YETI Hype

I don't normally write about marketed items that I find silly.  Though, if I did, I would have a seemingly infinite amount of topics to write about.  If you really consider most items you find in your local market for very long, you will likely conclude very quickly that the majority of what you see, you don't need.  But, there are also those items that clearly go beyond the 'unneeded' category and well into the realm of 'ridiculously unnecessary'.

I feel that the entire YETI line of products easily falls into this category.  I've been seeing this stuff everywhere.  First, there was a guy in my office who was showing off his new cup that he got from Sam's.  It's a YETI knock-off, but works just as well, he says.  Something about the acoustics of the office space I work in results in my ability to hear virtually every conversation that takes place on our floor.  So, I ended up being marketed by my co-worker's tales of keeping ice all day long in his cup despite multiple refills of water.  Over and over again, I overheard the boasts as he told everyone individually.

Then, on a visit to Race Brothers, a local farm & home store, to pick up some bolts and washers, I saw a large display of YETI products, most of which were wearable gear sporting the brand name, not the actual product.  I was confused.  Having a desire of keeping your drink cold, I get.  But buying a $50 hoodie that proudly displays the brand name of your $40 cup that keeps your drink cold is a bit asinine.

A couple days later, while waiting in traffic at a stoplight, I noticed that the Jeep in front of me had a YETI sticker in the back windshield.  This wasn't a graphic like you would see on a sales representative's vehicle, this was just some boob that was proud of his discretionary spending choice.

A family member of ours recently commented on the trend of water bottles.  It was a good observation.  She humorously pointed out that many people these days take a water bottle with them wherever they go.  "What are we?  A bunch of babies that can't be without our bottles?", she mused.  "We never carried bottles of water with us when we left home and none of us ever died of dehydration."

So, with the YETI, not only must we never be caught without our most beloved beverage, but we'll be able to keep it cold all day long for the low low price of a ridiculous amount of money.  Craigslist is even teeming with new and used YETI products.  When I saw this soft carry cooler for $350, I didn't doubt that this was probably a "deal" in comparison to the cost of a new one.  I found that they sell the new ones for $400.  These hold 32 12-ounce cans and keep them cool for $400.  I've never paid as much as $400 for a refrigerator let alone a cooler.

I also ran across this ad on Craigslist.  This person evidently left their $400 YETI cooler in the back of their truck while they slept at a local Days Inn.  Someone capitalized on the easy pickens along with their 6' aluminum ramps.  While I feel bad for them and hope that they do miraculously see their stolen goods returned, I sort of think that they should simply purchase some replacement steel ramps at Harbor Freight with a coupon for $50 and a nice cooler of similar size for $40, and save the remaining $410 they are offering for a reward. 

I don't mean to call anyone stupid for purchasing anything YETI.  I'm sure if someone looked at my life and all my purchases they could find plenty of things that I spent money on and didn't need, too.  I'm no better than the next consumer in the grand scheme of things, I'm sure.  I guess it's these moments in life that I realize the extent of the frivolous nature of American consumerism that I am floored by how meaningless some of our materialist fads can be.  And, perhaps, in my own way, I'm just trying to get others to practice some introspection of their own.

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Phone Upgrade

A couple months ago, it occurred to me that Jodi and I would be up for our bi-annual cell phone upgrades this fall.  My initial reaction was excitement only to be immediately followed by confusion.  We both have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4.  And, frankly, I couldn't imagine a phone that would be an upgrade from what we already had.  So, my momentary excitement dissolved almost as quickly as it arrived.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been out for some weeks now and normally I would be considering it my no-brainer go-to for an upgrade.  But, aside from its well publicized potential for exploding, I have several deterrents that are based upon the features that the phone boasts.

First, and most impacting to me, was the removal of the removable battery.  For years, most Android phones have had two major design advantages over their rival Apple products.  Those advantages were expandable memory via a micro SD card slot and a removable battery.  Apple still charges a high premium for their products with more storage well above the market cost of micro SD cards with that same storage capacity.  This is designed to benefit Apple with a higher profit margin and more big-brother-control over their devices rather than bring any value to their customers.

Samsung had removed it's expandable memory micro SD card slot it the Galaxy S6 and quickly realized its mistake.  They corrected it when they added it back for the S7.  So, I couldn't understand why once again they were removing such a prominent feature, this time the removable battery, that had helped catapult them and other Android based phone manufacturers into the top tier of mobile devices.  As a matter of fact, much to my dismay, most of the phones that I would have been normally considering for this upgrade also did not have a removable battery.  I was appalled.

