#so i needed to figure out where to buy batteries in the 20 minutes between classes

[simplytiredtransboy]

I fucking hate being HoH like it's so fucked that we have to pay for the ability to hear?? Like you don't have money? Then you don't get to hear!

[surveysonfleek]

1630.

1~ What quality do you value most highly in others? warmth, loyalty, kindness

2~ Are you more aggressive or mellow? im in between, i wont lie. depends on the day haha

3~ Who has made the biggest sacrifice for you? definitely my parents

4~ Do you take any vitamins or medication? i take meds 5~ Do you want to grow old with someone? of course!

6~ Do you treat others better or worse than yourself and why? i tend to treat them the way they treat me. i always treat my family and friends incredibly well. im only ever rude to people who are rude to me

7~ What sound is annoying you right now? my laptops stupid fan. i have no idea why it keeps running, ive done all the troubleshooting tips to stop it

8~ Where was your last vacation to? the philippines in 2019

9~ Where was your last car ride to? from work to home

10~ Where did you last walk to? my car lol

11~ What gives you a peaceful feeling? trying to sleep and u can hear the waves outside. id obviously be on vacation by the beach haha

12~ Are you a light sleeper? not really. only when its time for me to wake up

13~ When you sleep next to someone who usually falls asleep first? it used to be my fiance, but lately its been me

14~ How many people have a piece of your heart? one!

15~ What do your salt and pepper shakers look like? i literally keep them in the same bottle they came in haha. boring, i know

16~ When was the last time you hurt yourself? its been a few months

17~ Would you rather live in the city, suburbs or the country? the suburbs

18~ Have you ever built something? yes, ive built plenty of ikea furniture!

19~ Are you more of a maker and giver, or a taker and user? ummm. maker and giver

20~ Do you take naps? hardly! ive tried on weekends and my body just wont let me anymore

21~ Do you buy holiday gifts early or at the last minute? i like doing it early

22~ Do you laugh when there is no joke and dance when there is no music? no lol

23~ If someone else were to describe you what would you hope they would say? shes so funny bahaha

24~ What is the dirtiest habit you can think of? biting nails

25~ Do you ever need ‘quiet time’? yep

26~ Do you think it is harder for a parent to outlive their child or for their child to outlive them? its def harder for a parent to outlive their child

27~ What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift? i bought brand new boardgames at a thrift store recently for $3 each!

28~ What is one selfish thing you tend to do? leave people on read/seen

29~ What kinds of people do you find intimidating? people of authority (more so in the workplace)

30~ Out of everyone you know who has the most unique personality? some of my coworkers haha.

31~ When do you do your best thinking? just before i go to sleep

32~ What was a choice that you didn’t want to make but you had to? meh idk!

33~ Have you ever written a letter to a soldier? no

34~ What does your favorite coffee mug look like? its a plain one that says game of thrones

35~ What age do you think it is most difficult to be? 20s, when ur still figuring everything out

36~ Do you think you could handle a day in jail? no lol

37~ Who is the most overbearing person you know? my fiance lmao

38~ Have you ever been on a trampoline? yes

39~ What do you use batteries for the most often? the toilet light. it makes the toilet bowl glow at night when it senses movement

40~ Would you prefer to wrap your own presents or have them all gift wrapped? i love wrapping them!

[msbarrows]

Never Again, Newegg

So today I splurged and bought a new gaming laptop, my first computer purchase since I got my old Dell Vostro 400 desktop back in 2007 (which amazingly still works as of the last time I booted it up, it’s just a complete dinosaur and I don’t even have it plugged in or connected to anything since I last rearranged my desk back in November). Shiny New Laptop (which was new in 2013) was a gift. So this was a very exciting day for me.

Purchased an HP Omen 17″ direct from HP Canada, and am very happy about the purchase (also got a new monitor on sale, with full HD resolution - current monitor tops out at 1600x900), and even popped for a 3 year extended warranty, because HP is having a thing where if you don’t actually use it, you have 90 days after it eventually expires to request a refund. First time I’ve actually said yes to an extended warranty; kudos on whomever decided that was a good policy to have, I entirely agree.

Anyway, with those on the way, there were also some odds and ends of additional items I wanted to purchase. Like they only had the 17″ available with a 256GB PCIe SSD boot drive paired with a 1TB secondary HDD - and I’d rather have that second drive also be an SSD. HP lets you do things like change/add drives or RAM without it invalidating your warranty (they even tout how easy the case is to open as a feature), yet another thing I’m really liking about this purchase, so I decided to pop for a 2TB SSD to replace that with. I plan to stick the HDD in an external 3.0 drive enclosure; removing it should increase the battery life of the laptop, and I have a nice powered 3.0 USB hub I can plug it into for use (yay past me for planning ahead and getting a 3.0 hub rather than 2.0). Figure it can hold things like big media files where playback speed is not a real issue, ie, movies and music and photos.

So anyway, I’d never used Newegg before, but I didn’t want to throw money at Amazon, and Best Buy didn’t have everything I wanted, so I decided to try them out. Website is fairly nicely designed, their filtering is awesome (best I’ve found yet) so it was very disappointing when I went to submit the order and things immediately started going seriously wrong.

First off, it apparently timed out partway through submitting the payment. It landed me on a screen saying that the order hadn’t been processed, I hadn’t been charged, and to please try again. I stupidly believed that, and didn’t double-check (my bad, but still their site’s fault). So I redid the submission. It went through. Checked my email - yup, there was the order emails. Yes, multiple, they process every item ordered as a separate order and order # rather than as one set of multiple items, so I had 5 emails in total - received your order, charged payment for items 1-4. Ugh, stupid design, but whatever.

Go to make supper. A bit later my brother (who was kindly letting me use his CC for all this) came to check with me, very concerned - he’s received 10 emails. The order had gone through twice. So I leave off making supper, go upstairs to cancel the duplicate order... only the Newegg site says the items are invalid to cancel. What. The. FUCK.

Double check my emails - I have the second set of emails too, arriving a good 20 minutes after the first. I immediately get on with their online customer support, explain the situation, list all 8 order numbers divided into their two sets.

Customer rep can only cancel 2 of the 4 on first order, because apparently once they start packaging an order, you can’t cancel it any more, and despite it having been only around a half hour since I placed the order, some of it’s already being packed. Okay, so can we cancel the duplicates on the second order? She goes to look that up, I tell her exactly which two order numbers that would be, as I have the order screen open in front of me. Nope, she can’t do that one, lists one of the numbers she’d already cancelled. We go back and forth doublechecking, I again tell her what two specific order numbers still need to be cancelled. Nope, still can’t do it. Another run of double checking, list the two specific numbers a third time - and ffs, it turns out the problem is she hasn’t noticed the difference between a duplicate order ending in 79703 and the one ending in 80703 that she’d previously cancelled, which is why her attempts to cancel it have repeatedly failed. GAH!

By now we’ve been in chat for almost 40 minutes, and I have progressed from being merely annoyed to flat out frustrated RAGE. She finally tries to cancel the right numbers, and NOPE, those are now also in packaging. Supposedly my only option is to wait until they arrive, and either refuse the delivery (assuming I can identify which package(s) are those two specific duplicate items) or process a return. And while she says that a return wouldn’t involve a restocking fee, I can’t help but notice she’s not saying anything about shipping costs. Just WTF kind of poorly designed ordering system is this!? And who the hell doesn’t have a built-in buying remorse period of at least an hour before they start on actually shipping stuff?

Argh. Ugh ugh UGH. End chat, go to finish making supper, talk it back and forth with brother about what we should do (while feeling horrible that I ended up putting doubled charges on his card). So distracted I ended up burning the rolls for what was going to be meatball subs, and had to do noodles instead. Supper was very late, good thing this is not a day where he’s working nights.

Thankfully, someone somewhere successfully fixes it; after supper I found three emails saying they were “out of stock” on the duplicate items, and when I checked their site again, I’m now showing as having 3 of the 4 items remaining (and all with the button for me to manually cancel them enabled), and everything else cancelled (thankfully the one item they cancelled both of is just a 16gb USB key I wanted for recovery media, and I can get one of those just about anywhere). So, at least they made it right in the end, but that doesn’t at all help with the earlier frustration, and being so full of rage I was both nauseous and on the verge of tears, which is not a feeling I at all enjoy. Crying because of a heartbreaking scene in a book = good, crying because of a crappy customer experience = bad.

Never buying from them again, no matter how nice their filtering is. Never recommending them to anyone. Just, never ever again.

[greenbagjosh]

23 April 2001 - the Böögg burns slowly - James Joyce found in Fluntern

Grüezi Mitenand!  Bonjour!  Buongiorno!  Hi everyone!

Thank you for joining me on the fifth day of the April 2001 journey.  Today is Monday the 23rd April 2001.

As I was still under the influence of jetlag, I went to bed early the previous night after dinner.  I consequently woke up about 4:40 AM, it was still dark.  I did not have any roommates to disturb so I just went to the shower in the hall.  The hostel would not serve breakfast until 6 AM, so I left the hostel about 5 AM, walked to the Besenrainstrasse bus stop and took it to Morgental where I changed to the tram line 7 - note, I had my Swiss Pass with me, so I did not have to buy a separate ticket.  I picked up a copy of the 20 Minuten newspaper and it had an article about today's upcoming event at 6 PM, the Sechseläuten burning of the Böögg.

What is a Böögg?  Since the 19th Century, Sechseläuten has been celebrated every mid-April in Zürich.  According to zuerich.com, "Who or What is a Böögg? The word “Böögg” is probably related to the word “bogeyman” and similar names in other languages for this frightening imaginary figure, such as Bullebeiss, Buhmann or Boesman. In Zurich, the Böögg resembles a snowman and symbolizes the winter. The burning of the Böögg serves to drive out the winter and herald the spring."  Eventually the Bürkliplatz towards Lake Zürich was too small, so it was moved across the Limmat eastward to the Bellevueplatz, on the northern end of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung headquarters.  You might know the Bellevueplatz as the starting point for the Street Parade techno music festivals that start about 1 PM on the second Saturday in August, of which I have been to five in total so far.  

So what happens at the Sechseläuten festival?  Sechseläuten is a half-day holiday, in the Canton of Zürich, but nowhere specifically else in Switzerland.  The Böögg is a textile snowman filled with explosives and is meant to be set alight on a controlled flame, in other words, a bonfire.  The most explosives are put in the snowman's head.  Then there is a parade, for the guilds of Zürich from Paradeplatz to Bellevueplatz, to put the Böögg on top of the wood for the bonfire.  That is the plan for the afternoon.

I took the tram about 5:15 AM to Selnau station and walked from one end to the other.  I exited the station, and walked along Sihlstrasse to the intersection of Talstrasse and Löwenstrasse.  At the pedestrian crossing there was a crossing stripe with the phrase "rauf mit den o+löhnen" spraypainted, with o+ being the female symbol, I guess a demand for gender pay equality.  That was about 5:35 AM, according to the picture screenshot.  

About 5:38 AM I found a guild sign, namely the "Zunft Schwamendingen" while walking along Talackerstrasse that leads southeast to Paradeplatz.  At Paradeplatz was a big banner for the local tram company VBZ (Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich) "damit am Sechseläuten nur der Böögg den Kopf verliert" (so that on Sechseläuten, only the Böögg loses his head".  I remember from September 2000 a similar banner for Knabenschiessen, as I was in Zürich for that festival as well.  I took a tram to Bellevueplatz to have a look at the bonfire.  It must have been stacked about two stories high.  I took a tram line 6 to Bahnhof Enge and then tram 7 to the hostel.  It was about 6:55 AM and the hostel started serving breakfast, in the part where in 2004 onwards the checkin desk is located now.  With the renovations of December 2001 onwards, the checkin desk and hostel restaurant had swapped sides of the hostel ground floor.  I can explain at another time.  Breakfast included bread, cheese, cold cut meats, dry cereal, milk, tea, orange juice and coffee.  Coffee was from the espresso machine and you could order at least three different kinds of coffee drinks, all for free during breakfast.  For tea, you would pick out a bag, and with the espresso machine just select the hot water.  

As the Sechseläuten parade would not start until about 2 PM, I decided to make a couple of side trips.  One of which to Aarau in the canton of Aargau to the northwest, and to Üetliberg to compare a nice sunny and warm September visit would be to a chilly one in April.  I thus took my video camera, my Swiss Pass, and headed to the Besenrainstrasse bus stop, Morgental and on to Zürich HB.  I boarded a train to Bern that would stop at Lenzburg AG and Aarau.  There was not much in Aarau that I particularly wanted to see, other than the Altstadt and crossing the Aare at Flösserplatz.  Little did I know that Aarau is close to the cantonal border with Solothurn, and I did not take time to walk along route 5 to cross, but I made up for it a few days later when changing trains at Olten.  Before returning to Zürich, I remember passing by the Pickwick pub.  It was, and is still, at Graben 6 close to the Kasinopark.  It was not yet 11 AM and I was in no mood for any alcohol at that time, and I needed to return to Zürich.

I took the train back to Zürich via Lenzburg, and changed to the S-10.  I may have mentioned the S-10 many times in the past, and it is an anomaly in comparison to the other S-Bahn lines in Zürich.  Its rolling stock, instead of the standard 15 kV / 16 2/3 Hz voltage as used by SBB, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB of Austria, uses the 1,000 V DC, which is long since outdated and is due to be decommissioned by 2023, but is still used by the existing rolling stock.  To avoid a conflict of voltages, the pantographs of the S-10 rolling stock are moved from the center of the train but placed on the left side (assuming the direction of travel is towards Zürich HB) with its own catenary.  Parts of the tunnel between Zürich HB, Selnau and Binz/Giesshübel allow for opposite side and switchback use by both lines S-4 and S-10, but SBB and VBZ have seen an increase in ridership on S-10 and they are trying to invest in line expansion, so the 1,000 V DC power will need to be decommissioned and only one power source will be supported.  The S-18, aka Forchbahn, is another story, which I will not go into at this time.

About 11:25 AM I returned to Zürich HB.  The tracks to the S-10 are underground and close to the Bahnhofplatz and Löwenstrasse rail station platforms.  In 2001, the platforms were called platform 1 for the S-10 and platform 2 for the S-4.  After the opening of the four platform Löwenstrasse station, platforms were renumbered, so platform 1 and platform 2 are now platform 21 and 22, the Löwenstrasse station platforms 31 to 34, and the original S-Bahn station towards the National Museum, are called platforms 41 to 44, when they used to be 21 to 24 when first opened.  Sigh, you have to admire the progress that Switzerland went through during 20+ years......  I think I boarded a 11:35 AM S-10 train to Üetliberg that did not terminate at Triemli (had that happen to me in July 1998).  I remember passing by the Giesshübel station about 11:41 AM.  So far there was no sign of any significant snow, and the skies were mostly clear, though the air was chilly, maybe mid 40s or +4 to +6 Celsius.  After the train passed Uitikon, the snow was starting to show up.  

By the time I reached Üetliberg, there was about six inches of snow almost everywhere, tracks visible but sleepers covered.  It was 11:58 AM when I stepped out of the train, and some of the snow had started to melt, so I had to watch where I stepped.  At Üetiberg they still have an axle with a cog, but the Üetlibergbahn S-10 line does not use any cog rail at all, and is billed as one of Switzerland's steepest rail lines that does not use either a cog or traction cable.  Prior to 2016 I used to love to ride the fun roller slide where you use a hard V shaped coaster and the rollers have a ten foot decline with maybe three or four bends.  I rode it the last time in September 2000, and made a video of it.  I think it was dismantled in 2016 or earlier and replaced by a less entertaining set of stationary bicycles or similar.  

It was getting close to 1 PM so I headed back down to where I could catch the tram line 7 to the hostel, get a fresh camera battery, and find a good place to view the Sechseläuten Parade.  Somehow I walked to just outside the Münsterhof location of Leder Locher, and a band was practicing at 2:25 PM, about thirty people in total, and in Georgian / US Revolutionary period costume, though I could not tell you to what guild they belonged to.  I remember there was a little girl about 5 or 6 years old with a Pooh Bear balloon.  I walked to the Bahnhofstrasse, somewhere near the Bärengasse and watched the parade for an hour or so.  There were many musicians from various guilds, and even the wine barrel making guild had an excellent percussion session.  The baker guild threw bread rolls at the crowd.  

