tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60268022006799461622024-02-03T00:32:44.528-07:00Gray ThoughtJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-79696126007595167812021-11-18T16:06:00.000-07:002021-11-18T16:06:04.694-07:00Vindriktning air quality sensor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfMIcqeVkgtvwkAkSoxjai5WJhaGlTi6xF_Nl6Yi5wtNAJ3FSKBnRZPTC_EQrR2Mj1d6J5VNAyvT9KzwdsUa2qbhJ-E7miJ5TV4a5c3hpjQLihMBfLiX5jD2Yn0lZcMIgRTKn_upfSCVI/s4032/PXL_20211118_230353874.NIGHT.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfMIcqeVkgtvwkAkSoxjai5WJhaGlTi6xF_Nl6Yi5wtNAJ3FSKBnRZPTC_EQrR2Mj1d6J5VNAyvT9KzwdsUa2qbhJ-E7miJ5TV4a5c3hpjQLihMBfLiX5jD2Yn0lZcMIgRTKn_upfSCVI/s320/PXL_20211118_230353874.NIGHT.jpg"/></a>
<p>I have a Home Assistant server setup so I thought I would make an wireless air quality sensor using Ikea's Vindriktning and an ESP that so it can be monitored. But I ordered a few ESP32-C3 which is at the moment bleeding edge tecnology and isn't compleatly implimented in ESPHome. So.. at the moment this project is on hold.</p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix02hwWEKNFenhp2h-iUvISFTA3MySqZLWxYXiWQMU8n7uFSWBsVzslal8AwsTLRlFRIdiCGfp2Furz3AXIYVk2sf58sNLEE49NjUaCrrmEWgmWJ4BS62QqgIi-ZQIeUthT6UvAkfik1rz/s4032/PXL_20211118_225802428.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2713" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix02hwWEKNFenhp2h-iUvISFTA3MySqZLWxYXiWQMU8n7uFSWBsVzslal8AwsTLRlFRIdiCGfp2Furz3AXIYVk2sf58sNLEE49NjUaCrrmEWgmWJ4BS62QqgIi-ZQIeUthT6UvAkfik1rz/s200/PXL_20211118_225802428.jpg"/></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-T2dYnTn4nb3aLPmaR5X1l-HNO25Y1dGCcQlQv_rq7SDjciOudl-cMZVmIT29OJt-EBS_OGrQHd0C8foH2tUBQFs7NKFfDiYGiLCBYVc69Wp-593zbr6hnsjfG1_WqK62KNaGcAG5WD1/s4032/PXL_20211118_225515795.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-T2dYnTn4nb3aLPmaR5X1l-HNO25Y1dGCcQlQv_rq7SDjciOudl-cMZVmIT29OJt-EBS_OGrQHd0C8foH2tUBQFs7NKFfDiYGiLCBYVc69Wp-593zbr6hnsjfG1_WqK62KNaGcAG5WD1/s200/PXL_20211118_225515795.jpg"/></a>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-59567960712318548462021-11-05T13:02:00.003-06:002021-11-05T13:02:51.056-06:00Ikea Billy short bookcase<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNlOntmTd1yoNc4EgTCQEjMOcDCG7rFxfH8OVi5mUooH2Hd3SUtj7J3QU0GzJjyDNITk5opbgLonunarSPiieWd-IgyXFq2IWf0M9GuuxCQXdR1Tp-98INzSIel-wcx7UKHXIT0HDcyWG/s4032/PXL_20211105_181220743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNlOntmTd1yoNc4EgTCQEjMOcDCG7rFxfH8OVi5mUooH2Hd3SUtj7J3QU0GzJjyDNITk5opbgLonunarSPiieWd-IgyXFq2IWf0M9GuuxCQXdR1Tp-98INzSIel-wcx7UKHXIT0HDcyWG/s320/PXL_20211105_181220743.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Okay so I have a wall with some bookcases on it and clearly I need more shelves but I also want to keep the short bookcase in the middle as kind of a display area. Also I would love for them to all look the same.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5rYN_NIxugSlAi7lrcAoAXfChTJkGEnJuh0rzNWOlSWdMlC1JdDLMbprFIcPhBgzWMRGhzxjXB96l8ND3QyeMxJ4uqxNcuzSAMjq__CXBQ79AbPBkgwyy8XfkuxIl2caTtzZf-3L5mix/s4032/PXL_20211105_181243113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd5rYN_NIxugSlAi7lrcAoAXfChTJkGEnJuh0rzNWOlSWdMlC1JdDLMbprFIcPhBgzWMRGhzxjXB96l8ND3QyeMxJ4uqxNcuzSAMjq__CXBQ79AbPBkgwyy8XfkuxIl2caTtzZf-3L5mix/s320/PXL_20211105_181243113.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The problem is, I do not have room for 3 bookcases without covering up a light switch. If I just had an extra 4 inches I could squeeze them all in. Now Ikea does sell a slimmer one but... (I often wonder what's the point, I mean I am sure it has its place but 15 inches is just not big enough.) Anyway I think it would just look odd.<p></p><p>So the plan is to make the short full width bookcase that Ikea sells a little skinnier. But after purchasing it I wonder why I didn't just buy a full size and only fill the bottom half with shelves. I would still have to make it skinnier but for the price and future movability it would have been the smarter move. Always second guessing things after it is done and cannot be returned! Or maybe It will just have to be version 2, oh well. Better luck next time 🤨? This is why I never get anything done!</p><p>But I digress, back to the plan! After measuring and then sitting on it for a day or two I measured again and realized I was off by almost 2 inches. Thankfully I had not made any cuts yet, but now I am mostly absolutely positive maybe that I need to take about 4 inches off the width of the bookcase. Maths is hard! Oh that made me remember the book I read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39074550-humble-pi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Humble Pi</a>, It's good and funny.</p><p>Yeah so... back to it... again. This is where I am currently with the project but I'll update this post and maybe add some pictures of the process once I'm done.</p>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-41941453967746809542021-11-03T15:07:00.001-06:002021-11-03T15:07:18.238-06:00SDR HD Radio<p>This was saved as an unfinished daft from a few years ago... figured I would post it anyway.</p>
<p>I just spent a ton of hours getting <b>nrsc5</b> installed on my macOS without using ports or brew. The question is was it worth it?</p>
<pre>
Dependencies
- git
- cmake
- autoconf
- libtool
- help2man
- xz
- automake
- libao
- libfftw3
./configure --enable-threads && make -j8 && sudo make install
./configure --enable-float --enable-threads && make -j8 && sudo make install
- librtlsdr
- libusb
- pkg-config
./configure --with-internal-glib
edit CMakeLists.txt
cmake_policy(SET CMP0075 NEW)
set(CMAKE_MACOSX_RPATH 1)
nrsc5
edit CMakeLists.txt
-check_symbol_exists (_Imaginary_I complex.h HAVE_IMAGINARY_I)
-check_symbol_exists (_Complex_I complex.h HAVE_COMPLEX_I)
+check_symbol_exists (I complex.h HAVE_IMAGINARY_I)
+check_symbol_exists (complex complex.h HAVE_COMPLEX_I)
sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/libtoolize /usr/local/bin/glibtoolize
cmake -DUSE_COLOR=ON ..
