Lawrence "The Dreamer" Chen's Blog

Well, there were 3 boxes from Amazon.com.

I started out thinking there were things I needed, or wanted to stock up on, or have in preparation for other acquisitions. But, then I trimmed it back to keep under budget...and I'm not sure I ended up with stuff I really needed.

First, the mouse on this computer is not moving around as well as it could. Not sure if the mousepad is getting gummed up (its a 3M Precise Mousing Surface pad, so maybe....) or the mouse bottom is getting gummed up, especially since the teflon pads have migrated around the bottom...so maybe that adhesive is what is gumming things up. So, I bought a new mouse and a new 3M Precise Mousing Surface pad.

Next, I was thinking of getting the Netflix Roku player. I doesn't come with an HDMI to DVI cable....and I would need one to connect it to my system. So, I got out of these. Of course, now I don't think I'll get the Netflix Roku. Because based on reviews...its not quite DVD quality, which since I do DVDs in an upconversion player...would likely be quite a step back. It also doesn't do 5.1, which I figured I could live with since my initial interest is watching old TV shows (namely old Doctor Who shows). So, there's probably no immersive sound field to get into....though I'm the guy that watches all his DVDs with subtitles, because I don't hear dialog all that well.

But, a review I watched recently, says the Netflix Roku player doesn't do subtitles either. So, that has pretty much shelved my interest to get one for the time being.

Third, or rather, in the box with the mouse and in the box that had the HDMI cable (the 3M mousing surface came in a 2nd day air envelope)....was a roll of duct tape. The one roll of duct tape that I could find the last time I needed to do a patch....disappeared. The building people had been in doing some other work, and I suspect they packed it off along with theirs when they left. But, I wasn't home when they came to do the work, etc. So, I don't know what really happened to it...except that it was on my dryer, which they moved and rearranged stuff around to do their work....and now I can't find it anywhere. One is regular duct tape of the same kind that had gone missing. And, another roll was acquired only because it said it was purple. Of course, its not the purple I was thinking it would be. Oh well.

The other two boxes from UPS?

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I bought a new air cleaner.....

The Kenmore EnviroSense™ True HEPA Air Cleaner - Model 85500

I had been researching getting a new air cleaner, though I probably still pulled the trigger on this too soon. It looked similar to what I was looking for....though it doesn't have all the features that I was looking for.

But, there has been a odor problem in my condo...smells from the condo below getting into mine. So, I've been looking at units suggested as capable of helping with this issue.

Before this, I had 3 air purifiers....two Oreck XL Professionals (refurbs, one from Oreck.com and the other from Woot.com) and a Brookstone Pure-Ion (the older, small grill, big tower one). The Orecks have been working good at dust and such, but not sure about odor control. But, I've had one in the bedroom and one in the 'computer' room. Though the 'computer' room is the quieter one...the bedroom has a bit of a rattle somewhere. I've been thinking of switching the two.

The Brookstone Pure-Ion seems to have been a waste of money. The clean filter light comes on way to often, and nothing washes off of the filters. Also sometime ago the oscillate feature had become an issue....sometimes it won't move, other times it'll go all the way around instead of back and forth. Though other times it'll start working again. I seldom use that feature anymore.

So, the shuffle...has moved the Oreck air purifier from the 'computer' room out into the living room (where I have replaced its carbon filter with a 3-in-1 Odor Absorber.) Moved the bedroom Oreck to the 'computer room'....putting in a new carbon filter (when I use up my supply, I may look into getting a 3-in-1 Odor Absorber for this one as well).

That puts the new air cleaner in my bedroom.

It seems to do its job...though the lighted display is way too bright and annoying, and I seemed to recall reading that a different model had a light sensor to dim the display in a dark room (also make it automatically switch to quieter operation). So, I may yet seek out this one.

It'll still work, later I can move the Kenmore to the other bedroom (which is storage now, but some day I plan to clear out enough to make it usable space. Thinking I might set up the 'shack' in this room.)

In the meantime, I'm looking for somewhere to put it where it'll function...but shine away from my bed and against light absorbing surface (or not against a light intensifying surface), but still be workable by its remote. Or perhaps some duct tape or something may come into play.

Some time ago, I noticed that I wasn't getting weather alerts from my weather radio in the living room. It was annoying, but I could still hear the one by the bedroom. But, that one was getting touchy/scratchy as well.

