Use the Extractor

Use the Extractor

Keys break more often than you might think, and there is actually a specific tool made for extracting broken keys from locks. Most people probably don’t have one of these laying around, though now is the time to use it if you do, but they can be purchased for just a few dollars online or at select hardware stores (call ahead to save yourself the trip in case they do not carry the tool).

To use the extractor, slide it into the keyway along the part of the key that engages the lock, also called the bitting. Once the extractor is in place, twist it slightly and pull. The goal is to use the small hook at the end of the tool to catch the teeth of the key. You might have to try a few times before it comes free, but with a little persistence, you should have your key out in no time.

In some situations, you may not need any extra tools at all. If your key breaks inside of a padlock or a 24/7 car lockout with a removable cylinder, you can often slide the 24/7 lock service with nothing but your own strength and a little help from gravity. However, the addition of lubricant will still help expedite the process.

All you need to do is firmly hold your lock and tap it forcefully against the edge of a hard surface, being sure not to cover the keyhole. With a little effort, the key should slide out of the lock, at least enough to allow you to grab the end with your pliers or fingers and pull it the rest of the way out.

Hardware stores may not carry many locksmithing tools, but they are sure to have a wide selection of different hacksaw or jigsaw blades that will work just as well to help remove your broken key. Since they tend to come in packages containing multiple blades, you might want to check your garage or toolbox to see if you already have a few handy.

The method for using the saw blade is almost identical to that of the key extractor tool, but you will first have to break off the end of the blade in order to remove the thick portion containing the pin on one end, allowing it to fit into the lock. Also remember that if the serrations on the blade are at an angle, you want to make sure they are pointed back toward you when you insert it into the keyhole. This will allow them to grab the teeth of the key in the same way the hook on the end of the extractor tool would as you pull it out to remove the key.

This method of freeing your broken key from the door in which it is stuck leaves room for a little variation and is a good option if you do not have access to any specific tools or the time to run to your local hardware store. If you have a purse or bookbag with you, chances are you have just the tools you need.

This approach is all about technique. Find two objects small enough to slide into the keyway along either side of the key (the two sides that engage with the warding of the lock, not the smooth side or the side with the bitting). You can use two pieces of stiff wire, bobby pins, safety pins, or whatever you can find, though the objects should not be something of great value to you because they may be slightly bent in the process.

Sony PlayStation VR

PlayStation VR will be most people's introduction to 'good' VR. PLAYSTATION VR PS4 is not perfect, but it's going after console gamers hard and, ultimately, it is still a truly awesome VR experience. There's nothing else in this category of quality but affordable VR, meaning PS VR is the benchmark for mainstream console VR.

Plus, since launch there's been a steady stream of new titles, some from big franchises, with Resident Evil 7 being one of the most notable big entries of late (and a 2017 Wareable Tech Award winner), as are Doom VFR and Skyrim, along with plenty more.

Having sold more than 2 million headsets, Sony is at least winning the VR war on sales and we're expecting it to maintain that momentum through 2018 with both familiar franchises and new IPs on course for PS VR.

With its low price and PS4 compatibility, it's no surprise that PlayStation VR has outsold both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift – even if, by its own admission, the tech isn't quite up to the standards of its competitors.

Pioneer DDJ-SB2 2-channel Controller

When you want to up your game you need to find a piece of gear that can bring you to the next level. Pioneer does just that with the entry level professional DDJ-SB2 controller. It’s very beginner friendly but the features quickly set it apart as a professional DJ controller. As you get used to the device you’ll quickly find out that it’s above it’s price point. To take an audio term, it’s essentially a prosumer model. If I was interested in a high end professional controller I would take a look at the DDJ SR. With exceptional sound quality and an easy to accustom to layout you’ll quickly learn to use it to it’s fullest potential. The quality of the materials is to be expected of a mid tier controller. It’s made of plastic but has a feel of Pioneer quality and feels more like a portable piece of equipment than a permanent install.


Deck Swapping and other Features

The DDJ-SB2 ( as DENON DJ MCX8000 ) is a four deck controller and two decks share real estate on the device. It has two buttons on it to switch between the first and second deck on each side. This allows you to Cue up three different tracks and manage four at once. This alone pulls it out of beginner territory as it essentially doubles the complexity but also triples the capabilities of the controllers ability to create. With the four deck control it heavily outclasses competition at the price point.

