My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 15, 2015

Erase previous codes by pressing and holding two outside buttons for 20 s until red light flashes. Release buttons, proceed to step 1.

1. Unplug garage door opener from house current.
2. Hold garage door opener remote control 2 – 5 in from HomeLink keeping red light in view.
3. Select Homelink button you want to train.
4. Press and hold the button on the remote control and the button on the HomeLink at the same time and keep holding both buttons down. Canadian owners may have to press and release the remote unit every 2 seconds to keep the remote transmitting.
5. The red light on the HomeLink will begin flashing, slowly at first then rapidly.
6. When the red light flashes rapidly, release both buttons.
7. Plug in the garage door motor and test the the HomeLink transmitter by holding down the button you programmed. The door should operate. If it does not, then you may have a variable or rolling code garage door opener. Test this by holding the HomeLink transmitter button you just trained. If the red light blinks for two seconds then stays on, you have a rolling code garage door opener. (below)
8. Repeat the steps to train the other buttons on the HomeLink.

Rolling code system:

1. Complete steps 1-8 above first.
2. Find the 'Training Button' on the garage door opener unit. This may be on the back of the motor, or some units may allow training to be initiated from the wired remote unit in the garage itself.
3. Press and hold the training button on the garage door opener unit (or equivalent action as per the opener instructions). The light may blink or come on and stay on. You now have 30 s or so to press and hold the HomeLink button for 3-4 s (the very same button you trained above in steps 1-8) This should result in a signal of some sort from the garage door opener unit…the training light could turn off, the light on the opener could blink, etc. You may have to press the HomeLink button 3 or 4 times for the unit to recognize the HomeLink system.
4. Press the Homelink button again, the garage door system should operate.

Category: Archive, Automotive | No Comments »
Tags: door, garage, homelink, honda, opener, programming

Posted By RichC on June 14, 2015

Somebody has had a lousy day of traveling … or is it two days?

After 9 days in London, Taylor was up at 6AM UK time on Sunday to get to the airport for his flight back home. Because he had re-booked his ticket from CVG instead of leaving from Williston, ND,

he ended up with a couple of connections … usually no big deal for him (he doesn't mind traveling). Unfortunately on arrival to Reagan National in Washington DC, the afternoon thunderstorms delayed the landing and his connection flight to Cincinnati.

This is where it gets bungled by Delta. One of the flight attendants stumbled and sprained her ankle on the way to the gate so after the hour delay for weather, they delayed another 2 hours waiting for a new flight attendent. Once the new flight attendant arrived the 180 passengers reboard the plane again. Now it is 10PM (east coast time) and this is where it gets really interesting … someone at Delta now realizes the previous crew has now worked 14 hours and can't fly the DCA to CVG leg. FLIGHT CANCELLED.

So 180 tired and angry passengers head to the lightly staffed Delta counter to figure out what to do. Taylor called me at 11PM tonight (was planning to pick him up at the airport) saying that they are going to try and get 180 hotel rooms, but were having difficulty with transportation and finding enough rooms. Medallion members are frustrated too but at least are able to get through to their special phone number while others are told it will be a 2 hour wake. Taylor fortunately was reschedule for a 1:45PM flight tomorrow (thankfully doesn't start his new job on Monday!) but is really more interested in sleeping at the moment.

So far, Delta has not exibihit the professionalism and experience they “should” have as a top tier airline (4-1/2 hours before cancelling flight). It is no wonder passenger need some kind of “bill of rights.” We'll see if they “voluntarily” try to make amends with the ordinary passengers … I suspect they will do whatever they can to keep their million mile Medallion flier happy. Not sure about those of us who only fly every other month — for the record, I've pretty much written off Delta and choose Southwest every chance I get. I just might cancel my Delta Skymiles American Express card tomorrow?

Category: Aviation, Business, Travel | 2 Comments »
Tags: $DAL, airlines, Business, delay, delta, flights, management, taylor

Posted By RichC on June 14, 2015

With a sound like this, who would think the Rhinoceros was so dangerous?

The Rhinoceros has long been concerned one of the most dangerous animals in the world.
LINK

Category: Misc, Nature, Video | No Comments »
Tags: cute, dangerous, noise, rhino, rhinoceros, sound, wildlife

Posted By RichC on June 13, 2015

If you have already traveled by airplane, chances are you’ve noticed a tiny hole on the lower portion of all airplane windows

The hole is designed to balance out the pressure between the last two layers of a typical pressurized-cabin window. For more images and a more detailed explaination see the article at Interesting Engineering.

Category: Aviation, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: airplane, design, engineering, flying

Posted By RichC on June 12, 2015

Tell me that Steven Spielberg’s movie Jurassic World (opening June 12, 2015) is not going to be a well attended summer blockbuster? If the 63 million views YouTube movie trailer is any indication (below), it is exactly what the Hollywood and the movie industry plans on when coaxing people to the theaters with these kinds of movies each summer — here’s a Washington Post mixed review.

