Technology | At Home with Tech

August 27, 2017

Why Your Tech May Not Survive Your Next Vacation

‘Fun in the sun’ is not a phrase fit for many of your gadgets. If you’re not careful, the punishing summertime elements can really do a doozy on your tech…

Your gadgets are supposed to work hard while you’re having fun in the sun. There’s no ethical dilemma here. No “Westworld” to concern yourself with.

But you should remind yourself that all of your gear may not be designed to easily handle your next vacation’s itinerary. In fact, your personal tech can be as delicate as your skin without any SPF protection…

Here are five pieces of Kryptonite your gadgets have to contend with…

#1
Sunlight
Direct sunlight can be a real problem for your camera lens…

Strong sunlight facing your subject can wash out or over expose your shot.
Sun from the rear can make your subject’s face look too dark.

Softer light or shade is usually easier for your camera lens to handle.
(Or just hope for a cloudy day)

#2
The Beach
The sandy beach is an especially dangerous place for your camera…

And I’m not just talking about that large body of water.
(I once saw a friend’s DSLR camera lens accidentally drop into a lake, because it wasn’t securely locked into place on its camera body. Oops!)

It’s that sand.
Those tiny granules can really kill your tech.
Even a single poorly placed speck of sand wedged into a retractable camera lens can immobilize your camera from ever taking another shot.

One simple solution is to use a waterproof camera without an exposed lens…

Another option is to only take photos with your smartphone. No exposed camera parts to worry about.

#3
Heat
Don’t overheat your tech… as in… don’t leave it in your car at high noon.
Enough said.

#4
Summer Fun
Just having a good time in the great outdoors can spell doom for your tech.
‘Cause if you’re not paying attention… Whoops… Plop…. Crack.
(That’s the sound of your camera or smartphone shattering on the sidewalk.)

#5
Travel Can Be a Losing Proposition
Let’s face it. It can be hard to keep track of all your stuff when you’re on vacation.
But if you leave a pair of socks behind or a t-shirt, that’s not such a big deal. If any of your tech doesn’t it make it back, that’s obviously a much bigger issue.

My solution: Don’t bring it!
If you don’t absolutely need it, I say you can do without…

And that goes for your car too.
Because when you least expect it, a wild turkey will fly into it!
(Yes, it’s happened to me.)

So you might want to consider becoming a public transportation Weekend Road Warrior.

The Terminator Vs. WALL-E
Look, I know this cautionary musing is mostly common sense.

And in fact, your fancy tech can actually enhance summertime fun… or at least feed you with lots of ‘comfort data.’

Heck, a solar-charging watch actually thrives during the summer months!

But the truth is your tech isn’t built like the Terminator.
If you want it to be back for your next vacation adventure, you’d better start treating it like your personal WALL-E.

Even though your gadgets don’t need to outlast all robotics on the planet, it also wouldn’t hurt to offer your tech a little more love.
(Or at least the protection it needs to survive while you’re having fun!)

August 20, 2017

Are You Telling Your Story?

How’s it going telling the story of your life? What? Not doing that? How about your story over the past year? No? Well, then you might want to take some advice from my father. He’s got lots of stories to tell you. Like the time he went to the top of Machu Picchu.

My 84-year-old father is a great storyteller. He always loves the opportunity to share an exciting experience from years past. When he’s not telling me one of his stories, he sometimes says, “Barrett, these are your halcyon days. Things aren’t always going to be this good.”

I’m never quite sure what his point is other than life throws you curve balls. So, you should make sure to pay attention to the moments when you’re on a happy straightaway.

I suppose it’s a warning… and a compliment… all baked together.

I’ve been around the block a few times myself. So, I’m probably fooling myself if I don’t admit to knowing exactly what he’s talking about.

I think the lesson is to make darn sure to remember the good times, because they were indeed good. It’s easy to forget that with the murky complexities that the future inevitably brings.

The future often clouds the past in some way. Coloring it a new shade.

