Chromebook Part 3: A Case of Ports and musings on USB-C

 So far, most of the challenges I've faced in getting this Chromebook set up and stable have revolved around software but there's also a hardware issue that needs addressing; specifically, a lack of ports. The laptop has a total of five ports: two USB-C ports, one standard USB port, a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack. This poses a couple of problems in that I use full size SD cards in my digital cameras and the single standard USB port is taken up by the receiver for wireless mouse that was included with the Chromebook. Meanwhile, one USB-C port is taken up by the charger. I have to say it is a nice touch to have the USB-C ports on opposite sides of the laptop so one has a choice of which side gets the charger cable.

The immediate solution for the latter issue was solved easily and cheaply with a USB-C to USB-A (female) adapter, which allows USB-A accessories, mainly flash drives, to be connected to the second USB port. Heck, I've even got an old SD card reader that I can plug into the adapter but that starts to get a bit ungainly. suggesting perhaps a more comprehensive solution is required. 

The Dell (Windows 10) notebook I use at work has a USB-C docking station connected to it that packs every conceivable port one might need into one brick, including several USB 3.0 ports, as well VGA and HDMI video ports. And since it connects to the laptop via USB-C, it can even act as a charger. The IT tech who set it up apparently did not recognize the latter capability because he initially connected the docking station to one of several USB-A ports on the laptop, using an adapter that was permanently attached to the cable. I changed it over to the USB-C port but it wasn't until I got this Chromebook that it dawned on me that it could also charge the laptop.

Such a device would be total overkill for my needs with this Chromebook, plus it would impede portability because it requires an external power supply, but it got me thinking. It turns out there are also smaller--and less expensive--USB-C hubs that offer functionality more in line with my needs and budget. Right now, I have my eye on one that has three USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot for about $12 on eBay potentially solving all of my port dilemmas in one fell swoop. 

The Future is USB-C

Although USB-C was first popularized by newer Android phones and tablets that in recent years have shed the annoyingly asymetrical micro USB charging ports in favor of USB-C, it's has been Apple's adoption of USB-C chargers on recent MacBook models that has popularized USB hubs as a must-have accessory. Nearly all the eBay ads I saw prominently mentioned MacBook compatibility but few, if any mention USB-C-equipped Chromebooks or Windows devices. This is similar to the way USB itself was quietly introduced on Windows PCs in the mid-'90s and languished unused until Apple adopted the standard for the original iMac in 1998, doing away with all other ports in the process. Peripheral manufacturers at that point quickly glommed onto it as a universal standard to make devices universally compatible with both Windows and Mac OS computers. 

There is apparently a move afoot in the European Union to standardize all new phones and tablets to USB-C in order to reduce e-waste. The idea being that chargers would be sold separately could reuse an existing charger with a new device and only purchase a new one if needed. 

I've recently read a couple of articles, perhaps by the same author, suggesting that since Apple has fitted recent MacBooks with USB-C they should abandon the Lightning connector on iPhones and iPads in favor of USB-C to create a universal charging standard across all of its product lines. At the same time, many users have also been clamoring for a return of the very clever MagSafe charger port to the MacBook line. This magnetically secured charger design has saved countless MacBooks, including my own, from damage and destruction by easily breaking away from the computer. 

I would propose that it need not be an either/or proposition. It would be a very easy solution to add the benefits of MagSafe to the budding universality of USB-C via a MagSafe dongle. This could be accomplished in one of two ways. One would be to restore the MagSafe charging port to MacBooks, perhaps in addition to USB-C ports, and offer a dongle with a male MagSafe connector at one end and a female USB-C connector at the other. The second solution would be to offer a dongle with a female MagSafe connector on one end and a Male USB-C connector on the other.  This solution would offer the advantages of MagSafe not only to MacBook users but to users of almost any device that uses USB-C for charging. While Apple is not in the habit of making its own device interfaces universal, this idea does have some real possibilities. 

Chromebook Part Too: The LInux Apps

After my recent lengthy post on setting up Linux on my Chromebook, I thought it might be good to take a look at what Linux apps I have installed on my Chromebook and why. While I initially found the ready availability of Android apps on my new Chromebook to be welcome advancement and a huge step in the right direction, most are too limited in scope and functionality for my needs, as are most Web apps. For that reason, the availability of familiar Linux software titles makes my Chromebook seem much more usable. All of these titles are free and most are also available for Windows and Mac OS.

