Keep Quiet

Do Humans have the monopoly when it comes to stupidity?

2021-04-28T08:10:00.002-04:00

Most kitchen appliances are a waste of space and resources - why do we keep on buying them?

2020-12-29T07:35:00.002-05:00

Over the years, I saw my parents' kitchen cycle through a number of items: bread machine, rolling hand powered mincer, air fryers, food processors, rice cooker. My culinary imagination has not exactly been free from that influence as I had purchased a few myself including a pasta maker, soy milk machine, pirogie press and others.

I am in no way a minimalist : I love to imagine large scale industrial production, at home. New hobby - new tool. Tool on clearance - maybe, I want to try just know what it's like. etc. Parts? Nothing should be thrown out because so much effort and natural non renewable resources went into making something.

While a restaurant's kitchen which frequently makes certain food items that could benefit from reduced labour time in preparation, specialized kitchen appliances are somewhat analogous to automobiles : parked for 95% of their useful life.

My list of essential kitchen items :

Knife (2) - not serrated
Sharpening stone
Sharpening steel ( a second knife can work, but it still isn't quite as good )
Cutting board - wood preferably
Mixing bowl - a smaller center bottom works best
Spatulas
Cookie sheet
Wooden spoons
Colander
Skillet, Wok, sauce pan, Boiling pot for pasta/noodles

Machines :

Blender - replaces a mortar and pestle for some applications
Water distiller - if you have hard water and do not want to ruin your kettle
Pressure Canner ( stovetop ) - freezing food is best avoided.

For beverages, this one may be a little more controversial, but keeping it simple works as well :

Kettle, electric - safer than a stove top as it stops when boiling is complete.
Coffee preparation - French Press with pour over filter funnel and carafe. While a French Press makes a rich coffee, the fine and clean taste of a paper or cloth filter makes a great difference.
Tea pot - sharing makes tea more enjoyable.

The Epitome of Poor Design - The buzzer

2020-07-28T13:32:00.000-04:00

When in fear, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.

The buzzer is found everywhere from soy milk makers, to washing machines, dehumidifiers, microwave ovens, bread machines etc.

The reality is that most of the machines that we use are loud enough as it is. A bright charging light is a bad idea, so is a sound that isn't necessary. A WiFi router from 15 years ago had plenty of bright LEDs, now in 2020, they only have a few LEDs and they're reasonably dim.

For the very least, designers could put the option of disabling the buzzer for non emergency/overheating situations. An option to set the buzzer volume could be good too.

Nevertheless, getting rid of the buzzer altogether would be best. Fewer lines of code, components in a circuit etc. means more stable software.

Less alerts would make our lives a little quieter.

Face it, but I rather not : Firearms are still more deadly than Covid-19

2020-06-01T22:52:00.001-04:00

At the beginning of the pandemic, we were all making comparisons with the common flu, diabetes, the opioid crisis, obesity etc. Somehow, motor vehicle accidents, and the harms caused by firearms have become accepted risks in our daily lives.

I disagree. Unnecessary risks should be avoided. The only people who should have firearms are peace officers or the military - and only under specific circumstances. The monopoly of the tools of violence is to protect the interests of the state, and ultimately protect the people.

Acephalous militia movements where people stockpile weapons may still exist - there's an argument to eliminate the firearms in circulation.

In the case of hunting, people have been successful for tens of thousands of years using bow and arrow, spears, slingshots etc. We've moved on - technological improvements such as transport and refrigeration, knowledge about the human body and agriculture has made it no longer necessary to eat meat.

Once this pandemic is over, I'm hoping the government will have the will to protect the people and put in legislation, regulation and enforcement to eliminate firearms.

Noisy washer / laundry washing machine during spin cycle - it's the drain pump

2020-05-30T15:14:00.001-04:00

Tools Required :

Screwdriver x Phillips/star

Locking pliers x 2 (vise grip style

Silicone oil

Rags / Towel

Prevention / Maintenance :

Vinegar / Citric acid as descale or remove lime

Drain cleaner ( alkaline to dissolve oils and grease )

Problem: washer is very noisy during spin cycle.

Objects on or around the washer

My washer was making a rumble sound during the spin cycle. The troubleshooting process brought me to first think it was something on, or around the washer. I removed any objects, and checked that it was properly level. No change.