make -j8
sudo make install
</pre>
<p>and it works...</p>
<p>Would I do it again? Probably, but only now that I have this info on what I needed and what to change for it to work. Heck you could almost make a script out of it...</p>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-62947487649374262672021-11-03T15:01:00.005-06:002021-11-03T15:25:13.847-06:00WHY<p style="font-family: monospace;">Soo… it's been awhile, and well right now things are tough. Simple things that most of the population seem to have no issues with tend to bog me down and imobilize me. Nothing gets done, nothing progresses, and it sucks! It's not like I don't want to do things I just don't want to do anything. For example I have a few projects that would be great if they were done, meaning that I would personally enjoy them being done, but every time I look at them I just feel overwhelmed and give up. I don't even try! And it feels pathetic, I feel like I'm pathetic and not worth anything. And I know that's the shame talking but it still takes it toll. It's buggy that what should modivate just overwhelms me and pushes me further down. Perfection is a hinderence and struggling doing a first draft, a failed run, just seems wrong. I know… well I understand that failure is one of the ways we learn but school taught me that failling is bad and I'm bad for doing it. WHY? Why does living have to be so hard? What's the point? Simple daily tasks like getting out of bed, finding food, or showering shouldn't be this difficult! And it is, it is…</p>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-13185537092398889542017-03-13T18:56:00.002-06:002017-06-11T16:11:11.058-06:00RPI Blank/Black Screen<p>While trying out the latest Raspbian with PIXEL on Raspberry Pi using the Window Manager I noticed that the screen would only go blank/black and never went into standby mode. Now I don't know if this has to do with my cabling setup but I am using an HDMI from the RPi with a converter to DVI into the monitor. After searching for a while I came across a few different suggestions. The following is what I feel is the simplest and most reliable mix of my findings.</p>
<p>The simplest and cleanest way to get the monitor in and out of standby is by using the commands below.</p>
<pre>
<code class="console">$ vcgencmd display_power 0
$ vcgencmd display_power 1</code>
</pre>
<p>xscreensaver has a watch option for checking when it blanks, locks, or unblanks the screen.</p>
<pre>
<code class="perl">#!/usr/bin/perl
my $blanked = 0;
open (IN, "xscreensaver-command -watch |");
while (<IN>) {
if (m/^(BLANK|LOCK)/) {
if (!$blanked) {
system "vcgencmd display_power 0";
$blanked = 1;
}
} elsif (m/^UNBLANK/) {
system "vcgencmd display_power 1";
$blanked = 0;
}
}</code>
</pre>
<p>Now I'm sure there is a way to get this working at startup, but I'm not that skilled, and as this was just to tryout and temporarily play with that's as far as bothered with.</p>
<p>Enjoy!<p/>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-6114523250916694752017-03-13T18:38:00.000-06:002017-06-11T16:14:33.762-06:00wpa_supplicant.conf<h2>Reference info for wpa_supplicant.conf:</h2>
<p>I got tired of looking through pages of documents to find the information I mostly use for setting up wpa_supplicant.conf on my Raspberry Pi devices. So, I'm putting it here.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a way to setup DHCP or Static settings for your networks follow the example under ### Other Options ###.</p>
<pre>
<code>ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
#
# home network; allow all valid ciphers
network={
ssid="home"
scan_ssid=1
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
psk="very secret passphrase"
priority=5
}
# This will connect to any open wifi connection
# if no other connection is available.
network={
key_mgmt=NONE
priority=-1
}
### Other Options ###
network={
ssid="SCHOOLS NETWORK NAME"
psk="SCHOOLS PASSWORD"
id_str="school"
}
network={
ssid="HOME NETWORK NAME"
psk="HOME PASSWORD"
id_str="home"
}</code>
</pre>
<p>The following is part of the ### Other Options ### setup. Edit <code>/etc/network/interfaces</code> with <code>iface school inet static</code> and <code>iface home inet dhcp</code> in it so it looks something like this:</p>
<pre>
<code>auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet dhcp
allow-hotplug wlan0
iface wlan0 inet manual
wpa-roam /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
iface school inet static
address 192.0.2.7
gateway 192.0.2.254
netmask 255.255.255.0
iface home inet dhcp</code>
</pre>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-91266643625348732902016-02-06T05:00:00.000-07:002016-03-02T02:08:21.994-07:00Sep165This was a hard week. I'm not sure when it started to go down hill but I know by Wednesday evening I was out of it mentally and physically. I know I wasn't sleeping well and I guess the added stress of the divorce paperwork put me over the edge. I had lost all vitality and mentally I became easily distract.. Squirrel! Hm? Oh right, Anyway if you're wondering what it's like to deal with depression there is a TED talk which describes it well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-eBUcBfkVCo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-eBUcBfkVCo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br />
So, what got me out of the funk you ask? Well Wednesday night I prayed, something I had gotten out of the habit of doing. I basically said that I'm really struggling and asked for a lifeline –someone to talk to because I didn't know who to contact (I blame this on the mental mush, I've had a number of friends tell me I can call and chat any time)– and I guess I also wanted someway to know that God was really listening.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I believe the quote goes '<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/7.7?lang=eng#6" target="_blank">Ask and ye shall receive</a>' or something like that. I mean I kind of knew it worked, I've seen it happen in other people's lives, but I wasn't sure if it would work for me. And if it did work I thought it would be from family or a really close friend.<br />
<br />
The result? I was contacted by two people.<br />
<br />
On Thursday morning a friend from high school contacted me, although that wasn't quite the amazing part. I suppose I should preface this friendship a little; we had a few classes together, hung out in some of the same groups, are friends on facebook, but we haven't really chatted in years! So you can imagine I was a little surprised when I received the following: <br />
<blockquote class="conv"><div class="left">"This is out of the blue.... But, how are you doing? For some reason I had a gut feeling this morning that I should make sure you are okay."</div></blockquote>I think my jaw hit the floor! Are you serious, did that really just happened!?<br />
<br />
But that's not all! Another person contacted me Thursday afternoon! Now we had only meet two maybe three times in the last 6 months, and these were brief encounters. More like introductions, a question or two, exchange contact information, and that was it. No other contact in any way. In fact I'm a quite surprised they were able to get/find my number. But here is what I received.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="conv"><div class="left">Are you Joseph who wanted to learn violin?</div><div class="right">Yes</div><div class="left">Turns out I didn't have your number and I had to get if from someone! I've been thinking of you recently and feeling the urge to reach out.</div><div class="right">Awesome, well I'm glad you found it. I've been depressed lately and, well, I prayed for some help. I'm finding it interesting who is showing up.</div><div class="left">Yeah I've been trying to get to you because I suspected you've been depressed and I'm pretty sure that music will bring you out of it.</div></blockquote>Wait! What? Yeah, a second time!<br />
<br />
