Doing It Online… Home Security.

Fun, and not so fun. This last Friday our family vacation home in Lehigh Acres, FL was broken into. This became newsworthy because of my actions ~2000(road) miles away in Nova Scotia.

Around sunset, I logged into my remote power switch and decided to leave a window AC unit running a bit to help dehumidify the place. Hours later I noticed the backyard motion sensor light go off, but didn’t see anything in the still image and since it wasn’t unusual for animals too trigger the light, it was ignored. Turns out it was the Human Animal.

A few minutes later I lookup(Likely from email motion notification beep from front camera(less often)) to see a burglar in our living room! WTF rings in my head, seconds later I find the Lehigh Police number(That I requested when 911 is not available(911 is only good locally and never on skype)), logged into the remote power switch, turned on the loud Shop-Vac(Wish I had footage of that), and stereo, turned off the AC unit(didn’t want them staying comfortable), a second later their was no response from the house. I then dialed the police using my Skype(Terribly bloated, invasive software/interface but good price($65/yr “unlimited” CDn/US Calling + dialin #)) account at 11:18pm; I gave the site address and my real location and callback numbers immediately, and proceeded to give as best verbal information about the buglers as I could. She kept me on the line until a detective reported being on-site at which point the call ended with the understanding the detective would be calling me back.

Detective Daniel Bray, called me several times exchanging email and information updates, thankfully he was tech savvy and was able to check images emailed to him on-site positively identifying one of the suspects who were pulled over as they were driving away with headlights off(On: wouldn’t have helped them blend-in any, as traffic is very low). The detective was also able to email me photos taken from outside the suspects car of equipment I could easily identify as my stolen property, and later condition of house.

The suspects were charged, and I was later emailed documents which were signed and returned. I am waiting to see what happens. Apparently it is not uncommon for break-in suspects to get bail and never be seen again. They are also even known to return to the crime site before doing so… To get what they missed… I was advised to secure the location as soon as possible.

Hindsight: One or more of the criminals seems to have driven by earlier in the day, apparently casing the place. A living room light was on, curtains(non-see-through, only the light) closed, window AC unit running, grass mowed(Basically just how it is when I am there!)… They were reported to have entered through the bedroom window armed with a taser and tools. Had I been there, it could have ended very badly, as I would say they had to have considered the building potentially occupied.

I also probably shouldn’t have turned on the shop-vac/stereo, this likely would have given the police more time to catch them IN the building(Or even surprise them). Tho. perhaps the distraction had caused them to leave sooner, causing less loss/damage overall.

Other Thoughts:
If the adrenalin rush from seeing(remotely) buglers in our house had given me a heart attack(died), would that be an additional charge against them?

The Rovio didn’t do much good at all, except for a distraction. Perhaps if I noticed them earlier I could have logged into it and gotten an audio feed, or manually snapped additional pictures. Software on Rovio really needs to be updated for basic motion detection and ‘position lock’, so it doesn’t roam(to find base station) on power failure.

Update: 3 Days after the arrest at least one of the perpetrators was released, bail apparently. I was notified by an automated victim notification system.

Update: Other one was released on bail a couple days after the first, It has since been over a month and their first court appearance… To much freedom if you ask me for the so obviously guilty, and hiding the identity of a cohort. If they stay free, run, or get a slap on the wrist the legal system in my book is worthless; less-than actually as it protects the criminal from retribution.

Security Images bundled into a Video file: Burglary-June-2010

Rovio Unboxing… User Review…

I was considering purchasing a WowWee Rovio for over a year now, and when Woot had a ’special’ for $99.99 + $5 shipping… I just had to have one, and figured since I was ‘almost’ willing to purchase one for $200, lets double my chances for getting a problem free unit! Two were ordered…

If you did any digging into the Rovio online you would surely have found the many problems WowWee seems to have with Batteries and Power supplies. My fingers were doubly crossed but unfortunately I received 2 bad batteries(run times of approximately 4 and 5 minutes, after leaving on the base the night before running the Installation Program), and a power supply that makes such a high pitched whine that it drives one even more insane(or just can’t fall asleep with it in the same room).

