Okay. See that photo on top. They call that a 12 volt tester. Ever tried to use one of those things? I did. And that is why on the bottom you see a real 12 volt tester. With a real on-off switch and a real fuse that doesn’t fry at 13.7 volts. It also has real cables and real clamps on the end. Not shown is the protective shield for the lamp and a probe made from an old voltmeter. That, People’s Republic, is how it is done.
The tribulations of a motorcycle rider. When I arrived in Denver, one glance in the mirror told me I needed sunblock. Wearing a full face helmet didn’t stop me looking like the Marlboro man after 2,800 miles into the wind. So, I get the sunblock, but that does not prevent the dry leather look. So I get some Nivea moisturizer, and down this path I go until it gets expensive. Finally, I went “equivalency shopping”. Seeking a single product that does the job, what do I find has the same ingredients? Oil of Olay, and it works fine, if temporarily. Ha, I didn’t know old ladies drove sidecars to Colorado, but if they do, I've found their product line.A chilly day got me outside painting again. The tow bar, the sidecar frame, the bicycle basket, and the bicycle saddlebag. This was the day for black. If it was black and needed a coat, I got to it. While I was at it, I replace a burnt out side marker and reinforced the scooter muffler assembly. That’s going to need replacing. In all, I have not been feeling chipper all day and canceled my planned weekend trip to Sawgrass Mills.
It’s therefore a quiet evening at home for me. And if things don’t pick up, 2012 is going out in a whimper. I even declined an invitation to a swank party at the Hungarian club. And it isn’t me to miss exclusive soirées. Later, I’m still here and I have a postulation. My prescription was slightly changed. I used up the remainder of the old product, switching over y’day morning. All my life, I’ve been hypersensitive to drugs, even aspirin. Twenty-thirteen and they still can’t make a heart pill that doesn’t act like a tranquilizer. So, I miss another party. Can't keep doing that at my age, you know.
Hello! Are you still there? Why, I just fell asleep sitting up right here over an hour ago. What the? The good news is I seem to be adjusting. Hang on, I’ll put on a pot of tea. Back. Now, where were we? If nothing happened to day, let me see if there was any drama. Yes, there was. Here goes.
It seems I’ve gotten a good report card as a date around town. Remember that first date at the library? Word has gotten around far enough that I’m hearing it from near strangers. The word on the street is that I’m a gentleman and considerate, too. That, I could remind a few, is highly dependent on the lady. Consideration is a two-way street. Don’t we all love the ones who start pushing buttons the minute you walk in the door, like you aren’t doing enough to please them. Then you find out they quit their job at the pizzeria.
That was JP on his new cell phone. See, I told you how quickly he’d adapt to the technology. He’s been like that since the day we met. You got to convince him and drag him along but one he gets there it’s the best time he’s had all month. He actually called me from the Church and if nothing else, tomorrow we bring in the new year from the local casino. He gambles, I like the floor shows and this breaks tradition for me. I rarely go out on New Year’s Eve except when I’m paid. And that has not been in 13 long years.
ADDENDUM
Snoozing or not, my work on the resistor book carries on. For all my experience, taking macro photos is still new to me. After several hours of rigging up a shadow box to work with the new Nikon, I am still unable to get quality photos. There is a tradeoff with the macro focus feature and the self timer cancels itself after each photo. Shown here is the sharpest photo I could get. Beware of Nikon cameras. They are not instant on and consume expensive batteries. Also, you cannot remove the memory card without the batteries falling out of the case unless you are careful.
The picture is not bright enough. Ignore the other errors, the priority is a bright, clear photo. Next day I will step up the resolution as high as the camera will go and blow up the result. And yes, I was quick to notice this photo is roughly equivalent to a 10x microscope slide. So next, I’ll run the same resistor under the page scanner at high res and see what comes up. Are you ready? Stand by. Okay, the scan is done and the results are better than the camera. Why didn’t I think of that before I spent the $80? That’s rhetorical, I’m actually quite happy with the new camera. The scan has to be done at very high resolution (1200 dpi) to get this quality. Each scan takes several minutes and nearly clogs my remaining drive space.
Here is the scan result, trimmed to a reasonable dimension. It is upside down so the numbering bands begin to the left. It is easy to see this is a 220Ω resistor with a 5% tolerance. Rather than struggle with the camera, I’ll switch to the scans. So what did I learn? That artwork in my book doubles the workload. Why didn’t I know that? Answer, I did know it. The problem is one of scale. I need 32 high quality photographs and I’ve never done that before as a matching set. Got it? These are tiny parts, not water towers. All photos now have to be of consistent focus, pattern, and layout. Not as easy as it sounds. My previous experience was with diagrams and charts, which I can produce practically in an instant.
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