Category: Movies, Video | No Comments »
Tags: blockbuster, jurassic, movie, spielberg, theater, world

Posted By RichC on June 11, 2015

Although I still own and wear an old pair of New Balance athletic shoes, this is a reminder post to myself (posted before) to consider the New Balance brand when replacing my current Sketchers (no complains as they are great shoes too).

I liked the comments in the video (below) and article on CNBC about this American company competing in a world where giants like Nike and Adidas use lower cost overseas labor instead of employing a few more workers here at home. I’m all for “free and open trading,” but as a consumer I’d still prefer to support creating a stronger U.S. economy and keeping a few more Americans employed. I’m not sure what actors and athletes are are paid to wear the NewBalance shoes, but it is great to see them supporting the brand.

It may be a small step to buy the American product “when it is equal or better” than the import, but I’d like to see a few more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.A.

Category: Advice, Business, Shopping, Sports, Video-TV | No Comments »
Tags: athletic, cnbc, newbalance, shoes, sports, usa

Posted By RichC on June 10, 2015

This is a birthday greeting for my son Taylor and the video below may not fit the #TBT criteria as well as the one I posted for my daughter Katelyn last month, but the “original birth announcement card” above sure does (the artwork is the handiwork of his older sister).

I think a little sailboat reminiscing will make my son’s birthday special as he continues to enjoy his vacation in the UK. Taylor was pretty young when we had s/v Tulla, the "little girl" for only a couple years, so I hope he remembers sailing on her (Tulla in Swedish means "little girl").

Happy Birthday Taylor … I’m glad your career has brought you back to Cincinnati; it will be nice to see you more often.
 

Category: Archive, Personal, Recreation, Sailing, TBT, Video | No Comments »
Tags: 1996, birthday, brenda, erie, katelyn, lake, sailboat, taylor, tulla

Posted By RichC on June 9, 2015

After my son returned from living in “dusty” Williston, North Dakota for a couple of years, the Chevy Trailblazer he was using came back a bit dusty. We noticed after visiting him last year that one of the big differences from Ohio were the lack of paved roads. Thankfully, we did give some thought to the harsh winters and he didn’t take his VW GTI (it wouldn’t have made it).

Besides the dirt and dust, the 4×4 Trailblazer isn’t all that bad. I expected a few more stone chips (gravel roads) or a bit more noticeable wear and tear. Nothing out of the ordinary, although he did most of his back roads driving with the county vehicles. Since Taylor is now back driving his GTI, I’ve been cleaning up the Trailblazer for the relatively “lightweight” Ohio driving.

In order to replace the rear hatch strut mounts I needed to tighten the ball fittings which meant removing some of the plastic parts; wow … the dust made it behind them too (photo above). Once tightened snapping the small spring clip loose with a screwdriver is relatively easy. When putting the new ones back on, I added a dab of grease to the ball to reduce wear and assure smooth pivots. Another important tip is to be sure to prop up the hatch securely – below – or have someone hold it.

While fixing things, I ordered a new taillight assembly to replace a cracked one (piece of cake) and put in new headlight bulbs (replace as a pair as it is shockingly not as simple.) Also while I was under the hood with the grill off, I took care of the filthy air filter and did a “de-bug” soak … they were plastered on. Having driven mostly German and Japanese engineered cars since my 1999 Chrysler Town and Country minivan, I was surprised at how difficult Chevy made replacing headlight bulbs and air filters – poorly engineered? It reminded me why I dislike American automobiles.

BTW, after my derailing Chevrolet’s engineering, the 2008 Chevy Trailblazer 4×4 LT (63,000 miles, white, sunroof, leather, V-6, Tow package) will soon be for sale if you are interested. Send me an email.

Category: Automotive, For Sale, How-To | 3 Comments »
Tags: Chevrolet, engineering, repair, service, struts, trailblazer

Posted By RichC on June 8, 2015

Just because it can be fixed (Jury/ Jerry Rigged) doesn’t mean it should be repaired?

The “old-ish” paper shredder in my home office is often over-fed with too many sheets of paper or plastic credit cards. It usually keeps right on chugging until it overheats, but last week it sputtered, ground the gears and stopped.

I almost decided to toss it and buy a new one thinking that 20 years of service was pretty good for a shredder, but instead put it on the workbench. While monkeying around on a few other projects this past weekend, curiosity got the best of me and after taking it apart, found the broken part. The pressure fit pin holding the gears in place had sheared and the gears jumped out of position. A little bending and it is spinning BUT the parts needs to be held in place. Weld, bracket, machine a new pin?

EDIT: Failed rather quickly … replaced.

Category: Misc, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: office, paper, repair, shredder

Posted By RichC on June 7, 2015

We're continuing to learn about the movement of Great White Sharks near the eastern U.S. and coasts since Ocerea has been tagging a few. It has been shocking to see the number of miles they travel and just how near these large sharks occasionall get to beaches and shallow waters.

John Dickinson and his wife were spear-fishing for cobia in about 130 feet of water near Jupiter, Fla., when a 16-foot great white caught his attention, WPTV reported. He wasted no time in capturing the sight on video, which he later posted to YouTube.

Category: Nature, Video | No Comments »
Tags: diving, florida, great, scuba, shark, sharkshares, video, white, youtube