Then, it occurred to me this morning.  Water resistance.  These companies have not figured out how to have both a removable battery and have the ability to be submerged in water.  And, evidently, they have prioritized water resistance.

Jodi and I watched several review videos last night trying to figure out which direction we would likely go when we did upgrade.  Every time I saw someone texting in the rain, or laying their phone down on the bottom of a shallow pool, or rinsing it off in the sink like a dinner plate, I couldn't help but wince in shock.  Granted, these were promotional videos and the majority of people will still make every attempt to avoid water ever becoming in contact with their phones.  I get that.  But, I still don't understand why water resistance has become a higher-perceived value over having the ability to change the battery.

We all know that rechargeable batteries have a finite number of charges and cycles it can handle.  I have had to replace batteries in several mobile devices in my lifetime.  Off the top of my head, I've bought a replacement battery for my Macbook Pro, a Dell laptop I once had, my Samsung Note 4, my wife's old iPod Nano, my wife's Asus tablet, and several batteries for my Canon camera.  That's six devices.  And, the only time I had a device ruined by water was a point and shoot camera I got for my son who accidentally left it outside just before a rain.  I think he was seven years old at the time.

So, aside from my child having an issue with water and electronics, the adults in my household have far exceeded the need for water protection by the ability to change an old worn out battery.  So, I'm afraid that I won't be moving up the Samsung ladder this upgrade.

Which brings me to my next point of irritation.  Why are Apple users so loyal?  Over the years, my wife and I have had phones by Nokia, Pantech, LG, Motorolla, and Samsung.  When we have the ability to get new phones, I do a full comparison of phone features and price.  I watch and read reviews and find customer comments.  I want the best device to compliment our lifestyle that we can afford.

Some features are a requirement for us.  It has to have an Android operating system and it has to have expandable memory.  When I added these two filters to my search on Verizon, I got a result of 18 phones (pictured here) which are produced from six different manufacturers.  What sort of choice does a die-hard Apple customer get when its time for an upgrade?  Exactly.

I've already mentioned how I was turned off by the Note 7's non-removable battery.  I am also not a fan of the rounded edges that the phone sports on both sides.  I suspect that it limits the phone's aftermarket availability of covers.  But, even if it doesn't, I have a co-worker with the S7 Edge who showed me why if he had it to do all over again, he wouldn't have bought the Edge model.  When operating the phone with one hand, the bottom part of his thumb gets detected by the screen and causes issues.  His only fix: use two hands.  Yeah, not cool.

So, I believe that we have settled on a phone choice: the LG G5.  The screen boasts the same resolution on its 5.3" screen held by the Note 7 on it's 5.7" screen.  This means that there is greater pixel density at 554 ppi versus the Note's 518 ppi which will provide a crisper, more detailed display.  It's an LCD as opposed to an AMOLED screen, so the colors are less exaggerated, less cartoonish and more true to life.  The camera has a 16GB rear/ 8GB front (with wide angle) versus the Note's 12/5, respectively.  I realize that megapixels aren't everything but the camera got great reviews and out-performed several of its competition in almost all categories particularly in low-light scenarios and in bright landscapes.  The camera is probably the most important requirement of all.  Coming from a DSLR owner, I have even occasionally preferred my phone's camera over my Canon's in some conditions but mostly due to the fact that I don't usually have my Canon on me, but I always have my phone.  So, my phone captures more of my actual life.

The LG G5 won't have the built-in stylus that I am used to but I only rarely used it with my Note for some tasks that didn't necessarily require it.  I can only recall one game that I played with my son that it really came in handy and helped us.  Aside from that game, every other use of it was more because I was trying to justify having it.

LG's G5 is also a less expensive choice for us.  So, that's a bonus.  The G5 has 4GB RAM just like the Note 7.  My current Note 4 only has 3GB RAM, so I'm looking forward to the increase of speed.  The glass of the LG G5 is the same Corning Gorilla Glass 4 used on my Note 4 that I, unfortunately, dropped a lot yet never had so much as a crack.  The G5 is 11% lighter that my Note 4 so I suspect that a drop of the G5 would be even less likely to result in damage than my Note 4.

So, while I'm disappointed with the Samsung Note 7, I'm not at all surprised.  I couldn't imagine how they were going to get better.  In my opinion, they only got worse.  One bit of curiosity is that the Note 4 had a 16 megapixel camera and the Note 7 has a 12 megapixel camera.  I'm surprised that they did this.  Again, I know megapixels aren't everything, but the general public doesn't really know that.  I wonder how they spun that in the marketing department.

