∞

Our backyard Nectarine is now in full bloom! #NectarineTree #Yarden #HomeOrchard #BloomScrolling #Fujifilm #SOoC A small Nectarine tree with pink blossoms in full bloom, set against a backdrop of a wooden fence and a clear blue sky. The tree is planted in backyard with gravel and bare soil around the tree. There’s an unsightly aluminum RV shed behind the fence.

∞

A few weeks steady at $8.98 for a dozen eggs.

∞

I’m going to learn to fly this de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (developed by Thranda for X-Plane 12). Pretty cool that the software includes a paint scheme generator. Cloudy day at Downsview, Toronto. #XPlane12 #FlightSim #ThrandaDHC2 #macOS

Auto-generated description: A purple and orange small propeller plane is parked on a wet tarmac under a cloudy sky.

∞

This Black Phoebe chirped it up while catching insects mid-air in our backyard today. This is the first time we’ve had a Black Phoebe stick around long enough for a photo #BlackPhoebe #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm A small, brown Black Phoebe bird is perched on a thin branch amidst a background of brown twigs and thick wooden elderberry stems. The bird has a dark head, gray body, and white wing markings. The setting appears natural, surrounded by dry foliage with a wooden fence in the background.

∞

First bloom of our nectarine #Yarden #HomeOrchard A close-up of a budding nectarine tree branch with clusters of pink blossoms against a blurred background of a metal shed.

∞

Welcome to Superb Owl Sunday. Though I’ll throw an Eagle in too. #SuperbOwl #SuperbEagle #BirdPhotography two juvenile great horned owls in a nest high upon branches, with an adult owl sandwiched between. They’re watching the photographer closely. In the distance, two well-camouflaged great horned owls sit on a branch deep in a winter dormant tree, staring toward the photographer The white head of a Bald Eagle peers down, perhaps curiously, at the photographer through out of focus willow leaves. You can just make out its brown shoulders.

∞

Backyard nectarine is at first pink #Yarden #HomeOrchard A close-up of a tree branch with a single pink flower bud about to bloom. The background features more branches, a wooden fence, a metal shed, and a partly cloudy sky.

∞

. #SilentSunday #Fujifilm #SOoCA far off coyote trots across a sloping coastal meadow with many white flowers, framed by a calm Pacific Ocean and few scattered clouds.

∞

Lewis’s Woodpecker (spotted Saturday) #LewissWoodpecker #BlackButteReservoir #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoCA Lewis’s Woodpecker, with a red eye liner, a black head, and a chest fading from gray to pink, is peaking out, half-way exposed, on the branch of a tree with bare, tangled branches against a clear blue sky.

∞

Went out to Burris Creek today, west of Black Butte Lake. For the first time we saw Lewis’s woodpeckers! They were constantly harassing each other. They’ve gorgeous pink bellies. We also saw a Nuttall’s woodpecker and an Emirates A380 Reg. A6-EVO Dubai-SFO (EK225) at 39,000 feet #LewissWoodpecker #NuttallsWoodpecker #Birds #A380 #Aviation #Fujifilm #SOoCA Lewis’s woodpecker with red and gray plumage flying like a bullet against a clear blue sky.A Lewis’s woodpecker perched on the branch of a leafless tree against a clear blue sky. It has a red belly and red spots on its head.A small Nuttall’s woodpecker with a red patch on its head & white spots on its feathers is perched on a bare tree branch against a clear blue sky. Dry oak leaves are nearby on the branch.An Emirates A380, is flying high in a clear blue sky, leaving four contrails behind.

∞

Well, it’s a fine photo but I’m not going to try any harder. It’s cold and windy out there and this Californian can’t stand it 🥶A bright full moon illuminating the night sky with scattered clouds. Visible lens flare effect surrounds the moon, and tree branches are silhouetted at the bottom.

∞

It’s been years but managed to boot up an old QNAP TS-251. Last firmware was from 2023. If I decide to use this I better firewall it off from the ‘net or find an alternative OSS firmware for it. But it’s likely I’ll just wipe it clean with zeros multiple times and be done with it.

∞

Central Ducted Fujitsu Heat Pump: Use the Wall Thermostat Sensor instead of the Air Handler's Sensor

If you have a central ducted Fujitsu Heat Pump with a wired remote control unit (wall thermostat), you may know that the central air handler’s temperature sensor is used by default instead of the wall thermostat’s temperature sensor. If your wall thermostat doesn’t have the thermometer icon at the display’s bottom center, then your Fujitsu is probably using the air handler for temperature. You may have noticed that the wall thermostat’s scheduled temperature almost never matches the home’s actual air temperature. In my case, temperature readings at the air handler were very unreliable at ~±5ºF. So if you want to use the wall thermostat for a (very likely) more representative sampling of your home’s air temperature to better control the heat pump, here are the instructions from a post on Reddit:

Here are a few other settings you should make sure you have set as well:

Use indoor controller to measure indoor temperature instead of air handler sensor:

Room temperature sensor switching (function 42) set to "01" (both).

