Kurt Tomlinson's Blog

How to Fix a Car Key Fob

My key fobs have been acting a little funny recently. Only some of the buttons on one of them would work reliably. The other one was getting shorter and shorter range until it stopped altogether. I replaced the batteries in both of them, but that didn't fix the problem in either one.

car-maintenance electrical-engineering | 2017.11.05 05:00 | Kurt Tomlinson

Korean Culture from an American Perspective: Hot and Cold Beverage Prices in Cafes

Korea has a lot of different cafes. In America, if you want coffee, you can pretty much choose between either Starbucks or Starbucks. In Korea, that's not the case. Starbucks is there if that's your cup of joe, but the other options are often far more interesting.

korea | 2017.10.29 05:00 | Kurt Tomlinson

Common 3D Printing Terms

When I first got my 3D printer, I didn't know anything about how it worked. I read a few articles and getting started guides, but I felt pretty lost. There was a lot of 3D printing jargon that made it hard to make my way all the way through any article about 3D printing. I felt like I was reading a foreign language. I trudged along and researched what each new word meant in the context of 3D printing, and I've collected much of what I've learned here.

3d-printing | 2017.10.22 05:00 | Kurt Tomlinson

Modding a Franklin R850 Wifi Hotspot for a Car

I just got a new car with Android Auto, and I'm doing a little bit of work to make it work the way I like. The first problem with Android Auto is that it (mostly) requires a data connection for navigation. In this post, I add a hotspot with free data to my car that turns on and off automatically with my car.

electrical-engineering | 2017.10.15 18:32 | Kurt Tomlinson

When Buying a Car, Price Before TT&L is Meaningless

I recently went car shopping, and along the way I got quotes from several different dealers. I collected three quotes that included price before TT&L and price after TT&L. After looking at the numbers, all I can say is that the price after TT&L is the only price that matters or means anything. (TT&L stands for tax, title, and license, but as you'll see, that's not all that it includes.)

car-shopping, life-lessons | 2017.10.08 05:00 | Kurt Tomlinson