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Christmas (A Celebration of the Creator)

It floors me that I grew up in church, here in the "Bible Belt" even, and somehow never put it together that Jesus was around for Creation Week.  Perhaps, I was just a bad listener back in the days of Bible School?  I'm not sure.  At any rate, I've come to realize the truth of Colossians 1:16.

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.

With Christmas only days away, I thought it only appropriate to have a Christ-centered blog to write.  I think that most of my confusion on the eternal Jesus started with my understanding of Christmas being the birth of Jesus.  Naturally, I treated His birth as being His beginning.  But, scripture shows that this was not so.  John 1:1 puts it this way.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

So, Jesus created the earth and everything in it.  The Holy Trinity is definitely a little difficult for us to understand at times.  This verse says three things:

1. Jesus was in the beginning already.
2. Jesus was with God.  (in other words: distinct from, yet connected to)
3. Jesus is God.

This blows our little finite minds.  But, this is a pillar of Christian (and Biblical) theology.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all the same God yet distinct from one another.  1+1+1=1 in this case.

Recently, I saw this article on Google News.  There's been a lot of speculation about life on Mars in the scientific community and all sorts of things are being tossed around as possibilities.  This article tried to summarize what the scientists all agree upon.  I don't know if you can make out the text in the photo but is says this:

For lifeless chemical compounds to organize themselves into something alive, scientists generally agree, three sets of things must be present.

■ Standing water and an energy source.

■ Five basic elements: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus and nitrogen.

■ And time, lots of time.

I would like to point out that which has been pointed out by many already and yet is still not very well known.  Invoking "lots of time" as a supposed catalyst for creating life is transferring Creation from God to a mindless randomness.  It is, in essence, creating a new god.  Because, to believe time and chance created all we know, is done so with faith, faith in time and chance.  It robs the true and only God of Creation of the glory that only He deserves.

What I find ridiculous is that anyone with any amount of education could so easily fall for the illusion that time is a solution to bettering one's chances. 

A simplified model can make the somewhat difficult model easier to understand, so I'll give you a simple one.  Suppose there are three overturned cups like in the photo to the right and I put a coin under one of them.  I ask you to choose one.  Obviously, you have a 1 in 3 chance in choosing the one with the coin.  Suppose you got it wrong.  Then, without changing anything, I ask you to choose again.  Now, your chances have become better because, as an intelligent being, you won't pick the same cup you did previously.  Thus, you will have increased your chances of choosing the cup hiding the coin to 1 in 2.

Notice that this model has a requirement of an intelligence being present in order to have an increase in the odds of success.  If the exact same scenario ensued, but I made you turn around while I rearranged the cups after you initially got it wrong, then your odds would remain 1 in 3 regardless of how many times we repeated the exercise.

Now, with 1 in 3 odds, it is likely that sooner or later you'll pick the correct one.  But, that doesn't transfer to impossible odds.  This is where people get confused.  If your chances are 1 in a million, and those chances never get any better, it's a very safe bet that you'll never get it right regardless of the amount of time you dedicate to trying.

Scientists that propose time does in fact help the chances of life creating itself, have to first propose that there is a chance that it could happen in the first place.  In 1953, the Miller-Urey experiment attempted to prove the possibility and they failed.  With all the advances we've made since then, it's still not ever been shown that life could be created by time and chance.  Yet, articles like this one show that somehow, despite all knowledge and logic, the scientific community still insists that it is a possibility.  Why?  Because, all of their models are based on the assumption that it is.  And, wouldn't that turn out to be a foolish waste of resources?

The author of the article makes it known that "scientists generally agree" that "time, lots of time" can replace intelligence in the equation.  Furthermore, all involved assume that water, an energy source, and a list of some basic elements all happened to exist in a suitable environment just to start this impossible scenario.  They don't even bother to try to explain where the elements originated, how they were organized or why they adhere to natural laws of molecular structure.  For that matter, where did the laws of nature originate?  Can laws of physics organize themselves?

Attempting to create origin models without God the Creator only leaves one having to build models on assumptions that defy all known logic.  Make no mistake.  God the Father created all things through Jesus Christ.  So, this Christmas, celebrate Jesus who not only was born in a manger, not only died on a cross, not only substituted himself for all of our shortcomings so that we could be reconciled to the Father, but also created you, the earth, and everything in it.

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Motorized Camera Slider

I'm a bit of a nerd.  I know it and I'm not ashamed.

Recently, I watched a video on YouTube that was a compilation of time lapse videos.  The video was gorgeous from beginning to end.  It wasn't something that you could just stop half way through.  The most amazing thing about time lapse videos is seeing a lot in a small span of time.  No one wants to watch grass grow but when someone figures out how to cram 3 weeks worth of growth into one smooth 5-second video no one can look away.  So many cool things are happening around us all the time but at a snail's pace.  Time lapse shows us a new way to look at things.  It reawakens our sense of wonder.