I don't know about you but there is no way I can deny the hand of the Lord in my life after that experience. What better way to show that I am cared about and my Heavenly Father really is there for me, listening, than to pick two practical strangers to be my lifeline! It's also helping me to realize that sometimes we don't get what we want and I'm sure there is a reason, even if I don't like it. But I bear testimony that if we ask and it is for our good and our progress the Lord will provide a way.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-75731761639935402672016-01-31T22:30:00.000-07:002016-03-02T02:08:06.506-07:00Sep159I know it's been some time since I posted last, but not much has really happened. I feel like all I've done is run and recover and I mean that literally. Back in November I was enticed by a friend to run a marathon. This is something I've wanted to do for some time now and with everything going on I needed a change and a goal, so I signed up. Now this isn't my first sporting event I've signed up for but it's been years since feeling like I could even attempt something of this magnitude and even then I wasn't sure I could do it.<br />
<br />
This month I've run for 10 hours and 55 minutes completing 63.7 miles and burning almost 8,000 calories. The marathon takes place at the end of May in Utah. At this rate I should be able to finish without much trouble, but right now it feels like a constant battle and a lot of recovery. Just yesterday I ran 12 miles and tomorrow I'll probably run about 6 miles. I never thought I would say this but a 1 mile run is a piece of cake, two miles isn't really even that bad. Crazy right! I guess with all things in perspective 1 mile compared to 26.2 miles really isn't a lot.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-10796129426388065552016-01-17T21:34:00.000-07:002016-03-02T02:07:52.847-07:00Sep145It's been a couple of busy weeks. Although I'm realizing I can't remember half of what happened off the top of my head. I may have to start doing this once a week, maybe even every few days. But I think for now it will be a weekly update; and as this process of journaling becomes more accustomed –causing either the posts to be longer or written faster– I will look into updating more often.<br />
<br />
Well since today is the freshest in my mind I'll start there. Hmmm.. on second thought I suppose it's better to start with what lead up to today's events. So I'll be starting with what happened this last week.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<em>Sunday:</em> The 10th, I went to church and really didn't do a lot the rest of the day, hmm... not very eventful.<br />
<br />
<em>Monday:</em> This day was a little more active. I ran 4.76 miles in the morning. That evening I went to <u>H</u>ouston <u>U</u>rban <u>G</u>ardeners (HUG) meeting. The topic was basically what plants to start now in houston. As the climate here is a little different from Utah (where I've been getting to know it's particular prevailing weather conditions for the past 10 years) I was excited to learn something new. I was actually a little disappointed, the person talked about a community garden they worked for and what they had done over the past year. Oh well, maybe next time. I suppose from the knowledge I have of plants –mostly vegetable gardens– I can <span title="+10 points for using suss in a sentence.">suss</span> out what plants will struggle and those that will thrive with the current weather. Anyway, after the meeting I got a call to teach at church in Elders Quorum this coming sunday. For those who know me understand why this is a big deal. For those who don't, let's say I have a fear... no I think it is worse, probably a terror would describe it better, yes, I have a terror of speaking, teaching, walking, doing anything in front of people. If I'm in the spotlight I start to shake, sweat profusely, my mind even goes blank, it's difficult to utter a single word let alone have it be audible, well you get the idea. And it doesn't matter if it is thousands of people or just one, if I know the people or not. In front of strangers, friends, family, my kids, or even my wife it doesn't matter. So the fact that I actually said yes, I'm sure will come as a shock to those who know me. I feel I am where I am because I need to learn something new and if I want to change where I am I better step up and learn whatever that something is.<br />
<br />
<em>Tuesday:</em> This afternoon I went to Track 21 with my sister and two of her friends. Okay so Track 21 is a place to race/drive go-carts, they also have laser tag that spans two floors, as well as miniature golf. I've been to this place before with my nephew and we had a blast. The carts do go fast and it is a fun course but today they changed the course a little. Before there were two separate tracks but this time they combined them into a single track. I was very excited to try this new configuration out. I found out that the carts go a lot faster than I thought, I'm sure it helped that part of the change included a long straight stretch where you can really get going. Next we played laser tag and the golf. After having some adrenalin and endorphins pumped through my body, it was on to the next thing I was looking forward to, Etsy SEO: A Free Talk. It wasn't really the talk I was excited about, however I did learn a good amount about search strings and how to improve your sites rank with google among other things. The excitement was the location. Since coming to Texas I've been hoping to find a good maker space and this meetup was at TXRX Labs. Now I've only been to one other makerspace and it was shortly after I got here, it was good but I wasn't impressed. TXRX Labs however, let's say I was in maker heaven! I need to do a little more research and check out a few more places, but for now this place is at the top of my list for locations to make.<br />
<br />
<em>Wednesday:</em> This morning I ran 5.3 miles, it was a struggle to get my legs to move and breathing was a challenge. Today is the 13th... they have always had a special meaning to me. About the time I was in the 7th grade I decided 13 would be my "lucky number", when it fell on a friday those would be the best days, and for the most part they have been. I proposed on a friday the 13th, we were engaged for 13 months and we were married on friday the 13th. As good as those days have been the past few have started kick up memories of the past and it's been difficult because of the upcoming divorce and current separation from my family. The book group started a new book called The Map: To Our Responsive Universe, maybe it will help me figure out what I want to do with my life and where I should go from here. I read through the chapter I'm supposed to teach. Not much else happened today.<br />
<br />
<em>Thursday:</em> Today I felt extremely exhausted, in retrospect I think it's from worrying about the lesson I said I would give on Sunday. (I will find out for sure in the next few days.) That evening I went to the Temple with a friend, it was nice feeling the love of my Heavenly Father but it didn't seem to disperse the fear and uncertainty of giving the lesson.<br />
<br />
<em>Friday & Saturday:</em> I was supposed to run the next two days but didn't. I'm blaming the fact that I'm still exhausted and starting to get depressed. Tonight I'm headed out with the scouts for the second annual Junk Food Campout! We had a fryer setup and even melted some chocolate for dipping. So Twinkies were battered and fried, bananas were dipped in chocolate and battered and fried, Cookie dough, double stuff oreos, and we played around with a few other things. Basically dinner was junk food and we finished off the night with a cobler. I decided to sleep under the stars, well as close as I could get was under a rain fly strung between two trees because of the amount of moisture in the air. It was cold that night so I didn't end up sleeping all that well and my mind was going most of the time that I was asleep but at least I wasn't super wet. The next morning we got the fryer ready and cooked tater tots, fried biscuits, lots and lots of bacon, and a few other things. It had started raining about the time the campout was over. Overall it was a success and the boys had a great time. After that I helped clean up and dry off some of the tents that weren't going to dry at the camp site. Then the rest of the evening I relaxed and and watched some shows with my sister and nephew. I was so tired I even went to bed a little early.<br />