After opening everything, I would have to say my opinion is that this is on the ‘higher quality’ end of what you typically expect out of China. Quality manuals, good USB cable, well boxed.

Rovio itself has a little bit of weight to it, and doesn’t feel ‘cheap’.

The power supply is as you can see a 9V DC 2.5A adapter and is a newer ’solid state’/'hollow sounding’ adapter. These in my experience fail much more often than the heavy/solid adapters from the 1990’s and earlier.

It seems when you hear about the bad batteries, more often than not they are blue in color vs the green ones. 5LMH-43SC3000-W-T (NIMH 6v 3000mAh) .

After attaching the charging stations mast (just push it on with the lens facing the rovio) and plugging in the power supply, a red targeting light shines up to the ceiling. Center the lights in the room so the rovio can later find the station to charge. If the red light goes out, just move/touch the lamp base and it should turn on again.

Download the latest installation software and follow instructions, it’s fairly straightforward from there on in. I suggest moving the base station next to the computer so you can leave Rovio charging while doing firmware updates. Given the problems so many have with the battery…

I’ll update this post with some video and my experiences with wowwee and how well they send me replacement batteries and new power supply. If only we can get WowWee to release the modified open source portions of the OS, so we can add some built-in motion detecting etc.

If you own a Rovio, leave a comment on how much run-time you get out of your battery, the battery color/model. How many I wonder get a totally working Rovio right out of the box, 1-3 hour (So I hear!) run time off station etc.

After repeated charges/discharges, one of the Rovios seems to have gotten some battery life, about 30-40 minutes so far. In addition to the full cycling, I am also restarting the charge cycle often by moving it just off and back on the docking station. This may also be aiding in the overall recovery/charge. I’ve done the same with the other Rovio and there is no change.

Rovio Sample Images:

Rovio Save Home Position Video

Baked Amarillos – Plantains

I bought some green Plantains intending to fry up in butter, but never got around to it. Before long they were yellow, then I thought, may as well wait until they are black/ripe and try ’something’ new.

This one surprised me on how simple and tasty it was. Little sweet for me, but reminded me of baked apples!

2 Tbs Butter, melt. ; More butter wouldn’t hurt anything.
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Plantains

Place plantains on baking sheet or oven safe frying pan, peal a top strip off the top and open airspaces along the sides not breaking skin. Put a slit down the middle half way into the plantains.
Mix butter and cinnamon and pour into slit and over top.

Preheat oven to 400F and bake for 30 Minutes.

Cheap Quality Meal: < $2 Poached Eggs and Asparagus

Well I thought this might be worthy of an entry into the blog(digital memory), and boy was it delicious! As usual I read a bunch of recipes found via google then modified/combined for my own.

1/2 lb. Asparagus ($1.50); Boil for 4 minutes in salted water.
Then drain water, and fry in butter($0.07) until poached eggs are finished.

2 Poached eggs ($0.22); Boil water add 1 tbs vinegar($0.02), turn off heat, when boiling stops drop in eggs for approx 3 minutes.(Until whites are cooked but yoke is runny).

Toast bread While eggs are poaching.
Add pepper, salt, cheese(Cheddar and m. jack($0.05)) over top of finished plate.

Cheap Quality Meal: $2.99 Beef Tenderloin

This product is likely common place for most, but with me originating in Nova Scotia, with $18.99/Lb. Beef Tenderloin, this thing looked too good to be true!

$5.97 for two 5oz($10/lb) (TENDERLOIN) Steaks, Now this is a little bit of a cheat I’m sure. It is packaged in what seems like light flavoring and of course bacon wrapped, which no doubts adds to the total weight.

Perfect for bachelor or freezing, the pair can be cut into singles without having to break the vacuum seal.

