mcyork.com

Month: May 2021

  • 2020 shopping list

    For the next, while I will be posting products we’ve bought and used with links to the sites (mostly Amazon – thank you 2020!) These are “affiliate links” and so I’ll be clear – when you use these links I do get some type of a kickback. However, you may or may not know that I’d never steer you wrong just for my own gain. Every product listed I have bought in the past, probably in 2020, or have personally used (through a friend or work). As we get more “stuff” this site will grow.

    What about all the other amazing McYork projects and blogs from the past? These exist and will be reorganized into a new section. Don’t panic.

  • A perfect read/listen

    For the sci-fi lover or not, this is a fun book. Trust me if you like sci-fi you can buy this book without reading anything about it in advance. Go get it is all I can say. Go in blind it really will be one of the best ways to experience it. The audio version is very well produced.

    Project Hail Mary

  • Sound Great on Zoom

    It is clearly getting better out there. We’ve endured the heart of the storm. Regardless you will want to up your Zoom game as that’s never going to end. This is what I use now and have for most of 2020. Simple plugs in USB-C and if I recall came with a selection of cables for other USB options. I use it on Windows 10 so that’s my experience. I expect it will work on MacBooks too.

    Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone (ATR Series)

  • A great garden hose

    With Summer here I wanted to cover two producst which have proven particularily usesful.

    This hose is just a great hose. On the “farm” we use a lot of hoses in different locations. One problem we have is the hose bibs are not all exactly where you’d like them to be. We run a 25-foot section of this hose to the valve and then this 10-foot section. This setup lets us keep the tap on, as this hose bib is deep in a bush and just the other side of a fence. Not easy to turn on or off – so we leave it on (not the best thing to do, and it works for us).

    What makes it so great? It’s out in the Sun all day – remains soft and flexible and does not get hard kinks. If you do loop it on itself it will fix when the water is turned on most of the time and it is soft enough to never “remember” to kink up in the same place and ruin the hose over time.

    Now we can use the easy leaver on the valve to turn on/off the water as needed out by the chicken coop.

    Flexzilla Garden Hose with SwivelGrip, 5/8 in. x 10 ft., Heavy Duty, Lightweight, Drinking Water Safe - HFZG510YWS

    Melnor 65087-AMZ EZ-Flow Control Valve with 2 Hose Washers Set, 1-Way

    In fact, we just bought 2 more of these hoses.