RH 770 Dual Band Antenna

K0NR has an antenna recommendation for a dual band handhelds.

Funny IT Tweets

Ouch.

DevOps: "load-balanced, auto-scaled, multi-region redundant services for maximum availability"
Also DevOps: "Slack is down, I can't do work"

— Liam O 🦆 (@liamosaur) November 1, 2017

“A distributed system is one in which the failure of a computer you didn’t even know existed can render your own computer unusable.” - Leslie Lamport

— Programming Wisdom (@CodeWisdom) December 3, 2017

Why can't we rate this app in the App Store?
- None of my friends are on it
- The notifications are annoying
- It's full of spam pic.twitter.com/D1KCkURCCs

— Chad Whitaker (@chadwhitaker) November 10, 2017

shamelessly stolen from reddit... but so appropriate... @nixcraft pic.twitter.com/Y9t9sGcPyx

— #Jed (@JedCavins) September 19, 2017

DCRainmaker Pro Cycling Ride Along

DCRainmaker is my go to resource for information on running watches and other, similar tech. He got to do a ride along with a pro cycling team in their support car. He talks about some of the radio problems and what looks like an Alinco DR-635 makes an appearance.

Color Printing

I like my monochrome Brother printer. It was cheap. It works well. It has wireless, so I can put it anywhere. I don't have to take out a loan when I buy more toner. It's a laser, so my infrequent printing doesn't result in the discovery of a dried up ink cartridge. This is a current model ($80) of what I bought a few years back.

I don't really need a color printer, but I'd be tempted by the Brother offering at $210. What's totally crazy about this printer is the Amazon Dash integration:

"Upon activation, the Amazon Dash Replenishment service measures the toner level and automatically orders toner from Amazon when low. This ensures that you never run out again."

CZ-75B

I'm a fan of the CZ-75 due to reports like this:

So this wraps up the CZ-75B Omega 2k round test. The gun was field-stripped and lubed with Lucas Extreme Duty Gun Oil on November the 6th, and has since fired 2,000 rounds, most of it filthy, steel-cased TulAmmo, with no further cleaning or lubrication. The gun has not once failed to go through the complete cycle of operation. The front sight's tritium vial leaked all its radioactive glow-y stuff, but there have otherwise been no parts breakages.

CZ posts.

Alexa Cannibalism

Interesting chart about what things are now being done with Alexa and her friends... I know we stream a lot of music (vs. doing it from our smart phones), so that fits. We stream WUOT (the local NPR station) on our phones. If WUOT added a skill for streaming, that would also move off our phones to the Echo Dot/Anker Eufy Genie. I'm not seeing that Alexa replaces much time with tablets, the TV, or our computers - other than doing some basic voice commands for lights, thermostat, etc.

See the article at Business Insider.

Fast!

Uhhh...4.12? https://t.co/5YIP9V40da

— Peter Foley (@pedrodit) January 20, 2018

Gun Safety?

Braver or dumber?



Via Gun Free Zone

Soldering Reference

This soldering reference card from @adafruit is the most to-the-point explanation of good soldering practices I have ever seen: pic.twitter.com/DlKuf44NZV

— Michael Stapelberg (@zekjur) January 14, 2018

Power Strip with Four Alexa Controllable Outlets

WiFi Smart Power Strip, Conico Smart Surge Protector with 4 USB Charging Ports and 4 Smart AC Plugs for Multi Outlets Power Socket Extension Cord, Compatible with Alexa, Voice Controlled by Echo for $28.

I'm not sure where I would use this, but having four separate outlets (plus the USB ports), is cool.

I don't think plugging my dish washer, coffee machine, and TV in to it would match my use case.