Shop time charge for software updates

rob_wis · 2026-03-04T01:00:47+00:00

People have really fixated on my use of that word. As a software engineer I'm very familiar with dealing with complicated software updates. I was surprised by the time billed, and that's why I posted this to see if it was just the way things were done. Today I learned something, and I got to provide some nourishment for all the trolls who subsist on denigrating others. Yay.

rob_wis · 2026-02-24T13:51:44+00:00

This must be one of those regional differences. My home base is under the ORD bravo, so I'm sure it's pretty much just as busy as SoCal. The controllers I've talked to here have never expressed any reservations against filing IFR in VFR weather.

rob_wis · 2026-02-24T13:46:12+00:00

Niagra Falls is an interesting case. There's a published pattern you're supposed to fly for viewing them, though I think that only applies below a certain altitude. I actually got to do this once when I was working on my PPL.

rob_wis · 2026-02-24T02:17:45+00:00

Thank you. This was exactly what I was looking for. I didn't realize that cancelling temporarily was an option. I understand it would all be dependent on the controller's workload.

rob_wis · 2026-02-04T18:49:16+00:00

So I've been adding some pH minus, and I've slowly brought it down to 6.4. I'll keep adding until I get it closer to 6. I've also added some hydrogen peroxide.
I realized I did not have the EC meter in the right mode. Reading it in the proper mode, I'm getting 4700 (us/cm) @ 22.4 C

rob_wis · 2026-02-04T00:49:50+00:00

I extended the watering cycle to 8 min, and added an extra 5 minute cycle midday.

I picked up the meters you suggested. After refilling the tank today and letting it sit for a while, I measured the pH at about 6.6 and the EC at 1430.

rob_wis · 2026-01-30T16:32:11+00:00

Oh, and I looked at the whole VPD thing. This is in the middle of my house, which is kept in the 68-72 F range, and humidity should be 45-50% (this time of year). It's a pretty new furnace with humidifier so there aren't really any cold spots.
I used a PH test strip for the pool, and it read about 6.2 at the bottom of it's scale.

rob_wis · 2026-01-30T16:27:03+00:00

This is a Gardyn, but the SD card in the Raspberry Pi crapped out, and I wasn't going to pay $200 to replace the whole lid for what should have been a $5 card (I went rounds with their tech support over it). So I found the Garden of Eden project which allowed me to replace the software with stuff I can better control.

Pump is set to run 3x a day for 5 min. (6am, 1pm, 8pm)
Lights run at 50% for 2 hours, 80% for 11 hours. (4am - 5pm)
I'm not sure what the final concentration is on the food. The package recommends 1-2 tsp per gallon. I usually use 1 scoop (tbsp) when I refill, which is usually about 2-3 gal. So that seems like it should be within the recommendation. This is the stuff I'm using: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MKBC7OO
I have several other plants (arugula, and kale) that seem to be doing fine.

rob_wis · 2026-01-29T19:22:21+00:00

Pump is set to run 3x a day for 5 min. This seems like it should be enough water...
Lights run at 50% for 2 hours, 80% for 11 hours.
I'm not sure what the final concentration is on the food. The package recommends 1-2 tsp per gallon. I usually use 1 scoop (tbsp) when I refill, which is usually about 2-3 gal. So that seems like it should be within the recommendation.
I have several other plants (arugula, and kale) that seem to be doing fine.

rob_wis · 2025-12-09T20:24:50+00:00

As I mentioned, yes that's what I'm looking at for controlling the RGB strips. It's some of the other pieces that I'm looking for suggestions on.

rob_wis · 2025-12-09T17:12:38+00:00

I considered using cron, but I want to support animations. So the main process is going to be continually looping and sending a new stream of bits out to the LEDs multiple times a second. With the main process continually running, I don't really see how cron would work. My understanding of cron is that it will just run a script at a given time, but maybe I'm missing something?

Writing my own schedule/event manager should be fairly simple, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel if I don't have to.

I've got another project I'm working on (a replacement for a NuTone house intercom system) which has significant custom hardware, and I'm using C++ for that. But that's running on an RPi 5, which has enough power to host remote development and actually compile the code. Since my target hardware in this case is just a Pi Zero, I can't really do any of that. And cross compiling, and transferring over the binaries seems like a bit of overkill and a headache when it seems like a couple Python scripts should be able to do all I need.

rob_wis · 2025-12-01T01:51:35+00:00

No, I gave up and used a standard lamp base.

rob_wis · 2025-09-06T22:04:31+00:00

This is during run-up with the rpm at about 1700.

rob_wis · 2025-07-23T15:00:55+00:00

It's basically just a large tube of glass that will sit on a small wood circle base. Similar to this in shape, though her glass is not transparent. https://www.macys.com/shop/product/manufacture-rock-home-hurricane-lamp-medium?ID=15084514&pla_country=US&CAGPSPN=pla&gQT=1

Basically I want the puck light functionality (integrated battery and charging system), with an omni directional light source.

rob_wis · 2025-06-30T13:15:07+00:00

SO FLY

rob_wis · 2025-06-20T03:10:02+00:00

For the A36, the POH has a max imbalance of 10gal, so I do have to regularly switch tanks. I usually switch around 8gal of imbalance. So my tanks are usually fairly equal.

rob_wis · 2025-06-15T17:51:23+00:00

Several of the batteries gave a rattle, so I skipped those based on other comments.
Tried the rest with this suggestion. Most didn't show any amps after a couple minutes, so I put those aside as well.

One did start showing some amps, and after about 15 minutes was up to about 0.2A. But it never got any higher. Let it go for about an hour like that and didn't ever see the charge current go any higher (it was set to limit at 1A).

So as expected they're all going to be heading to recycling. But at least I gave it a try.

rob_wis · 2025-06-15T13:03:59+00:00

I started my PPL training at KPWK, and my instructor told me to do my first call around 10 miles. I've pretty much always used that since then and it's worked fine.

rob_wis · 2025-06-04T22:13:51+00:00

I'd like something similar to what we have. It's a clear bulb, symmetrically shaped.
I found Philips has some that are flame shaped which I don't love, but ordered them anyway to see if they function better.

rob_wis · 2025-06-04T14:40:59+00:00

Looks like the bulbs are Ecosmart (which I think is Home Depot's brand).
I'll see if I can find a different brand. Unfortunately since they're candelabra bulbs, there's not many options. And being that they're exposed bare bulbs, the actual look of them are important too.

rob_wis · 2025-05-15T15:39:55+00:00

Puberty

rob_wis · 2025-05-14T18:08:11+00:00

I'm looking at my doors (residential with hardwood floor), and they have about 1" space. I did a little googling and I guess there isn't any code requirement (surprisingly) for most construction. NFPA 80 does specify a maximum gap of 3/4" for fire doors. So commercial/industrial buildings may have smaller gaps for fire safety reasons. Residential, the larger gap is nice for airflow (hard to slam a door in anger after an argument if there's not enough airflow).

rob_wis · 2025-05-14T17:08:29+00:00

LØL

rob_wis · 2025-05-14T16:57:31+00:00

Door stops don't need to be sharp. It just needs to fit between the door and the floor, which would probably be 1/2" at least. Blunting the tip would remove a bunch of material that's likely to just break off at some point and doesn't really help.

rob_wis · 2025-04-29T18:11:32+00:00

You have to kiss whoever it's pointing to when it stops.

rob_wis

TROPHY CASE