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November 9, 2021 – Troubleshooting a Failing Bath Fan

November 9, 2021 /

We have lived in this house over sixteen years. Since the week we first moved in, I thought that a bearing was bad in the fan unit since it made a vibrating sound. I was even going to replace it one time about three or four years ago but the shelving stock was out. I looked for several months thereafter but then forgot about it.

Instead of just being noisy, it started getting to the point of not actually working. You could hear the power applied but the fan wasn’t moving always. Sometimes, flipping the switch a couple of times would get the fan going, sometimes not. I decided that now was the time to finally do this.

I checked the availability at the box store and it was in-stock. My experience over the years has taught me to visually inspect the unit before doing anything. I wanted to make sure that I was replacing the unit as quickly and painlessly as possible. You could say a like for like swap is what I was looking for.

Much to my surprise, the fan was not a 50 CFM unit but a 70 CFM unit even though the bathroom is only 3×5′. So I started looking a little closer at my ordering options because I was not going to be able to go to the store for several days. When I looked on Amazon, I realized that I would not have to tear the entire housing out like I had done with the two others I replaced but I could swap the motor/fan assembly out only saving tons of effort.

Then, I went to the local hardware store and bought a replacement motor/fan unit. When I took the unit apart to replace the motor, I think I identified multiple issues.

If you see how dusty the outside is, you can imagine that there is 30 years of dust caked on the motor and fan. I suspect that the dust on the outside of the motor housing was causing the motor to overheat. I didn’t bother cleaning it and putting it back since I thought there was also a worn bearing causing noise.

My wife really wanted a new fan since the outside bezel was yellowed from age but I convinced her that I could just spray paint the old one and it would look much better. Before I started painting, I stuck the screw back in the housing so it wouldn’t get lost in the process. The screw was not what originally was part of the unit and when I turned on the fan, it was vibrating and making a ruckus while it was not holding the bezel tight. In the end, I decided that the noise I heard all those years was the screw vibrating and not a bad bearing.

When I put it back together, I put several wraps of teflon pipe tape to give some extra dimension to the screw and hopefully act as some padding. The fan is still loud because it is oversized for the room but works like a champ. I cannot say how much less effort the replacement motor is over a whole new unit. However, it is more expensive – imagine that but the cost was worth it.

Over time, these units do suck up dust and it ends up coating the electrical components. The one in the master bath I have cleaned several times because I can see dust on the outside, but never this one. Periodic maintenance would be recommended for long life.

End Your Programming Routine: The lesson that I would like to push today is look and understand the failure. It is highly possible that there was nothing wrong to begin with other than the dust needed clearing. This is at least the fifth fan that I have replaced but I never knew that a replacement unit could slip into the existing housing. So, I suppose $40 was a good investment in education.

November 8, 2021 – Even Seasoned Travelers Make Mistakes

November 8, 2021 /

Here I am six hours early or is it two hours late? Well, to be honest it is the latter. I am dealing with old ideas and paradigms in a new world I guess. I used to be Delta Platinum when it was the highest tier and a Hilton Diamond member. That meant I spent a lot of time on the road.

I am travelling for the first time in three years for business or pleasure for that matter. My flight was at 6:15AM so I planned to be at the kiosk for check-in one hour early. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get from my house to the airport with no traffic. There is no traffic at the four AM hour.

What I didn’t count on was the check-in kiosk was broken. So, I tried four times before I switched to another kiosk. By that time ten more people got in line before me and I only packed to check my luggage. By the time I got to the counter, I was too late to check my bag on the flight because there is a forty-five minute cut-off (which is new) and they would not send my bag on another flight (which was also new).

Fortunately, I am flying to a hub airport and there are additional flights throughout the day. With my new job, I have to book through a travel portal and I didn’t see later flights as an option otherwise I would have forgone waking up at three in the morning. So that is something else new I learned on this trip.

Sometimes with flights this early, I would choose to stay at a hotel where the cost of and overnight stay was equal to the cost of parking for the week. That way I was only a fifteen minute ride to the airport. I completely forgot about that option and I am kind of weirded out by how constrictive the rules and travel policies are so I am trying to be conservative in my spending. Plus, I would have had to book it on the front end.