At 5 PM I walked towards Bürkliplatz to cross eastwards to Bellevueplatz so that I could have a good view of the Böögg.  I found some place where I could see the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" corporate sign.  I think I was about a hundred feet away, and could see about fifteen feet of firewood as well as the Böögg itself.  I had a nice view, and was getting very excited for 6 PM to ring.  By then, the cavalry was circled around the bonfire.

It eventually turned 6 PM.  The time had come to start the bonfire.  Unfortunately it was getting cloudy and colder, upper 30s, or maybe +3 to +5 C.  What is important to note about the bonfire, is how long it takes, from exactly 6 PM to when the Böögg's head explodes with the explosives.  If the fire takes less than ten minutes for the Böögg's head to explode, then it will be a good summer in Zürich.  Otherwise it may be a chilly one (e.g. 1997 and 2017 from what I remember, temperatures below normal and precipitation above normal).  On 23 April 2001, it took a while.  Even by 6:10 PM, the flames had not even made it halfway up to the Böögg.  Fuel had to be put on the fire as it was going out.  About 6:20 PM, the flames made it to the Böögg's feet and explosives started to pop.  The Böögg's textile skin started burning and more explosives went off.  It is not over until its head completely disappears.  The next five minutes would be suspenseful.  About 6:27 PM the Böögg was reduced to his head and a wooden frame where his "body" used to be.  And right as my video camera's clock said 6:28 PM, I caught an explosion that was about five times the size of the Böögg's head.  The crowd, of maybe 10,000 people at the time, cheered, and the head guild's band played a victory song.  At 6:29 PM, all that was left on the bonfire, was a wooden frame and where the head used to be, just a charred out 2 by 4.  According to the head guild, Sechseläuten 2001 was declared "mission accomplished".

After such excitement, I thought I should do the cable car rotation, namely the Polybahn and Rigiblickbahn, that I remember riding in 1997, 1998 and 2000.  Then I would come back by tram lines 5 or 6.  From Bellevueplatz, I walked to Central, the lower station of the Polybahn.  If you have heard of ETH Zürich, that is the upper station of the Polybahn.  My prior ride on it was on Friday the 24th July 1998 with my striped top hat, and I took a selfie about 3:30 PM that day.  The Polybahn was still operating at 6:55 PM so I took it up to ETH Zürich, and managed to watch the other car go down to Central.  I took the next tram from the ETH/Universitätsspital three stops to Seilbahn Rigiblick, and around 7:10 PM I took the cable car up to the upper station.  The Seilbahn Rigiblick is automated kind of like an inclinator at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas.  You pick your station, Goldauer Strasse, Hadlaubstrasse, Germaniastrasse and Rigiblick, then it makes the appropriate stop.  It was built so well, that if both cars stopped along the way, you would be at any one of the stops (Goldauer Strasse for one and Germania Strasse for the other).  I was at the top station, and there was a bus line 39 to Im Klösterli near the zoo.  Interestingly enough, for those who like James Joyce's literature, he is buried close by at the Fluntern cemetery.  I thought about eating at the Klösterli restaurant, but I took a pass after looking at the dinner prices so I went back to Niederdorferstrasse by tram line 6, where I know that prices are more reasonable.  By then it was about 7:45 PM and the sun was about to set.  The tram did pass Toblerplatz, for which there is a famous triangular chocolate bar named after it.  Also the trolleybus line 33 terminates there, still does after part of its route was cut back and replaced years later with line 72, also a trolleybus line.

I ended up back at the ETH/Universitätsspital tram stop, took the Polybahn down to Central, and looked for my favorite restaurant to eat supper at.  In April 2001 I did not know of Bierhalle Wolf, that I more frequently visit since 2011, so I did not go there then.  Instead I went to the Brasserie Johanniter on Niederdorferstrasse 70, had a seat inside, and started off with a liter of Hürlimann Lager.  The last time I ate at Johanniter, I had their Graubündner Spätzle with ham, cheese and onions, and luckily it was still on the menu.  It was priced 20 Francs.  I think 2002 it was withdrawn and the only Spätzle they serve anymore is in the vegetarian style.  I had someone share my table, and we had a conversation, not very deep.  After paying our respective tabs, we went on our ways.  I went back to Bellevueplatz to see what remained, if anything, of the Böögg, and there was still the skeleton that I remember from 6:29 PM.  So I went back to the hostel to sleep, as tomorrow would be a travel day to Bern.

Please join me as tomorrow I will see two new cantons, one of which has two half-cantons.  Then we will see a new astrological clock similar to the one in Prague, and not too far from the Bundeshaus.  See you then.

Auf wiederluege!  Au revoir!  Arrivederci!  Goodbye!

[backyardrevolutionplanreviews]

Backyard Revolution Review- How I Used It?

It might come as a surprise to many of you when I say that you can build your solar energy system within 4-5 hours. And it also takes up less area to install the panels.

We often forget that non-renewable resources are on the verge of extinction, and we need to make a lot of changes to prevent damaging the natural environment even further. This is why opting for renewable energy is a viable option.

Then again, the cost of solar panel installation calls for a substantial investment and space. Keeping such drawbacks in mind, the Backyard Revolution program has been created to serve the needs of all.

Hi, I am Nicholas Altucher, a proud owner of a bookstore in Seattle with a passion for renewable energy and green technology.

After struggling for years to save up for green energy, I failed miserably! This instead motivated me to find alternative sources.

So, in the following sections, you’ll find an informative review of the Backyard Revolution to help you understand the nitty-gritty of this program.

What is Backyard Revolution?

Since the last few decades, human beings have evolved in the field of technology, and renewable energy sources. One such source is solar energy, which not only needs a lot of space, but deep pockets as well.

This is why Zack Bennett created the Backyard Revolution, which is an online program that teaches you the process of building an energy source that can be used in about four hours. The aim of going about this investment is that it cuts down your waste while you save over 60% of your energy bill each month.

Backyard Revolution also focuses on showing you how you can install this system on your property within a maximum of 20 minutes. This means it can be a great weekend project that will help you enjoy the benefits of solar energy in the long run.

So instead of paying professionals more than $13,000- $15,000 for making it an eco-friendly home, you can use this guide to create your own energy source. It consists of step-by-step instructions that simplify the entire process.

Who is Zack Bannett?

Zack Bennett is a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who proposed this innovation. If you compare this unique technique to the conventional method of harvesting solar energy, you’ll realize that you can generate more power by following this method. The main goal was to create a product that would be efficient enough to reduce electricity bills.

Many households don’t have the space or the budget for solar panel installation. But Backyard Revolution is a more beneficial alternative source. It provides a vast amount of power at a cheaper rate, without taking up much space.

On an interesting note, the inspiration behind this program was about self-reliance and survival. Bennett’s home was robbed during a power failure, since there weren’t any other security systems in place for sending an alert to the police. After which he started his research on finding ways to prevent such occurrences.

During this time, he found an elaborative research on zig-zag solar panel installations. Since it comes with easy steps for harvesting solar energy, he started sharing his research to help other people with their needs.

How did I come across the Backyard Revolution?

After having attended many discussions on global warming, which is one of the burning issues in the present era, I wanted to make a few lifestyle changes. So I started looking for ways to reduce our household power consumption.

This was about the same time when my colleague was trying to figure out the workable solutions for alternative energy sources. And he spoke about the advantages of the Backyard Revolution. I was especially interested in the fact that I could create my solar system by following the given instructions from this program.

The entire process of making this solar backup system doesn’t involve any form of pollution. Moreover, when there is a power shortage during some emergencies, it’s always good to have a backup. And it did take me by surprise when I discovered that it takes up very little space, to be precise about 4-square feet area.

In most cases, we need to install a solar system by taking professional help that can cost over thousands of dollars. But with Backyard Revolution, I managed to purchase all the tools and accessories for creating the 3-dimensional structure at about $300.

Since I didn’t have any technical knowledge, I was a bit too hesitant to create this structure. Thankfully, the instructions were pretty easy-to-follow, so it didn’t take me more than 5 hours to complete the installation. Since then, I feel more satisfied with being successful in reducing the carbon footprint of our house.

What does this program involve?

The Backyard Revolution offers everything that will help you save a lot from your energy bills. You’ll find pictures, diagrams, shopping lists, video tutorials, an owner’s manual, along with several bonuses that support you throughout this creative process.

The bonuses that are included in this set gives you the details about how to store solar energy on your property. And it showcases the possible alternative sources, in case the power grid fails for some reason. In fact, all the information can be downloaded in an instant.

But to take advantage of all the benefits that this program offers, you should have a good internet connection and sufficient storage space on your device. On top of that, you’ll be receiving a tactical flashlight in your mail after you place your order, which is a bonus.

It also gives you the option to check out the videos online if required. Therefore you’ll have easy access to information whenever you need any help with setting up the power generation system. Even if you aren’t one of those DIY-experts, the Backyard Revolution will offer you everything that you need to get started with this solar energy project.

How does Backyard Revolution work?

Backyard Revolution is an online program that gives you several ideas to have a life that’s free from energy dependence. Other than having to purchase the guide, you’ll need to buy the materials for constructing a primary power station. And the best part, the zig-zag solar panel takes up less than 5% of the surface area when compared to the traditional system.

You’ll be spending somewhere between $200 and $300 for making this power station. The total expenditure is almost equivalent to about two months of power bills in an average household. And that means, you can end up saving hundreds of dollars in about three months time.

Since the power station works like a backup device, you’ll always have access to the comfort that your home provides. The instructions are pretty simple to follow, and you get to make this device without having to pay for an overpriced control system.

Moreover, the Backyard Revolution also gives you a clear picture of where you can purchase the materials and the required tools for building this system. This online program is broken down into a total of 11 steps, and all the information should be followed carefully.

The information includes- dimensions of the parts, drawings and images of the assembly process, and the process of connecting the power station to your house. Finally, it will teach you how to build an upright apparatus with the zig-zag pattern for collecting solar energy to provide an efficient power backup.

The benefits of this program?

Here’s a list of the five different advantages that will come your way, if you choose to take up the DIY approach given in Backyard Revolution:

Easy to use

You’ll have several different mechanisms that you can adopt to protect your family when you’re using the ideas that are given in the Backyard Revolution. It provides you sufficient time to build your solar system that protects the household during emergencies.

If you aren’t confident about building the structure entirely on your own, then you can hire someone to do the same for you. Because in the end, this minor investment not only gives a good return but also supports the environment.

For instance, I managed to save about $100 in the first month itself after having invested less than $300. If you can bring about a few minor changes in your lifestyle, then you don’t have to pay for your local energy bills. In truth, you cannot use this solar energy system to operate heavy appliances like your AC or fridge.

Requires less space

The Backyard Revolution solar system doesn’t take over 5% of the surface footage area than your conventional solar panel system for producing electricity. So even if you don’t have enough space around the house, you can install this compact solar system. Furthermore, you can save over 60% of your monthly energy costs by following the instructions.

Many homeowners have also managed to build around two to three systems for slashing their electricity bills. And since it doesn’t take up much space, you’ll still have enough room to enjoy the outdoors.

Simple protection method

Since the Backyard Revolution system utilizes less space, it gives you more options for protecting your investment. You can also share this upgrade process with your neighbors, so they can be free from any more trouble during a power outage. However, you can also power the indoor and outdoor lights by using the solar system without having to pay for energy bills.

You can get rid of the electrical grid

If you’re focusing on minimalist living, then you can use the Backyard Revolution system to power the entire house. Even if you’re installing this unit for survival during a power outage, then this design will have you covered during the worst situations. And there’s no comfort in comparison to the shelter of your own home, which is precisely what this program offers you.

Less maintenance

To charge the Backyard Revolution system, you just need to place it in a spot that receives maximum sunlight in your house. It will take about 4-5 hours to charge the battery fully, so find the best area in your backyard accordingly. And it has pretty hassle-free maintenance. You only need to remove the debris that tends to collect on the surface of your solar panels.

Does it have a Money back guarantee?

Yes, the Backyard Revolution provides you with a 60-day money-back guarantee that supports your investment. This duration gives you sufficient time to try out the process and to test your installation skills.

But if you aren’t satisfied with the final result and if the program doesn’t offer you proper instructions to set up your solar system, you can request a complete refund. That means you can build your trust in this brand, and if you give your best in creating your solar energy system, then it won’t leave any room for disappointment.

Final Words

The Backyard Revolution, in my opinion, is a safe, reliable, and easy-to-install device with a good return on investment. It will help you support the changes that need to be made in your lifestyle to prevent global warming.

After all, a small initiative can also make a huge impact, especially in a world where pollution rates are at a rampant increase. It also saves you from having to pay those high electricity bills. And no electricity board promises to have you covered during an emergency blackout.

[brittovenator]

Rewire

I’ve told this story over 100 times, but never like this. In an effort to regain who I am, I’m going to attempt to explain what actually happened to me, because I lost everything, in every sense of that word. The very being of who I believed I was, shattered. I tried to keep going like everything was going to be okay and that I was strong, but that was a lie and I lied to myself everyday for over a year. I became a shell of who I used to be. I didn’t know how to interact with other people when I used to crush it in the hospitality industry. I made mistakes because I never dealt with my trauma, and there is a guilt inside of me that causes literal pain.

This feeling of guilt, the lack of knowing who I am, destroyed so much around me. I had to get a restraining order from my ex who was coping with drugs. I almost lost my job, I became distant to every person I had ever come into contact with. I cut out everyone. My anxiety was so intense that I would scream and scream and scream at the top of my lungs to try and force it away. I was having panic attacks five times a day. I was only leaving my house to go to work, and then I couldn’t even do that anymore. I told my best friend that I was done.

I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. The pain in my chest crippled me. I lost around 20 pounds because food made me nauseous. I stopped playing music, I stopped singing, I stopped everything. I had this feeling that I was getting smaller and smaller in a room that would keep growing. I hoped that maybe if I stopped caring about everything that it would go away. I wanted to be left alone and I sat inside my house wearing the same clothes for two weeks before I was forced outside to get different help.

I cried mostly because I missed the girl that I used to be, and I worry that I will never be that person again. I feel like I have been completely un-wired, but the plugs don’t fit into the same sockets anymore. I used to consider this my biggest failure, but now I’m trying to see it as an upgrade, like when you buy a new phone and it comes with a new charging port.

I’ve repressed this memory for so long now, but in order to start feeling better I think that it’s probably time that I spoke out about it. Maybe I can reach someone whose been at their darkest point like I was, and that maybe this could help. I’ll never turn my back on anyone who is in my Route 91 family, especially if you need help just like I did.

I heard the first round of shots. If you were looking towards the stage, I was standing on that right side, the side closest to the Mandalay Bay. I looked over to my right and saw some sort of commotion and heard some loud popping noises, but I thought some kid had thrown down those 4th of July firecrackers and because Jason Aldean looked in that direction and kept singing I thought nothing of it. But then it happened again, I saw someone ripping Jason from the stage. Everyone is screaming, I was laying flat on my back on the ground as close to that center fence as I could, people were laying on me, I was laying on others. I grabbed this girls hand and we were holding each other, I remembered telling this complete stranger that we were going to be okay. Right before they cut the lights off the stage, I saw my friend Luke in his red, white, and blue vest hop the fence and pull his now wife Alyssa over with him when there was a lull in firing. My husband and I decided to follow. But we lost them when we ducked by the side of the stage while another burst rang out. When we finally ran again we ended up hiding underneath a big rigs wheels. We had no idea where the shots were coming from so we didn’t know where we were the most protected. I remember that he yelled at me for being too exposed but it was too chaotic to know where the best cover was. Someone opened the door to the truck open and we all climbed inside. I layed down again and sent out a tweet. Someone was smart enough to rip the loading dock off of the truck and put it up against the fence and that was how we were able to get out of the venue.

