So many ways to solve the copyright problems other than random lawsuits like these – http://news.cnet.com/2300-1023_3-10003610.html
And again Larry Lessig has a great take on copyright and social responsibility.
Larry Lessig and TED are again great
June 2nd, 2010Easy Trailer Review
May 18th, 2010I needed a trailer to replace my XF falcon ute. To be flexible enough to replace the ute, I wanted a flatbed with removable sides. That would let me carry longer loads, larger loads, and store it where I wanted. I did not want a box trailer – too many limitations for my needs.
I own a large heavy car trailer, so this was to be light and simple instead. Up to the legal un-braked limit of 750kg. As I am legally limited to this weight, it made sense for the trailer to be as light as possible. This would leave more room for payload. Making it extra heavy duty wouldn’t let me carry any more load. I wasn’t planning on using it off-road.
An LED Birthday for all my Maglites
May 15th, 2010
I love my Maglites. I know technically there may be better out there, but they have such a nice solid feel to them as you thump them over someone’s ….. err, well, anyway.
Whilst they are good quality, they very old tech, so a swap to LED’s was in order. LED’s offer greater output, 5 – 10x battery life, and are much more shock proof.
The debate as to “which bulb is best” goes on endlessly, so I settled for those that I could source from eBay and post to Australia.
Media Centre – New Hardware
May 10th, 2010I rebuilt the media centre recently, as the AMD was only a temporary stand in. It was using far too much power compared to the old mobile CPU.
The new i3 is perfect for this. Enough CPU grunt to ditch the 3rd party video card power hog, everything on board. I’m an energy saving nut, so this is the lowest power system I could put together.
A low power media centre PC.
Specification
- CPU – i3 530 2.93GHz
- MB – Gigabyte Motherboard GA-H55-USB3
- RAM – 2 x 2GB
Finally – Reliable Cordless Phones and VOIP on Naked ADSL
April 27th, 2010When I changed over to Naked ADSL2+ with Internode, I had to sort out a replacement for the home phone. It was a tough journey and about 12mths of problems before I found a reliable combination of devices.
The problems ranged from
- Failure to ring
- Low Volume
- Dropped calls mid call
- One way voice
- Poor call quality
After 12 mths of drama’s I found only Panasonic DECT handsets where reliable with the VOIP solutions.
I also found that running a “single box” solution is less hassles than “multiple box” solutions.
DECT has a much greater cordless range than most other handsets.
Dorcy LED Torch
April 21st, 2010
Cheapest LED Bulb
Here’s a great hack. KMart is selling these torches for about $3.50 with batteries. The LED in this is fitted to a normal sized bulb fitting, meaning it can be taken out and put directly into any 2 Cell torch, AA, C or D.
http://www.dorcy.com/products.aspx?p=412503
It’s a very bright 10mm LED in a normal bulb fitting. No regulator circuitry.
This has to be the cheapest source of LED drop in bulbs for torches I have found. Or you could just use the torch.
Beaudesert Exhausts Review
April 16th, 2010I recently had a custom exhaust system made and installed in my HZJ105 Landcruiser. Beaudesert exhausts got the job from their general good reputation, and as they could mandrel bend onsite, meaning less welds.
My cruiser needed some customisation done to clear the large aftermarket fuel tank and join to the AXT Turbo on the motor.
The installation didn’t go exactly to plan however.
- 4hr estimated (took 8hrs)
- Charged $1100 then came back for anther $100 (accounting error)
- Wrong Muffler installed (louvered instead of perforated) – I only asked 3 times
The "Works Every Time" method for car Automotive Driving Light wiring.
April 15th, 2010
I frequently see wiring diagrams for Driving Lights that just don’t work in many cars.
Toyota nearly always and Nissan often use a what is known as “switched earth” wiring for their headlights. They do this so that each headlight can have it’s own 12v supply and fuse, meaning in the event of a problem, you only lose one light.
ABS Diagnostic for you 100 Series Landcruiser
April 13th, 2010- Connect terminals Tc and E1 of Check Connector (in engine bay) and remove the short pin (normally inserted in bottom right corner).
- Turn the ignition switch on.
- Depress the brake pedal 8 or more times within 5 secs.
- You can now read any DTCs on the ABS Warning Light, but if everything is OK, you get the Normal Code (on-off blink with 0.25 sec intervals).
- Revert Check Connector to normal.
Codes
- 11=ABS Solenoid Relay Open or Short Circuit
- 31=Right Front Wheel Speed Sensor Signal Malfunction
- 32=Left Front Wheel Speed Sensor Signal Malfunction
What was Microsoft smoking when building their QoS stack?
April 13th, 2010
QoS is somewhat of a confusing area. The most common method of marking packets at Layer 3 (IP) is with a DSCP tag. This method replaces the earlier Type Of Service (TOS) tag, and uses the same space in the IP header.
Whilst DSCP is very flexible, with few required values, there are some commonly accepted methods of using it. DSCP also overlaps with TOS values. There is a table showing the relationship between DSCP and TOS here.