<br />
<em>Today (Sunday)</em> My body just doesn't want to move it feels depleted and exhausted. But I eventually got up and made it to church. Sacrament meeting went fine then onto sunday school where I listened to the lesson while I finalized a few notes on my lesson. Next it was my turn, the lesson was '<a href="https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter/chapter-2-my-peace-i-give-unto-you?lang=eng">Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter; Chapter 2: “My Peace I Give unto You”</a>' I had 30 minutes of time to fill. I was planing on having the group just read through the chapter and ask a few questions but for some reason that's not what I did. I jumped from place to place and I felt prompted to have certain paragraphs read that I didn't highlight and wasn't planning on. But the lesson kind of flowed and the crazy part is it ended perfectly at the end of the hour. I was sure I would be a good 10 minutes early. And yes my body shaked, I lost my train of thought and my place a number of times, but with the help of others sharing and giving insight I think the lesson was a success and I didn't die or pass out. So that was a plus. What did I learn from this? Well, found I can survive leading/teaching a lesson, that people are kind and helpful, and if we have faith in the Lord and follow the promptings we can accomplish things we never thought possible.<br />
<br />
Today I am grateful for the challenge I was given, also the courage, strength, and the support of others that blessed me. Thank You.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-76741827135688760172016-01-03T23:01:00.000-07:002016-01-03T23:01:34.828-07:00Sep131The past year has been... well, let's say the events in my life have changed things drastically. And today I stand looking at a closed door, struggling to find hope and encouragement; contemplating what I'm doing and why I should bother pushing forward. Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” and he's right. I've had doors close before and it was challenging. Sometimes I've even seen the new ones open, but this, this is different. Maybe it's not, maybe I just want it to be; but, for arguments sake, right now, as I'm writing this, it's different.<br />
<br />
I'm sure by now you're thinking, "Enough with the thoughts and emotions, what happened?" Well, the reason I'm telling this is to get those emotions and thoughts out of my head; call it therapy. If you don't like it you don't have to read it. But, just to warn you from this point forward the blog will be about me blabbing about my life.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-66106206286366427872013-03-08T02:14:00.004-07:002014-09-22T17:38:55.154-06:00TFTP Server in Snow LeopardI have an old WRTP54G from Vonage and wanted to unlock it so I can setup my own VoIP with Asterisk. But in order to do that the <a href="http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21123078-Unlock-TUTORIAL-VONAGE-WRTP54GRTP300-WITH-50104" target="_blank">instructions</a> indicated I needed to have a tftp server setup using windows and that just looked like a lot of setup/work. So I looked at how to do it on a Mac and this is what I found.<br />
<br />
You can start and stop tftp using the following commands<br />
<br />
sudo launchctl load -F /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist<br />
<br />
sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist<br />
<br />
tftp files are stored in /private/tftpboot<br />
<br />
<br />
Now That was Easy!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I did however still need a windows vbox to run cyt35.exe and I don't have the code or know what it does so I couldn't hack it from the mac. Maybe I'll dig into it some day.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
TFTP <a href="http://aplawrence.com/MacOSX/tftp.html" target="_blank">[source]</a><br />
WRTP54G Unlock <a href="http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21123078-Unlock-TUTORIAL-VONAGE-WRTP54GRTP300-WITH-50104" target="_blank">[soruce]</a>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-13879271437173939872013-01-11T09:00:00.000-07:002016-01-29T09:27:05.494-07:00Raspberry Pi<div>
A number of moths ago I purchases a Raspberry Pi. It is basically a computer smaller than a 3x5 card with a price around $35. You can find out more about it and the number of amazing things they are capable of at <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/" target="_blank">raspberrypi.org</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I may have to get a few more...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As for the ONE that I do own I've followed a few steps and set it up with XBMC (which is a nice little media center). You can read how to do it at <a href="http://www.raspbmc.com/" target="_blank">raspbmc.com</a>.</div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-51616298788421437092010-12-01T12:14:00.001-07:002010-12-01T12:59:14.925-07:00Terminal and PATHAfter installing the latest MySQL for education/testing to my Mac I noticed I still needed to add the mysql/bin directory to my <span style="font-size: x-small;">$PATH</span>. I thought okay this should be simple to do right? But, following a mind numbing searching through a bunch of <i>.shell_name_profile_info</i> files in my home directory I became frustrated. So where is the correct place to store a new path for just installed software (assuming it didn't do it for me?)<br />
<br />
The final answer should be simple right? Well, <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://lifehacker.com/5687190/if-you-begin-a-sentence-with-well-theres-a-good-chance-youre-lying">(and I'm lying here)</a></span> it depends, who do you want to have easy access to the new path? For instance if you use <b>su -</b> and you add the path to just your stuff your out of luck when root or any other user is trying to get things started.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Info for Mac OS X 10.6:</u><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I like <a href="http://macromates.com/">TextMate</a> but vi is free and included. <a href="http://www.lagmonster.org/docs/vi.html">(info on using vi) </a></span><br />
<br />
Strictly You PATH:<span style="font-size: x-small;">(or the person you are logged in as)</span><br />
<b>vi ~/.profile</b><br />
edit or add if it's not already there<br />
<b>export PATH="<i>/path/you/want/to/add:</i>$PATH"</b><br />
and save the file.<br />
<br />
All User PATH:<br />
go to <br />
<b>cd /etc/paths.d</b><br />
make a new file<b> </b><br />
<b>sudo vi <i>mysql</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(SoftwareName)</i></span></b><br />
enter your new path <br />
<b>/usr/local/mysql/bin</b><br />
and save the new file<br />
<br />
And because I'm still somewhat new to this if anyone has info on the proper place to setup <span style="font-size: x-small;">PATH</span> just for root please let me know and I'll add it in. Thanks.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-12919152060030274172010-11-21T23:15:00.000-07:002010-11-21T23:15:19.301-07:00Seperation of Tech and Food!I have decided to split my blog into two. I have realized that this blog lacks a clear focus. Therefore, Gray Thought will become home to all my tech hacks and computer support. If you have any computer problems you'd like hacked or discussed, I'd love you to provide me a challenge! Just leave a comment on one of my existing posts and I will research accordingly.<br />
<br />
As for my food posts, I will move that to <a href="http://pepperscheesecakes.blogspot.com/">Pepper's Cheesecakes</a>. You will find most of my food posts have already moved to the new blog. I am hoping to update it with a current list of available cheesecakes, their sizes and prices for those of you who may want to share one with family and friends. Also check frequently for my other adventures in the food world. I never thought I'd be a baker, but it turns out I love to bake! I am sure this love will lead to destinations yet to be determined.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-29596834522708332962010-08-15T00:00:00.000-06:002014-02-15T13:11:39.319-07:00Apple's Dictionary/Wikipedia Bug!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: small;">Update: Apple fixes Dictionary in 10.6.5, released today(10 Nov. 2010)! </span></u><br />