I started running, and realized that my husband didn’t over the fence right away. He had stayed to help others, which was admirable but unfair because he left me all alone. I finally heard him call for me, and we just ran and ran. We weren’t sure where to go and all the over passes towards the MGM were shut down, we couldn’t even get back to our hotel room. We were sitting on the walk over that leads into the MGM grand, and I called my mom. I told her “don’t turn on the news, but I’m okay, I love you.” She lives in NY so I knew she was half asleep, she asked my what happened, and I don’t remember if I told her, I just told her to go back to bed. I hung up and someone immediately shouted that there was another shooter and the screaming began again, we all started running into the MGM, the casino was completely empty and the emergency alarms were blaring, there were security guards guiding us through the casino floor towards a conference room, but we didn’t want to be caged in and instead of going with the others, we ran to the hard rock cafe, I remember that we got into the last cab because the radio controller came on and asked all cabs without passengers to return to the stations and stop taking passengers. I don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t of gotten into that last cab. I don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t of gotten a hold of Luke and Alyssa (who had ran to the airport). My phone battery was also at 5%, I was in a total panic for so many different reasons. In fact I hadn’t heard from Jenna or Allie since they left the concert (early thankfully, because Allie was in a wheelchair and Devyn wasn’t feeling well) So when I received a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize I just started asking if it was Allie and If they were okay, it turns out it was my boss, I’m sure that freaked her out.

When we finally got back to Alyssa’s place it was about four am. People assume that because he only was shooting for ten minutes, that it only lasted for ten minutes, or because they found him dead in his room an hour and twenty minutes later means that that’s when it ended. It took us almost six hours to get to safety, to finally be able to turn on the television and find out what just happened.

And the four of us just sat in disbelief, until we all forced ourselves to turn it off and go to sleep. I know none of us slept.

The next morning we headed back to our hotel. Everything was silent, no one was speaking. You could tell who hadn’t showered yet, there was dirt everywhere, even on the casino floors. I don’t even remember hearing slot machines running or anything, even if they were. We were supposed to check out that day but they extended us so that we could get our things and recoup. We had been able to get a hold of one person who knew a lot of our mutual friends, and he made a post on our behalf to let them know we were fine, but our phones were dead, so I hoped no one was worried about us more than they needed to be, but was really terrified to actually plug my phone in and turn it on.

Mandalay Bay has always been my favorite hotel in Vegas, we didn’t live a very luxurious life, but we hustled and always tried to make sure that we went to Vegas once a year since I turned 21. I love the sushi restaurant that is there, and I was really bummed to think that there was no way I would ever be able to go into there again, so instead of waiting to do it, we just did. I thought by doing that it would be a healing process and would help me deal with what just happened. I think in a sense it did, I still think I would be okay staying in that hotel.  

After we returned home, I had important decisions to make. I was leaving for California in five days, a commitment that I made and felt like I couldn’t back out on. Over the course of a week, I ran for my life, said goodbye to all the people that I met at that concert, came home and said goodbye to all the people I loved and cared about in Colorado, packed up only what was important to me, drove to Arizona to see my friends there, moved into my new apartment in California, and then spent the next month alone or obsessing over my job. I acted every day like I was fine.

Realistically I should have stayed in Colorado, I didn’t have a strong support group when I came out here, I didn’t know my place. Over a year later, and I still don’t. I struggle with that professionally and personally. I know a lot of people were watching me deteriorate, but I just didn’t care.

I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life moving forward, most days I feel like I should quit my job and move on because it would be better for everyone else if I just wasn’t around anymore. I don’t feel as I can turn to the only people I know here. I feel guilty and shameful and alone. It’s hard to suppress those feelings when what is real to everyone else is blurred for me. I feel like I’m going through the motions and not actually doing anything productive because I’m so afraid of screwing up. The worst part about feeling this way is that I truly love my job. I looked forward to coming in even when I was in Colorado. I felt supported and like I belonged with the company. I lost that when I lost myself.

I’m afraid of being a failure, which is ironic because I’ve been failing myself for living a lie since Vegas. All I can hope for is that my reality becomes normal again, instead of it blurring between a place where fear lurks in every direction, and one where I can join a beach volleyball league and not panic around strangers and get weird looks from those who don’t understand. A reality that everyone else understands. To live a normal life. Make friends on my own without relying on someone else. I feel crippled, but I don’t want to use crutches anymore.

[kusupaxe-blog]

Best cordless vacuum cleaner 2019: easier cleaners for your car, shelves, hard floors and carpets

With home living spaces getting smaller, carpets getting less deep pile and cordless vacuum cleaner tech improving beyond all recognition in recent years, the best cordless vacuum cleaners are now easily as effective as traditional vacs, and much more versatile.

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Even the best cordless vacuums used to be a bit crap, just a few years ago. You had your Dysons, which weren't bad, but felt overpriced, and then you had a chasing pack of wannabe products. They were for cleaning up little spills, and using on shelves, surfaces and in your car, but cordless vacuum cleaners couldn't really do floors.

That all changed with the arrival of the Dyson V8, which was the first cordless that could really take on a corded vac for floor cleaning. Since then, plenty of other brands have raised their game, and the result is a huge boom in sales of cordless vacuum cleaners.

For traditionalists: Best corded vacuum cleaners For futurists: Best robot vacuum cleaners Best steam cleaners WHAT IS THE BEST CORDLESS VACUUM? Our top choices come from Vax and Dyson (twice).

The Dyson Cyclone V10 was the brand's latest and most powerful cordless vacuum, but I'm not entirely convinced it's their best. It's been designed and marketed as a corded vac replacement, able to clean carpets and hard floors to a high standard. And it does… but so did the older Dyson V8 and that, being more compact, works better when it come to handheld use. UPDATE: the Dyson V11 Absolute just appeared and offers slightly improved cleaning power and battery efficiency than the V10. We'll have a review soon.

It feels more manoeuvrable than the V10, and hence better able to switch between a dust-busting, spill-clearing, shelf-cleaning handheld, and a full-on corded vac replacement for your floor. Arguably, the V10's greater suction, larger bin and lower price make it a better choice, on paper, for carpet owners, but I'm not sure that in real-world use there's much to choose between them.

Bosch's BCS122GB Unlimited is the very best of the new breed of Dyson rivals and is arguably better than the V8 in certain respects. However it's also even more expensive than Dyson's vac and its dusting brush – an all-important part of a cordless, for us – is not very well designed.

However, when it comes to VFM, there is a new cordless champ in town and it's the Vax Blade 2 Max. This matches the Dysons when it comes to floor cleaning. It's not as good as the V8 for handheld use, but it does a stand-up job in that department. Add battery life that's as good or better than the Dysons, and a bloody great LED headlight, then take into account that Vax's model is significantly cheaper, and you have a winning cordless package.

Best cordless vacuum cleaner

Best window vacs Best car vacuum HOW TO BUY THE BEST CORDLESS VAC FOR YOU The best cordless vacuums come with one obvious advantage: no cord. This makes them so much easier to push around than their corded brethren and they're also light enough to clean everywhere from the ceiling to the skirting board, as well as sucking up kitchen spills from worktops, dust from shelves (high and low), and so on.

Because of the way they've developed since Dyson made them a more premium, versatile product, they're good for everything from traditional uses, such as cleaning out the footwell of your car, to properly vacuuming large expanses of carpet.

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Cordless vacs do come with disadvantages. In order to keep the weight low enough to make them useful, the lithium-ion batteries they use can't be all that big and heavy, and so their battery  life is invariably quite short – usually no more than 20 minutes at full power, up to 40 or so at the lower power settings (that nobody uses). Dyson has addressed this by gradually improving its batteries over the years, but now some other brands are taking a rather simpler approach to the problem and including two batteries.

A lot of homes' floors can be given a good enough clean in 20 minutes, especially if you're using your handheld daily to maintain a dust-free domicile. Your other option, of course, is to buy a corded vac for the weekly/monthly/annual Big Vacuuming and use the handheld for smaller tasks.

If you live in a house with lots of carpets and two or more bedrooms, a cordless vac is still a great supplement to your mains one. If you have a flat with mainly hard floors, you can probably forget about a cylinder or standup.

Nearly all cordless vacs are bagless, which seems like a great feature initially. Then, when you come to empty their often small, usually translucent dust bins, you may initially find yourself cursing the day you ever bought one. With practice, if the vac is sufficiently well designed, this will become less of a problem, but the only one we'd unreservedly recommend in this department is the Dyson V8. Its bin emptying mechanism is sheer poetry in motion.

Finally, most stick vacs come with a range of heads for different surfaces, crevices, pet hair and so on. You can usually also buy cheaper versions of the vacs with just one or two basic heads, but, as the old saying goes, more heads are better than some.

THE BEST CORDLESS VACUUM CLEANERS IN ORDER Best vacuum cleaner: Vax Blade 2

1. VAX BLADE 2 MAX Best affordable cordless vacuum cleaner SPECIFICATIONS Power: 40vPower boost: YesWeight: 3.1kgMaximum run time: About 15-40 mins depending on power setting REASONS TO BUY +Excellent floor cleaning +Cheaper than a Dyson +Easy to empty bin +Solid battery life REASONS TO AVOID -Not as good for handheld use as a Dyson -Emits horrendous racket TODAY'S BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON INDIA This new cordless Blade from Vax is generally about £40-£50 cheaper than a Dyson V8 and over £100 cheaper than a V10. That's a handy saving when you consider that it comes to cleaning floors, it seems at least as good.

It's a similar story with battery life, which again seems at least as good as the V10. It's hard to declare a precise battery life for cordless vacs because of the varying real-world ways they get used, but the Blade 2 generally seems to last longer than the Dyson in both Max Power and standard modes.

On both hard and carpeted floors, in my view, the Blade 2 outperforms any Dyson. Its spinning brush bar is highly effective, apart from a few occasions when it sprays stuff around rather than diverting it down the Vax's suction tube, and suction is very good even if you turn it off. Perhaps the Blade 2 Max's real pièce de résistance is its headlight, which activates alongside the brush bar and really helps with cleaning in dimly lit areas. The bin mechanism isn't as ingenious as Dyson's but it's easy enough to empty.

The main drawback of the Vax Blade 2 compared to Dysons (the V8 in particular) is that it's much less fun to use as a handheld, when cleaning surfaces other than your flooring.

Also, the Blade 2 is clearly not as chic as a Dyson. It's not hideous, though, and I dare say most people probably aren't that bothered what their vac looks like anyway. It does make a much more horrible racket, though.

That aside, the Blade 2 comes highly recommended.

2. DYSON V8 ABSOLUTE The ultimate 'old style' cordless vac, as good on tables and in cars as it is on floors SPECIFICATIONS Power: 21.6vPower boost: YesWeight: 2.6kgsMaximum run time: About 10-40 mins depending on power setting REASONS TO BUY +Genuinely works as both handheld and 'proper' vac +Solid battery life +Compact and stylish REASONS TO AVOID -The V10 has even more POWER TODAY'S BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON INDIA Dyson has been making cordless vacs for quite some time now, but 2016's V8 was where it finally really cracked it. Since then the V10 has come along, and wants to be the cordless vacuum that really kills corded vacs, but the V8 is still a better option, IMO.

This is a battery-powered vacuum that can work as a pure handheld, compact vac – cleaning your car, taking crumbs off worktops, dust off shelves and, with its longer tube, cobwebs off your ceiling. But it can also genuinely replace a corded vac when it comes to both carpets and hard floors.

Moreover, it's sufficiently attractive – okay, I'm talking only just, rather than 'it's a gorgeous, dust-sucking objet d'art' – to just leave lying around in the kitchen or hallway (or attached to the wall with its well-made mount). So when a spill occurs or you notice a messy bit of floor, you don't have to go and retrieve it from 'the special cupboard'. It is the ultimate 'clean a little, but often' vac.

As ever with cordless vacs there are big caveats for those with large houses or a more 'traditional' attitude to cleaning. The number of extra tools required to make it as versatile as it it can initially leave you scratching your head figuring out which one to use for what (although, in my experience, the 'main' head is just as good as the 'spongey' one for hard floors, and the pet hair sucking one is probably overkill if you don't have allergies or a near pathological aversion to pet hair (remind me, why did you buy that golden retriever, then?)

Aside from the aforementioned large, powered brushes – one with spinning bristles for carpets and the hardfloor-only one, which is a revolving cylindrical 'sponge' that polishes while it sweeps, while it sucks – there are also titchier hand brushes and nozzles in the Absolute package, including a mini motorised hand tool for sofas and cars.

So yes, you do need to chop and change heads, but whatever is attached to it, the V8 collects a commendable amount of detritus on both hard and carpeted floors. It's a breeze to use in all areas, including under cupboards with just three inches of clearance.

But the reason I say the V8 is the 'ultimate' cordless vac is that it does finally correct some long-standing flaws with Dyson's handhelds.

Firstly, emptying the bin. This used to involve digging around it with a chopstick, which just doesn't feel that premium. With the V8, you just pull up a red latch and the entire motor and filter arrangement lifts out, as the bottom hatch opens, emptying everything into the bin, with nothing stuck to the filter. Push the filter and motor back into place and anything stuck to it is squeegeed off by its housing. Then just flip the lid shut.

The other V8 improvement is to the battery. It will now go for 40 minutes as a handheld (with the basic but well designed brush and crevice tools) and 20 or so with the powered floor brushes. That's on the standard power setting. With the turbo setting on, it would seem that the V8 lasts about 10 minutes or so.

Mine's on charge when I am not using it, and I have never ever run out of battery whilst cleaning. However, if you really want to use it as a straight replacement for something like a Miele or Henry, and your habit is to spend half an hour or more doing your entire place in one go, the V8 may not work for you as you wish.

3. DYSON CYCLONE V10 ABSOLUTE Updated cordless vac can do everything a corded one can, and a whole lot more SPECIFICATIONS Power: 28AW-125AWPower boost: YesWeight: 2.68kgMaximum run time: About 20-60 mins depending on power setting REASONS TO BUY +Sucks like a high quality corded vac +Doubles niftily as a handheld +More powerful, longer battery and bigger bin than the V8 REASONS TO AVOID -Bulk and weight make it less versatile and fun to use than the V8 TODAY'S BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON INDIA The Cyclone V10 is a slightly odd device in that it successfully addresses many key issues that users have had with previous Dyson cordless vacs, yet ends up being only just better than its predecessor.

Should you buy a Dyson Cyclone V10? If you have loadsa carpets, and want a cordless… definitely, yes. It's noticeably more powerful and has a better carpet-cleaning head than the V8, which was itself head and shoulders above all the other battery-powered vacs.

The bin is much bigger, in order to hold all the extra fluff and gunk yanked out of your rugs and carpets by the stronger motor. It's grown by 'up to 40%' (I'm not sure why the 'up to' bit is in there) says Dyson. It's also still easy to open and empty into the trash, without dispensing the dust back onto your floor.

My slight issue with the V10 is that its added bulk and weight makes it a bit more of a chore to use than the V8, and cleaning is not noticeably better on hard floors and other non-furry surfaces.

The increased size makes it more problematic to keep the Cyclone V10 to hand in your kitchen, a little more difficult to manoeuvre when dealing with spills and dusting shelves and surfaces, and less comfortable when doing floors.

On the other hand, with three power settings instead of two, and an improved battery, you don't need to charge the V10 as often – though please note that the quoted 1 hour is only when you use the lowest power setting and a non-mechanised head.

The Dyson Cyclone V10 is also generally cheaper than the V8, which is hard to argue with as a selling point.

Bosch BCS122GB Unlimited

4. BOSCH BCS122GB UNLIMITED Superb Dyson clone with two batteries SPECIFICATIONS Power: 18vPower boost: YesWeight: 3.5kgMaximum run time: About 15-25 mins per battery depending on power setting REASONS TO BUY +Two batteries make running out of juice unlikely +Excellent cleaning performance +Awesome 'big crevice' tool REASONS TO AVOID -Actually manages to be more pricey than a Dyson -Crappy dusting brush TODAY'S BEST DEALS CHECK AMAZON INDIA • Buy Bosch BCS122GB Unlimited from Amazon

Previous Bosch cordless vacs have been a bit iffy in terms of heft and looks. To be brutally frank, they were fatty boom booms. Not so the BCS122GB Unlimited, which is, if I may again speak frankly, a Dyson clone. But a very, very good one.

