Poojan (Wagh) Blog

Because they won’t answer an easy question on what power adapter to use with the product that I bought (albeit a long time ago):

Your request (#31984) has been updated. Reply to this email or follow the link below:
http://support.channelmaster.com/tickets/31984

Jeff Brown (Answer Center) Jan 09 09:47 am (MST)

Thanks for your inquiry.

Unfortunately the product you are requesting information on has been discontinued and we no do not provide complementary support on discontinued products.

Best Regards,

Regards,
Jeff Brown
Tech Support Lead
Channel Master
www.channelmasterstore.com
www.channelmastertv.com

Here’s my original request:

Jan 08 06:33 pm (MST)

Hi. I have an older CM-3043, but I can’t find the power supply. I have a bunch of universal dc supplies laying around, but I need to know the voltage that this thing wants.

I’ve looked around for data sheets etc but I can’t find any.

Can you tell me what voltage the CM-3043 needs, and if it is center-positive or center-negative? Thanks.

Unlike just about every electronic item that I’ve come across, they don’t have the supply requirements printed on the box, and they don’t have any data sheet or user manual available online.

This basically means that if I fry the product in the process of trying to get it to work, it’ll end up in a land-fill. Contrast that with this: HBR on Patagonia.

This post was originally titled “We are never ever ever getting back together”.

Found this sitting in my drafts folder from 2010. In response to: Seth’s Blog: #YearInReview What did you ship in 2010?:

• MDFH (work project)
• ASR (work project)
• Built a Windows Home Server
• Set up a media center PC + TV
• Put ducting in attic for AC

(It’s obviously a partial list–and a year old at that.)

I noticed a WalMart receipt in our car that shows a tax rate of 9% plus 1.25%. That seemed kind of high.

Apparently, Elgin has a “special business district” tax rate that is 9%, and then there’s a 1.25% on top of that (presumably County Home Rule), which totals to 10.25%.

It looks like the tax rate in Algonquin would be between 1.25% to 2.5% lower than that in Elgin (Kane County). The Illinois tax rate finder web site predicts 7.75% for Algonquin. It predicts 9% for Elgin (Kane County special business district).

The Illinois web site (below) doesn’t show the 1.25% adder for Elgin’s “special business district”. So, I don’t know if that 1.25% gets added to the Algonquin’s 7.75% as well (in which case the difference would only end up being 1.25%).

Tax Rate Finder: Rates Page – TRI0050.

True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare.
— G.K. Chesterton (via Moment of Happiness Daily Quotation)

Work is busy. There are many things, each of them detailed investigations, that need to get done in a short amount of time. Customers expect that from us–and our competitors.

Normally, at lunch time, I’ll stay in and eat at my desk, usually surfing the web while doing this. Today, I decided to take a walk outside.

Outside was warmer than I expected, but still crisp. Yet, the pond was frozen. An usual but serendipitous combination. I took a nice, refreshing walk. I stretched on the grass.

I immediately forgot what was going on in my office. My mind cleared.

Today, getting all there is out of a frenzied situation means creating a calm moment.

Nice little calculator to tell you if it’s worth it to refinance or not:
Refinance Calculator.

The same website has a lot of references (and survey of media and books) covering other calculators and advice.

Thinking about this. For once, I’ve actually done my weekly routine of running twice a week and weight training twice a week. I heard about this crossfit excercise–both from a guy at work and a random vendor I’ve been talking to on a weekly basis.

This article seems to have a pretty fair treatment: T NATION | Crossed Up by CrossFit. Summary: good for the average Joe, but not for serious body-builders.

A great song to work (and I suppose work out) to. Energizing: (Note: I haven’t watched the video before; just like the song.)

Great sound:

[mp3 asins=”B00122D8OU”]

When someone asks you a question, and you’ve already told them the answer, their question is redundant.
So is pointing out that you’ve already told them the answer. Just tell ’em the answer again.

If you haven’t heard it already, listen to this:

Ruining It for the Rest of Us | This American Life.

This episode of TAL contains some of the best audio I’ve heard.

They describe a study where they place a “bad apple” in a group “acting either like a jerk, a slacker or a depressive. And within 45 minutes, the rest of the group started behaving like the bad apple.”

Except one group was extremely resilient in the presence of this negativity. Turned out that group had a “golden apple”–a guy who “was particularly a good leader, and what he would do was ask questions, and he would engage all the team members, and he would diffuse conflicts.” (10:18)

I want to be that golden apple.