Posted By RichC on December 13, 2018
While this article (PDF version) may not necessarily garner front page news, it is something I wanted to read and archive because it was researched and published by my nephew Aaron Howard. Well done.
The consequences of altered flowering dates due to climate change can be severe, especially for plants that rely on coordinated flower and pollinator emergence for reproduction. The plant Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) relies on pollinators for movement of its pollen and evidence suggests that it has recently been declining. Given these factors and this plant’s importance as a host species for the declining Danaus plexippus (Monarch Butterfly), it is critical to determine if its flowering is being modified by climate change …
Source: Asclepias Syriaca (Common Milkweed) flowering date shift in response to climate change | Scientific Reports
Category: Education, Misc, Science |
Comments Off on Archive: Asclepias Syriaca (Common Milkweed) flowering date shift in response to climate change | Scientific Reports
Tags: aaron howard, biology, climate change, nature, pdf, publication
Posted By RichC on December 13, 2018
The design of the storage lid and latch on my2010 BMW X5 35d SUV leave a lot to be desired and now that I have new NON-run flat tires, I’m actually using the space under the rear deck for the temporary tire … so it was time to fix the deck lid latch.
The plastic mechanism in general seems to be over-designed and far more complicated than necessary. Unfortunately the plastic material choice that clamshells together and snaps together to lift and lock the rather heavy lid is a weak point. It has been broken since I’ve owned the vehicle, but still sort of snaps back together with broken tabs. The screws which are tapped into the bottom half of the plastic clamshell is a definite weak point.
My first thought was epoxy, but knew it would not hold up to regular pulling on the handle. Eventually I removed all the broken ‘guts’ of the plastic locking mechanism and snipped off the worthless pieces. I then drilled and countersunk 2 holes under the spring loaded handle and added two 3/4" long #8 screws with washers and nuts on the back (or underside). The washer and nuts slipped nicely into the openings and countersunk screw head sit flush under the spring loaded handle. Once the clamshell mechanism is snapped back into the fitted position (little nubs in the lid keep it aligned), the screw can be tightened down to keep the clamshell latch from pulling apart when the handle is grabbed and deck lid lifted. All that is missing is the "silly" plastic latch that locks the storage area with the almost never used BMW key (hidden in the key fob).
Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, How-To |
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Tags: area, BMW, How-To, key, latch, plastic, repari, spare, storage, SUV, tire, x5 35d
Posted By RichC on December 12, 2018
The final piece of converting our 2010 BMW X5 35d from run-flat tires to normal tires is now complete … a temporary spare. Unfortunately, I’ve lost much of my "under the rear floor" storage area (below), but have the security knowing that I have a spare tire and the tools to change it.
The only glitch in buying a secondhand, but unused, temporary tire on Ebay is that it didn’t come with the "under floor filler foam, jack and tools" in order to change the tire. Not a problem, I have an extra 17mm 1/2" deep well impact socket and my old Craftsman ratchet … plus my handy-dandy small tool box fits perfectly in the spare tire (along with my 2" hitch). The jack on the other hand did not fit … so I made something work with my first steel floor jack from the 1970s! It is heavy, but somewhat smaller than even the scissor jack that I bought at Harbor Freight. It took a little fiddling, but without the plastic carrying handle, the floor jack slides into the drivers rear side well … barely!
Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Photos, Shopping, Tools |
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Tags: BMW, donut, floor jack, run-flat, spare, storage, SUV, temporary, tire, tools, x5 35d
Posted By RichC on December 11, 2018
Who doesn’t fall for the “treasures” found in the hardware store discount bins? I’m always looking for a “good buy” when I’m walking through the hardware store … and such was the case in seeing this outdoor LED floodlight.
The twin incandescent floodlights that were on the back of the pool house garage for security have long disappeared … but I continue to think about mounting some kind of light back in the open box. Preferably I was planning to install another motion-sensitive light … but since the fixture is up so high, the off the shelf sensors don’t seem to work correctly (it is 20′ feet up). I’ve pondered rigging up a Raspberry Pi to do the sensing and switching, but since LEDs draw so little power, just leaving them on all night as a deterrent might be inexpensive insurance (we really need another Tootsie!)
Anyway, I picked up this new (with missing parts) LED spot/flood for $5 and it should work well. I had a photo-sensor and so decided to add it for dusk-til-dawn operation … probably pennies a week in electrical usage? Unfortunately the aluminum housing was completely filled with the LED circuit board and the only place to add the one I already had was to cut away some of the internal casting and carefully epoxy the photo-eye in place so it will be watertight (it isn’t the first LED that needed an epoxy fix and probably won’t be the last). So far it works… next warm day I’ll get the ladder out to mount it.
EDIT: Put the new LED light up since the ladder was out for Christmas decor. Nice.
Category: Energy, Misc, Photos, Raspberry Pi, Shopping, Tidbits |
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Tags: budget, cheap, dawn, discount, dusk, floodlight, led, lighting, photo-sensor, pool house, security, spotlight
Posted By RichC on December 10, 2018
This content is restricted.
Category: Memories, Music |
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Tags: canadian, carefree, gordon lightfoot, highway, mp3, Music, music monday, musicmonday, singer, songwriter
Posted By RichC on December 9, 2018
One fluorescent fixture at a time … that’s how I’ve been updating the old tubes in two and four light panels to LEDs. Unfortunately I’m ending up with a mish-mash of inexpensive and unfortunately questionable quality LED strips assembled into plastic tubes. 
Advice: stick to name brand and big box store lights – ie. Phillips, etc.
The recent six LED tubes I replaced this past month started when I removed the fluorescent fixture in the laundry room. Against my plan, Brenda picked out a new LED track light just as I ordered two 4-foot LED replacements on eBay for $7.50 each. We at least found common ground and compromised on a white 3 fixture white track light, to go along with the LED workspace light. The white will blend in to the ceiling once it is patched and repainted. It is hard to believe it has been exactly 2 years since we added the stacking LG washer and dryer. Wow, time flies. Hopefully there will be enough light?
I ended up with another old ceiling fixture for the workshop or garage, and removed the ballast and rewired as usual (always opt for the single end power G13s). At the same time I had already ordered a box of 4 tubes on Amazon to add to my now portable four tube panel light — can move it to the garage when working on a car or painting where brighter light is helpful.
Surprisingly, the 18W 2400 lumen LEDs on eBay were better made and less expensive than the Viribright tube lights on Amazon.com — see failed tube below.
Category: Energy, Hobby, How-To, Tidbits |
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Tags: convert, efficiency, energy, florescent, laundry, led, lights, tubes, workshop
Posted By RichC on December 8, 2018
Read up a little bit more on upholstery last weekend while in Florida while thinking about a couple possible projects. I’m not sure about tackling something as big as a couch and loveseat (slideshow below), but perhaps a couple chair pillows and condo dining room chair cushions are do-able? My projects in the past have been limited to boat curtains, outdoor cushions and Sunbrella covers … or minor sewing repairs.
Nevertheless, opted to take some photos/measurements and will get Brenda to give me opinions on fabric and colors — my preference is something that normally would be used on a sailboat (also as a primer just in case I decide to tackle recovering Encore‘s cushions).
Category: Archive, Hobby, Ideas, Photos, Sailing |
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Tags: boat, condo1718, cushions, encore, florida, sailboat, sailrite, sewing, slideshow, upholstery
Posted By RichC on December 7, 2018
A couple years ago I added Simple Slideshow Manager to MyDesultoryBlog as a way to include a series of photos in a single post. Having “attempted” different approaches that fail in one OS, Browser or device before the above plugin seemed to work … that is, until it didn’t. Having posted to the forums, trying different fixes and griping about using 3rd party services, the conclusion was that the developer chose not to continue to support the plugin as WordPress evolved — in other words, it no longer worked with updated versions, or in my case the switch to forced https encryption (note your URL above).
After a client 
wanted me to “pick” a slideshow plugin for him, I decided it was time to find another one. I started the conversion process on my blog as a test last week and I’ve opted to use Master Slider … so far so good. All previous embedded slideshow on my blog have been updated as of today … see “How Hot Was Your Baby Name” from January 2, 2017 — reusing the slideshow as a demo below.
[See reference POST — although MasterSlider is no longer working]
Category: Advice, Blogs, Computer, Technology, Tidbits |
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Tags: blog, jquery, master, plugin, programing, slideshow, tech friday, techfriday, wordpress
Posted By RichC on December 6, 2018
The set of run flat tires on the 2010 BMW X5 35d were pushed about a long as I dare … since even my “risk tolerate” son said, “Dad, you really need to get those tires replaced before the snow.” 
He is right of course since I lecture him about “good tires being cheap insurance.”
So a couple days ago the window between trips was enough that I could order them on Walmart.com and have them shipped to the one local store that has the correct lift for my car (strange the closes Walmart does not?) Anyway, they came in sooner than expected so I had them mounted this afternoon – it was still a long wait.
As for my old tires, I have not been overly pleased with the ride quality run-flat tires, as their stiff sidewalk made for rougher than luxury SUV highway travel, although their handling has been great. The final straw when replacing was that run-flats are significantly more expensive than normal tires … EXCEPT that I still need a temporary spare now (ordered an unused one on eBay for $200 plus $40 shipping).
(more…)
Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Shopping |
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Tags: BMW, diesel, maintenance, rating, strada, SUV, tires, vercelli, walmart, winter, x5 35d
Posted By RichC on December 5, 2018
My son Taylor has been putting off replacing the rear window seal on his 2008 BMW 528i for too long but before the snow starts again decided to come over after work to put it in. It was surprising that this task was easier than expected, considering just how much I dislike fiddling around with squeezing in rubber gaskets. Thankfully the internet tip of using a little silicone spray was hinted at as it made the entire installation go so much easier than any other window seal I’ve ever tackled.
Project two:
We tried to figure out why his 6-cylinder engine is hunting for idle when cold and the easy suggestion was to either replace or clean the Variable Timing Solenoids … even though I suspect it is something else? We pulled both and cleaned them up (they looked clean and without any gunk — well lubricated) and installed them again. 
Taylor will have to see how the car starts when it is cold tomorrow … but also said it has been starting harder than usual. He now has 180,000 miles on the car and likely is due for a Ignition Coil Kit. He really needs to put in on a computer to diagnose.
All in all, it was a great night in the garage with my son … and trip to Skyline Chili when done.
Also … archiving a photo from him with his girlfriend Megan last weekend in Columbus — Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo!
Category: Archive, Automotive, BMW, Personal, Photos, Tidbits |
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Tags: 528i, BMW, family, megan, rear, repair, seal, silicone, skyline, solenoid, spray, taylor, variable timing, window, xdrive
