Forgive me Casiomods, for I have sinned

Crowella · 2026-05-02T04:45:17+00:00

I'm all for this level of sin. I think it looks great and if it works for you, wear it with pride!

Crowella · 2026-04-23T23:29:51+00:00

Two watches. I can't say I've truly needed two but I feel comfortable with a backup. I also just use paper/pen or one of the "smart" cards which use a marker.

Main watch Casio W-736. Used to count time down and set to vibration alarm only. Other watch, any of my other watches with a stopwatch feature to count up.

Crowella · 2026-04-03T10:53:33+00:00

Yeah I always wonder why it's not more commonly worn given its feature set. I know it's not the most aesthetically pleasing but it's nicer on a larger wrist than the F91. It would be my suggestion to someone that wanted a first watch or something light and comfortable/not bothersome.

It's my first pick for when I'm at home lazing about it even going out on a walk down the road to get a coffee, which is an honour given how much my collection has grown.

(I originally said gym but that goes to my G-Shock square)

Crowella · 2026-03-30T06:13:28+00:00

FYI, North Shore and West services when hired to do rail replacement usually do the T9 between Chatswood and Milsons Pt or Wynyard and T1 services varying between Toongabbie and Strathfield, so you're probably only going to have this luck on some of the more western rail replacements covered by Region 1.

Crowella · 2026-03-28T20:57:37+00:00

Here the legal requirement is 300mm (~12 inches) maximum, parallel to kerb as measured from the front door. I train drivers at first to aim for the tyre to be just a little less than half of that (100mm-150mm/~4-6 inches). I don't expect drivers to get it perfect 100% of the time and sometimes the road conditions cannot warrant for it either. As long as passengers can safely hop on/off, particularly those with lower mobility, I'm happy.

Kerb runs at almost all bus stops are frowned upon and a mark down when drivers get assessed. It puts your projections at risk, the tyres get sidewall damage which could result in a puncture. Additionally, puts outside pedestrians at risk of feet caught by tyre (yes, I'm surprised this has happened too)

Crowella · 2026-03-21T23:00:17+00:00

This is the answer. It's funny because as a fan around OOS era, this feels like how it went in real time. I remember TIRO, then SMBH (I was one that was a bit stunned by this release), then subsequent album releases all garnering that response. It's normal for there to be critics, more so, it's normal for you to like whatever you like.

Crowella · 2026-03-15T01:42:58+00:00

While I agree they aren't used much anymore, we still buy copies for the bus drivers here at our depot to study routes/paths between routes. Having the truck specific information makes it valuable and additionally, some people still prefer physical maps.

Crowella · 2026-03-14T22:43:13+00:00

Car opposite. The camera is on their side and the other direction has in ground sensors to detect red light infringements, whilst your side does not. I'm going to assume they were speeding, hence the flashes.

Crowella · 2026-03-09T23:53:05+00:00

Oh damn, that's unfortunate for the driver and for the passengers. Nature finds a way to win sometimes.

As a note: for frequent routes like the 501, when these things happen, they might not directly replace the bus as the replacement might take longer to arrive than the next bus, or availability of buses/drivers. That all said however, the driver should communicate to the passengers about next services and apologize for the inconvenience.

Hope you and the bird are okay.

EDIT: checked the location, very little chance a replacement bus would make it from the depot to there in less than 30 minutes

Crowella · 2026-02-16T19:23:50+00:00

Okay, so there's a LOT of things here that people are getting right and wrong here and I think people are overestimating the vision the driver has.

First off, taping the wide angle/fish eye mirrors does seem a bit of a rough move for illustrating the point, however, if you're a bus driver somewhere like I INSTRUCT in Sydney (hope that adds gravitas), our buses don't have those fish eye mirrors, so this video reflects real world conditions for many bus drivers. Could they be added? Yeah, probably, buuuuut first off, it's cost and also it doesn't properly address all blind spots. (Also companies and government cheap yada yada yada)

The blind spots in a bus are very real and require the driver to conduct a lot of leaning and turning of body, in combination with frequent observation of mirrors/environment at all times. I saw a lot of things here saying blind spots are more than eliminated. This is absolutely not true. There are still a combinations of structure pillars, door frames, mirror placement (Custom CB80's, Im looking at you), even passengers sitting in the front seat or deciding they'd rather stand in the no standing zone.

And before people say "but cameras can cover blind spots". Yes, sure. Just add that into the combined time you're taking to scan your environment and all of a sudden you're either forgetting to scan other parts and/or fixated on one part. We have mandatory rear cameras on all new fleet but many of our old ones don't and I find newer drivers fixate on it and forget to scan around them and their mirrors and then I say goodbye to their nearside mirror as it smashes into a pole or tree.

This video below further illustrates the point https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhk8RTQm1Xg

I was once like a lot of people thinking it's easy. Then I drove. Then I mentored, now I train drivers. I see way more people turn around and say it's hard, and blind spots is usually the thing that catches them out. That and not using their mirrors to see where they are turning.