There are three absolutely fantastic things about the BCS122GB Unlimited and only one egregiously crap one. Firstly, although its battery life is fairly pitiful, Bosch gets around this by the ingenious means of… including a second battery.

As they charge fully in about an hour, these 18v cells should keep you vacuuming indefinitely, so long as you're judicious about charging one while using the other. Interestingly (or not, perhaps), they are also the exact same batteries and charger used in all Bosch's 18v power tool range, so you could use the same cell to drill a hole in a wall, and then suck up the debris.

The other selling points are that cleaning performance on carpet and hard floor is excellent, and well up to Dyson standard in real-life, day-to-day use (I try not to get too bogged down in seeing which vac can suck up one square metre of rice crispies or flour the best.) It's even pretty passable without the turbo mode engaged.

Oh, and the long crevice tool. This looks absolutely ridiculous, turning the vac into a sort of robot anteater, but it is fantastically useful for cleaning skirting boards, footwells, down the back of the washing machine and so on. But seriously, just look at it.

[yierknives]

JBL Clip 2 vs JBL Clip 3 Comparison

If you need a baby Bluetooth speaker, rest assured that the JBL Clip is the best quality product on the market for the price. But with such frequent upgrades to these things, it’s hard to figure out which model is better value for money. Is it worth getting the new and improved Clip 3, or should you settle for the cheaper Clip 2? Let’s find out in this JBL Clip2 vs JBL Clip 3 Comparison Review.

JBL Clip 3: What you need to know

The biggest difference between the JBL Clip 2 and Clip 3, at least in terms of appearance, is the clip itself. Where the older model employs an orange carabiner attached to a rubber loop, the Clip 3’s carabiner has a fully integrated design — in other words, the clip effectively surrounds the entire speaker.It is very convenient by the Clip 2 that you can easily replace it if you need a larger one or if it gets damaged.

The Clip 3 got a new speaker grill which now curves to the edges of the speaker and while the Clip 2 has the control buttons on the side, on the Clip 3 they were moved to the front of the speaker grille.I prefer the button placement of the new model, it looks better and more convenient to use.

Overall, the Clip 3 is a more stylish and well-built device.

MUSIC CONTROL

In terms of music control capabilities, there is no difference between the two models, both provide a limited music control capability.Which means that you can pause/play the music by pressing the ‘Play’ button and you can skip a song by double pressing it.

Both speakers got an IPX7 water protection, so there is no difference here, they are completely waterproof.To ensure the water protection the ports are covered by a waterproof flap by both models.The design of the flap is better by the Clip 3, it is larger and easier to connect the cables to the ports.

Durability

When comparing the two speakers, it becomes clear that all the parts of the Clip 3 are more seamlessly stuck together, and there’s a little more insulation and rubber padding in the back. In fact, the JBL Clip 3 is a little wider on all sides, adding more surface area to the speaker as well.

Functionality

You’ll get the same functions on both, the Clip 2 and the Clip 3. But JBL has simplified things by moving the the play/pause and volume controls to the front of the speaker. I like this change to the design because you no longer have to look to the side of the speaker to find the buttons. And it makes accepting calls faster as well.

Battery life

The Clip 2 has a 730mAh battery, which was upgraded to 1000mAh in the Clip 3.In my outdoor test, when I played various types of songs on the speakers at 70% volume, I measured 13 hours 20 minutes by the Clip 2 and 8 hours 50 minutes by the Clip 3.

Repeating the same test at maximum volume, the Clip 2 could play for 3 hours 40 minutes, while the Clip 3 for 5 hours 20 minutes.So at maximum volume the Clip 3 performed better with its larger battery, however, surprisingly at 70% volume the Clip 2 was the winner.Unfortunately, none of the speakers have a precise battery level indicator, so you do not know the remaining battery percentage.

Clarity

Quality of sound may be the biggest and most impressive upgrade to the Clip 3. In fact, it’s enough to give me buyer’s remorse about my older Clip 2. Although the frequency range technically remains the same, I heard lower lows and higher highs on the Clip 3. And the detail also improved dramatically. In fact, it made the Clip 2 sound a little cloudy in comparison. Ugh. Anyone want to buy my Clip 2?

Conclusion

So, which one sounds better? There’s no question, the older Clip 2 is the clear winner. That’s not to say that the Clip 3 is awful, or that it doesn’t do anything better than the Clip 2 from a sonic perspective. High frequencies, for example, are better represented on the Clip 3 and its maximum volume has also been improved.

However, the Clip 3 is no better at reproducing low frequencies than its predecessor (which is hardly surprising when they both have 40mm drivers) and the new model lacks mid-range presence of its predecessor, which results in weaker-sounding vocals.

To what extent you’d notice the difference when hiking up a mountain with the speaker clipped to a backpack is open to debate, but where the Clip 2 has an appealing, warm sound, the Clip 3’s sound signature is bright to the point that it quite often sounds a little harsh.

Any of our winning options are quality speakers that will serve you well, but selecting the perfect one is about your preferences and ideal price point.Want more recommendations for the best Bluetooth speaker ? Check out our guides to the DinDinModern.

Why choose DINDINMODERN

● A variety of high-quality Bluetooth speakers are available. ● Delivery from the local warehouse, within 3 days. ● Manufactured in our own factory, cost-effective. ● Excellent pre-sales and after-sales service. ● Free returns ● Excellent materials, safe and durable. ● Pursue innovation and optimize design ● We listen to customer needs and feedback.

[aircoil50]

Ten Suggestions to Step-up your Smartphone's Efficiency

You'll learn it is more difficult to change out your telephone's lithium ion battery as it would be to take care of it directly in the first location. Many smart phones do not provide easy consumer access for their own batteries. That includes all I phones and several flagship Android telephones from makers like Samsung. Formal battery substitutes might be expensive or frustrating (try getting a formal battery substitution in an Apple Store this season ). There are also ecological issues. Mobile phones are, in my opinion, an ecological disaster and boosting the life span of your smartphone battery may help reduce that. Here are some things you can do in order to keep and expand the lifespan of your batterylife. By battery life after all the number of years and months your battery can last before it needs to be replaced. In contrast, battery life refers to how many days or weeks that your phone will probably continue to a singular recharge. Why The Mobile Cell Phone Battery has Gone Below Average With each charge cycle your cellphone battery degrades marginally. A charge cycle is a complete release and charge of this battery life, from 0 percent to 100 percent. Partial charges count as a portion of a bicycle. Restoring your telephone from 50% to 100 percent, by way of example, would be fifty per cent of an fee cycle. Do this twice and it has a complete charge cycle. Some phone owners proceed through a lot more than the usual complete charge cycle each dayothers proceed through less. It depends on how much you utilize your mobile and everything you can do with it. Battery pack suppliers say after roughly 400 cycles a phone battery's capacity will deteriorate by 20%. It is going to just have the ability to save 80% of the energy it'd originally and certainly will continue to degrade with additional charge cycles. The reality, however, is the fact that smart phone batteries most likely degrade significantly faster than that. One online site claims some mobiles realize that 20% degradation tip after only 100 fee cycles. And just to be clear, the phone battery doesn't quit degrading soon after 400 cycles. This 400 cycles/20% figure is always to provide you with a good idea of this rate of corrosion. In case you can slow down those charge cycles -- in the event you can prolong the everyday battery life span of your phone -- then you can prolong its battery lifespan too. Fundamentally , the longer you drain and control the battery, the longer the battery can continue. The issue is, you purchased your phone to use it. You've got to balance battery life and lifespan with usefulness, together with your mobile phone and when you would like to buy. https://www.geek.com/news/new-android-phones-you-should-know-about-1563708/ Some of the tips underneath might not get the job done with you. On the other hand, there might be things which you can put into action quite easily that do not matter your style. There are two overall types of tips here. Strategies to get your mobile even more energy efficient, slowing battery degradation by slowing those charge cycles. Minimizing screen light would be a typical instance of the kind of suggestion. There are also suggestions to decrease stress and stress to your batterylife, affecting its life span even more specifically. Steering clear of extremes of heat and cold are a typical example of this second option. Careful Considering the Environment When your phone gets hot or cold it can breed the battery and lessen its lifespan. Leaving it in your car would probably be the worst offender, even whether it's sunny and hot outside or freezing . Use the Fast Charger Just When Very Important Charging your phone immediately stresses the battery. Unless you actually need it, avoid using quick recharging. In actuality, the slower you charge your battery the better, if you don't mind slow charging overnight, go for it. Charging your mobile from the computer as well as certain smart backpacks could limit the voltage going in your mobile, slowing its charge rate. Some external battery packs may possibly slow down the speed of charging, but I am uncertain about that. Be Cautious about Cell phone Batteries Recharges Elderly kinds of rechargeable batteries have'battery memory'. If you failed to bill them full and discharge them to zero battery they'recalled' and paid down their useful variety. It had been better for their lifespan in the event you consistently emptied and charged the battery life completely. Newer phone batteries work in a different way. It stresses the battery to drain it thoroughly or charge it completely. Portable batteries are equal if you maintain them above 20% capacity and below 90%. To be extremely exact, they're speediest around 50% capacity Short charges are most likely fine, incidentally, if you're the kind of person who finds frequently topping up your mobile for quick charges, that's fine for the battery. Paying a lot of attention this one can be an excessive amount of micro management. But when I owned my very first smartphone I presumed battery applied therefore that I generally drained it charged it to 100 percent. I understand more about the way in which a battery works, I usually plug it before it gets below 20 percent and unplug it until completely charged basically think of it. Ensure that it Stays Right in the 50% The healthiest charge to get a lithiumion battery appears to be about 50 percent. If you are going to save your phone for an extended duration, charge it to 50 percent before turning off it and saving it. This is easier on the battery compared to charging it to 100 percent or allow it to drain to 0 percent before firing. The battery, in addition, has been degrade and release if the phone is turned away and never used in any respect. This creation of batteries was created to be utilised. If you think about it, then turn the device on every few months and top up the battery to 50 percent. How to Prolong My Phone Battery Life Every smart phone's screen may be the part that frequently uses the maximum battery. Turning down the screen brightness can save energy. Utilizing Auto Brightness most certainly conserves battery for most people by mechanically reducing display screen brightness whenever there's less lighting, even though it can demand more work for the light sensor. The thing that could save the maximum battery inside this region would be to manage it by hand and quite obsessively. In other words, manually put it to the bottom visible amount every time there is a change in ambient lighting levels. Both Android and iOS give you options to ignore overall screen brightness even though you're also using Auto Brightness. If you leave your monitor on without the need for it, it'll automatically turn off after a time period, usually a couple of minutes. You may save energy by lowering the Screen Timeout period (called Auto-Lock on I phones ). Automatically, in my opinion Iphones place their Auto Lock to two minutes, which could be significantly more than you want. You may be OK with 1 minute, and sometimes even 30 seconds. On the flip side, in case you lose AutoLock or screen time-out you may discover your screen dimming too soon when you are at the midst of reading a news story or recipe, so that is a call you will have to produce. I utilize Tasker (an automation program ) to change the screen timeout on my Galaxy S-7 depending on what program I'm using. My default option is a relatively short screen timeout of 35 seconds, however for programs where I am likely to be taking a look at the screen without the need for it, such as note-taking and news apps, I extend this time out to over a moment. My smart phone, the Galaxy S7, has an OLED screen. To display black it doesn't block the back-light with a pixel like a few I phones and many other kinds of LCD displays. Alternatively, it doesn't display anything at all. The pixels revealing black just do not start. This produces the contrast between black and colour very sharp and beautiful. It also means that showing black on the screen utilizes less energy, and darker colours utilize less energy compared to bright colours like white. Selecting a dark motif for the phone, whether it has an OLED or even AMOLED monitor, can conserve energy. If your screen doesn't have an OLED screen -- and this comprises all i-phones before the iPhone X , a dim theme will not make a huge difference. I came across a dark motif I enjoy in the Samsung store, also there are a few outstanding free icon package apps for Android out there which give attention to darker-themed icons. I use Cygnus Black, Mellow Black, Moonrise Icon Pack, and Moonshine. I utilize the Nova Launcher App to customize the appearance of app icons and often get rid of the name of the program when it's evident enough by the icon what it is. That takes away off white space of the screen, and I think it looks fine and is not as annoying. Some people today find a darker theme is simpler on the eyes concerning preventing eye strain, and not as light complete may mean less blue light, which can influence sleep patterns. Many apps include a dark theme within their settings. For instance, I have Google Books setto a dark theme, where the virtual'page' is black rather than white as well as the letters are white. Most of the pixels display black (are deterred ) and utilize zero energy. I'm not as comfortable with customization and dark topics for I phones. My understanding is that iPhones are somewhat harder to personalize. Up to now, however, only the i-phone X-series have OLED screens therefore they're the sole iPhones that could see energy savings by some dark theme. Facebook is really a notorious resource hog, both on Android and iPhones. If you really want to use face book, get into settings and confine its permissions such as video auto-play, use of your location, and alarms. Do you really want Facebook tracking your location? Auto-playing videos in Facebook (they play automatically, whether you select them not) uses data and energy, and will be annoying and disheartening in some cases. There could be important settings both from the app itself and within your phone settings. When Facebook came pre-applied on your phone (since it did on mine), it may not be possible to delete it completely because your mobile phone considers it that a system app. If that's the scenario, you may disable it in Settings if you wish. Look over your battery settings for other programs that make use of a disproportionate level of energy and disable, delete, or confine permissions where potential. For programs that you wish to continue using, it is possible to restrict permissions that you never require. There are also'light' versions of some popular apps which generally consume more space, use less data, and may utilize less power. Face book Messenger Light is 1 of these. In general, though, the programs which utilize the most battery will soon be the programs you use the majority of therefore deleting or reducing use might not be that practical for you. Your cellphone gets more than one energy saving manners. These limit the operation of their CPU (and other features). Look at with them. You are certain to get lower performance but much better battery lifetime. You could not mind the trade off. Many programs exist as both paid and free versions, and also the distinction is frequently that the free version is supported with adverts. Banners advertising uses slightly more data and marginally more energy. Getting a software you use often instead of using the no cost ad-supported variation may pay off in the long run by reducing battery and data usage. You also free up screen space by getting rid of distracting advertisements, often gain additional attributes, and also support program developers. You can turn off radios you rarely utilize until you want them. If you can't ever use NFC there's not any reason to keep it on. On the flip side, radios like GPS, Wireless bluetooth, and NFC, do not really make use of lots of energy in standby mode but only as long as they truly are actually operating. In other words, any energy savings by micromanaging radios will likely be limited. On point to consider with regard to radios is the poorer your cell phone or WiFi signal, the greater power your mobile needs to get this signal. To access cellular data or wi fi your phone needs both to receive and send information. If you aren't receiving a strong signal it means your mobile needs to boost its input to reach that distant cell tower or wi fi router, then with more energy. If perhaps your room has a powerful cell signal but a feeble WiFi signal, it can help save you energy to use cellular data instead of WiFi. In the same way, for those who have a strong WiFi signal but feeble cell signal, it's better to stick to wi fi. If you are out of range of cell service and wi fi, turn airplane mode on. Smartphones are always on the lookout for cell and WiFi signals if they do not have them. When no signal is available, your phone will go crazy searching for one. Many internet sources state altering your email from push to bring will conserve battery. Push means your device is always listening to new email, and these get pushed through instantly. This means that your apparatus checks for new messages at a given period, every 1-5 minutes for example. The maximum energy efficient thing to do is to bring by hand, that can be the apparatus only checks for email when you manually start your email app. There is debate about if fetch will indeed conserve energy. This likely depends on level of email and patterns of email usage. I use push. It's efficient enough for me. Current variants of iOS will show you the battery health. There's absolutely no such characteristic in Android, however there are third party programs that'll perform this function. I use AccuBattery which monitors battery health and other stats, as well as providing you with a notification as soon as your phone charges to some certain point which means that you can unplug it. Thus far, AccuBattery seems to be affirming my comprehension of battery life degradation. AccuBattery recommends charging to 80%. Some sources I have read indicate the wholesome range goes to 90 percent and that's frequently a target I plan to get as a fantastic compromise between keeping battery at the long run and not running out of battery life in the brief time.

