Herculodge

The 10 Signs That It’s Time to Delete Your Facebook Account

 

1. You start “sharing” increasing gradations of meaningless trivia with your “friends” like what kind of dog food you purchased, what kind of nail polish you’re using before vacationing in Maui, how taking Omega-3 fish oil capsules makes you burp, etc.
2. You’re spending 14 hours a day “managing” your friends’ comments ("No one has commented on my juicy entry that was posted almost 30 minutes ago. Damn them all!") and losing more perspective on what’s important in your life like getting out of the house, making real friends, and embarking on something truly creative.
3. You become paranoid as to why a “friend” deleted you from his or her friends list and start losing sleep over why more and more Facebook people are deleting you from their existence.
4. You become jealous and resentful when you see a “friend” commenting on someone’s “boring” post but that same person ignored your more “interesting” post.
5. You start competing with your other  Facebook “friends” for amassing more and more friends and comments.
6. You fret when none of your Facebook friends wish you Happy Birthday.
7. You obsess over the fact that one of your lifelong friends is engaging in more Facebook activity with a new Facebook acquaintance who has demoted your friendship ranking.
8. You lose Facebook friends because you don’t reciprocate their offers to play Bubble Shooter, Pokemon Tower Defense, Trollface Launch, Whack Your Boss, and other games that require too much time for anyone who is gainfully employed.
9. You become a Facebook snob, rejecting friend invitations from people who have fewer than 300 Facebook friends.
10. You become a Facebook elitist only accepting friend invitations from people who have a bare minimum of a Masters Degree, share your political beliefs, and have published or produced a work of art that was reviewed by a major publication. 

 

Nearsightedness Has Doubled in the Last 30 Years Because We Spend Too Much Time Indoors

 

Just heard on NPR Sunday Morning Edition that if children don't get 2 hours daily outside their eyes will grow too large and they will be nearsighted. The incidence of nearsightedness has doubled since the 1970s due to people spending too much time indoors watching TV and gazing at computers. The indoor bovine life does us no good. 

AM-Only Hitachi and Panasonic Radios in Red

 

 

From Southern California, this red Hitachi transistor AM-only radio caught my eye. A bit of a curiosity.

Below a Panasonic AM-only radio also in red. Was AM-only radio for the beach? 

 

 

If I See Another Toshiba RT-2800, I May Have to Buy It

I saw a Toshiba RT-2800 a year or so ago on eBay and didn't buy it. I wish I had. I still think about it. What a wonder of a radio. Less rare but not seen on eBay for a while is the appealing Toshiba RP-1660 shown below. Very tempting also.

 

 

 

 

 

Radio Intrigue of the Day: Victor F-240

 

Thanks, Brandon:

Here is something I've never seen before - the Victor F-240.

Check out that analog bass/treble stick.  Looks more like a video game controller than a radio knob.

The radio is made in Japan.  I don't know much else about it other than I see it has shortwave on it and I'm not sure what the "mic freq" and "mic volume" are for.

You Need a Minimum 100 Facebook Friends to be Qualified to be My Facebook Friend

 

Recently, I turned down someone's invitation for me to be their facebook friend. Why? The person in question had only 16 friends. I was thinking, What the hell is wrong with this person? No way. I only friend the popular. You need a minimum 100 friends before I'll even consider your friendship.

Sincerely,

Facebook Snob. 

Why You Should be a Shamed Parent #1: You're Using Wonder Pets As a Verb

When my twin toddlers Natalie and Julia get fussy, so loud I can't hear anything else, the default solution is to turn on Wonder Pets. I have 20 episodes recorded on DVR. It's gotten to the point that I'm using Wonder Pets as a verb and will say to my wife, Carrie, "Hey, should I WP the babies?" like I"m getting out a can of Fuss be Gone. 

Surely, I have overused WP to soothe the fuss levels and this is evidence that I am going to Parents Hell for the shamed. 

Americans Waste 40% of the Food They Purchase So I'm Throwing Away $4,000 a Year

 

I throw away way too much food. I don't know what percentage of the food I buy gets tossed, but I've been hearing from several sources that the average American wastes 40% of his or her food. 

Often, I forget about food in the frig and then "discover" it when it's too late. I figure I spend about $10,000 a year on food to feed a family of 4. So I'm throwing away about $4,000 a year. Ouch.

Here are 7 Ways to Waste Less. 

Craig's Review of the Tecsun PL-660

(Re-post)

I have been using the Tecsun 660 for over a month now so I guess it's time for a short review. If I encounter any problems, I will update. 