Cheap Meal:
$2.99 Beef Tenderloin Steak(Wrapped in bacon) fried in small amount of butter over medium heat for 10 minutes per side(Internal Temperature of 160f is about perfect imo).
1/2 a Plantain, fried in butter(~$0.50)
Veggie Side… I enjoy raw baby carrots.

V for Vendetta Eggs – Eggs in a Basket

After watching the movie again, those eggs just looked soooo good.
Cut a hole in the bread with small cup, butter both sides of the bread, and butter the pan, place in heated pan over low heat and drop egg in the middle, don’t flip to soon.

It’s like making a grilled cheese.

Very tasty!

#$%# Lucky dog!

Actually I made 2 for ‘myself’ and after putting egg in the ‘basket’ noticed a little blood in the yoke. I’m not one to eat eggs(especially super market bought) with any sign of blood, so I cooked it well, cooled it, and made a meal for the family member who doesn’t care about such things!

Another Distraction

Critters – I need to find more…

I heard some scratching outside one night and went out to see what it was… I saw from a distance an Armadillo… I only recognized it from remembering the TV series Night Court, and the judges stuffed one seen in many episodes. It took 3 nights of trying to get close enough to get a couple of pictures. These cute little guys can run pretty fast!

Update: My aunt and I met another one(or maybe two). They are oblivious if you sneak up taking a step whenever their head is to the ground and moving. Yet ‘walk’ from 20-40′ away and they notice and run off.

Videos: One, Two, Three, Four, Five…

Nova Scotia – Trailer

My father paid to have his 1/8th of an Acre lot cleared up a bit, with nice results. Makes me want to go down and cleanup the trailer to spend a few nights in it myself. Here are some old and new pictures.

Banana Bread

Just made a couple of batches in my B&D Breadmaker, with good results using the following recipe:

1.5 Cups White Flour (375ml)
0.5 Cups Stone Ground whole wheat (125ml)
0.5 Cups Sugar
2+ Cups mashed bananas(ripe)
0.5 Cup Butter
0.5 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1.3 tsp Vanilla extract

(#7, Light crust on bread maker – 1hr 40min including mixing) Suggest 175C for 65 Minutes otherwise.
My first time cooking bread with Baking Soda, worked very well… Irish Soda bread next maybe…

Population Control – It’s a good thing.

North American population would not be expanding if it were not for immigrants. With the human population expanding out of control world wide, won’t one of the best resources in the future be a low population? This would allow for greater exports of virtually anything else, while securing a healthy and wealthy domestic population?

It seems to me feeding the starving is a big mistake, and should NOT be done without at least a trade off of sterility. To most this may sound terrible, but think about it, by feeding the starving(who are often uneducated, and poor) they continue to reproduce only creating additional mouths to feed and additional drain on the region. When you do feed a starving person, you are saving their life, a life that would be ended anyway from natural causes. I suggest it be an open trade, “we will save your life, provided you agree to sterilization and education”(& That they agree to help their countrymen).

We then would help secure a workforce obligated to learn, and teach their native population to look after themselves(Sustainable farming, water management, education).

One theory as to why first world countries choose to not have as many kids as others is education; Knowing what and how to prevent children, the effects of kids on personal finances, and separation of church and state.

Thinking of having kids? Ref. Ref.

Bagna Cauda – Recipe – First try

I first heard about this ‘dish/meal’ through a comic stretch on Babylon 5 TV Series. It just looked like they were enjoying it sooo much, I remembered the name. Years later I started looking it up on the net, and while it is a very basic hot dip, there is no set recipe. Some dishes call for 1/4 cup butter, 1 cup olive oil, some 1 cup butter 1/4 cup olive oil, and variations including cream(Most reviewers don’t recommend the cream version).

So based on no standard recipe, I took what reviewers said and settled on:

1/4 Cup Butter (62.5ml)
1/2 Cup Extra-virgin olive oil (125ml)
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Tin Anchovies (12g)

Heat Oil and Butter, add garlic and anchovies and stir over low heat until Anchovies dissipate and ideally just before garlic browns(Although many recommend browned garlic).

