When I win the lottery...

I may have mentioned that I might learn to play the harmonic and/or banjo if I win the lottery. I think I would also take a Constitutional Law class or two. I followed the live feed at SCOTUSBlog yesterday. I find the process to be fascinating stuff. You get quotes like this:

“Some will rejoice in today’s decision, and some will despair at it; that is the nature of a controversy that matters so much to so many,” Scalia concluded. “But the Court has cheated both sides, robbing the winners of an honest victory, and the losers of the peace that comes from a fair defeat. We owed both of them better. I dissent.”

All I need is time and money... I got the hobbies all lined up.

Knives at AliExpress

I had seen the knives available via AliExpress, but didn't give much thought to them. PDB ordered one and cranked out this review. No surprises - an OK knife for not a lot of dough. I have the Ontario RAT1 that he mentions as a slightly more expensive alternative and I like it a lot. In fact, it shows up in the profile pic I use.

Almost a rifle...

Now that prices are coming back down, I bought this to go with my lowers and add to my magazine count.

Rent a Rig

Rent a rig - on a huge scale.

RSS Feeds

I've still not settled on a Google Reader replacement, but I just thought to check my subscriber numbers. There are about 240 of you who follow the blog via RSS. Eighty of which use Google Reader. I see several other readers in the list - but "unknown" is second to Google Reader.

Let's see what happens after July 1.

Kirisun Updates

409Shop has listings for the following Kirisun radios:

S760 (400 - 470 MHz) - $128
S780 (400 - 470 MHz) - $128
S785 (400 - 470 MHz) - $119
V688 (400 - 425 MHz) - $122
V689 (400 - 425 MHz) - $122

The software (S768, S765, S780, V688, V689) has also been posted on the 409Shop site. Direct download link here. (Thanks to SM3SWO for the pointer.)

Also, the Kirisun site has Chinese pages for the radios. (Thanks eb4fbz for the pointer!)
Google Chrome can help with the translations on the fly or you could use a different translation tool.

S760
S780
S785
V688
V689

Motocool MC788UV

Neil sends us this link to eBay for the Motocool MC788UV:

Dualband Radio with crossband repeater
-Cross-Band Repeat
-Alphanumeric Display
-4 x 256 Memory Channels
-CTCSS, DCS, DTMF, ANI, PTT ID, 2Tone/5Tone Encode & Decode
-Scrambler Included (not for use in the amateur band)
-DTMF Microphone
-Detachable Control Head
-Computer Programmable--
-All buttons on radio and mic are back-lighted
-FCC Part 90 Certified

Key Feature:
-50 Watts VHF • 40 Watts UHF
-VHF 136 - 174 MHz • UHF 400 - 490 MHz
-Head Separation Cable
-2013 FCC Certified
-True Dual Band Receive
-Removable Control Head
-DTMF Speaker Mic
-999 Memory Channels
-APO Power Management
-Selectable Three Color Backlight
-Dual Display V/U U/V V/V U/U

Specifications:
Receive Bandwidth: (FM) 220-260, 350-400, 400-490 MHz
108-180 MHz (AM or FM Mode)
118-134 MHz (AM Aircraft Band)
Transmit Range; (FM) 136-174, 400-490 MHz
Output Power is adjustable down to 5 Watts
Bandwidth; Wide (25 kHz); Medium (20 kHz); Narrow (12.5 kHz)
Tuning Steps; 2.5, 5, 6.25, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25 & 50 kHz
True Dual Receive - receive two signals at the same time -- second side can be muted while transmitting
Individual Volume and Tuning controls on each side of radio
Separate Function Buttons on each side of radio
Either side can be VHF or UHF at any time - VU, UV, UU, VV - One side can be in the VFO mode and the other side can be in the Memory mode at the same time

Leixen VV-808: Unboxing Photo Set

An unboxing photo set from Christian.

Logitech Harmony Smart Control

In addition to the app to control my HVAC , I need one of these Logitech Harmony Smart Control remote systems to control my TV from my phone. Here is the link to the product page on the Logitech site.

Yaesu FT-252/257 Batteries

N5FDL is not a fan of the battery design on the Yaesu FT-252/257.

I wonder why Yaesu didn't stick with a more typical design.