John Yeary

Midwest Products - Japanese Zero Kit #425

2012-06-30T14:12:00.001-07:00

Japanese Zero

Last weekend I built the Midwest Products Japanese Zero model. It took a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon to make. It is a nice balsa and tissue paper model powered by a rubber-band. The model was fun to build and fly.

If you like model airplanes, look for this classic on Ebay. It is kit #425.

Whitewings Tri-Linear 900L Lindberg Model Airplane

2012-04-14T08:20:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to build this really easy to assemble Whitewings Tri-Linear 900L Lindberg model airplane. It is a thick paper airplane.

It flies like a dream. You can either fly it via hand toss, or use a sling shot.

If you are looking for an airplane to build in the morning, and fly all afternoon, this is it.

900L Lindberg

Pulled Pork

2011-07-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Pulled Pork

The other day my wife made pulled pork. She cooked it in a slow cooker all day.

When I went to cut it up and pull it apart, I did it mostly by hand. It truly was hand pulled pork. It simply melted in your mouth it was so tender.

Delicious.

Kudzu Blossom Jelly

2011-07-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

In my last post on Moonshine Jelly I mentioned a neat general store where you can get some unusual food. While I was there, I purchased some Kudzu Blossom Jelly.

For those of you who may not know, Kudzu is a vine which is native to Japan. It was introduced in the Southern United States in a variety of ways. The largest introduction was from the Soil Conservation Service. It is now considered a week, and responsible for enormous habitat destruction in the Southeastern United States.

Kudzu Blossom Jelly seems to be at least some practical use for it. This jelly is a surprisingly sweet jelly with a nice "wild" taste. I would recommend eating as much as you like and help save the South.

Moonshine Jelly

2011-07-10T07:43:00.000-07:00


Moonshine Jelly

There are few things that I must say are quite entertaining about living in South Carolina. I went into a restaurant/general store in Pumpkintown, SC. Yes "Pumpkintown"! The general store called Pumpkintown Mountain at the Pumpkintown Opera. They have an unusual assortment of foods including Moonshine Jelly. I could not pass on such an opportunity to try such a treat.


Moonshine Jelly, Toast, and Coffee

I don't know what I was expecting. I thought it might taste like alcohol, or have a sharp taste. Actually, it has a sweet taste with a pleasant "moonshine" taste. I would recommend trying some if you get a chance. You will not be disappointed, and may even feel like you are getting away with something from them "Revenue agents".

NY and the Gay Marriage FAIL

2011-06-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I am not opposed to civil unions, but I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. This is one of my core beliefs, and I don't think the legislature should be so shallow to disregard this generally accepted tenet. I want to encourage an open and accepting society, but this is unacceptable to me. I feel like it cheapens my own marriage.

I know this kind of remark will likely draw some lightening rod remarks, but my personal belief system is based on a Christian lifestyle. I am not one to condemn gay and lesbian lifestyles, but please don't throw acid in my face on marriage. Perhaps my views will change in the future, but marriage seems fairly entrenched. That said, I have evolved over time, and perhaps this will too. At the moment, I see it as a FAIL on the part of the NY and other legislatures around the country.

SD Times: Science, observation, and common sense improve UI designs

2011-06-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

I just read an article on UI design in SD Times. The article is a good reminder of what you should do with a UI. However, the article itself was an "eye sore". The combination of the images, logos, and colors did not follow the UI guidelines themselves. It is actually funny to read an article about UI design, and think "Wow this article layout sucks!".

The online article is much nicer than the magazine.

MarsEdit Blogging Software for Mac

2011-06-13T18:46:00.001-07:00

Sleepy Java

This entry is done with MarsEdit. Like Ecto, this is easy to install and use software. I think I may like it more than Ecto. It has a nice preview function to view your post, before publishing.

Ecto Blogging Software for Mac

2011-06-13T18:30:00.001-07:00

Ecto by Illuminex is blogging software for the mac. It has a simple user interface and connects to almost any blogging software available. More details on Ecto can be found on their website. This post was added using it. It was very easy to understand and use. I also added some additional information after publishing and it was just as easy.

Tux at SELF-2011

2011-06-13T17:47:00.001-07:00

I seem to have found Tux at the Southeast Linuxfest (SELF-2011). He was having quite a blast. He seems to have bought a round for the table.

