Man, I really like Woot. If you aren’t familiar with Woot, it’s a website that sells one item every day, usually at tremendous savings. A while back I snagged 3 2G SD memory cards for $26, shipped. Today’s Woot is a Reebok Precision Trainer XT Heart Rate Monitor for $25 once you add shipping.
Just what a compulsive list maker and spread-sheet user like me needs, more data to track!
If you want to get in on the heart rate monitoring fun, hurry. This deal is only good today (Friday).
…is that you then become, by default, tech-support. My hair stands on end when she calls on the phone and says, “I’m having trouble with my computer”.
Recently she made that very call. Her computer was making a noise (which she couldn’t describe) and, more troublingly the motherboard’s protection software had popped up a warning “something about heat” just before it shut down. Let me just pause here to say, my mother is an amazing, extraordinarily intelligent woman. She doesn’t, however, know nor does she have any interest in knowing what makes her computer work.
Analyzing the facts at hand, I determined that the most likely culprit was the fan on the CPU heatsink. I pulled up the emailed invoice, checked the Intel website, and determine that it is still under warranty (two years old, 3 year warranty!)
I call Intel, hopeful that with the info from the invoice I can get a new heatsink on its way. No such luck, they need specific info from the fan and from the processor itself. Ok, this isn’t a huge problem, and I at least have jumped the first few hurdles with Intel and have a case number. When I handed the computer over to mom, I had nested all of the component’s boxes into the larger boxes and had her save them, so it shouldn’t take long to locate the CPU box and get the serial number and such… in theory. In reality, a few phone calls later, it’s obvious Mom isn’t going to find the box.
In a scene reminiscent of a 70’s disaster film, wherein the control tower talks the sweating passenger through the landing of a jumbo-jet, I (looking at photos and diagrams online) manage to talk my mother through removing the heatsink from her CPU. Jubilant with her success, she gets off the phone with me to call Intel.
Far too soon, my phone rings, they’re closed for the night.
The next evening, she calls Intel, everything goes swimmingly, and Diego (whom she was quite impressed with) assured her that the heatsink should be there in 2 - 5 days. She gives my email address to send the confirmation and tracking info to, as her computer is (obviously) down.
The tracking info comes shortly after midnight and it says that it was shipped next-day air. The next day I check the tracking status and discover that it was delivered at 9:30 AM! Just over 13 hours after she’d gotten off the phone with them!
So, I call Mom that evening and tell her to look on her porch for the package, then we repeat the control-tower, nervous non-pilot, reinstallation process.
I’d give anything for a picture of my mother’s face when she got it back together and it worked without a hitch. Just the joy in her voice was reward enough. She was (understandably) proud of herself, and I was proud of her. Graciously, she complimented me for doing such a good job talking her through it.
My lovely, amazing mother and Intel’s customer service both earn a resounding:
The other day I was perusing the latest Bike Nashbar sale catalog when I came across:
ATC2K, the ultimate waterproof self-contained action cam!
And it’s on sale for only $109.95! I intended to go online and do a little research on this seemingly wonderful device, but kept forgetting. Finally I managed to think of it while a computer was at hand and did a little digging.
It does indeed seem perfect for capturing web-quality video on the bike, lashed under the car bumper, who knows, perhaps even strapped to the back of the cat!
Anyway, a bit more digging and I find a place that has it for $89.95 and they have a coupon code for free UPS shipping! Click-click-clickety-click, it’s ordered!
Presently I’m having some (minor) difficulties with the retailer I ordered it from, so to them I say: No link for you! Due to said difficulties, I go looking for a Plan-B, just in case. Imagine my dismay when I discover that Amazon has it for $83.99
, also with free shipping. D’oh!
Naturally by the time I found this out, the problem with my order had been straightened out and it’s too late to cancel the order. Oh well, that’s how they get you, you know.
So stay tuned; videos will be forthcoming!
When I was younger I used to love tinkering with electronics, but I haven’t done much of it in years. A few months ago when I broke out the soldering iron to solder up a wiring harness for a new car stereo, the smell of hot rosin and solder reawakened something.
So anyway… I came across this page. Having always been a sucker for pointless flashing lights, I was particularly drawn to the 16 Stage Bi-Directional LED Sequencer. If you’re old enough to remember the TV show Knight Rider then you can probably picture exactly what this looks like. If not, I’ll help you out: It’s a row of (16!) LED’s that chase back and forth, from side to side (thus the “bi-directional” part).
I got to thinking; “why couldn’t I mount the LED’s in a 5 1/4″ computer bay cover, power the circuit with 5VDC from an unused Molex (hard drive) connector, and have groovy (KITT-style) flashing lights on (one of) my computer(s)?” (Yes I know, I’m a dork.)
Unable to think of one good reason not to, I ordered the necessary parts and assembled the circuit on a breadboard. Reasonably satisfied with my handiwork, I powered it up. The lights flashed, in sequence, but alas, in only one direction. After carefully going over everything again I found my wiring mistake and was as giddy as a school-girl when I hooked it back up and the lights sequenced in a bi-directional fashion, just like they were supposed to.
Now I just have to decide if I want to stick with traditional red LED’s of if I should switch to violet or insanely bright blue for the final installation. Even Der Hasselhoffer himself will be envious!
Yep, I’m just an over-grown 12 year old with a job and too much free time.
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