Ah, my Harbor Freight tin snips, at $6, leaving me enough to pick up the other item in today’s photo. In case you’ve not seen them before, these are the little plastic packages that Integrated Circuits are sold in. The packaging is finicky, in that each one is custom to the chip inside. Often there is a diagram and pin specs as well, so don’t throw anything away unless you know how to find the data on-line.
The IC was a real find, in that I had to read a hefty catalog to get it. It is a seven-segment numeric display, but this time with the pins on the top and bottom, rather than the sides. I have no idea what kind of idiot makes the side-pin model, but it is certain the s.o.b. never had to use a breadboard. I suspect the same for this chip’s designer, because it was shown as a regular pinout with the number “on sideways”. It was easier to draw in the catalog, and that explains why for years, nobody could find it till I came along.And, they aren’t cheap at $3.50. Normally, this display is driven by a series of chips that interpret various signals. My challenge is to get the thing to display not just numbers, but every possible combination of the segments all by using Arduino code. Then I’ll video this and send a copy to Singapore. For the record, the new Blogspot will not take the video uploads again, despite still displaying the video buttons. I’ve been trying to post you some videos for a while now.
On the return leg of my visit to the clinic this AM, I pulled into Tree Tops Park, a county-run location on Nob Hill. No cover charge except holidays and weekends, a nice touch. They had an observation tower in rickety condition. I climbed it, looked down where my head had passed under moments before and look at this big ass spider. That’s about six inches toe to toe, and with some ugly fangs. Not as bad as you-know-who’s, but still damn ugly. I’d say this guy could take on a small bird if one got into the web. I have a video, but all you get is this still.There are sources that say one must activate a Google account to upload video. I know they took over this company. But I hesitate with any type of registration with Google given their reputation for invasion of privacy, unauthorized storage of personally identifiable data, and dispersal of same without “knowledge or consent”.
However, I did find the switch to return Blogger to the classic interface and I will try uploading video through there. If you go back to y’day’s post and find a video, then I succeeded. And if that worked, you’ll find the video of the spider somewhere nearby. Folks, even though Florida is not the tropics, all kinds of critters like to live here. If that bothers you, stay away. In Canada you got one million mosquitoes per mile, here we have one million different things in the same area. And both million will bite you, so take your pick. Keep looking, you’ll want to know this spider if you see him. He’s got all of Nature’s “Don’t Touch” colors.
It’s still a whim, but I’ve got a route planned to Colorado, I could be there on the scooter in six days, seven if I take it easy at 40 mph. No Interstates, nice paved back roads, see the country. Total cost, including meals, motels, and gas would run $362, or comparable to the Amtrak, which takes 60 hours vs. 48 hours driving slow. Put another way, that’s a week's excellent entertainment for less than $400. I’m thinking on it.
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