S&W M&P Shield 2.0

I'm seeing lots of folks (online and in the real world) talking about the new version of the S&W M&P Shield. Lasers, flashlights, suppressors - oh my!

Smart Dumbbells

Of course they are... Bowflex SelectTech 560 Dumbbell (Pair), 5 lb - 60 lb:

"Integrated Bluetooth Smart technology syncs and records sets, reps, and weight
Free app with over 70 exercises, 6 week Challenge, journal, and more"

Unfortunately they aren't Alexa compatible, so you can't ask her to do your overhead presses.

Radioddity Baofeng RD-5R: DMR HT

Based on the UV-5R form factor, Radioddity is releasing a new DMR HT... the RD-5R:

As the first Radioddity-Baofeng co-produced DMR, RD-5R is featured with solid quality and affordable price. The FM radio function, LED flashlight and built in VFO mode make it stands out from other DMRs.
Sticked with classical design of the 5R family, this time RD-5R is a true dual band dual time slot DMR.

Fingers crossed that this will be a better radio than the DM-5R. Projected price is approximately $70 USD. In the comments, they note that the "RD-5R share pretty much the same CPS with GD-77 and hopefully this will make it a lot easier" to program and thus it will have all the GD-77 DMR functionality.

Streaming Services

Interesting viewing patterns in the big 3 streaming services...

OneDrive: Files Restores

Ignoring the awkward name, I'm always happy to see new features being released for the OneDrive service. OneDrive has stored revisions for a while, but Files Restores includes some neat enhancements - like the histogram so you can see the volume of changes.

I love the cloud and features like the Files Restores, but I still buy a USB hard drive every few years to do my own back up. That reminds me... I need to take my year-end snap shot and get the drive to the safe deposit box at my bank.

Outdoor Wi-Fi Outlet, Smart Plug

No surprise, I've done it again... I bought another Alexa controllable smart plug. But wait! This one is totally different. It's an outdoor plug - Oittm Outdoor Wi-Fi Outlet, Smart Plug Socket! I've got a string of lights around the porch on the back of my house. They aren't on a switch, so we have to plug them in every time we want to use them. It is fairly common to turn them on to get a little more light when we are grilling. Usually this means having our hands full when we go out there, so the voice control will be great. (I know first world problem - but first world solutions, too!)

FT8

OH: “I thought JT9 and JT65 were like fish in a barrel. FT8 is like fishing in a barrel with dynamite.”

— London Hackspace ARC (@m0hsl) January 24, 2018

Crosman DPMS SBR Full-Auto BB Air Rifle

Looks like fun...


Via Say Uncle

Switch Bot

Switch Bot allows you to retro-fit traditional switches for control via voice or an app. It is a little mechanical bot that will flip the switch for you. It is an interesting solution for all the legacy switches that are out there. It's not nearly as elegant as replacing the switch and being able to manipulate the physical world starts my Skynet red flags waving.

RH 770 Dual Band Antenna

K0NR has an antenna recommendation for a dual band handhelds.