The Motorola Droid Razr XT912 seems like a nice enough smartphone. Small, slim, with a carbon fiber back. Friend David bought it from, I think Canada Computers, refurbed. After using it for a while the battery life was reduced, then he used it as an MP3 player. In the end I received it and used it as a desk clock. Finally, it would no longer reboot, seemingly in a boot loop.
It has been 5 months since I was able to work out at my community center gym. Today 2020 Aug 17 the Toronto public gyms reopened, but with significant changes. Overall I felt that the City of Toronto did a really good job in infection control and cleanliness, considering pandemic circumstances.
Though I have been strength training at home, I don’t have the weights required to get a good pump and build strength, so it has only been maintenance. Working out at home, which will continue (I will explain) is a bit boring and at times very difficult for motivation. Still, when you have no other options a home workout must do.
UK, London, 161 Deptford High St Deptford, London SE8 3NU, After School Center ASC, GPS: 51.479438,-0.026188, Plus Code: 9C3XFXHF+QG
It looks like a working class neighbourhood, with some African and Viet stores and restaurants. Nothing out of the ordinary, and a nice enough neighbourhood. Clean.
161 Deptford High St
London, England, SE8 3NU
GPS: FXHF+QG London, United Kingdom
Plus Code: 9C3XFXHF+QG
I have never been to the UK, and with the pandemic on and the UK’s infection rate not good, I’ll not go anytime soon. Still, it looks like a nice enough place.
I have really gotten attached to using a poolish as the starter for sourdough bread. Using a poolish is really easy. You just mix flour, water and starter, and set it aside to ferment for 12 hrs. It is technically called a preferment.
There are disagreements between the definitions of poolish, biga and a sponge. It seems like the poolish is 100% hydration, or 1:1 flour:water. The biga is 1:0.7 flour:water, and a sponge is 1:0.4 flour:water.
Replacement 3.5mm 4 connector headphone jack, varnish, shrink wrap, new jack completed, Photo 05 by Don Tai.
After many years of careful use, the headset that came with a long gone Blackberry smartphone lost sound in the right ear. If I wiggled it “just so” the sound would reappear, but with any further movement the sound would again be gone. It was clear that the wire would need to be cut back and the 3.5mm phone plug would need to be replaced. Because I do like the feel and the quality of the headset and mic, this was worthwhile to repair.
After doing many versions of focaccia, bagels, pretzels and sourdough bread, it was obvious that during the rising period, or proofing, that temperature control is critical. We were using a stainless steel bowl, a pyrex plate as a cover and an incandescent lamp to raise the temperature. This made our proofing take many hours. For sourdough, even 6 hours was not enough.
Many DIY options exist. This is not complex. You need a heat source, humidity, an enclosed box and maybe a fan. It is also nice to see the dough rise.
Nutribullet NB101B was non-functional. A cleaning of the actuator switches fixed it. Three drainage holes were unclogged. Now it works.
A friend gave me his Nutribullet NB101-B, a small blender used for smoothies. The blender was non-functional but intact. He said that the blender was well used, but started acting intermittently, after which it stopped working. There are many youtube vids on cleaning the blender, and the cleaning did fix the problem. There are, of course, extra details that I discovered.
I’ve not been here, but a friend is here. I hope my greetings and good wishes will find her and that she is well. Sometimes the journey is difficult. you get stuck in a downdraft and for all your effort, there’s nothing you can do but get sucked down. There is a lot of luck in life, and at times your luck might run down. Friends can help you, if you have then and they can find you.
GPS: 53.378760, -1.480519
Plus Code: 9C5W9GH9+GR
UK, Sheffield, 17 Cavendish St
Royal 1212x paper shredder, shredded the teeth on a plastic gear, rendering it inoperable junk. Bought from Costco.
Friend David brought me his broken Royal 1212x paper shredder. The motor runs but the shredding teeth no longer turn. He bought it from Costco for about $100. As with other “Made in China” shredders I’ve taken apart, I suspected a plastic gear broke. In this case the plastic gear slowly shredded its internal teeth, leaving the shredder motionless, useless and broken. This shredder is still available on Amazon and other places, so it is still for sale. I suspect that other shredders from the same brand have the same internal components.
It is not as nice as actually being there, but when you’re stuck in Toronto it continues to be interesting. It is a lot faster.
Today I’m going to Shandong Province, Yantai City. It’s a coastal town about the size of Toronto’s 4M people. In China that’s a 3d tier city, barely big enough to warrant note on China’s large single page map. The place I’m going to is somewhat near Ludong University, about 1.5km away.
Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, Qingnian Jiayuan 山东省，烟台市，鲁东大学，青年家园。
GPS: 37.533098, 121.366479
Plus Code: 8Q93G9M8+5J
Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, from Baidu Maps
