My phone since December 2015 has been a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. It is more than three years old, and until last week, it was still going strong. No performance or stability problems. The screen is still perfect. Even though I don’t use a case, there is so little external cosmetic damage that I don’t […]
Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
For years, I had no home theater system at all. I had a television, with its pathetic built-in speakers, and I connected a DVD player and a VCR directly to it. When I finally built a system, I chose a Definitive Technology ProCinema speaker system. It was a staff pick at Crutchfield, and it reviewed […]
Samson R21
Posted: 15th January 2018 by Cheap in Filmmaking, TechnologyTags: Samson R21, Samson R21S, Shure SM58
I have a gig to record sound for a short film. This one is unusual in that all of the actors will be speaking into visible microphones (a PA system in an auditorium). I’ve been asked to supply microphones that will be used simultaneously as props and to record the dialog. I had a few […]
Dead Electronics
Posted: 14th January 2018 by Cheap in Camping, Fiction, Filmmaking, Hiking, TechnologyI have driven the highway through Great Smoky Mountains National Park again. This last time, the trees on the mountains were frosted white, and there was a smoky cloud hanging over the mountains. This has reaffirmed my goal of backpacking this park, which I plan to do during the summer of 2019. That means this […]
My hunting trip was successful. On my fifth day out there, I found a spot that was so ideal for attracting deer, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. I took a doe, shot through the heart, leaving a Quintin Tarantino blood trail. Next year, if I hunt that spot, I think I will […]
Well, my earlier misgivings about Longmire have been surpassed by the unfolding story and its depth. The build-up of season two was quite good in setting up several layers of suspense, and the finale was excellent. Each season after that contained a wonderfully evolving story. They’ve still made a gaping mistake here and there (don’t […]
I have watched the last episode of ST:TOS. This means I have watched all of Star Trek. I am fully prepared to begin watching ST:DIS when it begins. Well, prepared except for access to it. I have discontinued my cable television service. I assume I pay to subscribe to CBS All Access, and I assume […]
May Updates
Posted: 5th June 2017 by Cheap in Fitness, Hiking, Technology, TravelTags: Gear, Nikon, Samsung, Tizen
I succumbed to temptation and bought a smart watch. It is the Samsung Gear S3 frontier, which is really the first one that caught my eye. It’s gorgeous, full-featured, has good battery life, and integrates well with my phone. After discovering it, I researched many others, but ultimately I came back to this one. I […]
Is Open Source the Vehicle to Reach the Automated Economy?
Posted: 29th April 2017 by Cheap in Philosophy, TechnologyI had a brilliant idea in the shower this morning. A couple of them, actually. I was thinking about my idea for a robot lawn mower. Think Roomba for your lawn. I was thinking about how there are several components needed, requiring innovation from several areas of expertise: mechanical, motors, energy storage, computing, sensing, etc. […]
March Has Been a Good Month
Posted: 31st March 2017 by Cheap in Filmmaking, Technology, VideographyTags: 4x4, Ford Ranger, Sanken, Sennheiser, Weller
I have finally found a good lighting solution for my sound stage. Lithonia Lighting is now selling linkable LED strips. The 4-foot ones are 3200 lumens. You buy a power cord for one and linking cords for the rest, and you only need one outlet. They are silent, compact, and easily mountable. They have a […]