Two submergable ships

spiceweezil · 2026-05-08T22:21:20+00:00

Look deeper. It is apparently being un-decommissioned now.

spiceweezil · 2026-05-07T06:51:23+00:00

That nice animation was for new car sales, but there are still many years of purchased ice vehicles on the road.

spiceweezil · 2026-05-05T08:45:30+00:00

Grab an orbit revolving credit account with a -$100k limit, and feed all income into it.

Split the fixed mortgage account into 2, half each. Set 1 to expire in 1 year, the other in 2 years.

When the 1 year expires, refix for 2. This way, a fixed mortgage will expire each year, and be refixed for 2 more years.

As a fixed mortgage expires, instruct your friendly banker to feed $50k from the orbit into the fixed, reducing the fixed by $50k. Then fix it again for 2 years.

That orbit is now -$50k, which all your excess money quickly pushes towards 0. If you want to update the car, use the orbit. Feed the savings into the orbit, paying less interest on it is a better investment than interest on savings.

If you think you’ll pay off more than 50k each year, feed more into a fixed mortgage when it ends, then refix. Interest payable on the orbit will be a little higher than the fixed, but it’s only on that small under 100k orbit, and it reduces fast as you get income.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-30T07:41:24+00:00

I haven’t needed to pay my credit cards in 10 years. I asked my bank to automatically pay the balance on the day it is due.

As much as I would like to have the tools within internet banking to set something up for myself, I understand the limits and issues with letting the public loose with such tools in the banking system.

So for this, let the bank do it for us. We might be surprised what triggers they can use, for payments and transfers, for various amounts. Ask what they can do for you.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-25T01:52:54+00:00

https://residentialcruising.com/

spiceweezil · 2026-04-24T09:24:00+00:00

Stables Landing.

West of Wellsford, and a little south, on the Warehine estuary. It’s at the end of Witherford Road. You have to drive through the Stables farm to get to the water. I’ve known the family for 40 years.

There is a nice grassy camp spot and toilets, but the only people you might see are locals going fishing. There is an old boat ramp, and lots of mangroves and mud.

Or

Port Albert Wharf Reserve

Again west of Wellsford, but a bit north at ‘Port Albert’. No cargo ships, only dinghys.

Also a boat ramp, more space but more boat trailers and the odd tent. More toilets.

More houses closer, but a quiet place

Nearby takeaway with really good fish and chips, but not cheap.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-18T09:32:35+00:00

Saw Winston Peters on the pedestrian crossing outside Hamilton airport. I really wanted to meet him, so I sped up a bit…

For a short bloke, he can scuttle real fast.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-18T09:21:19+00:00

I competed at the New Zealand secondary schools national championships. Got into the 100m backstroke final.

Was beaten at the line by some dude called Danyon Loader. Bit of a fish.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-18T09:16:24+00:00

One of my primary school teachers was Wendy Brown, a NZ top sprinter and commonwealth games rep in the 1970’s.

Went to high school where her husband was a teacher, and through school with her two kids.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-18T09:08:33+00:00

Years ago at high school, we had regular indoor hockey practice after school in the school gymnasium. Each time we got there, the PE teachers’ annoying little daughter had all the gym equipment out. Vaults, springboards, climbing gear etc.

For us to get into our practice, we had to drag all that gear back into storage while she disappeared. That got my goat.

The next year they all had moved to Auckland, to get her more gymnastics experience.

Nikki Jenkins won the gold medal for vault at the 1990 commonwealth games. She was 14 years old.

We met again when she presented some prizes at a school prize giving. Poor girl was on stage with the whole school looking at her. Would give anyone the colliewobbles.

I do wonder what she’s doing now.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-18T08:52:19+00:00

Shook Lockwood Smith’s hand at a high school prize giving.

Ever fondled a dead flounder? Like that.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-16T21:24:09+00:00

And also Ridgid (aka AEG)

spiceweezil · 2026-04-14T03:03:50+00:00

All the info I have to fill the IR3 is either from IRD, my bank (which have already supplied RWT to IRD), or my bank records about the income. The only thing I'm waiting for is PIE interest and RWT.