Bearings ?

Next I thought it could have been the bearings either in the motor or in the tumbler, after removing the paneling and turning it by hand, I couldn't feel or hear any resistance.

Drain Pump

Last, and the most easily accessible, was the drain pump. The front panel at the foot of the washer. Two screws needed to be removed.

As per this image, the bolts are at number 19.

With the washer disconnected from AC/shore power, I removed the plug to the pump motor, unscrewed two screws at the base, use locking pliers to open the pipe clamps on both inlet and outlet.

Install new pump.

When installing the new pump, put some silicone oil on the inlet and outlet to make it easier for the rubber hoses to slip on - don't get any on your hand or tools. It's rather lubricious.

Assembly of a washer drain pump :

All the parts - laminated core, AC coil, cover, rotor cover.
permanent magnet rotor core, impeller, impeller housing with inlet and outlet

Put the coil over the laminate core

Insert the housing in the laminate core

Be careful - the magnet will draw the core
into the housing very quickly
The problem was here with water getting past the black seal of the shaft.

Instead of replacing the whole unit,
the pump rotor housing with rotor inside and impeller could have been replaced.

Just replace this as a whole. Coil, laminate core and pump housing were fine.

Gardening - Large Rock Removal in 3 Easy Steps

2020-05-15T22:37:00.003-04:00

Tools required:

PPE - Safety glasses, gloves, shin guards

Shovel

Sledge Hammer 5kg or heavier

Wheel Barrow

Step 1 : Dig around rock. It may be possible to remove and roll out. If not proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Find Fault line or weakness and smash to bits. On sedimentary rocks, this will be rather evident, however igneous and metamorphic rocks, it will take more effort to determine where to hit. The golden rule about minerals : strong in compression, not so much in tension. Like glass, a small cut on one side with an impact can create a clean break.

If available, use a chisel, SDS hammer drill, etc to drill holes at a certain distance and use plug and feather.

Step 3 : Remove broken rock as you go. The less loose rock is a better absorption of impact by the large rock.

Stumped - Using a 3d printer

2020-05-08T17:50:00.000-04:00

When I got my Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printer in late 2017, I was quite excited. The hype had passed, the technology matured, but it was a toy nonetheless. The excitement faded for the following reasons :

if you want anything to last, it should be made of stone, wood, fabric, metal or ceramic;
if it isn't mass produced, you most probably don't need it - pierogie/dumpling maker, custom pasta die, game controller to fit adult hands... all nice to have, but not needed;
making a die and counter die could be good for casting plaster, aluminum or brass where a the lost foam or PLA casting could be possible. A foundry would thus be necessary;
Prototyping is certainly cheaper when sketched on a computer and printed, however it's often faster to make a prototype from cardboard, wood, metal, wax, clay, sheets of plastic etc.

So where should I go from here? Simple and inexpensive re-purposing of the plastic pumping machine could include :

PCB milling
Paper Laser cutting
Plasma cutter attached to carriage

If you have any ideas what a consumer 3D printer can really be used for, let me know.

Amazon Prime - Municipalities and Tax Payers Shouldn't Pay to Dispose of Packaging - Send It Back

2020-05-08T11:08:00.001-04:00

I do purchase things online. It's often cheaper and more convenient that going out to the shop.

What makes me somewhat upset of Amazon is the lack of a circular packaging system. It could be like beer bottles, where the packaging is cleaned and reused. Unfortunately the cardboard boxes and plastic bubble or insulated envelopes are single use - the cardboard may get recycled if there's a market for used fiber, but the plastic envelopes most certainly won't.

Through customer support, I asked Amazon what to do with the envelopes as my municipality does not accept/recycle them. I was given no response.

Given the nature of Amazon's operations, they must have the means to manage waste from the products that arrive at their warehouses.

Packing Envelopes to send back an item to Amazon

Solution : Send the packaging back to Amazon.

I had an item to return because it was sent to me by mistake, so I am using the envelopes from Amazon to send the item back.

They will have to deal with the waste, but if everyone started sending the packaging back to Amazon, or whichever retailer or origin, it will force change.