I have slept through a flight before but I have never been at the airport not quite on time. This formula for leaving and time is the same one that I have always used but I didn’t count on the environmental changes. Probably, I am out of practice as well and a few minutes here or there was just unforgiveable.

Today is a travel day anyway. It kind of screwed up my afternoon plans to meet my boss face to face for the first time but I have no other commitments. I will cross security at some point in the next hour to hopefully find some breakfast and then wait five more hours. I have always said that I am willing to be late leaving, coming home is another story.

I suppose I didn’t need to check my bag on this trip. It is only four days. My standing rule of thumb is I only carry on if I am travelling first class or with a group of people that are also only carrying on. Why? I think it is a huge hassle at security and I am not really time constrained waiting for baggage. I find trying to get overhead space a pain and my company is paying the baggage fee anyway. Plus, I can bring items on checked bags that I can’t carry on and that is the real reason.

End Your Programming Routine: What did I learn? I need to add another half an hour to check my bag. It probably wouldn’t hurt to check-in online ahead of time so I can skip that step and go directly to the drop-off. I also need to seriously consider going carry-on only. These are all reasons I dread air travel. It has no magic for me and I am proud to say that I have no status with any airline, hotel or rental company anymore. Those perks are nice when you live a miserable life on the road, I am happy here. I just need to realize that things change.

November 5, 2021 – What Do You Say When No One is Listening?

November 5, 2021 /

I woke up this morning and the first thing that I read was a story by a local city counselor that resigned. You can read the story if you like and I am not going to try and paraphrase it. But to boil it down, he resigned over philosophical differences and personal priorities.

As I read the quotes by the different parties, the situation sounded hostile. But, I had to side with Counselor Day. He was the one that took a stand for right and also potentially suffered the consequences. It is easy to see on social media people acting in an echo chamber of similar beliefs or under the mask of anonymity using a screen name. What takes courage is to act on belief.

I have in my office a book by Paul Harvey called “Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor” which I have had in my possession since I was a in middle school. It was written in 1956, my book was printed for the bicentennial in 1976 and is about the risk this countries’ founders took by backing what they thought was right. It reiterates that the risk of publicly supporting independence was a potential death sentence. But even more so, most of the people that the book chronicles lost everything for what they believed.

I want to say that this book was probably ‘rah-rah’ patriotism. But, to me it is much deeper than that. If you have ever read the the story “Who Moved My Cheese?’ by Spencer Johnson. It is a cute, short story with a deep moral message about embracing change. Paul Harvey’s story is about people willing to stand on what they believe regardless of the consequences.

Let us not be fools and promote social suicide or even worse physical harm. You might believe that drowning cats is the best thing for the world because the kill wild birds and poop in your flower beds even though the neighbor owns the cat. Every action has consequences. What I am promoting today is having the courage to speak your beliefs and act accordingly. That also means tolerating other’s who let the ‘freak flag fly’. The anarchist non-aggression principal should apply here. Anything that does not harm others should be permissible.

With that disclaimer in place, we can get back on track. We all act differently when alone or within a close circle because the same behavior is inappropriate in all circles. It is knowing and understanding those boundaries along with the charge of presenting genuine self in situations that matter. I can’t say the number of business meetings I have left with the quote “Anyone have any further questions or comments?” to have silence. That is followed immediately by gossip and opinion.

It is unfortunate that my experience has led me to be jaded and mistrustful. Many (many, many, many) times I have found leadership to be unqualified or just plain poor. There is a delicate balance between trying to be firm and helpful and being obstinate. I know that my personality starts to shut down when conflict starts to occur frequently and I begin to write people off as potential to work productively.

I probably have covered this in the past, but I was very open about my unhappiness in my previous job with my employer. It was that openness that led me directly to quitting. When discussing the options with my boss, it was clear that what I wanted and what was were never going to merge for both of us. It was scary and it was conflicting but it was pure freedom. Here is the thing about freedom, we always hear about it like it is all sunshine and roses. Freedom has personal responsibility and accountability associated with it. We have to accept implied risk in order to reap the ultimate reward.

