ISS & FaceTime with Annalyn brightens an otherwise sour day
Posted By RichC on October 11, 2018
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Fuel prices higher this year and Hurricane Michael nears
Posted By RichC on October 10, 2018
EDIT: Updated 14:00-14:30 ET – Landfall Mexico Beach, FL with maximum sustained winds clocked at 145 mph
Previous 11:28 a.m. ET update
Hurricane Michael has been upgraded to a “potentially catastrophic” Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, the National Hurricane Center says. Data collected by NOAA and U.S. Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft show gusts up to 172 mph.
“We’ve issued our first ever Extreme Wind Warning,” the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee said in a tweet. “This means wind gusts in excess of 130 MPH are expected” over the next few hours. The agency urged people in the area to take shelter “immediately.”
We’ve been fortune that gasoline and diesel prices have remained relatively low for quite a few years now, even as the economy 
has been recovering from a deep recession.
Thanks in part due to the strong U.S. oil industry and an excess of worldwide supplies … so much for peak oil?
Credit the lower than expected demand to better efficiency and alternatives like EVs … but with the strong economy and recent political tensions tightening the embargo on trade with Iran, prices have been rising. Today’s $70/barrel oil has given way to talk of $100 again … although most energy experts disagree. Never the less, I’m regularly paying a lot more for gasoline and now higher priced diesel in the second half of 2018 than I have in a while.
As for Hurricane Michael, the category 2 hurricane is moving fast from the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is looking to barrel into the panhandle of Florida as soon as Tuesday evening. It is somewhat unusual after the slow moving Hurricane Florence earlier in 2018 and will likely impact with strong wind but move quickly inland. Sustained wind is currently 110mph and is expected to increase before landfall. Some of my favorite beaches from Pensacola to Tampa will likely suffer high winds, surge and rain. No doubt my favorite "hook of beach" known as the St. Joseph Peninsula and state park will be awash by the sea.
Practiced my first hand-cut dovetail #woodworking
Posted By RichC on October 9, 2018
One would think that will all the years that I’ve been tinkering with tools and woodworking that surely I would have made a few "hand-cut" dovetails? Nope, I’ve always used a simpler joint for hand made projects or for bigger "repeat" projects opted for a router and dovetail jig — which was handmade by me by the way (below). Still, I’ve never tried cutting pins or the dovetail by hand until last night.
Dovetails have always been something that I’ve wanted to try, but I’ve never had a small or simple enough project that made the risk worth the reward … but I’m working on something that is worth giving them a shot. It is not going to be easy since I’m working with hard maple again … and after my practice attempt, realized just how difficult getting the accuracy and detailed cuts just right is going to be. Wish me luck.
My homemade (from Woodsmith plans) dovetail jig
Set up the Wyze Cam Pan temporarily but have motion issues
Posted By RichC on October 8, 2018
The new low cost Wyze Cam Pan that I bought to put in the Delray Beach Condo arrived this past weekend and so opted to set it up temporarily at home. So far so good with the image and impressive panning control with even motion tracking (less impressive though). The reason I chose the Wyze brand was due to just how please I was with the 
inexpensive tiny block called the Wyze Cam (previous post). I’ve since move the small one home to join the Canary cameras and all do a pretty good job of monitoring for motion, sending/archiving video clips and sending alerts to my phone (BTW, the Wyze now support Alexa).
Speaking of alerts, I foolishly set the new Pan cam up above and didn’t tweak the motion setting … sure enough, the flag’s movement triggers an alert … time to adjust the motion detection setting and zone before the alerts drive me crazy today!
What kind of rodent and varmint traps do you prefer?
Posted By RichC on October 7, 2018
Each year about this time, rodents and varmints are looking at our garage and house as a place to call home when the weather cools. 
So I’m usually trying to stay ahead of them by sealing up and keeping the garage doors closed more often (challenging when the weather is so nice).
The bigger varmints are relatively easy to attract into a live cage trap where I’m faced with releasing somewhere else or trying to humanely dispose of them in a swift fashion (or just let the cats go – grin!). Smaller critters like squirrels and chipmunks are not as easy to trap, but then they have not tried to get in the house “yet.” The little ones, like mice, seem to be able to find an opening somewhere and a couple get in each year … so opted for a trap that I highly recommended called the Rat Zapper – bought it few years ago. I’ll still use the snap traps, but for the most part have been able to successfully eliminate mice with this new “better mousetrap.”
But … last week, no matter what I baited the electric zapper trap with, I was unable to attract a small mouse who boldly zipped around a few times in plain sight! So out came the snap-traps and traps I think are the least humane … the sticky trap (see video below). Sure enough, a strategically placed sticky trap batted with a Frito was the one that nabbed him.
Also while gathering older linked posts on varmints like raccoons, I remembered October 5th was our late Tootsie‘s birthday … and it made me a bit sad — miss her.
Tootsie in 2008
“A Complete National Disgrace” – Where is our nation headed?
Posted By RichC on October 6, 2018
As we watch the Brett Kavanaugh hearing play out in the political circus that has become Washington DC politics, some Americans have lost sight that there are actual people and lives at the center of these hearings. 
Senate confirmation hearings were once straight forward, and usually concluded with a vote to confirm, if the appointed candidate had the appropriate resume and reasonable career of constitutionally competent judicial decisions and opinions. In the past, the votes were often near unanimous and senators accepted that sitting presidents have the authority and duty to appoint Supreme Court Justices to the court. The Senate confirmation process was merely a safety check and functioned well throughout our history by treating each nominee with professional courtesy and followed by a protocol vote that excluded their political bias. What happened to respect and decency in government and in the U.S. Senate?