This isn’t totally unrestrained control though. The only issue found with this feature is that you can’t adjust both deck 1 and deck 3 (Or decks 2&4) at the same time because they share the same jogwheel, library, transport and mixer interface. The only thing you can adjust separately is the volume levels of each deck. Meaning you have to do some juggling and this adds a bit of a learning curve for new users. The real art happens once this toggle is mastered.

Another interesting feature is the pad trans. This is a decent feature for the price point but common. Hot Cue lets you set PADs to a point and returns the track to that point, you get up to 8 on a deck. Auto loop lets you set a seamless auto loop for different beat amounts. Roll which allows you a momentary loop while held down. You can also set up a manual loop. You can also set up a sample bank for easy access to 8 samples. Letting you create and experiment with new beats in the moment.
Included Software

The DDJ-SB2 comes with the Serato DJ intro software which is a trial/limited capability software intended to get you started. This is one of the most important aspects of this purchase for customers. The software itself is a light software and an additional cost is found here. So in addition to the device you’ll need to buy an upgrade to get the most out of the hardware.

In order to get the full use and capabilities of the SB2 controller you’re required to do paid upgrade to full functionality software. At the time of writing the full upgrade to Serato is $129 USD. This full upgrade solely works with the DDJ-SB2. Or you can opt for a subscription of $10 a month. Another option is the Serato DJ Suite which works with all supported hardware that’s a controller that can be mapped. This is the premiere program of the company and it costs $299 or 14.99 a month. So if you’re intending to do a more complex studio or show build you’re going to want to go for a full license multiple hardware program, whether that’s Serato or another one.

It’s highly recommended to use Serato and Pioneer with the device because it’s difficult to map to another program but if you have the technical skill you can easily do so and the SB2 integrates with DJay Pro (Mac), Licensed Vitual DJ8, Deckadance, Tracktor Pro 2, Algoriddim, Rekordbox. Most DJ programs can be mapped and have their own mapping templates set up for the DDJ-SB2 because it’s so popular. You have to download drivers for your laptop to integrate with the device allowing you to connect.
Controller Hardware

The DDJ-SB2 hardware is excellent for it’s price range. At these ranges you’ll usually find hard plastic buttons. But this piece of gear has rubber pads which are much more responsive, quiet and durable than the hard plastic buttons found on cheaper controllers. High durability aluminum jog wheels mean it won’t break from overuse. These jog wheels are low latency and high accuracy, a perfect combination. They’re very easy to scratch with and they work great. The software and hardware communication is next level, meaning that even back-spinning and beat juggling sound professional. This also sports high and low pass EQ filters to filter out frequency bands on inputs. Allowing you to filter fade and easily control the volume and bass filters for mixing. The Numark Mixtrack 3 is comparable in these regards, but the SB2 keeps the crown.

You can monitor and make transitions in your headphones with LED level indicators. It has tempo controls, and trim/gain controls. Has on controller metering for levels. While these may seem like trivial additions, they make for an extremely easier time. Trim pots allow you to set the level of the loaded track. Sometimes DJ software gets this wrong and this lets you fix that issue before it even hits the board. With the LED metering you’re capable of seeing exactly where your tracks sit and most controllers at this price point don’t have this capability. Note that these are for inputs and the songs running on their own. This doesn’t relate to the master output through the RCA ports on the back. That said it’s a huge plus and fixes the clipping problem before it starts.

This controller is USB MIDI. The only issue with this is you need to be careful if using a USB hub because of Power Splitting. But as far as region compatibility this means it can work in both 110 and 220v power regions as long as you have a laptop because it just plugs into the laptop USB. This device only communicates with the computer through the USB, there are no ports to stick flash drives to bring portable media solutions.

The onboard soundcard is an excessively high quality high bitrate 24 bit 44.1kHz sampling card. It has a standard 20-20kHz frequency range and a very impressive 90dB SNR. With an almost imperceptible distortion. The only thing that limits your sound quality on this piece of equipment is your recording software and the quality of the files input into the computer. It has a mic input but it’s a balanced 1/4 inch input over a standard XLR connection meaning you need an XLR to 1/4″ Cable. This means you can have one input into the device. You won’t be able to use it like a sound mixer with multiple channels. The mic input itself has trouble balancing without reaching feedback, so proper speaker placement is a must. For output it uses an unbalanced RCA. The main RCA output is for the signal. These cables are not included and need to be purchased separately. It has two headphone monitors, a 1/4 jack and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Only one output can be used at once disabling the second port. There is no master output volume on this guy which is difficult for gain staging and adjusting to the right output level.
Bottom Line

Pioneer did a home run with the DDJ-SB2 at every metric. The price point alone for the quality and the features makes this the top choice for controllers in it’s price range.

