the iMentor

Hints & rants

This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

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Category: Uncategorized

Being

December 16, 2020 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Episode #621  December 26, 2020 Sometimes i just let it be.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6T5C-jzSH0 i brought my old car to the shop one day and gave the mechanic a long list of problems to be fixed. He said, “I can fix these critical things so the car will keep running. Don’t repair these other things. Just drive the car until it quits.” Let it be. My old computer began to run really slow. i checked the operating system. It was not too new. i found that there was plenty of storage and adequate RAM. No malware was present to slow things...
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Christmas tree

December 13, 2020 Uncategorized 9 Comments
Episode #620 December 19, 2020 My house has a commanding view of the valley below — a perfect opportunity to display a  Christmas tree for all to see. i decided to make the tree a lighted one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0EXDwf2090 A step by step plan was required. The engineering and execution was accomplished in the following steps: The center post: i chose to use black PVC pipe for the center post. So that the tree would be visible from the length of the valley i made the post 12’ tall. 3” diameter pipe fit through an umbrella hole in my metal table...
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Rainbow

December 7, 2020 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #619 December 12, 2020 A rainbow is a symbol of beauty, hope, optimism, pride, completeness and promise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I The rainbow displays the visible spectrum of light. All the beautiful colors we see and love are shown in the reflection, refraction and dispersion of light from the sun. Sunlight enters water droplets at a 42° angle, is refracted (bent) toward the back of the drop and reflected back toward the sun where it is again bent as it exits the drop. Because different colors bend at slightly different angles a circular band of colors is projected toward the viewer of...
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Contents or Index

December 2, 2020 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode 618 December 5, 2020 There are two ways to facilitate search: Table of Contents and Index.   https://youtu.be/l_DhFA77xr4 A Table of Contents can be found in the beginning of many text books, manuals and catalogues. It lists chapters of major themes. Sometimes there are tabs in the Contents that lead to the Chapter in the book. Sometimes there are subtopics listed under each chapter for finer detail. The Table of Contents is organized hierarchically, like an English outline. In the back of some books, an Index is an alphabetical list of keywords that point to pages where that word is found....
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CAPTCHA

November 23, 2020 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Episode #617 November 28, 2020   Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) checks to see if you are human. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E0tcilfKZQ CAPTCHA is a kind of reverse Turing test.  The Turing test used two humans and a computer. One of the humans asked questions of the computer and the other human. If the questioner could not tell whether an answer came from the computer or the human more than 50% of the time, the computer was said to have artificial intelligence. The CAPTCHA test is a computer checking to see if the user is a...
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Common Hardware

November 16, 2020 Uncategorized 4 Comments
Episode #616 November 21, 2020 My garage is stocked with tools, fuels, wood, sheet stock, fabric, paint, solvents, electronics, plumbing, gardening and hardware. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWmkdJkQpLY Hardware is the glue that holds a project together. In fact, i think that glue is a kind of hardware and i use it all the time. Rubber bands are the most versatile of the hardwares, but they can also be used as a tool. i use rubber bands as a clamping tool to hold parts together until i can get a proper clamp or fastener in place. As hardware they bind a roll of fabric,...
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