Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

 Originally from Adam Liaw:

  • Thinly sliced beef
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp sake
  • 2tbsp mirin
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 1 brown onion
Add chicken stock, soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar to top and bring to boil.
Add onion until soften.
Add beef and stir until beef is cooked.

Monday, March 4, 2024

Buying Plywood - Cuts, Cores, Matches and More

Buying lumber from a lumber yard can be intimidating, but surely plywood is simpler... right?  Plywood is a manufactured product that has a more controlled process and standardization then harvesting lumber, but there are still a lot of variations in plywood that makes buying plywood more complicated then if you were to buy a PlayStation off the shelf.  

I don't buy plywood frequently, each time I do I have to refresh myself on all the different terminology and options that I get back from the lumber dealer so I decided to write a post to myself to save my time re-searching the internet on what each thing means.

Core Materials

Plywood is made of layers of wood materials sandwiched between the wood veneers that gives it's look.  Walnut plywood is made from two walnut veneers with enough the material ("core") between them until it is the thickness desired.  The layers gives plywood its stability and not have the wood movement that lumber typically have.

Face and Back Grades

The face and back of plywood have grades that describes its quality:

Face grades:

  • AA - Premium, architectural quality for interiors, case goods and high end furniture.
  • A - Not as high as AA but still excellent appearance. 
  • B - Less perfect and consistent than A panels but more economical.
  • C - More defects and variations.  Not as attractive so good for less visible applications.
  • "Shop" grade - Panels that have some imperfection that causes the sheet to not meet the grade (e.g. A1 or C2).

Back grades


These goes from 1 (best) to 4 (worst).  Grade 3 & 4 allows for open defects.

Baltic Birch Grades

Baltic Birch uses a different grading system:

  • B/BB - one face free of "footballs".
  • BB/BB - An average of 4 to 6 footballs per face
  • BB/CP - An average of 4 to 6 football on one face and unlimited footballs on the back
(BB/CP example)


Veneer Core


Veneer core means the odd-number of layers between the face veneers are made of sheets of wood layered in alternating grain direction for stability.  Lighter and have strong screw holding power, but might not be as flat if there are imperfections in the core layers which can show through (aka "telegraph").

There are processes to address this such as Columbia Forest Product's MPX core to make veneer core smooth and reduce telegraphing.  MPX is Columbia's registered trademark for basically using smooth hardwood crossbands in the core to smooth out the veneer.

MDF Core

MDF core consists of using medium density fiberboard between the face veneers which is very stable and uniform.  MDF can be heavy and can swell up and dissolve when wet.

Combination Core

This core uses a combination of MDF and wood veneers between the faces.  

Veneer Cuts

The way the veneer is cut effects the appearance, properties and cost of the veneer.  For example, plain sliced cuts produces veneers with the "cathedral" patterns while a quarter cut produces a more thin line pattern.



A rotary cut can produce Whole Piece Face (WPF) veneer where the entire face of the plywood is a single piece of veneer and can be more economical to produce.  In order to make a full sheet of plywood from the other cuts, the strips of veneer of placed side-by-side so there can be a fine seam between the strips.  How the strips are placed is called matching which is discussed more below. 


Veneer Match

Unless it is a whole piece face, the veneer panels needs to be placed side-by-side in order to crate a full piece of plywood.  How these panels are ordered is what is called veneer matching.  There are multiple ways to do this and I provide some links in the references below that describe them but the common ones are:

Slip Matching

Slip matching places each panel next to each other without turning or flipping them over.  This creates a repeated look.

Sequence Match 

Sequence match requires that the panels come from the same log and be more consistent panel-to-panel.


(start here)



Book Matching

Book matching turns the panels over so that two adjacent panels mirrors each other much like how you open a book.

