All posts by Rick

I'm living in rural Florida (USA) with my wife, son, two cats, and quite a few computers. I actively work in several areas of interest but still find time to manage several websites, execute home improvements, ride the Harleys, and play with cool toys. I'm reasonably fit for an Old Guy, equally comfortable wielding a keyboard, torque wrench, or spatula. I've got a scary-low tolerance for bullshit.
Blather

Violating the First Rule

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The first rule of working on color TVs is simple. You remove your rings, your watch, and so on. Some take the rule a step further and keep one hand in their pocket, unless it’s needed for the task at hand.

The reason for the rule is simple. That stuff is metal, and there be large electrical potentials lurking within – even when the TV’s been turned off for long periods of time.

Variants of the rule apply in lots of situations that have nothing to do with television repair. One popular variant is removing your tie before working with machinery. You get the idea.

Well, I neglected the rule. The other day I set out to introduce some refrigerant into the air conditioning system of a Buick. I was prowling around under the hood – the engine off and keys in my pocket – seeking the location of the low-side port. It wasn’t jumping out at me. So I’m feeling my way around the lines, my arm snaked into the engine compartment to the shoulder when the FZZZT hit and my left wrist exploded in pain. I hastily yanked out the limb, gouging chunks of flesh from my bicep and elbow. But the real problem was my watch - the one that I had no business wearing, had I followed the rule. The stainless steel band had apparently shorted a starter terminal to ground. The heat had spot-welded the clasp shut and I found myself in panic mode trying to get the blasted thing off. And finally I did, but not before it had burned a rather impressive looking depression into my wrist. No blood from the wrist; it was cauterized but the red stuff had begun to leak from the other holes…

That was a couple of days ago. It’s all on the mend now and most of the pain has subsided. It still looks plenty ugly under the bandage, but it’s improving every time I look.

Lesson learned: pay attention to those rules, they’re there for a reason.

Oh, and the air conditioner? I found the low-side port against the firewall and added the needed refrigerant. It’s working fine again. Anybody want to buy a Buick wagon?

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“Joe, American” challenges the candidates

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Tell ya what. It doesn’t matter whether or not any individual point this guy makes is right or wrong. I just wish somebody with mainstream cred had the ‘nads to call out our excuses for candidates like this. Don’t you?

The reality of it, though, is it ain’t gonna happen. Look out for yourself, my friends, because nobody else is gonna look out for you. Take that to the bank.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPch2k63uj4

Motorcycling

Brief Ride Report

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Yesterday was quite a day.

I ‘celebrated’ eleven years of shaving my head. I went ‘down the shore’ with my wife and kid to walk the boardwalk, eat some boardwalk food (the Midway Steak House at Seaside Heights has the best sausage sandwiches around), play some games (a Ziplock full of quarters equals an afternoon of mindless fun), have a few beers (Jack & Bill’s). I’m not going to mention how the cost of such a trivial (in the days of my youth) afternoon has risen – what’s the point? When I got home I found my dad’s cat, Buffy, had died. Buffy was an old cat, suffered advanced kidney disease (just like dad), and wasn’t in the best of health. Still, I was stunned. I’ve been caring for Buffy since my dad’s hospitalization in mid-May, and he was looking pretty good. They say that pets get attached to their owners that way, maybe with dad gone he figured he had had enough. So you could say the day was kinda packed. And if that wasn’t enough there were a few other things rattling round in my head. I retired to an uneasy sleep.

This morning dawned beautiful, though. We’re two days into the first ‘heat wave’ of the season (it never gets hot enough, long enough for us, but everyone else complains) and it was almost 80 F a little past 7am. After a pot of coffee I put the computer aside and set off to do a hundred miles before breakfast. I’m breaking in an engine on the Dyna, so this would be perfect blend of varied travel. Plus, I needed some time to think.