Here is the File they changed:<br />
/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/DictionaryServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Wikipedia.wikipediadictionary/Contents/Info.plist<br />
<br />
And What they changed in the Info.plist file:<br />
<key>WikipediaDataURL</key><br />
<string>http://%@.wikipedia.org/<b style="color: #ea9999;">w/index.php?title=%@&amp;useskin=monobook</b></string><br />
<key>WikipediaDataVariantURL</key><br />
<string>http://%@.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%@&amp;variant=%@<b style="color: #ea9999;">&amp;useskin=monobook</b></string><br />
<br />
I guess they liked my fix so much they decided to use it! And why couldn't they update this earlier?<br />
====== End Update ======<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2U8EicvfxiQ1NmUG3ivIk4RXfmXdTocojS42YPpNtM29de40N9uXLXKnUp0SO2gZo-Gofk6ESG0uEG6xYBvF9ZxLsuysYMJ-NH5IGPuXipUEKZrpUhcSCsvZVPl7JKauhNSfxm7XPK2YJ/s1600/Dictionary_Icon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2U8EicvfxiQ1NmUG3ivIk4RXfmXdTocojS42YPpNtM29de40N9uXLXKnUp0SO2gZo-Gofk6ESG0uEG6xYBvF9ZxLsuysYMJ-NH5IGPuXipUEKZrpUhcSCsvZVPl7JKauhNSfxm7XPK2YJ/s320/Dictionary_Icon.png" /></a>Okay, I was about to post something completely different, but as I went to look up some information in Wikipedia (via Apple's Dictionary app) I ran into a snag. I could no longer scroll beyond the bottom of the window. (Ok you Mac users give it a try.) I use Spotlight (command-space) then type in a word like "tree," select Definition and it brings up the Dictionary app. Now click on Wikipedia and you have some good info on trees except like I said you can't scroll any further down.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, Why did this happen? Well, it's rather simple Wikipedia wanted to enhance/update their user interface. You can read about the changes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:UsabilityInitiativePrefSwitch">here</a>. No fault there, they have every right to innovate and improve. So now it's up to Apple to fix. "Well, what are they waiting for," you ask? That's a good question considering Wikipedia has been testing these changes since November 2009 and I'm sure Apple has known about it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Alas, I guess it's up to the hackers and tech geeks to fix until the big companies decide it's important enough for them to do.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's the info and education on the fix:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wikipedia default skin(look) was Monobook, their new one is Vector. If we modify the Dictionary's Wikipedia search string we can force it to use the old skin by adding useskin=monobook. (You can read more fun stuff to do with the search string @ <a href="http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Parameters_to_index.php">MediaWiki</a>.)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The file to change is deep in the system frameworks so be careful not to edit anything else or it could break something.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u style="background-color: #cc0000; color: #f4cccc;"><b>Warning:</b></u><b style="background-color: #cc0000; color: #f4cccc;"> Edit the file at your own risk, I am not responsible if you break something!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The file: (starting from the root directory)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/DictionaryServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Wikipedia.wikipediadictionary/Contents/Info.plist</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What to change:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<key>WikipediaDataURL</key></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<string>http://%@.wikipedia.org/wiki/%@</string></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<key>WikipediaDataURL</key></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<string>http://%@.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%@&amp;useskin=monobook</string></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The file <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Info.plist)</span> and the folder it's in <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Contents)</span> have read only privilege's, so if you really want to make the change and you don't know how you will have to look up file/folder permissions and how to change them on a mac. Good Luck!<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f4cccc;">Note (16 Oct. 2010):</span></span></b> I mentioned this in a comment below. If you decided to test out the URL in your browser you will get an error when using &amp; <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f4cccc;">However Dictionary.app WILL crash if you only use &! </span></span></b></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-10652587437655481452010-05-19T23:03:00.004-06:002010-07-22T17:47:54.127-06:00Doorbell Chime<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAe09QmBXwIOBPZSSbOsEvKEVbbWnEeysPvsWKOPFFttZXNmEi9b1o5aFHGZupZ3GgMiUBnxs8oDnKxeHcbYNdnOiFN4vpxs-oFsH00nPuB-ZPME3CmR09qY5riWjDqEH1z-7i7bCi7Hy//" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAe09QmBXwIOBPZSSbOsEvKEVbbWnEeysPvsWKOPFFttZXNmEi9b1o5aFHGZupZ3GgMiUBnxs8oDnKxeHcbYNdnOiFN4vpxs-oFsH00nPuB-ZPME3CmR09qY5riWjDqEH1z-7i7bCi7Hy//" width="164" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back in May of 2009 we decided to repaint our living room. In the process I removed the doorbell cover and chime. No big loss, I didn't really miss it (in fact we kind of regret having a doorbell at times now), but it did leave some wire's hanging out of the wall. I finally decided we needed to do something about the wires. Sure I could just reinstall the old one; everything worked, but I've never liked the whole look of a plastic box sticking out of the wall (If something goes on a wall it should be decorative or functional.) While, the doorbell cover is marginally functional (it covers the ugly chime,) it doesn't do anything but sit there and detract from the rest of the decor in the room. On the other hand a thermostat while it can be ugly it displays the temperature and allows me to control my environment (functional.) It was decided that our new doorbell chime should be decorative as well as functional.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The process of finding anything decorative my wife and I agree on is a lengthy and often stressful one. But along and alas we finally picked a new chime, the Craftmade Hand Carved Scroll Design Chime in Matte Black - (CH1515-BK.). After it arrived and we opened it up to take a look. It has real glass with an Tea stained/frost to it and the whole thing is very solid. After holding it up in place we decided it would look really awesome if it had a light in it, (considering it looks like an old time lantern.) I said, "Sure I can do that."