePod. This is a great speaker for an office cubical or even a small conference room.
The inside of a HomePod mini
I programmed the HomePod mini to have an alarm on my scheduled days as a reminder to pickup my daughter from school. The coolest thing I’ve done with the mini was transfer my cell phone call from Verizon Wireless while having another employee on the regular office phone for customer service.
It’s a good small speaker and it looks great in blue. Siri is kind of useless. HomeKit is nice. I have it set to start playing Classic Rock when I arrive at the office and to stop when I leave.
Wednesday, December 1, 2021, started off like any more work day. I walked into the office and connected my MacBook Pro to my Dell port replicator as I’ve done for several years. I grabbed a coffee pod and headed towards the kitchen for a cup of coffee in my second favorite mug. I went back to my desk with a granola bar started my work day and enjoyed that cup of black gold.
My mug is a dark brown color
It was a great day, and I accomplished many tasks and was ready to meet my manager for my bi-weekly meeting to discuss my current work load, what’s coming up, and for me to ask questions. All in all it was a typical day. However, just before my meeting, my day was going to get worse.
I disconnected my MacBook Pro and headed into the conference room. I brought my second cup of coffee, sat down and waited for my manager. I opened the lid of my MacBook and there is was, a dead screen. No response from the mouse or the keyboard. Just a rainbow of color and missing rows of pixels. Nothing I could do but a hard shutdown. The computer to the same problem again. This was not going to be a good day.
After the meeting (which I had my notes on my phone and as reference), I went back to my desk and connected the computer to my port replicator. Success!! The computer was functional, but only in this state. It appears I have a bad video ribbon cable. I texted my wife the sad news, and she asked how much will it cost for repairs. That will need to be a call for Friday when I have time for Apple Technical Support.
I called Apple technical Support and they tried to connect to my computer with no success. I was amazed they were able to connect to my iPhone so I could show them the issue. Now the computer looks worse.
I was not in the market for a new computer. I was planning to purchase a new computer in 2023 after more testing and compatibility issues were worked out with the M1 chip. This new MacBook Pro M1 Pro is incredibly fast! I am very pleased with the purchase. I have installed almost all of my applications and my data was retained in Microsoft OneDrive and iCloud.com.
Something I didn’t think about when I made the purchase was my virtual computers I have in Parallels. The virtual computers were setup for an Intel based system and will not work on an ARM based chipset. So my Windows 11 Pro is now a Windows 11 Pro Arm based preview, which is good until Sep 2023. My Windows 10 Pro virtual computer I use for work is not available.
I do not have buyer’s remorse for my purchase. This is a great computer and I got some money for my 2017 MacBook Pro. Once I have the virtual machines resolved, I ca go back to my MacBook full time instead of the work provided computer.
About a week ago I purchased a Satechi Slim X1 Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard for my home office. You can connect unto three Bluetooth devices to the X1 keyboard. Press and hold the fn key with one of the Bluetooth keys to program. I set the Bluetooth connections to match my Logitech MX Anywhere 2 mouse. Switching between the three connections is quick by pressing the fn key with the corresponding Bluetooth key. You can also connect the USB-C cable to the keyboard and computer and press fn Eject to switch to a wired connection.
You can adjust the back light of the keyboard by pressing the F5 to turn down the brightness and F6 will increase the brightness. The back light is nice, but I only used it twice, once when I pressed the keys and then for the pictures for this post. The light does bleed out from the keys.
One key that I was missing is the Mission Control on Apple Magic Keyboard (F4). The F4 key is now mapped to a task switcher. I checked the settings and found pressing ctrl and the up arrow ^↑ will activate Mission Control.
Satechi states it will take about 2 – 3 hours to charge the keyboard. Depending on the brightness of the back light keys, you can get anywhere from 8 hours to 125 hours and 13 days of standby time.
This is my favorite keyboard. I have it programmed to connect to my Lenovo T480 work computer, my MacBook Pro, and my 2020 iPad Air. It is comfortable for my ergonomic needs, responsive keys and switching between devices, and looks great. Plus the color is very close to the Space grey on my MacBook Pro.