One last story here. Yesterday I saw a tall, chubby individual wearing a knee length dress and bright yellow t-shirt walking in a downpour across the grass toward the crosswalk. At first, I thought that this was a frumpy, young girl that lacked fashion forward clothing. Since I was at the intersection, I was watching what direction this person was walking so that I could do the right thing as the driver. Upon looking more closely, I could see extremely hairy legs and a mullet cut and I recognized that this was a male wearing a dress. There were uniform dolls and rainbow patches on the backpack solidifying my suspicion that this wasn’t a wardrobe mistake, this was a statement.

At first I was sad. I don’t know why God created individuals that struggle with their identity or their sexual affinity. I also think about future hardship with life living in a ‘normal’ world. But, then I had a slight change of heart. How much courage must it take to openly be yourself? Do I have the ability to be my true self? Would I stand for who I am because I feel differently than the status quo? I like to say yes, but here I am, another keyboard warrior typing into the abyss.

End Your Programming Routine: As I sit here typing, this one has taken a long time. I think about all the threads of life sort of coming at me in the last couple of days. The news and observations with the theme of being genuine might be a hint that I need to pay more attention. There are some situations that I am not exactly happy about but I haven’t done anything to change or address them yet. My tendency is to hope to weather the storm and that things will get better. That largely is often not the case. So, I have to decide if it is worth the risk or pain to be genuine.

November 4, 2021 – What Has Changed Since the Ice Storm in February

November 4, 2021 /

Yesterday, I had a conflict that left me away from home a large part of the day. I am also going to be travelling for business next week and I am not sure that I want to take a second laptop or not. Since I cant get this to work on iOS, I may be AWOL next week.

February 16, 2021 I wrote about lessons from a winter storm. One of my biggest holes were things related to energy. I didn’t have a lot of supplemental heat for comfort or electricity to protect my freezers for an extended outage. March 31, 2021 I wrote about the shortage of everything which now seems to be common knowledge. The linkage between those two was that I was having a hard time finding fuel storage namely propane tanks and fuel cannisters.

It wasn’t until mid-summer that I saw both of them come back. When they did, they weren’t at the prices they were before they were gone for months. So, as a good prepper watch the availability and price and buy when both are optimal and not needed.

The propane is flexible. With my little heater, it can run on 40 hours per cylinder. I also have adapters that can run the stove and other things. Combine this with my kerosene restocked (around 200 hours) and the fireplace we have way more supplemental heat potential.

I have been buying gas cans when they go on sale. This is to power the new generator that we have which was unfortunately part of Olivia’s inheritance. I really don’t have a clue about runtime here, but the strategy is all about rotation. The idea is to store the gasoline up to one year and then pour it into the vehicle and replace it. I have enough gas to swap it out every two months throughout the year.

Looking a little more long term, I still have on my list a couple more items. One is another inverter for converting vehicle power into energy. The idea is to have one inverter per vehicle so that they can be used as makeshift generators. I would also like to add a suitcase type generator because they are light and portable.

Also, I would like to build up a better supply of firewood as well. But, since we mostly burn in our firepit, most of my supply is actually garbage. Meaning, I largely burn off cuts and smallish branches from pruning. I am on the look-out for some inexpensive wood supply That takes planning and effort, so that will largely be an opportunity where I have the time to do it.

When thinking about a longer term outage, there are other considerations. For instance maintenance. The generator that we have was supposed to have the oil changed after five hours and then every hundred hours afterward. I am pretty sure the first change never happened and supplies are needed to run as long as you have fuel. I drained the fuel and then changed the oil so it should be ready to go.

End Your Programming Routine: “Two is one and one is none” is the preparedness mantra. In many cases I had one or none when the ice storm hit when it came to energy. Now, I am in the space of one at least. Flexibility and options rule the day when the cards are down. Fortunately, we have largely been fortunate when it comes to power outages over the years, As the saying goes, Fortune Favors the Prepared.