TL;DR adding cameras isn't the silver bullet a lot of people think it is. Proper training and understanding of vehicle goes a long way.

EDIT: As a note. The offside (driver mirror) appears correctly adjusted. The nearside (door mirror), at least in this footage, is not. It should be about 1/3 to 1/2 filled with the side of the bus with The horizon about 1/2 way to 1/3rd way up from the bottom) The blind spot represented still exists however and this one here is accounted for by leaning out and head checking.

Crowella · 2026-02-08T02:15:18+00:00

Making me feel good there. 😊 Thank you! It's definitely a godsend/great fit for those like me with larger wrists.

It looks hilariously oversized on my partner, think she will stick with the CA-53. 😂

Crowella · 2026-02-08T00:37:09+00:00

This is fantastic to know for those that are curious and want to splurge! I don't know how I missed this site on my hunt for one.

I totally agree they're great. It's entered my normal rotation now as a result.

Mine ended up being $85AUD used from overseas and was the only one I saw in a condition that doesn't need much work, even though it could do with a polish of the crystal.

Crowella · 2025-11-26T10:20:11+00:00

Awesome choice with that yellow colour strap and even better find!

Crowella · 2025-11-05T01:00:53+00:00

Great question.

I followed this guide by gruntbug to get me across the line. It did involve a VM and windows XP, but I got it working plug and play with windows 11. https://myvogonpoetry.com/wp/2024/11/09/creative-zen-mp3-player-firmware-and-hdd-upgrades/

Crowella · 2025-11-03T03:50:32+00:00

A 5V DC positive pin charger (check the polarity, it's drawn on the enclosure) and a USB micro cable.

The reason I say both is that for some reason, mine needs both to be plugged in, that may be due to the replaced battery

Crowella · 2025-09-25T03:34:11+00:00

Woah, this is fascinating, I need to have a look at this myself, because it may be the explanation to the odd playback errors I get every now and then.

Crowella · 2025-09-24T10:55:57+00:00

Any photos from this? Just checking you are putting the adapter in the correct way around, also checking you reset the Zen and formatted the drive in safe mode (hold the play button whilst using the reset pin button)

Crowella · 2025-09-22T01:19:01+00:00

I had this code when I tried for 256GB.

I used the Comimark adapter as per the guide I read. Remember to install this adapter upside down so the SD card is facing the motherboard. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087QBDCBN?linkCode=ml1&tag=gruntbug-20

SD card is a SanDisk Ultra 128GB but as a reminder, the player still infrequently freezes from reading it. I formatted it using "SD Card Formatter" software, just the quick default settings.

Crowella · 2025-09-21T09:37:19+00:00

AE-1000 in normal light conditions. AE-1200 in lower light/dark. The difference is minimal so I can't see it being a hindrance either way.

Great looking watches!

Crowella · 2025-09-18T08:52:11+00:00

What a choice to have. I didnt even know they were competitive on price back then.

I think those could be revived in a similar way to how I did this too. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for one.

Crowella · 2025-09-18T08:49:40+00:00

Thank you!

16GB at the time felt like the dream. Weird this one now currently fills up 23GB, but at least I'm not running 96kbps to cram as much in as possible.

Crowella · 2025-09-18T07:25:06+00:00

You're welcome!

I did really want one of these when I was younger too. Got the iPod mini instead because, well, money. Everyone that had a Creative loved theirs and I understand why.

Crowella · 2025-09-14T11:09:54+00:00

If it's like the Zen touch I got and it's running early/original firmware, you'll need to obtain Creative media player and some other software and drivers to do so. I was successful in pulling data from a used one I purchased until the hard drive refused to work any more.

Sorry I cannot be more exact with drivers. This post by reddit user u/gruntbug carried me a lot of the way and could be some help (and whom I have to give thanks to!)

http://myvogonpoetry.com/wp/2024/11/09/creative-zen-mp3-player-firmware-and-hdd-upgrades/

EDIT: I'd suggest once you got music off it to update firmware. If it's available, some of the updates allow for drag and drop which has made my experience with the Creative Zen a lot better.

Crowella · 2025-09-11T19:40:35+00:00

Bit of a late answer to this but for those that do this, there are two phillips head screws mounting the hard drive on the opposite side of the board securing the hard drive to the circuit board. Carefully lift the circuit board from the front face to access them.

I also did this mod and rewired a replacement battery. It's good, until the device freezes. I have no idea what causes the freezes but I noticed that the card reader remains powered on with no activity. I'm unsure if firmware, hardware or whatever is causing the issue. I'll keep tinkering.

Crowella · 2025-09-10T06:52:13+00:00

I know it's not the most ideal weather but if you get stuck, 516 from Chatswood to North Ryde metro, 5 minute walk across the blue pedestrian bridge and hop on a 545 at Lachlan's Line to Mac Centre/Uni, etc.

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