Power Meters?

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 09 May 2021 09:49:22 +0700, John B. wrote:
On Sat, 08 May 2021 19:09:15 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 8 May 2021 14:37:02 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich wrote:

I prefer my Casio Solar that is totally electronic, recharges
from sunlight or even tabletop lamps and resets to accurate
time every time a GPS satellite passes overhead.

Nope. The Casio Solar Atomic G-Shock watches and others use WWVB (in
North America) at 60 KHz and not GPS at about 1.5 GHz.

"How Radio Controlled Casio Watches sync with Atomic Clock"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMb_8KocAA

Do people still wear watches? I just look at my cell phone :-)

When politely asking you what time it is, which stylish beach lady wants to
see some boring cell phone, possibly scraped, varnish flaking off?

You fail to grasp the main socially beneficial functions of wearing a watch:
Those who cannot judge you from your bike parts can glimpse what personal
image you want your watch to project to your fellow citizen (... excuse the
pun). And in case you're robbed of your authentic Swiss chronograph, at
least you do not lose a lot of personal and business data.

Yep. Smart watches are currently the rage:
https://www.google.com/search?q=smar****ch&hl=en&tbm=isch
I don't have one (yet) but I've been playing with those owned by
friends. One nice feature is that the Bluetooth connection to the
smartphone can be used to initiate or answer phone calls. Some have
various medical recorders (pulse oximeter, temperature, afib
detection, ECG, etc):
https://www.apple.com/healthcare/apple-watch/
Of course, they are now wearable cycling computahs:
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/g20023538/9-great-smart-watches-for-cyclists/
or radiation detectors:
https://www.mtmwatch.com/collections/special-ops/rad/

Do I really want to witness my achy breaky heart issue nerve-wrecking alarms
right before I pass away? And as I happen to like Soviet-era watch dial
design: Wearing a radiation detector next to it would take some joy out of
mariage bargains from Ukraine!

Am 08.05.2021 um 01:35 schrieb Frank Krygowski:
I don't know if there is a specialized field of instruction that teaches
programmers how to communicate with human beings - "Control Psychology"?
- but there should be.

Yes, it's called "Work and organisation psychology". My company employs
a fair number of those (the only psychologists making more money than a
shrink).

Am 10.05.2021 um 04:18 schrieb Joy Beeson:
On Sun, 09 May 2021 09:49:22 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Do people still wear watches? I just look at my cell phone :-)

I can't wear metal on my wrist, and wrist watches don't work well when
carried in a pocket.

My Garmin 'sports tracker wrist band' was metal free except for the
charging contacts. Sadly, after 5 years of so the charging cable broke,
no substitute available.

Am Sun, 9 May 2021 14:47:07 -0700 (PDT) schrieb jbeattie
:

On Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 1:59:42 PM UTC-7, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
Am Sun, 09 May 2021 09:54:42 -0500 schrieb AMuzi :

On 5/8/2021 12:51 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op zaterdag 8 mei 2021 om 18:45:34 UTC+2 schreef Frank Krygowski:
On 5/8/2021 4:42 AM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
Am Sat, 8 May 2021 02:35:45 +0000 (UTC) schrieb Ralph Barone
:

Read some Donald Norman or Bruce Tognazzi. Unfortunately, their teachings
appear to have fallen out of favour with whoever is programming modern
stuff. Right now the goal seems to be to make the user interface invisible
and completely inscrutable.
I heartily agree, and heartily complain. Examples abound. One member of
our extended family recently got a new refrigerator, and I volunteered
to hook up the water line for the in-door ice maker. But then I couldn't
figure out how to test it. I was sure the dim icons on the black panel
meant something to someone, but they might have been Martian code.

Vaguely related: Back in the 1970s, an artist friend of mine designed a
unique clock. It was a black panel with a series of hidden LEDs. The
LEDs lit up in an apparently random pattern, until you "got" the code.
Then you could read the time.

Back then it seemed to me a silly bit of exclusionary theater - "Hah, I
can tell time and you can't!" But the idea seems to have been adopted by
lots of gadget makers. "Look at our sleek black featureless control
panel. Isn't it cool?"