Gnome Software Center--Consider this the missing puzzle piece to make the experience of setting up Linux apps on your Chromebook much less painful. You have to install it from the Terminal's command line but once it's in place, most other titles you would want are available with point-n-click convenience, much like Google's Play Store or the Apple App Store. It should be noted that some titles in the store are outdated versions and depending upon your needs, you may be better off enduring the Terminal to install the latest version. The folks at Chrome OS would do well to include a dedicated software center with Crostini once the Linux experience graduates from Beta.

LibreOffice--This is the main reason I opened up a can of Linux on my Chromebook in the first place. The Web and Android versions of MS Office and their G-Suite (Google) equivalents are more than a little lacking for my tastes. I have used LibreOffice and its predecessor, OpenOffice, for about 20 years and find it contains all I need in an office productivity suite to do. LibreOffice comes preinstalled on most Linux distributions and is also available for Mac OS and Windows. It should be noted that the Gnome Software Center offers an obsolete version of LibreOffice (6.1.x), which reached its end-of-life two years ago (May 2019) so you'll definitely be better off downloading this one from the command line. Chrome Unboxed has an excellent how-to article to walk you through the process but the install scripts point to version 6.4.x so you'll need to modify them to point to the present version (7.1.2 as of this writing).

Thunderbird--This email client has long been my go-to outside of Mac OS, where I prefer Apple Mail. Having it in my Linux container means I can easily open attached files in LibreOffice or follow a Web Link in Firefox. Chrome cannot communicate with apps in the Linux container in the same way. Curiously, Thunderbird is not present in the Gnome Software Center's repository so it must be acquired via the Terminal with the command 'sudo apt install thunderbird'.

Firefox ESR--It may seem odd to want an alternative Web browser when Google Chrome is built into Chrome OS but as with Thunderbird, it's handy to have a Web browser residing inside the Linux container where it can interact with other Linux apps in a way that Chrome cannot. The 'ESR' designation stands for 'Extended Support Release'. Available from the Gnome Software Center, it is a slightly older but more stable version of the browser. It may not have all the latest features but you are spared having to restart every so often to install the latest version. 

GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program)--It functions like Photoshop without the annual subscription and also has some limited page layout capabilities. There are also versions available for Windows and Mac OS as well. This one is easy to install either from the Gnome Software Center or from the Terminal (sudo apt install gimp)

Scribus--A page layout application similar to MS Publisher or Adobe InDesign, it is not quite as user friendly as its commercial counterparts but it's not bad and the price is right. The version included in Gnome Software Center is the latest stable release and finally includes an assortment of templates for common projects like Fliers, brochures, booklets and business cards but it lacks one for a CD jewel case insert. It's not hard to create one, though. Like GIMP, there are also versions available for Windows and Mac OS as well. The easiest way to install this one is from the Gnome Software Center

AisleRiot Solitaire and Gnu Mahjongg--While these don't exactly qualify as must-have titles, they're fun, simple games for when you feel like wasting a little time on the computer. AisleRiot includes a multitude of different solitaire card games and Mahjongg (I have no idea why it's misspelled with two g's) is a simple puzzle game in which the object is to clear the board by clicking matching tiles. Both are easily installed from the Gnome Software Center.

The above titles adequately flesh out my software needs on the Chromebook and mirror most of the titles I have installed on my ancient Linux laptop. Unlike Android apps and Web apps, which have individual icons in the Chrome OS Launcher, icons for Linux apps are housed together under a single 'Linux Apps' icon, appears to open a folder containing icons for each app. For a more seamless experience, you can 'pin' the icons of your most frequently used apps to the Shelf at the bottom of your screen, much like the Windows System Tray or the Dock in Mac OS. 

I realize some hard-core Chromebook fans may think installing Linux apps somehow runs counter to the whole idea of maximized simplicity, which is central to the Chrome OS ethos but it does provide much-needed functionality that Web- and Android apps cannot quite match, at least for this old-school user.

