Fit Bit Mini Review

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4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

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Great way to keep track of activity levels. It doesn’t always recognize exactly what you’re doing but you can make manual adjustment.

Difficult to remember to input foods and liquids, but when you do it can be a very effective measuring device.

Not always comfortable, but fairly no invasive on the whole.

One time when I took it off to charge it the Fit Bit thought I went to bed. Hmm….

Heart rate seems fairly accurate (seems like it should have helped out with that sleeping issue “Oh, he’s dead… well, we’ll count that as sleep.”) but sometimes gets thing wrong.

The interface on the watch is simple. Interface on IOS is straightforward too. Very manageable in all regards.

Bluetooth synching can take forever if you don’t do it everyday.

Not a perfect device, but the best I’ve tried yet.

Platinum 5′ Lighting Cable- Nice!

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4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

Platinum 5′ Lightning Cable

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What a great lightning cable! The braided cable is extra durable. 5′ length is a nice upgrade over the standard 3′ variety and they are black too (an added bonus, in my opinion). I picked up two of them and they have been perfect for my vehicles where the cable gets pinched by the glovebox, center console or in between seats. Very nice quality.

Doom Review

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4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

doom-ps4

This is a fantastic game. You wake up. One mission: Kill the demons of hell and escape. Lots of nostalgic elements (find the levers to open the pc-style doom doors). Fast paced. Difficult but not generally frustrating. Gory and intense. I recommend playing it in the dark.

9/10

GoPro Hero Black Review

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4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

The Hero 4 Black is a very cool little camera with one very big problem. After borrowing my work’s Hero 3 I knew I needed my own GoPro. I picked up the Hero 4 and a few accessories. It does almost exactly what I need. Video quality is great. Audio is so-so. But the biggest problem is this: No screen means you can’t tell exactly what you’re filming. You can set up a wireless network (from the camera) to stream a preview to your phone however the audio then includes a helicopter noise. Absolutely ridiculous and there is no fix for this (it’s fine if you don’t need the audio and admittedly most of the time I don’t stream to my phone). Regardless- a cool little camera that has been a lot of fun. The Hero 5 is out now – with a screen – so I might need to go that direction.

gopro-hero-4

Don’t Run Your AC In the Winter

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4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

I didn’t know this was a thing but it most definitely is. When you start your AC compressor in the cold it can cause serious damage. First thing’s first… what kind of idiot would run his AC in the winter?

Background: I’ve got an under-the-garage gym in my basement. No windows (which ironically would solve all of the problems associated with this issue as you will see). I only use this gym at night. I create a lot of body heat and the room often rises into the 80’s (from the 60’s) after only an hour or so without cooling.  I believe this makes me one of like 3 people in the USA who lives in a cold state who needs to cool a room late at night during winter. :/ Here again, a window would solve this in a heart beat. But alas.

Anyway, I am the proud owner of a Wiser Air thermostat (very cool- check it out if you’re looking for a smart wireless thermostat solution). It always worked great until one day the AC would no longer turn on. I worked with their customer service (excellent, BTW) on the issue with no luck. They graciously sent me a new thermostat and it worked just fine until I linked it to my phone. Then, inexplicably, it would no longer turn on the AC. However, that was the key to figuring out the problem.

The Wiser Air knows it’s not a good idea to turn on your AC when it’s below a certain temperature outside. And as soon as you link the thermostat to your phone app it knows what the temperature outside is! And voila- it won’t turn your AC compressor on. A Wiser Air tech pointed this out. That was how I learned you should never turn on your air conditioning in the winter. That leaves me with a bit of a pickle though- I still need to find some way to cool that room. No solution yet.

 

Razer Mamba Wireless Mouse… with Wires (WTF)

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4/30/2017 – This post is part of a large release of “DRAFT” entries. Many of these these entries were never finished (and may still not be) or were composed but never published for one reason or another. If you run across one of of these in a strange spot or out of chronological order that may be one reason.

I own a wired Razer Mamba and I really enjoy it. Why not take it to the next level? I thought and purchased the wireless version. I opened the box and was impressed by the presentation:

As I pulled everything out I became quite disenfranchised. What was this giant wire thing? It turns out that you plug the “wireless” transmitter into your computer’s USB  The Mamba is wireless in the sense that it communicates with the dock and it doesn’t have a cord that plugs into the computer (comical but frustrating).

Anyway, long story short…the wireless Maba has a cord that’s as least as long as the wired equivalent. I understand why (now); the wireless transmitter also serves as a charging dock. Maybe this is great for some people but I work at a laptop on a couch so it’s not viable for me to have a wireless mouse with a huge wired cradle.


Anyone need a Raer Mamba? $100 shipped anywhere in the USA. Brand new.

Blue Calipers, Black logos, Vinyl & Tinting

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I admit it- I like making little tweaks to my car (I know… this hard to believe). I’ve wanted a blue- calipered car for quite awhile (probably originating back to when Chevy offered them as an option on their now-discontinued ZR1 series). I did a mock-up of my 911 with blue calipers and really liked the look. I also thought a few black accents on the back would look nice and so the spoiler and engine cover got a Photoshop job. And then the car was off to Luxe Auto Spa!

It took a couple of weeks but then I go to see the real thing…

Pretty close! I had the calipers ceramic coated BHQ Blue (more on that below) and they turned out really well (I like the actual version better than my mock-up). Luxe suggested white lettering on the calipers which I think was an excellent call. Even though I liked the yellow calipers I wanted something different and a little more me (whatever that means).

Luxe also did a great job with the rear vinyl. The spoiler looks amazing in black (if I can find a good carbon fiber spoiler I’ll eventually go in that direction or at least have the wing painted black). The vinyl on the engine cover vents might verge on overboard but I think it also offers nice  contrast. I didn’t include it in my rendering but we also added black lettering (no “911” as it isn’t readily available and already appears on the license plate). It was clear from the mock-up that the tail lights were going to be too bright and so we toned them down with some tinting. I think everything works really well together and it turned out pretty wicked!

Some additional photos:

Luxe did a super job matching my color sample- the blue on the BHQ logo.

Seriously great: black and blue compliment each other so well.

Shot of the back of the car (everyone seems to like the mountains more than the car).

Shot of the front of the car.

Lower light shot. That is one fine rear end!

I keep wondering if I’ve gone too far. This is another Turbo S that I came across here in Lehi. To me it feels too plain. Not a big fan of the clear tail lights and the solid white (painted exhaust valance and non-glass sun roof).  When I compare this to mine I really like my contrast and even the busy-ness (however, I realize a lot of other people feel exactly the opposite).

Will it Turn On? Powering on a Vintage Apple Powerbook 540c for the First Time!

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Back in January 2015 I opened my MIB Powerbook 540C. Opening a 20+ year old “toy” is exciting. But you know what’s even more exciting? Turning it on for the first time:

If you don’t want to watch the video I’ll save you a bit of time. First we actually pull off the shrink wrap from the manuals. We plug everything in and press the power button. The familiar Mac startup noise lets us know that we have lift-off. Everything seems to work great (although there is a line running through part of the screen). It’s easy to forget how loud hard drives used to be!

So what’s next for the 540c? Admittedly it’s pretty hard to use two-plus decade old technology for anything more than a nostalgia-high. The whole 500-series experience is pretty substandard by modern day benchmarks. Any applications or games can be easily emulated on current computers (one of the big reasons I haven’t been able to bring myself to purchase an NES Classic). So, to answer the question… I guess it goes back into storage for another twenty years.