One thing that made this time lapse video stand out above the others that I've seen was camera motion.  About 30 seconds into the video, it hit me.  "How do they do that?!"  I quickly answered my own question as I realized that in order to add smooth camera motion (pan, tilt, or slide), one would need a motor to control the motion.

My mind started running, but before I inadvertently reinvented the wheel I jumped on YouTube once again and found a video of an inexpensive DIY motorized time lapse camera slider.  Thanks to this fellow nerd and his willingness to share his design, I feel both empowered to build my own motorized time lapse slider as well as find and proudly wear a winter coat with a large fur-lined hood.

First, there was a trip to Lowe's to pick up the angled aluminum for the main rails, the all-thread for the dive shaft, and a bunch of various pieces of hardware for the legs and connections.  I already had some leftover flat bar aluminum from another project.  I built my wheeled camera platform completely from random materials that I already had.  I did have to buy a universal ball joint camera mount, low-speed electric motor, and AA battery pack from Amazon.com.

I also still need the gearing.  Unlike this guy, I'm not going to connect my electric motor directly to my drive shaft.  I'm going to gear mine down.  In the video he says that his motor turns at 24 revolutions per minute (rpm).  Mine turns pretty close to 28 rpm.  The all-thread I'm using is 5/16" so it has 18 threads per inch.  My slider is 4' long, but will only have a camera travel distance of about 3.5' or 42".  That means I have 756 threads of camera travel.  At 28 rpm, it would take exactly 27 minutes (00:27) to complete the camera motion.  That's not enough time to get the kind of time lapses I want to get.

This video is full of examples of the duration of time I would like to cover with my time lapse videos.  I'm looking to cover about 2 hours.  That would allow me to capture sunrises, sunsets, celestial movement, substantial work being performed, etc.  27 minutes just couldn't quite get that.  This guy's slider is shorter than mine and so he has even less capture time than that.  I think that I am going to buy a 16-tooth pinion gear and a 72-tooth spur gear.  These are used on hobby remote control cars so they're durable, readily available, and cheap.  By fastening the spur gear to the drive shaft and turning it with the pinion gear on the motor's output shaft, I am able to slow the drive shaft down to 6.22 rpm.  At 756 threads of available camera travel. it will take 2 hours and 1.5 minutes to get from one end to the other.

Another difference in our designs will be that I will have two tripod mounts, one on each end of my slider.  It will allow me to mount it in a wide range of different positions to capture motion going up, down, sideways, etc.  It will have legs just like the one pictured here so that it can be used on any flat surface, but with the added tripod mounts I can set it up anywhere.

I'm looking forward to the finished product.  I've got other things going on, so it's not a "front burner" project or anything.  But, I'm sure I will get it all put together soon so that I start setting it up and capturing some cool video.  Of course, you'll know when I have some because I'll be posting some stuff on here.

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Goodbye, Facebook

I have decided to delete my facebook account.  It was an easy decision to make, yet did not go without several instances of personal reluctance to do so.

Why?  This is the question I keep getting asked by those who have a facebook account.  I'm not getting asked this question by those who don't have one.  Because, they don't know I'm deleting my account.  And, they don't care.  I look forward to being one of those people.

There is a grand myriad of reasons why I am tossing off the yoke of facebook.  I couldn't list them all if I tried, but I can list some of the top reasons that immediately come to mind.  They are, in no particular order:

