End of the World. Beginning of a new one. The Life of Amberwolf.

[amberwolf]

It has now been so hot for so long this summer (still having 120F days, a couple in a row within the last week) that despite all the watering my trees have been sacrificing major limbs and even trunks to try to save themselves. I gave up on all the lantana that was still left in the front yard and street side outside the fence and have been removing it as I have time and strength, but it is too hot to do any yard work, and has been for almost the entire summer.

Somewhere around the time of the above post, I had started trimming off the already-dying-from-the-heat limbs, and had made two SUV-sized piles that needed to be cut into shorter lengths (less than 4feet) for bulk trash pickup. I took a week off work early in summer when we had slightly cooler weather and stayed up all night to do as much of the work as I could then, but I only got about half of that cut up and ready for pickup.

Since then I have been able to add very little to that, and at this point have even more than that entire pile to now trim off the trees, that has died from the even more extreme heat since then. :/ Some of the trees are more like bushes now, for what's left alive. One of hte largest and oldest, on the east side of the house in back, barely has part of a trunk and a couple of branches left, and it had been more than twice as tall as the house.


JellyBeanThePerfectlyNormalSchmoo is still doing alright, as she usualy stays sprawled in the house on the tile somewhere, occasionally visiting me wherever I am at the time.

 

[nicobie]

Next time you get winds toss the bushy stuff in the street, then call the city.

 

[amberwolf]

Not really an option.... Even if it wouldn't get me in trouble (which it would) it would be more work to do that then to just do what I'm already doing, because it would all have to be done at once instead of as I can handle it.

The weather is cooling rapidly now, it's already almost 20F cooler, so the last week or two have been able to do some tiny amount of yard work every few days whenever I'm not completely exhausted when I get home from work; this weekend is supposed to be less than 90F highs so probalby fairly nice most of the day, and I might get some real work done out there. (wish I could spend the time on my own stuff or resting, but this has to get done).

 

[amberwolf]

Some of my coworkers volunteered to come over and helped me clean up the majority of the stuff about a month or so ago (little more, maybe), so I've just been doing cleanup of the remainder since then. Still slow going; I get worn out too quickly to do a lot on any particular day, and pretty much am so wiped out from work on workdays I almost never get to do any physical work around here those days (most of every week).

But at least i'ts progress.

 

[amberwolf]

In ohter news, Aliexpress has been having a "bliss" sale where numerous items are down to a couple bucks (or less) for the most part, a few up to four, with free shipping that would normally be $10-$20 or more (not just on AE, but pretty much everywhere I'd trust), not counting shipping.

Then there are a bunch of other sales that bring other items down to similar prices that would be anywhere from 20-30% more up to several times that cost, also with free shipping.

So I spent a few hours over almost the last couple weeks, here and there, picking things out for various projects I've wanted to do but couldn't justify the larger expenditures...but a couple bucks here and there, that I'm willing to part with--I'd usually spend that kind of money at Goodwill/etc over the year, but have hardly gone there at all in quite a while, so what I would have spent there I used on this instead.

Some of it has already arrived, after only a week, (pics at end) the rest of it is still on the way. A few more things I haven't ordered yet, as I've been waffling on whether I really should get them or not.

Most of it is going to be for a robotics project I've been working on for a long time but mostly as concept and ideas, that I still don't know how to do most of, but am learning as I go (like usual). I'll start a thread for it at some point, just is a whole lot to type up. There's assorted ESP32 versions (partly for experimentation with the different things they can be used for), some servos, servo PWM expansion board for whatever MCU gets used (probalby I'll have several of them running sub-sections of the robot), stepper drivers, servo tester, logic level converters/shifters, breadboards, ESP32 devboards/breakouts, 3-axis accelerometer boards, I/O expanders, an 18650 charger/USB PSU "shield", serial-BT adapter, MEMS mic, relay modules,

Some of it is spare 3D printer parts like a bunch of nozzles (since I'm sure I'll clog them and they were very cheap, and will probably also end up being used (with modification) for my someday-project of a waste-plastic-to-new=filament recycling machine), and a "temperature checker gun" that will see use in many ways (been borrowing my brother's but it's not always available when I need to use one). An all metal extruder for the Creality 3D printer over here:
What shall we do with a 3D printer...early in the morning!
and a trimming knife for cleaning up prints.

Also, because it was $4, a 3D printing "pen". Not sure how much use it will be, but I can think of a few things I could "sculpt" with plastic-deposition this way, if it works at all like it should, without having to build a model for them (because they don't have to be precise, and would just be "let's see if this idea works out" kind of things. )


A few things are for my trike, like a couple of "trunk organizers" that I'm going to mount on the inside of the cargo area along the sides above the wheel wells to hold things I frequently carry for easier access while leaving the main cargo area open for whatever else I am going to go get (groceries, etc) or might pickup on the way home, etc. That way I don't have to have boxes/etc in the cargo area to carry those other things (taht will go in the organizers) that then either have to go on top of the cargo deck outside the cargo area, or that make me have to put the cargo up there. A 5v USB powered soldering iron to carry on the trike (I have occasionally really wished I had something to resolder a connection on a signal wire, instead of twisting them together till I get home).

Then assorted stuff for the computer and the music "studio", like some harddisk enclosures for the SSD drives I've gotten elsewhere to clone and backup the computers, some bluetooth tx/rx boxes to eliminate the wires to my headphones and to my main speakers (since I keep having problems with the wires themselves, and JellyBeanThePerfectlyNormalSchmoo doesn't help by flailing around when she sleeps sometimes, and somehow manages to occasionally find a way to tangle herself up on wires that are *behind* furniture, pulling them out under it or around it, etc. Wireless "lavalier" mic that can be used with the phone or the computer soundbox input, to record things without dealing with wires, especially outside stuff.

A "macro lens" for the phone camera to make it simpler to take quick but still good pictures of tiny stuff or whatever closeups are needed, without having to go get out the "good camera" and charge it up, deal with memory cards, etc. Also a small pocket microscope that should be adaptable (probably with a 3d printed part) to take pictures thru as well, or to view thru the bigger easier to see screen on the phone or tablet, etc. (vs having to look thru the eyepiece).


I don't expect any of these things to be high quality, but if they work at all they'll probably do what I need them to. If necessary I can always find a better quality version if I find I actually need functionality any of them don't provide, but this was a great way to get a bunch of things I've considered for a while really cheaply. Most of the robotics stuff is purely experimental, as I am not far enough along to know for sure what I will need (and the full project is likely to cost a fair bit over time to get all the parts, not counting the stuff I'm likely to break while learning).

 

[nicobie]

It looks like Santa came early to your house.

 

[amberwolf]

Yeah, though Rudolph came by with some stuff that Santa had left in the bag today. I guess Blitzen is still playing with the rest of it, probably be next week or later for that.

No pics yet cuz I'm too wiped out to do more than make sure the stuff was actually in there and not crushed (since they just ship it all in thin bags with no padding). So far it all looks ok.

The organizer for the trike is as expected pretty thin, but about the right size for what I need it for.

The two harddisk enclosures look ok, one clear and one black, both come with a USB3A to USB3Micro cable, which I actually needed for my goodwill-find Targus DisplayLink box (which works on a regular USB2A-USB2micro cable, but not as well as it would with the right one).

A DP-HDMI cable for that DL box to the monitor that has to be better than the one I've been using (which leaves the screen a bit blurry) (DP-HDMI because I already have the HDMI-HDMI and wanted to be able to toggle between them mirrored to see whcih was better, and so I can use any DP type monitors I might run across...wanted to also get a DVI-VGA but wasnt' one on any of their sales from a trustworthy supplier)

An RCA cable set for my better speakers that if it works at all is better than the one I've been using that has an intermittent connection in it.

One of those cheap battery capacity meters that can work from like 8v to 100v, with some form of menu to choose the voltage range.

Tiny pocket microscope, probably junk but was ultracheap.

BT "30w" 2.1 amp for my ancient Acoustic Research speaker cabinets that don['t have their own amp, just as a second monitoring source for mixing/editing my music stuff.

The trimming knife for the printer stuff, wiht extra blades.

Probably gonna have a nap real soon whether I want it or not....maybe get pics later after that.

 

[amberwolf]

Pics of the stuff above, plus another batch that arrived yesterday, below.

Basic testing of everything seems to work, though the app for the BT amp requires every permission imaginable, including GPS, Wifi, network access, file, sound, camera, etc; I can't remember them all. It shouldn't need anything other htan BT, so I denined everything and dumped it as it has zero reason to need all that stuff. The amp will work without it, I just don't have access to it's EQ/etc features. Not a big deal as I intend to use it as an alternate mixing monitor for SONAR, and would use "flat" EQ for that anyway.

I also tested the 3D printing "pen", and it works better than I expected, though my dexterity and control is limited so I won't be "sculpting" any masterpieces with it. It's more just a "fun" thing, because it was cheap. It may be also useful for welding other 3D printed parts (with the Ender) together, or filling gaps and seams, etc. I used some of the already-open PLA and ABS I got with the broken-printer deal, and both worked well enough with it, without breaking or crumbling or bubbling. So they may work fine in the Ender as well...but we'll hold off on that test.

In case I clog them up, I got a bunch of spare nozzles, and also some harder metal ones to experiment with potentially-damaging filament types at some point, since they were all cheap. I also got the all-metal Creality extruder "kit", for when I eventually have problems with the preinstalled one in the Ender, I can just replace it, and not be down waiting for the parts, just however long it takes to disassemble/reassemble the "printhead".