UPDATE (5/6/21)--Late last week, my Linux environment crashed as I was using it and none of the Linux apps would launch. I was very busy, so I just set the Chromebook aside and used my MacBook Pro for 'mission-critical' work until I had the time, energy and inclination to resurrect it. The only solution I could come up with was to delete the Linux environment and start over. Having been through this before, I decided I needed a shortcut so as I installed each component, I also copied the installation scripts to a Google Docs file (see appendix below) so I could readily access it in the future. Just knowing what to do made the process simpler and I had all of my Linux apps restored in about an hour, including creating the 'cheat sheet' on Google Docs. I then took another hour or two on the next evening to configure and personalize Firefox and Thunderbird. I hope I don't have to go through this process again anytime soon but at least I'm becoming adept at using the Terminal.

Looking back on what happened, the crash occurred when Chrome OS attempted to install a minor system update. I'm thinking that it might have included an update to the Linux environment that couldn't be properly installed since it was in use at the time. As evidence that the update affected the Linux environment, my Linux apps' icons are now out on the Launcher instead of under the "Linux Apps" icon, which now only contains icons for library files I wouldn't need to launch directly. Of course, the latest experience also points out that the Linux environment still has a way to go before it is ready for 'prime time'.  Nonetheless, I still believe the addition of Linux apps is an important growth path for Chrome OS as it continues to increase in mainstream acceptance as evidenced by its tripling of market share in the past year to surpass my beloved Mac OS as the number two computer platform behind Windows. Ironically, this trend also sets Chrome OS on the path to become a dominant player in the desktop Linux market.

APPENDIX

Crostini Rebuild Scripts

The scripts below, implemented one at a time  in the sequence below, will quickly set up basic Linux applications under Crostini on a Chromebook with Linux Development Environment implemented.

Update System

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

Install CUPS (printer support)

sudo apt install cups

sudo apt install system-config-printer

xhost +

sudo system-config-printer

Install Thunderbird1

sudo apt install thunderbird

Install Latest LibreOffice2

sudo apt remove libreoffice (if an older LO is already Installed, then download latest LibreOffice from libreoffice.org)

sudo tar -xf LibreOffice_7.1.2_Linux_x86-64_deb.tar.gz
(update version number, if necessary)
cd LibreOffice_7.1.2.2_Linux_x86-64_deb
cd DEBS
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Install Gnome Software Center (easy access to additional Linux apps)
sudo apt-get install gnome-software gnome-packagekit
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

1Thunderbird is not included in the Gnome Software Center.
2The version of LibreOffice included in the Gnome Software Center is grossly outdated.

The Future of Chrome is Linux

 For some odd reason, the concept of a Chromebook has always intrigued me. It's sort of the ultimate expression of the power of a modern Web browser that it could essentially function as an operating system. The fact that Chrome OS has not only survived but thrived and grown in the decade since its introduction is proof that this concept is viable and that it is filling an important niche. Of course, it hasn't been without its growing pains.

If you look at online reviews of almost any Chromebook model, you will inevitably find negative reviews by people who purchased one and then were disappointed when they couldn't install Windows apps like MS Office on them. While those individuals arguably had unrealistic expectations because they did not fully understand what they were buying, the truth is they do function as advertised and are priced accordingly.

When I first acquired an outdated Samsung Chromebook a few years ago just to see what all the fuss was about, I at once marveled at its simplicity and chafed against its limitations. When I received a notification about a year ago that it had reached the end of its allotted period of updates--and as far as Google and Samsung were concerned, the end of its useful life--I figured my Chromebook journey was effectively at an end. But then, in a rather sizable impulse purchase, at least for me, I recently bought an HP Chromebook from Costco and was amazed to find how much had changed. 

For starters, the Chrome Web browser was now supplemented with Android apps, easily installed via the included Google Play store. I could have access to other apps in addition to Google Chrome, albeit stripped down versions, designed primarily for phones and tablets. Some are more optimized for laptop use than others, but it's a step in the right direction.

The greatest revelation came about a week after I acquired my Chromebook, when I came across an article the Web, describing how to install Linux apps on a Chromebook. Running Linux apps on a Chromebook is a logical extension of functionality, given that Chrome OS, like Android, is built upon the Linux kernel. I thought this was a brilliant idea as it would allow me to run LibreOffice on my Chromebook, which would be a huge step toward remedying what I considered to be one of Chromebooks' major limitations in functionality.