Route 27 south toward Princeton is a good start, nice to get the fluids up to temperature. Few lights and little traffic. Passed through Princeton and picked up 295 south near Lawrenceville for a bit, a bit of freeway to let it breathe a little. There were some clouds ahead, but I figured if I hit a little rain so be it. I wasn’t dressed for it, but so what. Below Trenton I jumped on 29 north: through the tunnel, alongside Trenton proper, and soon onto the two-lane toward Lambertville. Traffic remained light, permitting a good pace that didn’t exceed the posted limit by too much. At Lambertville I peeled off to 179; the number of bikes on the road seemed to grow with every mile. I guess others had the same idea. By Ringoes, 179 changes to 514 but keeps its name - Old York Road – but where 609 crosses it changes to Amwell Road while retaining its 514 number. Who said New Jersey roads made sense? The clouds I mentioned earlier had given way to blazing sun, but there was evidence here that it had rained earlier. On through Amwell, Cloverhill, Neshanic, and into Hillsborough. I decided to divert a bit through Raritan, grab a bottle of water at the Wawa there, and stop out at Branchburg Park. My dad spent many hours there flying model planes. It would be good to sit, hydrate, and watch the models. This map shows where I parked. After that I headed home, with a much clearer head. Riding is good therapy! The roads home were more suburban and a good deal less interesting. 202 to 22, then Foothill Road to 607 into Bound Brook, followed by a quick hop over the Raritan River onto 527 into New Brunswick. Through the city – it’s a campus town – and onto US 1 south for a final blast home.

99 miles, close enough for government work. Time to fire up the grill for some breakfast.

 

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Game Your Way to a Nobel Prize

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We’ve all heard the stories about young doctors, with plenty of computer-gaming hours behind them, wielding laparoscopic surgical tools with skill far beyond older, game-deficient peers. And the military adaptations of gaming engines to develop software-based training exercises. But this is about the most accessible game-to-real-world stuff I’ve heard of. Foldit purports to turn protein folding into a competitive sport. This Univeristy of Washington article compares Foldit to Tetris, a dinosaur fart of a game that my son’s discovered lately and seems to play quite well. Maybe he can get famous. Maybe you can, too.

Computer game’s high score could earn the Nobel Prize in medicine

Blather

Mobile Phone Adventure

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Verizon Wireless, my mobile carrier, has been pestering me lately. An equipment upgrade offer was pending. My pair of old Motorola RAZR V3c handsets serve me quite well so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to add a third number and a new handset for my son, something we’ve been talking about for a while. Yesterday we stopped at one of their local brick-and-mortar facilities to get that done. I don’t know about you, but every time I have to physically show up to do something with my mobile phones there is trouble of one sort or another…

I’m an unusual wireless customer. I use my phone to make and receive voice calls. For email, Web, music, pictures, videos, ad nauseum, I’ll reach for a more appropriate piece of equipment. I’m not thrilled with Verizon Wireless’ closed network, either, or the way they nickel-and-dime you for every little thing. But their performance – at least where I use it – is second to none. I cannot recall the last time I had a call drop or not go through. Each ‘line’ (an archaic term in the wireless world) draws from a single pool of enough minutes that we use it without thinking and never need to buy extra, thanks to a reasonably priced grandfathered contract, sans enhanced services, that they haven’t offered in years. I’ve been a steady customer for better than a decade and a half. I’m an unusual customer.

We found a handset my son liked and made our way to the counter only to learn that the upgrade offer applied only to my V3c. But nothing’s carved in stone and after some discussion we found a way: a temporary upgrade. I buy a new handset (an LG VX9100, free after the promotion) and move my number to it. I buy an additional ‘line’ for my son, and assign the new number to my old V3c. Finally, the next day, we would swap the numbers between the two handsets, under the auspices that I’m unhappy with the new handset. Normally that swap would be $20 a pop, but there would be no charge. And everybody would be happy.

A while later we discovered that my V3c didn’t respond on the new number. Things went downhill fast from there. Tech Support reported that the new number belonged to a Blackberry belonging to Merrill Lynch, that my contract shows only two numbers, and that my V3c ESN no longer exists. Oops.

Back at the store they tried to get me to just replace the handset, “Just take the best we’ve got, no charge!” No thanks, I want the one I’ve got, please fix it. They finally managed to install a dummy ESN onto it and assign the new number, and get my contract to recognize them both. But because of the dummy ESN the handset doesn’t do anything, it’s a brick. Tomorrow, they say, they will be able to finish straightening it out.

I need to digress with some history… Verizon Wireless was probably the last carrier on Earth to add the incredibly popular – and profitable – Motorola RAZR handsets. The reasons were two-fold. First, the CDMA chipset was physically larger, and Motorola had some difficulty making it fit into the small package. Second, all Verizon Wireless phones (at the time) sported an external antenna, which helped them to provide their outstanding network performance. The RAZR’s antenna is internal. As for me, I wanted the small size but I was unwilling to switch carriers. So I waited it out. Eventually Motorola got the hardware into the handset and got the antenna performance good enough to pass Verizon Wireless’ performance testing (it took several rounds of testing which led to yet more delays). Finally they were set to roll ’em out. Just in time for Christmas! Well, sort of.