Red/Green Peppers, Mushrooms(very nice), Carrots(nice), zucchini(nice), green beans

Result? It was a very mild sauce, but there were some ‘hints’ of deliciousness, next time more garlic and more Anchovies(and I’m no! anchovy fan). Some shrimp and beef tenderloin strips might be good dipped in this sauce.

MMMmmm good.

I was so happy with my breakfast this morning, I had to take a picture. Notice the ‘feet up on the heater’, ahhh. Unplanned, I just noticed a leftover tomato, last of some lunch meat, and last piece of home made bread; threw it all together in 10 minutes.

Scrambled eggs with salt and white pepper
Sliced Ham ; Nuked
Tomato
Toast
Mild Cheddar cheese

* The camera just happened to be beside me.

Lama v3 Helicopter

My father bought another toy, one I had to try for myself. A 4 channel, full tilt control, RC helicopter called the Lama v3, purchased from DealExtreme.com for ~$88. A dual rotor full tilt controlled helicopter is likely the safest/best next level helicopter to fly after the Bladerunner/Mosquito.

The Lama arrived properly trimmed but we had to open and adjust the transmitter to trim the rudder control(or else have to continually make manual adjustments to keep it from turning. It is very heavy and much more care must be taken when powering down the engine or it will hit the floor hard. With a flight time of 10+ minutes, I look forward to increasing my skill level with this model, next helicopter will likely be a single rotor outdoor model.

Video of first flight.

Black & Decker B2250 – Breadmaker “All-In-One”

I did some basic math and figured the cost of plain bread is about 1/2 to 1/4 the cost of buying it in the store, and should taste a whole lot better fresh. After debating over which unit to buy, I picked the cheapest one from a retailer with a good return policy(Since most all < $120 bread makers have a good % of poor reviews); Wal-Mart $48 30-90 Day return/replacement.

The B2250 looks and feels well built; at least the store demo did. Out of new factory sealed, undamaged box my unit had some scuffs on the display, and part of the stainless covering around the buttons and side were scratched and not installed 100%. There were some metal shavings in the unit as well.

The unit starts mixing slowly, then speeds up as it continues. About 1/2 way through the mixing process this unit started making a loud clicking noise but did not seem to effect the mix... It seemed very well mixed once the process stopped. The clicking noise was the mixer blade not resting evenly on the bottom of the baking container.

I have since made a dozen or so loafs and have narrowed in on the best/easy bread for my liking, which is simply:

* Revised
1.0 cups water (250ml)
3 tbs brown sugar
0.5 tsp salt (2.5ml)
0.5 tsp yeast (2.5ml)
0.5 cups Stone ground whole wheat flour (125ml)
1.5 cups Regular white flour (375ml)

Bread setting #4, 1.5lb loaf, light crust.

The unit's metal trimmings seem to be separating from the unit, and if it continues might still be returned, tho it seems to do an adequate job so far, once you tweak your own recipes.
What the unit needs: Stainless steel baking container, and mixer with notification on when to remove mixer prior to starting a bake.

End of season.

Been busy traveling and winterizing; I meant to take lots of pictures of finial harvests of garden, but I have very few. This year in Nova Scotia, it has been reported by many home gardeners as a very bad year. Having said that, here is a list of seed planted and results:

