Here’s the latest club project. You don’t hear about it as much. Don’t be thinking we’ve folded when what’s happening is the tasks are individually taking much longer. This “kit” reveals our current abilities. The only previous undertaking was the Shack radio kit to test the water. Now we are building actual robot parts. This new kit is a stepper motor driver, and not only do you see the far higher quality we can now afford, but we know the function of every part seen, including the ICs. It’s a pity so little of this progress is visible.
Again, sorry about the fuzzy photos, and since macro capability is not a criteria, it is uncertain when that problem will be solved. What? What gray thing? Oh, you mean the mat the components are lying on. Nothing, it’s nothing. Just a piece of soft cloth consisting of knit, purl, stockingette and popcorn stitches. It’s to keep my soup bowl warm and important things like that. The circuit board I’m pointing to is the now-popular multiple layer type we cannot produce in-house.Perfect bicycle weather had me all over town on the eBike. There’s a knack to coaxing high battery mileage on those things but the totals are still a scant 2/3 of the builder’s claims. I’ve negotiated a hard bargain at Guitar Center for the used Fishman. I’ll pay the sales price in cash, but they acknowledge I am not taking it home, it is going on stage for the 30 day trial period, and that inadequate volume or depth are valid reasons for a full refund. That is, they won’t argue that it works fine and I’m overtaxing it. In essence, I get the new product treatment on something normally sold as is, and the rules apply to the product, not the purchaser. Did you get that, Sony?
Part of my caution is that to proceed with the duo, I have to invest in equipment that is not entirely the same as I’d otherwise spend money on. For instance, XLR microphone jacks. They are the sturdy construction I need on stage, but are incompatible with everything I have at home. I bought a 15 foot cable that cost me $23. I can’t afford to convert over all at once. Even opting for rechargeable batteries would run me into the hundreds of dollars I don’t yet have.
While there, I scouted other prices and products. The lady that plays washboards was there, we chatted. When I mentioned country music, she gave an odd reaction, like good luck with that. That’s precisely the kind of luck I’m expecting. On the way over, I asked a gorgeous babe passerby what gives with the Dekka café. She said the owner is going broke. They probably need a country band in there. The sign says “fashion art music café” but the paint job says “color blind”. Define medical breakthrough. Have you seen WoundSeal? It’s a powder you sprinkle on bleeding wounds that forms an instant scab. If there was ever a “why didn’t I think of that”, well, I did when I was a kid. But I thought it must have been invented but there was a law against it, the only reason I could think of something so useful not being on the shelves. It is said not to be affected by blood thinners. I’m not endorsing the product, I’m just saying I’d be impressed if it works exactly as claimed. Pricing is, again, secret until you part with your name, address, and phone, but it’s around $13 for the smallest package.
Speaking of questionable practices, I see the Internet community is finally joining ranks to oppose SOPA, the proposed legislation to block servers that link to copyright-violating sites. I’m against the regulation, though not to support Google or Yahoo, rather because I am against the use of information for any other purpose than that for which it was originally given. Any other use, legal or illegal, is abuse. Nobody willingly gets fingerprinted or registers an asset in the hope that information will one day be used to convict or tax them.
As the law reads, the authorities need not stop at fighting piracy, they would have the ability to further abuse records—and experience shows the government will eventually exploit all records. If there had been no census, I doubt America could have been involved in World War I. (The abuse of birth certificates is called "conscription".)
But people with nothing to hide never take sides until it is far too late.
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
