Earlier in 2025, I was sent a new drone to test. I was very excited to receive my U11Mini 4k drone from Ruko, but struggled to keep it flying straight. I crashed it once in the summer. I thought my issues were due to user error, weather, or bad calibration. I didn’t think it was due to a faulty drone. I tried it once more in early October. The flight started well enough, but I lost control of the drone during the return. It started veering to the left and losing altitude. I managed to bring it back to the beach and land it in the sand, but I thought for sure it was going to hit the water or trees.
I figured three strikes and you are out – I didn’t plan to fly the Ruko again, despite its awesome 4k camera and ability to hold a level image even if the drone is flying on a 35 degree angle. I packed it up. My dad talked me into changing my mind.
“Why don’t you just contact their customer support?” he asked.
“Because this drone was a free review copy,” I answered simply. “I did the review and gave it a passing mark.” As a creative individual, I like to make my own videos, and edit them how I please. Working with Ruko, they encouraged me to film different landmarks and objects from the drone. I prefer working independently on my videos, so I didn’t really want to go back to them. Yet, my dad was right. What harm could come from submitting a ticket for customer support?
Ruko came through. All they asked for was the flight log for the most recent video where I encountered troubles. You can see in the video below, I flew fine and straight for the outbound flight. Upon my return, the drone started veering off to the left, and losing altitude. I could not control it, but barely managed to land it in the sand without hitting the water, rocks, or trees. Ruko had a look at the flight log and determined that it was not user error. They offered to send me a new drone!
“Just the bare drone,” they said, and I agreed. I didn’t need new batteries, a new case, or a new controller. Just the drone itself.
Two days later, there was a parcel! And it wasn’t just the bare drone. It was the whole package – cables, case, batteries, controller, and everything else you need. I now had two complete drone sets, one that didn’t work and one that was brand new out of the box!
The only unfortunate thing is the time of year. I let Ruko know that in Canada, it was fall turning into winter, and the window for good flying days was over. They said “no problem”.
While I still have not had a chance to test the new Ruko drone, I can give their customer service a 5/5 star rating. Fast, hassle-free and helpful. Hopefully I will get a chance to fly again before the spring. If not, thank you Ruko and we’ll see you next year!
Are you ready to level up in your photography or drone flying game? The brand new Ruko U11MINI 4K is the drone for you. Best of all, it weighs under 249 grams, which means you don’t need a license to fly it. Just open the package, read the manual, charge the batteries and launch.
Opening the box, I was delighted to find not one, but two paper manuals! The full User Manual, and a Quick Guide. This is a huge step up from having to read a pdf file on your screen. The inclusion of a paper manual will make all the difference to some users. Also included are two batteries (roughly 32 minutes flight time each) and all the USB cables needed to charge and fly, no matter what kind of phone you use. The controller is sleek and features two comfortable and detachable control sticks. It comes in a handsome and sturdy carrying case for storage and transport. It also has a plastic camera cover to protect the 4K camera (EIS with gimbal, like a 3-axis brushless gimbal with EIS). You will be able to capture 8K pictures and 4K@30fps video. All you need to provide yourself is a smartphone and a micro SD card to record all that lovely video you’re going to get. And don’t forget to download the appropriate app to your device!
An important step is to make sure your phone is set for USB file transfer mode. Google the steps for your phone to do this. Your phone mounts sturdily to the controller, and connects via the included USB-C cable. You can transfer photos and videos straight to your phone. When powering on and pairing, be sure to calibrate the GPS and gyroscope. Give it time for the GPS to lock on.
With this powerful camera at hand, you can record hi-definition video or photos at the touch of a button. Thanks to the camera’s clever gimbal, it will always take level photos no matter the wind conditions. No need to straighten and crop videos or photos with this drone. It can even record audio!
For what I have been used to, this drone is far more powerful, and I am not talking about the camera. The motors are faster and can go way further: 394 feet altitude, which is double what I’ve flown before. Without obstructions, it can transmit a signal up to 20,000 feet distance. I will be able to fly further, and see clearer, than ever before! There is even a 5x digital zoom available. It is far faster than my old drone, so be careful with your velocity!
With the app on your phone, you will unlock a multitude of features for this drone. GPS follow, and path planning are two such features. Auto return and setting your own custom maximum altitude and distance will help keep your drone safe as you learn. You can also have it return to a safe home point when the battery is low. You can even program a path with up to 16 checkpoints. Feeling uncertain about landings? This drone has an AI takeoff and landing system (using GPS, barometric altitude hold, optical flow, and TOF positioning) for smooth takeoffs and landings. Like all drones, one must be careful in heavy wind. Due to unseasonable bad weather here in Canada, I have not had many great days to fly safely in the spring of 2025. As I fly the drone and experiment with its abilities, I will add more videos to this space. Bookmark it and check back for more videos.
Some tips:
1. Keep the drone in sight when flying to avoid getting lost.
2. Don’t fly too close to the surface, to water, or to trees.
3. Use a large open area to fly in, with good GPS reception.
People are loving my drone footage from the Ruko U11MINI 4K! From Owen:
“You’ve really got me considering purchasing this drone, Mike. I love your footage in both videos, it’s under 249g. Beautiful shots, Mr. Ladano.”