Product Design Faux Pas

2020-04-07T05:15:00.002-04:00

Have you ever wanted to clean or try to repair something? No manual, no image of the parts. That the first issue - all user and service/maintenance manuals should be online available for the consumers and service technicians.

Brave enough, you decide to go in anyway, but find yourself stumbled at one of these Torx Security screws.

Faux pas 1 : Most people have star Philips or flat screwdrivers. Do not use Torx, let alone security type.

You get in, after about 20 screws to the controller board. Then, this

A soldered fuse. Yes, a fuse is there to protect a circuit, but if it's inaccessible, by too many parts or cost to service, the device is garbage.

Faux pas 2 : Hard to reach or replace fuses.

The screws with the arrows are all remove, but you still can't take it apart. You peel an aluminum setting cover with a strong adhesive backing. Given the thickness of the plate, you're unable to put it back.
Faux pas 3 : Hidden screws that require a destructive process.

The molding and over molding of materials is a technical achievement, but decide somewhere. Who is going to deal with this in the future. PC, ABS TPE. Are the plastics miscible. Who will pay for that?

Faux pas 4 : Un-recyclable material

Screenplay has long been in the works - isolation and creative flourishings

2020-03-24T09:23:00.001-04:00

An aspiring director from New York working out of a hostel in Peru thinking that he'll succeed in the post nostalgic self isolation period. The product : a political dramatic comedic thriller.

Jennifer, an anti vaxxxer, believes that this the best opportunity to use the global momentum to take action against climate change. As a devout Christian, she confronts the idea that the apocalypse will ever happen, yet expresses her sentiment of feeling indebted to her teachings.
While unsure that her clicking away at the Amazon Warehouse Deals catalog will contribute to saving the world, she reassures herself that it is better than buying cans of Essential Beer located on the lower shelf of her corner store.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, she has great dreams of repainting the house, meeting "the one" online, and ultimately learning how to code Python.

Stuck Freewheel - Freewheel Removal Tool Slipping - Grind Weld Heat Remove - Too Few Thread on Hub

2020-03-15T22:04:00.004-04:00

My Pacific Cycles winter bike, the Dolomite or Schwinn Biggity, was not properly geared. I decided to replace the freewheel with one that had 34 teeth as opposed to the original with 28 teeth. Lower gearing means less stress on my knees, chain and it makes it possible to climb hills with minimal effort.

A Sunrace MFM300-7 model was available, so I swapped it out. After about a month, I had a flat tire and noticed a lot of wobble on the freewheel. I couldn't be sure that it was a problem, but it wasn't terribly reassuring. I decided to to go back to the original.
No luck using my cassette tool, which worked with all other freewheels, so I went out and bought the Park Tool Freewheel Removal Tool 1.3. No luck, the tool slipped. It felt actually looser that then cassette tool. Tape or paper shims made no difference.

I tried the impact wrench and still no luck.

Why not make my own tool? I took a nut that was originally for my angle grinder to belt sander project, ground it to a taper and hammered it in the freewheel. A little nudge, but the nut's steel was too soft and it slipped. The ideal setup would have been tool steel cut like a screw extractor.

Next up, at least save the sprockets to use on another freewheel: I was a little lazy, so I used the angle grinder to cut off the lock ring and set cog. The remaining six cogs are still usable.

Trying to cut the outer ring that rotated freely, it seemed pointless as it moves with the grinder and the angle tough to cut. Had I the freewheel servicing tool, to remove the lock ring and remove bearings, palls etc, I would have been less noisy etc. The following steps would not have been necessary...

Somewhat discouraged, welding the core of the freewheel to the outside, where it can be grabbed by pipe wrench, was another effort. The heat of the welding, was intense enough to melt the plastic guard behind the freewheel, seeing it now possible to recover my spokes, but I still wanted to get that freewheel off.

The foot long pipe wrench wasn't quite long enough to make it easy to remove the freewheel to make it budge or even make a sound. Thinking that I should call it day and try to recover my spokes and rim, the blowtorch was in reach. I heated up behind the freewheel at the joint of the hub, gave another shot with the pipe wrench. Voilà! The freewheel came off.

What was the issue? Sunrace tolerances are too low - too much slack, and the freewheel hub was not threaded deeply enough such that the freewheel cut thread into the hub making it so difficult to remove.

