Cats Love The Sun In The Spring

 

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My Latest Invention - The Battery +- Inversion

UPDATE: All that work and the flashlight still doesn't have enough light output to be practical for any use so I threw the whole thing in the garbage later in the summer of 2021. 

Tim.

You probably have an old lantern flashlight or two lying around from days gone by.

I found three languishing in the front hall closet. They all have old filament type bulbs so I thought I'd be smart and replace them with LED bulbs. I figured the large lantern batteries would last a long, long time with these energy efficient upgrades. I replaced the old bulb, popped in the new 6v lantern battery and voila...           Ooops - NOTHING!

It turns out that as you can see, the center spring is negative and the other spring is positive. With filament bulbs it doesn't matter which way the current flows but with LEDs the battery must be center positive to work. What to do? It looked impossible to alter the flashlight so I looked again at the battery.

Hmmm... I could bend the negative spring so as to move it from the middle to the edge.

That's a good start so tape that in place.

Now I bent the other positive spring to reposition it in the middle.

Now tape the positive in place.

There you have it! A very simple fix to a perplexing problem. Let's call it my "+-  inversion"

The new LED bulb shines bright in my old lantern, a place it was never designed to be.

 Of course you wouldn't have to do this inversion with a regular positive center flashlight so its even easier to convert your old flashlights lying around the house. 

CLICK HERE to see the bulbs on Amazon. The batteries should go many years with the low energy LEDs.

UPDATE March 2022: This flashlight is still a useless piece of crap. The LED bulb is weak. I threw it in the garbage.

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Have We Got A Deal For You!

 

Probably better than Trump would have done!

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Looking Forward To Cruising In A Post COVID World?

 

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Have A Grand Day...

You may not be going out for St. Patrick's Day but I hope you do something special.

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Swans and a Drive Along The Lake

 We checked the hotline and sure enough the Tundra Swans arrived right on schedule.

The viewing stand was crowded so we kept our distance. This place is near Aylmer, which has been in the news lately because it's home to the Canadian arm of a US cult (Church of God) which stupidly doesn't allow masks.

We enjoyed watching the Tundra and Trumpeter Swans as well as Canada Geese pausing for a break before continuing in their migration north.

We continued south to the shore of Lake Erie and the beach town of Port Bruce. The scene near the pier was like pictures of the surface of some sci-fi planet.  The ice was piled into hills with blown sand coating them.

Further along the lake towards Port Stanley we came upon this house which is condemned to a watery end as the shoreline bluff inches closer. Their large shed is already precariously teetering on the brink.

The warmer weather in the 60's F was a harbinger to Spring and we certainly welcomed getting out of the house for a few hours. My car got a good 70 mile run and charged it's battery too.

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The ss LAURA, Port Stanley

From over a hundred years ago, this steamer appears to be an excursion boat plying Kettle Creek and the Port Stanley area on this somewhat overcast day. How romantic!

My 'artsy' pic for today was from the Elgin County archives and was in black and white. I coloured it according to my imagination.

Above is the original picture showing the old bridge in the background. This was long before the King George VI lift bridge (built in 1938) that they are currently restoring. Hope you enjoy!

CLICK HERE for updates on the bridge restoration.

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Ever Been In A Whiteout?

 My 'Artoon' for today:

"White Knuckle" Driving or "Knuckle Head" Driving?

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The Tundra Swans Are Back?

Every year we try to get down to Aylmer to view the return of the Tundra Swans. My 'artsy' pic for today is composed from a picture I took last year, just as COVID-19 was getting started.

I called the Swan Hotline and found that the swans are back in the area again this year, but none at the viewing center yet.  We plan a visit this week some nice day if the Hotline says they are there.

For Swan information, please call (519) SSE-SWAN or (519) 773-7926. The phone line is active the last week of February to the end of March or when the swans are gone.

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Box Day (Not Boxing Day)

 Amazon, Walmart, Well, you name it. Seems like they are arriving here every day.

Garage Overflow: Every couple weeks is "Box Day" when, with my trusty ball of plastic twine, (that I got on Amazon) I head outside to reduce the collection of cardboard boxes so the recycler will take them away.

Good 'til next box day. They just keep coming and coming!

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Backyard Visitor

 A Sharp Shinned Hawk visits occasionally in the winter.

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