nuxx.net – Page 125 – Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.

ObeXplorer Feeds My Moblog

Published December 2, 2008

ObeXplorer running on my work machine under Vista browsing Push Upstairs, my Nokia E51.

I’m now running Vista on my work laptop, and while I had no problem finding Bluetooth drivers for it, I didn’t like the default Bluetooth OBEX program which only allowed one file at a time to be exchanged. Looking around online I came across ObeXplorer, a free OBEX tool written by Giorgi Dalakishvili. It provides exactly the basic browsing and copying functionality that I wanted, and now whenever I’m using a PC I use this to pull files off of my phone for upload to my moblog. On OS X I still use Bluetooth File Exchange.

If you’d like a copy of it, please visit Giorgi’s post about it, or download it from my mirror here: 2008_10_ObeXplorer.zip

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Sanyo “The Claw” CD/DVD Media Destroyer

Published December 1, 2008

Not long ago John pointed me to a sale at Woot for a device which destroys CDs or DVDs. Having a huge stack of discs to dispose of and costing only $4.99 (+$5 shipping) I decided to order one. Today my Sanyo “The Claw” CD/DVD Media Destroyer arrived.

Yes, that’s exactly what it says on the box, not far from the part which shows that it is Compact Disc and DVD compatible. Too bad it doesn’t do Blu-ray.

After eating some dinner I set to work processing discs, and with a ~2 second cycle time per disc I was able to get through 163 discs (one after another) before The Claw stopped working, with a FreeBSD 3.2 CD stuck in the drive. Thankfully it was just a thermal shutdown, and after allowing it to rest in the garage for half an hour I was able to continue processing the discs, chewing through the remaining 70 or so in no time flat.

The Claw works by pinching the media between two spiked rollers, which put a bunch of small indentations all over both sides of the disc while at the same time somewhat deforming the plastic so that the disc isn’t really flat nor round. A test audio CD made a bunch of horrible noises when placed in a top load radio, so I can only imagine what putting one of these discs in a normal reader would do.

Here is a detailed image of what The Claw did to a NT 5.0 beta CD and here’s similar damage to a CD-R, including delamination of the foil. Here is a 600dpi scan of a processed CD-R showing the typical damage pattern.

Now that I’m done processing that giant stack of discs I’m not sure what to do with it. I could relabel it as a DVD cleaner and drop it off a the Salvation Army, but that’d just be mean.

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London / UK Photos

Published December 1, 2008

Rough Trade West on Talbot Road right near Portabello Road.

It’s two weeks since Danielle and I returned from the UK and I finally captioned the photos I took while there. So, if you’d like to see them, here they are: London (November 2008)

Here’s a few of the more notable photos:

· Danielle’s giant kosher meals via NWA: 1, 2, 3
· Mornington Crescent!
· Camden Lock.
· Food cooking near our hotel at Best Mangal.
· Remains of Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth.
· Church of Scientology London.
· Toilet at Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing may have pooped.
· Working rebuild of Colossus.
· Wire wrapped and soldered terminals in a Marconi computer.
· Danielle’s seafood curry from a vendor in Borough Market London.
· Chorizo and rocket sandwich.
· Toasted cheese sandwhich from Kappacasein.
· Obama bumper sticker on a Mazda Miata.
· Portabello road on market day.
· Danielle outside a TARDIS.
· Empty Piccadilly line Tube platform because we got there too early.
· Nearly empty plane for the flight home.
· Nifty shadow / rainbow effect caused by the sun being behind the aircraft.

Danielle also now has a photo gallery and all of her pictures have been uploaded. She doesn’t have them captioned yet, but if you’d like to look through them, they are here: Danielle’s London 2008 Photos

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Founders’ Backwoods Bastard

Published November 30, 2008

Tonight I’m sipping a snifter of Founders‘ Backwoods Bastard while trying to figure out a Time Machine problem I’m having. Thankfully, the need to let the beer warm up to a bit below room temperature for drinking tied in well with time spent working on the backup.

This beer is interesting, and tastes quite a bit like their Curmudgeon, but with lots of oak. It’s nifty and worth drinking, if you like potent, strongly flavored beers.

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Sears Free Spirit Bicycle and Manual

Published November 30, 2008

Side view of the bicycle as received. I think the drive train needs the most work.

Back in the early 1980s my grandma bought my grandpa a bicycle for his birthday, but my grandpa ended up not really riding it. So, for more than 25 years, it sat, until they were clearing things out and gave it to me; my very own Sears Free Spirit 10-Speed 26-In. Lightweight Bicycle.

Despite its name, this bike isn’t particularly lightweight, and probably is somewhere around the weight of Danielle’s Townie and my bike combined. It’s also not particularly high quality, as the various frame pieces and joints seem a bit undersized. That said, I think there’s something particularly nifty about it. Maybe it’s the bottle generator / dynamo and the lights, maybe it’s the big chrome pie plates, or maybe it’s just knowing that it’s a cheap department store from a time I don’t really remember.

Yesterday when visiting with my Grandparents they gave me the instruction manual for it, as they’d found it when going through some drawers. I’ve taken the whole manual, scanned it, then posted it online because it’s really amusing for someone interested in bikes to read. I find these line art drawings to be particularly entertaining. This exploded drawing of the bike is also great.

