Broken Home for Lost Passwords

Markey’s Lobster Pound

A couple of times a year, we decide to head up to Markey’s Lobster Pound in New Hampshire for affordable, super-fresh lobster. And every year I stress out about what exit to take and which left and right turns to take off that exit—because the only address you can find on the Internet for the Pound is Route 286 in Seabrook. You can’t plug that into a GPS and have it lead the way. 

So for future reference, here is an address I can put into my GPS to make sure I get there free from worry: 420 State Route 286, Seabrook, NH. That’ll do the trick!

Re: Is Branded Skateboard Hardware Better?

So I went to my local hardware store (Brookline Lock), and they had exactly the hardware I needed. I found both fine and coarse threading, with nylon locking nuts and with Phillips heads. And I think I bought enough for two trucks and four wheels for under $2. Definitely the way to go, and definitely better to support a local business than UPS (which sucks). 

Cabs and Carseats in Virginia?

We’re going to Virginia Beach for vacation, flying in to Norfolk Airport. Norfolk Airport is about 20 miles away from Virginia Beach. Seems like cab fare can run anywhere between $25 and $40 one way. As with other places we’ve traveled to by air, I looked into whether cabs are exempt from child car seat laws. So far, we’ve found that in Boston, Chicago, and New York, cabs have exemptions, either for “public” transportation or for “professional” drivers. And now I’ve learned that Virginia has a similar exemption. From the Virginia Department of Health:

Public transportation (taxis, buses), regulation school buses, and farm vehicles are exempted.

Good to know!

Is Branded Skateboard Hardware Better?

I started working on bringing my old 9” board (from the early 90s) back into working condition. Back in the day, I didn’t know anything about decks, trucks, bearings, etc. I just bought a third-hand board and beat the hell out of it. It’s not only that I didn’t care about technical details, but I also didn’t have access. No neighborhood skate shops, no mail order, no internet. So no options.

This board’s hardware is beat. Motley and rusted, a mix of Allen head “real” hardware and hardware store hardware (flat-head and Phillips), of 1” and 1 1/4” lengths. Going on-line, looking to replace this, I found that hardware typically costs around $1.99 (but then there’s shipping) or around $4 (with free Amazon Prime shipping). Seems like a lot.

So I went to Home Depot to do some research. I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted, but found 10/32 flat flat-head screws with nuts for $0.98 for five. To outfit one board would cost me $1.96 (plus tax, and with two nuts+screws left). That makes more sense. So is there any difference besides getting a better head (e.g., Allen or Phillips)?

I came across a thread on Silverfish Longboarding debating whether store hardware will strip or snap or that it’s just the same as the branded (as long as you look for fine threading and nylon locking nuts, which I couldn’t find). Seems to make some sense. But it seems to me that enough people can vouch for it being “good enough,” that it might be worth the expense and wait for shipping.

As for me, since all of my riding is cruising/commuting, I’m going to be happy with store hardware. And if it breaks, it’ll cost me 20 cents to replace.

How to Forget a Wireless Network in Jolicloud

I’m a big fan of Jolicloud. I won’t get into the details, but if you have a slow/old computer or a netbook, you should look to install in ASAP. For example, Windows XP is such a dog on my Dell Mini 10v, but Jolicloud cruises. And start-up (which kills me on Windows) is easy-living on Jolicloud. But to get to the meat of the post:

I couldn’t figure out how to have Jolicloud “forget” a wireless network. E.g., it kept on automatically connecting to an old wireless network (“Wireless B”) when I wanted it instead to automatically connect to my new wireless network (“Wireless A”).

Here’s how you do it:

1. Right click on the wireless network icon (the four staggered signal bars) near the top right-hand corner.
2. Select “Edit Connections.”
3. Click on the “Wireless” tab.
4. Select the wireless connection you want to delete/modify/demote.
5. Either delete it, or edit it. If you edit it, you can uncheck “Connect Automatically.”
6. Enjoy!

How to Rearrange Apps on the iPad

It’s pretty inconvenient when the App Store installs an app that you want on your first page on the second page - and then you have to go into iTunes to rearrange your icons. Well, not anymore. Here’s the hack to rearrange your apps without iTunes.