Window Lizard

2011-06-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

I would love to be able to stick to a window like this lizard. How often do you hear:

I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

How about a lizard?

Lizard on window at Infor

Beautiful Butterflies at Table Rock State Park

2011-06-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Butterflies on Rock

West Coast Jewelry Makes Pandora Compatible Charms

2010-11-29T15:10:00.000-08:00

My wife discovered that West Coast Jewelry makes Pandora compatible charms. Here is one example that we picked for Christmas.

Linda Norgrove's Tragic Death

2010-10-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Linda Norgrove

Let me start by extending my deepest condolences to Ms Norgrove's family. The work your daughter was doing to help the lives of those less fortunate is commendable. On behalf of all those who support those who help others, this loss is even more tragic.

I support an inquiry into the events of Ms. Norgrove's death, but I am disheartened that their seems to be a bunch of finger pointing at the American Special Forces team that were attempting her rescue. The fact that Linda was kidnapped and being held against her will seems to be lost here. Also the fact that the commanders on the ground believed her to be in imminent danger seems to be overlooked.

I know that if I were Linda, I would have liked for someone to rescue me. I am sure she would understand that there was no malice, and that the brave team that went in to rescue her at their peril were trying to do the right thing.

I want to take a moment to say thank you to the troops who risked their lives to save her, and take with them a lessons learned. Hold your heads up high and don't let this tragedy distract you from your mission.

Today, tomorrow, or next week you may be asked to go into harms way again to attempt a rescue of someone else, and that needs to be your focus.

First World War Offiicially Ends

2010-09-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Signing of Treaty of Versailles

The first World War, "The war to end all wars", ended for most of us in 1919 at the Treaty of Versailles. After 92 years, it will end on Sunday. I love military history, but this one eluded me. The article in the Telegraph:First World War officially ends, has more details, and it is an amazing story. Congratulations to Germany for repaying their reparations. I appreciate their tenacity, and sense of responsibility. There are a number of "Allies" which borrowed extensively from the U.S. during both wars that still have yet to pay their debts back. Germany which had many reasons not to do it has "done the right thing". Unfortunately this lesson in responsibility will be lost on most Americans, especially the current generation.

Congrats Germany (Deutschland) on doing the right thing, and let us all put the "War to end all wars" behind us, and look forward to the future.

Russian Soyuz Finally All-Digital

2010-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Soyuz TMA-6

The IEEE Spectrum had a story about the final upgrades being done to the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to make it finally all digital. Our standing as a space nation will take a major blow when the Space Shuttle fleet is placed in retirement. The Russian Soyuz (over 40 years old) will pick up the slack with more missions to keep the International Space Station manned.

These final upgrades on the Soyuz will hopefully keep it operational while the U.S. determines the next launch vehicle to replace the Space Shuttle.

A Digital Soyuz

Book Review: Out of the Silent Planet

2010-09-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon

I read the C.S. Lewis book called Out of the Silent Planet this weekend. It was a quick read. The book was written prior to actual space flight, and planetary exploration. As such, a number of the science fiction elements are not believable in our modern world. When the book was written, its fanciful depiction of life on Malacandra was probably more believable.

The book has a couple of subtle, and not so subtle undertones. One of the topics was discrimination. I guess it would be more apt to call it Xenophobia. The other topic is an extension of manifest destiny of mankind.

The book is not as well known as Mr. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. Today's fantasy relevance is questionable, but the intellectual and social topics of manifest destiny, and discrimination are universal; pardon the pun.

As I read the book, and figured out which planet in our solar system it represented, I decided to move it to another planetary system like Alpha Centuri to make it more relevant.

It is something worth reading if you are a sci-fiction fan, and it is an extension of H.G. Wells "First Man in the Moon" which I previously reviewed.

I don't want to spoil the read so I will not say anything about it per se. I would note that some of the fiction turns out to not be such fantasy. I love reading old science fiction, and seeing where the authors predictions have come true, or fallen short. Take a read and let me know what you found that has come to pass.

Exploding Manholes

2010-09-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Ornate Manhole Cover - Freiburg im Breisgau

I just read an article in CIO Magazine in the section called finish. The article is called "Don't Blow Your Top". The short article details some of the work being done by Columbia University and ConEd to detect potential issues in the underground utility spaces like the build-up of explosive gasses.