Take it from me, you’re going to love the Ruko U11MINI 4K drone.
Originally broadcast on Oct 2, 2020 as two streams totaling 2 hours and 12 minutes. This new version has been re-focused down to a perfect 50 minute show.
In October of 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, Jen had a seizure at a local fast food restaurant. She fell and broke her arm. We decided to make that week’s episode of the LeBrain Train all about epilepsy awareness. While we did our best, we had technical difficulties that night, and the episode didn’t turn out like we hoped.
It’s funny to go back and watch live streams from five years ago. So much has changed since then. The original 2020 show was split into two live streams as some viewers reported that the Facebook feed was freezing, so we stopped and re-started. Additionally, the original show was live and off the cuff, and was interrupted several times. This new edit has all the epilepsy content in one stream. As such, Adventures in Epilepsy episode has never been presented as one cohesive video before.
Hear all about missing out on a free U2 concert, having to leave movies and shows early with no refunds, and nearly walking into traffic! Also hear the lighter side of seizures. We learned early on, if you can’t laugh at these things, you’re doomed.
Join us tonight as we educate and illuminate living with epilepsy. Though a lot has changed since 2020, the experiences remain raw and true. Health has improved since then, which we also touch on with additional narration recorded in 2025.
Jen herself appeared in this episode, as good a sport as any. Good friend and author Aaron Lebold joined the show that night to discuss his own experiences with epilepsy, which he seems to have grown out of in his adult life. Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound and Kevin Simister from Buried On Mars also joined the show at the end to say hello. Though most of their parts were cut to shorten and focus the episode (some unboxings and other outdated content were cut), we always appreciate their support.
1. Prince. The royal single-monikered one was born epileptic and suffered a lot of taunting at school. He obviously came a long way from there
2. AdamHorovitz. This Beastie Boy is sensitive to flashing lights, which I am sure they use in their stage show. It certainly didn’t seem to hold him back from massive success.
3. NeilYoung. He was medicated for epilepsy as a child, but didn’t like the side effects of the meds, which can go all over the spectrum depending on you and your meds. Neil chose to make lifestyle changes instead, and has lived without medication since! And, obviously, rocked the world. Good on you Neil.
RECORD STORE TALES #1170: The Smaller the Better – Christmas 2024
2024 was one of our smallest Christmas gatherings, both in budget and in population, but it was certainly one of my happiest.
Sometimes everything just feels right, and this year’s Christmas Eve was held back at the old family home once again. It was the first Christmas Eve there in over a decade, but that’s my happy place at Christmas. A place I can feel comfortable. After all, it was my home for 29 years. I settled in with my dad and watched Superman the Movie while Jen made cookies. We awaited the arrival of my mom, Dr. Kathryn, and a few dogs.
Jen knit custom gifts for the dogs (shawls, mittens and hats). She also knit custom shawls for the ladies, and toques for the men. I love mine.
As an introvert, I do well in small groups. Dinner was the traditional beef fondue (or chicken or schnitzel), with bonus vegan options. I brought over some special flavoured salts and hot sauces to sample.
We did that Christmas “white elephant” game, or whatever you want to call it. The “$10 gift game” is another name for it. Initially, I won this cool set of chocolate “coffee bombs”. I made it very clear how happy I was with it, and that I intended to make myself a coffee as soon as I got home. I spotted one with little marshmallows and relished the idea of it. Then my mom went next and stole it. I stole it back when I had the chance, and then she stole it again at first opportunity. The funny coda to this story is that after Jen and I got home, we put on a “Best of Saturday Night Live” show and there was a sketch featuring the exact same game. One character was complaining that it was a mean-spirited game, because he had received the perfect gift for himself, and someone stole it. I called my mom to laugh about that. The story doesn’t end there.
Christmas day featured some sleeping in and some Marvel What If? on Disney+. SPOILER this episode featured a Kiss song as an integral part of the story, and even had a line of dialogue from Howard the Duck explaining that the song was written by Kiss in 1979.
I won the $25 Amazon gift card at the “Christmas pickle” game. I wasn’t even going to participate, but after seeing Jen and Dr. Kathryn getting nowhere, I entered the fray. I quickly boxed Dr. Kathryn into a corner, where she was unable to see the front of the tree, where my mom had announced the pickle to be. Once spotted, I used the pickle to order the new Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge box set. It’ll be here Saturday.
There were some really cool items in my grab bag this Christmas.
I had hoped someone would get me Brothers by Alex Van Halen, and Dr. Kathryn came to the rescue there. It’s a beautiful looking book, and emotional too from what I have read while skipping through.
Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys has a new album out with standards new and old: Longhauler: The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers. If you need to ask, don’t. I was surprised that the album was produced and engineered by Eddie Kramer!
Queen’s A Night at the Odeon (1975) is another album that came highly recommended. I wishlisted it and it magically appeared in my stocking thanks to my parents. It looks like a winner.