IROBOT BRAAVA JET 240 MOPPING ROBOT

Dried pools of dog drool, coffee spills, and pasta-sauce splatters can thwart even the fanciest robo vac. Instead of sucking, IROBOT BRAAVA JET 240 MOPPING ROBOT tackles floor gunk using water-activated cleaning pads.

Testing

The Braava Jet runs on a removable lithium-ion battery, which needs an initial two-hour charge before you can send the bot off on cleaning duty. While you wait, you can also download iRobot's standalone app; it's not mandatory, but gives you access to a few custom options, like a spot cleaning mode and control over the amount of water the scrubber uses during cleaning.

The bot comes with three kinds of cleaning pads: a blue one for wet mopping, an orange one for damp sweeping, and a white one for dry sweeping. It'll automatically recognize the pad type you load and use the appropriate corresponding cleaning pattern. As far as we can tell, the main difference between the three modes is how much water the Braava use (a lot, a little, and none, respectively), the sweeping pattern, and number of passes. Also, the pad vibrates in wet mopping mode.

We set our test unit loose on an objectively gross 49-square-foot sealed wood kitchen floor, which clearly called for a triple-pass wet mop. So we loaded the Braava with one of the two included blue cleaning pads, set it in the left corner about a foot away from the walls, and hit the glowing "Clean" button. We did subsequent damp and dry sweeping tests on the same kitchen floor after creating our own artisanal messes consisting of dried soda, dog hair (it's shedding season!), and some dirt from the backyard. We also had the Braava Jet clean our two bathrooms.
Observations

With a week's worth of dinner prep debris on the floor, we were worried this initial mess would prove too much for the Braava Jet. To our surprise, the tiny 7-by-7-inch bot did a remarkably thorough cleanup job. The cycle took about 14 minutes, during which time the Braava Jet managed to sweep up the small bits of food, and eradicate all evidence of the liquid spills on the floor. While it had a little trouble with the dog hair (the bot managed to mop some of it up, but a fair amount it just pushed into the corners), the kitchen floor looked great overall.

The wet-mopping pattern has the Braava Jet swing out to the left and right as it moves forward, occasionally squirting the floor with water. Once you start the cleaning process, it will do a double pass on the first row then move gradually from the left side of the room to the right, Zamboni-style. In our case, a thin carpet created a natural border separating the kitchen from the hallway, which the Braava recognized on its own. You can also set up a virtual wall via the app if no such barrier exists in your home.

Repeat cleaning tests were equally impressive. Using the damp-mopping mode, the bot easily took care of all the dust, dirt, and grime in both of our bathrooms, maneuvering even into the tight corners around the toilet and sink. We tried out the spot cleaning option on a large, semi-dried pool of diet coke in the kitchen, which the Braava Jet was also able to mop up.

While performance was consistently good across all cleaning modes, there are some key limitations to keep in mind. Unlike iRobot's more-expensive Braava 380t, which can sweep up to a 1,000-square-foot area and mop up to 350-square-foot one, the 240 has a more-limited range. It can sweep a 250-square-foot room and mop a 200-square-foot one in one session, according to iRobot. This wasn't an issue for our tiny rooms, but it's worth noting if you have larger hard-floor surfaces in your home or apartment.

We didn't test them directly, but the Braava 240 also works with reusable, machine-washable pads (two for $20). If you plan on using the bot on a weekly basis and want to save a little money, investing in one is probably a good idea (a pack of 10 replacement pads runs $8, which could add up over time). Given that you can opt for a reusable pad, however, it would be nice if the reservoir was removable and could accept something other than water (like Bona or other cleaning solutions).

Conclusion

It'll tackle some pretty gnarly messes, but the Braava Jet really works best as an incremental cleaner. It can’t completely eliminate scuffs and other stubborn stains, but, for the cleaning averse who live in smaller homes and apartments, the Braava Jet 240 makes a lot of sense. It's a relatively inexpensive Swiffer replacement that should significantly prolong the time between the inevitable deep cleanings all hard floors require.

