Spotted on a recent trip past the Capital Region Welcome Center, one of the banners seemed quite unlike the others:
Maybe if we were dog people, it’d be less offputting.
Puts me in mind of being So Poughkeepsie.
Category: Home Ec
Things around the home & hearth
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Pixel 3a Screen Protector FTW!
Despite carrying a glass-fronted gadget in my pocket for most of the past two decades, this is the first time I’ve done this:
Pixel 3a screen protector – as broken Turns out you can’t trust a rolling seat on a slightly unlevel surface, as shifting your weight can let the thing roll out from under you with no warning. If you’re taking a picture at the same time, the phone reaches the impact point before your hand: even a nice case with bumpers all around won’t be quite enough protection.
I was tempted to leave it un-fixed as a constant reminder to not do that again, but the broken glass was rough to the touch and interfered with Android’s swipe-upward gestures.
Fortunately, the tempered-glass screen protector absorbed the energy without damage to the actual screen:
Pixel 3a screen protector – sidelit A thin plastic layer holds the protector’s fragments together; I hadn’t known it was a two-layer structure.
Being that type of guy, I had a spare protector in a desk drawer and managed to apply it without trapping any bubbles or fuzz underneath.
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Kenmore Progressive Vacuum Cleaner vs. Dust Brush Adapters
Contemporary vacuum cleaner dust brush heads have bristles in some combination of [long | short] with [flexy | stiff]. The long + flexy combination results in the bristles jamming the inlet and the short + stiff combo seems unsuited for complex surfaces. Shaking the Amazonian dice brought a different combination:
Vacuum cleaner dust brush assortment – with adapters That’s the new one on the bottom and, contrary to what you might think from the picture, it is not identical to the one just above it.
In particular, the black plastic housing came from a different mold (the seam lines are now top-and-bottom) and required a new adapter for the Kenmore Progressive vacuum cleaner’s complicated wand / hose inlet, with a 3/4 inch PVC pipe reinforcement inside.
Early reports indicate it works fine, so I’ll declare a temporary victory in the war on entropy.
I’m still using the same OpenSCAD source code with minute tweaks to suit the as-measured tapers.
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Funnel Web Spiders
This critter took up residence in our kitchen window:
Funnel web spider in window She’s between the outer storm window and the inner sash, having secured her funnel web to both panes across the entire width of the window. We’d opened the storm window to clear an air conditioner vent and spiders know a good location when they see it.
We know she’s female, because a (smaller) male appeared and conducted negotiations for the better part of an afternoon. After she accepted his offer of a small, somewhat battered, moth, the two hooked up for the rest of the day; we feared for his life, but he hung around until the next afternoon, then departed.
She normally stays tucked inside the channel running along the edge of the window frame, with only the tips of those two front legs visible, and retreats at the slightest vibration, so we’ll leave her in peace until we must close the storm window.
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Mary’s Zucchini Bread Recipe
After grating the nutmeg, continue with this:
Mary’s Zucchini Bread Recipe To end up with this:
Zucchini bread – minus QC sample Mary omits the cloves.
Applesauce is completely optional. Should you prefer a softer & sweeter loaf, give it a try.
Conversely, reduce the sugar by about half if you’ve accustomed yourself to a keto-oid diet; the raisins carry enough sweetness for us. You can use brown sugar if you like.
She derived it from the Garden Way’s Zucchini Cookbook by Ralston & Jordan (© 1977):
Zucchini Bread Recipe – Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook Obviously, cooking is not an exact science; a recipe is just where you start …
Algorithmic pricing / money laundering is a thing:
Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook – Amazon listing Ya can’t make this stuff up …
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Keyboard Tray Raising
Long ago and far away, I moved the keyboards off our desk surfaces to a more convenient location on a tray under the middle drawer. Mary’s desk recently gained a somewhat thinner keyboard with a thumbwheel volume control, so she wanted the tray moved up:
Keyboard Tray Relocation – in place The supports on either side started out as 2×4 lumber with a slot cut (using the radial arm saw I no longer have) for the aluminum sheet:
Keyboard Tray Relocation – support view For the record, a pair of screws hold each support to the drawer:
Keyboard Tray Relocation – support screw Not elegant. Works fine. Good enough!
Tiny Bandsaw™ wasn’t designed for ripsawing lumber, but the same Proxxon 10/14 TPI blade I use for aluminum worked better than I expected to lop a 1-¼ inch strip from the wood slats:
Keyboard Tray Relocation – bandsaw fixture That’s a reenactment based on a true story. The wood scraps clamped on the bandsaw table leave enough clearance for the 2×4 slide to freely, yet not enough for the blade to wander off track.
You can tell how long ago I built the original trays: nary a trace of 3D printing!
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Nutmeg Season
Well, it’s really zucchini bread season, with grated nutmeg among the spices (*):
Zucchini bread – minus QC sample Having recently bought a very sharp grater, I hauled out a small vise to save my fingertips:
Nutmeg grating – mini-vise The dark lunette comes from a previous clamping attempt; it takes a while to find the most secure pin arrangement.
Grate a flat:
Nutmeg grating – first flat I’ve always enjoyed the surprisingly intricate patterns inside what looks like a bland nut.
Flip it over, flatten the other side, and grab it in an even smaller vise:
Nutmeg grating – flat clamping In truth, that vise is intended for small cylinders, not flattened nuts, but I figured it’d suffice for light-duty use. Grate parallel to the vise screw, reclamp as needed, and it worked out reasonably well.
Eventually, you have a pile of powder and one cubic nutmeg:
Nutmeg grating – results I’m sure there’s a way to grate the remaining cube, but I’m unwilling to shred my fingertips.
Tip the powder into a small jar and repeat as needed. Each nutmeg produces about 5 grams and I did three of the things this time.
Yummy!
(*) We omit the cloves and knock the sugar down by half. Your tastes will surely differ.
Update: Mary’s recipe!
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 