That's why I dislike almost every device having a touchscreen. I used a
Garmin GPSMap 60Csx for navigating on the bike, for a long time
which served me well.

https://www.mystrobl.de/Plone/radfahren/technik/komponenten/navi/IMG_1405.jpeg
A while ago, it got replaced by a GPSMap 64s, which has a faster
processor, more memory and slightly enhanced firmware.

https://www.mystrobl.de/ws/pic/fahrrad/garmin64s.jpg

I am very glad that the user interface didn't change much. I can find
and touch the various buttons easily without looking at them, even with
gloves and when it is wet.
Finding and touching buttons is un-stylish and passe'. To change a
modern car's radio station, you have to take your eyes off the road to
look at a touchscreen. If that makes you hit a bicyclist, just use the
SMIDSY defense.


--
- Frank Krygowski

The worst user interface is on our coffee machine at work. The guy/girl that designed that should be shot on sight. Touchscreen, browsing, swiping WTF. You have to 'program' your cup of coffee. The undrinkable kind is for free, for the just bare-able kind you have to pay euro 0.33 with your card which takes ages. I brought my
own coffee machine (Senseo machine, one button operation) to work and installed it in the coffee corner and told everyone they can use it if they don't make a mess. I do clean it every day. It is heavily used.

Lou


I paid IIRC $5 for mine used about 35 years ago:

https://barnimages.com/wp-content/up...images-004.jpg

Brews great coffee; no stress, no codes, no disposable
filters, no troubles.
Indeed.

Ours, about as old, still in use.

http://www.mystrobl.de/ws/pic/bialetti.jpg

Replacement parts are still available.



Moka pots are kind of their own thing, and I think of the
results as a hybrid between espresso and drip -- or under
expressed espresso.

I don't think so. Espresso is a coffee brewing method of Italian origin,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso

Some consumer espresso machines may perhaps replicate machines used in
Italian bars and over the world. However, my experience with expensive
ones bought and operated by friends or thows two or three modern ones we
had in the office, isn't that great. My two Bialetti machines make
better espresso, easily. It needs some practice to get it right, and
the right grind. Too coarse and you don't get enough pressure, to fine
and you only get steam through the overpressure valve.



My espresso machine has to be switched on and warmed up,
but after that, its good to go -- no stress, no codes, no
disposable filters, no trouble -- usually. I just changed
out the vibe pump, although it wasn't really necessary, and
replaced a boiler element a few years ago, and descaling a
double-boiler can be tricky without the right tools, but
then again, you get worthy espresso -- and you can foam
milk.

We owned a simple version of that kind, for a while, until it broke.
Just water tank, a pump, heating element, on/off switch and a steam
button. A Krups brand, older and even simpler then the first one
reviewed here.

https://hubpages.com/living/buy-krups-espresso-coffee-machines-online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF09...hannel=BenPiff
With guests, however, you end up trapped making espresso
drinks.

We have a second, larger Bialetti for that. Using both at the same time,
I'm able to produce nine cups in a very short time.

I like ordinary drip for breakfast coffee -- you can
make it in bulk.

So do we, using an Melitta filter like this one
https://www.coop.ch/de/haushalt-tier/haushalt-kueche/beutel-filter/filter/melitta-kaffee-filter-1x4-schwarz/p/6007659
on top of a thermos flask. Espresso is for the weekends and special
occasions.


It's not as punchy as a moka pot coffee,
but for me that is a good thing.

Indeed.

--
Wir danken für die Beachtung aller Sicherheitsbestimmungen

On 5/9/2021 11:00 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 09 May 2021 17:56:31 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 5/9/2021 3:17 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 09 May 2021 09:49:22 +0700, John B.
wrote:

On Sat, 08 May 2021 19:09:15 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Sat, 8 May 2021 14:37:02 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

I prefer my Casio Solar that is totally electronic, recharges
from sunlight or even tabletop lamps and resets to accurate
time every time a GPS satellite passes overhead.

Nope. The Casio Solar Atomic G-Shock watches and others use WWVB (in
North America) at 60 KHz and not GPS at about 1.5 GHz.

"How Radio Controlled Casio Watches sync with Atomic Clock"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMb_8KocAA

Do people still wear watches? I just look at my cell phone :-)

Yep. Smart watches are currently the rage:
https://www.google.com/search?q=smar****ch&hl=en&tbm=isch
I don't have one (yet) but I've been playing with those owned by
friends. One nice feature is that the Bluetooth connection to the
smartphone can be used to initiate or answer phone calls. Some have
various medical recorders (pulse oximeter, temperature, afib
detection, ECG, etc):
https://www.apple.com/healthcare/apple-watch/
Of course, they are now wearable cycling computahs:
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/g20023538/9-great-smart-watches-for-cyclists/
or radiation detectors:
https://www.mtmwatch.com/collections/special-ops/rad/

What's a "cell phone"? You need a smartphone so you too can practice
distracted driving, acting rude, poking the screen, and have it run
your life. Soon, everyone will have a smartphone. Oh wait... they
already do.

