Category: Technology

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(A)s(I)nine

Of either a movie’s plot point or an economic talking point, automation repeatedly injects itself into our daily lives, and never seemingly in a good way. Charlie’s dad lost his job when the toothpaste factory created a machine to install the caps. Mr. Wipple destroyed his and his employees’ purpose and livelihoods by replacing every person with a machine. Interstellar wars became fully dehumanized after soldiers were replaced with bioengineered human facsimiles. And here at Easement Acres, infrastructure repair work orders become hindered by inaccurate reports.

AES, our local electrical company, decided to wage war on neighborhood trees, after having been called out for their inflated prices and subsequently ordered to refund their customer base some arbitrary percentage. I conclude that this triggered a scrambling to perform publicly-observable work to justify the price increases, which always seems to culminate in destroying peoples’ yards with lowest-bidder hired itinerant subcontractors. Knowing the demographic of my own neighborhood, I’m somewhat surprised that ICE didn’t make an appearance.

So after an afternoon of chainsaw-fu taking place, my internet cut out – conveniently timed with a sudden exodus of the aforementioned subcontractors from my property. As annoyance yielded to curiosity, having been now prevented from completing any additional office work for the day, I deduced what might have been the problem:

Yes, the cable line, including its protective conduit, had been severed completely.

An irritated call to my internet provider, Spectrum, (not that it was their fault), suggested that I might remedy the problem by rebooting my modem. Apparently that might magically fuse the line back together. I told the agent that the line had been cut, as I was rebooting the modem. He pointed out to me that he still wasn’t seeing a connection to my modem. I asked for a field tech to come out. He was able to dispatch one at 8AM the next morning.

Following this initial exchange, Spectrum felt the need to call me twice more, saying they couldn’t send anyone out. I reiterated that the problem was a cut line. The agents verbally acknowledged this.

In the meantime, having been forced offline, I began to ponder what the fix would require. The cable just needed to be spliced back together. Also, I had the tools to do so, having previously run coax through my attic and walls in order to attach a digital antenna to the TVs. How hard could it be?

The answer, as it would turn out, is: not very. Although I obviously didn’t posses the proper connectors required for outdoor waterproof applications, it wasn’t raining and a fix was better than no fix. I rummaged through my wire boxes and procured two twist terminations and a connector.

Crisis averted for the moment.

The next morning, a field tech arrived and notified me that he’s here to diagnose my modem. I told him the problem was a cut wire, and that I could not only show him where, but that I was certain it was the problem because my temporary fix had restored the internet. It was at this point that he informed me that customer calls are notated by AI, and that agents themselves can’t actually add notes. Not only had they turned over basic work order documentation to automation, but also prevented human intervention. This resulted in completely inaccurate information.

This goes well beyond basic outsourcing, which often has proven problematic due to language barriers and cultural differences. How AI is intended to supersede all human to human interactions is, I think, still a tad ambitious. Although, when I myself worked in a call center, I half-jokingly reflected on humanity’s historical relationship with indentured servitude with my peers, and that our job only existed for us because it couldn’t be forced upon others to do for free; and additionally, if it couldn’t legally be done with slave labor, it was still cheaper to pay us to do it than design and maintain a machine to.

Ambitious or not, demonstrated by my interaction with Spectrum, it’s nonetheless becoming the future too irresistible for employers.

–Simon

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Generators and The World of Tomorrow

One day I’ll have a whole house generator. I’m thinking one of those automatic devices that runs off the natural gas line and engages itself when the power goes out. Or maybe I’ll have battery banks installed. And maybe satellite internet. Because our wired infrastructure here at Easement Acres is getting increasingly unreliable.

Lights Out

Some of it may be due to hurricanes. Or, most recently, because a friggin truck snagged the power line and ripped the utility pole down. Of course, whenever it’s windy the power flickers in and out, too. And when it’s hot out. Or if someone walking through the neighborhood gives off bad vibes. The power goes out with with an annoyingly increasing frequency, is my point.

Then I stumbled upon something rather obvious in retrospect: companies that make battery-powered tools also make power inverters for their own batteries. So like, I can plug an AC device into the battery. Duh. Seems obvious now.

