Remainders 31 May 2025

After the flower comes the fruit. Desert peaches, shot with Fuji X-T5 and the Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 at f/8, SOOC.

For now, a weekly schedule of remainders is too ambitious for me. I have enough required project work that my fun stuff has to take a lower priority for the season. Nonetheless, I will want to post items of interest that come up during my day once in a while.

  • The Ghost Phone is a real thing for individuals who want to reduce the amount of spying by Big Tech (and perhaps others).
  • This article on wisdom is worth a read.
  • I have an affinity for aphorisms. Hanlon’s Razor is one of my favorites.
  • The Classical Guitar Store is just what it sounds like. This is interesting.
  • Neil Armstrong’s Speedmaster sold for $2.2MM.
  • I have long thought I would like a Solo Stove for camping and for the house.
  • Omega Speedmaster watches are among my favorites. I really like both the 1957 Reissue and the Moonwatch.
  • This Aliner camper is kitted out to be a communications trailer.
  • A suitable object of lust.
  • I do not post about politics, as a rule. However, sometimes something makes me think about my beliefs and values. In general, I consider myself a Libertarian. However, I am more like a Classical Liberal. The term liberal has been subsumed by the far left to mean something other than what it really means. Such is the nature of language, I suppose, despite my disdain for perverting good words.
  • I sometimes (often?) forget how to subset a R-Project variable. This is a reminder of one way.
  • Another vital package for my R work is zoo. It provides functions for working with time series. A lot of hydrologic work is working with time series data.
  • I do a lot of analytical work in R. Part of what I like about the tool is that it produces very nice graphics, with some work. For an analysis I am working on, I needed a graph with dual y-axes (dual ordinates) for two variables that I think are related. Not knowing how to do this, I found some direction here.

Well, that will finish the month of May. I will start another Remainders list for June shortly.

Remainders 26 April 2025

I am unsure what the new sign will be, but they were working on it Friday morning. I will walk by there sometime soon and check it out. Shot with Fujifilm X100vi and Tri-X 400 film simulation.
  • I removed everything Microsoft from my MacBook Pro. This webpage provided the directions necessary to finalize the removal. This phase completed the removal of Office 365 from my Mac, which I thought I completed when I did the original uninstall a week ago. Apparently, the updater remained installed outside of the Applications directory. I got it, though.
  • I have been using my Yaesu FT-897D quite a lot in the field. It is a good radio. Hank thinks so, too.
  • The Sinn 104 series of watches look very practical for someone like me.
  • This YT video is so crazy and cute. They are very creative.
  • 1Password has a version for Linux. This will need to be installed on my Linux test box.

Remainders: 19 April 2025

El Charro Avitia is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Carson at the moment. The food is authentic Mexican, best I can tell. The Margaritas are very, very good. Shot with Fuji X-T5 and Fujinon 18mm f/2 at f/8 using in-camera Kodachrome 64 film simulation.
  • SignalStuff is still a go-to for handie-talkie antennas and supporting parts.
  • Because tariffs are now a thing, I am monitoring them.
  • Lorier watches are a microbrand that are made in the U.S. based on a Japanese movement (at least some of them). They are worth a look if one is interested in mechanical watches.
  • Lochby recently posted an interesting look at journaling prompts that is definitely worth a look at.
  • I am a Flying Pig.
  • This list of 100 best SciFi movies was recommended to me. It is good.

Remainders: 05 April 2025

On my way out the the Delaware Town Access SCA, I stopped at Tony’s Place in Nixa, MO for breakfast. The breakfast burrito was good. Shot with the Fujifilm X100V at f/8 using Reggie’s Portra 400 film simulation and SOOC.

The image: Last year about this time I was in Missouri visiting family (and having the camper repaired after a serious blowout tore shit up). One morning The Girl and I headed out to activate a park and I stopped for breakfast at Tony’s Place in Nixa, Missouri. It was good. The activation got done, too. It was a good day.

Remainders: 29 March 2025

On walkies, the Sun was shining on this sign. I like it. Shot with Fujifilm X-T5 and Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 at about f/4 with an in-camera Tri-X 400 film simulation, SOOC.

I have been so busy with work and caring for Sera that I have not recorded any of my Internet wanderings. However, there are a few sites from this week that are worth taking a minute to share.

  • My buddy recently sent me some history of chronometers. I thought I should share:
  • I have a surplus military mast in my inventory that I use for longer-term radio deployments. HamStop builds appliances for these masts that are specifically designed for antenna deployments.

Remainders: 22 March 2025

I made an excellent buy on this Longines St. Imier black face chronograph. This is likely to be an heirloom piece.

Ex Post Facto: I started this remainders a couple-three weeks ago, then did not give it much attention, then did a rush of searches for a variety of reasons that finally gave me a few entries.

I then became extremely busy for a several days and wound up working the weekend. Therefore, I did not close out my remainders list properly. So, I have now updated it (Monday 23 March 2025).