Largest Solar Panel Project Going Up Near Otterburne

The largest solar panel (for example: RENOGY 200 WATT 12 VOLT SOLAR STARTER KIT ) project in Manitoba, to date, is being installed on a dairy farm near Otterburne.

Justin Phillips is the president of Sycamore Energy and says they install solar panels to help residents, businesses, and agricultural facilities produce enough energy through solar power to have a net-zero electricity consumption.

He notes the current project is a 175kw system which consists of 540 solar panels, each is 15 to 18 square feet in size, and will produce enough to zero out their annual energy bill. Phillips says this particular project comes at a cost of approximately $500,000 with a $175,000 rebate from Manitoba Hydro, through their two-year solar power rebate program, which ends in April 2018.

"This is the entire farm itself," explains Phillips. "So all the electricity consumption from the barns, the equipment used to milk the cows, the residence, the lights, everything, the entire power consumption of that farm is being subsidized now through solar electricity. Hydro is replaced by solar."

Hans Gorter is the owner of the dairy farm with 130 cows. Gorter says the decision was made to proceed with a solar power project after many discussions with his family.

"We're always looking at ways to improve not only animal welfare but also our footprint, our environmental sustainability," he explains. "Also, being European, we see from our family and friends in Europe that are switching to wind and sun energy fairly regularly. I think it's prudent to look ahead and, if the technology is available, take advantage of it."

Phillips says while this dairy farm requires a 175kw system to bring their annual electricity to net-zero, an average residence would require an 8-10kw system. He adds a residential system could cover anywhere from 50% to 100% of the annual energy cost, depending on the available roof space and what direction it faces, adding north facing roofs would not produce enough energy.

"So, what happens is, you install the solar and the majority of your production is in the spring, summer, and fall months. You're producing all this electricity and it's just feeding back into your grid so it's turning your meter backward, it's crediting you, for lack of a better way to describe it."

He notes there are two projects in the coming months which will exceed the 175kw project. Phillips says one is in MacGregor with 200kw and the second is just outside of the Whiteshell at 204kw.

"The farming sector in general, whether it be grain, dairy, or cattle; there is an exponential amount of energy that's used and consumed on these farms and farmers are paying the same rates we're paying right now. So, they see an opportunity to lock in their rates and install this type of technology."

5 Reasons Not to Have a New Roof Installed Over an Old Roof

So you need a new roof and want to decide whether or not to attempt to save a little money with the brand new roof installed over an existing layer of roofing. This technique is quite common in many locations and many NYC roofing contractors do not find any problem with this method and don't have any problem trying to sell homeowners onto a layover or go-over because this procedure is called. They're wrong.

5 Best Reasons A Lay-Over Or Go-Over Can Be A Bad Idea When Re-Roofing

1.) Areas that have or had escapes can not always be addressed properly

There's a good chance your old New York roofing had any problem areas including potential leak spots, whether you discovered them or not. Without ripping off the old roof and properly identifying these types of trouble spots and determining where the flow was coming from and traveling to it is impossible to tell what aspects of your New York roofer might need some special care.

2.) Any rotted wood beneath the existing roofing will only get worse

There might be places which have rotted wood hiding under the old roofing. These rotted areas need to be identified and replaced before a brand new commercial roofing NYC is installed. Obviously, if your roofing contractor is just doing a layover roofing installation afterward these rotted areas will remain covered up and only get worse as the years move on. Additionally, the nails holding the shingles down in regions with rotted wood can't properly do their job and you have a much greater risk of shingles blowing off in these areas.

3.) Eaves, rakes, and sidewalks require special treatment

This is a major one. The eaves, rakes, and valleys of your house need special attention when your home's roofers New Yorkis being installed. This is especially important in colder climates like Massachusetts, where we are located. In the winter time the eaves of your home are under assault by Mother Nature, whether it's by way of ice dams, snow build up, or only the constant freezing and thawing that happens during the winter season. When a new roofers New York is properly installed the roofing company NYC needs to place new aluminum drip-edge around the whole perimeter of your roof.

