Smartwatches Should Be Marketed Heavily . . . To Kids.

The smartwatch revolution will come, once the tech giants like Samsung, Google, and Apple realize they are marketing their beta smartwatches to the wrong demographic.  As soon as a durable, economical, and secure group of watches for kids hits the marketplace, they will finally become as ubiquitous as their flat rectangular cousins.

These aren't the watches you're looking for . . .

The current line of offerings are being marketed to adults to be paired with their phones.  What if parents could buy a cool tech watch for their children that would give the children the kind connectivity and info they want and the adults the connection and monitoring they need.

Imagine a stand-alone device with voice-to-text, GPS, wifi, and LTE radio antennas.

Most children would never be able to keep up with a smartphone.  Every time it gets set down or placed in a pocket, the chances of it being lost or damaged are too high.  Imagine a device that is physically attached to their bodies.

Most parents understand that younger children should not have full access to the fully wretched hive of scum and villainy that is the interwebs.  But a device that allows constant location monitoring and communication between parent and child . . .

That's the ticket!

Here's a company that already has it figured out:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027291/a-smart-watch-for-kids-designed-for-worried-parents

Honda Civic 2000 Rear Drum Brake Repair

The rear brakes on our 2000 Honda Civic CX were making a clicking noise when the brakes were applied. The noise appeared to be coming from the driver's side rear drum brake.  I was able to fix the problem for less than $10 using the following tools:

2 Ton Floor Jack
Needle Nose Pliers
Flat head Screwdriver
Socket Wrench Set
Lug Wrench (from trunk spare kit)
Two 8M x 1.0mm x 20mm bolts (~$0.70 each)
1 Brake Drum All-In-One Kit - Rear - Part Number H7402 ($6.99 at Autozone)


**This post is mainly for my own purposes.  I recommend taking your vehicle to a licensed mechanic for repair.  I assume no responsibility for damage or injury for anyone attempting this repair.**

This job could probably be done using the scissor jack in the trunk, but I would use the scissor jack only in emergency situations.  If you roll the car off the scissor jack while working, not only is it dangerous, but you will also find yourself searching for a new scissor jack which will fit in the trunk slot.


Be sure to jack the car up at the metal jack bracket just behind the body molding.

In order to remove the drum you will drive the two M8 metric bolts through the two threaded holes in the drum.  The bolts will pry the drum away from the lug stud plate and the backing plate assembly.  The drum is not bolted in place and has to be pried off with mechanical force.  The other alternative to using the M8 bolts is to beat the drum off with a hammer being careful not to damage the lug stud threads.

Hear I am GENTLY using the flat edge my flat head screw driver to keep the drum from turning while tightening the M8 bolt with my socket wrench.  I am using a length of metal pipe to get more leverage on the wrench because the threaded holes are very rusty.

Once the bolt has started to bite into the plate beneath the drum will probably stop turning while you are trying to tighten the bolts and you can stop applying force to the lug studs.

Once the bolts are getting deep into the holes you should hear some metal creaking as the drum slowly separates from the backing plate assembly.

You should then be able to remove the drum easily by hand.

When I removed the drum I expected to see worn down brake shoes or a broken part (spring or clip), but much to my frustration I could not find anything wrong upon visible inspection.   These brakes had been replaced at my local shop a couple years ago and the parts all looked relatively new and in good shape.  The shoes still had plenty of steel on them and the drum was not scored.

I blew out all the dust and crud, put it back together, and took it for a drive to test it.  The noise had gotten better but it was still there, so I went back and looked at all the new parts in my $6.99 kit and compared them to the old ones.

The culprit turned out to be the brake hold down springs (spring clips).

The clip springs force the brake shoes outward into the drum wall.  The clip springs were no longer exerting enough force outward and allowing the brake shoes to walk back and forth between the backing plate assembly and the drum wall causing the clicking noise.

Here you see the difference in the span of the old clip spring vs the new.