The article reminded me of the real dangers with these underground utilities. The issues like fires, and explosions usually do not make the news, but are real dangers. I remember as a kid that they were tearing down an old utility station in Chicago. I was walking past with some friends, and we witnessed first hand what an underground utility explosion was like. Fortunately, the explosion was a manhole "popper", but did not do any visible (surface) damage. It was smoking, and smoldering so we ran away.

Embarrasingly Hot...Remind Your Children

2010-09-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Datil Pepper

I love hot peppers. My oldest son, Ethan, loves them too. Ever since he was 4 years old, or so and I gave him some wasabi, he has been hooked. This is much to the chagrin of my wife who does not see the fascination in such seemingly painful hobbies.

I have always told my kids (both boys) that if you eat hot peppers, or anything spicy, to always spend at least five minutes scrubbing your hands like a surgeon before going to the bathroom. All it takes it one thermonuclear wing night with a font of eternal beer to convince you of this. Why? Well, hot wings to create the opportunity for pain, and beer for the lack of concentration on scrubbing. A lesson hopefully you learn once.

Roll forward...

Today, I had some of my wife's homemade chili. It is really good, and extremely flavorful. Only one issue, if you read the first paragraph you probably figured it out: MILD. I needed to spice it up a little. I had acquired some Datil peppers this weekend. They are the fourth hottest peppers in the world. I sliced the peppers up into little 1mm wide rings. I rinsed them off, and added them to the chili. So far so good.

I ate the chili, and it produced the expectant fire that I was looking for. Awesome! Having consumed a couple of fire extinguishers (not beer: milk). I had to go.

I scrubbed my hands for about 5 minutes, and then went.

The Fire...

About two minutes later, it began. The sudden realization that Datil pepper oil was now where it should never be. My wife starting watching me writhe in pain, and starting laughing. It was obvious what the issue was. Between chuckles, she managed to get out the word: shower.

When a Good Idea...becomes a Bad Idea...

The slight cooling effect was not enough to overcome the pain. I decided to soap up and rinse extensively. The problem is that the capsaicin is oil soluble. Soap works by emulsifying oils. This "fun soap" fact is brought to you by PAIN.

Okay, so now I have an oil emulsion that I am spreading evenly over my body. Are you getting the picture. I would like to call this new method of torture: spreading the love.

Eventually, about 30 minutes and a bar of soap later, I managed to get the pepper oil off enough so that it is a "warm" sensation.

I decided to share this funny story for entertainment, and to provide a lesson.

Use gloves when cooking, or otherwise manipulating any peppers on the top ten list.
Also wash for at least ten minutes with a focus on the underside of your nails.
Avoid putting your hands on your face especially near your eyes. (This was not the case with me. I put them someplace else...perhaps worse.)

Laugh..and enjoy.

Product Review: Technivorm Mochamaster KBT-741

2010-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Technivorm Mochamaster KBT-741

I purchased a Technivorm Mochamaster KBT-741 (Thermal Carafe). This coffee maker with a funny name is one of the best coffee makers I have ever purchased. For those of you who know me, I am...well let's just face it... a coffee snob.

My Krups thermal carafe coffee maker finally died. Don't buy the current generation of Krups thermal carafe coffee makers, they are awful. The first cup is OK, and then it goes down hill. If you don't believe me, check the reviews.

Anyway, I needed a new coffee maker. I read a bunch of reviews, and looked at a number of machines at various shops, but did not find a good fit. Finally, I called one of the online coffee retailers, and they told me about the Technivorm coffee makers. I had never heard Technivorm, and was a little reluctant to purchase one. I read the reviews on them, and was surprised that I had not heard of them before. Especially with the positive reviews. Unfortunately, there were not many reviews to consider. I decided to bite the bullet and get one.

What I like:

The coffee is stored in a thermal carafe which has an extended fill cap. The cap allows the coffee to fill the carafe near to bottom reducing thermal shock.
It has a separate plug for the carafe once the coffee is done brewing, and you expect it to not be consumed immediately. I don't use it often, but a nice feature.
The thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm for a long time.
The water reservoir and heated water lines are clear. You can see how much water is left, and if the brewer is still on.
Automatic brewer cut-off when brewing is complete, or if the carafe is removed from the brewer.
Sprinkler head form water injection. This evenly spreads the water over the grounds from proper steeping, and reduces thermal shock.
The filter has a closure so that you can fill one cup of coffee while it is brewing.
The filter has settings for off, 1-5, or 6-10 cups of coffee to control the steeping of the grounds.
The filter can contain the entire reservoir of water including coffee in case it becomes clogged, or you shut it off. This prevents messy overflows.
It brews a divine cup of coffee.