Room temperature sensor switching (function 48) set to "01" (wired remote controller).

After setting 42 and 48. Turn off heat pump and switch the breaker off for air handler and heat pump for 5 minutes. Then turn back on and wait 5 minutes until controller turned on fully. In the settings of the remote controller, in "Initial Settings", hit next page, click "R.C. Sensor" (temperature sensore of controller), click "used". Then in default view of controller you should see a temperature symbol pop up at bottom of screen. Using the air handler temperature sensore will cause short cycling of your heat pump and this lowers efficency.

Before I set my Fujitsu heat pump to use the wall thermostat's temperature sensor, I could not keep my home’s climate precisely where I wanted it. There was too much variation in what the air handler’s temperature sensor would measure. That makes sense as the sensor is very near or even in an unconditioned space (though the air handler intake is insulated, the sensor is somewhere at the margin). After switching to the wall thermostat’s temperature sensor, the inconsistently measured temperatures went away. Now my home is always within a degree of where I want it to be.

It’s strange that Fujitsu’s air handler’s temperature sensor is the default even with a wired RCU (with sensor) connected. It’s even stranger that you must power cycle the entire system to use the wall thermostat’s sensor. I had actually tried the above settings long ago but without the power cycle. 

Other than the wrong sensor being used, this heat pump has been amazing and it’s even better now. It’s so much more efficient & safer than nature gas and it is ridiculously quiet.

∞

Today I finally photographed one of several Orange-crowned Warblers that use our backyard as a hunting ground #OrangeCrownedWarbler #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoCA small yellow-green bird, with a short but sharp beak, perched on a wooden fence cross beam near some green Ceanothus leaves.

∞

The resident Scrub Jay had herself a vigorous bath on this fine California day #WesternScrubJay #Fujifilm #SOoC #Birds A jay splashing in a metal birdbath with water droplets scattering around. The background is a wooden fence. A blue jay splashes in a birdbath, causing water droplets to spray around. A wooden fence serves as the background. A scrub jay splashes in a birdbath, sending droplets of water into the air against a wooden fence background. A scrub jay with fluffed feathers is perched on the edge of a birdbath, set against a wooden fence backdrop.

∞

I’m stoked that our asparagus bed, now in its third home over the last ten years, is beginning to produce enough to harvest. It’s been a long road with many years of our not caring but they persisted anyway and thus eventually regained our affection #Yarden #Gardening Young asparagus spears growing in a garden bed amidst scattered rocks, next to a wooden fence. Small green sprouts and a drip hose are visible in the background. Five stalks of fresh cut asparagus on a paper towel in a metal baking tray. They fade dark green to light purple at the bottom.

∞

For the A330-900 Neo by X-Plane aircraft developer Toliss, I wrote a FlyWithLua script that enables Yawman Arrow controller multifunction buttons. Special to the A330-900 Neo, the Yawman's POV center click toggles the HUD #XPlane #XPlane12 #FlightSim #FlyWithLua #YawmanArrowController

∞

My top 2024 albums per the Albums app. This is not a full dataset though as I used Tidal until they ended Plex integration & then I switched back to Apple Music but it’s reasonable! #2024TopAlbums @albumstheapp@indieapps.space A collage of album covers titled “Most Listened: 2024 Stats” showcases various albums. Featured artists include Daft Punk, The Black Keys, Coldplay, The Decemberists, Kasabian, Billie Eilish, Death Cab for Cut

∞

2024 was an off year for travel as I didn’t once make it to a major airport. I only stopped in Medford for an overnight stop and so spent a short time at the airport watching Coulson tankers and E-175s #2024Top4AviationScores #AvGeek #Aviation #FujifilmA large DC-10 firefighting aircraft labeled “10 TANKER” is landing on a runway, with an American flag visible in the background. A large three-engine DC-10 aircraft is taxiing on a runway with mountains and trees in the background. A fenced area with a “No Trespassing” sign is visible in the foreground. A Coulson C-130 firefighting aircraft in flight, featuring a bold red and black design with the number “138” on the tail.

An E175, reg N515SY, with American Eagle branding on a runway, with trees and distant hills in the background, viewed through a chain-link fence.

∞

If you fly X-Plane 12 with the Yawman Arrow Controller, check out my basic aircraft specific FlyWithLua scripts to enable multifunction button operations to limit reaching for your keyboard/mouse: https://www.distortions.net/yawman-arrow-controller-xplane/ #XPlane #XPlane12 #YawmanArrow #Flightsim