Here is the batbike awaiting its turn for the new tire. Can you see it? Did I mention when Lance and I got there to check progress, he and the mechanic knew each other? What did I say about quality and the old boy network? The shop has so much business I may have to wait until next week. That’s fine, I’m going to avoid driving while my arm is sore. But shortly after it is better, look out. All I can say is while I’m here doing nothing, the travel budget becomes an unspent asset. I am driving the eBike, which has some stats in today’s addendum.
What’s this, silver hit a recent high of $32.35 per ounce? It still hasn’t gone wild and I’m not averse to buying while prices rise if only because it goes against the conventional pattern that makes other people lose their money. This time, I’m staying put if only because gold has not followed suit. The fiscal cliff was only stalled, not stopped. The government is still spending $100 billion more per month that it raises in taxes. That’s billion with a “b”.Last evening saw another power outage. Around an hour at prime time. The Frenchies all fired up their generators, which is a little surprising since while I would not call them cheap, they are certainly frugal. As my hurricane lanterns are stored about my workbench, I instinctively reached for the power to that battery tester I built. It lit up the whole room. Neat. For next I found I have plenty enough LEDs and battery power to illuminate my entire place (12V, 18A). In fact, with the colored LEDs used to test memory circuits, it was quite a show. I was able to easily read a full color atlas while waiting out in the Florida room. That’s colors hard to see by coal oil. How about that?
We haven’t heard about the Arduino in a while, though I’m now the proud owner of four units. The thing for me is I enjoy seeing the Arduino projects by other people and figuring out how to build them without the Arduino. This is more challenging than most of the projects, is what I’m saying. A review of user comments shows that finally, years after I made the first lonely complaints, others are expressing discontent with Radio Shack (high prices, limited selection) and Digi-Key (horrendous web page, annoying pop-ups).
Most user projects lack imagination which adds another disincentive to me. But really, the worst barrier remains the Arduino language, a derivative of C+. There is nothing elegant or advanced about a language that requires up to 15 command lines to save an average string of data (I’ve seen as many as 55). Those who think that is neat have rocks in their heads. They like to claim it can do things other languages cannot, which even if true loses all value in mindless over-complexity. The reality is C+ has not introduced a single command that was not present in granddaddy BASIC.
MSN.com, where I only go because you have to when you log off hotmail, has reported New York is looking at 250 square foot “apartments”. Less than half the size of my cramped quarters (mind you, I have a yard, a large shed, a back patio, a front porch, and three parking spaces). I think the way these corrupt northeastern states will have to trim their pension plans, these shoeboxes will arrive and become normal fare. Florida won’t because of that strange influx of retirees who don’t know any better. Note that MSN sets off all my elaborate spyware and malware alarms, up to eight at a time. They are constantly trying to track my untrackable track.
Having seen some newscasts on Desert Storm, I thought to look up the kill ratio for the M1A1 Abrams. Can’t find it. There are no readily available states on that tank, and I found several sources that said no crew member has ever been killed in one. I had wanted to compare it to the German Tiger. Be wary of raw statistics, for the German crews often carried forward their former kill counts when they were issued a new tank. Another tank that doesn’t seem to have gotten scratched in the Middle East is the British Challenger which seems to be the name of three different tanks. That is to be expected from a country that calls itself Britain, England, British Isles, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, to name a few.
Last, some sad news. Estelle’s cat died. Having long since guessed she doesn’t get a lot of emotional support at home, I invited her for tea and ginger snaps. We half-watched the only chick flick I’ve got, some story about a salesman. I let her talk it out, the cat had cancer and she felt it was her fault for not spotting the symptoms earlier and getting a vet. I explained animals in Nature can’t show any signs of weakness until the last moment, she didn’t know about that. She left in better spirits. Ginger snaps and I go back a long way and I don’t even like them. But you can’t argue with tradition.
ADDENDUM
An inventory of the vehicles shows I’m in good shape for a while. Quality has become an iffy segment of transportation. I’ll explain. The eBike now has new tires, new cables, and new brakes. This type of maintenance came to nearly a third the price of a new unit, and it now requires a new battery after slightly less than 200 of the claimed life of 400 charges. Everything is well past the warrantee dates. So these things work when you have the cash to keep them working.
Same with the scooter. The factory tires and batteries are junk, though these and the eBike batteries will still produce enough juice to run my robotics desk, where the unit of current is measured in thousandths of an amp. Almost the full price of the scooter has been plowed back into keeping it on the road for nearly 9,500 miles. Keep in mind, I got it for practically half price, but still.
And the batbike. It was built back when empirical design still had sway at the factories. It is overbuilt tough enough to last much longer. I’ve state my intention to keep replacing and upgrading it to complete reliability and to purchase a camper unit which doubles as a small utility trailer. I’ve sunk about a grand into it so far.
memphis steam laundry; balkenkreuz german iron cross; "worm that turned"; amish honey; andrea johnson; pro surfer pictures; axis sally; christy walton; different kinds of millionaire plants; balkenkreuz german iron cross; axis sally; recognizing herbs spices; two dollar bill coloring page; brick tent; my memories of titusville trailer court; my memories of titusville trailer court on us1; the arty, 3 wheeler; timer555;
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