November 2, 2021 – Why I Continue to Hunt When My Success Rate is Near Zero

November 2, 2021 /

Over the years, I have shot three deer. If I started when I was eleven and now I am forty-six, that is thirty five years of buying tags and two of those were when I was still living at home. To be fair, I only hunted one year in college and I took a multi-year hiatus while I was getting settled.

I have always had an exploratory heart. I often wonder about the road that takes off the highway and goes off into the unknown. I fanaticize that this is some secret access point into the woods that no one knows about. But it goes even deeper than that. Today, I am sharing some of the things I saw last weekend to justify why I feel this way.

Have you ever seen spawned out salmon? Me neither. It is not super clear but the picture above is two dead salmon that have finished their lifecycle. They were born in this stream, went to the ocean for several years and came back to reproduce. Once that happens, they die. They were probably 24″ long. In fact, as I looked across the creek, I saw probably twenty of them in this one spot.

Pictured above is the Elderberry fruit. Normally, they are ready to pick around Labor day and it is highly unusual to see them this late in the year. Elderberry is high in Vitamin C and is prized in herbal medicine for it’s immune boosting properties. Outside of that, it is used for jelly, syrups and brewing adjuncts. Some day I want to pick a bunch of this and do something special.

How about a hiking trail in the middle of nowhere? At this point, I could lead someone to this spot, but to be able to provide directions would be nearly impossible. Roads in these areas are cryptically marked and there is a patchwork of tribal, timber company and public land. I don’t think this is the beginning of the trail because there is no parking, I pulled off the road to snap this picture. Who knows if it goes somewhere interesting.

The difference between private timberland and public land is stark. Above is a slash pile resulting from a thinning operation. That pile will likely be burned in the coming weeks. In fact, I saw multiple active burns while I was up there. Policy since the 1990s on public land has essentially left it to grow wild. In this area that is a patchwork of public and private you go from dark woods to very open and actively managed forest land.

End Your Programming Routine: Friday is the end of deer season. Saturday is opening elk season for some areas near me. In all of my years hunting, I have never seen elk during the deer season so I don’t bother getting a tag. The elk season only lasts for one week anyway. As I close out this year, I know that I haven’t put a ton of effort into being successful but I feel like I had some new experiences. I went down some new roads and have a better feel for what I want to see next year.

November 1, 2021 – What Is Going On?

November 1, 2021 /

This is again another test post. I am going between it seems like it is working on one machine occasionally but I have also gotten it to fail on IOS and a Linux installation as well. So, this is a quick test because my laptop is working again.

My support case left me with the problem being mine. I suppose the only change that I made between last week and today was that I rebooted my router over the weekend. I doubt that is the case, however it seems to be working today on my laptop but not on my desktop.

Since I am writing this on a wireless internet connection, I tried rebooting all of the wired switches in between for my wired computer, no dice. Combined with flushing the DNS was the last suggestion from support that I did over the weekend. I suppose the good news is that it enabled my laptop to begin to work again.

I am stuck here. Support says that it is my problem. The only discernible difference I can see is that my desktop is running Windows 10 21H1 and my laptop is running 20H2. But the other kicker is that the problem is not device and OS agnostic anymore. IOS 14.8 displays the same problem.

End Your Programming Routine: Troubleshooting is sometimes a very difficult process. For now, it seems like my laptop is working, so I guess I will ride that while I keep looking for the solution to the problem.

October 27, 2021 – Some Kind of Problem with Windows?

October 27, 2021 /

I haven’t solved the problem yet, but I was doing another test. I am trying another computer and things have resolved, at least temporarily. That means that the problem is either with the version of Windows or the browser.

I suspect that it is Windows because on my other computer I have the same problem with four different browsers Edge, Chrome, Brave and Mozilla. This computer that I am working on today has been off for several weeks and I have not run any recent updates at this point.

I am not going to get too deep today, but it is probably worth talking about troubleshooting for a little bit. As a software engineer and specifically in support, when diagnosing problems it helps to have a little methodology.

