Tuesday, October 13, 2009


I did this by accident tonight and had to restore and reconfigure a bunch of stuff. DOH!

Hard Reset HTC Hero Android : HTC Hero Reset Procedure | DIGITAL BITS: "Hard Reset HTC Hero Android Phone – Procedure Trick


1) Turn off your HTC Hero completely.

2) Keep pressing the HOME key and Back key together for some while.

3) While pressing the Home and Back button, once press the power button.

4) Wait for a few seconds and you get a message on the screen asking for a confirm reset.

5) Now release the Home and back buttons press Menu.

6) Your HTC phone is now reset to its original state.

During this process, if your phone hangs, just remove the battery and try this procedure again. It definitely works."

Monday, October 12, 2009

Improve Battery Life for the Android Based HTC Hero Smart Phone | Gamaze.com

I just got my HTC Hero this past Saturday evening and am amazed at all of the features and apps this phone has compared to my old Samsung Rant. Still getting used to the touchscreen keyboard thing but I think with a little more practice it won't be so bad. Probably because I have been tweaking, installing apps and just generally playing with it so much I have of course been running the battery down quite a bit so I decided to find some battery saving tips and stumbled upon Mattias Hansson's blog:


Improve Battery Life for the Android Based HTC Hero Smart Phone | Gamaze.com: "It is easy to say that I’m a very satisfied owner of the HTC Hero since a couple of weeks. Overall, the smart phone is great and having the ability to run apps and processes in background gives it a clear edge over the iPhone. On the other hand, there are several areas where the Apple experience is just so much smoother. Without going into details I hope the rumoured couple of Android updates still this year will help ease these early misses."MORE...

Friday, October 09, 2009

Stone soup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stone soup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "A kindly, old stranger was walking through the land when he came upon a village. As he entered, the villagers moved towards their homes locking doors and windows. The stranger smiled and asked, why are you all so frightened. I am a simple traveler, looking for a soft place to stay for the night and a warm place for a meal. 'There's not a bite to eat in the whole province,' he was told. 'We are weak and our children are starving. Better keep moving on.' 'Oh, I have everything I need,' he said. 'In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you.' He pulled an iron cauldron from his cloak, filled it with water, and began to build a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a silken bag and dropped it into the water. By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come out of their homes or watched from their windows. As the stranger sniffed the 'broth' and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to overcome their fear. 'Ahh,' the stranger said to himself rather loudly, 'I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage -- that's hard to beat.' Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a small cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot. 'Wonderful!!' cried the stranger. 'You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king.' The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for everyone in the village to share. The villager elder offered the stranger a great deal of money for the stone, but he refused to sell it and traveled on the next day. As he left, the stranger came upon a group of village children standing near the road. He gave the silken bag containing the stone to the youngest child, whispering to a group, that it was not the stone, but the villagers that had performed the magic.'"

Rotary screw compressor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rotary screw compressor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "A rotary screw compressor is a type of gas compressor which uses a rotary type positive displacement mechanism. The mechanism for gas compression utilises either a single screw element or two counter rotating intermeshed helical screw elements housed within a specially shaped chamber. As the mechanism rotates, the meshing and rotation of the two helical rotors produces a series of volume-reducing cavities. Gas is drawn in through an inlet port in the casing, captured in a cavity, compressed as the cavity reduces in volume, and then discharged through another port in the casing. [1][1]

The effectiveness of this mechanism is dependent on close fitting clearances between the helical rotors and the chamber for sealing of the compression cavities.

Rotary screw compressors are used in a diverse range of applications. Typically, they are used to supply compressed air for general industrial applications. Trailer mounted diesel powered units are often seen at construction sites, and are used to power air operated construction machinery."
Ultimate Puller - Sensible Products We have one of these in the shop at work and it's been a big help sometimes getting stubborn squirrel cage fans off of motor shafts.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Always a good read, I have been a fan of Marshall Brain's How Stuff Works for years but only recently visited his official home page and learned of many of his other works. Surf on over and check it out for yourself. His page opens thusly:

MarshallBrain.com - The Official Home Page for Marshall Brain

Hello, and welcome to MarshallBrain.com. I am glad you have found your way to this site and appreciate your taking the time to visit.

I am best known as the founder of How Stuff Works. I started HowStuffWorks as a hobby in 1998 and it has grown to be one of the top Web sites in the country.

I am known for the Robotic Nation essays and the book Manna. The article How to make a million dollars is also very popular. I am known for my book for teenagers entitled The Teenager's Guide to the Real World, now in its tenth printing and selected for the New York Public Library's prestigious Books for the Teen Age list (review). I am also known as a member of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers at North Carolina State University, where I taught in the computer science department for 6 years.

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