That DP-HDMI cable works fine--is better than any of the HDMI-HDMI cables I have, given the monitor's quality itself.

The microscope is alright, not as good as I wish, but better than expected. Should be useful for my intended purposes.

The cargo bags I'm in hte process of installing in the SB Cruiser, got one installed on the right side with partial "boxes" in the compartments to help support the bags' shape and whatever I carry in them. Still cutting out "boxes" from aluminized foam-insulated board to put in the other bag, then mount that on the left side.

The harddisk enclosures use different boards. The clear one is pretty slow...takes over 2 minutes to transfer 8gb from a 1TB SSD connected to it's SATA port to the computer's USB3 port. The black one is pretty fast, and does the same job in a few seconds.

The CD-tray SATA-HDD adapter actualy works to let the Lenovo Ideapad300's I have access the Samsung 1TB SSDs, though the *identical* adapter I previously got from Amazon does not--the system BIOS can see the drive, but Windows10 can't. But the Amazon one *does* work fine in a Lenovo Thinkpad from my neighbor. There is no electronics in these, it's simply a physical connection adapter from the CD-port SATA connector style to the HDD-port style, and a baking-tray-thin aluminum shell to keep it from rattling around in the CD drive bay. So since the Aliexpress adapter does work, I can use it to clone the original Ideapad's HDD to the SSD, without taking the HDD out, using just a bootable thumbdrive with PING or some other cloning program on it. (much simpler and faster than trying to boot to windows on the desktop and copy things, with both drives taken out of hte laptop and moutned in the desktop, etc).

The battery-level-meter powers on, though I haven't tested it's functions by programming it via it's front button menus, etc.

The IR temperature gun works, reads about a degree higher than my brother's does, across a range from <40F outside to >300F around the stove elements. It's laser doesnt' correctly point to the spot it actually measures unless you are pretty close to the measured spot, within a foot or so, though. So it's easier to turn off the laser (front panel button) and just measure till you get something close to the expected reading, for things that's possible with.

The kitchen shears work far better than expected--they cut in one snip thru the bubble wrap it came in, just as a first test. none of hte scissors I've had (including my Fiskars) will do that even when new. We'll see how they do with food (chicken, etc) next time I'm cooking that kind of stuff.

 

[amberwolf]

I'm nowhere near done writing up what I already have thought out, planned, done, etc., but I started a thread for the project I've been mentioning, Snuggles, The Wolf:

Robotics Project: Snuggles, The Wolf

Technical discussion and idea-workout thread for Snuggles, The Wolf, a robot intended for emotional support interaction. Discussion of the project itself is welcome; ridicule or other negative feedback about the idea itself, etc is not. ;) The project concept is pretty complex, so reading all...

endless-sphere.com

 

[amberwolf]

More of the stuff arrived, mostly things for the Snuggles project; pics and stuff over here:

Robotics Project: Snuggles, The Wolf

Technical discussion and idea-workout thread for Snuggles, The Wolf, a robot intended for emotional support interaction. Discussion of the project itself is welcome; ridicule or other negative feedback about the idea itself, etc is not. ;) Primary purpose: The last decade or so, I've seen how...

endless-sphere.com

 

[amberwolf]

So it's that time of year again when all the assholes get together and blow up the world and terrify people and animals in "celebration" of flipping a number over to a new one.

It's been pretty bad this year, worse than last, hopefully not as bad as previous ones, but there has been a lot of gunfire where most years there is not much, just lots of fireworks in the mortar-round size (the kind that probably killed Kirin).

My brother says that last night (this morning really, like around 3am to birb-o-clock) a bunch of police were at our streetcorner for hours because of a shooting, but they never came to our door, and I was buried as far as I could be under the wolfy and pillows and blankets trying to shut out the booms, so I didn't hear any sirens and stuff, though I certainly heard enough gunfire (which almost never happens around here normally).

It's going to get worse in the next three hours and hopefully peak for a short time then stop, but that's highly unlikely. It will probably go on till dawn or past, if most previous years have been an indication.

 

[amberwolf]

Since all the holiday stuff is clearanced, now that we're past all the above, it's time for JellyBeanThePerfectlyNormalSchmoo to get some new toys...this is the only time of year when they put squeakers in them big enough for her to be bothered with.

These two xmas pickles have the same soda-can-sized squeakers as in her giant candy-canes from a few years ago (whcih are fairly worn out now) so they're big enough for her to find with her nose (that's how she tells her toys to stay put when she's done with them) and easy for her to squeak to talk to me with it.

The smaller flat "bear" squeaker is smaller and harder for her to find wiht her nose, and sounds different, so she's not terribly excited about it.