*ahem*
everyone??

Yep, everyone. At this time, there are 298 million smartphone users
in the USA:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/201182/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-the-us/
Out of a US population of 331 million, that's 90% penetration at all
ages and income levels. Even the local homeless have smart phones. It
may never actually hit 100%, but even at 90%, it qualifies for "almost
everyone".

So, what will it take to convince you to switch to the dark side and
get a smartphone? My guess(tm) some feature that you can't live
without. Built in flashlight, death ray, or bicycle headlight? Movie
projector? Simulation of your favorite historical personality using
AI (artificial intelligence)? Star Trek tricorder that does medical
diagnostics and possibly treatment? Pocket x-ray spectrometer for ore
and metallurgical analysis? Voice FM modulation lie detector? The
list never ends. Eventually, you will find some feature in smartphone
that will get your attention and inspire you to buy one. Resistance
is futile. You will be assimilated.




meh.


--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Op maandag 10 mei 2021 om 06:00:33 UTC+2 schreef :
On Sun, 09 May 2021 17:56:31 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

So, what will it take to convince you to switch to the dark side and
get a smartphone? My guess(tm) some feature that you can't live
without. Built in flashlight, death ray, or bicycle headlight? Movie
projector? Simulation of your favorite historical personality using
AI (artificial intelligence)? Star Trek tricorder that does medical
diagnostics and possibly treatment? Pocket x-ray spectrometer for ore
and metallurgical analysis? Voice FM modulation lie detector? The
list never ends. Eventually, you will find some feature in smartphone
that will get your attention and inspire you to buy one. Resistance
is futile. You will be assimilated.
--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

That is an interesting question. For most people it is social media. For me? Hmmm..for me it is most of the time just the the phone and camera. For work it calendar, Email, unit conversion app, flashlight, calculator and the ability to do a google search. That is about it.

Lou

On Monday, May 10, 2021 at 1:55:10 AM UTC-7, Sepp Ruf wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 09 May 2021 09:49:22 +0700, John B. wrote:
On Sat, 08 May 2021 19:09:15 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 8 May 2021 14:37:02 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich wrote:

I prefer my Casio Solar that is totally electronic, recharges
from sunlight or even tabletop lamps and resets to accurate
time every time a GPS satellite passes overhead.

Nope. The Casio Solar Atomic G-Shock watches and others use WWVB (in
North America) at 60 KHz and not GPS at about 1.5 GHz.

"How Radio Controlled Casio Watches sync with Atomic Clock"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMb_8KocAA

Do people still wear watches? I just look at my cell phone :-)
When politely asking you what time it is, which stylish beach lady wants to
see some boring cell phone, possibly scraped, varnish flaking off?

You fail to grasp the main socially beneficial functions of wearing a watch:
Those who cannot judge you from your bike parts can glimpse what personal
image you want your watch to project to your fellow citizen (... excuse the
pun). And in case you're robbed of your authentic Swiss chronograph, at
least you do not lose a lot of personal and business data.
Yep. Smart watches are currently the rage:
https://www.google.com/search?q=smar****ch&hl=en&tbm=isch
I don't have one (yet) but I've been playing with those owned by
friends. One nice feature is that the Bluetooth connection to the
smartphone can be used to initiate or answer phone calls. Some have
various medical recorders (pulse oximeter, temperature, afib
detection, ECG, etc):
https://www.apple.com/healthcare/apple-watch/
Of course, they are now wearable cycling computahs:
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/g20023538/9-great-smart-watches-for-cyclists/
or radiation detectors:
https://www.mtmwatch.com/collections/special-ops/rad/
Do I really want to witness my achy breaky heart issue nerve-wrecking alarms
right before I pass away? And as I happen to like Soviet-era watch dial
design: Wearing a radiation detector next to it would take some joy out of
mariage bargains from Ukraine!
The radioactive paint on the dials of my Seiko has long ago worn off.