References

  1. https://www.decorativehardwoods.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/HWPW%20Handbook.pdf
  2. https://chesapeakeplywood.com/architectural-plywood/
  3. https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/library/reference-guides/grading-guide/veneer-cuts-and-matching/
  4. https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/2015/08/29/matching-confusion-uncomplicating-an-overused-term/
  5. https://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/library/reference-guides/core-types/
  6. https://www.archtoolbox.com/wood-veneer-matching/
  7. https://awiqcp.org/news-and-blog/wood-veneers-matching/ -- sequence matching have a higher standard for matching more then slip (which is also layers it in sequence.
  8. https://www.decorativehardwoods.org/pdfs-available-download

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Reacher Season 2 - My Reaction So Far

Season 1 of Amazon's Reacher was a surprisingly entertaining show with a great cast that showed clear chemistry with each other.  The banter between the characters were fun to watch rather than annoying and the pacing at which each character's background is revealed kept me engaged through the entire season.   Unfortunately, season 2 has not had that same ingredients.

Most of the new characters already had a developed relationship so the character development happened mainly through flashbacks and the chemistry between them were lacking or lacked tension.  The pacing also feels more off this season there lacks any mystery to events and each episode felt a bit like the previous episodes.

Two more episode remains in this season and hopefully it picks up pacing and provide a satisfactory ending that will hold over until season 3.

Friday, January 5, 2024

Anime to Start the New Year - The Apothecary Diaries

For the first post of 2024, I'm starting with a positive review of The Apothecary Diaries.

Originally a Japanese light novel and then a manga before being released as an anime starting in October, 2023.  The Apothecary Diaries takes place in a fictional imperial China and follows a young Chinese girl who loves studying and making medicine.  With a pragmatic acceptance of realities of social norms of feudal China, the protagonist nevertheless ends up rising in prominence within the imperial court.

I enjoyed the characters and mysteries surrounding our heroine and the relationships she establishes with members across the social spectrum.

Unlike many modern anime, The Apothecary Diaries immediately secured not just a one season but two seasons of episodes (24) and as of this writing is half way through the initial 24 episode run.  I've been fully enjoying the anime and would recommend.


Friday, December 22, 2023

Upgrading to Fedora 38

Upgraded from Fedora 37 to 38 following the standard instructions.  There were no errors indicated during the upgrade.  The packages was downloaded, installed and the system rebooted.   When I came back to the machine after the upgrade and got to the login screen, my USB mouse was functioning sporadically.  I could still log in with the keyboard but it felt slow and Fedora had a warning that something didn't load correctly.

I powered down the system and then turned in back on (the usual if the hardware isn't working first give it a "kick") and everything seemed to be working normally.  It might be because my mouse is connected to the desktop through the monitor's USB input?

Once I was back on, I did a 

sudo dnf update

to see if I was current and it gave the following error

Problem 1: cannot install the best update candidate for package libheif-freeworld-1.15.1-4.fc38.x86_64
  - nothing provides libheif(x86-64) = 1.17.5 needed by libheif-freeworld-1.17.5-1.fc38.x86_64 from rpmfusion-free-updates
 Problem 2: problem with installed package libheif-freeworld-1.15.1-4.fc38.x86_64
  - package libheif-freeworld-1.15.1-4.fc38.x86_64 from @System requires libheif(x86-64) = 1.15.1, but none of the providers can be installed
  - package libheif-freeworld-1.15.1-4.fc38.x86_64 from rpmfusion-free requires libheif(x86-64) = 1.15.1, but none of the providers can be installed
  - cannot install both libheif-1.16.2-2.fc38.x86_64 from updates and libheif-1.15.1-2.fc38.x86_64 from @System
  - cannot install both libheif-1.16.2-2.fc38.x86_64 from updates and libheif-1.15.1-2.fc38.x86_64 from fedora
  - cannot install the best update candidate for package libheif-1.15.1-2.fc38.x86_64
  - nothing provides libheif(x86-64) = 1.17.5 needed by libheif-freeworld-1.17.5-1.fc38.x86_64 from rpmfusion-free-updates
================================================================================
 Package             Arch     Version            Repository                Size
================================================================================
Skipping packages with conflicts:
(add '--best --allowerasing' to command line to force their upgrade):
 libheif             x86_64   1.16.2-2.fc38      updates                  298 k
Skipping packages with broken dependencies:
 libheif-freeworld   x86_64   1.17.5-1.fc38      rpmfusion-free-updates    59 k

Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Skip  2 Packages

Nothing to do.
Complete!
The output's suggestion of using --best and --allowerasing didn't work so search yielded two threads about this issue from months ago:
  • https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/unknown-update-error-with-libheif/81302
  • https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/rpmfusion-free-updates-libheif-freeworld-and-libheif-version-conflict/82240/7
Although the threads implied that it's been resolved and people had proposed different workarounds the simplest solution for me was simply to remove libheif-freeworld package:

sudo dnf remove libheif-freeworld

This seemed to resolve the issue.

The above threads indicated that a fix was submitted but it might now be broken again since when I searched for the various package versions on Fedora and rpmfusion, the working versions of the packages weren't there:

sudo dnf search --showduplicates libheif
Maybe it's the timing of my upgrade that ran into this problem.  Fortunately, it was a quick and easy fix but sadly I can't say that this was a completely seamless upgrade.

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Workshop Upgrades to Improve Organization and Workflow

Continuing my efforts to have better organization and improve the workflow in my limited space garage workshop (1/2 of a 2 car garage but where we have to be able to park one car), I tried to tackle two birds with one stone by using many of the scrap materials that were left over from previous projects that was taking up space to build an assembly table with some storage underneath and a mobile bench top tools cart.


All the materials used for the table were stuff I had lying around so the design was partially dictated by what I had on hand, but the final result matched exactly what I wanted:  a 3' x 3' mobile table (since in a small shop, I often had to move things around).  Having it be 3 feet allows me to be on one side and reach across to the other side without having to walk around the table.

A shelf on the bottom gave me additional storage keep items off the ground and I can move the table around while having all the tools move together.


I added drawer slides so that I can expand the work area, have storage and have easier access to the items.  When not in use everything goes back into a compact 3'x3' space.

Before building the assembly table, I was using two temporary Bora 2' x 4' Centipede workbenches which took up slightly more then 4' x 4' of space.  They had limited space beneath the top and everything would be sitting directly on the ground.  I had a bench top sander, band saw, planar and jointer on it which took up most of the space leaving me just a small corner as a work surface.  Again, with only materials that I had lying around, I made a mobile cart to hold all the tools in a more compact dimension (3x2) that I can roll around and store to the side.


In the above picture, you'll also noticed that I moved the miter saw from the built-in cabinet to a mobile stand (a repurposed Bosch table saw cart I previously built but not used since I sold the saw) that I added an OEM Kapex top.  Now, I have the saw, the bench top tools cart and router table (also on a mobile cart) lined up in a row so they take up less space but are still easy to access when I need them.

I added wings and fence with a stop block to the miter saw. 



I bought this pine plank around 10 years ago with the intention of using it as a wing for the miter saw.  The track fence is probably just as old (or older) and was also intended to be used for the wing to make repeatable cuts.  Well, better late then never, right?  I finally set it up.  The wings (yes, there is one for the other side) can be detached and folded so they can be stored away.  The fence can slide on-and-off of the brackets on the back. 

I also made some changes to the MFT3 and the cart it sits on.


I replaced the fence it came with with a UJK fence and I removed the fold-down bracket that held the Festool track and use bench dogs sitting in the 20mm holes to attached the track.  This allows me to not worry about making sure the bracket is calibrated to be 90 degrees to the bench dog holes and I also don't have the track standing up vertically all the time and having to reach over to pull it down.

I finally added drawer slides to the cart so I can pull out the trays and have easy access to the items stored behind the systainers.  I had bought the slides 11 years again with then intention of doing this and only gotten to it this year.

The dust extractor faces the back of the cart which made turning it on manually very inconvenient.  It turns on automatically when the connected tool turns on, but if I just wanted to use the dust extractor to clean up, I'd have to walk around to turn it on.  I added a Bluetooth on-off switch to the end of the hose so that I can turn it on manually without having to go behind the cart.


The final setup has not only increased the functionality, flow and convenience of my workspace, it also gave me more space even though I've gotten more tools the past year and it cleared away a lot of materials that were lying around.


Sunday, July 30, 2023

Pixel Green Screen of Death

While on vacation, my Google Pixel phone experienced the Green Screen of Death.  Basically, what happens is that the screen will either not turn on at all, flash a few lines, or flicker a primarily green color before the whole display turns dark.  The phone is still functioning in the background as you can hear the notifications and it still senses your finger touches, but you can't see anything.  

I had a separate tablet with me on the trip so I quickly searched to see if this is a known issue and if there was any easy fix.   Searching on Google, I found out that it's what people call the Green Screen of Death so it's not unheard of, but nobody can fully explain the cause.  The general consensus is that this is a hardware failure and requires the phone screen to be replaced.  The speculation is that it is caused by the phone overheating, but whether it's a defect in the design or manufacturing is still under debate.  I don't have any definitive answers but will share my experience here.  My situation started after I left the phone in the armrest of my rental car for a couple of hours one morning.  When I took it out and turned on the screen, it started flickering and then turned dark.  After a few seconds, the screen came on only to flicker and turn dark again.  The phone felt warm but not burning.  It might have felt a bit warmer than when it is doing a fast charge. 

On YouTube, there are a number of videos that offer a "fix" to the problem, but none of them mention that their fixes are just temporary.    Their "fix" mainly is to press down on the screen at different locations starting with simple taps and if that doesn't work then move to more firm presses with your thumbs until the screen comes on.  Since that's really the only solution I found (besides the "Call Google and get a replacement"), I gave it a try and it kinda worked.  Sometimes the display will come on but inevitably it will go dark.  I'm not sure if the pressing thing really helped or if it was just that the display just turned on while I was pressing.  I guess the theory is that the screen lost some kind of contact inside the body and pressing the screen will help it regain that contact.   Are there that many moving parts inside of a smart phone for something to come loose due to heat?  I think it's more plausible that the heat damaged some components so I don't think the phone will recover on its own.

Until I get the phone fixed or replaced, I wanted to make sure that the phone can continue to function enough so I can transfer the data over.  That meant keeping the phone somewhere cool and minimizing moving or using it.  The screen seems to work longer when the phone remains cool.  I tried to charge it one time and when it warmed up while charging the screen started glitching more quickly.  

Not having a mobile phone these days is really inconvenient.  We rely on it for maps, photos, and so much more beyond phone calling, but I guess a positive outlook is that it forced me to really disconnect from the grid while on vacation.  This experience also made me aware that Google has pledged to make their phones DIY repairable so you can now buy genuine Google parts to replace the screen, battery and camera.  That gives me a bit more confidence in getting another Pixel.  My experience with the Pixel has been good and I usually noticed the battery capacity dropping after a few years rather than any hardware failure so being able to replace the battery (even though it doesn't look super easy) is better.

I also learned that you can get the phone fixed quickly at a ubreakitifixit shop if one is nearby.  What I worry about sending a phone to a shop is that unless the phone is completely wiped clean then it might be possible for the shop to access the data on the phone.  These days we have so much data on the phone and if the problem is a broken screen then you can't even wipe the phone before sending it in.





Monday, July 17, 2023

Basic tools for homeowners

 New homeowners often find themselves constantly visiting the hardware store the first few weeks after moving into their new home.  Those visits take time and can be intimidating given all the items available so here's my suggestion for an inital shopping list that will hopefully save you some times and lower the number of trips to the store.

  • Tape measure - this is used so often that you might consider buying two
  • Knife/Box cutter - you'll be opening a lot of boxes and packaging.  A multi-tool might be a good option for versatility.
  • Screw driver - After driving back-and-forth, you might hope this is the drink but sorry, no.  Have at least one philips head screw driver and a flat head screw driver.  The latter is also useful to pry open paint cans lids, etc.
  • Pliers - a pair of hand pliers can save a lot of pain trying to get an old nail or object out.
  • Level - Checking that something is level happens more than I expected.
  • Paint brush - useful for both applying paint and also brushing things off/
  • Painter's tape - People swear by duck tape, but I use the famous blue painters tape for everything and not just for painting because it comes off easily.
  • Hammer - I don't use a hammer all that much but when needed there isn't many other substitites so keep one around.
  • Sand paper - For sanding and removing things stuck on surfaces.
  • Vynyl gloves - inexpensive and protects your hand from chemicals and other gross stuff.
  • Eye protection - Listen to Norm!
  • Dust mask - Don't want to breath in dusts and molds.
  • Power drill & drill bits - Save time and your wrists and get a power drill.  I recommend getting a drill and driver set as they are common and cost effective.
  • Stud finder - Don't rely on your Tindr app.  Get a real stud finder so your picture frames don't fall off the wall.
  • 5 gallon bucket - Useful for bringing your tools around to where you need them and can use to hold other stuff.  I suggest getting two (or get a tool bag to replace one of the buckets)
  • Paper towels - DIY can be a dirty job
  • Baby wipes - It's gentle on a baby's skin so probaby also for your painted walls.
  • spackling compound - I know  you don't make mistakes but the previous person might not have put the hanger your spouse wanted.
  • putty knife - Cover up the mistake by the other person.

My most essential tools for woodworking

When I first started learning woodworking, I watched shows like the New Yankee Workshop and videos on Youtube.  I was envious of all the tools and gears that the creators had but over time I realized that I don't work like them or build things the same way they do.  The tools that I reach for my projects turned out to be different from what is often shown on the videos.  To give another perspective on what are tools to consider for the hobbyist, here are what I use for almost every project.

Used for Every Project

Measuring tape - There's no project that doesn't require some way to do measurements.  Even if you are going to buy rather than build, you will need to be able to measure.

Mechanical pencils - I don't recall any project that I've done that didn't require having a pencil to write or mark something.  It was so common for me to be searching for a pencil that I ended up buying a bunch of cheap mechanical pencils and having them everywhere so that I don't constantly stop to look for one to write with.

Combination square - I didn't expect this to be my #1 most useful tool for woodworking.  You don't usually see it being shown or highlighted in woodworking videos, but this the versatility and usefulness of this understated tool means that I use it for every project.  I use it to mark, set repeatable heights, as a straight edge, 45/90 degree finder and a host of other activities.  I started with a basic one and eventually knew that if I bought an high end one I'd have no regrets.

Used for Most Projects

Drill & Driver and screw drivers - Most projects will require installing fasteners (e.g. screws) so either a set of screw drivers or a power tool (driver) will be used.  A drill is used for drilling holes but can also can drive screws but I  prefer having separate drills and drivers. 

Woodglue or Screws - Joining things together requires either glue, screws or nails.  I don't use nails much so it's either glue or screws for me.  For screws, I prefer the square head screws rather than phillips screws but it's not so common to find in US hardware stores.  Torx head screws can be found but they might be more expensive.

Saw - Having a saw is very useful.  I'd recommend starting with a Japanese handsaw which are less expensive but cuts better (in my opinion).  I also find Japanese handsaws to be more versatile then western style handsaw.  There are also powered saws such as table saws, track saws, circular saw, etc.    Having something to cut with is VERY useful but there are times when I buy materials to size that meant I didn't have to do my own cutting.

 Very Useful

Woodworking square - My first "splurge" tool was a Woodpecker woodworking square and I nearly always reach for it at some point when I'm working on a project.  I mostly use it to check for square but I also use it to hold things square and check for straightness.

Mallet - I use a rubber mallet a lot more then I use a hammer to avoid marring surfaces when I really need to pound something.

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Chevy's Salsa

 Modified version of this recipe for Chevy's salsa:

  • 2 lbs fresh tomatoes
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
  • 1 table spoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon minced garlic
  1. Grill tomatoes, onion and jalapeno on open flame until slightly charred and tomatoes soften and split.
  2. Remove from grill and let cool
  3. Drain accumulated liquid
  4. Remove stem of jalapenos and tomatoe ends
  5. Blend (approx 10 sec) all ingredients in blender
  6. Chill and serve.