• Lack of security.
• Facebook is a business.  They sell your information.  They always have.  And, they don't hide or apologize for this.  It's genius, really.  They have created a motive to get people to willingly profile and track themselves.  Since this information is so specific, it's very valuable for marketing.  Marketing you, that is.
• It's not reality.
•  What people post on facebook doesn't usually say much about them at all.  I cannot compare the time I have spent with friends with the time I have spent reading those same friends' facebook posts.  Time spent with friends is meaningful and I get to know them well.  That time is real and so is the content.  I can't say the same for facebook.
• It's not a responsible use of my time.
• I am married.  I am a father of three children.  I am involved in my church.  I work 50 hours a week.  I have many real friends.  I am renovating a house.  I am restoring a car.  I am coaching a soccer team.  Etc.  Etc.
• With all that I have going on in my life, I don't have time to maintain a digital profile of myself for others' sake of "knowing" me.  Nor, do I have time to browse an endless sea of junk to spot the few tidbits of "knowing" others.
• Define "friends"
• Let's face it.  I'm not friends with most of my facebook's friends list.  I've even been pretty picky about whose friend requests I've accepted.  Still, if not for facebook, I wouldn't know two cents about a lot of people and those people wouldn't know two cents about me.  That's not a bad thing. 
• I know things that I'd rather not know.
• Some of my facebook "friends" and I have not seen eye to eye on things.  And, while it's no requirement of mine that those I associate myself with carry all my same values, I wish there were some others' soapbox speeches I hadn't been exposed to.  I wonder if I would be better friends with some people if I weren't subconsciously using my "facebook impression" of them as a screening tool.  Don't hate on me.  You do it, too.  The difference is that I'm admitting it.
• I read that "Facebook Erodes Real Community" and I agree.
• I know that people don't make as much of an effort to visit friends since the introduction of facebook.  Why would I see that friend I haven't seen in three years when I've seen every post of his/hers since our last visit.  What could I possibly catch up on with them since we're already "caught up".  At the very least, it stands as a seemingly valid justification to put off visiting someone.
• What am I teaching my children?
• Do I want my children to be on facebook?  Maybe you do and that's fine.  Use your own judgement for what's good for your children.  But, I don't know that I want mine on there being exposed to an online social world where people say and do things that they wouldn't say or do in person.  Or, maybe I would allow them to have a limited profile with some heavy monitoring.  I don't know.  But, seriously, when I think about it, I think of how heavy of a burden to parenting it will be if or when it comes up.  Maybe things like that are better left to adults.  Regardless of how I want my children to use or not use it, one thing is for sure: I can't legitimately limit or restrict it's use for my children while I have given myself no limits or restrictions.
• At the end of my life, what total number of hours spent on facebook would satisfy me?
• 1,000?  100?  2?  It seems that whatever the number winds up being, it isn't anything to be proud of.  I tend to think that the greater the number the greater the shame, actually.  I'm glad that I don't know how much time I've burned scrolling, commenting, and liking.  It's too late for me to have 0 in that category.  But, it's certainly not too late to stop the number dead in its tracks.

I could go on, I'm sure, but then I'd be wasting my time doing this.  Plus, my lunch hour is over.  Time to get back to work.

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Home Computing Power Station

Change is hard.  And, when it comes to my personal home computing setup, I find that it's way more difficult than it should be.  But, regardless of my hesitancy, it's well past due for a change of scenery on my physical desktop.

For the past several years, I've maintained roughly the same setup for my computer at home.  I've had to make a few repairs, replace a few bad parts, upgrade several components, but for the most part my system has remained visually unchanged.  It looked pretty much like the illustration I threw together here.  I have had one computer tower running Windows XP, two CRT monitors, a printer, desktop speakers, and (not illustrated here) a modem, a router, and an external hard drive.

Once upon a time my computer would have been considered beefed up and fast.  Now, it is somewhat lacking and frustratingly slow at times.  With having acquired laptops and smart phones, I find that I very rarely even get on "the" computer.  It's location, the back room, doesn't help either.  Items that have no home crawl their way back there and find temporary (a month on average) storage on either the desk or right in front of it, making a "stuff" barricade between the monitors and one's field of vision when sitting ergonomically.  Of course, I take full credit for letting it get that bad.  Mostly, it's my stuff for which I'm procrastinating at finding a real storage place.  I clean it completely off 2-3 times a year just in time to start the collection anew.

So, what's the solution?  I'm going to actually use one of the laptops that have barely been opened as the new "the" computer.  I bought a working docking station for it for $13 on ebay with free shipping.  This laptop is running Windows 7, which, thanks to my employment for the last 2.5 years forcing me to use Windows 7, I have finally decided 7 is better than XP.  The only real practical reason that I have not decided to part with the computer tower up until now is because it runs four internal and two external hard drives.  My answer to this dilemma is to build a custom hard drive enclosure that will drive the four internal drives.  I looked them up online and the cheapest I could find was right at $100 and it wasn't even compatible with some of the non-SATA drives that I own.  In true DIY spirit, and perhaps my internal geek, I decided to make my own.

I was given an old trash computer without a hard drive from a co-worker.  I salvaged the back plate which I trimmed down to just the fan mounting, a power switch, a reset switch, a case fan, dual USB female ports, and the internal hard drive mounting racks.  I built a box out of some pine to fit everything, but it turned out to be too small.  So, I am using the box from a mixer that I picked up for free off of a trash dumpster due to its non-working status.  I was given a power supply by a friend.  I bought some hard drive to USB adapters, a USB hub, and a female USB 'A' to female USB 'B' adapter. 