Drag the app you want to move into the dock on the bottom of your screen. If your dock is full, just move one app out - you can always put it back later. Then flip to the page you want to put the app on and then drag the app off the dock. It’s that easy. A hack, yes. But it does the trick.

Resetting a Triton Quiet Power III Dishwasher

So our dishwasher—probably about ten years old—has seen better days. Recently, it’s been leaving a few inches of water at the end of wash cycles—and if you let that sit for awhile, well, it can get rank. I cleared the garbage disposal (the washer is hooked up to the sink), removed the screens etc. from the bottom of the washer, but nothing helped drain the machine. So I found out that I could re-set the machine, which would force the machine to drain any left-over water. Problem is I couldn’t find how to do this for my model.

Here’s how you do it: lear your garbage disposal. Then flip the lever so that the machine locks and starts running a cycle. Then you press and hold the Start/Reset button for at least five seconds. It will sound like nothing has changed, the machine will continue running, and then release and press the button again. The wash light will go out, and, after about a minute or so, you’ll realize that it’s force draining the water out. And then you’re done. Water’s gone.

But if you’re like me, then you at some point let that dirty water sit, and your dishes and washer got a bit nasty. Simplest solution to that is to empty out the washer, and put a bowl right-side up in the top rack, and fill that bowl with a cup of white vinegar. For a good measure, dump about 1/2 a box of baking soda into the bottom of the washer. Wait a bit, and then run it on a normal wash cycle. Fresh as a bean.

Low Battery Problem with RiteTemp 6030

I recently installed a RiteTemp 6030 (or 6000 series) digital thermostat to control our central air. As the seasons changed, I decided to test out the heat on a colder night—but what? The heat refused to turn on. Immediately, I thought, crap, the heat’s broken, but I couldn’t find the time to call around and set up an appointment for someone to check it out. Thankfully so!

I then noticed that there was a low battery indicator flashing on the display. It just so happens that when the low battery indicator is flashing, your heat might not turn on. Go figure. So I replaced the batteries, and voila the heat turned on.

But then, the next day, I realized the batteries were low again. What the heck! I swapped in new ones, and the same thing… Low. Now, is there a problem with my thermostat? Well…

It just so happens that I was using rechargeable batteries, and for some reason rechargeable batteries will always set off the low battery warning. The thermostat needs 3 V (2 x 1.5 V); my rechargeable batteries only put out 2.4 V (2 x 1.2 V). (The thermostat flashes the low battery light at 2.6 V and stops working altogether at 2.5 V.)

So that’s how I fixed our heat. I replaced the low batteries with new non-rechargeable batteries.

Payback Time

I love the fact that my landlord: (1) never turns on the heat, even in the winter, and (2) often never turns on the hot water. Well, I’m not exactly sure if he never turns it on—though I suspect this is often the case—but I know that sometimes it’s because the heat breaks or runs out of oil. Whatever, it’s not my problem. There should be hot water in the apartment, and there should be heat on when it’s cold.

I know it’s oh-so-not-green, but when the hot water’s off (like now), I just let the shower run cold. For like half an hour. Water here costs about $2.30 a cubic foot. I installed my own pretty decent shower head that runs 2.5 gallons/minute—which is about 1 cubic foot three minutes. That’s 10 cubic feet in half an hour, which will cost my landlord $23. It’s not much, but it helps me feel a little better that I’m screwing someone.

(Now that I think about it, I should probably just run the tub instead. More efficient landlord-screwage. And run the shower for an hour.)

I know that it’s within my rights to withhold rent, blah blah. So let’s say I withhold $1,000 a month, claiming that my apartment is worth $1,000 less without heat and hot water a few days a month. But once he fixes this—i.e., turns back the heat back on—then I have to cough that withholding up again. No skin off his back, really. 

So I have to do my own silent sabotage. The next step—the one never taken—would be to post a sign up telling everyone to do it. Let’s say 20 people do it. That’s a good ol’ $460 FU. That’d send a little bit of a signal.

Singing Acoustic

In my sense, playing acoustic guitar is a substitute for the entire composition. It’s just you and your voice and the guitar… And you’re walking through the vision of the song in your head and playing along with it. So when people see you perform it, they should see you walking through it, working through it, and being in a different world where they can only see part of your reality, absorbed into your fantasy.