In the mobile phone industry, a hardware manufacturer will develop a new handset and the base software to make it the features work, as well as an SDK. A carrier will take that and develop their own software layer, which in turn becomes the set of services and capabilities that differentiate one carrier from another. In the case of Verizon Wireless, with their closed network, part of their software development is to lock down the handset. The customized RAZR software, due to the Christmas sale deadline, was a rush job.

Watching all that unfold, I bought my handsets a day or two before they became available at the stores. My handsets are not locked down. The best thing about this is my Bluetooth profiles include OBEX. And that means I can add custom rings I make myself, get images and voice recordings on and off, use the crappy little camera (when needed and nothing better is available), use it as a wireless (or wired, via USB) modem with the laptop, and so on, all without incurring Verizon Wireless charges.

And that’s why I don’t want to give up these handsets or upgrade their firmware. Whenever I need to explain this, the representative smiles and understands. [Ed. 6 July 2008: My wife, OTOH, never really understood why I held those capabilities so dear. That is, until the latest bill arrived. My son had bought a ringtone. $2.95, no big deal, but the browsing charges, the megabyte charges, and the fact that he tried the Web browsers on all of our handsets by the time he was through, had brought the cost of that stupid ringtone to near $20. When I explained how billing works, and had real examples to use, the lightbulb went on.]

So today I will see whether they can get this mess straightened out. I’m nervously optimistic.

Blather

Contrasts in Sensitivity

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Today the (snail) mail brought a couple of items that warrant some comment.

For my Dad, who passed on not two weeks prior, came a survey solicitation from Saint Peter’s University Hospital (now Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, link updated). He spent just shy of twelve days in their ICU. During his stay, the decline in his health was dramatic and rapid, ending with his discharge to hospice. That decision involved several different departments and quite a few physicians, specialists and staff. The survey request ended with this closure, “Thank you, and please accept our best wishes for your good health.”

For me and my family, from JFK Medical Center which runs the Haven Hospice Program, came a hand-written envelope. It contained a letter extending their sympathy, which went on to describe the comprehensive set of services available to us to help cope with our loss.

I can’t say enough about the staff at Haven Hospice. Although we spent less than 24 hours there, the degree to which the staff has extended an amazing amount of goodness and support is nothing short of amazing. They’re truly great and caring people.

Blather

Wacky Incoming Call

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I received a wacky call on my home telephone. When I answered, I heard:

This is 777-3633. Please leave a message.

Then nothing. I dropped the call. The Caller ID, that unreliable, easily-spoofed feature of my POTS line, reported the call as Out Of Area with a number of 999-999-9999. According to the ‘net I’m not alone in receiving this call.

This morning I got a call from Nuance, the software vendor. I use a few of their products, and they were pitching upgrades. Anyway, their Caller ID came up the same way. Unrelated, I’m sure.

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Florida Beating

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The story about the Florida girl beaten by her peers has brought the so-called experts out of the woodwork again. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s girls, heck, cheerleaders involved that makes this incident particularly newsworthy.

The Orlando Sentinel reported it this way. (Oops  – the link died.)

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying for a moment that the behavior is correct. It’s not. You shouldn’t post defamatory material. You shouldn’t gang-beat others. But sometimes stuff just happens.

Making it a little bit more personal… over my lifetime I’ve done some ass-kicking.  And I’ve had my ass kicked a few times, too. Each role – kicker or kickee – teaches you something, and you come away from each lesson a little stronger for the experience. You can wring your hands all you want; sometimes it just happens.

But it’s the stuff that followed the Florida incident that riles me, beginning with the requisite blaming of others. What’s become of taking responsibility for your actions, or taking responsibility for those in your charge? Of teaching? Of setting a better example? No, it’s easier to blame someone else. I wonder, who will be the first one to bring suit this time? Or write a book?

And then there are the experts who have all the answers. Well, actually, it always boils down to the same answer, doesn’t it?

Here’s an article: Videotaped Florida Teen Beating Prompts Calls To Block Violent Content. [Oops- the link died.]