In the end, I wound up with the following "power station", as I call it.  It powers the four internal hard drives with the power supply (so, only one power cord) and allows them all to be accessed through the single USB 'B' port (so, only one standard USB cable).  It's all USB 2.0 compliant and my data transfer tests resulted in great transfer speeds between drives.  And, it's expandable.  I have space for 3 more hard drives with the racking I put in it.

I no longer needed my computer tower so I will be selling it on Craigslist.  All in all, it was like I was getting paid to make this space-saving upgrade.  I no longer need the desktop computer speakers since the laptop is equipped with some on board.  The two big CRT monitors are gone, replaced by the single flat screen monitor I picked up for cheap from the same friend who donated the power supply to my cause.  Since the laptop serves as a second monitor, I still have two displays from which to work.  The "power station" sits underneath the desk, out of site.  I built a shelf underneath the desktop to hold the printer so it's now out of site.

I'm excited because all the freed up space will allow the desk to be used as a workstation for physical projects now, as well.  And, the main computer of the house can be ejected from the docking station and taken wherever it is needed.  I won't be able to access the files from all the hard drives while it's away from its dock, but I can transfer whatever I need to the laptop and then take it wherever I need to go.  So, this has been a very nice and practical upgrade.

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Craigslist

I got my introduction into classified ads in 1993.  At 14 years old, I started thinking about what sort of vehicle I might want when I got my driver's license.  At the time, a popular running medium for classified ads was the PennyPower.  It was thrown in most people's driveways every Tuesday and was available at several restaurants throughout town.  There was seemingly no organization about it at all.  Ads were randomly listed everywhere, mostly in 1" x 2" spaces.  It was a real thrill to actually find something that you were looking for.  It wasn't too far off from zig-zagging through the aisles of a flea market.

Since being turned on to Craigslist years ago, I doubt a month has passed where I have not bought, sold, picked up for free, or given away something using it.  It's an amazing resource that's free to use, easy to use, and free of annoyances like ads and unnecessary html junk.  I'm definitely a Craigslister.

Just this last weekend, I picked up a Samsung widescreen 1080i HD TV with the original remote for free.  The ad stated that it just quit working one day.  And, they were right.  When pressing the power button, nothing happened.  Also, it wouldn't respond to the remote.  I laid it screen-down and took off the back.  First stop: power supply.  It all seemed to be in good shape, that is, except for the blown fuse.  A quick trip up to Radio Shack and $3 later, I was playing around with all the settings seeing what all it could do.  Ah yeah.

I've received several things for free from Craigslist users over the years.  But, it's not just the free items that have been my greatest finds.  I'm also thrilled to find a great bargain at a price, as well.  Since buying our house in February of 2007, I've purchased lots of building materials on Craigslist.  I paid $80 for 500 square feet of hardwood flooring, $20 for 5 brand new doors that I was about to pay $19 each + tax for anyway, and I've purchased several power tools for super cheap.  Take today for example.  Later today, I'll be picking up 15 sheets of 3/4" plywood for $150.  I'm laying a subfloor down on my second story in the next couple of months and would need almost exactly this much plywood.  Only, if I needed to buy this at Lowe's or Home Depot, I'd be paying $36.47+tax per sheet as seen in the photo below.  That saves me about $438.  I'm also picking up a couple much-needed truck tires for $30, as well.  I've got some belts showing.  Eek!

I don't know who Craig is.  But, I'm thankful that he gave me the ability to sell something locally without having to split the proceeds with anyone (including greedy Uncle Sam).  I'm grateful that he gave me the ability to scour a 60-mile radius from my home to look for used items to buy in lieu of being forced to buy new every time I need something.  I like that I have been able to add value to my home at times with minimal investment.  And, I like that I have the ability to get rid of something that I no longer want without having to throw it away or haul it to a donation center.  Most importantly, I'm thankful that God sets up these little encounters using Craigslist where I can provide for my family in big ways on a budget.

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Living Under a Rock

Do I live under a rock?

What sparked this question to myself was that recently I rented a movie from Redbox.  I was going after a very specific movie so there was no perusing the catalog.  I was just going in for the kill. It had been quite a while since I had rented a movie.  Maybe a year?  After paying for my rental, I had the receipt sent to my email address from the machine.  Along with the email containing the receipt, they also sent me an email welcoming me to Redbox since I had never used that email address before with them.  It included  a code to use next time for a free rental.  This prompted me to look through their catalog on my phone to find a potential "date night" movie that my wife and I could watch together.

What I found was a huge list of movies that I had never heard of, didn't recognize, and was completely unfamiliar with.  That's a relatively new development for me.  Does anyone else have this issue?  I was stumped and had no clue as to where to even start to choose a movie.

