Page 267 of 314

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:38 pm
by AnotherFairportfan
Atomic wrote: Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:54 pm The stories about removing parts until they (sort of) work remind me of a Navy Electronic Technician story I heard:

Seems the new guys were troubleshooting a radar system which was behaving very badly. They'd get one module tuned up and another would fail - fix that and a third would go sour, popping fuses along the way. They were suspecting some parts were ageing out and transients were taking them over their load limits, thus destabilizing the system. At wits end, they ask the old Chief ET about it.

He considers the issue, grabs a hand full of 20 amp slow blow fuses and replaces all the various 1 and 5 amp instants with the 20 amp ones. The system is turned back on, warms up, and crackles, pops, and smokes to a noisy electrical death. "OK - now you know which parts were failing. Fix those."
That wasn't ETCM Neiss {my Chief at Cam Ranh Bay}, was it?

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:08 pm
by Atomic
I worked with the Navy on Guam for a few years back in the late 70s. I dare say that story is one of the career field staples.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:56 am
by lake_wrangler
Heh, I like this quote:
“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.” - Ronald Reagan

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:49 am
by Bookworm
Dave wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2019 12:07 am
Bookworm wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:29 pm Don't blame Boca. That's a habit that goes all the way back to Madman Muntz (look him up on Google). He used to start cutting components off of boards until the item stopped working, then said something like "I guess we'd better put that back." Antec does it, motherboard manufacturers do it. It's REALLY common, especially with capacitors. They build a good base board, then start pulling caps off until the board destabilizes, then add the last one back on. I've actually repopulated boards with extra capacitors to fix issues.
At, but I do blame Boca... because they overdid it to the point that the product was not reliable in operation. This wasn't a flaw that was hard to demonstrate... it should have shown up in testing. They destabilized the design, sold it in that unstable form, and failed to correct it when I called it to their attention.

There's a basic principle in commerce... that a product be fit for the purpose for which it is sold. That's something that purchasers have a legal right to expect. Boca, and other companies which cut costs too far, violate this expectation.
Antec is _still doing this_. They come up with a good design, then use substandard parts _and_ eliminate most of the engineer placed capacitors, and STILL people think they're great stuff AND their prices are sky high.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 11:08 pm
by Atomic
Followed the search to the wiki for Madman Muntz and saw the Muntz Jet - a snazzy looking car indeed! But geez -- 4000 lbs with a 160 hp engine? That's what -- zero to 60 in, like, today? It did look good, though, sort of a cross between the early Ford T-Birds and Citroen of that era, all behind a huge Volkswagen Beetle bent tube bumper.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:51 am
by lake_wrangler
Has anyone ever heard of the Brave browser? It's based on Chromium, but is altered to be more secure, with ad blocking and more built-in, but you don't sign into the browser via Google, so no sending data back to Google.

It can use all the Chrome extensions, using the Chrome web store to find them.

It can sync bookmarks between devices, although the process to achieve that is somewhat convoluted (since there is no Google sign-in to link the devices/browsers), but not the settings or the extensions. This means that if you have a lot of extensions, and you want the browser to have them on all the devices you have, you must install them one at a time (as far as I can tell), which can be time consuming... And if an extension requires you to be signed in to Chrome, before you can access all the functionalities it offers, then it's sorry, out of luck...

I also noticed one other thing: instead of an actual sign-in, it offers you to "manage people", so you can add users to the browser, which will keep different settings for them (even going so far as to have separate extensions for that person), but it does not require a password for any of the users of the browser, which, in my opinion, would make the browser's offer to keep track of passwords for various websites, payment information, and addresses somewhat less than secure... (I disabled those before I even realized that flaw was there, since I use a password manager for that kind of information...)


So, does anyone have any experience with this browser? I am considering switching to it as my main browser, but I would like to know more about real users' experience with it...