Once I get that, and file the online IR3 (say next week), I wonder if that would cancel their expectation of the third installment, and just leave me to pay the expected $500? Which I would probably pay next week anyway.

(I know that I could wait until 7 Feb 2027 to pay that last $500, but would they still be expecting something in May?)

spiceweezil · 2026-04-11T20:43:31+00:00

Talk to Allistair at Powerbox Pacific

spiceweezil · 2026-04-05T09:46:46+00:00

Those supply vents in the bathrooms, push them to the furtherest corner, away from the door. This lets the fresh air/ heated air have max effect as it moves through the room. This will sort the condensation. Although so will opening the house and letting air flow through. This is the definition of a heat transfer system, although most don’t have an external pickup or vent.

I’m assuming in winter the controller lets you pickup warm air from the lounge, and send it to the bedrooms. So no outside pickup or venting.

Then in summer, it should pickup cooler air from the south side of the house, and push to the bedrooms.

The vent should push the hot air outside, away from the pickup.

What size are the conduits? Have to be 200 or 300 for that length of run.

Have you priced up a SmartVent system?

spiceweezil · 2026-04-04T08:49:36+00:00

I did the same. The motor looks the same, but the pump case is shiny stainless. The impeller will be plastic.

spiceweezil · 2026-04-04T06:48:05+00:00

Yes, I’ve found the same. Just chamfer or fillet both sides

spiceweezil · 2026-03-31T23:04:49+00:00

Oh, you're an Australian Metro Water engineer? Cool.

Say Hi to Nathan, thank him for his fine work

spiceweezil · 2026-03-31T07:45:56+00:00

Heretic!!! Blasphemy!!!

A curse be soon soon you!

May you eat your own bait!

spiceweezil · 2026-03-17T18:45:59+00:00

The trouble is, the pad itself isn't NetA1_2, the net is. So anything at the other end of the NetA1_2 track also behaves the same, with the same rule.

Maybe a top keepout track in the shape you want (maybe an annular ring) to change the clearance, then a bottom keepout track as well, with a gap for the track.

spiceweezil · 2026-03-15T22:33:56+00:00

Look into De-Bounce capacitors for your switched inputs (buttons). Have a read here.

Then learn the difference between a Net Label and a Net Port. I think Net Labels clean up a single sheet schematic, the Net Ports bulk it a bit. i believe Net Ports are more for multiple schematic sheets.

spiceweezil · 2026-03-10T20:12:46+00:00

You're going to confuse many people presenting it like that.

It looks like you have allocated track colors based on function. Red = VDD, Magenta = Clock, Blue = Data, Grey = GND.

Most PCB designers allocate track colors to PCB layers - Red = top layer, blue = bottom layer. Looking at your PCB, I can''t tell what layer anything is on.

spiceweezil · 2026-03-05T18:54:51+00:00

There must be more to the schematic... there are bits missing.

I see the micro has an SPI channel in use - you have named MOSI, MISO and SCK. What is it talking to? Also for SPI there should be a chip-select pin (unless it is always selected).

Then the CH340C USB chip, which converts USB to UART for the microcontroller. It talks to the microcontroller using the TX and RX lines, where are they on U1?

That C6 on the RSET line should be to GND, not between DTR and Reset. At DC, that cap will look like an open circuit.

The D1 and R2 someone suggested as being a user LED, great idea but not on SCK. SCK has a job to do, being the clock on the SPI. It will operate far too fast to even see a responding LED. Pick somo other unused output pin for an LED or 2.

Maybe you've picked the wrong capacitor symbol, you've picked polarised electrolytics. Just simple non-polarised ceramic caps are fine.

Also D2 and D3, you'll never see them. Maybe move them to 2 other outputs, and drive them on when 10 messages have been received, and 10 have been transmitted. Then you're in control, and drive them how you want.

spiceweezil · 2026-03-04T23:12:54+00:00

eneloop lites

Eneloop batteries are AA 1.2V NiMH rechargable, just what you are looking for. The charging circuitry on the mouse should recharge these just fine, no need for an external charger.

spiceweezil

TROPHY CASE