[pogueman]

The tiny, 4K Mavic Air crushes other DJI drones

Every consumer product goes through three stages of life. It’s invented; it’s improved and adjusted; and, finally, it becomes a commodity. There’s not a lot of innovation anymore in microwave ovens, ceiling fans, or toilets — they’ve pretty much stopped morphing. They’ve reached the third stage, their ultimate incarnations.

Drones, love ‘em or hate ‘em, are still in the second stage: They’re rapidly changing direction, gaining features, finding out what they want to be. It’s an exciting period in this category’s life, because new models come out fast, each better and more interesting than the last.

For proof, just look at the Chinese company DJI, the 800-pound gorilla of drones. It releases a new drone or two every single year.

They’ve just introduced a drone called the Mavic Air ($800). It’s so small and smart, it makes you wonder why anyone would buy the 2016 Mavic Pro, which costs $200 more — but it’s not what you’d call perfect.

The new Mavic Pro is incredibly tiny, stable, and lightweight.

  Meet the Air

The 15-ounce Mavic Air is small — and that’s huge. It folds up for travel: its four arms collapse against the body to make the whole thing small enough to fit into a coat pocket, about 6.5 inches by 3.5 inches by 2 inches. (The top two arms swing horizontally, as you’d expect. The bottom two, though, are hinged in two dimensions: They fold downward and inward, and you have to remember to do those before you do the upper arms. You’ll figure it out.)

The Mavic Air’s arms fold up.

Of course, there are plenty of small drones — but not in this league. The Mavic Air, for example, can capture gorgeous 4K video. And its camera is on a three-axis gimbal for stabilization; the video looks like it was shot from a tripod even when the drone was being buffeted by 20 mph winds, as you can see in the video above.

The box includes the drone, a remote control (it uses your smartphone as its screen), a battery, a charger, a set of propeller guards for indoor flying, and a spare set of propellers (in crashes, they’re the first to go).

The Mavic Air comes with four propeller guards for indoor flight, 1 battery, a case, spare propellers and a charger.

The Mavic Air is also smarter than any sub-$1,000 drone DJI has ever made. It has depth-sensing cameras on three sides — forward, down, and backward (that’s new) — so that it can avoid collisions automatically in those directions.

Like most drones, this one has an automatic Return to Home feature that kicks in whenever the battery is getting low or if it loses the signal with the remote control. (You can also call it home with one button press whenever you’re just feeling anxious.) Thanks to the cameras underneath, this thing lands exactly where it took off — within a few inches.

The competitive landscape

The Mavic Air’s primary competition comes from two other DJI drones. Here’s the rundown:

Mavic Pro (2016 model, $1,000). Twice the size of the Air. Folding arms. 4K video. “27 minutes” of flight per charge (in the real world, 22 minutes). Front and bottom collision avoidance. Remote control included with built-in screen (no phone necessary). Very few palm control gestures (see below).

Mavic Air (2018 model, $800 — the new one). Folds up. 4K video. “21 minutes” per charge (more like 18). Front, bottom, and back collision avoidance. Remote control folds up tiny — even the joysticks unscrew and store inside the body, for even smaller packing. Has the most palm gestures of the three drones — and the most reliable palm gestures. 8 GB of internal storage for video and stills, so you can still record if you don’t have a micro SD card on you. Another $200 buys you a “Fly More” kit that includes two extra batteries, an ingenious folding four-battery charger, and even more spare props.

Spark (2017 model, $400). The smallest body of all, but its arms don’t fold, so it winds up being bigger for travel. 1080p video. “18 minutes” per charge (more like 11). Front and bottom collision avoidance. Remote control is an extra purchase ($120); uses your phone as a screen. Responds to hand gestures, but not reliably.

The Spark may look smaller than the Mavic Air, but remember that it doesn’t fold up.

True, the Mavic Pro gets a little more flight per battery. And there’s an even more expensive model, the $1,100 Mavic Pro Platinum, that gets “30” minutes per charge.

(Do those seem like incredibly short flights? Yup. But that’s drones for you. As it is, a modern drone is basically a flying frame designed to haul its own battery around.)

But in my book, the Air’s tiny size is far more important than the marginally greater battery life. As the old saying doesn’t go, “The best drone is the drone you have with you.”

Only the front “arms” have landing gear (the white thing), which fold up for travel.

In-flight entertainment

You can fly the Mavic Air in three ways.

First, you can use the included remote control. If you insert your smartphone into its grippers and connect the little cord, you get a number of perks — like actual joysticks, which make the drone much easier to fly than using the phone alone. The remote also has a dial at the outer corner for adjusting the camera’s tilt in flight, as well as a switch for Sport mode, which unlocks the drone’s top speed of 42 mph (by turning off the obstacle-avoidance features).

The remote also gives the drone a much greater range. It uses a Wi-Fi connection to the drone, instead of the proprietary radio connection of the Mavic Pro. DJI says that still gives you 2.4 miles of range, but I say baloney; even in the middle of the Texas desert, you’ll be lucky to get half that distance. It doesn’t really matter, though, since Federal Aviation Administration rules say you can’t fly a drone out of sight. (Speaking of the FAA: You don’t need a license to fly the Mavic Air as a hobby, but you do need to register the drone itself. And if you intend to fly it professionally — this means you, wedding videographers, filmmakers, construction firms, realtors, police, and farmers — you have to get permission from the FAA.)

The second way to fly the drone is using your smartphone. It works, but you get a much shorter range (about 250 feet), and it’s harder; DJI’s app has become one super-crowded, complex piece of software.

The third way: using hand gestures. The drone must be facing you at all times, and it has to remain pretty close to you, so this trick is primarily useful for positioning it for “dronies” (selfies from the air). Keep in mind that you also need the phone app with you, though, to turn on the palm-control mode.

You stand with your arm out, palm forward, in a “Stop! In the name of love!” pose. Now, you can “drag” your hand up, down, or around you; the drone follows as though connected to your palm by a magnet. It’s the next best thing to The Force.

New, two-handed gestures let you push the drone farther away or pull it closer to you. And you can now make the drone land by pointing your palm toward the ground and waiting.

In the previous model, the Spark, those palm gestures were super iffy; sometimes they worked, sometimes not. The Mavic Air makes them far more reliable, although I never got the new “take off from the ground” gesture working.

As in other DJI drones, the Mavic Air can follow you as you ski, bike, drive, or run (it tracks you optically — you don’t have to have the remote control on you). Unlike earlier ones, this one doesn’t just hover when it encounters an obstacle; it actually attempts to fly around the obstacle and keep going.

How’s it look?

“4K” may be a buzzword, but it doesn’t automatically mean “great picture”; it could refer to 4,000 pixels’ worth of ugly blotch.

The Mavic Air contains the same tiny camera sensor as the Spark and the Mavic Pro. The footage and stills generally look terrific — anything shot from the air is automatically kind of stunning, and the Air uses more data (100 Mbps) to record data than the Pro does.

Unfortunately, this sensor is still fairly disastrous when it comes to dynamic range. That is, it tends to “blow out” bright areas and “muddy up” dark areas. Alas, those are things you get a lot of when you’re shooting from the sky.

  The Mavic Air’s footage is often marred by blown-out highlights (sun, left) and goopy, murky shadows (people, right).

The Air can also do half-speed slow motion (in 1080p, not 4K), and take high-dynamic range photos (not videos).

All of these drones offer preprogrammed flight patterns, called QuickShots, that make great 10-second videos, incorporating flight maneuvers and camera operations that would be incredibly difficult to do yourself.

For example, the one called Circle makes the drone fly around you, keeping the camera pointed toward you the whole time; Helix makes the drone spiral out and away from you; and so on. There are two new ones: Boomerang flies a grand oval around you, up/out and back. Asteroid combines a flight up and away, with a spherical panorama. On playback, the video is reversed, so that it seems to start with a whole planet earth viewed from space, as the camera rushes down toward you. Here, have a look.

But it’s small

Like all drones in this price range, the Mavic Air is complicated and sometimes frustrating. It does a lot of beeping at you, it’s still full of options that are “not available now” for one reason or another, and it still doesn’t come with a printed instruction manual.

And yeah, someday, we’ll look back and laugh at an $800 drone that flies for only 18 minutes.

But you can’t buy a dream drone that doesn’t exist. And among the ones that do, the Mavic Air is ingeniously designed, impressively rugged, and incredibly small. Its features beat the cheaper DJI Spark in every category — and even the more expensive Mavic Pro in almost every category.

In other words, if you’re the kind of person considering a drone, the Mavic Air strikes a new sweet spot on the great spectrum of drones, somewhere between beginner and pro, between tiny and luggage-sized, between cheap and pricey. Invest as much time learning it as you’ve invested in buying it, and you’ll be flying high.

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the Web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s poguester@yahoo.com. You can sign up to get his stuff by email, here.  

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[inanxterra]

The Emergency Goalie

In hockey there are ultimately four lines of defense. The front line of that defense, is of course the two skaters who are, well yeah, playing defense. The second, is the guy on the team with the most expensive paint job on his helmet; the starting goaltender. That’s right, your Patrick Roys, Henrik Lundqvists, Arturs Irbes,  and if you’re watching the Red Wings, whoever didn’t get pulled last game after letting in four goals in the first period. Behind those guys are the backup goalies who play when the starter is sick, injured, doing bad, or might need a break after too many consecutive games. These guys are the real heroes, who often boost morale for the team from the end of the bench usually reserved for the stick rack or medical staff. Who does that leave? The lonely soul who’s phone number lay etched in a bar napkin buried beneath the tattered cardboard from a 20-pack of Powerade crushed under the second row of seats in the coach’s Suburban. The one who’s a foot shorter than the team’s shortest center. The man who works part-time at the fitness center, but full-time in the paint department at an Ace Hardware. The one that’s rarely called. The one that’s never sober. The emergency goalie.

It was two weeks before our very own number one suffered catastrophic engine failure. Which to be clear isn’t any of the times it overheated, needed another new fuel pump or another alternator, or even when it just didn’t want to do anything for months. Two weeks before the inevitable happened, I bought another Xterra. My theory was that if the one I bought for just over $2000 was both a living nightmare and a RockAuto vendor’s wet dream, could you imagine what type of wild pleasure I could unearth after putting my Herbie Hancock amid the stained edges of the title to one for $800?

It was a 2001, one-owner, 231,XXX mile, replacement muffler included in the price, squeals when you turn the wheel too far in either direction dream cruise. You know how anyone with a pink deer decal on the back of either their Pontiac G6 or Jeep Liberty is a tan blonde college girl? Solar Yellow, is that pink deer decal for Xterras. Like that decal, this color too screams I AM PASSIONATE OF NOTHING to strangers in traffic. Many Xterra owners resort to nicknaming their trucks after the retro arcade game that will never die, PacMan, which is fitting because for every year the Xterra was sold up until 2009, the truck was available in Solar Yellow. Complete with the stereotypical damage-multiplier bumper that works as well as a wrist brace in a fist fight, because whatever you’ve just ran into regardless of where on the front of the truck you’ve ran into it, has now equally distributed it’s damage to both headlights and across the top of the hood. And much like any American Cheese yellow SUV, the brush guard front bumpers with matching taillight cages, are fucking ugly.

This four-wheel-drive squinting like you’re taking a shit emoji Xterra had sat for over two years before little ole’ “I should know better” [me] came running to it. It needed work.

All four shocks felt pretty toast, but only the front tires were worn down to the cords. Have you heard of Provider Entrada tires? Neither did I, but if it sounds like a menu item at Chipotle and they come in pairs for $30; as long as my girlfriend doesn’t find out, count me in. The tires from the junkyard held air, so next was a second oil change. The oil was dark, and to avoid a second blown engine, I drove for a few days with the first fresh oil change, but soon changed it again just to be safe. Spark plugs and wires were next, and to my surprise, this truck had 5 champion spark plugs, and one NGK. The lone NGK plug was that pesky sparkplug#6 that apparently if you’re too stupid to figure out a simple combination of wobble extensions and u-joints, you just fucking leave it in there forever hoping it changes itself. It doesn’t.

With a $40 Walmart battery I hit the streets in a truck that was roughly a Dodge Journey Uber ride to work for a week less embarrassing, than having to Uber to work for a week in a fucking Dodge Journey. It had a sunroof, which our Xterra didn’t, but the stock radio was a serious killer. I’m convinced only clinically insane people still listen to AM/FM radio in 2017. The best part about paying for a music subscription is that unlike AM/FM radio, you have access to more than 8 different songs from the last 200 years.

The power steering pump was in bad shape and I didn’t want to replace it. I had hoped soon I could sell this lemon meringue pie eyesore, so I kept maintenance to a minimum. Did it need a timing belt and water pump? Probably. Did it wobble both times I drove it on the highway at 65mph because the original shocks just couldn’t shock anymore? Sure. Was I going to fix any of that? Not this time you fucking money pit.

I did replace the muffler because I knew it would help it sell. The y-pipe did look like it might need replaced soon, but the previous owner only had the muffler section, so there was no sense in not installing free parts. The check engine light had been defeated, and after a junkyard hood latch assembly was bolted on, the hood could now stay closed without the help from ratchet straps or duct tape.

The interior however is where things got really messy. Mold had grown in both of the rear-passenger cupholders and blanketed across each scratched plastic panel and cushion seat sat a layer of neglect. Chicken nuggets and broken Asprins had invaded the carpet. We found over $14 in pocket change, and after removing the front seats to power wash them, through some sort of fake-reality restoration TV magic, brought the interior back to life.Unfortunately on this TV show, none of our wealthy cousins, who we had hired hours before the filming for the episode started, called us willing to pay a lot of money for something so worthless.

During the prolonged downtime, this $800 pineapple-flavored life saver came in handy numerous times. It was used to haul tools and parts back and forth between work at home, as well as go under the knife a few times to test various parts between the two trucks. As humiliating as it was to drive everyday, it spent more days this year as a functioning vehicle, than the silver Xterra has ever achieved consecutively.

After the engine swap hit rock bottom, I knew I had to get away from something old with so many miles, and soon. After only a few days listed on Craigslist, where all project cars begin, someone actually serious about buying it called, and I sold the truck for $1700. The extra money was a huge help, especially because I had to find something, and move away from the every evening and weekend consuming hobby of owning yet another Nissan anything.

It’s a perfect example of being an emergency goalie. You’re on-call for a long time without ever getting called, but when you’re called upon for those meaningless last two minutes in the game, you’re better than nothing, and sometimes, that’s just good enough.

InAnXterra is a blog about two people in Michigan with a Nissan Xterra from Craigslist as they journey to the Dakotas!

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Friday, 13th/Saturday, 14th September 2019 – Home to Boppard and Oberwesel, Germany

Early in the afternoon, after handing off some outstanding work to a colleague, we set off across country to Hull to catch the overnight P&O ferry to Rotterdam, stopping on the outskirts of Hull to buy a flat (please don’t ask; the short version is it got complicated and our vendors suddenly insisted on the Wednesday that we really had to exchange contracts that week – and no bank will let you transfer that amount of money over the phone or online, you have to go in)!

Despite hanging around the bank for some time, we made it onto the boat good and early and promptly found that P&O’s website had once again sold me two cabins instead of just the one I wanted, which didn’t become obvious until we went to what was supposed to be a premier cabin and found it wasn’t. A trip to the reception desk and it turned out we had two keys, for two cabins, and it was the other one that was the one I thought I’d booked. The charming man who sorted it all out gave me the HQ contact details and a short phone call later they agreed to refund the standard cabins. The ease with which this was agreed suggests it’s a regular thing… maybe someone needs to reprogramme the UI sometime soon so that when you opt for an upgraded cabin it removed the one you started out with, rather than requiring you to backtrack and actually physically clear the field yourself!