  • I stumbled on a weblog where I found mention of a Linux-based mobile phone. The operating system is called Mobian and it looks interesting.
  • I need some kind of PDF tool (other than Acrobat). BlueBeam might be a solution.
  • By the time this posts, the Sasquatch Stomp will be done. I am writing this days before the event. I wonder (before the fact) if I participated?
  • Mido makes inexpensive chronometers that are based on a solid movement (ETA 2678). I expect one will wander into my life at some point.
  • My buddy got me looking at Hanhart watches. Steve McQueen wore a Hanhart chronograph. They also make a solid field watch. I like tool watches (but am not particularly enamored with divers). I want a field watch, but the Hamilton Khaki line is built on a Powermatic movement that does not allow after-factory regulation. The Hamiltons are very classy looking, but are not acceptable.
  • I have a couple of military masts for portable operations. HamStop makes 3D printed standoffs for the hanging of antennas from these masts. I think one or more of these will wind up in my inventory.
  • The Dirty Dozen was not only a movie, but a reference to the dozen watchmakers who built wrist watches for British troops in WW2.
  • The Timor has been reissued as a homage to the field watches of WW2. It is based on a Sellita SW216 or SW260 caliber (movement).
  • I eschewed learning the EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) for many years. However, it turned out to be a useful tool for a couple projects the last year or so. There is an open source version as well as the version directly from FEMA. This is the core site, best I can tell.

Remainders: 01 March 2025

On my way home from Walker Lake, I stopped at the Lucky Gold Casino for some supper. I love the light on the Rexall Drugstore and made the capture with the Fujifilm X100vi using a Kodachrome 64 film simulation, SOOC.
  • I found a very good tutorial for getting Windows (11), a Digirig Mobile, and Winlink talking to each other and working. It is found on N1SPW‘s website. There are other goodies for ham radio operators there, too.
  • After an abortive attempt to get my ham radio software working with a Debian 12 Linux install, I am going to give Linux Mint 22 a try.
  • This post on Groups.io has directions for getting a Digirig Mobile and Lab599 TX500 working together.
  • Calibre is an ebook library manager that I used years ago, until I drank the Amazon Koolaid. I recently learned that Amazon will cease the download to your PC option on 26 February. That means there will no longer be a way to download a copy of a book you paid for to your personal library. Further, it means (IMNSHO) that Amazon will now be renting eBooks and not selling them, at least for all practical purposes. I think this will lead to one of my rants…
  • One of my concerns is the loss of the information contained on the Internet. Kiwix is a partial solution to that problem.
  • I recently acquired a Fujifilm X100vi camera. My experience with its predecessor, the X100V, was extraordinary. The X100 series of Fuji cameras are highly desirable, as evidenced by the inflated prices over the last few years. I was on the fence about the upgrade, but love the new XTrans V sensor in my X-T5 so much that I decided the upgrade was worth the expense. One of the first things I did was to change the default 2.4GHz WiFi to the 5GHz band. This will speed up image transfer to my iPhone quite a bit (remains to be tested).
  • This is an excellent table of Nikkor lenses and the compatible hoods.

Remainders: 15 February 2025

A wrist check from a few days ago. I do not have many remarkable wrist watches, but this one is. Shot with my iPhone.

I have been busy the last few weeks. The weblog took a hit as a result, as well as my documentation of websites I have visited.

  • Roberts built a nice webpage dedicated to the Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm zoom lenses. It is definitely worth keeping around for review if you are a user of manual focus lenses. Vivitar made lenses for a wide range of cameras. I have a few of them.
  • I know I have posted the link to the Tamron Adaptall-2 webpages before. But, this is such a good resource that it bears repeating.
  • It turns out the Olympus OM-3 and OM-4 bodies have a small physical sensor on the lens mount to detect when the lens is removed and force a reset of the spot metering system. Tamron redesigned the Olympus OM mount to prevent damage to this sensor and labelled it OL, replacing the original OM designation, at least on later versions of the mount. Documentation is here.
  • My buddy sent me contact information for a couple of watch makers, Watch Tech and Watch Doctor.
  • Like all of the professional cameras, Olympus offered interchangeable focusing screens for their OM-series bodies. This link is a list of them and what they offer.

Remainders: 11 January 2025

  • Vintage Watch Services is a Swiss watchmaker who does restoration of vintage wrist watches. His YouTube channel is a deep dive into the restoration process and is fascinating.
  • QLog looks to be a solid amateur radio logging software that runs under Linus and other operating systems. I am confident that I will end up with a Linux box again, probably as my main computer.
  • This brace from Animal Ortho Care has potential for helping with Sera’s recovery. She ruptured the ACL/CCL of her left knee on Thanksgiving Day. She will have surgery soon.

Remainders: 21 December 2024

Candles always remind me of Wife. No details were recorded or remembered. It is just a capture of my Christmas candle.
  • Dan Schimpf Software produces an excellent journaling/writing tool called MacJournal. When I was keeping an electronic journal, that was the preferred tool.
  • I am considering a knee brace for Sera. Animal Ortho Care makes custom braces.
  • My buddy got me started looking at watches because he knows I like mechanical things. The Caliber Corner has lots of data about watch movements.
  • Project Farm is one of my favorite YouTube content creators. He/they also maintain a website as well. He uses good practices to measure the performance of various tools and other useful items. They are not laboratory-grade tests, but they are based on good practice.
  • This Penco Drafting Pencil looks like a good addition to my EDC. I am not currently carrying a pencil and they can be handy.