Saltspring seeds all Organic & Heirloom:
A: Wild Cherry Tomato – Slow to sprout, sweet, tasty, all came to fruit.
B: Manitoba Tomato – Tasty, good producer.
C: French Breakfast Radish – easy, fast growing, eat early.
D: Onion, Perennial Bunching – Sprouted quick, none grew to edible size.
E: Olga Romain lettuce – Sprouted early, did not survive transplant, sowed grew but not large.
F: Sue Singers Chili – 20 planted, 1 survived(still going!), Super HOT, insane HOT, How to use?
G: Flagg Pole Bean – Fast growing, early producer, dry bean, but I just ate fresh.
H: Manitoba Brown Soy – None
I: Brett’s Yellow Bean – Tasty, early, bush bean.
J: Kamut – It grew, to slightly smaller size than orginial seed.
Halifax Seed:
K: Migonette Mixed Strawberry – grew well, plant green as of today, Fruit next spring?
L: Connecticut Field Pumpkin – Some nice large vines, and flours, no fruit.
M: Earlivee corn – Didn’t grow well, 4′ high, tiny tiny corn cobs(if any)… ants enjoyed.
N: Hybrid Earligold Cantaloupe – All sprouted, but died or eaten after transplant.
O: Sugar Baby Watermelon – 1/2 sprouted, but died or eaten after transplant.
P: Bon Vivant Lettuce-Mesclun Mix – Good value, edible early and tasty.
Q: Gourmet Herb Mix – No info; aunt planted all.
R: Sugar Snap Pea – Tasty! I never liked peas… But these fresh, I do…
Dollar Store:
S: White Corn – of 20 seeds, and 8 stocks, 1 produced edible size cob. Deer got it! $%#$
T: Early Squash – some did produce, but late and small… Bugs got to them.
U: Turnip – Grew well. Bugs enjoy.
V: PResidents choice bean – Grew, but sub-par taste.

No pesticides were ever used on anything. Full sun garden was initially fertilized, and tilled, with good drainage. Otherwise plants grown in closed containers, were not initially fertilized, but some small amounts of miracle grow was added some some water and used(once every 3 weeks?) after some plants seemed to be struggling(they recovered).

Garden – End of July

So far so good I suppose… Some things don’t seem to be taking off very well, others are well on their way. I need to get some string or poles to prop up the tomato plants…

Won’t have any reason to go to Mcdonalds now…

Quick Breakfast: Whats needed: 1 Egg, Cheese, English Muffin, 1tsp butter, Jar, Microwave, Toaster

Home Made “Egg McMuffin”
While English Muffin is toasting:
Put enough melted butter to cover bottom 1/2 of jar.
Put egg in jar, over the butter.
Poke holes in the egg(to reduce poping; It will still expand and pop, but not splatter out of jar)
Microwave uncovered on High for 48 seconds in 1000watt microwave.
Shake whole cooked egg out of jar onto now toasted muffin.
Place Cheese(velveeta), and or cooked meats on top of egg.
Enjoy.

Cheap RC Helicopters

My father enjoys inexpensive remote control helicopters, and they are kinda fun. Here are some videos and basic information about 3 models:

BladeRunner2 – 3 Channel, Sale Prices: ~$50
Mosquito – 3 Channel, ~$80
HavocHeli(Walmart) – 2 Channel, $20

2 Channels: Up/Down, Left/Right turn. Helicopter is weighted to constantly fly slightly forward.
3rd Channel: a Forward/Backward (Weighting not required)

After flying the BladeRunner2 and Mosquito for a few hours(over many months), I find myself wanting to get a 4+ channel to increase the control and difficulty level. 4CH Hughes 300 is tempting @ $115 Shipped on ebay(Although that is a lot to spend on a plastic flying machine ;)

Waste not, want not.

The garden centres seem to be giving/throwing away the wooden shelving their plants are shipped on. Signs locally recommend breaking up for kindling.

I find they are great internal support for walls, and have made a gate using one shelf(re-enforced with screws vs staples)…

If enough can be collected, it would be interesting to fence in the backyard at my fathers place…

Ring your neck.

Saw a few Ring-necked Pheasants in a field today, not all that common around here lately. Took a picture with old Canon S45, and crop’d it… I need telephoto…

Nice to see some green.

April 15th: planted 1 of each seeds in jiffy pots(1st batch)
April 21st: planted another 1 of each seeds in jiffy pots(2nd batch)
April 22nd: Seeds visibly sprouting from first batch are: cdijmpru
April 24th: BG From first batch
April 25th: CE from 2nd batch
April 27th: BCEJPU visible from 2nd batch
April 27th: Planted 3rd batch with following(Top to bottom): 4 A, 4 B, 4 F, 4 L, 4 T, 3 D

Replanted lettuce(E) in first batch, and also set about to plant 12 Wild Cherry tomatos in egg carton…

Jiffy Pots and seeds.