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2v7RZLLrIxCrR_I5TFoAA7e2PpmjyqIcnUS6STgShCPZ4NC58yFO5-Gt9PfkbGz9v3Jy4xtq84_BxsD6dFyi1jAzDIxBNNdLchRHn4JvMizmN9S-AtVO0zXOnjvoWalq8XWGNXzIRlC5/s1600/Doorbell-ChimeLight" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2v7RZLLrIxCrR_I5TFoAA7e2PpmjyqIcnUS6STgShCPZ4NC58yFO5-Gt9PfkbGz9v3Jy4xtq84_BxsD6dFyi1jAzDIxBNNdLchRHn4JvMizmN9S-AtVO0zXOnjvoWalq8XWGNXzIRlC5/s200/Doorbell-ChimeLight" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8lnMqgNfvXc/S_TEyLMXktI/AAAAAAAAAIw/JK-XyX9tSYI/s1600/Doorbell-ChimeLight" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now the fun part was figuring out how. I didn't want to have the light on constantly or I would be wasting energy and replacing bulbs all the time. After some thought I came up with the best idea. I would use a night light with the light sensor on it. I stripped down the nightlight, bringing it completely down to it's skivvies; wires exposed, the whole nine yards. I had to remove the sensor that was soldered on the night light circuit board and then attach it to a cord that would enable the sensor to sit outside the chime cover. Then I knew I had to secure a way for the light to stay IN the box. That was a bit tricky. I went through several iterations of securing the light, in the process mildly electrocuting myself, and finally had it all good to go. But the darn light wouldn't turn on, no matter how dark I got it. After much consideration, contemplation, and a bit of frustration, it dawned on me. I hadn't screwed in the light bulb! So I had to practically dismantle the whole thing to put in the bulb, and it works.</span></div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-40341317065194951172010-04-02T10:45:00.000-06:002010-04-02T10:51:27.622-06:00HDTVSo the other day I was looking at some of the new HDTV's and came across all this hype about needing an HD antenna for free over-the-air broadcast. I thought to myself okay that's cool, but it just wasn't settling right. Later that day it hit me. You don't need a new antenna! The frequencies for UHF/VHF haven't changed, the only thing that has changed is how the information is sent on those frequencies and the bandwidth that is taken up by each station.<br />
<br />
So to clear up the confusion here are a few links to info and such about antennas for digital TV:<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.dtv.gov/topfaqs.html#faq2">Can I Use My UHF/VHF Antenna to Receive DTV?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tv.about.com/od/accesspries/ss/AntennaBuyGuide.htm" zt="18/1]Z">Introduction to Over-The-Air Antennas</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.dtv.gov/">Digital Television (DTV)</a>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-4881237317350825652010-03-12T21:40:00.001-07:002010-07-21T20:53:22.686-06:00Teach the USA to cook.After watching the video I went and looked at my son's milk that he gets from school (yes same as the ones in the store.) In 8 oz. of "1% Chocolate Lowfat Milk" there are 24 grams of sugars. Ounce per ounce, about the same as in a can of soda! And we think this is helping our kids?<br />
<br />
But, he also doesn't drink it everyday and I know how to cook and make him a healthy dinner. Can you?<br />
<br />
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<embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/JamieOliver_2010-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/JamieOliver-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=765&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=jamie_oliver;year=2010;theme=ted_prize_winners;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=new_on_ted_com;event=TED2010;"></embed></object></div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-51370502174012344072010-01-11T23:18:00.004-07:002010-01-12T23:32:23.939-07:00To blog or not to blog...(or Ramblings of a Techie gone Foodie...)<div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I created this I was sure It would be easy to come up with something to write about once a week let alone once a month. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I</span><span style="font-size: small;"> envisioned writing about projects, ideas, concepts, hacks, and whatnot. I haven't</span><span style="font-size: small;"> done much of that, and it's been forever since my last post. Lately I haven't done much with technology aside from the day to day use.<br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">No, my current focus appears to be cooking and food. New foods to explore or recipes to try. I can't be sure if this is permanent or merely due to the holidays and all that has been consumed in the past three months, but this blog has surely seen the deficit. To such an extent that I'm very intrigued with starting one for food and recipes and ending this one. But the question becomes once I start that one will it really be any different than this one? Fallen by the wayside, waiting for something ingenious to happen!<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">I guess only time will tell... meanwhile (and since it doesn't cost anything) I will probably start something about food and see where that takes me. If anything I will have a place for both of my passions.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you are however reading this please do comment or email me. Maybe something may spark my interest and continue this endeavor.<br />
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</div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-62257381722920936492009-07-14T13:51:00.008-06:002014-09-23T10:34:23.321-06:00The best dang drink in the whole world!!!Okay, well this all started a number of years ago during a trip to San Luis Obispo, CA. Now this being a collage town there is usually one street that is packed with stores. And not just your regular shops, I mean everything and anything you could think of. Most of them not more than 500 square feet.<br />
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Back then I had a taste for really spicy things. So when I saw anything touting spicy and/or hot it was purely natural to go into the shop. It was in one of these specialty shops (that I can't remember the name of now) that I found it. I had tried the salsa, peanuts, and other things. Now it was time to wet my whistle. So I went to the small drink chiller and that's when I saw it, ginger ale. I thought, "great I loved Canada Dry Ginger Ale", this should be good. But, it came with a warning. This wasn't your typical soda, the fizz doesn't come from the carbonation. It's more of a bite your tongue and kick you to the ground fizz, and it's from the ginger.<br />
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So I had been warned. I started with the "not as hot," a perfect balance of sweet, bite, and fizz, not undermining the ginger at any point, it was amazing. I had to try the next level up "Old #3 HOT." Lets just say in relation to bite, if Canada Dry is a chihuahua yelping at your heals, "#3 Hot" may as well be a Rottweiler about to take your leg off. It will make your eyes water and take your breath away, as it burns your mouth. So I bought a couple of each.<br />
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So why bother drinking it? Well, it's good! Ok, maybe it's addictive.<br />
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I knew I wasn't going to be back for a little while so I treasured my reserves. But, after they were gone I had to get some more. (No I'm not addicted and no I don't need help.) Simple, another trip to San Luis Oispo, but upon strolling down the street I had found the shop had closed and wasn't coming back.<br />
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Great, not only had I ran out but, I didn't pay attention to the name/brand of the drink. Well that shouldn't be that hard, I'll just look for a clear bottle with white print of an eagle and Ginger Ale underneath. Little did I know, I had been hooked on one of the rarest and best drinks ever. It is said that scarcity only fuels desire, and they are right. It wasn't until last year that I was able to find the origins of this golden elixir.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNlmnCt-EoTxgBozmXmOF1ySsQEgKKttNP7lfoZGy9lxLy3ozdoGxmMYSXsJdELiF_SuXyUJOpcxgq-QoJ5-dXID6qjlp7TLFZ3eJXEpn_-uWkhnkIHWap6NM5rG-wFCPSki-uy4VWqXw/s1600-h/header+logo2-1.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNlmnCt-EoTxgBozmXmOF1ySsQEgKKttNP7lfoZGy9lxLy3ozdoGxmMYSXsJdELiF_SuXyUJOpcxgq-QoJ5-dXID6qjlp7TLFZ3eJXEpn_-uWkhnkIHWap6NM5rG-wFCPSki-uy4VWqXw/s200/header+logo2-1.gif" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359353764415313138" style="float: left; height: 146px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 135px; background-color: #FFF;" /></a><br />