But, then with the recent bad weather, especially the tornado...which fortunately hit while I was out of town and missed me. 'cause I'm not sure what I would do if I were home. I should try to remember to ask if there's some place near by that I can go seek shelter for tornadoes.

Since all the weather radios that I've had have been all the same brand.... Oregon Scientific. And, I've had a few over the years stop working....I've contacted them on it, but they said because I've had it over a year and they had discontinued it...I was SOL.

So, I been meaning to replace them with ones made by another manufacturer...but as long as they are still working....

Well, last night another killer thunderstorm...and neither weather radio made any noise. I decided that maybe it was time to see what's up. Though just as I was about to order....the living room one started to do a Flash Flood alert but cut out mid-alert.

I knew that ambient RF noise in my living room was pretty high, I haven't determined if its the stuff in the room or something external....I suspect its both. Since some of the noisier parts aren't near any of my electronics. Though it there's enough stuff that there might just be lobes and stuff.

I decided to try find another place in the living room for my weather radio to see if that would make a difference. I couldn't find any spot that was near an outlet and a flat surface to set it down on that would work. As I was about to conclude that it just wasn't as sensitive at it used to be, etc. I remembered reading somewhere that the area is covered by 3 different overlapping NOAA stations....and no one station specifically associated with the area.

So, I tried checking the other channels....because maybe the coverage pattern off the stations has changed.

Well, I found that one of the other channels was stronger....enough that I got a full flash-flood alert (though those are the ones I don't really care for....I'm not in a flash flood area, and waking me up through the night just annoys me even more. Wish there was some further selectivity. I seem to think that newer units do have this capability...so perhaps I'll check some other day).

It is still kind of scratchy....and other receivers don't get the channel at all (or not any better than the other.) So, maybe there's just no good weather alert radio coverage for here.

Meanwhile...I just got an email from Ginger People that bulk sizes are available [again] finally. But, no email from Thinkgeek on the [new] item that I've been waiting for, but want to use my coupon that expires on June 30th.....

....but I've already assigned/reserved an IP (in DNS & DHCP) for my NetFlix player and updated the QoS rules on my router to give this IP a boost in priority.

I will very likely place the order later this month...but I probably won't pull the trigger on ordering faster DSL service until next month.

Last night I was loading the dishwashwer....and popped in the brew basket and brew cup of my Cuisinart SS-1. The manual says these items are top rack safe, and that's where I put them.

The brew cup came out fine.

But, the brew basket turned black....and the black transfers to anything it touches.

Wonder if I can buy just the brew basket somewhere (online)?

Wonder if the new "Cascade 2in1 ActionPacs w/Bleach Hydroclean Action" that I'm using for the first time...instead of my normal "Cascade 2in1 ActionPacs in Citrus Breeze".

In further use/experimentation, I learned that I need to clean the plunger once in a while. Had water coming out of the sides....corrected by cleaning it.

3 scoops is not enough to make a 16oz cup, it is barely acceptable for a 12oz cup. And, 5 scoops is not enough to make a 16oz cup and 12oz cup. Guess I'll be burning through my coffee at a faster rate than I was with my old coffeemaker.

The basket is easier to empty out, if I pull it out after I'm done and let the grounds dry a bit first.

Well, I've had the Cuisinart SS-1 for a week now.

While, I still have my old coffeemaker on the counter....I think the Cup-o-matic is now my regular coffeemaker.

I put the coffeemaker on my kitchen table by the light switch. Because, as I found, I need clear access to the top to access the water tank...either to pull it off or to fill in place.

And, the location straightens the path from bed to computer in the morning.

I have opted with fill in place, since that is the most convenient way to fill from my filtering pitcher. And, the location is good because water drips from the lid and on my countertop it would be hard to get behind it regularly to dry up.

For the first couple of days, I filled my coffee mug using the 12oz setting, which I found somewhat insufficient. On the weekend, experimented a bit on how to make 16oz....(12+4) or (8+8)...I've settled on (8+8) and only filling with grounds once each 16oz fill of my coffee mug. On one day I also tried using it to make tea.....it seemed to work, but it probably would've gone better if I had first prepared the tea....because there was a fair bit of water bypassing the leaves for the first bit.

Now I guess I'm tweaking to figure out how many scoops of coffee I need to get my 16oz cup.