Back in the day, this would have never happened to me.  I would have seen previews from other movies that I had rented or watched in the theater.  I would have seen commercials on broadcast television about upcoming movies.  I would have heard about movies from co-workers and friends.  So, what's different now?

We have a Roku box, a Netflix subscription, small children, and a moral compass.  The combination of these apparently equals a complete ignorance of current entertainment choices.

We don't watch broadcast television for a few reasons.

1. There isn't really anything appropriate for our small children to see that also interests Jodi and me.
2. The shows the children like can be seen on Netflix on demand.
3. Netflix has multiple seasons of most TV series shows that keep me and Jodi entertained for months due to our limited window to watch.

Since Netflix keeps us entertained, we don't ever rent movies any more nor do we ever consider watching one in theaters.  So, we have essentially cut out every available outlet where we would normally be subject to receiving exposure to movie trailers or advertising.

To be quite honest, the only news I get is when I search for news on Google which I do a couple times a week just to keep in touch with what is happening politically.

I find it interesting that with these new media tools developed by technology and entertainment innovations, I have actually become less solicited, less aware, and less informed.  Hmm.

Photo credit: Julie Dawn Fox @ juliedawnfox.com

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$5 Lesson & Repurposed Technology

Last week, I was able to stop in for a few minutes at one of my favorite places to shop, STD Flea Market. Out of all the flea markets in town, STD is my favorite. It has a strange name, I admit, though an innocent one. The acronym stands for Springfield Tool & Die. The story goes that the owner of Springfield Tool & Die retired and turned the two buildings he still owned into flea markets since they weren't much good for anything else.

I love both stores. I've found some really good items over the years for myself and have even resold some items bought there for a quick and nice profit. Jodi had a booth in the downtown location for a brief stint, but it didn't do all that well. After the cost of booth rent, we showed that we were pretty much just breaking even which means we were going to an awful lot of trouble to just give stuff away.

Anyway, back to last week. I stopped in and was eventually drawn like a fly to a booth that was full of electronics. I mean full! There was everything from VCRs to DVD players to computers, to laptops, to digital TV converters, etc. It was cool. I spotted a stash of LCD monitors all of which were priced at $5. Of course, there was no way to test them immediately available, but after a search through the store I found a computer in another booth that had a power cord. I swiped it, grabbed the biggest monitor (a 22-inch), found an outlet, then a ladder to reach the outlet and was finally in business. The monitor powered on and showed a "no signal" message at which I took to be a good sign that the monitor worked fine. I knew, however, that chances were that it had issues that I wouldn't find out till later. I figured $5 was worth the gamble.

Upon fully testing it later, I found that it didn't work. It would come on for about 2 seconds and then the screen would go dark. I did some research online and found it to be a very common problem with LCD monitors. It's just a backlighting issue. I was able to confirm that the LCD part was still functioning from being barely visible when looking very closely. You just can't see it because the lights that light up the screen aren't on.

Usually this is the cause of the inverters going bad. It's so common, in fact, that there are several different companies that sell kits to fix this issue. I took the entire monitor apart and really became acquainted with how they work. I tossed around the idea of buying the replacement parts to fix the monitor at about a cost of $30, but decided that even a 22" LCD monitor wasn't worth $35 to me. And, I shouldn't spend $30 to justify the $5.

It was hardly a total loss, though. I now know how to repair the most common problem found in LCD monitors as well as LCD TVs. That lesson is definitely worth $5. So, I'll keep my eye out for people selling "broken" LCD televisions on Craigslist. I've seen them been given away for this reason. So, maybe I'll be able to find and repair such a score.

Also, rather than toss out the monitor, I had the idea to repurpose it. It's now a $5 picture frame in my office at work. Have you ever bought something that turned out to be junk? Have you ever repurposed junk into something useful or unique?

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Invention Idea

Ever have a great idea for an invention or improvement? I've had a few in my day. One that is finally starting to be marketed now is the Bluetooth audio adapter.

I thought of this almost two years ago. It was an invention out of necessity. At the time, I was contemplating how to setup my stereo in my 1959 Ford when I get it back on the road. The doors don't have any locks and I don't know that I actually want to change that about it. I don't want anyone to steal the stereo that I install in it, so I have a dilemma. How do you install a burglar-proof stereo? The answer: you don't install one.