(You know, switching to Linux to avoid having MS spy on you is all fine and dandy, but if you go and use Chrome and a whole bunch of other Google services, you're probably not that much better off... And I have my own reasons for not caring too much for Firefox... But I do find Chrome to be convenient, easy to use, and I am used to it. So having a browser based on Chromium, but allegedly more secure, would keep me in my comfort zone, while addressing some of the data collection concerns of Chrome...)


I heard about that browser in the comments on a video about a guy attempting to de Google his life. (Yes, ironically, and he willingly admits to this at around the 2 minute mark, he is posting that video on YouTube, which is itself a Google platform... )

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:54 pm
by lake_wrangler
I have now read several reviews of the Brave browser, and it looks like a viable alternative to the data-mining driven Google Chrome. I'll be using it as my default browser for a while, to see how well it performs.

I'd still like to hear from anyone who has heard of it, has tried it, or is currently using it.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:39 am
by Catawampus
lake_wrangler wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:54 pm I'd still like to hear from anyone who has heard of it, has tried it, or is currently using it.
You writing about it is the very first that I've ever heard of it.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:53 am
by lake_wrangler
Meanwhile, on a completely different note (pun definitely intended)...

My choir director forwarded me an email from someone looking for amateur tenor and bass singers, to join in a choir to sing Verdi's Great Requiem... After consideration, and discussion with the person who originally had sent him the email, I have decided to join.

I will therefore be singing at the Olympic Stadium, on August 7, in a choir that will be accompanied by the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra!

After years of being told I should sing the opera (which never really interested me, at least not as a career move), the occasion presented itself, falling into my lap, so to speak. And it so happens that for the first time in 9 years, I chose to work a night shift for the summer, which will allow me to attend the rehearsals. So I figured what the heck, let's go for it! I probably won't ever get the chance to do something like that again.

And to think, I'll be singing in a choir accompanied by the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra! It was just too good to pass up... Even if I never sing in the opera again, I will be able to say I did it once.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:02 am
by Typeminer
lake_wrangler wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:53 am Meanwhile, on a completely different note (pun definitely intended)...

My choir director forwarded me an email from someone looking for amateur tenor and bass singers, to join in a choir to sing Verdi's Great Requiem... After consideration, and discussion with the person who originally had sent him the email, I have decided to join.

I will therefore be singing at the Olympic Stadium, on August 7, in a choir that will be accompanied by the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra!

After years of being told I should sing the opera (which never really interested me, at least not as a career move), the occasion presented itself, falling into my lap, so to speak. And it so happens that for the first time in 9 years, I chose to work a night shift for the summer, which will allow me to attend the rehearsals. So I figured what the heck, let's go for it! I probably won't ever get the chance to do something like that again.

And to think, I'll be singing in a choir accompanied by the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra! It was just too good to pass up... Even if I never sing in the opera again, I will be able to say I did it once.
Hot damn! Congratulations. Just don't read the reviews. :mrgreen:

When I was a little kid, the teacher asked me not to sing in school, because it was painful and threw everybody off. Went home and told my parents. Dad said his teachers told him that, too.

So. Most of what I know of opera is from viewing the classic documentary film, What's Opera, Doc? And I remember the tragic aria No More Rice Krispies from TV. :mrgreen:

Seriously, slainte! 8-)

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 2:44 pm
by lake_wrangler
Now, I just have to make sure to fully master the part, so as to not embarrass myself nor slow things down for the group. I'm picking up the music score on Monday, and I was sent a link to a website that has MIDI files of the various parts, to help people in learning them.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:06 pm
by Alkarii
Friggin' hell... bed bugs...

I picked up a gallon of the spray today, and while it says every two weeks until they're gone, I'm gonna say every week until two weeks after we stop seeing any during inspections. I'm glad I was finally gonna replace my mattress, too. We got it back in '08 or so.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:56 pm
by Dave
lake_wrangler wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 2:44 pm Now, I just have to make sure to fully master the part, so as to not embarrass myself nor slow things down for the group. I'm picking up the music score on Monday, and I was sent a link to a website that has MIDI files of the various parts, to help people in learning them.
This is great... congrats, and enjoy the experience.