On Monday, May 10, 2021 at 7:02:50 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Op maandag 10 mei 2021 om 06:00:33 UTC+2 schreef :
On Sun, 09 May 2021 17:56:31 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

So, what will it take to convince you to switch to the dark side and
get a smartphone? My guess(tm) some feature that you can't live
without. Built in flashlight, death ray, or bicycle headlight? Movie
projector? Simulation of your favorite historical personality using
AI (artificial intelligence)? Star Trek tricorder that does medical
diagnostics and possibly treatment? Pocket x-ray spectrometer for ore
and metallurgical analysis? Voice FM modulation lie detector? The
list never ends. Eventually, you will find some feature in smartphone
that will get your attention and inspire you to buy one. Resistance
is futile. You will be assimilated.
--
Jeff Liebermann
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
That is an interesting question. For most people it is social media. For me? Hmmm..for me it is most of the time just the the phone and camera. For work it calendar, Email, unit conversion app, flashlight, calculator and the ability to do a google search. That is about it.
Without direct access to Google John wouldn't have a single fact to hand.

On Monday, May 10, 2021 at 3:57:03 AM UTC-7, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
Am Sun, 9 May 2021 14:47:07 -0700 (PDT) schrieb jbeattie
:
On Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 1:59:42 PM UTC-7, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
Am Sun, 09 May 2021 09:54:42 -0500 schrieb AMuzi :

On 5/8/2021 12:51 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op zaterdag 8 mei 2021 om 18:45:34 UTC+2 schreef Frank Krygowski:
On 5/8/2021 4:42 AM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
Am Sat, 8 May 2021 02:35:45 +0000 (UTC) schrieb Ralph Barone
:

Read some Donald Norman or Bruce Tognazzi. Unfortunately, their teachings
appear to have fallen out of favour with whoever is programming modern
stuff. Right now the goal seems to be to make the user interface invisible
and completely inscrutable.
I heartily agree, and heartily complain. Examples abound. One member of
our extended family recently got a new refrigerator, and I volunteered
to hook up the water line for the in-door ice maker. But then I couldn't
figure out how to test it. I was sure the dim icons on the black panel
meant something to someone, but they might have been Martian code.

Vaguely related: Back in the 1970s, an artist friend of mine designed a
unique clock. It was a black panel with a series of hidden LEDs. The
LEDs lit up in an apparently random pattern, until you "got" the code.
Then you could read the time.

Back then it seemed to me a silly bit of exclusionary theater - "Hah, I
can tell time and you can't!" But the idea seems to have been adopted by
lots of gadget makers. "Look at our sleek black featureless control
panel. Isn't it cool?"

That's why I dislike almost every device having a touchscreen. I used a
Garmin GPSMap 60Csx for navigating on the bike, for a long time
which served me well.

https://www.mystrobl.de/Plone/radfahren/technik/komponenten/navi/IMG_1405.jpeg
A while ago, it got replaced by a GPSMap 64s, which has a faster
processor, more memory and slightly enhanced firmware.

https://www.mystrobl.de/ws/pic/fahrrad/garmin64s.jpg

I am very glad that the user interface didn't change much. I can find
and touch the various buttons easily without looking at them, even with
gloves and when it is wet.
Finding and touching buttons is un-stylish and passe'. To change a
modern car's radio station, you have to take your eyes off the road to
look at a touchscreen. If that makes you hit a bicyclist, just use the
SMIDSY defense.


--
- Frank Krygowski

The worst user interface is on our coffee machine at work. The guy/girl that designed that should be shot on sight. Touchscreen, browsing, swiping WTF. You have to 'program' your cup of coffee. The undrinkable kind is for free, for the just bare-able kind you have to pay euro 0.33 with your card which takes ages. I brought my
own coffee machine (Senseo machine, one button operation) to work and installed it in the coffee corner and told everyone they can use it if they don't make a mess. I do clean it every day. It is heavily used.

Lou


I paid IIRC $5 for mine used about 35 years ago:

https://barnimages.com/wp-content/up...images-004.jpg

Brews great coffee; no stress, no codes, no disposable
filters, no troubles.
Indeed.