So when the power went out due to the aforementioned truck incident, I was able to power a nice bright table lamp in the kitchen and continue drinking without interruption, while charging phones in the process. But unfortunately it was limited to one battery, which didn’t generate enough total wattage output to power the garage door opener. That in itself wasn’t a major problem. It’s always the refrigerator that poses the most immediate concern. Based on past experience, I can get up to 6 hours before it reaches unsafe temperatures…if no one opens it and it’s already at ideal temperature.

But then this came to my attention:

If anyone here’s played any of the Fallout games, I think you can agree that this totally looks like a generator from that franchise. Or one of the many fusion batteries seen hooked up to mobile equipment scattered throughout the DC metro. It even has that green nuclear glow, which I’m sure was intentional designing by the manufacturer. I’ll admit, it looks cool. And it can power the refrigerator, for quite a while it seems. Idle, the power usage estimate was a couple days. When the compressor kicked it, it dropped to 12-18 hours, which is still impressive. So I’m guessing that as the fridge cycles on and off, this would give us about a day with my mixmatched set of amp-hour batteries. I’d buy some 12AH batteries, but they cost as much as the inverter itself. We’ll see where my needs take me.

It’s impressive what modern battery technology can do. It brings promises of The World of Tomorrow, but unfortunately I’m currently having to use it for more of the Fallout-type scenarios.

–Simon

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It’s All 4K with the A4A

Many moons ago I was gifted a Yamaha RX-V667 by my indulging lady, to replace a prior AV receiver that lacked HDMI support. Predating the kid’s existence, it has stood the test of time.

But then I acquired an AppleTV 4K, then an Xbox Series X, then a 4K Sony TV. The V667 lacked 4K support, and was the last component to be upgraded. So I finally did, with the RX-A4A:

Mmmm, delicious tech.

In the Yamaha AV line, the V models are their more consumer budget-friendly series. The V667 was at the time the top-tier of their V models. The A models are their AV nutjob series. The A4A is their 3rd out of 4, so I’ve upgraded myself by 2 models when comparing to their top of the line V models. The prices start to get ridiculous when going higher than that.

I’m fond of the Yamaha AV brand. People seem to gush nerd juice over Denon and Onkyo, but I think that’s just entrenched brand awareness. And just as the community is also quick to dismiss Bose speakers, I find their sound profile quite agreeable for the price point, provided they’re only speakers and not full systems (which do indeed suck). (Also, why won’t Bose make a standalone subwoofer?)

I suppose I’m somewhere in the middle, as I don’t know anyone else who will trade the wireless soundbar simplicity for wiring 6-11 individual speakers throughout a room, but also myself I’m not willing to go $20K in on a home theater sound setup. No, my perfectly adequate sound system is around $2.5K in value now, but I guess it’s what one’s familiar with and how far a budget can go.

I also scoff at people who put TV size and visual resolution as their top priority, but I was also guilty of being more interested in the 4K visual upgrade on a receiver, as I thought my 5.2+2 Presence Dolby Digital setup was about the best there was. It turns out that there have been some technological advancements I hadn’t experienced. Dolby Atmos is just…holy crap. I also thought that this priority of visual over auditory was the reason I had observed a declining focus on sound mixes and discrete channels, when in fact the now matrix-based approach for more subtle sound immersion had just moved beyond what my V667 could process correctly.

And combined with Dolby Vision – HDR 4K! Just, wow.

Anyway, thus concludes my tech nerd post. I am an audiophile hypocrite. Who knows what the future will bring me next.

–Simon

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Self-Inflicted Decadence

Here’s a rhetorical hypothetical. If you needed to buy a product, would you choose between:

  1. A more powerful and easier to use appliance that requires minimal maintenance and doesn’t leak fluids, stink, or require constant repurchasing of other fluids to keep it running, or…
  2. A less powerful and less easy to use appliance that requires constant maintenance and leaks fluids, stinks, and requires constant repurchasing of fluids to keep it running.