  • Systemic Execution- I have yet to open a support case because I don’t completely understand all of the variables yet. Unfortunately, I have learned that most consumer level support is rarely going to solve the problem for me. It is going to take effort on my side as well and I want to be as thorough as I can be with information before doing so.
  • Repeatable – What are the variables that cause this to occur? Can the problem be recreated reliably? Ideally, the problem is not intermittent (at least in appearance). Most problems are truly not random, but the unknown and unseen variables are in play and we are trying to solve a problem without all the known variables.
  • Isolation – Just like repeatability if possible, it is important to try and isolate the problem. In my case here, I have isolated it to at least one computer. So, I have a part of the problem identified.
  • Root Cause- This is the most important aspect of preventing the problem again as well as assuring the issue is really solved. This is also the step least likely to be completed. It is difficult to determine the root cause in most cases without a technical investigation. Most people are not disciplined enough to do it properly as well.

You could probably make the same case for using calculus to solve a math problem. Sometimes, it is really important to have the right and accurate answer and it is worth the effort to setup the equations and run through all of the math. Many times a close guess is almost as good and it certainly is a lot quicker and easier to do so. It depends on the depth of the problem and the risk of not solving quickly or completely.

End Your Programming Routine: It doesn’t matter if it is working on a vehicle or a problem with the computer, the steps are quite the same. It is what allows an amateur with gumption to solve complicated problems. If you find yourself with a difficult problem, try applying some discipline to your approach and you are more than likely going to learn some things as well as probably solve the issue if you don’t give up.

October 22, 2021 – Is This a Rant or is This Satire?

October 22, 2021 /

I am toying around with the idea of the Friday subject being humorous. Unfortunately, I felt last week wasn’t that funny and I cant decide if I want to go angry or satire here today. So, I am going to write and then we will see what happens.

In 1971, Oregon passed a statute where retailers would collect a $0.05 deposit per container sold. Consumers would return the empty containers back to the store for a refund on the deposit. It was colloquially called the Bottle Bill. At the time, it was unique and became part of the state’s identity. This was the state with no sales tax, you can’t pump your own gas, all beaches are public and containers were worth $0.05 a piece. You can read the article if you like for all of the history on the bill, but it was amended in 2011 such that if the total rate of redemption fell below 80% for two consecutive years, then the deposit would be raised by $0.05. In 2017, the deposit was raised to $0.10.

Having grown up in Oregon and being born after the bill was passed, this all seemed pretty normal. I lived a few years in South Carolina which didn’t have a bottle bill and my opinion started to change. Before I go too much farther, I am not anti recycling, It makes complete sense to reuse resources when so much sunk cost is already invested. I do what I can to make sure the materials are sorted properly and clean at my own home. But, if you have never dealt with the system, then what I am saying probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.

First, I will start with some constraints. When redeeming containers, there is a limit to how many can be redeemed at a retailer. That limit is 144 per day and traditionally, retailers would only accept containers that originated from the retailer. That meant that store brand A could not be redeemed at store B. So, containers had to be sorted by potential acceptance or redeemed at multiple stops. There is however no limit on how much deposit a consumer can pay in one transaction.

Most people, myself included put empties into a bag until you got tired of looking at it or you thought it was worth redeeming. So, that was a big hassle. Oregon created ‘redemption centers’ where people could return all containers. There, the limit was raised to 300 containers a day and in theory was brand agnostic. However, I have seen on numerous occasions that off brand or seasonal containers could not be read by the machine and would have to incur another step of hand counting.

With that, they also created a bulk return where people could simply drop of bags to be counted at convenience of the facility and put into an account. What most people don’t realize with this part of the system is that there is a limit of 15 bags per quarter and that bags may contain no more than 120 containers.

I happen to know that depending on the container, more than 120 can fit into a bag. What happens to the overage? It goes into a ‘store account’ or some sort of war chest for the redemption center. I found this out from someone that worked there. Me, as the one who paid the deposit, held onto the containers, made the logistical arrangements to return them and waited in line to leave them only get credit for less than I left. By the way, all containers must be in readable condition, meaning the label must be intact and visible.