Digital Memories
Of course, one way to help keep the past straight is to take a photo or a video of a particular moment or series of moments. That’s not rocket science.

Organizing and keeping track of those digital memories over a period of years is something of a harder lift.
(You’ve seen me stress over this challenge before.)

But at the end of the day, your digital memories are mere fragments… not entire experiences. And they reflect a specific editorial point of view that led to their creation. They serve as ‘commercials’ for your life rather than objective and complete ‘documentaries.’

The Good Old Days
You’ve got to be deliberate and pay attention to your life as it unfolds. And acknowledge life’s many chapters in larger chunks of time. Nobody is going to do that for you.
(Unless someone is writing your biography.)

It’s your job to remember your story. So, do whatever it takes to recall it properly.
(Take some notes!)

And don’t forget to acknowledge all of the people who are on the journey with you.
(They share in your story, and you share in theirs.)

Tell Your Story Now!
Yes, it’s important to recognize the good times when they’re happening. But it’s equally essential to look back and give the past a proper nod, now and again.

And keep your ongoing narrative clear and strong as it spans the decades.

It’s your life… and your story. It’s your job to keep it straight.
And your responsibility to tell it.

Thanks, Dad.

August 13, 2017

What Does Error Code E22 on a Bosch Dishwasher Mean?

The good news is when something goes wrong with your dishwasher these days, if it’s got an LED display, it may try to tell you what the problem is. You just need to speak its language…

For me, dishwashers are simply supposed to do their job, and you shouldn’t have to think about it too much. Over the past four years, I’ve been totally satisfied with my Bosch dishwasher. The only oddity I’ve discovered (and the salesperson warned me about it when I was considering my choice) was you shouldn’t leave dirty dishes in it for days at a time without running it. That’s because there’s no heated drying cycle.
(An environmental friendly choice of Bosch’s)

Of course, that’s exactly what I did during the first few weeks and found that the residual dampness left behind would interact with the dirty dishes and create something of a stink after a few days.
(Of course)

The solution was simply to run the dishwasher every day or two, and the offending olfactory ‘ripeness’ immediately evaporated.

In Search of Code E22
Fast forward four years to last week…
I ran the Bosch overnight, and when I woke up and walked down the stairs to a dark kitchen, I was greeted by an eerie red glow on the front panel.

Something was very wrong, and the mysterious error code on the display was #E22.

Awesome.

I took a peek inside. The dishes seemed clean, and I could feel some residual heat from the washing cycle. I figured the problem occurred somewhere mid-flight or after the cycle had mostly completed.

Now, I just had to figure out what #22 meant.
After a little online research, I came upon the following clue:

‘Residual water in the dishwasher’s sump pump’

Clear Out the Sludge!!!
And then I remembered one other warning the salesperson had given me…
(I suppose you might question a dishwasher that comes with multiple warnings… but let’s not go there.)

He told me you’ve got to regularly clean out the filter that captures all of the food particles at the base of the Bosch dishwasher. Because the ‘passive-catch’ filter can get pretty gross.
And it leads to the sump pump.

How gross?
I pulled the filter out…
Take a look…

I’d say all of that organic goo constitutes an official clog!

Do you think this alien-like slime can create E22?
You betcha.
(There was about a cup of undrained water lurking at the bottom.)

So, I cleaned away all of the sludge, removed the remaining water in the dishwasher and popped the filter back in.

And then… everything was just fine!
I ran the dishwasher that night, and no more E22.

You’ve Got to Clean the Filter!
You might be wondering… How long had it been since I’d cleaned out the filter?
Yeah, good question.

I’ve washed the filter before, but it’s obviously slipped my mind over the past few…
…months?

Yes, this story squarely falls into the category of
‘User Error.’

Perhaps the code should have been-
“E-User”

Now, that makes more sense!

Let’s not talk about this again.
Thank you.

9 Comments

Category: Technology

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: