Ridgid cordless tool batteries are getting larger — now 12Ah

| August 18, 2024

Ridgid cordless tools have been my “go to” home power tool choice for some time now. If I were a contractor or tradesman, perhaps I’d pick a different brand, but for me having the Lifetime Service Agreement (LSA), mentioned previously, is the primary reason (although it is not perfect). Also, having them sold at the […]

How to dispose of household batteries property

| October 15, 2022

Disposing of household batteries could use some clarity since not everyone knows which ones can be tossed with everyday trash and which ones should be recycled or taken to a collection site. Do you dispose of them correctly? Batteries are broken down into two broad categories: Single-use and rechargeable. How you dispose of them is […]

Disposing and recycling takes a little more effort these days

| September 8, 2021

Since I have a couple items to pack up to take to a recycling and solid waste facility and was searching for options in our area (replaced an old AC compressor with refrigerant), it occurred to me that one way to reduce the items we generate is to not buy environmentally hazardous products in the […]

Tech Friday: A Lifewire tip for Apple’s Bluetooth Magic Mouse

| November 13, 2020

Recently I have been having problems with the Magic Mouse on my aging Apple iMac. The Bluetooth mouse once steadily held it’s connection until the AA batteries were getting weaker. I’ve cleaned the contacts with electrical cleaner and a Scotch-Brite pad but continue to have issue. A quick check on the Internet indicated that I’m […]

A trip to Florida so that Encore could function on 12 volts again

| January 30, 2020

Encore has battery power again, Alleluia! After fiddling around with dying and dead batteries on the boat for the past year, I finally broke down and yanked out the 3 deep cycle AGM 105 Amp Hour batteries. I did a little rewiring and strapped down 2 new DEKA-made batteries this past weekend ($253 ea). The […]

How long should AGM deep cycle storage batteries last?

| December 18, 2019

Although my boating life isn’t quite this bad (thanks for the photo Fatty Goodlander), it is frustrating to be dealing with what I thought was an already “fixed” problems aboard Encore. Besides not using the boat often enough, the re-fixing of problems a second time is frustrating, time consuming and costly. Back in 2013 (has […]

Temporarily fixed our TV remote by substituting a CR2016 3 volt battery and a washer for a CR2032 3 volt battery

| November 12, 2019

Oh the crazy things we do in order to watch Monday Night Football. The remote I use in the Home Theater has been failing and finally would no longer work. Unlike years ago when you could walk up to a TV and change the channels, our new set-up require a remote control to change nearly […]

More Power: Bigger batteries for the Rat Zapper mousetrap

| September 25, 2017

Sort of laughing at myself after running out of smaller AA batteries for my Rat Zapper “electric zapping mousetrap.” Yes it would have been simpler to run to the store (or remember when I was out) to pick up “another” set of batteries for the trap, but then what fun is that? Instead Brenda was […]

Testing your car battery with only a simple voltage meter

| February 10, 2017

Great how-to YouTube video from ChrisFix on testing your car battery with a simple voltage meter.

A battery hack has revived the analog Triplett meter

| April 27, 2016

A leftover weekend project was to see if I could get my dad’s old Triplett 630PL meter back to working shape. As a boy, I remember "carefully" using "his" meter when I was in junior high school and attempting to build Heathkit projects … like my shortwave radio. Thankfully I never has to depend o […]

Freedompop, a Skype connection and new boat batteries

| January 28, 2014

While using my Freedompop hotspot on the boat on Monday night for a Skype video call with my son on his XBox, I wondered just how much data I was burning through. I wasn’t too worried since I’ve been paying $3.99/month to accumulate some data, I still I knew video would chew through data pretty […]

Panasonic AA battery is the longest lasting

| January 17, 2008

An MSNBC technology article reported that the new Panasonic “Evolta” Double-A (AA) battery is the longest lasting household alkaline battery — according to Guinness World Records. The double-A sized battery is used in many household items from gadgets and toys to clocks and tools. The article states that the improvements are made by packing in […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog