Waiting for the UPS guy again

I have a whole bunch of peripheral devices connected to my desktop computer with USB plugs – so many that I need a couple of USB hubs to keep everything hooked up.

But I’ve discovered over the years that USB connections can be iffy and some ports on hubs can go dead for no apparent reason. Or they can go wonky, like the one that lives on my keyboard tray that stops talking to my wireless mouse dongle when I plug in my iPhone to sync it.

It happened once too often earlier this week, so I poked around on Amazon.com and found this seven-port USB hub that has excellent reviews and only costs $17.95 (shipping is free since I have Amazon Prime).

The UPS tracking site says it’s out for delivery, so I’m sitting at my desk and waiting for the big brown truck to show up.

The UPS guy is a familiar face around here since we make lots of online purchases.

He was here yesterday, delivering a Canon Office Products MAXIFY MB2320 Wireless Home Office Inkjet Printer with Scanner, Copier and Fax that the Amazon Vine Program sent me to use and review.

It’s still in the box, sitting on the upstairs office floor while I try to figure out where to put it.

I’m probably going to have to drag an old printer stand up from the garage, which means shuffling stuff sitting on it around a bit.

It’s cold (53°F) and blustery today and the air is full of falling, flying leaves.

Maria went off to work without her iPhone this morning. She decided she needed it about 8:30 a.m., which gave me a chance to see how the Gerbings heated jacket liner and German Polizei jacket work in seriously brisk weather.

They work very well.

I ranged from toasty warm to maybe a little too warm. My gauntleted Olympia Kevlar gloves were a different story, but once I put my glove liners on under them, my hands were reasonably comfortable. I had the heated handgrips and heated seat on and off and remain convinced that heated handgrips are of very little value. Ditto the heated seat.

They seem like nice amenities, but they only put warmth in the palms of your hands and the seat of your pants. When you’re riding in cold weather, your attention is naturally drawn to the coldest, most uncomfortable places on your body and the grips and seat can’t overcome that.

I have a pair of heated gloves that plug into the sleeves of the jacket liner, but they’re so bulky and clunky that I save them for the most severe conditions when I’m riding long distances on the interstate.