The Road to Linux.

Linux functionality turned out to be a bit of a hidden feature, clearly marked as a 'beta' under developer tools, but I've dabbled in Linux for more than a decade and had a passing familiarity with its command line terminal, which can be fundamental to installing and administering most things Linux. I also knew that once I had things set up and running, the terminal would not be part of my daily workflow on the Chromebook. The Linux apps would run pretty much just like one would expect them to in Windows or Mac OS. The pain, in other words, would be temporary.

With that, I decided to activate the Linux developer environment and install a modest collection of Linux apps--LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Gimp and AisleRiot Solitaire. Activation was the easy part. The more challenging part was installing applications from the command line and configuring my printers. Fortunately, I had found a Website, chromeunboxed.com, which included a wealth of tutorials on how to do exactly what I needed to accomplish. In most cases, the tutorials included the exact lines of script I needed to put into the terminal, which I could do via copy and paste, which is almost as easy as point-and-click. Of course, sometimes I had to modify a script because the article in which it appeared was old enough that the current version number of the software had changed. 

Two lessons I had to learn the hard way were to start off by updating and upgrading (two separate functions) my Linux to the newest versions of the software I wanted to install as installing older versions can cause what is known in the Linux universe as dependency errors as an application being installed looks for newer versions of libraries than exist on the computer. I also found that it works better to install printer support (CUPS) prior to installing applications.

It only took me three tries over the course of five days to get everything up and running like it should. The first two tries ended in frustration with me invoking the 'nuclear' option of completely deleting my Linux environment and starting over. But now that it is all up and working, I am enjoying this Chromebook much more than my earlier one. I don't see it replacing my MacBook Pro, but it is certainly a viable alternative for many routine tasks. I actually set myself a challenge a few days ago to use the Chromebook exclusively for a day making note of the times when I felt I needed my MacBook Pro in order to complete a particular task. Thankfully, those moments were surprisingly few.

Installation options

While I chose to run my Linux apps from within Chrome OS, using a container environment called Crostini, there are other options that involve installing a complete Linux desktop operating system such as Ubuntu. There is even one designed especially for Chromebook hardware called Gallium.

One can choose to install and run Linux as a virtual machine, which allows both Linux and Chrome OS to run simultaneously and gives the user the option to toggle between them with a set of keystrokes. This puts greater demands on system resources but arguably achieves greater convenience.

Alternately, one can set up a dual-boot configuration where one chooses which operating system to use when starting up the computer. This is less resource intensive but is also less convenient in that switching from one operating system to the other involves restarting the computer.

The final option (figuratively as well as literally) is to completely erase Chrome OS and replace it with a Linux distribution. This is the most destructive option in that it removes the possibility of easily moving between Chrome OS and Linux but it does give Linux 100 percent of available system resources; thus it might be a viable alternative for extending the useful life of older hardware that has passed its allotted period for receiving Chrome OS updates. 

Hope for the Future

While the availability of Linux apps on a Chromebook is a major leap forward, its implementation is still in its infancy and definitely not ready for prime time for most users, as indicated by its 'beta' status. In the future, I would like to see Crostini or some successor active by default with something similar to the Google Play store installed to would allow users to easily install software in a more familiar manner with a few clicks of a mouse or track pad instead of typing commands in a terminal window. 

Most major desktop Linux distributions have such software libraries now and there are even a couple that purport to work with Crostini. As an experiment, I installed the KDE Discover library and was more than a little disappointed. Apps installed from it were often outdated versions and for the most part were not installed properly. Some apps would only launch from within Discover and others would not launch at all. 

The technology exists for making the installation and management of Linux apps on a Chromebook just as easy as it is for Android apps from the Play store. It's just up to Google to put the pieces together for a relatively seamless user experience, which should also include making CUPS an active component of Crostini by default. 

Final Thoughts

 Chrome OS, like Mac OS, was conceived largely as a closed system with Google controlling most aspects of the user experience but it has matured to the point that adding access to third party Linux apps is the logical direction for it to grow as not everyone is going to be content with a Web browser as a sole application. 

There is already speculation that Google is in the process of separating the Chrome browser from Chrome OS so that the browser would pick up updates on the same schedule as the Chrome browser does in other operating systems. Doing so would also allow Chrome OS to evolve into one of the most user friendly Desktop Linux distributions by virtue of tighter integration with purpose-built Chromebook and Chromebox hardware. 