What? Exactly! See? I had an idea to install a small amplifier (that I already own) under the seat somewhere where it could be relatively hidden from view while also being bolted down through the cab. It would take two people to bolt it as well as unbolt it. One would have to be under the truck with a wrench while another in the cab had a wrench on the other end. Too much trouble to remove for an old 45-watt amp. The two speakers would go behind the headliner in the rear corners also out of sight. Then, instead of installing a stereo, simply install a Bluetooth adapter that would pick up the stereo music Bluetooth signal from my phone from under the seat and send the audio signal to the amp via its RCA cable outputs. The power switch for the amp could be easily connected to the manual choke switch on the dash since it won't be necessary with the new engine configuration. So, everything is hidden. To the untrained eye, it would look like it has always looked in the cab: radioless. Simple enough, right?

The only problem is that there wasn't anything on the market like the Bluetooth adapter I described. However, now there are two items that are really close to accomplishing this. Belkin makes a Bluetooth Music Receiver which has the option to send that signal out via RCA or 3.5mm jack. The only reason it wouldn't work for my application is that it is powered with a 110v outlet adapter. It's meant to be used in the home or office. Miccus also makes a Bluetooth Music Receiver. The issue I take with it is that it is charged using a USB port. I would either need to purchase more equipment to get it to charge or I would have to remove it from the truck every other day to charge it. Also, I learned from a review that it does not "remember" a previous Bluetooth pairing which means every time I got in to use it, I would have to reach under the seat to reset the connection.

What I want is something that I can permanently install that I can discreetly turn on the power to from the dash and make a connection from my phone. I don't want to ever need to reach under the seat to reset or remove equipment to charge. And, I want to do it with the least amount of equipment possible. Right now, with these new products, the Belkin best fits my need for it remembers the connection and wouldn't require charging or resetting. The downside is that I would need to find a way to power it which would require me to probably buy a power port and a universal car power adapter to use in place of its provided wall adapter.

Either way, the technology is moving in the right direction, so I'm excited about that. Maybe they will have a solution by the time my truck sees pavement again. Or, maybe I'm the only one who wants to bypass the need for an in-dash car stereo.

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Dream Home

I've always enjoyed looking at house plans, drawing my own house plans, and even more so, walking around houses looking at their layout. Even as a child, I knew that someday I'd be building a house to live in. It hasn't happened yet, but I know that someday, maybe even soon, it will.

Jodi got me a book of luxury home plans last year for our fifth anniversary and I love it. Not only does it have the floor plans for the houses but since they are all actual homes, they've included photos of them as well so that you can really see how they look completed. I doubt that we'll ever build one of the houses in the book, but I imagine that we will incorporate many of the good ideas in a home that we build.

Lately, we've talked a lot about what we would desire from the ideal home. Some of the things that we've discussed have included a greenhouse, shop, and craft room. Some may say that we dream big, but I don't see any reason why we shouldn't.

Besides, the greenhouse is to grow healthy food for ourselves and depending on the size we build it has the potential to create a partial income from what we produce out of it. The shop serves lots of purposes. For starters, I'll finally have a place to do automotive repairs on our vehicles where I can get them done fast and efficiently. I'll have a place to finally do vehicle flipping like I've dreamed of doing which would be a fun partial income, as well. Aside from automotive space, it will also have a wood shop area that I can use for all types of things instead of using the front yard like I am forced to do now. And, I see the craft room being an amazing space for Jodi to have all her crafty things available without digging and searching. The craft room could also double as a transition room from the house to the greenhouse so that it could have space in it designed to be a good spot to pot plants, store greenhouse and household tools, and perform various other duties that greenhouses require.

So, in the near future, I'll be toying around with my own sketched out plans of what our obtainable dream house would look like. After I achieve a sketch that both Jodi and I like, I'll throw it together using the new Google Sketchup. I'm not sure when Google Sketchup Version 8 was released, but it's a much welcomed advance from Version 7.

In case you are unfamiliar with Google Sketchup, it's an extremely user-friendly, free, 3-D modeling program. It has simple push, pull, and drag tools to create complex 3-dimensional models fast and with ease. The best part about it, though, is the 3-D warehouse. Anyone can upload their own completed models to the warehouse. And, anyone can search the warehouse easily and download any of the models found there right into the project you're working on. Before remodeling our kitchen, I "built" our kitchen plans using Sketchup and it allowed us to see exactly what our new kitchen would look like. This way, we would be able to anticipate any issues that we would have with the layout. It was relatively easy to put together, too, since all of the cabinets that I used were available for download from the warehouse. So, all I did was arrange them in the room that I created. Version 7, though, when you used the orbit function to move 3-dimensionally around your object, it was slow and choppy. Version 8 is instant and smooth, so it makes the 3-D environment even more fun to work with. Check it out. Click this link to be taken to the Google Sketchup download page.

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