Yearly Archives: 2021

No more identity theft

Hall of Shame, iPad, iPhone, Ramblings

Hasta la vista, Zuck.


No more theft.

iOS 14.5 for the iPhone and iPad will be released shortly. Unlike previous versions of the operating system, apps which would require the user to opt-out of tracking their activity now will require the user to consciously agree to be tracked. The opt-in screen appears above.

Why is this a big deal?

Let me flashback to to my son’s 6th grade year in California. That was in 2014. As we were walking home I noticed that all the kids in the playground were busy staring at their smartphone screens.

“What are they doing, Winnie?” I asked in all innocence.

“Facebook, Dad”.

This set me off on a process of discovery and disclosed what has to be the greatest evil of our time. Not only was Facebook absorbing and wasting huge amounts of time for these fertile young brains, it transpired that it was tracking everything these kids did even if they were not on Facebook. And unless you have been in a nuclear blast-proof bunker the last few weeks with no access to any sort of connectivity, you will also know that Facebook extended its evil ways as an organizing vehicles for traitors, seditionists and insurrectionists. Censorship of hate speech be damned, thanks to Mr. Zuckerberg. The people who stormed the Capitol on their Pig’s orders on January 6, 2021 had organized their meetings on Facebook and, to a lesser extent, on Twitter.

But it gets even worse. 4 years ago a very close US presidential election awarded that same Pig the Oval Office thanks to the Russkies’ massive campaign of disinformation on …. yup, you guessed it, Facebook. And every time those seditionists clicked on the site of their local guns and ammo supplier, Facebook was there making money off their clicks. Zuckerberg was, simply stated, being paid by the makers of deadly weapons.

Now Zuckerberg is up in arms about Tim Cook’s privacy decision. He argues that the requirement to opt-in to being tracked will make your “….advertising experience worse.” Excuse me? Is there something like a good advertising experience?

Come to think of it, while you are at it, you might as well install an ad blocker on all your devices to cut the noise and disruption ads cause in the reading experience.

So when iOS 14.5 is announced, I advise all iOS users to upgrade immediately and refuse to opt-in to tracking of their activity. If you prefer to be watched, sold, tracked, filed and numbered while enhancing Mr. Zuckerberg’s bloated net worth, then stick with your Samsung cell phone. iOS 14.5 works on iPhone 6S or later.

As for my son, he gave up Facebook shortly after the experience explained above, and has never been happier or more productive.

A new start(er)

Motorcycles

Japan rules.

BMW airheads first saw the addition of electric starters in 1970, and still came fitted with kick starters as a back-up. These were deleted for the 1975 year but the original owner of my 1975 BMW R90/6 had one fitted at the factory before importing the machine. It’s pretty useless on a cold motor, but works OK with a warm one if the whole macho scene is your thing.

To say that the massive Bosch starter in my bike is an enthusiastic participant when it comes to getting sparks and explosions going would be an overstatement. It always struggled a bit getting over the compression hump with a cold engine and things deteriorated further in recent months, so much so that I would use the kicker to position the motor just past compression to give the ailing German starter a running start at things, so to speak. But clearly, a rebuild was indicated, reverting to a properly tuned but still weak willed Bosch original, for some $250.

Now engineers are always looking for something better though I do rather struggle with the idea of installing non-OEM parts in my classic machine. I corresponded with a riding friend explaining that there is a Japanese alternative but I felt rather uncomfortable mixing races, if you know what I mean. No problem with Japanese bikes; in fact they are the most reliable and well made machines out there. “Well”, he replied somewhat caustically, “they seem to have got on just fine in the last World War, so I wouldn’t worry about it”. OK!

Why Japanese? Well the Bosch starter in my bike is 1970’s technology – probably more like 1950’s, truth be told. And aftermarket places have been modifying a Nippondenso/Toyota starter with the right Bendix (the geared teeth which the solenoid advances into the flywheel when the starter button is depressed) along with the correct nose cone for aforesaid Bendix, which allow the whole thing to fit just so in the innards of the bike.

The Bosch unit was discontinued many years ago, replaced with a French Valeo which used to shed its magnets destroying the starter. That problem was fixed and manufacture moved to Poland, a nation not renowned for its engineering prowess, and a new one can be had for $300 with the correct 8-tooth Bendix. BMW later reduced gearing – acknowledgment of the marginal power of the Bosch – to 9 teeth but that would also dictate changing the flywheel, which is overkill for a little more turning force.

Over the years the Nippondenso variously used a Toyota truck starter, a forklift starter and a small car starter, and it’s the latter I decided to pony up $350 for after reading of some 20 years’ good experience with the Japanese part from any number of Airhead riders. Toyota trucks and cars routinely run the distance to the moon and back several times, so there’s reason to be confident here. I estimate that the Bosch starter had some 2,500 starts under its belt.

The Nippondenso is 1995 technology, this model being from a 1995-97 Toyota Corolla 1.6 liter four banger. If it can spin a four cylinder engine, I reckoned it should make mincemeat of the twin in my bike. Weight dropped significantly:


A porker at nearly 10 lbs.


Modern materials see a big drop in weight.

The lighter weight means that the alignment bracket on the Bosch starter can be dispensed with.


1995-97 1.6 liter Toyota Corollas come with these.

Installation is a breeze. After disconnecting both battery terminals the starter cover comes off in two minutes – two Allen bolts – the two starter retaining bolts are removed (wobbly extensions come in useful in the tight confines here), three electrical connections are disconnected and the new starter is installed. The Nippondenso used threaded eyelets and uses the stock 13mm metric bolts to hold it in place. Being a belt and suspenders type I also installed the washers and nuts which are used with the original.


Installed, a perfect fit.

All sorts of claims are made for the lower power draw and the superior cranking power of the Nippondenso. The only data I can find suggest that the 120 amp draw of the Bosch falls to 80 amps with the Nippondenso. In the absence of further data I can only report empirical findings. Simply stated, the compression hump hesitation is notable for its absence, and the new starter spins a cold motor faster than the former Third Lady can say “Leave the Money on the Dresser”.

Recommended.

Ultra wide lenses

Photographers

A useful review.

When I was a kid the first really wide lens for 35mm cameras was the Leitz 21mm f/4 Super Angulon, the optics computed by Schneider. It cost a lot, vignetted badly, had modest resolution, required a separate optical finder for use on the Leica M …. and was thrilling. Later versions saw the aperture increased to f/3.4, then f/2.8, aspherical glasses were added and Leica now even offers an f/1.4 version which will set you back $10,000 with the separate finder.

But there’s no need to spend that sort of money as a host of aftermarket makers now offers ultra wides for under $1,000 and you can find an excellent review of many of these at Phillip Reeve’s site:


Click the image for the Phillip Reeve site.

Not only is the review comprehensive and critical, the accompanying photography is excellent, something that cannot be said all that often about gear sites. The widest lens reviewed is the Laowa 5.6/9 FF-RL which sells for all of $800, with a mount that includes the EXIF coding recesses for use on recent Leica M bodies. Corner definition is reminiscent of that original 21mm F/4 Super Angulon, meaning ‘meh’, but what a spectacular effort. It’s actually wider than the wild 12mm lens found on recent iPhones, and promises many exciting photo opportunities.

Reeve’s site specializes in reviews of very wide and very fast lenses, and there is much to enjoy there.