All in all, I would say the future is filled with possibilities...

 

UPDATE: 26 April 2021:

The need for an easy-to-use Linux software store for Chromebooks has continued to tickle at my consciousness since I published the above post. Last night, I thought to give the KDE Plasma-Discover store a second look but then came across the GNOME Software Center and decided to give it a try instead. I am happy to report that instead of the previous days-long debacle, installing this software store took only about 20 minutes and after restarting of my Chromebook a couple of times, everything is copacetic--with me and with the computer. And just because I could, I installed a couple more Linux apps, including Scribus, a page layout application similar to Adobe InDesign or M$ Publisher and a Mahjong solitaire game, just to make sure things were working okay. Unlike Discover, everything installed flawlessly and with just a few mouse clicks. 

One annoyance is that both installers pull from the same Debian repositories so some of the apps I looked at were the same outdated versions. LibreOffice 6.1? Seriously? According to the LibreOffice Release Plan Web page, that version reached 'End of Life' on 29 May 2019! The newest version on the LibreOffice Web site is 7.1, which I had already installed from the command line. It wasn't the easiest task ever but it was definitely a worthwhile exercise.

An application I found inexplicably absent from the list was the Thunderbird email client. Fortunately, that one was easy to grab via the command line: Type in 'sudo apt install thunderbird' and follow the prompts.

This entire exercise with Linux apps on a Chromebook points out one inescapable fact. If Google wants the Linux apps to be a viable part of the Chromebook experience, Crostini absolutely must include a dedicated point-n-click software center by the time it graduates from Beta. The average user will not be as obsessed as I was and will follow the paths of least resistance to settle for Android apps at the first sign of difficulty.

I have read suggestions that such a function should be integrated with the existing Google Web Store but whether that happens or Google adopts or even re-brands a third-party store such as the Gnome Software Center, it needs to be present by default and pointed to repository of up-to-date apps. Anything less would be less than viable, in my opinion. Not that that counts for anything at Google, but still...

Quest for the Left Handed Butter Knife

It sounds like one of those gag items from a scavenger hunt list but I've really been looking for one of these for many years. I am left handed and butter knives are virtually useless to me and thus a perennial pet peeve. If you don't understand what I'm on about here, open your silverware drawer and pull out your butter knife—if you have one, many sets don't include them anymore—and hold it in your left hand go through the motions of slicing off and lifting a pat of butter. Awkward, isn't it?

The problem is that butter knives have two common design features that make them virtually unusable with the left hand—the blade is asymmetrical and for some inexplicable reason, is offset from the handle. To use such a knife with the left hand, one must cut and lift a pat of butter on the back of the blade. Eliminating either one of these two design elements, losing the offset or making the blade symmetrical, would make a butter knife usable with either hand. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to heat a butter knife up with a propane torch and flatten it out in a vice.

While some silverware patterns made in the mid-20th century do offer butter knives with symmetrical blades, today, I found another alternative I previously did not know existed. It's called a twisted handle butter knife. In this configuration, the blade and handle are set perpendicular to each other. The handles of some of these knives are actually twisted; that is, they are cast flat, with no offset, and then the nexus point between the handle and blade is heated and twisted 90 degrees before the knife is plated with silver (See illustration above). Others are actually cast with a perpendicular blade. Either way, this design is equally accessible—or awkward, depending upon your point of view—for both right- or left-handed users.

Perhaps most interesting of all is the fact that these twisted handle butter knives are not a new innovation but actually an older design that appears to have come and gone long before accommodating left-handers was given much thought. It seems the twisted handle was introduced in the mid-1800s and fell out of favor by 1920, a time in history when left-handers were actively discouraged from being, well, left-handed. I have to wonder if mass production techniques had a hand in that shift.

The use of elaborate, formal settings of flatware with numerous different specialized utensils such as consommé spoons and oyster and pickle forks, came into fashion with the genteel sensibilities of Victorian era. These formal sets of flatware included both a master butter knife used to take a portion of butter and place it on one's bread plate as well as smaller individual butter spreaders at each place setting that would be used to butter one's bread. The logic of this arrangement was that it would avoid contamination of the communal butter. The twisted handle butter knives would fall into the 'master' category, as would the offset butter knives we know today.