My aunt already has a green thumb and since there were way more seeds than we both needed, she picked a few to add to the order and we split the cost and seeds down the middle. We each bought 100 jiffy pots as well.

I bought a couple of pill box sets at the dollar store and split the seeds in them, labeled A-V(Less writing when keeping track). Some seed packets had a lot more than would fit into 2 pill compartments, I just left remaining in packets until sowed or needed later.

Green or Brown thumb?

This year, I am going to try and grow some vegetables… I wanted to buy heirloom/organic/open pollinated with exception to various plants that wouldn’t grow up here without more extensive human involvement…

Seeds bought:
Saltspringseeds: while a BC company, they were unquestionably open pollinated/organic; and with slight reservations about viability in our zone 4 climate; I ordered 10 $3 seed packets from them. $6 shipping. I focused on typically early producing and hardy plants.

Halifax Seeds: Oh my, Halifax seeds… established 1866, Heirloom lists, lots of potential, but after questioning them about discrepancies between their ‘heirloom list’ and catalog, on how many of their heirloom listed plants were not open pollinated, and imo poor phone and email ’service’. I tried to minimize my order and ordered what more I could from saltspringseeds..

Dollar Store: 4 seed packets for a dollar, sell before Sept. 2006 was stamped on the back, all supposedly heirloom… So far they are all sprouting!

Taking Orders for FlipStart

After being overdue for at least a year, the FlipStart brought to you in part by Paul Allen(co-founder of Microsoft) is taking orders. Unfortunately the system is 50% heavier(1.5lb vs 1lb) and has a lower screen resolution(1024×600 vs 1024×768) than was promised. It still remains one of the lightest and smallest x86 clam shelled handhelds you can find, at only twice the price that it should be(based on similar OQO and Sony UX models).

Hopefully this will get the ball rolling for smaller more portable clam shell Windows XP+ computers.

Flipstart, OQO, Sony UX.

First attempt at bread making.

I modified this baguette recipe and did the following:

Mix 1 tsp yeast with 1 tsp sugar in 1/2 cup of 100F water and let sit for 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup white flour, mix and knead for 10 minutes.
Cover and leave in warm place for 45 minutes.
Pat flat and dust with flour. Fold in half and then half again.
Return to bowl and let rise 30 minutes.
Roll into ball and pat flat until oval and roll up along the long side.
brush egg white long top and place in oven for 20 minutes @ 425F.

It tasted like very plain bread, it could possibly have used some salt(none was added).

Visual Trick

A friend sent me this, maybe this has already been seen by most, but it’s new to me. It’s just interesting enough for me to post.

Let your eyes follow the movement of the rotating dot. The dots will remain only one colour, pink.

However if you stare at the black “+” in the centre, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black “+” in the centre of the picture.
After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating.

It’s amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don’t disappear. This should be proof enough, we don’t always see what we think we see

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Who you calling Chicken?

I made one of the best chickens I’ve ever eaten yesterday, at home, in my oven! Here’s how:

3.5LB Small Frozen chicken, thawed, put a stainless steel pot with 4 Liters of water and 187ml(Next time, 175ml) of table salt(dissolved) refrigerate for 11 hours.

Remove from brine, rinse under cold fresh water, pat dry, rub Peanut oil with pinches of cinnamon and white pepper all over.
Then broil breast side down for 60 minutes in preheated 180C oven. Turn breast side up and continue cooking until internal temperature is 75C(Took 20 more minutes for me).
Cover and let stand 5 minutes, and serve.

Everybody knows.

Life is a meaningless descent into the void. Or so the story goes… Just testing out some blog software/themes. This one looks very nice, but is hell on the slower systems.

Useful information for some.

Wasting time with the best of them.

Damn it, I lost…