They will need to employ a three-foot wide section of water & ice barrier around the perimeter as well as in any valleys in your roofers New York. Then they can begin to install the new roofing. Without tearing off the original roofing there isn't any way to correctly set up the new drip-edge or ice & water barrier. On a layover sort of roofing install, the roofing contractor is relying upon the present products on the home's roofers New York continue to be up to level and be able to take care of the winter conditions. All too often the old goods fall short whether it was because they've outlived their lifetime, were sub-par, to begin with, or maybe they were never there to start with (all too often the latter is the case with water & ice barrier).

4.) Extra roofing weight is not any good for older rafters

Among the more obvious difficulties with a layover, roofers New York will be the added burden of the extra layer of shingles. On most newer houses this is not an issue, however, many older houses have rafters that are considered undersized by today's framing criteria. It is not uncommon to see 2×6 rafter systems on a number of these houses. Now in most situations, a 2×6 rafter is undersized, to begin with and you definitely don't want to be adding the weight of a new roofing coating on top of a classic roofing coating to those already undersized rafter systems. With newer roofs with 2×10, 2×12, engineered trusses, etc. the weight is not always as much of a problem.

5.) Shorter roof life expectancy

Most accountable roofing contractors agree a layover roofing contractors NYC will decrease the new roof's life by about 25\%. This fact alone means that any money you might have saved by doing a layover, instead of some tear-off and new commercial roofing NYC setup, was just a brief term savings. In addition, you now have two layers of roofing which Need to be removed next time your commercial roofing NYC is done and that will also add more cost to the job

Tear-Off Then Re-Roof Is Always Superior

Well, I just gave you 5 great reasons to tear off your old roofing contractor NYC and install your roof. Yes, it can be cheaper in the brief term to perform a do-over on your old roof, but, in the long run, it will cost you more. We never suggest this technique to our customers. We always recommend completely tearing off the old roofing companies NYC, repairing any underlying issues, then installing a fresh, beautiful new roof which will outlast any layover roof, as well as better, protect our customers' homes.

Everything You Need to Know About Caring for Your Amish Quilt

Amish Quilts Care

Understanding how to appropriately take care of your cover will ensure its longevity. Amish quilts for sale usually take about 400 hours for an Amish quilting to complete. Considering just how much time it got to produce your cover, we realize you'll desire to manage it carefully. Here are some ideas that we obtained straight from Barbara, baby quilts artist from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

To wash your umbrella, we propose two remedies:

Standard handmade Amish Quilts Care

Barbara explained it's this that she does to clean her blankets. Soak your cover in cold water in whether bathtub or washer machine. Add 2 quarts of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mild soap (like MelaPower), as well as a 1/2 pot of table salt. Don't use bleach. If you use your tub, enable your baby quilts soak for 1-hour. If you use your washer, put your baby quilts on your Mild cycle. After your umbrella has been soaked or cleaned, hang dry it. Don't machine dry your cover or use fabric softeners.

Drycleaning

Amish quilt designs may be dry cleaned. Request your dry-cleaner whenever they have cleaned blankets or mattress coverings in the past. Dry cleaning is preferred if your baby quilts has free lace or puffy applique work since this material might be harmed in a machine wash. Dry cleaning is also encouraged for fabrics which could run in water, such as completely soaked dark-colored and hand dyed fabrics. To ascertain if your cloth will run, run it using a bit of cotton that's been moistened with hot water. If color bleeds onto the cotton, don't wash your umbrella - even yet in cold water. Alternatively, have your umbrella professionally dry cleaned. After your baby quilts is dry-cleaned, hang it outside to oxygen it out.

For blankets that are applied daily, we advise that you simply clear them one per year.

Umbrella Markings

Amish quilt patterns use marks to steer them while they hand stitch a. Usually, these collections are still obvious if the umbrella is complete. Handmade patchwork quilts typically employ either pad or chalk. When the Amish log cabin quilts tattoos are created in the pad, you can purchase an eraser from a fabric shop. Don't utilize a typical pen eraser; they've gas included that can permanently draw your baby quilts. You may also work with a clear brush. Swim it in a mixture of heated water and slight liquid washing soap (we recommend Woolite). Utilize the brush to softly stroke out the umbrella tattoos. When the observing line is bright, it's probably chalk and may be blown down or quickly removed having a damp towel.

Storage

Sunlight is not best for your umbrella. It'll naturally cause your shades to reduce as well as the material to damage. To store your Amish applique quilts, we suggest that you use a pillowcase or page. Do not make use of a plastic bag. Preserve your cover someplace dark and dried.