Weird Thorens music box

I saw this little Thorens music box in an antiques store a few days ago. I had to spend a few minutes examining it (trapped as I was _outside_ the locked display case) to work out what it was: A music box that used swappable disks as the "programs" for the music, played by a mechanism otherwise familiar.

• <https://goo.gl/photos/MUheQHyzNSbH6Xsk8>
• <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorens>
• <http://www.thorens.com>
• A guy's history & collection with images: <http://keithwright.ca/Thorens/Thorenspage.html>

Thorens made some really amazing and wonderfully weird high-end turntables--including some changers that used machinery different from what most of us had during college: Thorens TD 224. Consult your Google image search for pictorial evidence: Antique Thorens, for example.

Aside: There was at least one changer mechanism that automatically flipped records and played their "B" sides: 1938 Garrard RC-100 Turn-over Record Changer.

And who wouldn't want to play the black vinyl (lacquer, actually) on something that looked like this?: 1921 Kurtzmann Glass Phonograph. Look at the thickness of the record being played.


Mark_
26 February 2017

Winter Driving Kits

Here is what I carry in my cars for improving the winter driving experience:

• { Dri-Z-Air, calcium chloride: <www.drizair.com/faqs.html>. 

• { Road Salt: <http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/02/best-ice-melts/index.htm>. 

• Fred Meyer: <https://www.fredmeyer.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?searchTerm=driveway+de-icer&urlRequestType=Base&productId=4275850&catalogId=10551>.  This is, I believe, considerably less costly than the same substance @ Dri-Z-Air (same form--little globular pellets of various sizes).

• For traction, the cat-box litter I carry in my cars was extremely inexpensive @ Dollar Tree (which may be the only such store chain where literally everything costs only a single dollar per item/package)  <https://www.dollartree.com/Soft-Paw-Clumping-Cat-Litter-7-lb-Bags/p297608/index.pro>.  The very nice wide-mouth plastic container-with-cap in which I carry it came from there, too.  

Also in the car at all times:

• Hand warmers (air activated; disposable) <http://www.sears.com/only-hot-hand-warmer/p-00655664000P>.  

I also own a couple of the reusable _supersaturated solution_ kind.  These are _phase-change_ systems; they liberate heat as the substance in the plastic envelope turns from clear liquid to cloudy solid.  Recharge: Return to the stored-heat liquid phase in a pan of boiling water.  Fairly amazing.  

I intend to investigate the charcoal type, too.

(Or, DIY: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDNFLHzPIJA>; this one is not _phase change_, so is not rechargeable.

• Warm gloves.

• Silver "space" blankets (2): Keep warm, or dry, or clean. 

• Cheap rubber-faced "gardening" gloves <http://www.harborfreight.com/nylon-knit-gloves-with-nitrile-palms-medium-66375.html>.  These may not keep hands dry as such (because the backs are fabric), but they will prevent the worst of soiling.  In addition, gloved hands are generally both stronger and grippier--and so in a couple of ways _safer_--than ungloved hands.

• Cheap retro-reflective safety vest <http://www.harborfreight.com/reflective-safety-vest-x-large-94700.html>. 

• Flashlight: Human-powered doesn't need batteries, but also is awkward or impossible when both hands are needed for tasks; carry both this and a battery torch? 

Human-powered torches are of three types:

  - Shaker: Inefficient; slow to charge its battery; requires only one hand.

  - Crank: Efficient & fast charging of its battery, but requires both hands.

  - Squeeze-lever: Some of these light only while being operated; requires only one hand, which can tire.

  - (Solar: An appealing solution, but once it has died, it really is dead for the night; these are useful only for helping in finding your _real_ torch.)

• Hand sanitizer.

• Zip-closure bags, light- and heavy-duty (car-sickness, messy garbage or trash, etc.).

• Paper towels (because checking or pouring oil can be messy).

I also carry a dining kit:

• Paper towels.

• Cheap flatware, including a sharp metal knife.

• Paper plates.

• Soda straws (bendy); because drinking from a big-mouth water bottle can be difficult or dangerous while under way.

• The above is stored in a plastic enclosure with cover, as suitable for transporting a sheet cake; both halves can be used as trays for snacking in the car.  Also from Dollar Tree.  (No, the driver would absolutely NOT do what some may be envisioning right now!)

Finally, because I am a big fan of visibility (conspicuity): 

• I have added retro-reflective tape to my truck and trailer, and I have been thinking about how to do so to Cindy's car without causing either (a) mirth, or (b) disgust.  

• European cars often have bright red foul-weather lights on their (left) rears (often beneath the bumper); Cindy's has this (high, instead of low).  I am considering how to add such to my truck and trailer; I have had a couple of experiences with very dense fog--and I didn't like it at all.

There is a large amount of good advice online, too.

Mark_ 

08 January 2017

Heatproof Glass Risk

In a thrift store a couple of days ago, a pretty large and heavy piece of glass broke a couple of aisles over from where I was browsing.  It was loud, and the resulting fragments were oddly small (in the bin after cleanup).  

Apparently, a patron reported that it had broken (in the aisle where she was standing) for no apparent reason; nothing else was happening at the time--nobody had touched it, nor had it somehow fallen from the shelf.  It had just exploded.

It was a large glass baking pan.

This reminded me of stories I had begun hearing a few years back of problems with heatproof kitchen glassware (cookware) after a switch from borosilicate to [some other glass formulation].  