I have an Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and needed to use this keyboard with my Windows 10 work computer. The keyboard works well with Windows 10 except for the numeric keypad. Pressing the keys will display anything on the screen.
What to do?
Just press the Clear key and start using the numeric keypad. Windows will remember the numeric keypad after a reboot.
I’ve earned the January Challenges for Apple Watch.
I’ve messed up my Achilles tendon several time over the last several months and all I’ve been doing was sitting around, watching TV, making poor food choices and late night snacking. The new clothes I purchased after the weight loss in 2018 and 2019 no longer fit. I had a complete lack of energy with everything, and it was getting me down.
So I’m making a commitment to eating right and exercise. In 12 days I’ve noticed my blood-pressure is lower and I have more energy. Today I went on a 2.25 mile outdoor walk and enjoyed the 68 degree day.
Tonight I have a craving for a late night snack and to watch TV. They say it takes 21 days to develop a new habit, I think it will take me longer. So I have a couple of goals that I want to make this year:
Score a perfect month in February on my Apple Watch for Move, Exercise, and Stand
My goal for this summer is to go on the 185 mile bike ride with my Boy Scout Troop on the C&O Canal. The scouts had a great time a few years ago on that trip and I think that would be a fantastic week.
On December 28, 2019, I purchased an iPhone 11 in black with 64GB storage. My old iPhone 6S battery would not last a day on a charge, and I’ve had the battery replaced twice.
Since the purchase, I’ve used Screen Mirroring to AirPlay to the Samsung Series 7 TV at work during lunch to watch Monk on Amazon Prime. Today Siri made the suggestion to continue watching Monk when I was getting ready for lunch. Just pressed the link on the screen and it started playing without having to unlock the phone.
Should I be concerned that Siri knows my routine after a week?
After my super awesome trip with the Boy Scouts on our High Adventure trip, I started to become lazy. It didn’t happen right away. I noticed my exercise calories started to drop in mid-November.
Not happy that I hurt myself in November.
It was during Thanksgiving weekend, November 23rd at my parents house, that I hurt
my Achilles tendon after working out on their elliptical. I didn’t stretch properly and their elliptical machine was not as sturdy as mine. So I had to stay off my foot for a few days. The pain was unbearable at times. I couldn’t sleep and wondered how long will the pain last. It took close to a week before I could head out to do anything, and a few weeks to get back to a comfortable walking pace. So I cut back on my exercise routine. Didn’t cut back on my food. I started to pick up my old habits again and didn’t care.
I started to get back into my exercise routine. Too bad I found that I am lacking in the drive to get in better shape. My blood pressure went up a little and so did my weight. I do a half-ass job on the elliptical and then grab a snack shortly afterwards. I stopped walking during lunch, stopped taking the stairs, and started to eat muffins and “fancy pastries” for breakfast.
The company I’m contracted to for IT support is going through some changes, and it is for the better. I’m being challenged on several levels and it’s great, except for the stress at times. Inoticed I’ve been stress eating at work or late at night. The company sent me on a business trip to inventory IT equipment and provide support to the employees, and when it was complete I drove to the Outer Banks to stop at a brewery to pickup some beer for a buddy and me. I purchased 4 cases of beer (2 of which were for me).
All the new clothes I purchased are a little snug, and I’m not happy about it. Take a few pictures standing next to a 360 degree camera, and you will see how good or bad you look.
It took a few extra days, but I reached the 365 days Move Goal.
I continue to walk on Tuesday nights while my daughter is at religious education, and I hike on some Saturdays at Carousel Park. That’s not enough, I need to get back on track!
My new goal is to see a change in my attitude towards exercise by the end of April. I need to learn (again) not to give in to my old eating habits. Go back to yogurt and granola for breakfast. Continue to eat salads for lunch, and stop having seconds at dinner. Skip beer during the week and only have one or two on Saturdays.
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