Did I put some grease on the hub before installation? Yes. Was it a good idea? Not sure. Maybe it allowed the freewheel to dig in deeper.

Recipe for Removing a Stubborn Freewheel when special tools fail

Ingredients :

Angle Grinder
Welder ( I used a flux core gas-less wire feed. Stick would have been just as good )
Pipe Wrench
Blow Torch

Remove lock ring ( with correct tool / Chain Whip etc.) or cut it with the angle grinder.
Remove remaining sprockets to build another freewheel.
Weld, 3-4 joints between center of freewheel to outer ring.
Heat threaded part of hub and freewheel.
Remove freewheel with pipe wrench.

Simple Mayonnaise - Vegetable oil, Water, Corn starch, Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Salt - Variations - Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Balsamic Vinegar

2020-03-15T11:28:00.004-04:00

Ingredients
For 500g of mayonnaise

	(grams)
Veg Oil	360
Sugar	13,5
Corn Starch	6
Salt	7,5
Water	113

Vinegar and Lemon juice are includes in the volume of water. Experiment with how it should taste.

Tools
Sauce Pan
Blender

Scale

Instructions

Mix Water, sugar(I omitted as don't like it sweet), lemon juice, vinegar, salt and starch in a sauce pan. Cook at low temperature over stove top until mixture becomes translucent. If you taste the mixture, it should not taste starchy. Adding vinegar at the end retains more of its flavour.
Let mixture cool in the refrigerator.
Place both mixture and oil in refrigerator in separate containers.
Wait until the starch and water mixture is cool and at the same temperature as the rest of the items in the refrigerator. At this time your vegetable oil should be at the same temperature
Use blender to mix oil and cooked starch. It make take a few pulses and minutes to make it uniform.
A spatula is useful to extract the mayonnaise from the blender pitcher and put in a jar.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil will make the mayo yellow, but it tastes nicer.

More starch will make it stiffer. Emulsion isn't as good, but still adequate.

Scale your quantity
For 100g
72 g oil
1.2 g starch
2.7 g sugar
1.5 g salt
22.6 g Water+vinegar+lemon juice (to taste)
A scienticious pinch of paprika and mustard powder.

Note about the mustard which is an emulsifier. In this recipe it may have both roles of improving the emulsion and taste. If you omit the mustard, increase the amount of starch. This will result in a stiffer mayonnaise, but a good emulsion nonetheless.

This recipe is based off a commercial mayonnaise. I just looked at the ingredients and nutritional information from the Hellman's brand :

Vegetable Oil (72%), Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Corn Starch, Natural Flavouring (contains Mustard), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Antioxidant (Calcium Disodium EDTA), Colour (Paprika Extract)

Nutrition

Typical Values	Per 100g	Per portion**	%* per portion**
Energy	2738kJ/	411kJ/	5%
-	654kcal	98kcal
Fat	72g	11g	16%
of which saturates	5.3g	0.8g	4%
Carbohydrate	3.9g	0.6g	<1 td="">
of which sugars	2.7g	<0 .5g="" td="">	<1 td="">
Protein	<0 .5g="" td="">	<0 .5g="" td="">	<1 td="">
Salt	1.5g	0.22g	4%
Omega 3	6.6g	0.99g
*% of Reference intake of an average adult (8400kJ / 2000kcal)	-	-	-
** 1 portion = 15g (pack contains 18 portions)	-	-	-

Soy Milk Recipe - Pressure Canner - Shelf Stable - Make more - less cleaning

2020-03-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

Soy Milk

This recipe is prepare soy milk that can stay on the shelf. No refrigeration required.

Using a pressure canner can prepare a large amount of soy milk with less cleaning of the blender, pots, bowls etc per litre. As the soy milk isn't cooked on the stove top, there is no risk of the bottom of the pot burning the milk. The temperature of the steam is the limiting factor. At 15psi, it could reach 120C, but is closer to 112C as the pressure cycles up and down.