What I don't like:

It does not have an automatic mode to set it to run on a schedule. This is my biggest gripe.
It has a lot of parts to clean.
If the non-brew plug is in the carafe, it does not fit in the brewer.

In summary, I would recommend the Technivorm Mochamaster KBT-741 coffee maker to any coffee aficionado. The simple and functional design not only make a fantastic cup of coffee, but can be a beautiful conversation piece in your kitchen.

Does Your Cell Phone Need A Jolt?

2010-08-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I just read the Editor's Note from Jonathan Erickson from Dr. Dobbs. It was entitled
"Yet Another Reason to Stock Up on Jolt Cola". It was a great article about the potential use of various bio-fuels including... you guessed it JOLT cola. How awesome is that? Talk about all the fun you have with that as a quip. You already read the title of this post, so you can see where this leads.

On a serious note, it is fascinating that we could take a high fructose corn syrup laden miracle of modern chemistry, and turn it into a battery. You can give yourself and your computer with the same Jolt. I have visions of Back to the Future II with the Mr. Fusion attached to my computer.

A Brave New Internet

2010-08-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

I know many of you have read books like Animal Farm, 1984, and Brave New World. These negative Utopian ideologies are a far cry from the original Utopia.

Utopia was a perfect society that for the author was ideal, but did not exist. It is merely a psycho-politico-social exercise. A perfect world for me is not necessarily a perfect world for you. This is the mental exercise, and where politics begin.

The world of negative Utopian ideology preceded the computer age. The world of 1984 and its predictions are less science fiction than truth. The movie 2001: A Space Odyssey has an AT&T video phone. Today I have my Apple iPhone with FaceTime on the AT&T network. This vision has become a reality. Hopefully, some of the other science fiction from 1984 does not come to pass in the same way as the iPhone. However, I am not so sure about that...

I read an article by Stephen Saunders called Superhighway to Hell in Information Week for the week of June 21st 2010. His vision for the future of the Internet is as dark a Utopian world as may be found in 1984. He proposes two trains of thought: his vision, and the general "cattle-herd" of everyone else. The "cattle-herd", my quote, mentality of the general populace is a well connected world in which we all come to a universal understanding of humanity. This vision is the one that we often hear quoted. The Internet will bring peace, understanding, and harmony by raising the collective intelligence.

The other vision is far darker in nature. The collection of data which should be liberating could be the same information which binds us. Search engines, social networking sites, and commercial enterprises are collecting data. In some cases, the uses of this data are known. For example, enhance a commercial site by tracking which items are of interest to you.

Google information gathering is not transparent. One example is that they keep a web search history if you have an account with them. This can be very helpful if you are trying to track down a previous search. However, what other information have you provided that they are not sharing with you.

What do these groups do with the "profiles" they have attached to you. Law enforcement, or governments can take this information with subpoena, or force. One does not have guess what they could do with that Information. China has a fine record of tracking down dissidents with this information.

The "identity profiles" that are being collected can tell: interests, social interactions (what you do in public), what you do in private, your financial status, where you shop and what you buy.

The pseudo-science of predictive analysis can use these profiles to determine if something will be of interest to you, and what you will likely buy next. Just think about AdSense, or Amazon's inclusion of products that others bought with the item you are interested in purchasing; I think you get the picture.

The scary part of "indentity profiling" is that it is legal. You often "opt in" to provide information about yourself: birthday, schools you have attended, storing your address book online, and sharing it between applications.

The end of privacy is at hand. The anonymity of the Internet has passed, and the sunset is upon us. A quote from Star Wars Episode III - "So This is How Liberty Dies…With Thunderous Applause." may be somewhat apropos here. I propose it is more like "So this is how privacy dies...With an 'opt in' for a 20% discount".

The article covers his vision of a dark future, but my vision is more insidious.

You can watch your house from the Internet. Yes, you can buy a security system from a few vendors (who have ads on T.V.) that will allow you (or someone else) to watch you 24 hours a day. Do you have a cell phone? We can follow you on it. A couple of carriers even tote its benefits like keeping track of the kids. "OnStar we see that your airbag has deployed. We are sending assistance." The security of those connected devices is mediocre at best. The University of South Carolina has published some work on the lack of security in vehicle automation systems.

