(Some of) Rural America Dislikes Trump Too

Rural Americans posting on social media in six swing states are getting through the coronavirus pandemic with humor, clear-headedness and, surprisingly, by dissing Donald Trump, according to a rural-focused Democratic organization.
from The Daily Yonder

I’ve been saying for years that there are a lot more progressives, and progressive blends, in rural America than many city-dwellers think. I’m pretty far to the left, yet I have guns, spend much of my time in the woods, and hunt and fish. There are a lot of others out here with similar views, and combinations thereof.

There are a lot of Republicans and conservatives, as well. But not a ton of obvious Trump supporters. Sadly, the ranch one over from mine has a giant Trump flag on constant display. I cannot imagine why anyone would do that, other than as a giant middle finger to those of us who value everything Trump is not (logical, mature, Presidential, coherent, that sort of thing). I suspect they’d say it’s because he’s some combination of Republican, conservative, and Christian. He’s none of the above, but whatever.

But that’s sort of the exception. I see a smattering of Trump signs on fences and in yards, but not all that many.

Rural America is a complex place. We don’t all see things the same way, and we aren’t all glued to Fox News.

Thank goodness.

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BlueJeans Blues

In a classic example of trying to strike while the iron is hot, the business unit of Verizon is acquiring BlueJeans. If you’re not familiar, BlueJeans is a video conferencing app like Zoom.
via Engadget

More: Verizon, WSJ

My firm uses BlueJeans as its default video conferencing tool. At first, I really didn’t like it. I found it unreliable and non-intuitive. I still don’t like the user experience, but it seems more reliable, at a time where I’m sure its traffic has skyrocketed. Still seems to me like chasing another train that already left the station, but time will tell.

I’m a Verizon wireless customer (much better reception at the farm and surrounding areas), so maybe there will be some beneficial integration, though at the moment I can’t imagine what that would be.

For more tech news and Kent’s real-time reading list, follow him at Twitter.

Better Screenshots on Your Mac

Of course, you could also just hit Command + Shift + 5 in macOS Mojave or later to pull up its screenshot app, which gives you plenty of options for customizing what you’re taking a picture of, where the resulting file will save, and whether you’d like to enable a timer or not.

More: Customize Your Mac Screenshots With These Hotkeys

I use Command + Shift + 4 multiple times a day. But, somehow, until the other day I did not know about this screenshot app. Very handy!

For more tech news and Kent’s real-time reading list, follow him at Twitter.

Diary of a COVID-19 Patient

We missed each other’s company, though, so I threw caution to the wind, washed my hands, and invited Will to wash his hands and lie on the bed with me, as far from my body as possible, to listen to a recording of the 1977 Cornell Grateful Dead show while watching the sunset from our bedroom window. I kept it together until Jerry, in “Morning Dew,” sang, “Where have all the people gone, my honey? Where have all the people gone today?”

Diary of a COVID-19 Patient, The Atlantic

For more tech news and Kent’s reading list, follow him at Twitter.