Ours, about as old, still in use.

http://www.mystrobl.de/ws/pic/bialetti.jpg

Replacement parts are still available.
Moka pots are kind of their own thing, and I think of the
results as a hybrid between espresso and drip -- or under
expressed espresso.
I don't think so. Espresso is a coffee brewing method of Italian origin,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso

Well, its not really a matter of opinion, because by definition, espresso -- the drink -- is coffee expressed under 9-10 bars pressure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso http://www.espressoitaliano.org/file...inei_hq_en.pdf


Some consumer espresso machines may perhaps replicate machines used in
Italian bars and over the world. However, my experience with expensive
ones bought and operated by friends or thows two or three modern ones we
had in the office, isn't that great. My two Bialetti machines make
better espresso, easily. It needs some practice to get it right, and
the right grind. Too coarse and you don't get enough pressure, to fine
and you only get steam through the overpressure valve

Your Bialetti produces maybe 1-2 bars pressure. It may taste great, but it is not technically espresso -- and I have no idea what your friends were doing or what sort of machines they had, but the process of pulling a really great shot requires a good grinder, good coffee, stable heat (temperature appropriate to the coffee) and good pump pressure. A machine -- even a great machine -- is no guaranty of a great shot.

The pre-ground Italian blends like Illy and LaVazza are super forgiving and produce a good flavor over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, so using one of those blends in a moka pot will produce a nice cup of espresso-ish coffee.


My espresso machine has to be switched on and warmed up,
but after that, its good to go -- no stress, no codes, no
disposable filters, no trouble -- usually. I just changed
out the vibe pump, although it wasn't really necessary, and
replaced a boiler element a few years ago, and descaling a
double-boiler can be tricky without the right tools, but
then again, you get worthy espresso -- and you can foam
milk.
We owned a simple version of that kind, for a while, until it broke.
Just water tank, a pump, heating element, on/off switch and a steam
button. A Krups brand, older and even simpler then the first one
reviewed here.

The cheap heat-block models are not worth owning based on my experience. I'd stick with a moka pot. Over the last 30 years, I've had three machines -- two small heat-exchanger models that I sold and my current double boiler for the last 15 years. It works well and with the right coffee and grind, produces a shot as good or close to as good as any shot in town, keeping in mind that in this town, coffee is competition, and some of the machines are mind-blowing. The PNW (Portland/Seattle) has custom machine makers. https://slayerespresso.com/ The local espresso maker sto https://clivecoffee.com/

-- Jay Beattie.

On 5/10/2021 12:24 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 9 May 2021 21:08:28 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
-
About clocks in view somewhe I'm a bit amazed twice a year, changing
to or from Daylight Saving Time. There are well over a dozen devices I
have to reset.

How many of those dozen devices are sundials? No criticism expressed
or implied. I'm just curious how you handle daylight savings time
with your sundials.

There is an equatorial sundial at our university planetarium that can be
adjusted for the time change.
https://sundials.org/sundial-registry/onedial/720.html
The adjustment is done by shifting the stainless steel arc either
clockwise or counterclockwise.

However, I'll point out that simple sundials like that don't account for
the "equation of time," which is the confusing name given to the
difference between (mean) clock time and sun time, which varies during
the year. A clock can be as much as half an hour out of sync with the
sun. (That probably explains an account I read, where peasants in
western Ireland were dismissive of the first mechanical clocks. "They
don't tell the right time.")

My reflecting ceiling sundial is much more accurate than the one in the
link above, at least on the hours and half hours, when interpolation
isn't required. The reflected sun dot is read against a series of
analemmas on the ceiling, one for every 30 minutes (11:30, 12:00, 12:30
etc.). They're color coded so I can read it using the proper side of
each, depending on the season.

Each analemma is labeled with two time values. At the south (summer)
end, the labels are in Daylight Saving Time. At the north (winter) end,
the labels are in Eastern Standard Time. So all I've got to do is
remember which time system we're in. That's easy.

I should post a photo, but it's not easy to get a good one.

If the device is mechanical, then set the time to GMT and do the DST
conversion in your head when you read the dial or digits. I did that
for a while. After a few months, the conversion became almost
automatic.

If the device is electronic, then it must be quite old. Most
everything sold these days has some way to automatically set daylight
savings time. Upgrade?

The collection contains four mechanical clocks (two of them gifts), my
two wris****ches, my wife's one or two, four clock radios, a microwave
oven, a handful of antique (i.e. non-internet) cyclometers, the car's
clock, and probably something I'm forgetting. I guess it's closer to 20
than to a dozen.

--
- Frank Krygowski