The old way, I used 4 scoops during the week and 5 scoops on weekends. Getting one fill of my cup during the week and two fills on the weekends. Even though it has been a long time since I've had coffee at work....which is probably why I feel so tired in the afternoon now.

Now....5 scoops will get close to the Max line (without going over)....but yesterday and this morning, I tried 4 and it was still of satisfactory strength.... Not sure if I want to try making 2 16 oz cups from the grounds. But, obviously this means I'll be using my coffee up faster than the old way....which I guess means I'll have to increase the frequency that I get selections from Boca Java.

As for morning operations, it is kind of an interruption that I have to turn it on and wait for it to become ready before I can start brewing. And, then I have to wait for it to be ready again before I can finish brewing. It is also a pain that I can't just pull the 'basket' and dump the grounds into the trash....but have to find a spoon and dig the grounds out and then rinse it out.

Plus the thing is noisy and vibrates bad (my mug moves while it is brewing, so I have to watch that it doesn't stray while brewing.) And, it makes noises that make me worry about its longevity.

There is a big of a different taste from usual, but that's probably the difference between filtered and unfiltered coffee. Wonder if there's an inexpensive way to address that....

Maybe I will save up for a $5000 coffee maker (or maybe something in between, but can at least do 16oz at once and use beans...and be easier to get the grounds out afterwards)....or give in to become a pod person.

Link: http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=515&item_id=627&cat_id=3

For more than 2 years, possibly even longer than 3 years... I have been thinking of replacing my coffee maker.

The coffee maker I have now is a Black & Decker Spacemaker, of approximately 15-16 years. They just don't make them like this anymore...current model Black & Decker Spackmaker Coffee Makers don't compare either. Though I was leaning towards giving up my search and getting one anyways. Except the old one basically still works, just the stopper seal on the removable water tank is starting to lose its elasticity.

At first, I was looking for another drip coffee maker. More likely something in a regular paper basket type filter, because I had tried other types before and they didn't yield the same coffee experience.

The later the office got a Flavia coffee maker. This thing was cool...it was single serve machine, where I needed to use two packets on large to get close to filling my cup....but I could do more than just coffee. I could have tea, or hot chocolate or whip up cappuccinos...at work. I thought about getting one of these at home.... But, I wasn't sure if it was really something I wanted at home. The special packets wasn't something I was sure I could justify. Plus I belong to a coffee club where I'm getting coffee on a regular basis....and I occasionally indulge in coffees such as Hawaiian Kona or Jamaican Blue Mountain. There was even a time where I was considering going on another cruise with a port in Jamaica, just so that I could get some more cheap Jamaican Blue Mountain.

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Link: http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices?tb=what

Roku has a set top box for Netflix instant watching. I've been neglecting my Netflix subscription, because the selections I have out right now don't match my current mood....but I don't want to send them back unwatched.

Though a couple of the selections were ones that were my mood at the time I was reordering my queue. Since at least one of them could've been instant viewed....perhaps this is what I should've had then.

Guess I need to acquire more HDMI to DVI cables....since it looks like I'm going to acquire more devices in the future and they'll only have HDMI outputs...though at the rate I'm going...I might use up all 5 inputs of my DVI switcher.

One question I had was whether the Roku box does video up conversion....or whether there might be other devices down the road. But, reading the details...sounds like I may have to order the speed upgrade on my DSL service sooner than later.

While it says a minimum 1.5Mbps...it recommends at least 4.0Mbps for high quality video and audio. I think I can get that out of AT&T, but I'd have to upgrade to the next tier to see.

Wonder what happens when they get HD content....

It was last week that I ordered the upgrade of my 1.5m/384k DSL service to the next tier. Even though two tiers up were offered.

I was previously only getting a sync rate of 768k/384k for the 1.5m/384k service that I have been paying for about the last 22 months. For a few days when I first got the service, I was getting the full speed....but then it went away, and numerous calls (and various changes in my condo) didn't yield any improvement.

But, in the 3-5 business days for the upgrade...they now have me at (a sync rate of) 3.0m/512k, as ordered. Perhaps next year when get my annual increase, I'll consider pulling the trigger on trying to get 6.0m/768k. Should be able to get the upstream rate, and hopefully there'll be some further improvement on downstream.

Here are the DSL modem graphs for the last week: