4 April 2023 | Energy, How Does it Work?, Video |
Everything these days is powered by batteries: power tools, mowers, cars, etc.
But why does this even work?
A quick look at the power provided by lithium-based batteries should make even armchair techies cringe!
Something doesn’t add up…
So, what’s The Secret?
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21 March 2023 | How Does it Work?, Spare Me! |
I recently had the misfortune to read an article on CNN entitled: What to know about hypersonic missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine
I say “misfortune” because clearly, the individual who wrote it was trying very hard to downplay the significance of hypersonic weapons in the hands of the USA’s declared adversary – aka Russia.
The above-mentioned article is actually an extended version of a shorter one at CNN published just a day earlier. That earlier article (now missing) was even worse – for both its purely propagandistic nature, as well as the author’s breathtaking display of simple ignorance regarding the subject matter of his article.
But, whatever. So let’s take a look at hypersonic missiles…
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14 March 2023 | How Does it Work?, How to, Video |
The name “shaded pole motor” might sound scary, but these things are REALLY simple inside.
So simple that if you have one, you can probably fix it yourself in about 10 minutes with a few simple tools.
DIY, save some bucks, and Bob’s your uncle.
When they’re used, how they work, and how to fix ’em good… Join me for a look at this common motor type!
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7 February 2023 | How Does it Work?, Spare Me!, Video |
These days, it’s all about the green, reduced carbon footprint.
While that all sounds nice, what would actually happen if we just ditched fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas – overnight?
It turns out it’s WAY more complicated than you might think…
Join me for a deep dive into the world of petrochemicals!
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17 January 2023 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Wireless Wonderland |
These days, streaming is all the rage.
Whether you have a smart TV, a streaming stick, Blu-Ray player, soundbar, or even some projectors, many of these gizmos come with Android TV built in.
Too many of them also only have WiFi – no Ethernet jack to be found! This is particularly irritating for those of us who want to go wired and avoid the Wireless Wonderland.
So, how to get Ethernet? Well, you just buy a USB-Ethernet adapter, right?
Yes – sort of…
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13 December 2022 | Energy, Gizmos, How Does it Work? |
With everything getting more expensive these days, you want to be sure your costly electronics stay protected.
One of the most common ways is to plug them all into a surge protector.
The question is: Do these things really work?
The answer is, as usual: It’s complicated!
Join me for a look at 3 different types/levels of surge suppressors, how these gizmos really work, and how best to protect your techie goodies from unfortunate zaps.
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1 November 2022 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video, Wireless Wonderland |
The Specific Absorption Rate, or SAR, of a phone shows how much energy from radio frequency waves is absorbed by body parts – head, torso, whole body, etc.
The idea is that phones can be certified as “safe”, while also allowing some sort of comparison between different phones. In reality, the whole thing is a bit of a bad joke.
Even the FCC admits SAR is a pretty useless rating!
Join me for another fascinating look inside our modern “Wireless Wonderland”!
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20 September 2022 | Energy, How Does it Work?, Video |
Dirty Electricity is when all our wondrous gizmos generate noise that couples to the human body from the electrical wiring in our homes, schools, places of work, and so on.
Fortunately, there are simple filters you can get that reduce the dangers from this type of noise.
UNfortunately, you need to be careful using these filters if you have a backup generator!
Join me for a look at one of the pitfalls of D.E. filters…
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19 July 2022 | Computers, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
We all know about Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and so on.
But there’s one tech company that’s utterly massive in its importance to the entire industry, and no one is talking about it.
Well, to be precise, no one is talking about what MIGHT happen should the current,um, global mayhem go one step too far…
Join me as I take a look at TSMC: the biggest tech company you’ve never heard of!
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21 June 2022 | How Does it Work?, Programming, Video |
In recent news, a guy at Google claimed that one of their AIs, LaMDA, had become sentient.
Well, that’s quite a claim!
So, I decided to read the entire transcript of a chat with LaMDA and see what all the fuss is about.
Turns out, it’s not so simple…
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