Finally, some anniversary editions from Jen: Judas Priest’s Rocka Rolla, and Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry. Rocka Rolla is probably the best album remix I have heard in my life. Tom Allom pretty much just made the album sound like itself, but beefier. As if you had always heard it distant and muffled, and now you can hear it fully for the first time. As if you just got a new stereo and are hearing this music properly for the first time. As for Twisted, I find it funny that I already own the 30th anniversary edition, with a very different set of bonus music.
Of interest: this is probably the 3rd time I have received Rocka Rolla for Christmas. It is my 2nd for Stay Hungry at Christmas time.
As usual, I received some treats and games, including two more editions of Uno to play at the cottage this summer. My mom got me some Trailer Park Boys pickle flavoured chips, and who knew that such a thing existed?
As for my mom, she used to do this thing when we were kids, where she would take a larger box of candy and split it up into smaller gifts that could fit into stockings. She did that for me this year…with her chocolate coffee bombs that she got the night before. She gave me one of each flavour, since I had called about the Saturday Night Live sketch. Thanks mom. You win this time.
Some albums just fall by the wayside. Here’s a CD that came out 35 years ago, and I just never got around to.
This album, from a new hard rock band, was on my radar due to involvement from some people in the circles of Bon Jovi. It was scarce in these parts, either unseen on the shelves of local stores, or left sitting in favour of other purchases.
Another thing about the summer of 1989 is that there were few quality record stores at the cottage 35 years ago. Now, I just have to find what I want on Amazon, and new music is on its way to me while I wait for it on the front porch. Absolutely amazing. Tell that to 17 year old Mike in July ’89!
Disclaimer: This review is from the perspective of a drone rookie. I recently plunged into the hobby, and found it easy and inviting. Here’s what I have learned in my three weeks as a drone pilot.
Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone With 4K Single-Axis Camera
When I was a young kid, I would come to the beach and watch this older kid fly his remote control airplane over the lake. He never landed it without crashing, with either major or minor damage. I thought it would be cool to fly an RC plane like that, but it looked difficult and expensive. Then, at some point decades later, my dad bought an indoor drone for me. Just a toy. Impossible to control, and it went flying off my wife’s head. Nope, flying things isn’t the hobby for me. Onto the next thing.
Then, one day after browsing Amazon, I decided to buy a real drone and see what difference it would make. You only live once. I chose the ATOM SE by Potensic, which came with two batteries, a remote, all the cables you need to charge and connect it, and a spare set of propellers (with the appropriate screwdriver). It all came in a nice, padded travel case that holds everything. It really is an all-in-one package. You can buy accessories too, including spare batteries and a charger that can do three of them at once (plus the remote). I also recommend picking up a landing pad, which helps keep your drone propellers out of the grass and/or sand. The only thing you will need to provide separately is a micro SD card so you can record all that lovely 1080p video you’re going to capture.
My only complaint: No paper manual. All you get is a pdf file. I gave it a read, but I learn by doing, so one Saturday morning when nobody was around, I took my drone over to the park. Within minutes I was in the air. (Of note: This drone is light enough that it does not require a license, so you are good to go.)
It is intuitive and easy to fly. You just plug your phone into the remote, to act as a screen. Everything fits perfectly. The camera is crisp and clear. For those with a higher budget, the next model up has a 3-axis camera, but this one just moves up and down. I found this plenty good enough. The controller has two (removeable) joysticks (with a clever storage solution). Everything is ergonomic. The left stick controls altitude, and rotates the drone. The right stick controls all movement forwards and backwards, and side to side. It moves equally well in all four directions.
This drone is steady as a rock. Even in a light breeze, it barely moves from where you want it. I took it up to its maximum ceiling of 190 feet, and then right down again to land, and it had only moved about a foot. There are automatic flying modes, such as one where it circles a waypoint (with camera always pointed at the center, a cool feature) and one where it follows you. You can set a home point for it to automatically return to. However, I am more comfortable being in control. That shows you how easy this thing is to use, that I prefer manual controls to automatic.
It’s a fast little drone, and zips right over your head going over 13 mph. It stops on a dime, and is extremely responsive. It is also capable of beautiful, slow movements. The resultant videos are always quality.
When I first bought this drone, a few people were asking me what the heck I would do with it? Check out the videos below and tell me I’m not having fun!
RECORD STORE TALES #1131: Foxes & Fireworks Five New Things This Weekend at the Lake
After 52 years, it’s not always easy coming up with new experiences to have at the lake. Sometimes it’s a fortuitous mixture of planning and luck. I am always conscious that every second at the lake counts. Unfortunately, my energy isn’t what it was. I don’t remember having so many naps back in those days. I just remember going, and going, and going! Gosh, when Peter Cavan used to come up to the cottage for a weekend, we’d go from one activity to another without taking a break. We’d go from badminton to throwing around a football, to playing a video game to making a stir fry for dinner. Then we’d be in the car to buy some fireworks. We like it easier these days.
New thing #1: Road tunes
Our weekend began on Thursday evening for the first spin of Arkells’ new album Disco Loadout Volume One on the road. It was a singalong success from start to finish, but it only took us as far as Listowel. For the rest of the trip, we played the Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager. