Month: November 2017
Stinky Cat Syndrome: Why no robot for this?
So my cat (TC, short for ‘The Cat’) is normally a very clean creature (like most cats). He goes out, snoops around for a bit, and comes back in smelling like leaves and campfires etc. No problem. Not last night. Last night the cat waltzed back in smelling of dead skunk and septic tanks. Now,…
US district court of marshall texas
So, Marshall Texas, famous for patent cases. Here’s a panorama of the US district court building, and the street its on, to help you put it in perspective. Right across the street (see the confederate statue far left above? that is the statue below) is the old Harrison county courthouse, quite pretty. Contrast that to…
A gas station as a destination?
So I spent last week in the eastern district of texas. And, on the way back to Dallas, we had to stop in at what is a very odd experience, Buc’ee’s. Their slogan: “Clean Restrooms, We Guaranpee It”. Nice. This place has an astonishing number of gas stalls (see below where I tried to capture),…
Today’s adventure: inflating a balloon to increase water pressure
About 10 years ago I ‘upgraded’ my whole-house reverse-osmosis system. The old one had a big 1/2HP motor, a membrane that was near impossible to change (OMG, it was just impossible, I cannot fathom what they were thinking, needed a vice, a hammer, a chisel, 2 vice-grips, and a lot of patience). It was full…
Today’s adventure: lightbulb festoonery!
OK, believe it or not there is a lightbulb type called a ‘festoon bulb‘. You’ve all seen them (they are in your car, e.g. in the dome light), a glass tube with some metal at each end. These are typically 12V. Another common use for them is in household under-cabinet lighting, where they chew up…