Tools Required

Blender (giraffe or regular ie Vitamix. 400W is sufficient )
Kettle or pot to boil water
Pressure Canner (15 psi is ideal - Throw a towel on top to increase the pressure isn't safe...)
Sieve
Large Bowl or Pot
Canning Jars
Heat source

Ingredients

85g of soy beans
1250ml of water

Preparation
1. Soak beans in water for 6-8 hours. Shallow containers work better to avoid the beans on to bottom not swelling equally.
2. Discard the soaking water.

3. Boil water in a kettle or large pot on the stove if available.

Grinding beans
4. Measure 1 cup of soaked beans.
5. Put in Blender with 300-500ml of hot water. Cover lid of blender with a towel to limit the mess from the pressure drop blasts.

( Movement or flow causes pressure drop - the built up vapor pressure in the water is released and cause a burst. Try pouring boiling water out of the kettle into a water bottle. Close the lid and shake it. The bottle will burst and water will spray out.)

6. Pulse blender at lowest speed to break the beans.
7. Run the blender continuously while pouring hot water from the top. Fill up to the lid of the blender.

8. Pour the soy bean water emulsion through a sieve in a large pot or bowl. The okara will be collected in a sieve.
9. The okara can be put aside in a container for a secondary blend or for cooking.

Repeat the above for the amount of soy milk you'll be making

Cooking
10. Pour 100ml of vinegar in the pressure canner.

11. Add 2000ml of water to the pressure canner ( my pressure canner is 18L).
12. Boil the lids of the canning jars in water for 3 minutes.
13. Pour the soy emulsion in to the jars through a finer sieve. Leave 1cm from the top of the jars. Discard or collect the okara for later cooking.

Make sure the lids and bands are well seated. Otherwise you'll have tofu, doupi or bean curd film, in your pressure canner and all your bottles as seen below.

One jar's lid wasn't fastened down.

14. Close the canner with lid and pressure weight. Bring to pressure and cook for 35 minutes.
15. Turn off heat source, let cool and pressure drop. Using jar pliers, remove jars and place on a towel.

Notes :
It may require much less time to cook. I'll have to experiment. Given the volume, low acidity and no salt, I err on the side of caution.

In one bottle, I added some maple syrup with the soymilk before cooking. It curded a bit. It could be the water that had some gypsum or other coagulant. This would be something to consider : dessert tofu in a jar using flavouring, sweetner and gypsum or another coagulant.

Amazon Customer Support Chat - What a Waste of time ! - AI or Real person. Either way, totally useless.

2020-03-14T08:06:00.001-04:00

Chat is supposed to be faster means for resolving an issue than email. Having real time conversation would help, but in the case of Amazon. It... is... not.

I write my question/issue in the first prompt of the chat. A support agent asks me what is my problem. I copy and paste my original question The agent asks me to wait a few minutes.
After waiting 5 minutes, I write "Hello, are you still there?" I am asked again to wait for a few more minutes.

You get the picture.

Expect to wait, and wait and wait. It's worse than waiting on the phone because your attention is probably elsewhere.

Use e-mail - describe the problem. Propose a solution.
It may take a day or two to get a response, but it's only a few minutes - not half an hour to an hour of chat.

Going Vegan is Simple, Cost Effective and a Great Way to Discover Something New

2020-03-07T08:10:00.003-05:00

I have been vegan for quite some time. There have been some challenges along the way - especially when it came to social situations: no vegan, let alone vegetarian options at business gatherings; recurring conversations about nutrition, ethics and identity.

I keep a general rule for myself: keep things simple. The following guidelines have stuck with me for the last 20 years or so:

The colours in a plate makes food taste better - fresh vegetables go a long way.
Avoid processed foods - i.e. veggie burgers/dogs, vegan cheeses, - they sometimes represent the byproducts, or low end, of the meat industry. You can make your own, but with so many types of vegetables, grains,there is so much variety.
Fast food can hit the spot, but should be a go to only when in a pinch. While there are more and more vegan fast food options, however one can make much better food, for much cheaper, in their own home.
Learn how to cook - anything from grains, beans, root vegetables, preparing bake goods etc.
International cuisine - the variations of foods are endless. whether you are from Europe, Africa, South America or Asia, most dishes can be prepared without meat or dairy. Some small variations will be needed.

Here are some articles on the same theme :

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/19/the-14-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-go-vegan

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vegan-diet_b_3996646

Put your recipe at the top of the page!