A Complete National Disgrace
The Kavanaugh hearings as American nadir.by David Brooks, a New York Times Opinion Columnist
Over the past few years, hundreds of organizations and thousands of people (myself included) have mobilized to reduce political polarization, encourage civil dialogue and heal national divisions.
The first test case for our movement was the Kavanaugh hearings. It’s clear that at least so far our work is a complete failure. Sixty-nine percent of Americans in one poll called the hearings a “national disgrace,” and the only shocking thing is that there are 31 percent who don’t agree.
What we saw in these hearings was the unvarnished tribalization of national life. At the heart of the hearings were two dueling narratives, one from Christine Blasey Ford and one from Brett Kavanaugh. These narratives were about what did or did not happen at a party 36 years ago. There was nothing particularly ideological about the narratives, nothing that touched on capitalism, immigration or any of the other great disputes of national life.
And yet reactions to the narratives have been determined almost entirely by partisan affiliation. Among the commentators I’ve seen and read, those who support Democrats embrace Blasey’s narrative and dismissed Kavanaugh’s. Those who support Republicans side with Kavanaugh’s narrative and see holes in Ford’s. I can think of few exceptions.
These hearings were also a devastating blow to intellectual humility. At the heart of this case is a mystery: What happened at that party 36 years ago? There is no corroborating evidence either way. So the crucial questions are: How do we sit with this uncertainty? How do we weigh the two contradictory testimonies? How do we measure these testimonies when all of cognitive science tells us that human beings are really bad at spotting falsehood? Should a person’s adult life be defined by something he did in high school?
Commentators and others may have acknowledged uncertainty on these questions for about 2.5 seconds, but then they took sides.
–>The Full NYTimes Opinion piece is worth reading
Tech Friday: The Amazon Echo will soon have Whisper Mode
Posted By RichC on October 5, 2018
The Amazon Echo has been a fun gadget to use and have in our home since Katelyn and Drew gave it to us for Christmas. After having our granddaughter Annalyn with us for a few days last week, I realized we don’t always have the volume set appropriately especially when she is sleeping. Hm … besides turning off the “OK” notifications when requesting a light off or something, how about getting Alexa to “whisper?”
Well, Amazon developers finally listened to users’ pleas and will be releasing a new feature called Whisper mode. Simply whisper your command to Alexa and she’ll whisper back.
Here are a few more details on CNET:
How it works
Human speech and human whispers are created differently. When humans speak, we use their vocal cords to create sound vibrations.
When we whisper, we mostly use puffs of air to make words. Because of this, the Amazon development team had to teach Alexa a new way to listen and how to respond in kind. Want to learn more about the process? They published a paper on their research and posted it as a PDF online, here.
When can I use it?
The whisper feature will be released in the United States in October. No word yet about releases in other countries, yet.
IF Elio Motors builds my car, what about trim levels?
Posted By RichC on October 4, 2018
Yes … I’m still waiting on my Elio. I can’t say that I’m confident they will ever roll off the factory assembly line, but since my deposit is likely already gone one way or the other, I’ll try to remain positive.
This week’s Momentum, the Elio Motors newsletter for customers, discussed their philosophy on “trim levels and models.” Most automotive manufacturers create a base model and several trim levels that escalate the price … often significantly.
Here’s their comment:
At Elio Motors, we plan on doing things differently. For starters, we will not offer trim levels. To keep costs down, we will produce 14 vehicles at the plant: 7 colors and 2 transmissions. From there, through our ePlus: My Elio, My Way option program, customers can pick their options a la carte, and without option packages. We believe that actually making an “option” an option, our customers will save money and be more content with their new vehicle.
More compliments for Ridgid Gen5X lithium powered tools
Posted By RichC on October 3, 2018
If you use your battery powered drills as much as I do and are suffering with something a bit older than a couple of years, it is time to check out the new lithium powered tools. I can’t tell you how pleased
I am with both my slightly older Craftsman Drill and Impact driver and new Ridgid GenX brushless tools and was embarrassed to have "tried to like" other lessor brands several years ago.
Probably the biggest reason I recently switched from the Craftsman line of hand tools is that Sears no longer made it easy for me to get something fixed … or even buy the one missing socket or broken wrench. This of course extended to their power tools that used batteries. When the price to replace an aging battery was nearly the price of a new drill on sale that included
2-batteries and a charger, that was the final straw for me. Besides … the Sears hardware stores in my area closed and few Sears department stores are around anymore – very sad.
Enter Ridgid, which are easily purchased at Home Depot. I have used their corded tools for years and now have found their 18V Gen5X tools to be excellent for the home workshop enthusiast. Priced "fair" and warrantied for life if you register (haven’t tested this just yet). One can only hope that Home Depot and Ridgid work together to grab a significant market share since most who buy decent tools for home use rarely if ever use the warranty.
Point being, don’t suffer any longer with short battery life or less than solid tools … get something better. At this point, I’m happy with the Ridgid brand (in fact, I just added the work light below to my Christmas wish list!), but also know other premium brands are making great lithium powered battery tools.
Beautiful artwork by someone with TIG talent
Posted By RichC on October 2, 2018
FYI … not my work, as I’m nowhere close to having skills like this (although it may inspire me to practice!)
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.