Putting Facebook back in its box

It really annoys me when I've been searching for (say) a new Zimmer frame, and the next time I log into Facebook I'm swamped with adverts for new Zimmer's.

I then imaging some androgynous, bug-eyed, American geek leaning over my shoulder saying "Hey buddy, what are we looking at today?"

I needed to put a stop to this...

Newts, hedgehogs, bats & BirdBox2019

I wasn't really prepared for this spring.

There was too much going on inside the house for me to be able to keep an eye on the garden.

Fortunately, time waits for no man...

DNA Testing: what can it tell you?

Personal DNA kits have become very popular over recent years.

Many are sold to those looking for long-lost relatives, or to people just curious about their 'roots'.

But what can they tell you about your origins and relationships to other people?

Bluetooth Audio Transmitter Repair

We recently had a problem with our Insomniacs Bedside Radio.

The Bluetooth pairing button seemed to have shifted position within the box, causing it to be jammed on.

So time to open it up and reposition it, or so I thought.

Your toilet won't flush? How jolly inconvenient!

Modern, low-level cisterns don't last like the old, high-level, chain pull bogs use to.

One of the most common complaints is when they become difficult or impossible to flush.

This could be the reason why...

Electret Microphone Preamplifier

This design runs from a 5Volt USB supply and attempts to minimise electrical noise.

I wanted to create a simple preamp for an electret mic insert using components from my bits box.

So component values and transistor types are not critical.

DodoPi Bat Recorder: "hey, we have a live one!"

Bats flying around in mid-winter! ...whatever next?

It may be relatively rare compared to the number of recordings made each night during the summer...

...but just one recording shows that there are bats out there.

Garden Birds: a pox upon thee

We sometimes see birds in our garden that are clearly 'not right'.

A few have physical disabilities such as broken or missing feet or legs.

While others are clearly just unwell.

my 'always-on' stair lights

Sometimes things work better than they were designed to.

The lights on my stairs work as expected when I turn them on, but continue to glow when I turn them off!

So whats going on?