Now, fast forward to March 2020. Part of the Oregon government response to Covid was to temporarily suspend bottle redemption (not the collection of the deposit). The only way to now return them was to use the bulk return option. This was in effect for most of 2020, things have slowly opened up this year. However, there is no doubt the retailers have gained the upper hand on redemptions as they have started limiting hours and further pushing the return limits lower.

The state thought that this program worked so well that they instituted another type program for paint. This time, there is a $1/gallon fee charged so that if you end up with leftover paint, the remainder can be returned back to certain paint stores for ‘recycling’. Now, they don’t really recycle. They mix compatible colors and types and resell the paint at a discount.

The problem with this program is that the transportation crunch has led the recyclers to stack up to the point that there is no room left to accept any more paint. Now, I cant even get rid of the paint. I have become particularly sore as I have been cleaning up the in-laws property as there was way too many extra gallons around.

End Your Programming Routine: As I stated in the beginning, I am not anti-recycling. What I am against is forcing consumers to pay for programs that don’t deliver. In 1971, curbside recycling was 20 years in the future. The bill was envisioned as a litter prevention program not a virtue provider. I don’t even blame the retailers for there reluctance, this is a mandate that has little value at this point. What I am saying is that it is time to end the feel good programs because in the end, the only people that feel good about it are the ones that are making the money.

Ok, we are at the end… I guess it was a rant. Still looking to end the week on a high note in the future. Have a good weekend.

October 21, 2021 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

October 21, 2021 /

Maybe I should called it the shit I forget plus some more bags of stuff Today, I am showing the remaining gear that I have for my hunting excursions. The question might be, why do you need so much stuff? The ultimate answer is comfort but there may be some additional nuance there.

What is comfort? It can take on some deeper meaning. To me, comfort is knowing you have something even if you don’t necessarily need it. So is also having it packed and ready to go where you don’t search and gather every Friday night. There are also some traditional definitions of comfort. Like, have you ever spent all day in the rain without rain gear? Talk about miserable.

As I talked about on Monday, some years we hunt five hundred miles away. The same bags/gear that is loaded for a Saturday is the same gear that go on the week long trips. I suppose that a very good argument could be made that excluding survival gear or strict protection like rain gear, all the rest is unnecessary. It doesn’t take a lot of gear to drive around in the woods and look over the edge of logging landings.

The technical term for these type of bags are called blind bag. This means that they are meant to be used in duck blinds which means that they are water resistant and they float. The bag on left is really used to haul decoys, so it is just a open container like a large shopping bag. I use this one to put my rain gear in and it is a catch all for anything that I just want to throw in, like extra water, change of clothes etc.

The bag on the right, is a little bit more tailored for hunting with places to put chokes and calls etc. If I ever went duck hunting, I may to look for a replacement of what this bag is carrying. Moving from top left to bottom right

  • Rope
  • Rangefinder 0-1000 yards
  • firearm cleaning kit
  • game bag
  • thermos (for coffee)
  • 3000 calorie ration bars

The rangefinder is going to go into my backpack and I mostly use that when I am sitting for a while. I like to pick out places in my field of view and then check the distance. That way, if some animal comes into my sight, I will have an idea of how to hold for bullet drop. I also use it to determine where to sit. Distance can be surprisingly deceptive sometimes and if the field of view is over a thousand yards, you are not going to be able to shoot without moving anyway. This is a luxury item for sure, but I find it really useful.

The game bag keeps the carcass somewhat clean if you were to drag it or you put it on if you are going to hang the animal for some time to reduce the chances something else will start eating it too. All of the rest of it is self explanatory.

End Your Programming Routine: You don’t need all of this gear to hunt. If I am honest, most of it never get’s used. But if you have ever bonsaied your rifle into mud (or snow) then your day is done unless you can get that barrel cleared. I hope to never eat those 3000 calorie bars. Some day I might taste one just to see. If I cant figure it out with all of this stuff, I am not sure what else can be done.