My own singing voice... well, let's just say that the only choir I am ever likely to be invited to join, is the one which is performing alongside the Portsmouth Sinfonia, in a desperate attempt to drown out the sounds of the Vogon poetry slam being held next door.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:24 am
by Bookworm
Alkarii wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:06 pm Friggin' hell... bed bugs...

I picked up a gallon of the spray today, and while it says every two weeks until they're gone, I'm gonna say every week until two weeks after we stop seeing any during inspections. I'm glad I was finally gonna replace my mattress, too. We got it back in '08 or so.
Food grade diatomaceous earth.

If you're chunking the mattress, dust it with DE, then bag it. Don't force someone else to risk getting them. As for the DE powder? If you have a relatively clear house (not a lot of stuff on the floor), dust everything down with it, including the corners, in all the areas where you're not really active. It won't hurt you unless you breathe a lot of it, and mostly that's temporary irritation. it's not toxic. It physically damages the joints of all chitinous insects, causing them to dehydrate and die - quickly.

The reason to leave the DE in the crevices and corners is that it keeps working as long as it doesn't get damp, and is safer than borax.

It's NOT a replacement for the poison, but it's a way to help keep them from moving from area to area while you treat everything. Works best in low humidity (air conditioning, forced heating)

BTW - It's cheap, and available at Home Depot in the pest control section.

Oh - on the new mattress? Get a mattress cover for it; either plastic, or one of the 'not quite plastic' allergen proof covers, which the bed bugs can't penetrate. DE the area under the bed, and make sure the covers don't hit the floor. That'll force the buggers to go through the DE to get to the legs of the bed and go up.

Oh - little known trick, especially for summer. 120 degrees F for an hour and a half kills the bed bugs and the eggs. The inside of a van, or inside of anything wrapped in black plastic, in the Houston sun in summer is enough to hit 120 degrees - fast

http://heatkills.org/how-hot/

So, you can put a lot of things in your vehicles, then leave them there during the day, in the sun. That'll cook any bed bugs and eggs, while you work on cleaning your home.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:41 am
by Alkarii
Well, I'm apparently too stupid to follow the written instructions that came provided for how to attach the sprayer. "Insert the end of the hose into the cap until it clicks." The problem is that this isn't possible with the way the hole on the cap was shaped. There were four prongs that looked like they were supposed to be there, but they were in the way of the hose end, and weren't mentioned in any part of the instructions. Even after removing these tabs, the tip that was to be inserted through the cap was only about half the diameter of the hole where I was supposed to put it, and on top of that, the two parts didn't look like they were designed to work together.

Both before and after cutting off those tabs, I was pressing on it so much that the jug was collapsing, and it still would not snap into place, so I ended up throwing it out the entire thing after getting so frustrated that I threw it down onto the driveway it exploded.

So, I'll just have to try something else, like ripping out and burning all the carpet and the beds. I'm getting really sick of things being designed to be more complicated than they have to be.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:07 am
by Alkarii
Bookworm wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:24 am
Alkarii wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:06 pm Friggin' hell... bed bugs...

I picked up a gallon of the spray today, and while it says every two weeks until they're gone, I'm gonna say every week until two weeks after we stop seeing any during inspections. I'm glad I was finally gonna replace my mattress, too. We got it back in '08 or so.
Food grade diatomaceous earth.

If you're chunking the mattress, dust it with DE, then bag it. Don't force someone else to risk getting them. As for the DE powder? If you have a relatively clear house (not a lot of stuff on the floor), dust everything down with it, including the corners, in all the areas where you're not really active. It won't hurt you unless you breathe a lot of it, and mostly that's temporary irritation. it's not toxic. It physically damages the joints of all chitinous insects, causing them to dehydrate and die - quickly.

The reason to leave the DE in the crevices and corners is that it keeps working as long as it doesn't get damp, and is safer than borax.