Like most Americans in the 21st century, I buy my butter in tubs and spread it with a table knife but I did acquire the twisted-handle butter knife pictured above and when I first tried it on a stick of butter I found that it took a little bit of getting used to but it was in no way awkward--or at least significantly less awkward than trying to use a conventional right-handed butter knife in my left hand. Interestingly, when a right-handed friend tried my new butter knife, she found it awkward to use in either hand. Be that as it may, I'm glad to have a butter knife that I can actually use.

Anybody Remember Big John's?

Big John's Beans 'N Fixin's. I used to love them when I was a kid. They were my favorite baked beans with a uniquely tangy flavor. Their gimmick was they didn't come in a can; they came in two, taped together: a regular sized can of beans and a smaller can of sauce, the aforementioned fixin's in the name. To prepare this delectable side dish, one had only to open and combine the contents of both cans, simmer the mixture until warm and you felt like you'd made a secret recipe. On store shelves, the double cans made quite the visual statement as they literally towered above the competition, perhaps convincing consumers they were getting something bigger or something extra, the secret ingredient, if you will. But it wasn't all hype. They really were great beans.

Parent company Hunt's pulled out all the stops when they brought out Big John's in the early '70s with TV ads and newspaper coupons, even an official ceramic Big John's bean crock you could order as a promotional premium. Don't laugh, they're collectible kitsch now and command serious prices. Don't believe me? Just do an eBay search and see for yourself. They even briefly sought to expand the line with a companion product, Big John's Chili 'N Beef Dinner, also packaged in the same two-can configuration. The chili product went by the wayside fairly quickly but the beans stuck around for years, even without the support of an ad campaign.

Unfortunately for us Big John's fans, Hunt's pulled the plug on them in the early 2000s and they are no longer to be found on store shelves. I don't really know why Big John's vanished into grocery history but my best guess is the cost of packaging became excessive. The last few years they were around, I would sometimes get a taste for them and allow myself not to be put off by the price, which was nearly twice that of competing products. But sometimes that amazing flavor was just worth the price. In retrospect, I wonder why they didn't just combine the beans and fixin's in a single can.

I have tried numerous other products, trying to find something that would come close. For a brief time, I found a store brand product at Food Lion, a local grocery chain in the Carolinas and neighboring states that came mighty close, albeit in a single can. It was Carolina barbecue beans and had a very similar tangy flavor profile but alas, those too seem to have vanished from store shelves.

Yes, Big John's Beans 'N Fixin's still has something of a cult following, enough so that culinary craftspeople with far more time and expertise than I have created copycat versions intended to duplicate—or at least approximate—their flavor. I haven't tried any of them yet but I'm fixin' to make some (get the pun there?).

As they said in Fried Green Tomatoes, "The secret's in the sauce" and in most of those recipes, the sauce in question is Hunt's Manwich sloppy Joe sauce, which makes logical sense because both products are from the same parent company. Using an existing product as the basis for another is common practice throughout the manufacturing world. Of course, the copycat recipes are a little more involved than just dumping some Manwich sauce into your beans.

For your enjoyment, I have included links to two Big John's copycat recipes below. The first is one of many calling for 'Manwich' sauce as a prime ingredient. The author says that in retrospect, he should have taken the recipe a step further and also come up with a copycat recipe for the Manwich sauce as well. The second recipe actually takes this approach and offers a more authentically 'from scratch' concoction. In reading the two, I don't see one as being any more complicated than the other, so try them both and see what you think. I know I will.

Update: 4 July 2020
Fourth of July is as good an excuse as any to try a new 'all-American' recipe, so I went for the Manwich recipe above. The only problem was the store didn't have any Manwich sauce on the shelf so I went for the DelMonte Sloppy Joe Sauce as a substitute because it was on sale and actually a few cents cheaper than the store brand. I made the sauce yesterday and let it sit in the fridge overnight, then combined it with the beans and cooked them about three hours in the Crock Pot. The result was not exactly what I remember Big John's tasting like but it was pretty amazing, nonetheless and the best baked beans I've had in years. The secret is definitely in the sauce.

