Author Archives: joel

About joel

Retired Higher Ed administrator, flyfisherman and geek

Economist podcast, part 2…

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Well, my first attempt to download didn’t get the whole file (~160MB of MP3’s in a zip file, 82 files in all this time).  Second time got it all.  I loaded it into iTunes last night, and listened on my commute (~50 minutes of drive time) this morning.  I like this, but I’m thinking that I’m unlikely to get through a whole issue before the next weekly one comes out, especially if I listen to any NPR.  Looks to be about 8 hours or more of running time.

I like the way they did it.  The production is good, and they change readers with each piece so you get different voices and that keeps the interest up.  If you are a subscriber, check it out!  If you are not, you might want to give it a look…an excellent magazine!

Right idea, wrong relay…

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Well, I got the boat motor working, albeit too late to make it to the lake.  I also needed a tongue wheel for the trailer and went to a local boat dealer, though not one that works on Tohatsu outboards.  Was talking with them about my problem, and they said that even though I thought I’d replaced the bad tilt/trim relay, it still wasn’t reversing polarity to the tilt/trim motor, and I’d replaced the wrong one.  They said to put in the one that I’d taken out of the motor in the slot I thought was working, and poof, it worked…it was too late to get to the lake, but I’ll try to go next weekend.  At least my instincts were right and I saved myself a trip to the shop…

A morning at Jordan Lake…

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Wanted to get out of the house and enjoy some of the nice, summer-like weather. The dogs love to go swim in the lake, so Jan and I loaded up the boat with lounge chairs, the back of the truck with the dogs and headed out this morning. Just a quick trip, since there is so much boat traffic at Jordan Lake on holiday weekends, I like to get out early and back early. This is the first time out with the boat this year, and I had to work on some problems yesterday. The steering mechanism was rusted, so had to take it apart and grease it up. The biggest problem though is that the power tilt relay to move the motor “down” has failed. It was failing last summer, but would always work after hitting the switch a few times. I was actually pretty pleased with my outboard mechanic work, figuring out that it was the relay and not the tilt motor itself. I read a bit, and swapped the relays, and then the motor went down, pretty as you please. I just have to get a new relay by next weekend when I go to the lake with the Scouts. Today, I raised the motor up for trailering, then swapped the relay at the ramp to lower the motor, and then swapped them back so I could raise it when I got back to the ramp. The skeg cleared the ramp down, so it was OK. Worked, but a bit kludgey. I just need to find a PTT relay for a 1999 Tohatsu 40Hp outboard now 😉

Whew!

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Am really enjoying the new job.  Wish the drive were a bit shorter, but 50 minutes is not too bad by metro standards, even if it’s a bit long by NC standards.  Lots of stuff to learn!  Wall to wall meetings; trying to stay caught up on email etc.  Am just about finished with the campus “world tour” of major client stakeholders, and then should have some time to try to be proactive.  I continue to be really energized, though, about the opportunity and the possibilities.  More later, on this and other general topics, as I get somewhat on my feet…

My new black MacBook…

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…is so cool!  My new employer (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) offered me the option of having either a PC or a Mac when I started my new job.  I got a 13″ black Macbook (with external display, keyboard & mouse for docked work).  I’ve gotta say that I am really pleased with this computer.  I was concerned about the glossy screen, since I’ve been using the MacBook Pro with the matte screen, but it doesn’t glare at all.  The biggest surprise to me is the keyboard.  I like it much better than the MacBook Pro.  The keys have a small gap between them, much more than the Pro.  It also has a better feel, I think.  I also like the latchless lid and all the ports on one side.  A fast, sleek machine.  With Parallels, it’s even a PC, too!

Day one on the new job…

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…was a success…got my HR paperwork done, parking paperwork, ID badge, new computer…and time for a few minutes of orientation.  A full slate of meetings on Wednesday.  Will try to put out some more cogent thoughts soon…

Love my new iMac…

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Well, my old home desktop died (yes, I actually did have a reasonably current backup, thanks to a Maxtor one-touch!) and I decided to continue my Mac transformation and get an iMac for the home desktop.  I’ve gotta say, I really like this puppy…I got the 17″ 2Ghz model.  Fast, elegant, and does exactly what I need…I have a Win2K virtual machine running under Parallels for my handful of Wintel-specific things, and that takes care of the outliers.  Copied the files from the Maxtor over to the iMac from the old PC backup to have the files, reformatted the Maxtor, and have it connected to the iMac.  Just about to finish the first backup, including the old machine archives.