Playing the Glad Game [448]
Greetings from the shed...
I was in a record shop when the news broke.
#TheAction
Not sure if you read these preambles when I go on about what I’ve been up to, so I’ll keep it short.
It’s been a week of tapping on a keyboard. I’m over 90,000 words extracted from the journals. I’ve really enjoyed reliving these adventures in the shed.
Today while making a spontaneous vinyl purchase and adding a 1972 Doors compilation to my collection, news broke of the death of David Soul. Another household name for those close to my age.
For a split second I contemplated heading back to pick up one of his records, but I only really knew him for Starsky and Hutch. These inevitable events, involving people who were already ‘old’ when I was a kid, often send me spiralling down fascinating internet holes. And so it did and i’ll leave you with this mini doc.
#ThePictures
Since last week’s dispatch I’ve watched two films. ‘The Menu’. Silly, enjoyable, sadistic, with enough surprises to keep me interested throughout.
And ‘Searching for the wrong eyed Jesus’ in which Jim White goes on a fascinating exploration of the American South, its musical heritage, and religious fervour.
It’s beautifully shot and although very much saturated with “..an invented God who whoops some ass” I stuck with it waiting, hoping to see some African Americans and perhaps a little Piedmont blues. Nope, just faith, poverty, redemption and over zealous evangelical kiddy converting. Shame. Visually beautiful but lacking something. Perhaps intentionally.
Anyone who read last week’s post might appreciate this niche meme I found.
#TheWords
‘You have a superpower, and chances are that you don’t know it. Your superpower is that you can modulate, on demand, your ability to perceive beauty.’ ← This is a lovely read. The title at the top of this dispatch comes from Eleanor H. Porter’s 1913 novel Pollyanna.
I think I could have a section here called ‘Comments I made that I feel should have got more love.’ I have no shortage of comments that fell flat that I still stand by. Like this one…
Clicking on the image enables more love to be shown. In fact clicking on any link in this publication adds a ranking to your profile. No it’s not (and should not be) a game, but it does help when I occasionally go look see who might appreciate/use a free supporting subscription.
#TheSound
Nine years ago I (kind of) shared a podcast with Josie Long entitled ‘My Greatest F**k up.’
After seeing a handpan being played in the street, I’ve been on the look out for one. But they rarely come up cheap. You also need to be sure you’re getting something well made, obviously in tune, and in the scale you need. If you’ve not heard one before this is what they can sound like.
It’s not the kind of thing I’d be keen to buy online without seeing/hearing first.
One thing I like about the podcast Between the Ears is you never know where it’s going to go. I clicked on this one episode entitled From Dusk Till Dawn because it reminded me of my walk from dawn till dusk which took me along the river Ouse for a part of the day. The audio starts in London then also finds itself on the Ouse. The soundscapes captured by Ian Rawes who created the London Sound Survey. Please listen to Ian’s final project and then check out this wonderful recording of a Lavender seller captured in the 1930’s.
#TheConsumed
I bought a Daim bar today. I had it in my mind that Daim bars were soon to be discontinued, so when I saw one, I thought I’d cough up the 85p (not worth it) and have one for old times’ sake.
I nearly bought three for £1.50. (Still not worth it) But there never was and old times’ sake. In the 72 years they have been around I’ve never been a fan of dime bars and only ever eaten them when given.
It wasn’t all that bad. Crunchy and sweet, it took a while to get it out of my teeth and I can easily wait another 72 years to have one. After eating it, the sugar must have fired up a few soporific synapses, as I suddenly remembered the discontinued confectionary I was after is in fact Caramac. Now that I did like. If you know of any corner shops that have it stashed away please let me know.
Here is a recipe for black bean soup and this is how I am shopping from now on.
Can you hitch a horse at Aldi?
#TheThings
I'm certainly no expert when it comes to building small solar power systems, but I do have a number of my own set ups which I have acquired over the years. I was even talking about solar powered comms ten years before I was a licensed amateur radio operator.
[I’ll drop amazon links below as I find it’s a minefield buying solar gear from overseas as sometimes the stats given bare no resemblance to what the technology delivers. And at least with Amazon, you can send stuff straight back for a full refund.]
Personally I tend to assemble simple setups and use folding solar panels for portability. But here in the shed I have larger professionally fitted panels on the roof, small panels in the windows, as well as simple semi-portable set-ups I use to power my radios. Like this one.
This is just a 10W 17.5 volt panel (0.5714A) (out of an old Maplin solar suitcase) plugged into a 72000mAh 266.4Wh portable power station. I’m trusting the internal charge controller will keep things safe. But I still charge outside when I’m not able to keep an eye on it. The battery powers a scanning radio so only really needs topping up. It would take around 27 hours of bright sunshine for me to fully charge the battery (from flat) with that small panel. I have a much more portable 25W folding panel If I plan to transmit as well as receive.
I’ve used this for charging phones, ham radios, tablets, satnavs, head torches, cameras and anything that will take USB power.
You can get the bigger more cumbersome panels as cheap as 50p/watt but the compact folding units can be expensive. Sometimes £1-£2/watt.
This 60W folding panel (£50 after discount) is something I’d consider investing in for a kayak or camping trip as it’s relatively compact and easy to carry. You could charge most things with just daylight (normally at half the panel’s stated wattage) but bright sunshine would obviously be better.
Should you want to have a go at building your own small system with panel charge controller and battery then this article How to build a small solar power system has some great tips.
If I was to step things up a gear I might go for what my friend James has, the Sunology system. You can (local electrical regs allowing) plug it straight into a mains plug to offset your electric bill. Bimble Solar also have a great reputation for supplying kits.
#TheThanks
This dispatch is supported by a number of you lovely people who pay $5/month to keep things going and get all the content I share into this feed.
Thank you so very much.
If you haven’t yet, but would also like to show your support, you can buy me a coffee or send a tip via PayPal or Monzo or upgrade to become a paid supporter.
Either way… Thank you for reading.
#TheWeb
Considering we have been able to predict the trajectory of the inhabitants of planet Earth for a while, I’m pretty sure more intelligent life could see what was coming centuries ago. That’s probably why they haven’t been in touch.
These people on the Documentally community map are friends you are yet to meet. Are you on it yet?
Graphite could make EV batteries more sustainable.
I remember playing with a Vectrex as a kid. It belonged to a friend. A few years ago I saw one in a charity shop for £90 and thought it was wishful thinking. They are now approaching £900 for one in good condition. After this article on the discovery of a long lost game it might even creep up more.
Shall we connect on Letterboxd, GoodReads, FarceBook, Flickr, Strava, Untappd, Diaspora, Vivino, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, my ham radio newsletter or via ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite or Bluesky?
No private company has ever achieved a soft landing on the moon or any other celestial body. But that may soon change.
#TheEnd
If you clicked on all the links above you got the full experience and it is now hours after opening this email. If you didn’t, I am sad, but i’ll get over it. Eventually.
Next week, floods allowing i’ll be in Wales. Have a great weekend and if you have the time please leave a comment say hi in any of the places we might meet.
“…there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.” ~ Eleanor H. Porter
Notice things.
See you out there.
Over…
The moon rocket includes a robot we made at CMU, some of my students created the MoonArk and Iris payloads that even have bits of art stuck on them. We’re very proud of our students.
I still regularly listen to The Doors. Such a great time in my life. I have such great memories and the music keeps that alive.