Another Update: 15 April 2021
I have continued to make the above recipe over the past few months but with much shorter prep time. These days, I'll just throw the ingredients in the pot 20 or 30 minutes before I'm ready to eat them and that short period of simmering seems to work just fine and is almost as convenient as opening the two Big John's cans. I've tried several different brands of sloppy Joe sauce. The differences are subtle but the Manwich sauce is definitely closer to the Big John's flavor as I remember it. Delmonte is a good fallback for when Manwich is out of stock but the store brand sauces, while acceptable, just seem to lack that special 'zing'. It's worth the few pennies' difference for the real deal. Just sayin'.

Update: 10 June 2026
After  rereading this post, I realized I've made a few tweaks to the recipe in the last five years, so I've decided to post my own version of this recipe below:

Ingredients

• One can (28 oz,) of pork and beans (any brand). You want to use pork and beans instead of baked beans because they have less seasoning--and less sugar--out of the can. 
• half a can of sloppy joe sauce (Manwich is preferred but any brand will do). Use one-third of a can if you're using a 15 oz. can of beans and adjust other ingredients to taste.
• One tablespoon of dehydrated onions
• 1/4 cup of pre-cooked bacon crumbles
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard 

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low heat 10-15 minutes or until warm. Turn off heat and let sit until the onion flakes are reconstituted. Reheat if necessary, but avoid scorching.

What I realized over time is the recipes I had linked in the original post are too sweet for my taste. The most effective way to increase the tanginess was to decrease the sugar, so I stuck with basic pork and beans and eliminated any brown sugar or molasses. It's a classic case of less is more. Besides, I honestly believe the original little can of fixin's was nothing more than straight Manwich sauce. I now routinely keep all of the necessary ingredients on hand, so these have become my go-to for baked beans. 

Middle-Age Crazy on a Budget

So I recently fell into a middle age stereotype. I bought a red convertible. It's not a musclebound Mustang, Camaro or Chevelle from the '60s or early '70s, nor is it some sleek little European number. It's a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, a mid-sized, middle-of-the-road car from the mid-'90s. As I said, it's not a muscle car, not yet an antique but something of a classic in waiting. Like most cars from the '90s, it's just beginning to become a bona fide collectible, especially as fewer and fewer of them remain on the road.

Built on GM's front wheel drive W-Body platform, which it shared with the Pontiac Gran Prix (1988-2008); Buick Regal (1988-2005), Century (1997-2005) and LaCrosse (2006-2010); Chevy Lumina (1988-1999), Monte Carlo (1997-2008) and Impala (2000-2016); and Oldsmobile Cutlass and Intrigue (1998-2002), this final iteration of the iconic Cutlass Supreme ran from 1988-1997. The convertible body style was exclusive to the Cutlass Supreme and was in regular production from 1991-1995, although it originated as an Indianapolis 500 Pace Car in 1988 with only about 50 units produced.

The '95 convertible has the distinction of being the last year model for the last convertible produced by Oldsmobile. It's also the only year the convertible was offered with the updated Cutlass Supreme interior, necessitated by the addition of a passenger side airbag.

With so many sibling vehicles using many of the same components, replacement parts are plentiful and relatively cheap. junk yards are also full of compatible donor cars, although they are getting a bit scarcer as time goes on. The one thing that's borderline 'unobtainium' is parts for the convertible top and any body or interior parts specific to the convertible.

I chose this particular car because its original paint is in very nice condition, the upholstery was in excellent shape with a couple of high-wear panels replaced on the driver's seat, the transmission had recently been rebuilt and the top had been recently replaced, a repair that would have cost almost as much as I paid for the car. It came to me with just under 120,000 miles on it, which is more than I ideally would have liked, but it's a solid enough car and not my daily driver, so it will do.

To be sure, it still needed some work. The air conditioner is non-functional, as is the anti-lock braking system. The brakes still work just fine as conventional brakes, they just don't pulse to avoid locking up if I stand up on the pedal. These things will be fixed as time and finances allow. A more recent priority was to replace the rear struts and the rear brake pads and rotors. Now, it stops safely and it doesn't ride like a buckboard anymore.

As I said, this car isn't a muscle car. At best, it's a cruiser. The 3.1 liter V6 is enough to have some fun with on a sunny day but it'll never win any races, much less do a burnout. But it's the perfect car for a little zen driving in which the journey is more important than the destination.