I phrase the question this way because it removes all emotion from the decision. Of course you would choose the first option. But if we add emotion to the equation, well then things get a little more complicated.

The scenario in question of course, which I did not intend to camouflage, is whether or not to buy an electric appliance or one that is gas-powered. See, now emotion is involved. Because, would I rather have a Tesla Model S or a Ford Mustang Mach 1? Yeah, the Tesla would certainly suit my lifestyle better, but they’re driven by colossal douchbags, and the Mach 1 is super badass.

So it was that I stupidly bought a 2-cycle Craftsman chainsaw. This POS:

The need arose from the Helene disaster in my backyard. But really – fuck this thing. It got maybe 2 hours of combined use and then refused to start. Premixed expensive fuel be damned. I even wasted money on a chain upgrade.

So why did I buy this? Because, even despite my growing collection of electric yard work appliances, I still maintained an inaccurate mental prejudice against battery power. I didn’t think anything but gas power could offer the performance I needed, or the length operational time. In my defense, however, batteries have come a long way since I started using lawn equipment in the 90s.

Lesson learned, I returned it and bought this instead:

Granted, it was 3x the price, but it has not disappointed. In fact, it has more power than the gas, and while top-end professional lumberjack models still probably run on gas and out-perform electric, for my less intense residential needs, electric is the way to go. And as outlined in my hypothetical, it maintains all the perks therein.

There are really only two logical reasons to buy gas equipment anymore: if you need the highest-power of applications (gas still seems to hold the advantage, even in cars, but we’re talking cars that need speeds I’ll never drive myself), and total power per price point (gas is cheaper for now in terms of upfront cost).

And there are two emotional reasons to buy gas equipment: some mental hangup on their coolness or traditional value, and political brainwashing (the people who still believe EVs are more harmful to the environment than ICEs).

My final thoughts here are to consider electric first. Chances are the upfront cost premium will more than make up for the frustrations and maintenance costs down the road for gas-powered alternatives. And if you’re at the age where you can afford these appliances, you should be past worrying about the coolness factor. And if you buy in to anti-electric political agendas, that’s only forestalling the inevitable technology shift anyway.

These are lessons that I had to learn again for some reason.

Gas is antiquated technology. You’re almost always better off buying electric.

–Simon

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Lights Out

I heard a joke once about why hurricanes are given women’s names. I won’t repeat it here, as it’s too lowbrow for even my blog, but I’m chuckling to myself nonetheless. Fortunately, she only took my silver maple when she left, and cut the power for 4 days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene

I’m no stranger to these weather events, but Ohio is not prepared for hurricanes. Tornadoes, we all collectively know it’s a gamble and if you get hit directly it’s game over, but hurricanes always seem to sneak in and do more damage than expected.

I am not a Prepper, but I am a Something Will Go Wrong-er, so I had some contingencies in place. Still, it’s interesting how quickly things go downhill without power. So, following the cataclysm, I took the opportunity to document a timeline of failure events for future reference. Here’s what I can expect for the next event that cuts off our electricity:

After…

  • 2 hours, the UPS will fail and the network equipment will go offline (the internet was out anyway since the cable had been severed).
  • 6 hours, the upright refrigerator/freezer will exceed 40 and 32 degrees, respectively.
  • 20 hours, the emergency hall lights will fail.
  • 48 hours, the cooler (if packed with ice), will exceed 40 degrees.
  • 48 hours, the emergency basement light will dim to the point of being unusable.
  • 72 hours, the chest freezer will almost reach 32 degrees.

More condensed, these are the priorities:

  • Day 1: wired communications will fail and short-term food storage will reach unsafe temperatures. Backup lights will begin to fail.
  • Day 2: More backup lights will continue to fail and the cooler will need to be restocked with ice if being used for backup food storage.
  • Day 3: Long-term frozen food storage will begin to thaw.

Overall, we made it out with minimal losses, but the area that needs addressing is a backup power supply for the chest freezer. Provided we can source ice, refrigerator food can remain safe in the cooler, but substantial losses would have occurred had we not borrowed a generator. Lesson learned.

I also bought a chain saw.

–Simon