To remove the brake hold down springs, press the screw driver into the notch and turn the pin with with the needle nose pliers.

The pin comes out from the back of the backing plate assembly.  Feed the new one back through and install the new spring the same way you took out the old one.

Now the spring on the other brake shoe.

Put the drum back on and the wheel and the job is done.

This turned out to be a very simple solution.   If any of the other springs (tension springs) or the self adjuster need to be replaced, then it will be a bit more challenging.  One other problem area that may not require replacement is where the top brake return spring comes close to the self adjuster gear.  If the brake return spring is deformed enough it may actually touch the adjuster gear during operation.

Here I have inserted my flat head screw driver and applied force upwards to make sure the arm of the spring clears the gear.

Here is a useful link on how drum brakes work:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/drum-brake2.htm

Rope Swing

The following rope swing was hung from a tree branch in my back yard for under $20.  The primary expense was 25 feet of 3/4 inch manila rope which I purchased at my local Home Depot for 67 cents per linear foot.  While the rope I used is sometimes referred to as manila hemp, it does not actually contain any true hemp fiber.

Materials for the Swing:
25 feet of 3/4 inch manila rope
One 15 inch length of 1" x 6" (3/4" x 5.5") pressure treated pine for the seat
One 10 inch length of 2" x 4" (1.5" x 3.5") pressure treated pine to secure rope to tree limb
Spade drill bit 1.125in
Contact cement for the ends of the rope to prevent fraying
Duck Tape
Sand paper
Tape measure
Ladder (in order to use the minimum amount of rope necessary to keep the cost down)

Additional Materials (used to measure the exact height and guide the rope up and around the limb)
Nylon twine
Tennis ball
Screw eye

There are other methods that could be used to measure the height of the branch and pull the manilla rope over the tree limb, but this one was the quickest for me in the given situation.

First screw the screw eye into the tennis ball so that it is firmly gripped into the rubber and will not easily come out.  Tie the twine to the eye and pull out a good amount of line so that there is enough to play out up and over the branch with plenty slack and no significant pull on the ball.  It may take several tries to thread the line where you want it by throwing the ball up and over the limb (in my case it was only three or four).

I used the draped line as shown above to measure the exact height of the limb using my tape measure so that I could purchase just the right amount rope to get the job done.  This was achieved by securing the tape measure to the end of the line and pulling the opposite end so that the tape measure would wind out up to the limb height in a straight line from the ground level.  It came to 21 feet in my case (just short enough for my 25' tape measure).

I purchased 25 feet of manila rope so that I would have a few feet extra to secure the rope to the tree and and the seat of the swing.  A five inch diameter limb will take up about 15 inches of rope to get up and over the limb and secure with a knot in this configuration (3.14x5 = 15.7 in).

Now the twine line can be used to pull the manila rope up and over the limb as shown below.

Tie the one end of the rope through the 2x4 as shown below.  A simple over hand knot is large enough to prevent the rope from slipping through the hole.  Use contact cement to seal the end of the rope and the knot and duck tape around the rope near the end.

Next thread the other end of the rope through the second hole of the 2x4 and pull it so that the 2x4 slides gently up to the tree limb and secures the rope at the top end.  This part was done up on my ladder because the length of rope I purchased required me to ascend nearly half the distance to the top of the swing.  (25 feet of rope only reaches down about 12 feet when doubled over on the branch.)

There may be more simple arrangements, but this will allow the swing to be more easily adjusted or removed from the tree in the future.

Thread the rope through the hole in the seat and check for the proper height of the seat above the ground.  Tie a double knot at under the seat at the preferred height and test the swing before cutting off the excess and using the contact cement and duck tape to seal up the bottom end.

Cut off the excess rope and seal it with the duck tape and contact cement.

Here I have added a small hook into the tree and screw eye into the side of the swing to position it out of the way when not in use.

It may not appear this way, but this rope swings clear above the fence behind it.