Desert Musings

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

ooRexx (Open Object Rexx) REXX interpreter

"Object REXX is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, object-oriented (class-based) programming language. Today it is generally referred to as ooRexx (short for Open Object Rexx), which is the maintained and direct open-source software successor to Object REXX.

It is a follow-on and a significant extension of the Rexx programming language (called here classic Rexx), retaining all the features and syntax while adding full object-oriented programming (OOP) abilities and other new enhancements. Following its classic Rexx influence, ooRexx is designed to be easy to learn, use, and maintain."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_REXX

Open Object Rexx (ooRexx): the home for the products & projects associated with ooRexx:

https://www.oorexx.org/index.rsp

https://www.oorexx.org/downloads.rsp

https://sourceforge.net/projects/oorexx/files/

https://www.oorexx.org/docs/index.rsp

Learning the REXX Language (may very significantly from ooRexx - need to check):

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/3.2.0?topic=guide-learning-rexx-language

Open Object Rexx Tutorial: https://rexxinfo.org/tutorials/articles/oorexx_tutorial_by_hf.pdf

Haiku (operating system)

^{This OS has been suggested as a good fit for older laptops ...}

Haiku, originally OpenBeOS, is a free and open-source operating system for personal computers. It is a community-driven continuation of BeOS and aims to be binary-compatible with it, but is largely a reimplementation with the exception of certain components like the Deskbar.^[7] The Haiku project began in 2001, supported by the nonprofit Haiku Inc., and the operating system remains in beta.^[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku_(operating_system)

https://www.haiku-os.org/

https://www.haiku-os.org/about/

https://www.haiku-os.org/get-haiku/ <<==== Downloads

It looks like this is still an active project as of 2026 for x86 32-bit and 64-bit platforms:

https://github.com/haiku/haiku

DIY Battery Charging Station for Power Tools

A couple of different designs - try ideas from each:

https://www.anikasdiylife.com/diy-battery-charging-station/

This version includes mounting methods for a variety of chargers:

https://fieldtreasuredesigns.com/diy-battery-charging-station/

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Remington Model 1890 - Wikipedia

Originals come in 44.40 only:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_1890

“The Uberti 1890 revolvers are reproductions (but not exact copies) of the famous old Remington revolver, but chambered for more modern smokeless powder cartridges as the .357 Magnum …”

Thursday, August 27, 2026

PowerToys Window Hopper: single key jump between browser tabs & more

https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/powertoys-window-hopper-is-a-must-have-feature-for-windows-11-especially-if-you-live-within-your-browser

"... Window Hopper - a feature that's basically Alt + Tab but for switching between instances of a specific app.

You can activate Window Hopper by pressing Alt + backtick (that's the ` in the upper-left corner of your keyboard). Holding Alt and pressing backtick again cycles you through any open windows of the same app you're already in."

"Window Hopper works with any app that can have multiple windows open, including File Explorer.

I use separate browser windows for research, writing, Airtable, and Slack. I often have to snap these side-by-side or group them together. But being able to cycle between just the browser windows through a keyboard shortcut changes my workflow."

GitHub (this release): https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases/tag/v0.101.2362.0
"PowerToys 0.101 introduces Window Hopper for quickly moving between windows from the same app, a redesigned update experience with Stable and Insider channels, and compact mode for Command Palette." Explore other features here also.

PowerToys releases: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases