I got the IR sensors today. I’m glad I ordered a couple of different types. One looks the same but the other one doesn’t. I’ll install the new sensor tomorrow at work. I’ll also take some pictures to post at the roomba yahoo group.
If you read my wife’s blog then you know about Abby’s cats frequent birthdays. Everyday is some cat’s birthday. Sometimes one of them will have multiple birthdays in a single month. We don’t knock her for it. There are worse things for kids to pretend. So today was Abby the cat’s birthday. She turned five. Abby got her a few days after Christmas when we took the train down to San Carlos for afternoon adventures. Abby found her in a toy store and “had to have her”.
Here is a picture of Abby the cat enjoying her birthday dinner with Abby the person.
Here is another picture of Abby the cat. I wanted to learn how to use the camera better. I switched the camera to manual mode. This picture was taken in the dinning room with the lights turned off. I decreased the shutter speed to seconds. That’s right, the shutter was open for 15 seconds. I had the subject sitting on some napkins and the camera on top of a glass actings as a tripod. The f stop (aperture) is at 8. Focal length is at 5.8 mm (~1/4inch). It was in macro mode so I could manually focus the lens. It’s nice to have digital to play with and not waste film, time and $$ with 35mm and Costco.
I celebrated my civil rights by travelling to the beach with my daughter and dog. Wife and second daughter stayed home. They didn’t want to come. This is the best photo of the day. I love how Jenna is focused on the stick.
People like Pat Robertson make non Christians laugh. Now let’s take a look at Muslim leaders. This one declared that married Muslims are to not be naked during sex. Here is the story. He goes on to say that if Muslims do get naked during sex, their marriage would be annulled. This guy makes Pat Robertson look normal.
Speaking of Pat Robertson. The mayor Nagin of New Orleans has stated the hurricanes were a part of God’s disapproval of our war against radical Muslims in Iraq.
Junkyardblog has a great response.
If we’re reckoning God’s wrath in body counts and national stress, then God is less mad at America than a lot of other countries. We’ve lost a couple thousand in Iraq and another 1200 or so as a result of Katrina. The Asian tsunami killed off 250,000. So by Ray’s noggin, God is madder at Asia than He is at America. The last time I checked, very very few Asian troops are in Iraq under false pretenses, or any pretenses at all—they’re just not in Iran.”
He hit the nail on the head. If the hurricans are because we are in Iraq why did Asia get hammered even though they aren’t in Iraq?
I’m an electronics technician by trade. I started by graduating from Heald in 1987. Since then, I’ve repaired a lot of electronics. I make a pretty good living doing it. Mostly because it’s fun to me. Someone once told me that if you find a job doing what you enjoy you’ll never work a day in your life. That was pretty good advice. Whenever an opportunity comes my way I ask, “Would I enjoy doing that”? Not how much does it pay or what are the benefits. When I get up in the morning, I go to work because I enjoy it.
Now I have this Roomba. It’s a robotic vacuum and does a pretty decent job cleaning the floors. I don’t know much about robots but I do know micro switches and IR sensors. The Roomba needs a lot of maintenance to stay running. Hair and dirt climb up into the sensors and wheel axles so problems are frequent. So far I’ve been able to keep it running. The current problem is a bit more involved. I think the front wheel got too much hair and stopped rotating. Now the front wheel has a worn out spot. In the process of cleaning it I might have damaged one of the cliff sensors. The problem is that Roomba does not sell repair parts. The wheel won’t be to big of a deal. I can find something that will work at a hobby store. More than likely I’ll upgrade to a better wheel off of an airplane kit. The cliff sensor is something different. If it’s not a broken wire then I and Roomba are toast. I will have to buy a broken Roomba off of someone and use it for parts.
Here is a picture of the damaged front wheel.
How can someone say, “I suport the troops but not the war”? That is complete utter nonsense. To not support the war is to not support the mission those troops are engaged in. Those troops watch the news and see all that utter nonsense. It is demoralizing to them. If you aren’t on board with the mission then you are aiding the enemy.
Imagine being at a football game. You want to “support your team’s players” but you tell the other team’s players that your team shouldn’t even be on the field, you vote to not fund your team on the field, you cheer when your team misses the field goal and drops a pass. Boy that doesn’t sound like supporting your team does it.
Here is a veteran of Vietnam telling a congressman a piece of his mind.
So do you want to know about our living room? Probably not. If you do, please visit my wife’s blog at ericah.blog.com She has pictures of the way I would like to keep it for a while. Please comment on her post so everything is in one spot.
I must say that I do admire her for being willing to try something for a while just to appease me. Secretly (not so secret since she reads my blog) I think she is starting to like it. I think she would be willing to keep it that way if we moved the glider chair and table to where it used to be so she can keep her knitting stuff in a way that is preferred by her. (Now theres a run on sentance for you)