2020-01-12T16:16:00.000-05:00

A message to all recipe bloggers : Put your recipe at the top of the page!

Recipes should not have more text above than the recipe itself

A modern annoyance of the internet is advertising.

Touchscreen devices, smartphones, are even more frustrating when multiple swipes are needed to get to the information we want.

Samsung Sound Tower Remote Codes AH59-02733B AH59-02692 AH59-02615E

2019-08-30T19:18:00.001-04:00

IR Remote control codes should be Open Source.

I recently acquired a pair of Samsung Sound Tower Speakers.

They are reasonable for a set of speakers, but the lack of tactile feedback on the touch control menu made me go a little bonkers. I ordered a remote, but it isn't quite agreeable to use : low power, so the codes are rarely read by the Sound Tower unless I'm very close to the speakers. Yes, I have a new battery.

I contacted Samsung for the codes, but was instructed to buy a new remote. Barely what I wanted, but I cannot blame the customer support personnel for not being given the codes.

Here are the codes that I recorded from a AH59-02733B remote. These codes, as I was told, should be equivalent to AH59-02615E.

Source remote :

Remote codes :

Power On   CA31DA45
Source        17112D07

Volume +   CF2F9DAB
Mute       123CD34B

Volume -           B2BBAC69
Loop/Repeat     3CEB5F42

Back track         B53DCEA6
Play Pause         28DE45AA
Forward Track 1E3D4782

Sound Effect      F9F925C3
Sound ((o))        C0CDDA6
Bluetooth Power D65A38A

( the following were recorded, but I could not get the Sound Tower to react accordingly)
Back                   879B92C2
Sound Control   BF1BC226
Forward             46868606

The double edged sword of slow Internet

2018-12-15T08:13:00.002-05:00

What is there to celebrate about a slow internet connection? Nothing at all really - we all want things as fast as possible. However, when reading an article, or trying to write this post, the speed of my connection is irrelevant.

The good old days were horrible : turn the computer on, make coffee, hope it had finally booted up, fire up the modem(internal or external), and hear the musicality of the connection tone to link up with your gateway over dial-up. The connection was slow, but you could cut out the images, the web pages were ugly, but they loaded. Video was limited to animated GIFs, and the rare webcam felt like the future was now.

Move on 25 years later, dial-up feels like an injustice and that nothing can be done without the Internet. This might as be an entry in my diary. As much as it is great to have access to large amounts of data at a high rate, there is something to be said about the benefits of a slow connection :
- more writing
- more reading
- less scrolling aimlessly
- less time in front of the screen

(So much for buying the boxed version of the game...8 hours instead of 80)

Amazfit Bip - Not Just Another Smartwatch - A-GPS makes all the difference

2018-04-28T16:56:00.001-04:00

Last summer I was convinced that a smartwatch is a waste of time. I wanted something to replace my phone while running so I could get an audio coach with GPS tracking. Unfortunately, the MTK6580 smartwatch was not suitable for anything more than 2 hours and the Bluetooth connection wasn't reliable as my bicycle handlebars were causing too much obstruction causing the audio to drop out.

Taking up running again, I looked at my options in 2018. The Amazfit and TomTom line has quite a bit to offer, I was also considering the Jelly 2.45" screen phone. However, not needing to drag a phone around would best, so I opted for a watch. When it comes to electronics, I usually reach for the bottom. If it's affordable, it's obsolete. If I am only buying it for image, I certainly don't need it.
I wavered between the Amazfit Pace and the TomTom with a built in Bluetooth audio players, reaching over 200$, but just couldn't justify it when I learnt about the Amazfit Bip : ~$75CAD which has the longest battery life.

With just over a month of using the Bip, I like it. Love it? No. I want to be able to modify it to make it my own - from interface, to applications to menu settings. For the time being, all development is closed, but I think Huami will get with the times and open it to community of consumers. It's expected that the latter will be many: affordable, normal size body and reliable. The Bip boasts a 190mAh battery - I can get at least 2 weeks between charges when running over 50km a week - the discharge rate is about 5% per hour using GPS ( and heart rate - which I don't care about ). Apparently it will last about 45 days, in standard monitoring mode - no GPS, just pedometer and sleepometer!

