2009 – Page 4 – Ted's Blog

Six Flags

I knew it had been a while since I had been to Six Flags and I wanted to get back there soon. Lately, their finances have been shaky and it wasn’t completely certain they would even be able to stay open this year. Jeb mentioned possibly planning a trip and after the cold rainy weather of last weekend, we decided to try this weekend (next weekend is the last one of the year). I asked Grant, but he couldn’t go.

We started the day by going to church at Holy Cross, which I thought would be good because it would make us start early (mass ending at 10), but after stopping at Mom’s to change out of church clothes and picking up coffee and lunch, then driving down to the park we got there a little after 11:30 (park opens at 10:30). Then I lost the tickets I had purchased and printed out at home the night before. We walked to the gate (parking was self-serve and there was only one tram which doesn’t seem to run that often) and a lady at customer service was able to re-print our tickets by using my credit card. The deal with buying at home was that you get kid’s price of $30 instead of paying $45. But if you paid $50 you would get a season pass for next year plus get in free the rest of this year.

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Antivirus Software

This weekend my one-year license for Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009 expired. Really, it shouldn’t be because I had Trend Micro Internet Security 2008 last year which didn’t expire until late November, but when I got 2009 last October, I thought I could go ahead and install it and keep the same expiration date. But because the Pro version is different than the regular version, there was no such deal and it was like throwing away six weeks of my purchase (free after rebates).

Knowing the expiration was coming up (it won’t let you forget), I have been keeping an eye on Fry’s ads to see when the new version would come out and if I could get it for free after rebate again. So far only the regular version seems to be out and it is $5 after rebates. I think I can do better. But what to do in the meantime? I knew Trend would stop downloading the latest virus definitions and software updates, but I didn’t realize it wouldn’t even scan my hard drive anymore. So I felt like I needed a stopgap and figured I would try some free software.

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Lithium Ion Flashlights

I think I’m almost done learning about flashlights. This weekend I researched lithium ion batteries and how they relate to flashlights. This is because the tiny flashlight I bought can be powered by a lithium ion battery, though it is not recommended (this is different from disposable lithium batteries like Energizer sells that you only use once but have more power than alkalines). But if you put one in there it will make the flashlight much brighter (and potentially burn it out if you leave it running for very long on the highest brightness setting). One problem with Li-ion batteries is they tend to explode or catch fire. Just about all of the cases where laptops, iPods, or other devices catch fire are because of Li-ion batteries. Many Li-ion batteries come with circuit protection that is supposed to kick in if the voltage of the battery gets too high or if it gets too low (both are bad).

There are a lot of different sizes of Li-ion batteries denoted with a number that tells you the diameter, length, and shape. For instance the battery that replaces a AAA battery is called a 10440 which breaks down to 10 mm diameter, 44 mm long, and 0 for a round shape. These batteries are too small to include protection circuits. Most of the batteries supply 3.6 (or 3.7) volts nominally but you charge them 4.2 volts and they need to be recharged when they get down to 2.8 volts or something like that. Because they are supplying more than twice the voltage of a regular 1.5 volt alkaline or 1.2 volt NiMH battery, it makes sense they will be brighter. But you have to make sure you get a flashlight that is made for that higher voltage.

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Are Rechargeable Batteries Cost Effective?

Jeb sent me this article where the guy says rechargeable batteries are rarely cost-effective. Here’s what I wrote back:

He’s right to some extent, but it surprises me that he doesn’t have a digital camera in his house. Those go through batteries pretty quickly and just about everybody has one. Though maybe he has one that uses a special battery instead of standard AA’s. Flashlights go through batteries pretty quickly too if you use them regularly, though I think I’ve only had to recharge mine twice in the six months or so that I’ve owned it (that may go up as I take the dogs for walks more often at night with the shorter days). The Archos eats through batteries too, as do some CD players that people might use every day. At the store I see packages of 24 disposable batteries and I have a hard time believing that someone buying a package like that couldn’t replace at least a few of those with rechargeables.

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Bridge Work

After the floods it didn’t seem like very many bridges were washed out, but a few have been identified that they want us to replace. Today my group went out and looked at this bridge. The entire middle support fell over and somehow the bridge stayed up despite having no support. We have to work up plans for a new bridge as soon as possible so that construction can start and we can re-open the road. But meanwhile the road will still be shut for 6-9 months. I don’t want to put on the blog where the road is. These pictures were taken by other people, so I am not in any of them.

Before:

After: