Guns, Cars, and Tech

Category: Tech

  • Deal Alert: Verizon Galaxy Nexus for $99

    If I weren’t waiting on the Sprint version, I’d totally jump on this:
    Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)

    It’s new customers only, so if you’ve been waiting for a flagship phone to go on sale, this is it. Dual core 1.2ghz processor, 1080p camera, and a 4.65 inch screen. Totally hot.

  • EDC Flashlight bleg

    I love the Fenix E21 Flashlight I got for Christmas. LOVEITLOVEITLOVEIT.

    The only thing i don’t like about it is that the overall length is a bit much for everyday carry. It doesn’t exactly fit in your pocket. I’d like to get something that I can carry around and not notice until I need it. I have two scenarios where this would be used: “Oh, I dropped something under my desk and it’s dark down there” and “ZOMG! I’m in a situation that I need a light on my gun, but I’m not carrying my Glock/M6 combo, so I need to use a Harries hold and my PF9.”

    I’m thinking of getting the Fenix PD20 and removing the belt clip. That one takes a CR123, is 180 lumens, and has a tailcap switch. Plus it does strobe, which is neat.

    The other contender is this one, which is small enough that I wouldn’t notice it until I needed it. The major con is that it’s a “twist-on” type, so it wouldn’t be as useful with my PF9.

    What do you think? I’m completely open to alternatives, as well.

  • Well that’s neat

    A 48 gun safe with ethernet, USB, and power plugs.

    I may need that later. FYI, you wouldn’t want to put a computer in there because of the lack of ventilation, but a small NAS would probably be okay.

  • Making a USB power cable for a Belkin F8Z492-P Bluetooth Music Receiver

    UPDATE 7/1/2012: Several people have emailed in and said that instead of making a cable, you can use an iGO Charger A00 Tip with either the USB to iGo Charging Cable if you already have a spare usb power port or the Mobility iGo Auto Charger if you only need to power the receiver.

    UPDATE 1/24/2014: If you’re thinking about buying the F8Z492-P for in-car use, I have two alternatives to suggest. First, this product from Belkin appears to be their answer to folks that bought the F8Z492-P and got upset that it wasn’t really meant for in-car use. It’s a little pricey, so the other option I have for you is the Kinivo BTC450. I don’t have either because I’ve changed cars twice since originally writing this post and no longer have the need for a device such as this.

    ORIGINAL POST:

    As I mentioned in my Christmas Bounty post, I got a Belkin F8Z492-P Bluetooth Music Receiver as a gift.

    Now, seeing as this is the marketing photo:

    I falsely assumed that it was rechargeable. Otherwise, how would the power light be on with only the audio cable attached, like the picture shows? As it turns out, this device is designed to connect to a home stereo and get power from the included 5v 180ma power supply.

    That pretty much defeats the purpose of me getting this, since I don’t have/want to run a power inverter just to run bluetooth audio. So I decided to get around that problem.

    At first I went into my box o’ junk and found an adjustable DC power converter. That device is kind of like this one, but older. It has a 6v and a 4.5v setting, but not a 5v setting. I tend to prefer to undervoltage by 10% rather than overvoltage by 20%, so I set it to 4.5v and plugged in the proper tip.

    ZAP! Blew the 1A fuse on the converter. Well, crap. Back to the drawing board.

    I thought about buying a 5V Voltage Regulator and wiring that directly to a switched 12v source, like tapping in to the windshield wiper fuse or something. Then I remembered that I have two USB ports on my USB car charger (like this one), and I’m only using one of them.

    USB spec is 5vdc @ 500ma. PERFECT! Now I just need a cable. Which I don’t have.

    So I made one. I took a standard USB cable and cut off the end. There are four wires, but we only need the power ones (Black = negative, Red = positive). So I took my stripped cable and my barrel connecter, along with some heat shrink tubing:

    image

    Soldered the wires to the connector, after slipping the heat shrink tubing onto the cable:
    image

    And voila! I tested the cable and it worked! Then I slipped the heat shrink tubing over the exposed wires and got after it with a lighter. That should keep it from shorting. Works like a champ!

  • Tyranny in Hickman County

    For fun, a student at Hickman County High School walked around asking students to say “Bitch Ass” in front of a video camera.

    This is the video he made (Obviously NSFW due to language):
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17SsVdxLsfY&w=420&h=315]

    Now, from the reaction of some of the people in the video, it’s clear that the videographer walked up to people and said “Hey, can you say Bitch Ass for me?” The way some of them respond quizzically makes me think that. Sometime over the winter break, school administrators found the video and suspended everyone in it for three days.