Blenheim Ginger Ale! I had finally found it. The location of the bottlers is in Hammer, SC, the only problem is it’s still almost impossible to get a hold of. Well unless you live near the border of north and south Carolina. Or order it by the case and pay just as much if not more for shipping.<br />
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So, until I can afford my addiction, here’s to you Blenheim, for making the best dang drink in the whole world!<br />
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And yes there is even a <a href="http://blenheimshrine.com/">shrine</a> for those who enjoy the drink.</div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-7644653790317361422009-05-12T07:56:00.017-06:002010-01-12T13:52:06.411-07:00The Living room<div style="text-align: justify;">So that was it! We finally had it. Enough with the boring bone white walls, yucky carpet that covered the entire front room and dining room. Yes I said dining room. Really why would you put carpet in a dining room? With kids let alone adults it's insane to keep clean. Anyway Catherine and I decided it was finally time to redo the main floor of our townhouse.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">So we painted the walls and ripped out the carpet in the front room. Catherine chose <span style="background-color: #fdb85a;">Valspar Afternoon Tea (3002-3B)</span> for the main color of the front room, <span style="background-color: #d26c3c;">Olympic Field Poppy (A24-6)</span> for the accent wall and <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(133, 122, 80) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #eeeeee;">Valspar La Fonda Deep Olive (6006-6C)</span> for the base boards. I was nervous at first but they really are some nice colors that give the room somewhat of a Tuscan look. With that we found a <span style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: transparent url(http://na.pergo.com/Images/products/NewProducts/CLExotics/Swatches/80526Swatch_medium.jpg) repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #eeeeee;">beautiful Olivewood floor from Pergo.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;">Before Paint</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ing</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So, here are a few photos as we where starting to paint the walls. Kind of an after thought.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6H6RguON7_aFY4sH4Cm_Fiy3mwCErqsrmudKK_8Ro78sDDLOpRERf7qAo7zGpxzlb8pOXBIb9Seb8LWU9-qOhivvD_RK2e-aTTxenyzNZej1Qq069YubP4N4bvSHcUlC6S3K7DLQNjMp/s1600-h/IMG_1137.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337248606915719778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6H6RguON7_aFY4sH4Cm_Fiy3mwCErqsrmudKK_8Ro78sDDLOpRERf7qAo7zGpxzlb8pOXBIb9Seb8LWU9-qOhivvD_RK2e-aTTxenyzNZej1Qq069YubP4N4bvSHcUlC6S3K7DLQNjMp/s200/IMG_1137.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBOcgW_8rVaJ1B9zjjSF_NkO14G5cCkxr1SHUDirr2fpbIEFfUmYS29hOrponkYYAQoCZeRli3-lBylKSOrB91sOswCEkzkVxTVTDdtLahn_4VFMKHmw4n-3mysSXEJc5cRhMuPG02R3i/s1600-h/IMG_1136.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337248604944226402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBOcgW_8rVaJ1B9zjjSF_NkO14G5cCkxr1SHUDirr2fpbIEFfUmYS29hOrponkYYAQoCZeRli3-lBylKSOrB91sOswCEkzkVxTVTDdtLahn_4VFMKHmw4n-3mysSXEJc5cRhMuPG02R3i/s200/IMG_1136.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">White and Blah!</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qrZ4qMwtSSdbFZvh-5wZsfO2AgZoTh-XmLuW0AWnP2Z_h-MtvSOuLo3yYih5-E8nryTckdGJaR07CbEuG0tN-x9cw5mfUjTREKV51Clc6BsPO_96r4EuwxWTjrERLFeKK4kzdLG3Fo4A/s1600-h/IMG_1139.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337248603265279010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qrZ4qMwtSSdbFZvh-5wZsfO2AgZoTh-XmLuW0AWnP2Z_h-MtvSOuLo3yYih5-E8nryTckdGJaR07CbEuG0tN-x9cw5mfUjTREKV51Clc6BsPO_96r4EuwxWTjrERLFeKK4kzdLG3Fo4A/s200/IMG_1139.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmb9v-ijnMzJxl5De1Zw3mqjxojy7YtiqlAH5dnnpcRQDJ5S5Feuf1e8I1XYZqJjl5z0-IhkJz09Mzt0q-v1dBnG3FqNlSUpEXcYp9n3-qZTuoOuoQd2nOF9JJdLqN2eKHSCIjHsrsDCd/s1600-h/IMG_1138.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337248608774403522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmb9v-ijnMzJxl5De1Zw3mqjxojy7YtiqlAH5dnnpcRQDJ5S5Feuf1e8I1XYZqJjl5z0-IhkJz09Mzt0q-v1dBnG3FqNlSUpEXcYp9n3-qZTuoOuoQd2nOF9JJdLqN2eKHSCIjHsrsDCd/s200/IMG_1138.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">And here I am painting.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;">After Painting</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the room with the walls all painted.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo20CVN55FnoamyokOwR79conmB1iUh9o1YWt5Itj5JOIcdJISKChQa8ZbIy-2oTkk7iCks4Lr6HzHzW6xGN_91fmf7wLX6AlN0_KYJTYsh1umcnA45f0aMExqIY50zh14BStbIoRmwdZE/s1600-h/IMG_1146.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337251725529781970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo20CVN55FnoamyokOwR79conmB1iUh9o1YWt5Itj5JOIcdJISKChQa8ZbIy-2oTkk7iCks4Lr6HzHzW6xGN_91fmf7wLX6AlN0_KYJTYsh1umcnA45f0aMExqIY50zh14BStbIoRmwdZE/s200/IMG_1146.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv-zP4XbwdFUDHgVRbpdyMml4vMkx6Os5CsBOJRkpe_BxHz_-y7a5fwGDtx5fMhUNkhgVSQr70t-8_4nSwWYrWuiAy2onE1awrR_slylzONrfiI5lEXRsJY2QoPoellPazusyFKsOH-OQ/s1600-h/IMG_1145.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337251730403035602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv-zP4XbwdFUDHgVRbpdyMml4vMkx6Os5CsBOJRkpe_BxHz_-y7a5fwGDtx5fMhUNkhgVSQr70t-8_4nSwWYrWuiAy2onE1awrR_slylzONrfiI5lEXRsJY2QoPoellPazusyFKsOH-OQ/s200/IMG_1145.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMM-pxnj5iK21gEI1ySsr8pNcE_pMvbtauRj4NDHdNW-6QRKG2EOEdHraPFFvvyGEQuyZdITMYfCd62LgoiRbdlxdQBM5NrzGq3mwYvW0oiTSrZJvcPrpel7lVFEpa_O8Y9bZZmClKEgB/s1600-h/IMG_1144.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337251728455757474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMM-pxnj5iK21gEI1ySsr8pNcE_pMvbtauRj4NDHdNW-6QRKG2EOEdHraPFFvvyGEQuyZdITMYfCd62LgoiRbdlxdQBM5NrzGq3mwYvW0oiTSrZJvcPrpel7lVFEpa_O8Y9bZZmClKEgB/s200/IMG_1144.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;">Now the Floors!</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQ9sUU-QGNaKLWNNX1gH3dytkKkf2mU_Y64o4-9XQ6IWHDt_IKGN-9HAzAxr-hnFq3JmLJ1moIO2KaWE5N6_nNdh1CreQKW6800fWHzECKNG5AasK1MT0u9ABQxMKhtlsAb_JPpW4fjrn/s1600-h/IMG_1149.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337253643483895186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQ9sUU-QGNaKLWNNX1gH3dytkKkf2mU_Y64o4-9XQ6IWHDt_IKGN-9HAzAxr-hnFq3JmLJ1moIO2KaWE5N6_nNdh1CreQKW6800fWHzECKNG5AasK1MT0u9ABQxMKhtlsAb_JPpW4fjrn/s200/IMG_1149.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtKIvtCvdZtBsA3-T76XEVNyNG_Iy_NwbmtkyiesJfgqTTcgjqlZXUPVIQu9ycn8tnrBbFxxsnFYbm49TqikLFN9o4E720a_KD_nbAfLIApfrNcOqlro7hY2UBi_CdWU_dfXya6tNaJRS/s1600-h/IMG_1150.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337253640637634498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtKIvtCvdZtBsA3-T76XEVNyNG_Iy_NwbmtkyiesJfgqTTcgjqlZXUPVIQu9ycn8tnrBbFxxsnFYbm49TqikLFN9o4E720a_KD_nbAfLIApfrNcOqlro7hY2UBi_CdWU_dfXya6tNaJRS/s200/IMG_1150.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2d-zY6GIg75E2-N3n2T49kMIjhkqDJf7gSFMX0yTsheNprL_cBroUKwQSq1GHDcOl-DIpvydDOwLIaclywyfY6bCVrLE34Zb89_su3Wf7CM7BWg08UeQevkiBEPUsa8LUnXUdiOg3vXPM/s1600-h/IMG_1152.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337253634749646738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2d-zY6GIg75E2-N3n2T49kMIjhkqDJf7gSFMX0yTsheNprL_cBroUKwQSq1GHDcOl-DIpvydDOwLIaclywyfY6bCVrLE34Zb89_su3Wf7CM7BWg08UeQevkiBEPUsa8LUnXUdiOg3vXPM/s200/IMG_1152.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbECjn8CHyPwemEpmqtedu17odjTRW3BL1lsgvdsQyC0oFrEKS9-0ZFLGjRYLsGYHZWaXwoEzKq9wZY1MDUFmXRSU6BLBGOWX-AJHY859FDUnvQ4HihophobZaNOBR5M0laz0MCsuEVd0V/s1600-h/IMG_1151.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337253640878456162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbECjn8CHyPwemEpmqtedu17odjTRW3BL1lsgvdsQyC0oFrEKS9-0ZFLGjRYLsGYHZWaXwoEzKq9wZY1MDUFmXRSU6BLBGOWX-AJHY859FDUnvQ4HihophobZaNOBR5M0laz0MCsuEVd0V/s200/IMG_1151.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">And After!