Friday, May 16, 2025

A Shockingly Quick, Wind Tunnel-Tested RV

The C2 Corvette Designer Created A Shockingly Quick, Wind Tunnel-Tested RV That Used Its Exhaust System To Incinerate Your Poop:
https://www.jalopnik.com/1854301/rv-created-by-corvette-c2-designer/
https://www.theautopian.com/the-designer-of-the-mustang-boss-302-made-an-rv-that-looks-like-a-star-trek-shuttlecraft/
"Depending on who you ask, just 3,300 Rectrans Discoverer 25s were ever put on the road before the company fizzled out around 1974."


The 1970s RV Technology That Cooked Your Poop As You Drove:
https://www.theautopian.com/back-in-the-1970s-an-rv-supplier-wanted-you-to-burn-your-poop-in-your-campers-exhaust-as-you-went-down-the-highway/
"The adjacent bathroom is equipped with a Thermasan waste destruction system that was designed to dispose of liquid and organic waste materials through the exhaust system."

"In this system, wastes would go straight from a toilet and into a grinding machine or macerating machine. Once the waste is ground into small particles, they would go into a holding tank. The waste would then flow into a heating chamber, where the waste would be disinfected through a heating process. Once the waste particles are heated to 170 degrees and once the vehicle reaches a determined speed, a valve opens, disposing the apparently disinfected waste onto the ground."

'Thermasan will only destroy wastes when the engine is hot enough and when the vehicle is traveling at a high enough speed. When the engine is hot enough and when you're going at least 30 mph, the system can activate. "
"... the waste is injected into the exhaust flow at its hottest point, which Thetford says in the brochure should burn the waste up so well that there are no visible discharges from the exhaust or a smell."  (Even more efficient with catalytic converters?)

Now, mostly replaces by Macerator Pumps and dump tanks:  https://rvlifestyle.com/rv-macerator-pump/
https://rvexpertise.com/rv-macerator-pumps/

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Best Uses For An Old Apple Watch:

Best Uses For An Old Apple Watch:  
"... selling or trading in your old Apple Watch will be a no-brainer. (And you should manage to get at least something for it, as Apple products tend to hold second-hand value better than competing gadgets.)"

*  One of the best uses for your old Watch is to keep it around as a dedicated sleep tracker
*  Save it for swimming or dirty work
* Dedicated music player - loading its internal storage with albums and playlists gives you a modern equivalent of Apple's iPod
* Get an Apple Watch adapter that transforms your old model into a pocket watch:
     https://www.amazon.com/HiPai-Necklace-Compatible-Connector-Stainless/dp/B08GQC6B6G
     https://www.amazon.com/ZSJSRP-Compatible-Suitable-Fitness-Travel-Compatible/dp/B0CBYKRK53/ref=sr_1_3
     https://www.amazon.com/yothchose-Compatible-Keychain-Carabiner-Silicone/dp/B0BVTBW2BY/ref=sr_1_1
     https://www.amazon.com/Compatible-Carabiner-Military-Tactical-Breathable/dp/B0CD5RNHBF/ref=sr_1_6
     https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Mount-Compatible-Apple-Watch/dp/B09CVZKBVV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa
*  Wearing a watch on your arm or leg
     https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-South-ActionSleeve-Protective-Activities/dp/B09RYSBX4J
     https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY8G4Y74/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1
     https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8H18XGX/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1
*  Pass it on to someone else ...
*  Leave it on its charger as a tiny desk clock
*  For Apple TV, repurpose your old Apple Watch as a remote for Apple's streaming set-top box
*  If you have a smart home, you can use your Apple Watch to control different things without using your iPhone
*  Stash it away as a backup
*  Trade-in, sell, recycle, or donate (Apple and Best Buy both let you trade in your old device to save a bit):
  Before selling or trading your old Apple Watch, be sure to unpair and factory-reset it for a new owner:
  •       Open the Apple Watch app on your paired iPhone.
  •       Go to the My Watches section at the top.
  •       Tap All Watches.
  •       Tap the info button (an "i" inside a circle).
  •       Choose Unpair Apple Watch.
  •       If it's a cellular model, remove your cellular plan when it asks during the unpairing process.
More ideas (scroll down): https://www.simplymac.com/apple-watch/repurposing-your-old-apple-watch
      https://www.idropnews.com/gallery/10-things-you-can-do-with-an-old-apple-watch/236206/13/
      https://www.cnet.com/pictures/extend-the-utility-of-your-old-apple-watch/
      https://www.cultofmac.com/how-to/what-to-do-with-old-apple-watch


Saturday, April 26, 2025

Intel Processor N95 description

"... an entry-level mobile CPU for thin and light laptops from the Alder Lake-N series. It was announced in early 2023"
"The average N95 in our database is in the same league as the Pentium 7505 and the Core i3-1115G4, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. That's not a great result, to put it mildly."
"The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers only 16 of the 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at only 1200 MHz. Due to the single channel memory, low clock speeds, and low shader count, the gaming performance of the iGPU is very limited."
"The N95 has a base power consumption of 12 W (compared to the 6 W of the N100) and is therefore well suited for thin and light systems."

"Earlier this year it transpired that in 2023, Intel intends to cease using its Celeron and Pentium brands for entry-level notebook CPUs."
"Since the Intel N95 is an entry-level product with only four efficient cores and rather low frequencies, it was certainly not designed to offer breakthrough performance. ... Yet, it stacks up very well against Intel's existing Celeron 7305 CPU with one high-performance and four energy-efficient cores that operate at 1.10 GHz. "

" ... both the Intel Processor N95 and Intel Processor N100 were released in the first quarter of 2023 and are based on the Alder Lake N architecture.
...
The two processors each have 4 processor cores that do not support hyperthreading, but the clock frequency is slightly different. The Intel Processor N95 has a slightly higher base clock frequency of 2.00 gigahertz; this is slightly lower for the Intel Processor N100 at 1.80 gigahertz. The maximum turbo clock frequency is identical at 3.40 gigahertz, but the Intel Processor N95 still reaches 3.20 gigahertz when all cores are utilized, whereas the Intel Processor N100 is already at 3.00 gigahertz."
" The biggest difference can be found in the power consumption: The Intel Processor N95 has a fixed TDP of 15W, while the Intel Processor N100 has 2 power limits, the first is 6W and the second is 25 watts."

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Mossberg 990 Aftershock review

The 990 is a semi-auto Shockwave available in 12 Gauge:
" This "other firearm" takes what makes the Mossberg 590 Shockwave cool, but with the fast-action shooting of a semi-auto shotgun. ... meaning you can rock through six rounds of 12-gauge mayhem that much quicker."

Monday, April 21, 2025

DOSBox Emulator

DOSBox is a free open-source emulator which runs software for MS-DOS compatible disk operating systems - it can be used to run older BASIC versions on modern Windows & Linux systems.

Basic Setup and Installation of DosBox:

More recently update:  https://dosbox-x.com/
"Unlike DOSBox's original focus on DOS games, DOSBox-X gives more focus on general DOS emulation, with the eventual goal of being a complete DOS emulation package that covers all pre-2000 DOS and Windows 9x based system scenarios, including all types and manners of hardware that were made for DOS PCs of that time."