    Everyone except the student who created the video.

    He was expelled and sent to an alternative school. The same place they send you if you assault a teacher or police officer or get caught with a gun or drugs.

    For making a damned video, he gets to spend a year with those lovely folks.

    “Unfortunately, a lot of them are learning a hard lesson.”

    Yes, Dr. Jerry W. Nash, they are. They are learning that you and your employees are authoritarian pricks with no sense of humor, and no sense of what appropriate punishment ought to be–assuming that this would be something someone should be punished for in the first damned place.

    Later: I’d like to welcome all the Hickman County High students who stopped by over the weekend and commented. I was apparently linked on Facebook, but unfortunately the way Facebook refers links I can’t see the actual discussion. If there’s anything I can do to help out, y’all just let me know.

    Oh, and if your comments don’t immediately appear it’s because first time commenters are moderated–meaning I get an email asking to approve a comment, and I have to click a link before your comment will appear. As long as you’re not libeling anyone or inciting violence, I’ll approve it.

  • Talk to me about rechargeable batteries

    I had an epiphany yesterday while assembling lilwizard’s baby swing. We are going to go through a TON of batteries.

    Now, rather than heading to Target and buying whatever Energizer Rechargeables they might have in stock, I’d like to tap the hive mind and see what you guys can come up with. I know that there are plenty of flashlight geeks out there who school me on what to look for and what to avoid. Tenergy seems to be fairly popular and has high Amazon ratings. What about chargers? Low self drain? We’ll probably need some in every size, including 9v and CR123 (for me, not for lilwizard).

    So much to learn! HALP!

  • Coming soon…

    image

  • I’ve seen that movie

    Isn’t this how the Terminator movies all start off?

  • Christmas Bounty

    Alternate title: Why Amazon Wish Lists have made Christmas so much better.*

    I didn’t get anything that made me say “Why the heck would you think I might use that?” Here are the highlights:

    Belkin F8Z492-P Bluetooth Music Receiver: I haven’t listened to the radio in months…probably nearly a year. I download podcasts to my Nexus One and then plug in to auxiliary jack and listen to them on my commute. I wanted this little guy to help me with a little alternator whine problem I’ve been having and generally make my dashboard appearance less cluttered (There are currently cables for my phone’s power and the 1/8″ audio coming out of the top of my AC vents). My only disappointment with this device is entirely in the marketing photos. All the photos show a single wire coming off the device while it’s in operation, leading me to believe it is powered by a rechargeable battery. It is not. You have to have an external power supply, which I’m going to make. Stay tuned 😀

    Fenix E21 Flashlight: This thing is awesome. I’ve never had a “tactical flashlight” that wasn’t attached to a weapon, so I didn’t know what I was missing. I got the AA model since, well, everything else I have uses AAs. That might have been a mistake since the 2AA model is significantly longer than the more expensive CR123A model. It’s brighter than my M6 that lives on my Glock. I used it last night and this morning while walking Casey and it is really, really bright.

    The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated): I talked about the audio version a couple of weeks ago and how I needed to get the book for reference. Really glad I got this.

    Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work: Someone, I can’t remember who, recommended this book to me recently. My life is almost entirely digital and I have this yearning to work with my hands. It’s almost a spiritual need for me but I haven’t really done much.

    Atlas Shrugged: Part One [Blu-ray]: My liberal college professor aunt bought me this. I didn’t love the movie, but I threw it on my wish list anyway for the special features and to maybe get them to finish out the series.

    The Expendables (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy): I don’t care who you are, this movie was fun.

    So how’d you guys make out?

    *[Yes, I know Christmas is about celebrating Christ’s birth and spending time with family, but this isn’t a blog about that. As a teenager, I got really turned off by people “sneaking” proselytizing into my life and it probably delayed my acceptance of Him by a decade. If I’m going to blog about my faith here, it’ll probably be on Easter since that’s a much bigger deal to me.]

  • Eff GoDaddy

    Apparently they think SOPA is just great.

    I’ve never used GoDaddy since I always felt they were a bit sleazy.

    I switched all my domains to NameCheap.com earlier this year and they are awesome. They are so awesome, in fact, that if you use coupon code SOPASucks they’ll transfer your domain for $6.99.

    Go do it. Now. GoDaddy is like the Bank of America or GM of domain registrars. Eff em.