How I use it
If I am running that evening, I wear the watch. Otherwise, it stays on my night table. Now that I'll be cycling in to work ( about 38km ) I may wear or just rely on my bicycle computer. No matter where you are, an analog watch is much more elegant than digital one. Furthermore, clock hands are easier to read than a boxy font.

Summary

GOOD

Long battery life
Lightweight (31g)
Easy to design and change - customization of the watch face
Colour screen (reflective)

Disco dancing watch face

BAD

Plastic isn't fantastic
Slow GPS fix - about 20 seconds
A single button / Touch screen - tactile controls still reign supreme
Simple, too simple stopwatch, chronometer - no logging, naming of timing sessions.
GPS navigation - it only give you your current location LAT LONG and compass is in degrees not MILS - I would like it to be suitable for hiking, not getting lost etc... If using MAPS, it should be in MGRS
A-GPS requires a frequent connection to the phone ( once a week )

The watch needs a mile/km/repeat program for running.
If you pause the run, it just shows the screen above, with no idea
how many seconds you've paused, last km pace or what's next.

Useless features

Notifications - just take your phone out of your pocket if you need to
Sleep monitoring - really?! does anybody wear their watch to sleep?
Weather - sort of neat, but not really that useful, just look at the sky
Pedometer - the gyro, as well as CPU cycles wastes power. GPS is enough for sports
Treadmill tracking - I'm surprised to find out that treadmills are still being manufactured
Heart rate monitor - for someone who's healthy, you know when to stop

Improvements - possible with existing hardware
Running programs - speed, 400m repeats, 5k 10k, hills etc. - better pause, distance restart system
Stopwatch to operate in the background
Ability to disable features like gyro/accelerometers/pedometer, sleep monitoring / heart rate
Compass with navigation path return to tools - storage is required for converting LAT LONG to a MGRS grid region

Android Smartwatch - MTK6580 - LEMFO, ZGPAX, S99, KW88 - experience/opinion

2017-07-27T08:33:00.000-04:00

I had been looking at smartwatches for quite some time. The Youtube reviews were barely tell you the day to day use. There are a number of them available on Aliexpress, Amazon and others listed through Panda Check.

This was my experience:

You can install apps from the Google Play store, however the display is too small for most. My favourite, Endomondo was useless as the the screen was just a banner with the app title.

Bluetooth audio and GPS - 2 hours battery life
Tether to phone via Bluetooth, no GPS or pedometer - 8 hours

The heart rate monitor was unpredictable - I couldn't trust it. I am a darker skinned, but it shouldn't be that off when taking measurements. Besides, a regular watch and taking my pulse is straightforward.

The antenna for GSM/WCDMA/3G, Bluetooth and WI-FI were in the bracelet making it difficult to change the bracelet. I could not imagine making a phone call with the watch even though it was possible.

When listening to audio, the Bluetooth would cut out all the time. Listening to a lecture of 30 minutes would be very frustrating.

The watch, which is to be used as a standalone phone, did not sync my SMS, e-mail or other notifications with my smartphone.

Changing faces, was an elaborate process, that I couldn't care about given that the battery life was so short.

Aside from an alternative to a smartphone when tracking running or other sportive activities(of short duration), I do not recommend getting an MTK6580 smartwatch.

ps. I sent it back to the seller. Apparently it never made it, or the seller tells me that's the case. I lost about $100 in the process.

Windows 10 - Display driver failed to start - crash - XBOX 360 Wireless Controller - Exit to sign in screen - DRIVER ROLLBACK FIX!!

2017-01-31T21:47:00.001-05:00

I just couldn't figure out what it was.

I tried loading a game that played perfectly fine for the longest time. Then suddenly, it all seemed broken. It loaded seemingly fine, started with the video adapter display assembly clip, development software splash screen, etc. then the screen blinked black and the video driver crashed. Most of the time, Windows would exit me to the sign in (login) screen.

I looked at the report from Windows in the lower right corner of the screen

I tried uninstalling then reinstalling the video drivers with DDU to no avail.
I tried DirectX 11 Heaven and DirectX12 Benchmarks Infiltrator, and no issues came about. The video driver played find.

