The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

Category: Oddities

Who’d’a thunk it?

  • Transistor Pricing

    You can find anything on eBay (clicky for more dots):

    ZVNL110A MOSFET - kilobuck eBay pricing
    ZVNL110A MOSFET – kilobuck eBay pricing

    The key information:

    ZVNL110A MOSFET - kilobuck eBay pricing - detail
    ZVNL110A MOSFET – kilobuck eBay pricing – detail

    For that price, I’d expect in-person hand delivery.

    Stipulated: ZVNL110A MOSFETs aren’t in production and we’re buying from diminishing inventory, but (as of late December 2018) they’re still available for under a buck apiece in small quantities.

    It could be a pricing algorithm corner case, a money laundering scheme, or just a typo that could happen to anyone. As the news sites put it, the seller did not respond in time for this posting …

  • Dutchess Rail Trail: Maloney Rd Drive-In Entrance

    Perhaps they should just saw off the bollard in the middle of the entrance and be done with it:

    Maloney Trailhead - tire tracks 2018-12-15
    Maloney Trailhead – tire tracks 2018-12-15

    Some backstory may be of interest.

  • Paper Wasp Nest

    I spotted a defunct paper wasp (or, more likely, a hornet) nest on a lawn under a tree:

    Paper Wasp Nest - side view
    Paper Wasp Nest – side view

    Call it basketball sized, large enough to raise plenty of wasps:

    Paper Wasp Nest - end view
    Paper Wasp Nest – end view

    I vastly prefer encountering those critters after their season is over …

  • Motel Room Safe: Whoops

    We spotted a pile of room safes in one of the motel stairwells:

    Motel Room Safes in stairwell
    Motel Room Safes in stairwell

    Judging from what we found in the room, it’s out with the old and in with the new:

    Motel Room Safes - mounting pedestal
    Motel Room Safes – mounting pedestal

    Too bad about the mounting pedestal, though: same size, different orientation.

    Something unexpected always lurks in the datasheet …

  • Monthly Image: Wall Painting

    One day, long ago, this tree grew in a certain bedroom:

    Outlet tree
    Outlet tree

    And then a flower appeared in the laundry room:

    Outlet flower
    Outlet flower

    Much to our delight, she asked for forgiveness, not permission … which was, of course, granted immediately.

  • Dutchess Rail Trail: Maloney Rd Trailhead Ruts

    It seems the DCW&WA SUV makes regular trips through the “No Motor Vehicles” bike access:

    Maloney Rd Trailhead - 2018-11-07
    Maloney Rd Trailhead – 2018-11-07

    If it’s not them, then it’s somebody following their example.

    Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should … but, of course, the ordinary rules apply only to little people, not public servants.

    Someone in the bike advocacy apparat once told me I’m the most cynical, bitter person they’d ever met, at least on the subject of getting along with public servants. As I see it, I came by my attitude honestly.

  • Three Dead Mice

    The rodents around here have great trouble with outdoor bowls, but this trio ended in a deep six gallon bucket next to the garage workbench:

    Three Dead Mice
    Three Dead Mice

    Even though mice don’t seem like cuddly creatures, they ended their days snuggled together; we’ll just ignore the cannibalism thing.

    Heck of a way to go, even for rodents. I renewed the steel wool blocking a gap in the garage door.