Versys KLE650 vs VStrom DL650
April 11th, 2010Review from someone that has owned both.
 |
 |
Summary
Despite very similar specs, these are two very different bikes.
Versys is more “fun” to ride round town, but not so comfortable on longer rides in stock form.
VStrom is better to customise and tour on. it has ABS.
| VStrom | Versys |
Great new CFL Downlight
April 11th, 2010When I renovated the house I installed a heap (18) CFL downlights in the ceiling which I reviewed. These 15W reflector CFL’s warm up fast(ish) and provide good light.
I was never happy with the kitchen bench though – it wasn’t bright enough. I recently bought a light meter from eBay and confirmed my suspicions. 60 Lumens at the bench top whereas kitchens are recommended to be around 150 lumens.
Surprisingly under my range-hood with it’s pair of (yuck) 20w G4 halogens scored 140 lumens.
Are the MTZ’s tough enough?
April 9th, 2010Whilst my Mickey Thompson MTZ’s are on the best on-road tyre, they are pretty damn good offroad.
Their wear rate has been a little high so far, and they are vague on the bitumen, tracking and wandering a bit. It is improving as they wear down, but s straight line tyre they are not.
Here is a pic of them working over nasty stuff, mostly at 17PSI with a 100 Series Landcruiser and gear on top.
Man Made Climate Change Resources
March 2nd, 2010Blogs
http://www.skepticalscience.com/
Videos
Good Reading
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/22/copenhagen-climate-change-mark-lynas
Tools
iPhone App – http://itunes.com/apps/skepticalscience
http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php
Groups
How much longer can your corporate network compete?
February 17th, 2010Like most people I have been watching the “Cloud Services” develop and participated in some of the discussions surround the space. These are a collection of the best articles I have found that have shaped my thinking heavily.
Tearing down the walls that limit business
A series of articles on designing Open Networks – Jericho Forum
http://www.blackhat.com/presentations/bh-usa-04/bh-us-04-simmonds.pdf
http://www.opengroup.org/jericho/
TechEd Australia ‘08 Locknote
This is the future of IT over the next 10 years as predicted by Microsoft’s chief navel gazer. I gotta say, I think he’s right.
Physics and a great laptop cooler
November 18th, 2009I recently bought a fanless laptop mat for use with my Dell e4300. When sitting in the lounge with the laptop on my lap it gets a bit warmish for my comfort. The fact that my clothes block it’s cooling vents certainly doesn’t help.
These new thingies work on a very cool principal of thermodynamics. Normally when you pump heat into a material it’s temperature increases. If however that material is at a point where it’s phase changes (solid – liquid or liquid – gas), then until the phase change is complete, all the energy you put in will not increase the temperature of the material. This is known as the “Enthalpy of Fusion” and the “Enthalpy of Vaporization”.
Greenpower – what exactly am I paying for?
July 21st, 2009It may appear obvious what you receive for your Greenpower dollar, but I quickly found it wasn’t. I buy Greenpower and recommend it, but I now have a much better understanding of what I am getting for my money.
I buy my Greenpower from Origin Energy as 100% Wind in Queensland Australia. I do this so that the electricity I use comes from a renewable carbon neutral source. The thought that occurs to me is to ask where this “green” power is sourced from and how that relates to the photovoltaic (PV) panels on my roof.
Toyota Landcruiser 100 Series ‘98-‘04 Temp Gauge Mod
April 5th, 2009
It’s fairly common knowledge that the OEM Toyota temperature gauge has a large “dead spot” in the centre of it’s range. This spot is deliberately engineered to reduce the apparent fluctuations and make the car appear to run at a constant temperature unless there is a significant problem. This works fine for most, but those of us that like to know what’s going on sooner rather than later, demand a little more detail. Many people fit an aftermarket gauge somewhere in the car, I figure, if the factory gauge is already there and can be made accurate, use it.
Tuning and Understanding your Toyota Viscous Fan Clutch
March 31st, 2009Landcruiser or Hilux overheating? Your factory fan clutch is probably under-filled and incorrectly set from factory. Fix this first and you may save a lot of time chasing issues.
(4 Runner or Tacoma in the USA)
The stock Toyota cooling system can sometimes be somewhat marginal. The suspicion for this falls on every component and modification in the system.
- Radiator (Size / Efficiency)
- Thermostat (Brand / Effectiveness)
- Water Pump (Flow, Cavitation)
- Radiator Cap (Quality, Pressure, Leaks, Recovery)
- Coolant (Freezing / Boiling points, Specific heat, Anti-corrosion)
- Hoses (Restriction)
Study on why ABS is good on a Motorcycle
February 4th, 2009The link is below.
http://www.msf-usa.org/imsc/proceedings/a-Green-ComparisonofStoppingDistance.pdf
Most interesting. My next bike will have ABS methinks. I have no delusions about how good my riding is. If I can concentrate 5% more on traffic cause I don’t have to worry about braking, that’s a good thing.