I was contemplating a fresh install of Windows. Then suddenly, after enough time on the confuser, going through the endless pages of troubleshooting, it made sense. The problem was with the software related to the Xbox controller. What was it? Video recording? No, no difference.

Then from the sign in screen, I would move the thumb stick or press the buttons on the controller. The screen would go black, the circle next to the mouse cursor would stop turning, the screen would flash. I tried it again in Windows with no game playing, just on the desktop. Same crash to sign in screen again.

So where was the problem? The insider preview build?

I eventually narrowed the problem to the Xbox 360 Wireless controller driver. In fact there was an update to that driver that made my system unusable. For gaming with the controller that is.
Below are screenshots I used to address the problem:
Go to the device manager

You can roll back the drivers if available. But get rid of the driver 2017-01-15

This is the driver you want!

All should be good from here.

You can download the 1.2 Drivers from the Microsoft website

Android file management - as easy to manage since, forever.

2017-01-09T00:28:00.001-05:00

Drag and drop is all you need to know - music, video, or any other file. Just copy and paste or drag and drop from a computer to your phone. I love simplicity.

Never use DHL as a shipping option when shopping online

2017-01-02T11:31:00.000-05:00

I've been caught once, by receiving a package that was shipped from overseas, where the delivery worker arrived with a package and an acquisition fee for more than what the item was worth.

I looked into fighting it, but found out that the fee was not customs at the border, but the processing and transaction fee charged by DHL. Their FAQ is of no help.

Above shown is an invoice that was presented to me with the delivery of the package. The item is worth $27. I paid the shipper $17 for shipping which I thought was reasonable. However when DHL delivered the item, they were collecting $3.48 for import tax, which I found fair, but collecting a processing and transaction fee of more than $14.

End of story. Never use DHL.

Updating Windows 10 Insider Preview - At least keep the dowloaded segments!

2016-07-16T20:30:00.001-04:00

Are you even trying Microsoft?

I don't know how many times I have tried to update my insider preview, but I keep returning to my computer to find it back at the login screen.

Worse than that, the downloading starts back at zero. Will it ever download?

Do you want anybody to take part in the Windows Insider Program?

Limp mode, normal speed/rpm then no fuel when pressing on the accelerator? Change the Thermostat (Ford Focus and others)

2016-05-21T07:57:00.000-04:00

Ugh! I couldn't wrap my head around this one. I would have an occasional stumble, then the car would suddenly be in idle mode - it wouldn't matter how hard I would press on the accelerator.
I would get no codes. If I floored it repeatedly, it would stumble somewhat and the fuel mixture would be rich (as per the OBDII readout).

This is what I tried :

Fuel Pump : I got access by cutting the sheet metal under the back seat. Took out the pump with the sending unit, tested the pump, cleaned the contacts, and put it back in. It seemed fine, for a bit - but the stumble continued.
DPFE : I tried cleaning it, then replacing it with another one. No change. My EGR is so rusted that I should have tried replacing that too, but time was short.
Oxygen sensors : They measure the oxygen content before (upstream) and after (downstream) the catalytic converter. Running rich is not a good thing for neither the O2 sensor nor the catalytic converter. Again, time to get a replacement was an issue. I cleaned the upstream one with MAF cleaner and put it back in. The downstream sensor was so stuck in place, I couldn't get it out.

When the vehicle became so unreliable that I felt is was unsafe to turn with the fear of the engine no longer providing fuel to accelerate, I noticed that the temperature reading on my cluster was just left of centre. Connecting my ELM327 to my Android phone and using Torque, I saw the the coolant temperature of the vehicle never stayed above 80C! When the car somehow started operating normally, it was above 83C. Should I turn heat into the cab, by allowing coolant to go through the heat exchanger, the engine would suddenly stumble again as its temperature would drop below 80C. Thermostat maintenance was required. I should have changed it when I changed my water pump last year. The thermostat is designed to open at 88C or 192F. It appears that the thermostat was getting stuck open! Three bolts, well one was so rusted I had to break the thermostat housing, three hoses and and an electrical connection to the temperature sensor, and I got this mysterious automobile problem solved.

Since I've replaced the thermostat, the coolant temperature is between 90C to 93C and my fuel economy is back up to 6.1-7l/100km or 38 to 33 MPG.