Dork alert

I gave in to an itch that has been bugging me for years, and bought a better metal detector. I've had fun occasionally with the cheap Radio Shack one that I've had for 2 or 3 decades, and when I looked into them, I was absolutely blow away with what you can get for $200 these days. At least in YouTube videos they seem almost magical in their ability to tell you what's in the ground. Of course I realize that is only going to work down a few inches and in ideal conditions, beyond that it'll require some learning.

I did a few hours reading to see if I could determine what's really needed for copper nugget hunting in the UP, and basically the answer is "more money than I want to spend." What you really need up there is a pulse induction detector, they'll find any metal types through highly mineralized soils, and are absolutely the thing to use up there. But I'm not willing to spend $1200+ on a detector. Short of pulse induction, any detector will do. I've found nuggets with my old $40 Radio Shack unit.

I decided that unless I was willing to spend > $500, the Garret Ace 250 at about $200 was about as good as it gets. If you filter out the "it can't possibly be good if it's not made by White or Minelab" and "it's too light and small and brightly colored, it must be crap" the reviews are almost 100% outstanding.

They make a 350 as well, but it looks like it's the same box with a DD coil. Coils can be changed later so it's probably better to just go for the base now, I'll probably never need anything more than that.

Hi def helmet camera

I picked up the newest version of the #808 keychain camera. I've had a #3 (standard def) for a bit over a year now and it's been OK for the < $20 I paid for it, but a low battery life and lower resolution limited its usefulness.

The new version, the #16, is a result of a very nice collaboration between the Chinese manufacturer and the user community. These cameras are heavily used by radio control airplane buffs, and also cyclists and to some extent car users. New features suggested on forums have been incorporated, and firmware updates have been done several times.

This version is high def (720p, 30fps), has a bunch of configuration options, such as selectable resolution, audio level, loop recording and more, plus it can run from an external power source, has a proper LiIon charging circuit to prevent overcharging, and has a replacable internal battery (and new batteries are actually available). It records on micro-SDHC and can take up to a 32m memory card, all for $38 shipped.

I also paid $5 for a little box that takes two AA cells and puts out 5V into a USB socket (intended as an emergency charger for iPods and phones and such). With that on my helmet, I should be able to record for hours. The old unit could only make it about 45 minutes and only if you remembered to charge it, and it could be overcharged easily, damaging the battery.

I tried it out this evening on a short ride and it works well. I can make out license plate numbers of passing cars, which I could not before.

So for < $45 plus a memory card and a pair of rechargable AAs, it's a darn nice helmet camera solution. Not waterproof, but for the price it's hard to complain.

Book finished

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Very good satire, absurdity, insanity, and the non-linearity was very effective. I enjoyed it. It's the kind of book that you just have to let wash you downstream and see what happens though. It only really makes sense as a whole.