I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with this bike. I may fix it up, but being unsure of whether or not I’ll actually use it, I’m tempted to just give it away or donate to The Hub of Detroit / Back Alley Bikes. That’s a decision for later.

For now, please enjoy this album of photos of the new-to-me Free Spirit (Sears 10-Speed 26-In. Lightweight Bicycle) and the Free Spirit Owner’s Manual.

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Kung-Fu Master Game For Sale: $100

Published November 30, 2008

A few years ago I came into possession of a Kung-Fu Master arcade game. It’s been sitting in my garage for a few years, but it still works. I don’t really have a need for it and I’m trying to free up some space, so I’m offering it for sale for $100.

It works, and the only real problem I know of with it is that the joystick feels a bit odd. It either needs some work; maybe a bit of adjustment or replacement. I’ve also got an original copy of the manual, including schematics and whatnot, and that will be included in the sale. If you end up wanting to replace the joystick, I can help you out with selecting one. They are very easy to install, simply bolting inside the control panel and connecting with eight push-on connectors.

Photos of the cab, inside and out, are available on these two pages: 1 · 2

I can’t deliver it, but it’s available for inspection and pickup at my house. If you’re interested, please let me know. I’ve also got it posted here on Craigslist, so hopefully it’ll go quickly.

EDIT: This game is sold.

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NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB Plus

Published November 30, 2008

A while back I had the chance to acquire a NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB Plus bike / helmet light for a very good price. It took a while to arrive, but I received it just before Thanksgiving and decided to take a few photos of the unboxing of it. At 110 lumens it’s not a particularly powerful light, but it should be nice to throw on the handlebars to provide some contrast with my head light. I also hope to use it on both Danielle’s bike and, if I get it, a Surly Cross Check. It should be just great alone for paved area / path riding.

I hope to do a light comparison later with it, the TriNewt, and a few other lights, but for now please feel free to browse the MiNewt Mini-USB Plus album.

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King Corn

Published November 28, 2008

Last night after finding it available in the Netflix Streaming stuff, Danielle and I watched King Corn. This documentary was very similar to the first part of Michael Pollan‘s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and even included Mr. Pollan and thanked him for the inspiration for the film.

In this film two guys decide that they want to grow an acre of corn and figure out many of the things that industrial corn is used for in the US. They spend most of their time in the farming town of Greene, IA, with side trips to NYC, feed lots in Colorado, and a few other places. For those who are already familiar with how industrial corn is used to make the vast majority of processed foods in the state it’s nothing too new, but it’s well put together and fairly entertaining.

I think the film could have spent more time going into a few areas which were hinted at, such as how the determination is made which shows that most of the carbon in most USians is originally from corn or what happens to cause a particular farmer to auction off all his belongings and move, but that might have made the film a bit drawn out. As it stands, I definitely recommend seeing this.

Here’s some more info about it:

· King Corn – Official Site
· Independent Lens: King Corn (PBS)
· King Corn at Apple Trailers

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Mud!

Published November 28, 2008

Part of my CamelBak Mule after a slushy, snowy, muddy night time ride in and around Stony Creek Metropark.

I’m about to go to bed, but first I thought I’d post this photo of my CamelBak from last night after riding a bit at Stony Creek last night with some friends. The route to and from the park was quite muddy, and the whole area in the park was either muddy, snowy, slushy, or covered in wet leaves and pine needles. It was a nice ride, just very tiring because of the snow and slippery-ness. My bike is thoroughly covered in mid and snow, and my pants, jacket, face, gloves, and everything else had a pretty solid spray on them as well.

Hopefully Saturday or Sunday I’ll be able to get out for another ride before cleaning off my bike. Well, time for sleep.

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Southern Tier’s Krampus

Published November 27, 2008

Souther Tier's Crampus poured into a glass. This is a nicely hoppy, slightly roasted tasting 9% lager.

Here, have a photo of the beer I just started sipping, Southern Tier Brewing Company‘s Krampus, which is one of their Seasonal Imperial beers. It’s a very nicely hoppy 9% beer with a very slightly roasted taste to it. I also think it smells a bit like grapefruit.

Here’s some text from the back of the bottle and the relevant Wikipedia article:

St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus, is a magical figure, the bringer of gifts and an icon of holiday spirit. Forgotten by most is his evil side kick and enforcer of ‘the list’.

European tradition says while St. Nick is busy delivering presents to good little boys and girls, Krampus hands out punishments to the bad. A fanged, goat-horned bully, the Christmas Devil uses sticks and chains to beat the naughty children.

Dark malts and aromatic hops create the diabolical spirit of this brew. It is finished with lager yeast and aged cold for no less than 30 days. This Imperial Helles Lager will warm even the darkest hearts.

This season, replace the cookies with a bottle of Krampus. If he happens to pay a visit, toast to him with this devilish brew. Merry Kramp-mas to all, and to all a good pint!

Alc. 9.0% by Vol.
20° Plato
2-row Pale Malt
Debittered Black Malt
Munich Malt
Caramel Malt
Kettle Hops: Chinook
Dry Hops: Willamette

Store In A Cool Place
Serve In A Snifter [Whoops!]
Best at 48°F (8.9°C)

Now I think it’s time to go watch King Corn via the Netflix / Xbox 360 streaming stuffs.

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