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypEFPyIJC6z1df9Gn7t_e-5KtwXQ-R3lEtP9iZwy41UFrDwRtrVszfy89jBO64KrMo5gZ4pODd1FpGDeHHXaEl2E8MhhRJhbwu9G1OEyUjQTunLZ4870D4MYaD9HT82xEyN46DAIguGlo/s1600-h/IMG_1154.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344030271923878866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypEFPyIJC6z1df9Gn7t_e-5KtwXQ-R3lEtP9iZwy41UFrDwRtrVszfy89jBO64KrMo5gZ4pODd1FpGDeHHXaEl2E8MhhRJhbwu9G1OEyUjQTunLZ4870D4MYaD9HT82xEyN46DAIguGlo/s200/IMG_1154.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6jpOiaCtysFoiy3WB8EZod71O8SEubAYNGgmhDpEDoLiLR6QMC4NDG2EXgJqeNJBtC6zNmQG5CxyR5A5DTUgGhnZudr6qK7VCfTcDg52bEKPYhbwqy-xXLNLZ-XEfVEvj4iv5w7AN7UP/s1600-h/IMG_1155.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344030273911612114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6jpOiaCtysFoiy3WB8EZod71O8SEubAYNGgmhDpEDoLiLR6QMC4NDG2EXgJqeNJBtC6zNmQG5CxyR5A5DTUgGhnZudr6qK7VCfTcDg52bEKPYhbwqy-xXLNLZ-XEfVEvj4iv5w7AN7UP/s200/IMG_1155.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 200px; width: 150px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEKLVp3_9SgyGW-E8FwhnTIRo66delyL4W2G4wK75WSkNMsrJnX9WdBD1Lgp7YV0FPxpnz-aG0QVdurJdxj7gm9LeUR9eR-kjfZ95UOCVsSwbYajInru9mmK4q6oe3erRIbn8v1p6btCg/s1600-h/IMG_1156.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344030275394229170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEKLVp3_9SgyGW-E8FwhnTIRo66delyL4W2G4wK75WSkNMsrJnX9WdBD1Lgp7YV0FPxpnz-aG0QVdurJdxj7gm9LeUR9eR-kjfZ95UOCVsSwbYajInru9mmK4q6oe3erRIbn8v1p6btCg/s200/IMG_1156.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 150px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">What a Nice Change!</span><br />
</div></div></div>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6026802200679946162.post-31368565257233967872009-04-07T01:58:00.058-06:002010-08-28T10:36:35.325-06:00Apple's MagSafe Power Adapter<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgMgBNcr44gL1CmtuC9Rh8x0D8HXuaa_6bECM66lQ6vjDj7jVXGa1DbkEo3bZTlijwmPQRMa81Y6d2wBKzZfPVL3kTsZFaH1R_2ySvpTMv9oq66Bz-NWDO9_bTMk2sfXs5xKmWEPDo0_N/s1600-h/IMG_1134.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321869105534997074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgMgBNcr44gL1CmtuC9Rh8x0D8HXuaa_6bECM66lQ6vjDj7jVXGa1DbkEo3bZTlijwmPQRMa81Y6d2wBKzZfPVL3kTsZFaH1R_2ySvpTMv9oq66Bz-NWDO9_bTMk2sfXs5xKmWEPDo0_N/s320/IMG_1134.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 5px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><style type="text/css">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Update: It's up to Apple's discretion and I'm not sure if they are still doing it but, if you bring your frayed adapter into the store they may just give you a replacement. As long as it isn't to mangled and shows normal use. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Now I'm usually a big fan of Apple but some things they just don't get right. I got my MacBook Pro used, not a bad deal everything works great but noticed a bulge in the cable by the MagSafe connector. I thought nothing of it but I was still cautious, trying to not bend it wrong and eventually have it break. Well, over the course of a month the cable started to deteriorate. So much for being cautious. This last week it would only work if I held it just right. I had enough! I thought okay I’ll just get a new one. Sure, for $80 from Apple!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkRo1YZL0Of5RPue9nJDb8eKMwntZcGAgHB_pR3zA_xazvQVO_b0KSNHqLIZRwfJCfJhaN3LYzJLIJsrMiCZ7ula2yxKMx02cEDUakTCBeXIH3uH_1INvnMSMMzD_-MbBGy5Tvwazr8rt/s1600-h/shapeimage_3.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321859078458790162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkRo1YZL0Of5RPue9nJDb8eKMwntZcGAgHB_pR3zA_xazvQVO_b0KSNHqLIZRwfJCfJhaN3LYzJLIJsrMiCZ7ula2yxKMx02cEDUakTCBeXIH3uH_1INvnMSMMzD_-MbBGy5Tvwazr8rt/s320/shapeimage_3.png" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 171px; margin: 5px 10px 5px 0pt; width: 128px;" /></a> What a waste of money when the only thing wrong was a bad spot in the cable. Okay so it’s a little more complex than that. The insulation was melting, the wires had poked through and started looking like steel wool. Not a good sign!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I did what I do best. After a little research I started to take the plug apart. I used an X-acto knife, some miniature screw drivers and pliers. After getting frustrated with it I used the screw drivers to basically pry the cover off. There goes keeping it all nice and neat.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfQCnrNY8Ps1ujLIQT40psfUMbliLdxRWybRVERvy_cIIItfPbcZVSGdDoqvFtoeoqJjt9rn_HryFDFfuXKIBVL20GN2Z520Zx67gUcCuNf3IzZ85c2ysIY0VDlwfXQtmebxhkgE5ik4f/s1600-h/IMG_1132.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321859680444637666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfQCnrNY8Ps1ujLIQT40psfUMbliLdxRWybRVERvy_cIIItfPbcZVSGdDoqvFtoeoqJjt9rn_HryFDFfuXKIBVL20GN2Z520Zx67gUcCuNf3IzZ85c2ysIY0VDlwfXQtmebxhkgE5ik4f/s200/IMG_1132.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 150px; margin: 5px 0pt 5px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a> I will not be using that part again. But with a little persuasion and the pliers I was finally able to remove the cover.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After taking the white soft plastic off of the circuit board I was ready to desolder the old wires. Everything went fine there. Now to strip the new wires and solder them on. Simple right? There is always a catch, the newly stripped wires have a coating on them that doesn’t allow the solder to flow (stick to the wires.) Not only that but Apple decided to use thin brittle wires in their cable, (For $80 you would think they would have better quality!) and to scrape off the coating most use a sharp knife but then half of the wires just break.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0K-vqOnzZaGCByjLv5vNmbzbpRbnb9Vh9Gb2sn7Tf6tzeY7p168_v3He_iRRpY5t1Mts0iY1p-Y7LRe1hzecRitrwW67EiZFu3A-d1tjQbipNAf9RmBOJn_sLXhlfNL-ykL4uzgs16v2m/s1600-h/IMG_1135.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321867409620189218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0K-vqOnzZaGCByjLv5vNmbzbpRbnb9Vh9Gb2sn7Tf6tzeY7p168_v3He_iRRpY5t1Mts0iY1p-Y7LRe1hzecRitrwW67EiZFu3A-d1tjQbipNAf9RmBOJn_sLXhlfNL-ykL4uzgs16v2m/s200/IMG_1135.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 149px; margin: 5px 10px 5px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a> (Thanks Apple!) So after being very careful not to break more wires than I already had, I was able to solder everything back together.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, to test it out and make sure the solder points are good and nothing has shorted. I plug in the adapter to the wall, so far so good (no sparks.) Then I plug it into the computer and the LED’s come on; perfect! Now I can’t just leave with it a bare circuit board and wires, I need to encase it in something again.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kPGxaCgIU3QKLE1qDJMIsuwBS0PZaDdnW8rICE0wsiaD1sIFRmH9E3IRP736NpFBzvfl_gHMfdPpZ51G-MPLmcc98creGs-RHRdxgsnRoNkiJvmb_2vqbN_bv0Q-jZOCIEF9xYDTV4QO/s1600-h/shapeimage_4.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321868467432181682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kPGxaCgIU3QKLE1qDJMIsuwBS0PZaDdnW8rICE0wsiaD1sIFRmH9E3IRP736NpFBzvfl_gHMfdPpZ51G-MPLmcc98creGs-RHRdxgsnRoNkiJvmb_2vqbN_bv0Q-jZOCIEF9xYDTV4QO/s200/shapeimage_4.png" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 150px; margin: 5px 0pt 5px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a> Before it had some kind of white plastic covering the board so I figured I would just use a hot glue gun and fill in the space with that. I wasn’t planing on using the cover again, but that’s mostly because I forgot to put in on the wire before I put the end back on (and I’m definitely not going to resolder it.) Once that was done I was set, for a little while anyway.</div><br />
<b><u>Still to do</u></b><li>Build up some wire resistance by the connector</li><li>Use some shrink wrap to make it look nice and neat</li>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13396604359013226787noreply@blogger.com0