 
This is Tecsun's latest offering and possibly their best to date. It is a Dual-Conversion radio with a myriad of features including synchronous detection. My sample was a first generation unit meaning the display light will only stay on for 3 seconds after a control is activated. Newer units will have lights that stay on for thirty seconds. Other new alterations involve tuning speed.

Layout and Operation:

Layout is very straightforward. The tuning knob BFO and non-digital volume control are located on the right side. Antenna jack (FM/Shortwave), antenna gain switch, tone bass switch, headphone and external power jack are all located on the left side. All other controls are located in front. 
After turning on the radio and selecting a band, you can choose 1 of 3 modes to utilize: VF,VM or scan. If you choose VF (frequency mode)tune as you would any radio or input frequencies directly using the keyboard. If you choose VM (memory mode) use the tuning knob to "scroll"through memorized stations. If you choose scan mode the receiver will stop for 5 seconds on each station and move on to the next. Memories can be stored manually or automatically using ATS (auto tune system). This is a very useful feature which automatically stores stations.Two modes are available but I'll use mode A as an example. Choose the AM band and hold down the same button for a second and let up. The radio will go silent and the dispay will literally start counting out received stations until it reaches the end of the band. The tuning knob can now be used to scroll through all perceived stations bypassing "dead frequencies". The threshold or squelch is set low enough that even the faintest stations are counted as valid. In the past I have had radios with this feature made useless because the squelch was set to high causing even strong stations to be missed. These memories will stay in place until using the ATS again which will overwrite previously stored memories. What makes this feature even more interesting is it literally gives you an indication of atmospheric conditions from day to day. Some nights during a scan you might get 70 stations,,,,the next night 85.

Selectivity

The radio has two selectable bandwidths. I would guess 6khz. and 3khz? These are shown on the dispay as upside down brackets of differnt widths. Plus it has a selectable sync detector which helps separate stations; If you are listening to a weak station say 800khz and find strong interference from a powerhouse at 790 activate sync and choose USB (upper side band) , which will eliminate most of the interference. This does change the sound tone a bit too but it works well! If the signal becomes too week for sync to work, SYNC will begin to flash on the display.

Sync can reduce fading a bit but works better as a station separator. Selectable SSB with BFO is included for shortwave enthusiasts. Find a Ham operator and select the appropriate sideband (usually LSB below ten Megs and USB above 10Megs) and fine tune the BFO to decode these transmissions. It is quite stable in use.

Sensitivity:

 
MW sensitivity is quite good owing to a almost 5" internal antenna but I'd like to further enhance reception with a tuneable loop... From WA state I have easily received CKMX Utah as well as well as KFI Los Angeles. CKNW New Westminster BC, which is always tough, comes in quite well at night with little fading.

I have compared it to a Super Radio 3 and couldn't tell any difference in sensitivity. I use the 17 foot included plug in antenna to receive many shortwave stations although it works very well on the whip to. I rarely listen to FM but did try to receive some known faint stations and was able to get them fairly easily. I noticed some videos on You Tube comparing Tecsuns earlier model the 600 with the 660 on FM and the 660 was less sensitive. Also includes an air band and LW neither which I have tested extensively yet.
 
Misc:

 
From pictures of the internals the radio appears to be heavily shielded which helps minimize electrical interference ect. I checked Long wave 470Khz. for a local strong station (1380) and found no image so the dual-conversion seems to be doing its job. Sound quality is adequate for a DX machine but don't expect it to compare with a Tivoli or Super Radio. It is very clear and crisp. Speaker output is rated at 450mW. The manual claims power consumption between 50 and 70 mA so 2300mA rechargeables should last somewhere around 40 hours. Build quality appears solid. I have had this radio for about 1 month now and like it very much. I would rate it a 5 out of 5 for funability. It cost about $100 with shipping from eBAY. Included is a nice case with a velcro flap, external FM/shortwave antenna (for clipping on curtain ect.), rechargeable batteries (four 1000mA) and a wall wart. 

As we all know it can be risky ordering from China as you might get a dud. Then you have to decide whether or not it's worth sending back. Too bad Tecsun doesen't have service center in the US. Long-term quality can be a concern but as of yet I haven't had any problems except a prematurely worn volume control on a Kaito. Careful of that flimsy collapsible stand too. I always support the radio with my hand when depressing buttons (which by the way are rather stiff). Hope this review is helpful and happy listening.

Craig-. WA State.

 

Rugged Alert: Timepiece Does Not Need Any Maintenance for 10,000 Years

 

Woolman Penn has apprised us of this very robust timepiece. It looks like a train.