Just about every city has traffic cameras, or security cameras. Some are attached to gun shot detectors to gather information, if it detects gun fire. This can be a dual edged sword. If we catch the bad guys, we rest on our laurels. If we create a dragnet where we pull in a number of people, violate their rights, and don't catch the bad guys, do we a.) admit our inadequacy and seek to improve peoples rights using these systems, or do we b.) say "better luck next time." I would bet on the latter with Vegas odds. How many public and private cameras are in New York city alone. I have heard it pales in comparison to London. A number of them are web cams, and even the public ones are subject to poor security.

The world of the connected sensor is upon us. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING your COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY from the comfort of his telescreen.

When Do I Use CSS?

2010-08-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

I have been looking at a number of articles on web technologies, and HTML. One of the things I noticed on a lot of the examples is the lack of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) usage. Let me try to help... Here are three simple reasons.

The basic principle, especially if you are generating pages, is to use the Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle. Do you want to change every warning message, individually if the font changes?

1. Always Use Cascading Style Sheets

People are fickle. People want consistency; that is why McDonald's is so popular. If you want to change the font for a whole site to a user provided font, you would need to alter every <font/> tag to modify a change. Using CSS you can easily set the font for the whole site. Suppose you want to change all <h2/> tags to be italic, font to be Fantasy, and font size large. You could use a find, and replace to make the changes, EVERY time you needed to make a change, or use CSS.



h2 {

font-style: italic;

font-family: fantasy;

font-size: large;

}

I think we can all agree that was easier.

2. Grouping is Easier

If I want to change an error message to print in the footer of my page, and to display with a larger font, font-weight, and color. Using a CSS is much easier than setting the tags on every element in the footer. This allows me to format error messages, for example, a different way in the body of the document. An example would be general validation errors like last name as a required field vs. a product in your shopping cart is not available.



.warning {

font:  bold;

font-size: medium;

color: red;

}

#footer .warning {

font-size: xx-large;

font-weight: bolder;

color: orangered;

}

3. Overriding an Existing Style is Easy

If I set the default font for the site to a particular font, I can easily override it by changing the tag, or location (group) to reflect a more specific style. This is the cascading part...



body {

font-family: Arial;

}



h1 {

font-family: Sans-Serif;

font-weight: bolder;

font-size: x-large;

}

I hope that explains why Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are helpful.

Derek Lee

2010-08-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday, Chicago Cubs Fans paid respect to Derek Lee. He received a standing ovation for his seven years of service with the Cubs. It is a fine tribute to a great player, and a member of the Chicago sports family. You will be missed Derek!

On another note, I am so glad that he went 0/4 on the day at Wrigley. It is too bad that we could not close the game and ultimately lost. I am still a CUB fan at the end of the day...and...well...Derek you are a Brave now.

Color Scheme Designer 3 Rocks!

2010-08-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I made mention of a tool to help you select a collection of complementary colors based on an image you upload. The tools works well, but it pales in comparison to the Color Scheme Designer. This tool allows you to pick a base color which I picked from the Color Palette Generator. From this base color you get any number of color combinations: complementary, mono, triad, tetrad, etc. It will even show you what the color combination would look like for someone with vision impairments such as color blindness. This is truly slick.

After you pick your color combination, you can output it as HTML+CSS, XML, text, GPL (Gimp), and ACO (Photoshop). This is truly helpful. They even have representative web site combos with your color scheme to examine.

Color Scheme Designer

John Yeary

Midwest Products - Japanese Zero Kit #425

Whitewings Tri-Linear 900L Lindberg Model Airplane

Pulled Pork

Kudzu Blossom Jelly

Moonshine Jelly

NY and the Gay Marriage FAIL

SD Times: Science, observation, and common sense improve UI designs

MarsEdit Blogging Software for Mac

Ecto Blogging Software for Mac

Tux at SELF-2011

Window Lizard

Beautiful Butterflies at Table Rock State Park

West Coast Jewelry Makes Pandora Compatible Charms

Linda Norgrove's Tragic Death

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Product Review: Technivorm Mochamaster KBT-741

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A Brave New Internet

When Do I Use CSS?

Derek Lee

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