As we usually do, we had dinner booked in the Brasserie rather than dealing with the scrum that is the “all you can eat” buffet on the grounds that we don’t need that much food. It’s fair to say that the menu in the Brasserie seems to have been dumbed down yet again, so we struggled to find anything that appealed apart from the fish options. I really don’t want a 16oz steak thank you! Even between us we’d struggle to get through that amount of meat, and burgers hold little appeal at the best of times, so we opted to share a charcuterie plate, and then ordered the sea bream and the salmon. By the time we’d worked through that, we couldn’t manage dessert so we ordered the cheese and packed it up to take away with us. It would be useful on the nights we were self catering, and we weren’t going to get a refund if we didn’t eat all three courses, so we figured we might as well!

The following morning’s breakfast was very limited in terms of options, so we went for the continental basket of rolls and pastries and made sandwiches for later in the day out of the rolls we didn’t want to eat straight away. And then we went to the car when called only to find it wouldn’t start. Dead as a dodo. This is obviously something else P&O are used to, because a young deckhand was sent off to fetch a heavy-duty jump starter, and withing seconds had fired the thing up. We weren’t sure of the cause, though I had a suspicion that I’d left the portable fridge plugged in and over the course of 14 hours on the boat it had drained the car battery, but just in case we decided not to stop until we reached the hotel. That way, if it was anything more sinister we’d be better placed to get it dealt with. So four and a half hours flat out through the Netherlands and down into Germany, not stopping for anything at all. I really wouldn’t want to do that again, is all I’m saying.

When we parked up, I switched the engine off, waited ten seconds, and tried to switch it on again. It promptly started, so it looked like it had been an own goal, though not a serious one. We happily unloaded the appropriate bags at the lovely, quiet, modern and very comfortable Landgasthof Eiserner Ritter, just on the outskirts of the town of Boppard, within sight of the Rhine, though not on it. The restaurant was highly rated, and looked delightful, but we had a booking to participate in the annual “Rhein in Flammen” event starting from Oberwesel that night. In effect this is a light and fireworks extravaganza, held in several locations on the Rhine throughout the year. A number of tourist boats proceed in convoy up and down the river, all their lights turned on, and the scenery on the side of the river is also lit up, and then they all moor up and a massive firework display entertains everyone, accompanied by music. It’s something I’d wanted to do for some time, and realising we were going to be in the right place at the right time, had managed to get tickets for a seated dinner onboard the “Rheingold”.

As all of this coincided with the annual wine festival in Oberwesel as well, so we got ourselves cleaned up, organised, and headed out to look around the town and have a glass or two of local wine (this is the Mittelrhein wine region by the way). It helps that the Upper Rhine Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site (the 65km stretch between Bingen, Rüdesheim und Koblenz) packed with gorgeous towns full of medieval half timbered buildings, old city walls, and dramatic castles. Oberwesel didn’t disappoint in that respect, with towers, walls and a massive hospital that dates from some time around the 1300s originally but is now apparently a specialist musculo-skeletal clinic that stretches over several blocks and still has its original chapel attached.

Having snagged what appeared to be the last car parking space in Oberwesel, we set off on foot to find the Tourist Information office to collect our boat tickets and our free wine glasses (needed for the wine festival). It was a glorious day, the weather warm and the skies a brilliant blue, so stopping for a glass of chilled white wine seemed like a brilliant idea. The main street was packed with stalls, and we soon found one we liked the look of, round the corner from the market square where a traditional brass band was playing less-than-traditional music with great enthusiasm. we didn’t see any sign of the 2019 Weinhex (wine witch) which Oberwesel has instead of the more usual Wine Princess or Wine Queen, though I’m sure she was around somewhere.

After that we decided that rather than be saddled with carrying the glasses around all afternoon and evening we’d drop them off at the car and then take a wander through the streets to see what there was to see. The town itself has a long history. Many towns along the Rhine started out as celtic settlements, and Oberwesel is no exception, and of course it was then taken over by the Romans, who set up a horse-changing station and a hostel. It later became a Frankish royal holding with a royal estate, passing from Emperor Otto I to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 966. In 1220, Emperor Frederick II made Oberwesel a free imperial city, and it eventually joined the Rhenish League of Towns (Rheinischer Städtebund), before being handed over to the lordship of the Electorate of Trier in 1309, a situation that continued until secularization after the French Revolutionary Wars in 1802. As has so much of the region, it’s had a lively history. In 1689, in the Nine Years’ War, it was destroyed by soldiers of the First French Empire. In 1794 it was occupied by French Revolutionary troops and in 1802 was annexed by France. After the Congress of Vienna, Oberwesel became, along with the rest of the Rhine’s left bank, Prussian.

The walls were started in 1220, work that was concluded in the mid 14th century, and included 16 towers, of which several are still in existence. A clamber on the walls, despite wearing wildly unsuitable shoes for such behaviour, was pretty satisfying, but we skipped the museum as there was only 20 minutes left till closing time, and that would have just been unsatisfying. And then it was time to go and find the landing stage for our boat. On the way we stopped for a second glass of wine, only to find we had to buy two more wine glasses as well! So now we had 4 and we were still carrying 2 of them around. Luckily, I had a large bag with me, so we slipped them in there and I hoped I wouldn’t break them during the evening.

There was a massive scrum on the landing stage, so we hung back but somehow still ended up getting on board well ahead of most people, just by not pushing but sidling… it didn’t matter because our tables were pre-designated anyway, and so Lynne and I got the window seats. We ended up sitting with a lovely Indian family who had come up from Frankfurt, and a less than lovely trio of grumpy Russians, who didn’t seem to be enjoying anything about the event. The boat left pretty promptly at 6pm, and glided up river and then down a couple of times, while we had the dinner that was included in the price (a place of pork fillet, in a mushroom sauce, with some potatoes and “seasonal vegetables” which was actually just romesco cauliflower – it was less than inspiring but the food really wasn’t what we were there for so I guess it was alright – the vegetarian option the Indian family had looked a lot better though).

If you wanted dessert you had to pay extra for it, so we settled for a local rose wine, and drank that while the scenery drifted past, castle after castle, vineyard after vineyard.

As dusk fell, the ships all lit up although sadly due to a technical issue the lights along the riverside didn’t work, so there was no spectacular illumination there. There was a very dramatic moonrise though, the beginnings of which can be seen here just behind the ridge in the middle of the photo. It took scant minutes to rise, but was really special as it did.

There followed a mad rush onto the top deck as the boat moored up, the music started, and the fireworks kicked off in fine style. It was a bit of a scrum up there, and one or two people refused to let anyone past them, even if there was space beyond, which was mildly annoying for a few seconds. However, the real interest was in the sky and it was a really fine display, accompanied by 1990s soft rock music for some reason!

Afterwards we finished our wine as the boat (one of 35 taking part) returned to the landing stage, and then walked back to the car to find we’d got really lucky, because the road was blocked off by the fire brigade for some reason, but our car was the right side of the barriers. It was back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep, happy and entertained. Would I play €65 a head again? Maybe, maybe not. I think you could probably see the fireworks just as well from the river bank, but it was an experience and it was fun.

Travel 2019 – Alsace and Baden, Days 1 and 2, Home – Hull – Rotterdam – Boppard – Oberwesel Friday, 13th/Saturday, 14th September 2019 - Home to Boppard and Oberwesel, Germany Early in the afternoon, after handing off some outstanding work to a colleague, we set off across country to Hull to catch the overnight P&O ferry to Rotterdam, stopping on the outskirts of Hull to buy a flat (please don't ask; the short version is it got complicated and our vendors suddenly insisted on the Wednesday that we really had to exchange contracts that week - and no bank will let you transfer that amount of money over the phone or online, you have to go in)!

[mypkshop-blog]

Top 10 Best RC Tank of 2019 | Buy RC Tank Online in Pakistan

7 Best RC Tanks of 2019

All adolescents couldn't want anything more than to assume responsibility for a RC Tank. I question numerous fathers can oppose a go with these strong machines either. Regardless of whether you need a radio-controlled heavily clad vehicle for a child or a major beau for somebody more seasoned, there's a remote-controlled tank out there only for you.

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A RC tank gives fans more continuous fun than most other RC toys like vehicles, trucks, and pontoons. There's not a similar dread of breakage or harm that accompanies the more delicate toys. On the off chance that you figure everything they do is push ahead and back, at that point reconsider. A portion of these marvels will smoke, fire, and make every one of the sounds you'd anticipate from a tank on the forefronts of fight.

1. Cheerwing 1:72 RC German Tiger I Panzer Tank

The Cheerwing tank is a 1:72 RC German palm-sized Tiger I Panzer model. It may be little, however the meticulousness is astonishing. So can its presentation coordinate the great structure?

·         Best component 1: High tender loving care

·         Best component 2: Mini palm-sized toy

·         In addition focuses: Realistic audio effects, autonomous adaptable tracks, 360° turning turret

·         Less focuses: Hard to control on quick speed mode, small size

Any individual who's into RC models of shielded battling vehicles will value this tank. The detail is stunning. The tank even has reasonable audio cues including live fire recreation. RC tanks are toys that fathers will battle with their children over. Whoever prevails upon control the Tiger will have the option to move it effortlessly on account of the adaptable tracks. The vehicle moves forward, in reverse, left, and right.

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The 360° turning turret adds to the pleasure. You can point the firearm barrel up, down, and straight ahead. The audio cues mirror the developments. Indeed, even the motor sounds similar, yet a lot calmer than the genuine article. A few these modest monsters will give you a little scale war in the front room.

The Not so Good

The Cheerwing 1:72 RC German Tiger Tank cost under 20 bucks at the hour of composing. It's elusive any huge flaws at the cost. A few clients grumble that it's excessively moderate, others excessively quick. There are two rates, and I think the quick one makes it difficult to control in light of its size and weight. It's additionally simple to break so watch where you step. It's likely littler than a normal PC mouse.

The Pros

·         Astonishing tender loving care

·         Palm-sized, take it anyplace

·         Reasonable

·         Sensible audio effects

·         Autonomous adaptable tracks

·         360° pivoting turret

·         Worked in battery-powered battery

The Cons

·         Difficult to control on quick speed

·         Small size, simple to lose or break whenever stepped on

2. iPlay RC Battling Tanks Set

The following pick is the iPlan RC doing combating tank set. It's an ideal blessing in the event that you have two or three intrigued kids. It's additionally great to have an additional toy for when companions approach take up arms.

·         Best component 1: Infrared battle capacities

·         Best component 2: Easy to utilize controllers

·         Besides focuses: Flashing lighteffects, audio cues, 4 LED lives, completely flexibility

·         Short focuses: Long charging time, not great on rugs, slow turret speed

The infrared power is a decent touch that sends a shaft to assault the rival. The tanks let out a threatening thunder once you pivot the weapons and shoot. Taking care of is simple gratitude to the basic controllers. The genuine fun comes after you've hit a rival. The foe's tank surrenders a strike and begins to streak its lights to demonstrate a hit. Four LED pointers show your "lives"— four strikes, and you're out!

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These tanks are loads of fun and the sort of toys more seasoned individuals appreciate as well. You have all the typical moves in addition to a few. There's forward, back, accelerate, turn left, turn right, and all inclusive turn. The turret turns 320-degrees, and the weapon barrel goes all over 30-degrees.

The Not So Good

The principle disillusionment with these tanks is the all-inclusive battery charging times. The underlying charge is around 8-hours. I propose charging them medium-term if this is a birthday or Christmas present. There will be some disillusioned appearances in the event that you overlook. The long charge time is much additionally disappointing when you consider the 15 minutes activity for every charge.

Another issue is that the tanks are not at their best on floor covering surfaces. The thicker the heap, the more regrettable they perform. Sharp turns on floor coverings will likely observe the tracks leave away.

The Pros

·         Infrared battle capacities

·         Simple to utilize transmitters Flashing lights

·         Boisterous sensible audio cues

·         4 LED lives game capacity

·         Completely flexibility

The Cons

·         Long battery charging times

·         Tanks not great on floor coverings

·         Slowish turret speeds

3. Haktoys HT502 RC 12" Fighting Battle Tanks

Haktoys HT502 is another RC fight tank set. The meticulousness is exceptional likewise with the past picks. These two pups cost twice as much as the last set, however, so would they say they merit the extra?

·         Best component 1: Operateson distinctive channel frequencies(27MHz and 40MHz)

·         Best element 2: Long play time

·         Besides focuses: High-quality materials, OK charging time, great battling separation, enhancements

·         Short focuses: Loose parts, cost

These tanks are the greatest and heaviest up until this point. They have wonderful plans—one a desert camo and the other a woodland.The transmitters for this set have a slick structure and feel great in the hands. They work on various frequencies, so there's no danger of impedance during war games. The idea is like the past set where you get four lives checked somewhere around LED Life Indicators.

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There's everything the typical sound and lighting impacts with two shooting alternatives—group or automatic rifle. The turret moves easily to one side and right and the tanks are very clever and dexterous. Incredible fun aside, these toys are likewise useful for helping adolescents build up their deftness.

The battery charging time is only an hour and a half, which is a lot quicker than the iPlaytanks above. The playing time is additionally noteworthy at between 30–45 minutes for each charge. These highlights alone may legitimize the additional expense for you.

The Not so Good

These tanks utilize quality plastics that pass worldwide wellbeing guidelines. The materials are not being referred to—it's the parts. The facts confirm that children can frequently be a little cumbersome when playing rambunctious games. All things considered, the producers ought to consider these things at the plan stage. I've perused a bunch of audits where wheels fall off and furthermore of broken control sticks.

The Pros

·         RC work on various frequencies

·         Long playing time

·         Better than average battling range

·         Genuinely quick charging time

·         Excellent materials

·         Uncommon lighting and audio effects

The Cons

·         Significant expense tag

·         A few reports of parts coming free (not across the board)

4. RC Shooting Storm of the Desert Tank

My fourth item is somewhat unique. This tank is a 1276 piece unit that you manufacture yourself. It's the Storm of the Desert tank and a genuine specialist's venture with full remote control capacities.

·         Best component 1: Two engines

·         Best component 2: Long separation extend

·         Besides focuses: Moves over numerous landscapes, great separation extend, quick reviving

·         Less focuses: Only accessible in pack structure

Invest heavily as you set up the last bit of this Anti-air ship RC Shooting Tank. It's an instruction just as a useful toy. It's additionally one of those incredible dad/child ventures.

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Two amazing engines enable the driver to move over various territories up to a separation of 164 ft. There are no stresses of a short working extent or floor coverings with this fit monster. In addition, the charging is great at only an hour and a half.

You have all the typical tank moves however with the additional oomph and separation. The fortress turret turns a full 360° to accelerate battle every which way. The instructive part of this model size imitation is going to engage a few purchasers as well. It's a decent history exercise for the individuals who need to find out about this intensely heavily clad vehicle. Likewise, the get together stage will undoubtedly help build up a youth's engine aptitudes.

Excellent Build

The material utilized in this tank is excellent ABS plastic. ABS has numerous amazing qualities like strength, hypoallergenic, and skin-safe. This tank looks incredible, feels wonderful to contact, and will in all likelihood outlast the individuals who construct it. Not exclusively is the plan and quality ABS top notch, yet the directions are elegantly composed as well. It requires a long time to assemble however at that point that is a large portion of the good times.

The Not so Good

The Storm of the Desert tank is such a delightful machine, however it's just accessible in unit structure. That is frustrating for people who need the fight without the fabricate.

The Pros

·         Two engines

·         Top notch assemble/materials

·         Unit structure working RC model

·         Long separation go

·         Genuinely quick charging time

·         Moves crosswise over generally territories

The Cons

·         Just accessible in pack structure

5. Costzon 1:16 US M1A2 ABRAMS RC Battle Tank

This desert yellow military fight tank comes total with a model officer. It's an incredible looking vehicle and has a marginally extraordinary appearance to the standard cover wraps up.

·         Best component 1: Powerful execution

·         Best component 2: Good running time

·         Furthermore focuses: Easy to work, programmed recurrence arrangement, smoke work, red dispatch alert

·         Less focuses: Slips on smooth surfaces, sticker price

Most children will love the Costzon RC tank however they recommend supervision for the under-14s. The Costzon 1:16 US M1A2 ABRAMS RC Battle Tank is a practical toy that carries the fight bursting at the seams with its scope of battling highlights. It's amazing as well. You can expect around 30 minutes running time on a completely energized battery. The 50-meter transmission range is significantly progressively great. Catch me in the event that you can!