It has made me wonder about the glassware we have here.  A Snopes article has caused me to worry that I would not be able tell with certainty which of two kinds of glass kind we have, and therefore to consider doing away with it all.  (White Corning stuff is a different material; I may keep that.)

• <http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/pyrex.asp> 

• <http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/january/home-garden/glass-cookware/glass-cookware/index.htm>

• <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyhdMa1ikKM>  Very interesting.

• <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh6Ww6RreT4>

Apparently there are several (many?) such vids @ YouTube.

Corning cookware @ Wikipedias:

• <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroceram>

• <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CorningWare>

We have some white Corning cookware: Some is over 40 years old, and is marked "for range and microwave"; one piece is newer and lacks the "range" marking.  We use these pieces in the microwave oven only.

• We have this tableware (in plain white): <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corelle>.  Apparently its composition is largely unchanged.  (We have broken one piece, but others have been dropped and smacked without damage.)

• We also have one of these Visions glass saucepans: <http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f89/stovetop-cooking-with-pyrex-visions-cookware-3174.html>.  Although we have used it on the stovetop without incident, it may not be so safe, either.  We use it frequently in the microwave oven.

We have several pieces of clear glass bakeware, which I will examine for clues about whether they are suitable for use: big and small cake pans, loaf pans, etc.

Researching this has been (will be) kind of a lot of work, but if it keeps even one pan of brownies from being wasted (or one eye from being put out)....

And more reading is needed.

Mark_ 

14 October 2016

My Volvo Tow-Car Sleeps the Big Sleep

A few days ago the engine-management computer of my aging Volvo workhorse threw a rod, causing everything to gently wheeze to a stop @ 293,700 miles. That is not actually a lot of miles for these cars, but because it had a 5-speed manual transmission instead of the automatic, the computer is rare and expensive. The car had enough other issues (some relatively minor but also somewhat expensive things all coming due at the same time), that the net value of the car fell rather suddenly from negligible to zero.  I had been thinking of making a change anyway, so I "declared bankruptcy" by donating it.

(The Tow-er, Towed.)

KING-FM is the beneficiary/victim.

I am somewhat prideful about the fact that I got my nine years of occasional very hard use without having to replace the clutch (or brakes, or tires), but I am surprised and disappointed about what actually did happen to take it off the road.

Oh, well.

The Volvo has been replaced by something that will tow Walden with ease--and will handle the next trailer, too.

(The New Tow-er Towers; this is tall--I am standing on the running board.)

Ford F-150 ("half-ton") with four-wheel-drive: It's pretty far from new, but seems all in very good condition. This truck may seem familiar to Ranger campers; it's very similar to Phil's.

After a period of thinking that the Pleasure-Way conversion van was just the thing--but failing to find one--we have decided to go with a truck & trailer. We are now looking for a Casita Liberty Deluxe 17'. In one way, the layout of that trailer resembles that of the Pleasure-Way model we had sought: the bunk is aft, and is convertible--usable either as two twins or a single king (or dinette). Because it lacks the engine and command areas of a van of only slightly more length, it may be just a little more roomy. Casita GRP ("fiberglass") trailers are physically simple and robust--like the Kent Ranger 20!

Until we have located the right one of those, we will continue using Walden.

Anyway, for a few days our big summer trip was off; now it is back on.

Excellent!


Mark_
28 May 2012

External Antennas for iPhone

Because cellular reception at my house has always been pretty poor, and because I frequently go to where it's even worse, I have always had external antennas for my cellular telephones: 

• A large, no-compromise, "trucker" antenna designed for maximum efficiency (and maximum potential for poking someone's eye out; look at those ground plane spikes!).
• A smaller--safer and easier to carry around--plastic antenna.

My phones have always had co-axial antenna ports hidden behind little rubber "navels".  However, my new iPhone 4S lacks this feature, and in fact doesn't even have an internal antenna (which is usually a metallic/foil thingy against the inside of the case).

Wilson is selling an inductive adapter for our iPhones, and I have bought one.

However:

Although they do specifically mention iPhones 4 and 4S, I am skeptical.  My understanding is that the internal antenna of a cellular telephone is usually a thin metal (foil) thing; this "passive" antenna connector would cover that antenna and capture its signal, sending it up a coaxial cable to the external antenna.  There would be considerable inefficiency in this scheme, but in theory the very much greater efficiency of the big antenna (compared to the original internal "patch") would offset the loss.

iPhone does not have that internal "patch" antenna; instead, its metal frame is the antenna, which means that the adapter would have no hope of "covering" any significant part of it; intimate association (close adjacency) is needed for this to work.

Despite my doubts, I bought it anyway; it was not expensive, and if it helps even a little while I am out camping in the woods or driving between cities, such help might occasionally be welcome.  I am actually rather skeptical.  Wilson does apparently know antennas in general, but I fear that they don't quite understand this situation.

(Note that this is entirely passive; there is no (powered) amplification.  Wilson's amplified system is the Sleek.)

I hope my skepticism is misplaced.  We'll see.

Update: Now that my camping tow vehicle is an actual truck, I expect to permanently mount the trucker antenna on it.  The smaller external antenna will go into my gadget bag.

Mark_

26 May 2012

Rescue Tape

I thought this sounded somewhat like the rigging tape that sailors use, so I watched their promotional video. At about 2:56, notice the scenery behind the "military" vessel. (It's probably only "stock" video footage, but even so....)

Even if one is not going through Deception Pass, the stuff may be worth having along. Local big-chain hardware places have a generic version.

Mark_