It's NOT a replacement for the poison, but it's a way to help keep them from moving from area to area while you treat everything. Works best in low humidity (air conditioning, forced heating)

BTW - It's cheap, and available at Home Depot in the pest control section.

Oh - on the new mattress? Get a mattress cover for it; either plastic, or one of the 'not quite plastic' allergen proof covers, which the bed bugs can't penetrate. DE the area under the bed, and make sure the covers don't hit the floor. That'll force the buggers to go through the DE to get to the legs of the bed and go up.

Oh - little known trick, especially for summer. 120 degrees F for an hour and a half kills the bed bugs and the eggs. The inside of a van, or inside of anything wrapped in black plastic, in the Houston sun in summer is enough to hit 120 degrees - fast

http://heatkills.org/how-hot/

So, you can put a lot of things in your vehicles, then leave them there during the day, in the sun. That'll cook any bed bugs and eggs, while you work on cleaning your home.
Will the DE work in conjunction with the fogger? I may at least start by "cooking" my clothes in the dryer or my car whenever I have to work.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:48 am
by TazManiac
Alkarii wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:07 am Will the DE work in conjunction with the fogger? I may at least start by "cooking" my clothes in the dryer or my car whenever I have to work.
You need to keep the DE dry in order for it to be effective: Dry & Powdery. So I'd think you'd be Spraying the chemicals first, allowing for a certain drying time, before you apply the dusty stuff.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:28 pm
by Typeminer
What's the hazard with borax?

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:33 pm
by Dave
Typeminer wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 3:28 pm What's the hazard with borax?
Both boric acid and borax are toxic (the former is moreso). Ingestion of a few grams of borax can be enough to make a child very ill. It can have both acute and chronic effects on the health of humans and animals.
TazManiac wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:48 am
Alkarii wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 4:07 am Will the DE work in conjunction with the fogger? I may at least start by "cooking" my clothes in the dryer or my car whenever I have to work.
You need to keep the DE dry in order for it to be effective: Dry & Powdery. So I'd think you'd be Spraying the chemicals first, allowing for a certain drying time, before you apply the dusty stuff.
Yup. DE is a mechanical remedy, not a chemical one. You want it to stay dispersed, well enough that an insect is likely to touch a small portion of it and transfer the DE to its body. You don't want it to be caked up into chunks or "boulders". Spraying it with liquids that have dissolved or suspended solids would tend to cake it, when the liquid dries out.

As to foggers... there are foggers that throw out a mist of droplets, and fumigators that use a heating process to generate a dry "smoke". I suspect that the latter would probably not affect DE.

As to using over-the-shelf pesticides against bedbugs... may not work at all. From what I've read, a high percentage of bedbug infestations in the US now involve bedbugs that have evolved resistance to a lot of the common pesticides. Professionals are often using specialised insecticides that are labeled only for professional use, and have some restrictions in just how they can/should be applied. You won't find these more-effective-but-more-hazardous chemicals in "fog the whole house" consumer products.

Some infestations are now being cleared by using heat on the whole structure... big hot-air blowers that (over a period of hours) can raise the temperature of the whole structure and its contents above the bedbug-killing threshold.

Re: More Stuff

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:00 pm
by Bookworm
Yup - DE can absorb an enormous amount of water - It's a desiccant, basically. So you need to have low relative humidity while you have it out.

118 degrees kills bedbugs, but it can take up to 122 degrees to kill the eggs.

The best description of how DE works is that it gets caught in the crevices of the carapace of the various exoskeletal insects, causing slicing and dicing when they move. This ruptures their ability to retain water, and they dehydrate _extremely_ quickly. Fleas usually die within 4 hours, for example.

Are you in a house, apartment, or duplex? If you're in a house, and in a hot area of the country, you can probably put your furnace on full blast in the middle of the day (after removing house plants and pets), and manage to hit 120 degrees for half an hour or more. (Get an oven thermometer to be able to check)

Heck, down here, I could probably manage to do it without doing anything but turning off the A/C, and keeping the windows closed.