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The enhancements incorporate a smoke work, a red dispatch pointer, and two diverse tank sounds. There are automatic rifle and cannonball sounds for the assault clamors. Include the thunder of the motor to the sound of flame, and it's an impressive brute, yet on the size of a model. There's left and right turn moves just as all the standard driving moves.

The Not so Good

The plastic tracks are alright for most landscapes, however you may encounter some slipping on smoother surfaces. You can generally move up to the metal adaptation in case you're feeling yearning. The main issue with metal tracks is that they could harm indoor surfaces so notice.

This desert tank is an easy decision for any individual who needs what it brings to the table, however it's not modest. It's a major mammoth and it's startling as well—for a model.

The Pros

·         Incredible entertainer, highlight pressed tank

·         Great running time

·         Incredible transmission go

·         Simple to work

·         Programmed recurrence arrangement include

·         Smoke work

·         Red dispatch alert

The Cons

·         Poor hold on smoother surfaces

·         Significant expense tag

6. Taigen German Tiger 1 Electric Airsoft RC Tank

Everybody will love this WW II tank. It's a mammoth sure to catch your eye regardless of whether antique models are not your thing. The tender loving care is unbelievable, yet looks are just piece of its intrigue.

·         Best element 1: Heavy-obligation model w/metal parts

·         Best element 2: Shoots Airsoft BBs

·         Furthermore focuses: Smoking fumes, sensible audio effects, substantial tracks, military additional items

·         Less focuses: Expensive

You can play with this electric fueled tank, however as a delightful imitation, it additionally pulls in authorities. Taigen displayed their World War II excellence after an early form of Germany's Tiger 1 Tank. It's huge too at 1:16 scale, and it's overwhelming. This model uses metal parts in the development that include:

It shoots top notch Airsoft BB's to add to the energy. The tank can shoot the BBs up to around 82 ft. (25m) in perfect conditions. There's even a starter pack of BB's to get you up-and-shooting.

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The tank's full-scope of working capacities incorporates forward/back, left and right moves. There are additionally the 360° super twists and a smoking fumes. The sensible audio effects are motor startup and shutdown, assault rifle fast shoot, and cannonball discharge.

The Tiger 1 High-Quality Build

The size and scrupulousness establish a fantastic first connection pursued by the manufacture. It's a hard core model with its very own autonomous suspension framework and high-grade metal caterpillar tracks. It looks like it and works consistently with its 2.4 GHz control hardware. There's obstruction insurance, expanded range (however not indicated), and sublime guiding precision.

The Not so Good

The main drawback I could discover with the Taigen German Tiger 1 Electric Airsoft RC Tank was its cost. Eager gatherers will legitimize the expense. Others will consider it to be an overrated toy.

The Pros

·         Hard core, great form

·         Shoots quality Airsoft BBs

·         Every metal part

·         Hard core tracks

·         Smoking fumes

·         Sensible audio effects

·         Military additional items

The Cons

·         Costly

7. Tamiya 1/16 Leopard 2A6 RC Battle Tank

My last and most costly tank is the Tamiya 1/16 scale Leopard 2A6 RC Battle Tank. It's a cutting edge development and light a very long time ahead from those more established tanks of days gone by.

·         Best component 1: One of the most unmistakable RC tanks around

·         Best component 2: High-volume speaker

·         Furthermore focuses: Digitally recorded sounds, completely pivoting turret, reasonable weapon work, huge engines

·         Less focuses: No smoke impacts, costly

This is a major boyfriend and not a model you'd request for a little child. The Tamiya 1/16 scale Leopard 2A6 RC Battle Tank is among the most noticeable RC tanks around. It's an excellent tank just as a major mammoth. It likewise accompanies a plenty of high-detail replication—simply like the genuine article.

The high volume speaker adds to the good times. The audio cues not just stable genuine—they are genuine. The organization carefully recorded every one of the sounds from the real tank. This is the nearest thing you'll get in a model to driving the genuine article—ensured.

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Fire

The 360° pivoting turret turns in precisely 9-seconds, much the same as the genuine tank. The firearm activity imitates the genuine war machine too with its 20-degree height and 9-degree sadness. It additionally reloads consequently and rapidly comes back to the first terminating position. You need to see it to value these similar activity developments, the lighting, and the exceptional audio cues.

The high-volume speaker adds to the adrenalin of fight and synchronizes all sounds to all developments. The two lighting modes have seven lighting blends for non-battle and battle. Once more, every one of these impacts imitate how the genuine tank works and capacities. Nonetheless, this tank isn't just about commotion and glimmering lights. The two amazing 540 size engines add to its muscle and practical intrigue.

The Not so Good

I was astounded that this tank didn't have any smoke impacts. A lot less expensive models do, so I don't know why they forgot about the smoke with such a costly model. The significant expense is the subsequent detriment. It merits each penny to fans, however it's distant for most children who'd love to drive this mammoth.

[sight-seeking]

Day 3

June 24th, 2017 Saturday

4:30am: I wake up and am utterly confused as to why I’m up so early. But I do not question it, and instead, as the kids say, “go with the flow.”

5:10am: I load batteries into my camera as I plan to do go on an exploration.

5:41am: The best time to go exploring is super early, when it looks like it’s about to rain. London is absolutely, beautifully quiet right now. I go through Hyde park, taking a deeper look of all the things I walked past the day before. I’ll have to walk around like this always. There are pigeons everywhere and they come in all colors.

As I walk around the lake I see swan, casually nesting at the water’s edge. I hesitantly take pictures of them. Swan are just geese is disguise. And we all know that geese are the true embodiment of evil. Well, everyone except Canada (joke.) But these swans are so chill? I am amazed.

I walk up to Kensington Palace and take pictures. The highlight of my trip arrives, only a day into arriving. I catch the perfect picture of Queen Victoria, in her carved glory up on her throne. There, on the top of the statues head, is perched a bird.

I don’t care what anyone says, seeing a bird sitting on the head of Queen Victoria made all of what happened the day before worth it.

7:08am: I get bored of the park and start walking into the city. I get lost for a bit in a Kensington neighborhood, but I use the navigation maps to find my way. It’s nice to have guides throughout the city. I really need to get an oyster card.

I learn how to hire a bike. You can ride it for 30min, but you must bring it to a nearby station or you get charged 2 pounds for however late it is. I ride around to the Serpentine lake and river. I take pictures on the bridge and breath in the early morning air. I admire the birds.

*I saw a cute bird’s nest in the middle of the river and I had to admire it’s construction

7:38am: I go back through the park and find the princess Diana Imperial fountain. I take a few pictures, of course. As I leave the fountain, I see two monks in orange robes walk around with smartphones and earbuds. It could be for language translation, or for Spotify. Either way, the sight amuses me.

8:11am: I am in the kitchen, finally sitting down to eat breakfast. They have cereal, (British) biscuits, and toast. There’s also juice and coffee. It’s quaint and all but in my mind, I’m longing for eggs and bacon.

9:00am: I head out to go to the British museum. I go to the Gloucester street station, get myself and Oyster card. It takes me about 20min and 5 different stops before I figure out where I’m going. One thing I find humorous about London: If you’re not careful and walk-savvy, the cars will run you over, no hesitation. These are some ridiculous drivers!

20 minutes as noted, I exit the station and look about. A homeless man walks up to me and ask me for money. My anxiety kicks in and I worry that this is a pickpocketing attempt. I politely tell him I can’t help. He politely walks away and I feel awful. A minute later, a young lady tries to sell me something. I can’t understand her through her accent, so once again, I politely decline. My pace quickens. Why must I look so approachable? I think I have the opposite of RBF.

Through either luck or naivety, I end up at the British library instead of the British museum. It’s huge, and there are people crowd around in the square out front. They check my bag on the way in. I take a moment to get my Barings straight, admire the tower of books located in the center, and watch the people milling about. I still don’t have a sim card, I’m relying on whatever guest wifi is available to really use my phone. I log into the wifi and figure out how to get from the library to the museum. This time I try to take a bus. I like the double decker buses, they move quickly, and everywhere has something interesting to see.

2 minutes later, after realizing that I’ve taken the wrong bus, I end up in Camden Market, the wrong borough. But I’m not disgruntled, It’s amazing! It’s the best kind of tourist hub. There are souvenir shops and chain restaurants everywhere. Cheaply-made, overpriced souvenirs mind you. But it’s just so cool to watch! People from all around fill the streets, everyone speaks a different language. I take it all in, excited. I note a conveniently located pizza hut and then make my way to the nearest tube station. By this point I trust the trains more than the buses.

(But not the train stations. I can’t remember which, but one of them had a flight of stairs that was 193 steps! I saw people crowded around the lifts but I was impatient. My stubbornness proved valuable. As I plowed up the stairs, I went past older, less shapely tourists who leaned against the walls sweating and panting. I made it up to the surface triumphant. Still, my feet and the rest of me deeply regret that choice.)

Somehow, I then end up at the London Covent Garden Market. I’m confused, but I don’t complain. It’s beautiful! There’s flowers decorating all the building. There a lovely restaurants and good smells everywhere. There are also tourists here. But this market is a bit classier than in Comden town. Old women sit in swinging chairs adorned with white flowers. People carry around heavy bags of shopping. Instead of loud music pouring through stereos and speakers, there are live street musicians. They sing romantic songs. I’m enthralled.

As I walk through more of the shops, I notice street performers doing magic tricks. One man in particular was only wearing union jack underwear and socks. There’s a large crowd around him. He plans to lie down on a bed of nails. I stand around for a minute, take a picture, and go on my way. I smell German frankfurters nearby and I want one so badly! But I’m at loss for time, and the day is only moving further away. I have to go.

10 minutes, a tube ride, and some walking later, I end up at the British museum. It’s even bigger than the library! Once again, I go through a line and bag check. They let me in, unsuspecting. I have a big backpack! I could be dangerous. But no, they take a glance at me and think, “She looks like a world-wary, naive child. She’s fine.” They are not wrong.

I try to take a picture of the museum, when two girls ask me to take a picture of them. I oblige. They were laughing and saying, “We saw your jacket, and it said ‘Georgia,’ so we were like, ‘She speaks English!’ We were so relieved.”

I blush at my own un-intentional Americanism. I have failed to assimilate properly.

After I help the girls, I then enter the ginormous, historic building. It is magnificently classy on the inside. I feel under-dressed. If I wasn’t trying to be practical, I would be more tasteful in my attire. Oh well. I go up the stairs and notice a nice little food court down below. I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m starved.

I spend about an hour and a half traveling back in time. I begin in Mesopotamia, and explore into Nubia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. I take pictures of things that interest me, namely gold embellishments and miniature carvings. I have so much admiration for the craftsmen who created them. And, dead people. I take a lot of pictures of those.

(More photos to be added in a later post)

Many tourists move in the way, so I must time photos as best I can. I gasp every time I see an artifact that I recognize, either through art class or by my own personal scours through art books. Seeing what I’ve only seen in books before…It makes this trip come to life for me. Every punishing mistake is made up for by the value of what I am free to discover.

I take a break from ancient Rome and go to the food court. By now I’ve reached that weird point of hungry where I’m not even hungry any more, just wanting. I buy a coke and a chocolate muffin and eat outside on the steps. Since I’ve already been through the bag line I can go into the museum easily. I don’t finish my muffin. It takes like chocolate, and looks lovely, but it’s kind of plain—like England (joke.) I put in my backpack for later. After resting my feet, I notice a sign that says, “Do not sit on the steps.” I glance at the hundred or so people sitting on the steps. I snap a picture of the sign for the humor of it all, then go back inside.

I admire the remains of High Egypt and Rome for another hour. Tourists pour around the Rosetta stone like it’s made of gold. People from various countries all come for this one item of glory and historical significance. I am determined to take a picture to prove what I have witnessed. One tall man stands in front of me for what feels like ages. But, as soon as he moves away, I slip a picture in. which such a treasure in cache, I am close to calling it a day. But I realize that it’s only about 3pm. I still have time to do one more thing (that includes getting lost.)

I look at my map and I suddenly realize that Hyde Park is only about a mile away from Buckingham Palace.

3:45pm: I head to the palace.

4:30pm: I am at the palace.

A lot happened in between those two moments but they were the same, familiar shenanigans that had been taking place all day. At this point my feet were screaming and the hunger that I had thought didn’t exist was now lashing out at me. I took the liberty to go to the Queen Victoria monument and sit on a ledge. Then I snapped pictures to my heart’s desire. It felt good to rest a moment and take everything in. With every new monument, more and more people seemed to pour in, trying to take a piece of the same-life changing experience. They walked around with selfie sticks and bantered with friends or family. I take a selfie, and then instantly regret it. I’m not neat and put together. I’m tired, and weather-worn, and the camera takes up on all of this.

There is no sign of the Queen. I am utterly disappointed by this circumstance. (I shake my fist in anger!)

I sit, studying the statues of the monument. A man, by a lion, holding a hammer. A woman, by a lion, holding a scythe. I studied the Black, Roth-iron gates embellished with gold, and the union jacks in the wind, and the water, streaming from the fountain. I just wanted to be there all day.

But food was at home. So, I had to leave.

4:50pm: I called it a day and start working my way back to the hostel. So much walking is involved. I’m nearly in tears from the soreness. The sky tries to rain, and then decides not to. As I walk across the street to Hyde park, I hire a bike and pedal most of my mile-long journey home. After a wrong turn or two, I find my way.

5:50pm: I’m finally back. I make myself a cup of tea and I sit down to finish my chocolate muffin. People are starting to cook dinner. My mind goes back to the pizza hut. I’m longing for American food, or something like it. Something familiar after a day of getting lost and meeting strangers.

6:00pm: I love Astor Hyde Park but something in here is making my allergies flare up and I don’t appreciate it. The same thing happens on the tube. My nose and eyes have been watering uncontrollably. I grab a hundred paper towels from the kitchen and take an internet break.

7:41pm: There is no pizza hut near me. I could go to a local place but…ugh. I give in to my nervousness. I’ve been in the company of strangers all day, I need something familiar. I would have to take a bus to get to one at a reasonable time. To pizza, or not to pizza?

8:00pm: To pizza.

10:30pm: TWO AND A HALF HOURS. I CANNOT. FIND. A PIZZA HUT. It should’ve only taken 30 minutes at most. The closest on was at the other end of Hyde park. But?? I can’t find it. I did not ask for much. All I wanted was a simple, chain store, pizza. I walked and biked for hours. That is all. I’m too far away from any other pizza place, and I’m too weary to ask for directions. I find a McDonalds and order from there. I wanted the pizza too much, and the universe said no. I still have to walk two miles from the park to get home. Five minutes into leaving, I realize I forgot my straw and condiments. I go back for the straw, but then I don’t bother for the ketchup. I’ll survive.

(Also, there was a festival going on in the park earlier? I don’t know what was going on but there were a lot of English girls with flower crowns and people were playing music and drinking a lot so I assumed it was a holiday. All I know was that I felt awkward walking through and had to take a sharp detour around them.)

10:49pm: I had left when it was daylight, not it’s darkness. I should be glad that I don’t get kidnapped. I probably would’ve been too tired to fight well. But at that point I was saltier than my fries so if anyone had tried to touch me, I probably would’ve sucker-punched them in the face. To add insult to injury, while I’m half way across the park, the bag in my hands rip in half and the contents within fall to the ground. The sandwich is safe in its cardboard container. But…the fries…

England…why….

11:00pm: I’m in my room, on my computer. Someone in the building next to us set off fireworks. I can see the lights through the windows of my ceiling. They fill the sky, and then boom loudly into the air, dissipating.

I decide it’s time to go to bed.

[suckitsurveys]

Under the cut because of a long answer. 

Do you feel comfortable wearing tube tops? Yikes.

Has something someone said today annoyed you? Not today, no. My brother in law is notorious for that, and he said something yesterday that annoyed me. We were talking about my crazy neighbor and he was like “you need to stay away from him.” and I was like um, yeah I know that. And then a minute later he was like “I’m not telling you that because I am your elder, I am telling you that because I care.” I HATE when people who are only slightly older than me tell me they are my “elder” FUCK THAT. And also, no, the tone in his voice definitely made it feel like he was telling me that because he didn’t think I understood the situation THAT I AM IN. God I fucking hate him. 

Can you hear the crickets chirping at night? Sometimes in summer. 

Do you like listening to new music, or just sticking to your favorites? I like both. Just depends what I’m in the mood for.

Did you ever feel that there was something you couldn’t tell anyone? I can’t really tell my brother in law what a fucking pretentious asshole he is because I feel like it would fuck things up between me and my sister and my niece and that baby is my life so I don’t want that to happen. Maybe when they inevitably get divorced I’ll tell him the fuck off. 

Do you tend to gossip, even if you don’t mean it to cause harm? I’m definitely prone to it sometimes. I love being petty, haha. 

When was the last time you were bitten by a bug? Recently. Basement apartments are fun. 

Have you ever gotten your hair permed? Nope. At least I don’t think so. What is the actual definition of a perm? I’m just picturing like ridiculous poofy curls or something. 

Do you have a pair of sunglasses that are worth over $200? My most expensive pair of sunglasses I own were $15 and they were my moms and I never actually wear them haha. 

Would you ever go on a trip to Europe? Perhaps. 

Are you brave when it comes to trying new foods? Oh yes. I love food. There are only a handful of things I don’t like, and they are pretty random. 

When was the last time you saw your significant other? I can see him from where I am right now. 

If you see a piano, are you tempted to go over and play a little something? Nah. 

Has anyone teased you with the “K-I-S-S-I-N-G” song? Probably.

What time is it where you are? Exactly 2pm.

Have you ever owned a beanbag chair? Yeah. We are actually thinking of getting one to create a little reading nook when we get our big bookcase. 

If you own a laptop, do you have a case for it? If I need to carry it I usually put it in my Bob’s Burgers tote bag. 

What was the last movie you purchased on DVD? Oh man, I have no idea. I was going to buy Moana yesterday for my niece and I to watch while I babysat her but my sister said I could stream it on the Firestick. It ended up being $20 to do that so we definitely did not end up watching it. The DVD probably would have cost the same, but I would have kept it for my collection. 

Do you do your own laundry? I haven’t done it here yet but I’m actually gunna take some to my dad’s in a bit because the washing machine here is SO SMALL and costs a dollar. 

Have you ever used pastels? Yeah, in an art class. 

Would you be considered to be knowledgeable about World War 2? Definitely not, aside from basics. 

Will you bother having a party for your next birthday? I might have a small gathering with some close friends. Our wedding celebration is a few weeks after that so I don’t wanna do something huge. Which reminds me, I need to make an e-vite so people can start thinking about booking rooms. I also need to figure out some place to go to eat for a dinner. 

Do you currently have a job? I do.

Are you one of those people who can eat anything and not gain a pound? That would be fucking amazing. 

Do you know who you’re planning to ask to your grad prom? I have no idea what a grad prom is, but I’m out of school, so it’s irrelevant anyway. <---Yeah.

Are you having one of those days where you feel unattractive? Not really. 

Do you like hot dogs? I was born and raise in Chicago. Most of my blood is made of hot dogs. 

Have you been in any sort of physical pain today? My feet hurt when I woke up this morning, and I keep getting a kink in my back I need to crack every 10 minutes. 

Have you ever heard of the German movie Das Boot? Yes, but only because of a reference to it in Home Movies.

Do you ever go on PerezHilton.com to get all the celeb gossip? Nope. 

Do you wish your bedroom was bigger? It’s actually a great size. 

Have you ever killed a car battery by leaving your lights on? Yup, oops. 

Have you had the caramel flan latte from Starbucks yet? I don’t think I ever tried that one.

Have you ever dated a Ben? Nope.

Have you ever dated a ginger? Nope.

Have you ever dated someone outside of your race? Yes. 

Do you prefer to text or call? Call if it’s urgent, text if it’s not.

What was the last TV show you watched? Nature Cat with my niece, haha. 

Do you watch American Horror Story? I couldn’t get into it. 

Have you ever lied to get out of a relationship? I may have when I was “dating” people on the internet years and years ago, haha. 

Are you 21 or over? Yes. That reminds me, I was at Jewel yesterday and the cashier in the checkout next to the one I was at asked this guy if he was old enough to drink and the guy said yeah and he just rang him up without asking for ID. 

Do you or have you ever had a fake ID? I didn’t.

Who is the last person you hugged? Mark.

Where was your first kiss? Under someone’s porch. 

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Yeah, nothing major though. 

What color are your nails? I still have specks of black on them from 2 months ago, haha. 

Can you separate love and sex? Yeah. I don’t need to do it now because Mark and I have an amazing relationship that had both of those aspects, but mentally I can. 

How do you feel about animal print? I like it sometimes. 

What do you wash your face with? Some off brand facewash. I wasn’t paying attention when I bought it and realized after it was too late that it didn’t have any acne stuff in it, so I use a Stridex wipe at the end of the day. 

Do you have sensitive teeth? I have sensitive gums. 

Do you straighten your hair? Nope, I don’t need to. I have noticed it’s been getting a bit of a wave to it now, but I still don’t have the desire to straighten it. 

Would you date someone you had a 16 year age gap with? Nope.

What is your sexuality? I need to have that shrug face like ready to go to be copied and pasted when this question comes up. I feel like I never explained it but honestly that shrug face pretty much sums it up. I’m attracted to everyone, but at this point in my life, I’m not going to act on it, because I know for a fact I want to be with Mark for the rest of my life, so part of me feels like, why define my sexuality? It’s not super crucial to who I am as a person. 

Do you like Lana Del Rey? I love herrrrrrrr. When she first started getting popular, the internalized misogyny in me was like “lol a girl signing about video games?? What is she trying to be cute or something???” So I didn’t really give her a chance until I heard that remix of Summertime Sadness that was popular a few years ago, so then I looked up her actual music and fell in love.  

Do you think suits are sexy? Sure. I’ve never seen Mark in an actual suit so I am really pumped to see him in a casual one on our wedding day. 

Do you think earrings are attractive or unattractive on guys? They don’t really do anything for me, but they aren’t a turn off either. 

Are you an old soul? Eh, I am a child. 

Do you wear slippers? There are some next to my bed in the expectation that it’s freezing when I get up to go in the bathroom on our cold tile floor, but there’s a rug in front of the toilet so I haven’t really had to use them. 

What are you doing tomorrow? Working. Going to the gym. 

Do you sleep better during thunderstorms? Sometimes the thunder wakes me up, but I definitely feel more cozy when one is happening. I am super excited for warm storms!

Have you ever cheated on a boyfriend/girlfriend? No, but one of my exes might tell you otherwise because he’s insane. 

[barrenharold021-blog]

Robot buying guide for your kids

Parents often buy cool robot toys for their children with the hopes that it will spark an interest in science and engineering. I know because I was one of them. But often parents are left disappointed as these bots are nothing more than remote control droids. Yet, I still believe robots carry a high potential for learning through play.

With the help of four tester families, boys and girls ranging from five to 11 years of age, tested as many robots as possible in the past year in order to explore the learning potential and how much adult support might be needed. Some robots were played with for 10 hours and some for over 500 hours as the robots varied in complexity and function. We specifically looked for toys that had the power to really engage kids, would challenge them, but at the same time leave them feeling accomplished and excited for the more ways to learn.

The good news is 2014 truly is the Year of the Robot: So many toys that allow children to program robots easily have entered the market this year. In their own ways, many of them demonstrate the benefits of coding to youngsters through hands on toys that will immediately execute the programs the kids have created. Until now, much of learning how to code has been screen-based. There are many good robot toys out there, especially ones with ability to use coding but not every robot is right for everyone. Do Robotic Pool Cleaners Really Work https://www.robotsden.com/do-robotic-pool-cleaners-really-work

Here’s an in-depth look at our favorites:

1. Forget everything you think you know about robots A toddler tries to drive the Sphero with the iPad mini. How is this a robot? Where are the eyes, the legs? All of these are good questions and yet, this spherical wonder embodies many of the traits that I value in a modern robot toy. The first is that it is rather indestructible. I’ve stepped on it and ran it into the wall many times. Additionally, the Sphero 2.0 can not only get wet but it can actually swim! Best of all, this bot is rather easy to just pick up and play with—all you need is a phone or tablet to drive it. To drive it well, your child must practice but there is a payoff once she is able. A variety of apps allow users to drive Sphero while videotaping it simultaneously, test hand-eye reflexes, or even play golf with Sphero. To add to the excitement, Sphero released additional accessories and stunt products including the chariot, which basically turns Sphero into a transport vehicle with a cellphone slot (think drive-cam) and a special rooftop that can fit LEGO-like bricks.

The $20 Chariot for Sphero makes it compatible to this tester’s huge LEGO collection.

Since gifting the first-gen Sphero to my son two years ago, I have watched the company grow into an entity that continues to put learning first. This year, Orbotix, the makers of Sphero created SPRK, a program that teaches programming with Sphero and its cousin, the Ollie, a cylindrical robot named after a skateboard stunt. Our official tester, an 11-year-old girl in the sixth grade, had a blast learning how to program her powerful Ollie, which can run as fast as 14mph, with her dad. Keyword arduino robot arm source code https://www.robotsden.com/7-arduino-robotic-arm-project-ideas-tutorial-plus-source-code

Seven-year-old testing to see if you can use Ollie to give yourself a foot massage.

So impressed with Ollie, her father bought two Spheros for her cousins so that they could swim with their new robots since they have a pool. My children tested Sphero for months, love it as well as the new accessories but it is Ollie who is on my eldest’s (a 10-year-old) wish list since it was released this fall. Thus, Santa will leave Darkside Ollie under the tree this year. I am hoping the investment will end up paying for itself as we’ve discovered Ollie’s powerful motor gives excellent back massages, even better than Sphero does.

2. Robots teach best if they don’t intimidate

Connecting a sequence of programming blocks to be scanned by KIBO. For some, the idea of preschoolers learning to code may seem preposterous but I think it makes perfect sense. Coding is very much like learning a new language and without a doubt, early exposure can make a big difference. However, what I like most about coding is how it promotes breaking things down to problem solving. For any child, learning to code is mostly a two-dimensional process but most educators will tell you that three-dimensional play is better for the very young. Enter KIBO, a robot that scans bar codes from color-coded wooden blocks with images that are connected easily by pegs. Each block has a directive i.e. shake, turn right, sing. Together, the directives make one programming sequence to be scanned. Unlike most robots, KIBO is different because it’s rather simple-looking. Scanning a programming sequence one block at a time with KIBO. I later learned that KIBO was purposely designed this way based on research from Tufts University’s Dev Tech Research Group. The creators felt that plain-looking robots could reduce the kind of apprehension that hinder young children, like my seven-year-old, from wanting to explore. I was made a believer when on the first day of playing with KIBO: I saw this same child pick up this unusual looking robot and start to scan coding blocks to make a new program as if he had been doing it all year long. remote control car with night vision https://www.robotsden.com/best-remote-control-car-with-night-vision

To be sure, looking approachable is an excellent attribute for inviting curiosity. Similarly, the very adorable Ozobot, which is smaller than a ping pong ball, still manages to teach many lessons in basic programming. Ozobot follows black lines and will follow your orders (spin, zigzag, go fast) if you draw different color code sequences in between the black lines. No tablets are necessary, but putting your Ozobot on a tablet will broaden its possibilities dramatically. My favorite app is Ozodraw where children are able create a path for Ozobot just by simply dragging and dropping coding blocks onto his path on the screen. There are also puzzles where users must figure out which code would help Ozobot complete its path.

Ozobot can be played with on screen or on paper.

3. The quintessential robot

Checking out the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 at World Maker Faire 2014. The EV3 really embodies the concept of what most people think a robot should be—a machine that can be programmed to perform various tasks. Its modular design means the robot structure can be changed and the programmable “brain” is there so that it can do a job without being given a direction at every single step. The difference is simple: a typical programmed task might have an if/then clause involved. “If my right sensor bumps into something, I will turn left.” A remote control droid would need a person to push a button once he sees that his robot bumped his right side. LEGO EV3 is a terrific transition from pretend play to productivity but it isn’t for everyone. Some parents may think that robotics is a natural next step after building the more complex LEGO sets but, a child must be interested by the potential to build and to code in order for this toy to be successful. Parental help, however, is necessary in two big ways: Wrangling stubborn computers when downloading software or programs and understanding complex directions. (Note that LEGO directions are awesome. When reading pdf instructions on a screen, the pegs will literally move into their respective places!). Additionally, when facing building challenges, children will need a coach-like mentor, someone who can provide moral support and ask the right questions so that the child can figure out a solution.

Two testers, 8 and 10, build and code VEX IQ Robotics Construction Kit. Much of this also applies to another system, the VEX IQ Robotics Construction Kit that uses the free open source Modkit for VEX for programming. This kit is new to consumers but the education VEX IQ sets have been available in the education market for years. Both VEX IQ and LEGO EV3 have somewhat different packages from their education set counterparts, which contain trays for parts, rechargeable batteries—basically they are more designed for classroom use. Our testers tested the LEGO Education EV3 set as well and were very happy with it because it comes with rechargeable battery and organizing crates as well as a full curriculum dedicated to teaching programming via EV3. toy robot that blows smoke https://www.robotsden.com/toy-robot-that-blows-smoke-gifts-to-delight-your-inquisitive-kid

4. Design and personality enhances potential

Figuring out how to get Dash to play a song. If there were such a contest, Dot and Dash would tie for the Cutest Robot of the Year Award. These do not have a humanoid shape and yet these bots from Wonder Workshop’s seem to be the most life-like of any of the robots we’ve tested. Despite the cuteness and simulated eye blinks, there are brains beneath the beauty here. Blockly is a program that can be downloaded onto kids’ iPads so that they can easily create programs for Dot and Dash. Both have the potential to be fun playmates as well as useful desk pets. My 10-year-old son who enjoys building more than coding was highly motivated to program Dot to be a timer because it’s simply adorable.

Homemade code to transform Dot or Dash into a personal reading timer. First your bot will say “okay” and turn red, and then in 10 minutes, turn yellow, then in another 10 minutes, he will turn green, say “Weee” and “Buh Bye” and so your child will know time is up, he can go play.

This factor can be a game changer for some kids. Sometimes Dot says “OK” with a sigh or even snores if he’s been left alone. The best part is that you can also program it to do these things and more. Make Dot become a reading timer by starting out red, then yellow, then turning green after 20 minutes as required by many homework reading logs. This 6-year-old girl was laughing as she moved Dash around while the older boy was adding accessories to it. Personality and cuteness is another plus for WowWee’s MiP that can balance itself and more all while rolling on two wheels. Its nonsensical mumblings belong to no language and yet is easily understood by kids. Kid testers have said MiP would be good to help combat loneliness. Sure enough, it is a worthy companion in the morning as we wait for the school bus to arrive.

5. Coding is important but so is the machine

Building a scissor lift with Remote Control Machines DLX. Believe it or not, there is a lack of modular toys that offer remote control capabilities. LEGO Education WeDo with software is a great example and is especially terrific because it can be programmed with free programming language Scratch. However, if you are looking for something that doesn’t really involve programming or require parents, consider the Remote Control Machines DLX set from Thames and Kosmos, an expert in high quality science toys. Their large, full-color instructional manuals support self-directed learning, allow kids to choose from 20 different builds, and read how these machines apply to the real world.

Remote Control Machines DLX should really be called Remote Control Machines 2.0 because it’s not a kit with more pieces, rather, everything from pieces to instruction manual is new and improved from the original Remote Control Machines set. Additionally, the builds in DLX are all different from the original Remote Control Machines set. The DLX is compatible with the pieces in other Thames and Kosmos sets that explore other facets in engineering such as gyroscopes, spring action, hydraulics and pneumatics, to name a few. While programming isn’t offered here, it’s good for kids to learn about the mechanisms they would actually need to program in real life. Other kits that allow children to explore how sensors are used in robots are MOSS Zombonitron 1600 and the littleBits Premium Kit. Additionally fun low-cost DIY sets like the MAKE: Spinbot Kit and Brushbots from the Maker Shed are snappy tools for learning about motors as well as entertaining.