Driving with the top down on a country road, which fortunately are in abundance within a couple minutes of my house, is a heavenly experience and a great way to de-stress. It puts you more in touch with the surroundings without being quite as vulnerable as one would be riding a motorcycle. It's a feeling of freedom one simply cannot experience in a closed sedan. Curiously, on the occasions when I drive the convertible with the top up, I get a feeling of claustrophobia I don't get when driving my sedan. It's just a car that needs to be open to the sky.

UPDATE—With this year's social distancing due to COVID-19, the convertible provided the perfect means of escape. The combination of cheap gas, empty roads and mild weather formed a perfect convertible trifecta, satisfying my need for a change of scenery without being too close to other people.

UPDATE—Now that I've had the car almost three years, I've begun to have a few problems with it. The rebuilt transmission didn't last and had to be replaced at the end of last summer. The paint and top have also begun to deteriorate and the latter will have to be replaced, probably within the next couple of years and I still haven't done anything about the brakes or the air conditioning but driving it around on sunny days is still just as fun as ever.

iPod Mini—Better than New

Sometimes something old becomes new again. I recently resurrected my old fourth generation iPod to use in the car because I find setting my phone to stream music to be too cumbersome while driving. The iPod had sat in a drawer for a few years and was stone dead when I pulled it out. It took three days to charge and while I was waiting, I looked online to price replacement batteries—just in case.

Of course, that lead to looking at second hand iPods as well. In the process, I came across an iPod Mini that had been upgraded to be better than new. Besides replacing the original 650 mAh battery with a new 1,300 mAh unit, the 4GB micro hard drive had been replaced with a 32GB Compact Flash memory card, of the sort that used to go into high end digital cameras. The cool thing is that it's a direct fit, requiring no adapters. With a better battery and eight times the storage capacity in a solid state format to boot, this unit was truly better than new and since it was priced right, I bought it.

Being generally curious about such things, I did some online research into what it is involved in making this upgrade and found it's surprisingly easy. Just remove the two plastic end caps, a spring clip from the bottom end and two teeny-tiny screws from the top end, disconnect the click wheel control cable and the whole chassis slides right out. Replacing the drive is pretty much plug-and-play, and it doesn't hurt to put in a new battery while you're at it because iPad Minis were made in 2004 and 2005, so they're getting some age on them.

Learning how the upgrade was accomplished made me want to try my hand at it, so I bought a second Mini for about half what I paid for the first one. It was sold as being in working order, although the battery would go flat in a little over an hour. In short, it was the perfect candidate for an upgrade. After finding a replacement battery kit that included two tiny screwdrivers and a generic 32GB CF card, I was ready to proceed.

Popping off the end caps was easy. There are two competing methods on the Internet: you pry it out with the tiny flat screwdriver that comes with the battery, but you will inevitably gouge the aluminum case. The other, less damaging method is to hot glue a piece of wood (I used a tongue depressor-like 'craft stick' from from the dollar store) to the cap, then lever it out. I used this method and removed the caps with ease and without damaging the aluminum. Removing the wooden stick from the end cap was a different matter but I did accomplish it with a little patience and perseverance. Now came the truly challenging part—getting the iPod software file system set up on the newly installed CF card.

The procedure is supposed to be pretty simple. connect the iPod to a computer with iTunes and run the 'Restore' routine, then start loading on the music. File this one under 'E' for 'easier said than done'. Mine would not successfully restore for what the computer said was an 'unknown error'. After a couple of hours doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result (classic definition of insanity), I opened up the Disk Utility application on my Mac and tried to reformat the CF card at the root level. This failed, but it left things in what iTunes interpreted as a corrupted state, which was something the 'Restore' routine could handle. Finally, after nearly two hours of trying, I had the iPod restored to a usable state and better than new.

In the end, the physical upgrade took me about 40 minutes and well over an hour and a half to get it restored, and I ended up spending about $10 more on the Mini that I upgraded myself than I did on the one I bought already upgraded, but the knowledge gained and the satisfaction of making it work are priceless.

Oh, and my old iPod? the battery isn't what it once was but it's still got sufficient life left in it that I chose not to replace it at this time. I'll just let it roll for now.