So let’s block it. Yeah, that’s it. Regulate! Censor! Protect! Then it’ll go away, and we can get back to the really important stuff, like who’s winning on American Idol or something.

Y’know, when the stuff that passes for entertainment today is evidently (according to media coverage, ratings, paychecks, and so on) more important than anything else, is it any wonder that some of today’s kids are all-consumed with obtaining a piece of that attention?

Blather

Grungy Keyboard?

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Try the dishwasher. See this post on 43 Folders for more.

I’ve been a believer that water poses little harm to electronics, provided that the water’s clean and you dry thoroughly to avoid corrosion, but I never would have guessed at this. I mean, cure powder-coat in the oven? Sure. Confidentially destroy CDs with the microwave? Absolutely. (But air it out carefully afterward, and don’t even think about breathing the fumes!) But a keyboard in the dishwasher? Yow.

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I Rock!

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Y’know what? I rock. That’s right – I rock.

I’m beginning to believe it. Why? Well, so many people email me from Yahoo accounts, and each message of late seems to carry the same footer:

You rock. That’s why Blockbuster’s offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.

The text “one month of Blockbuster Total Access” carries a link that I’m not reproducing here. And why should I? Blockbuster’s apparently got deep enough pockets to get Yahoo to do that, they might just as well pay me, too. (I won’t hold my breath for their call, though.)

It’s nice that Yahoo notices that I rock. They didn’t notice that I already have a Blockbuster account, but maybe that’s because I haven’t used it for several years.

How about you? Do you rock? I’ll bet you do. Let’s get together and start a band! Get a few rockin’ numbers on iTunes and we might even make enough to rent a footer ad on Yahoo email.

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College Acceptance Rates at an All-Time Low

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This, at a time when the tech industry is polarized into two factions – those that say America is simply does not have enough talent to go around and the others that say that corporations are focused only on saving money by using lower-paid foreign talent. In this Information Week article, MIT Turns Down Record 11,842, Richard Martin discusses the increased competition for entrance into our best schools. [The link died.]

What caught my eye is this:

The increased competition for undergraduate slots at MIT comes at a time when fewer Americans are earning graduate degrees from the top math and science programs in the United States. MIT says that 35% of its students come from overseas, and many of the foreigners speak languages not taught at the school.

Next year my son enters high school. Topics like this are coming up in conversation at our house with increasing frequency. Ah, the future.

“America… just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.”
-Hunter S. Thompson

Blather

Upgrade

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WordPress 2.5 has been out for a while now and I’ve been wringing it out offline. There have been lots of complaints about the back-end changes for this release but y’know, I rather like it myself. It’s a rainy Friday, and I’ve been up to my ears in paperwork for much of the morning. What better thing to do than mop up the test stuff and do the darned upgrade already? There, I feel better already.

As usual, if you notice anything gone kerblooey please let me know! And a big THANKS to the WordPress team for a job well done.

Motorcycling

A Wrench Report of Very Little Consequence

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Yesterday I dealt with a minor problem with the Harley, one that had been bugging me for a month or so. When applying the rear brake the stop light wasn’t coming on as quickly as I would like.

I was thinking that it might have something to do with the master cylinder rebuild I did some months back. That wasn’t merely convenience, it was a necessity! The pliable parts of the piston had largely disintegrated leaving the rear brake absolutely useless. The switch is actuated by hydraulic pressure so perhaps a bit of debris had made its way down the line and into the switch. Odd, since I completely purged the circuit and bled it thoroughly as part of the rebuild.

I noticed the trouble with the stop light during a pre-ride check so I bled the circuit again. The trouble cleared but soon returned. Another bleed, another temporary fix. This time when the trouble returned I did the electrical checks (all good) and gave in to replacing the switch.

So yesterday was the day. Luckily the local dealer had one for me and lightened my wallet by a twenty. I considered myself fortunate; they usually don’t have whatever part I happen to be looking for. Since it was my first visit to the dealer since they stocked the 2008 models I couldn’t resist browsing just a little…

Back in the garage, it took about fifteen minutes to replace the switch (with a metric wrench, so much for American Iron, eh?) and bleed the circuit yet again. The stop light was back to functioning normally at the lightest pedal touch.

I suppose I should have inspected the old switch to try to determine if it had any debris in it causing the trouble. But I just pitched it in the bin, grabbed a helmet, and went out for a test ride. Today they picked up the trash.