RECORD STORE TALES #1240:
Life is short sometimes, goes by in the wink of an eye
Changes have been afoot. Not all has been well. I have been quiet. You probably haven’t noticed, but life is…interesting. We’re not ready to talk about the changes yet.
Some things remain the same, and on Friday April 17, we loaded the car with new tunes and made our way to our lake retreat for the first time in 2026. We began the trip with Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne’s new version of “War Pigs”. This one really blew the ears open for the road trip. What a track. Destined to be a classic. Later on, we followed it with some April Wine.
It was the first time I’d driven to the lake in the dark in close to a decade. In that time, both my eyes and nerves have aged. We made it safe and sound, albeit a bit tired.
Writing is difficult. There are a lot of things I just don’t feel like talking about right now. I hope that this summer will bring all of the things I enjoy: flying drones, doing shows from the cottage, cooking food, taking pictures and making videos. And whatever else comes our way that I can turn into a creative endeavor.
We will return again soon, and we have planned the first live show of the weekend. With good friend Peter Kerr, Harrison and I will discuss our Top Five Artists that are Not Rock! The first cottage show of the season will likely be indoors due to the cold, but you never know. We are back!
The first drone flight of the weekend occurred Sunday April 20 before 7:00 AM. It was below freezing. Our first flight at negative temperatures! Flying above the birds, I captured beautiful views of Lake Huron by the beach, and revealed much higher water levels than last fall. Let’s hope that they don’t retreat again. The detritus of winter can be seen on the beach. A huge log washed up, impossible for a person to move. Only the power of snow and ice could have moved it here. For the drone video, I chose the song “Life Is” by Arkells on the flight soundtrack.
I ran into a new problem, which is moisture condensation inside the drone camera. I ordered some silica gel packs to try to get rid of the moisture, but this is new territory for me and I’ve never had to deal with this before. Hopefully, I can solve the issue.
Driving home on Sunday, we chose the new Arkells album Between Us for the soundtrack. The album has catchy songs, but very few that have captured me. We’ll have to give it time, but early signs point to this being “just another album” by the Hamilton band.
Much more intriguing is Quebec’s Angine de Poitrine. Everyone is talking about them. Their albums are completely sold out everywhere and go for over $150 on Discogs. A CD reissue is due in June, but until then all we can do is stream. This band uses a custom microtonal guitar/bass doubleneck to achieve song melodies that sound like someone bending the notes precisely every time. A duo, they loop their parts and build the songs slowly. An addictive band and a cool way to end our weekend. Ignore the alien costumes. While they may have drawn eyes to the band, the music is what you need to focus on.
Enjoy the photos below, and see us live on Friday April 24 with Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation. The cottage is waiting for your arrival!
mikeladano.com 
I suspect the condensation issue occurred bringing the cold drone inside the warm cottage? Warm air has more moisture than cold air, and it condenses on the cold drone. Put the drone in a plastic bag and close it before bringing inside, and wait until the drone warms to the room before opening.
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Hi Dan, no that’s not it. It was fogging up during flight. I cut most of that footage as it was not usable. I need to get the moisture out of the camera using rice or silica gel, says the internet.
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I would recommend the silica gel packs. Avoid the rice as it could introduce dust, or worse, mold. Rice is organic and will cause worse problems.
With all the rain over the past week, I think this is a humidity issue that shouldn’t occur too often when the weather is back to dryer conditions. I wouldn’t fly in rain, but I think the drone would be sealed well enough for humid days. Soon it will be warmer and the problem should be limited, or eliminated.
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Good call. My silica gel packs should be here this afternoon.
Unfortunately I did notice this happened once last summer. I thought maybe it resolved itself, but apparently not. Hopefully the gel packs do the trick. I’m going to pack the drone in a bag with the gel packs surrounding the camera area. I read this can take up to a month, but not sure.
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Best wishes for the spring (and summer), Mike (and Jen). From Henry.
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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I don’t seem to be able to reply to the thread, so I have to add as a new comment.
I would agree with packing in a bag. I would also suggest removing the battery and card, and leaving the doors open. I don’t know if it is possible, or recommended, to remove any other casing panels for access, but with the covers open it shouldn’t require a lot of time to clear the moisture. If it was a sealed device (i.e. cell phone) dropped, and soaked, in water, it may take longer, but by a month there would be mold and corrosion and the device would be ruined anyway. Even without the gel packs, I suspect the moisture would clear itself in a day, or two at most.
If I’m outside walking during a cool rain, the crystal on my watch will fog. Shortly after getting back home the glass is clear again; it’s an old watch with a worn o-ring around the cover seal.
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Yes battery and card always get removed when not in flight. There are no panels to open, so that should do it. I’m going to keep it packed with silica packs all week, and try flying again on Friday!
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