One year ago today: September 17, 2015, 42 hours of rain.
Five years ago today: September 17, 2011, a generic day.
Nine years ago today: September 17, 2007, Haines City to Sebring.
Random years ago today: September 17, 2012, Vinita, Oklahoma.
MORNING
That band last night irked me for some reason. I don’t know the guys and the drummer was the best for getting it right. It was two guitar players, drummer, and vocalist, but the same old story.
So when I got home, I hauled out my bass and played for an hour. Yeah, they’re great third-raters. Real musicians can play songs that are not their favorites. As for my ad for a rhythmist, I’m still sorting through the flakes who respond to every ad. If I get one who persists, I send them the old video of Jag & I. That’s as far as most of them get. When they realize this project is not a guitar-centric power duo designed to showcase their incredible licks, they disappear. These yahoos are everywhere.
Here’s the latest exoskeleton. Well, not the latest. The company, Ekso, falsely told people they would be marketing these things for $100,000 a pop. In fact, the company founder had already quit to start his own firm “at half the weight and a third of the price”. Almost every part you see here is has been commercially available for years. (Anyway, Ekso is under investigation.)
If they make one in the $10,000 range that lasts all day, give me a call. I’ll be first to walk across America on it. Here’s another novel idea. I’m reading about relays and solenoids as they can be activated by the Arduino. Who remembers the Etch-a-Sketch clock? That got me to thinking. I wonder what would happen if I coupled relays, say around sixty of them, to an old mechanical typewriter. Wouldn’t that be something to watch in action?
I haven’t owned a typewriter since the early 80s, when I gave my portable to Marion. Even she is totally computer now. The logical design would be to have an overlay of solenoids that punched the keys, but I can already think of a variety of interfaces. If it is done right, nobody should be able to tell the finished document from a real typewritten page. This is only for show, kind of a demonstration of ability. But then, I just thought of the idea walking into the library this morning. Give it some time. As an exercise, I think I’ll map out the flowchart and take some keyboard measurements.
Given the parameters, the Arduino has only around 15 useable pins, but that can be stepped up easily by incorporating a serial to parallel output bus. The Arduino operates in the 15 MHz speed range, so the limit is how fast the typewriter keys can fly without jamming. Mavis Beacon, meet your maker. There must be some technology around from the early days with teletype machines, but I want to see an actual typewriter go at it. For now, I balk at the cost of sixty solenoids.
Sphynx.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
NOON
I’ve decided to try those new PVC receptacle boxes. Experience tells me to always use the biggest box you can fit into the available space. See picture of marking the cable runs. I’ll put five boxes into the room, without really knowing how thick the wall material will eventually be.
I also got to thinking about Chicken Kiev. You take the chicken breasts and pound them flat, right? So, how is the average person supposed to know they are chicken breasts? Ah, see, you’re thinking—if you’re are going to thump the thing out of all recognition, why choose the most expensive cut?
What if you took skinless, boneless thighs at around half the price and applied the same amount of recipe using the Hammer of Thorski? If you look close, the thigh has almost the same amount of meat as a half breast. And I’ve already found one breast is not enough and two is too many. But two thighs would be right-sized. I’ll give it a try.
Besides, it didn’t take much to notice that although [household] expenses have gone up, they have done so in a manner that offsets the cost. Who cares if prices double it your enjoyment factor goes off the scale? You roll in at midnight to home-made cookies instead of dropping $16 bucks at the pizza joint. (Can you still get a pizza for $16?) Put it this way, why complain about the price of paper towels if you are now wiping pure gravy off your shirt?
Now for a faint glimmer of good news. The breaker box , if completely redone with the “slimline” breakers, becomes just big enough to accommodate all my planned additions. Lots can go wrong, but it would be possible to fit five new circuits in there where I only would need four to get by. And, if I’m not mistaken, one of the existing pieces is fit between two slots, where if replaced would free up three additional. Electric wiring is like programming, it involves a lot of screwing around to get it right.
I mentioned the thickness of the walls. According to Agt. R, vapor barrier is not as big a thing for Florida as in climates that have real winter. The existing literature says the two layers of drywall for soundproofing, but R. says just run a single layer of tarpaper over the studs before a covering of 5/8” drywall. We have the wall, the time, and the money to give this a try.
He also says getting the insulation quite airtight isn’t as important, as long as the air circulation is impeded. Good, because a few pieces of my older insulation, now bone dry, did get somewhat wet a while ago and it likes to separate. But I’m using it up. At fifty bucks a bale, the stuff isn’t cheap any more.
There’s more. I read about a circulating system that gives instant hot water out of every tap. It takes too much time to get the hot water to the tub, a good thirty feet of pipe away from the heater. It is that cast iron pipe which delivers only luke water until the pipe itself gets hot. That should also be insulated. Anyway, I'm curious how this hot water system works.
NIGHT
Here’s a photo I’d almost rather not show you, as JZ was openly critical about putting any insulation in the walls until after the electrical was done. He’s not working in the 110°F heat of the afternoon most of the time. It was the insulation that made it bearable. I know it’s messy, shown here I prop up the batts while I pull the cable, but it works. Visible is the NM cable run the regulation 20” above the flooring to a receptacle box 12” off the floor at center.
The A/C is working again, as I had to disconnect it a few days to reroute the wiring. It was bunched up under the joists, man that was a dusty, dirty job. I used the old circuit, since I spotted it was not dedicated (as required by code). I’ll have to run a completely new cable and that will not be so easy. In the end, this bedroom will have eight duplex outlets instead of two. I’ve never even a fan of extension chords or power strips in the bedroom.
The hallway motion detector light is also installed. That works like a charm. It was formerly a pull-chain. People didn’t know to reach for it; too last century, I guess. I opted for a more expensive adjustable timer model that I set to turn out after a minute. I further changed the receptacle nearest the hallway to split. The existing wiring made that relatively easy. From the defunct robot club, I have a big surplus box of switches, so I’m wondering if I should put lights in the closets. It’s wasn’t required by code until recently and it might be a nice touch.
In addition, I’m putting an outlet on every wall more than 20” wide and moving the A/C plugs up the wall to 48” high. Since the cable has to hang there, no sense having it dangle all the way to floor where it gets behind furniture. See, I’m learning.
Last Laugh
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
