Posts

It Could Have Been Done

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I saw this illustration titled: "A Simple Method for Reading Pictures by Wire or Radio" on Pinterest: I counted 48 squares across, assume the same height that's 2304 squares total.  Send a Morse code digit from 0 to 9 for each square (1 to 10 as shown doesn't make sense to me).  The actual time to send a picture would depend on the picture (a polar bear in the arctic would probably be the longest assuming white => zero. The longest Morse digit by time spent is the five dahs of a zero.  But certainly a real photo would take a LONG time. This method is the basis for picture storage and transmission to this day. Oh yeah: the guy sending is a lid, a tapper :) Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

Tornado ?

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When I see this: The trail cam gets shut off and brought inside, so no trail cam pictures from last night. While listening to the Brewers Mets game the phone woke itself up and had an ominous tornado warning message.  Unfortunately I didn't save a screen shot but it got me all rattled.  Here's the gist of it: Not sure where it was actually, probably over the lake. there's a red box on the southern part of the island, is that where it was ? One thing I did notice again, Starlink is like our old dog, Buddy.  When there was a bad storm Bud would go downstairs and lay in his crate.  When Starlink encounters heavy rain it doesn't work.  I got a red LED on the router (it didn't photograph red for some reason or I'd include a picture). So anyway, I wasn't always online during the storm.  There was a little hail and then heavy rain along with the usual winds.  But I didn't hear "the train" so no tornado around me. Eventually after the Brewer game the p...

We Need The Eggs

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The first joke from Annie Hall was mentioned before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/01/another-one-of-my-elmers-has-died.html But, as the literalist, seeing an old Australian magazine ad made me remember the final joke from Annie Hall : source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3feAYfyjzk Here is the ad originally from Pinterest: From other sources I gather that Ke-Peg was (don't think it is available in the USA) a paint on or wipe on substance for fresh eggs to prevent moisture from escaping out and bad stuff like oxygen and germs from getting in.  From the months of peak egg laying mentioned you realize this is a southern hemisphere ad. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/has-anyone-ever-used-kepeg-egg-preserver.226412/ The peg in Ke-peg may refer to polyethylene glycol 400 or PEG-400 (described as a clear, colorless viscous fluid): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEG_400 Apparently PEG 400 is the active ingrediment in Visine ?: Mineral oil is an alternative coating t...

Richard Montgomery come get your namesake

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But he won't and he's not being a dick about it, he's dead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Montgomery (actually quite a fellow !) his namesake today (SS Richard Montgomery): source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery Here's the video where a fellow with overly expressive hands for video tells us about the situation: source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnvd3gFNap4 I thought this was quite a mural: As far as the SS Richard Montgomery, I would evac the area, drain the LNG tanks and then use flotation balloons first get them off the bottom  and then a tug to tow the wreck halves somewhere else and dump them.   Or I'd hire a Washington Islander to do the patrolling of the wreck.  One time I was with my Dad's cousins (the ad-man and the scientist) down near the ferry dock.  There was a US Coast Guard station south of the ferry then.  We walked down there but before we got too close a fellow (NOT a Coast Guard, just a guard)...

Removing the plastic body of an Integrated Circuit with a Laser

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I thought this was an interesting video, there are also other shorter ones from different people on Youtube. source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhZEi7bOAjY I've mentioned de-capsulating before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/01/before-flash-there-was-eprom-that.html This is probably a pretty obvious idea given that the ICs are now marked with lasers, but I never thought of it. I wouldn't have had the chip power on while the laser is on but it's certainly cinematic :) I would have done the 2nd chip the opposite way, use high power at the start and then down shift the laser to lower power at the end which he sorta does for a while but then relents. It sure does beat using a Dremel tool to dig a "well" and then using red fuming nitric acid (after heating with a hot plate) to de-capsulate an IC. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

Deer Baby

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I don't know if this is the same doe and fawn over multiple days/nights but possibly ?  Here's the mom: Here's the baby: Here's a mom and baby in the same shot from another day (fawn is at the left): Here's a fawn taken with the cell phone in the back yard: Here's a somewhat hard to see picture of a doe and fawn at night: Here I've circled them: Yes, I know I should cut the grass ! Maybe it's time to consider a better trail cam ?  This one works fine but the quality isn't that great.  Also the red LED glow at night and the audible click aren't good.  Also it makes me look like a big, fat, ugly, old man with poor posture !  :) A Wifi cam would be nice but they apparently work with a cell phone in close proximity.  My wifi reaches hundreds of feet to the trees.  But there do appear to be more expensive trail cams that have extended wifi range.  The cell phone equipped connectivity of other cameras doesn't interest me, not looking for yet anothe...

Kookiness

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The weather / atmosphere was certainly kooky on Wednesday, at least here: the picture was taken through the screen That's not fog, it's smoke from MN or Canada ?  The island is underneath there somewhere south of Escanaba in the poor air quality: source:  https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/content/59538/smoke-map/2640047 The air is heavy and still - so I've been staying inside, taking it easy which is not saying much since I don't do that much even when things are nice.  One good thing, the smoke seems to have calmed the temperature somewhat. Unless it moves out I think I'll skip going to the store this week. With apologies to Carl Sandburg: Smoke The smoke comes in on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then lays down for a multi-day nap. original:   https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45032/fog-56d2245d7b36c Update 7-16-2026 9 AM: Sandburg didn't mention a fog horn but this morning I started hearing what's probabl...