Journal Chacham's Journal: Chronicle: Bluetooth, Kindle Fire, updates, and more. 3
Continuing from the last exciting edition of what is Chacham buying today, I decided to try out the Plantronics Explorer 50 for $23.19 on ebay. Weird that it's cheaper from the UK. Anyway, i was thinking of purchasing the 3 for the 10% discount, but that's too big a gamble for a product i have not tried. If i like it, i may buy another 1 or 2. Or, purchase 3 and see if i can sell one on Amazon. Things are so much more expensive there for some reason.
I also purchased the Kindle Fire for my mother, though, i don't plan to give it to her before Sunday. I installed Google Play, and set it up and the Amazon account on a gmail address i setup for her but she doesn't use. That way, games can be installed only for free (no cc entered) and identity permission will lead to an unused address, so i can load word games with reckless abandon.
Aside from word games, i set it up to check her yahoo email, and loaded Overdrive and Zineo for Libraries, both of which are supported by our local library. Interestingly, the latter is listing in the Android store, but won't install on the Fire. The comments say it, and i tried it. Had to use Google Play for that one. No idea if she'll use it, but, it's a nice option.
I decided to get a Google Cardboard. For some reason, it never excited me, no idea why. But with some of the latest news i decided to look. According to a Youtube video and comments, V2 is better than V1 because it holds bigger phones, the button when from magnetic to conductive, the nose wall has been eliminated, the lenses are better, the lenses are held in place without obstruction, and there is an oil coating to protect the cardboard from sweat stains. Based on price, reviews, and sheer laziness, i chose the QPAU version. It comes with a head strap, and although comments say it is uncomfortable, one commenter said you can use foam from a Nerf dart for an easy fix. Have i mentioned that i love Amazon reviews?
In other news of my crazy purchasing spree, my citron seeds have been coming along, though a lot just died after a little growth. There seems to be 15+ good ones though. Then there's the 6 tomato plants i received as seed in pots. One was a dud, one died an early death, but the other four have been growing. One of them has a certain fungus in it. It grew and died, in one day i think, and i saw it again this morning. It brings back fears, so i probably just going to toss it. The other 3 though, probably need to be replanted.
The citrons went from bag to tray to 4-inch pot The tomato plants had their own biodegradable pot, but i places them in 4-inch pots. The 5 that started to grow got more dirt too. In any case, they need to be upgraded before i give them away, and these 6-inch pots seem like they will do that job nicely.
A friend asked me about replacing the head on their Kenmore Power-Mate 116.2216182. Heads are found on ebay and elsewhere, but what fits? Google searching ultimately brought me to a Central Vacuum Questions & Feedback who responded within a day. Wow.
In other news, my 3rd car's glorious life is coming to an end. It hasn't died, but its becoming undriveable. Two tires are pretty bald, the other two are a little better, the brakes take a lot longer to stop the car, the hood is held down by bungee cords (those breaks had something to do with it), the trunk won't open (a friend helped it close by disconnecting the wires, incorrectly assuming i had the key), the muffler is not doing its job, and the bottom of the car is rusting away. At one point, i had the car taken to get (some of) its wheels replaced and the worker refused, saying i shouldn't be driving the car. Apparently, the something holding the front axle in place seems to be on its way out. There's also a piece of wood holding the drivers seat in place because of a small hole existing where it would have otherwise been screwed in. "But it drives great." It's a Honda '98 Civic: it's a great car, but it's rusting away.
Anyway, the snow is not a safe place for that car to be. Considering i bought it for $1200 (and that with the middleman's markup) ~2 years ago, it has served me well. Fixing it would likely cost more than the car did, and even then, it may not last. So, i plan to look at another $1200 car tomorrow, from a trusted mechanic. I'm looking for something short-term right now, less than a year. My first car was a stick, the 2nd was an automatic, 3rd was a stick, and 4th looks like it'll be an automatic.
google play (Score:2)
was it difficult to set up play on the fire? Does that give you hangouts, etc.?
My son's Nexus 7 just died and I've been considering a Fire to replace it but he uses hangouts to talk to his friends a lot.
Re: (Score:1)
You can do a search to setup play. There's an article on XDA [xda-developers.com] about it. I took the longer method, because i don't feel right getting rid of the ads. I saved $15 by "saying" i would view them.
I have not used it extensively. The OS is made to use and sell Amazon services, and has a somewhat different feel than regular Android.
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks - appreciate it.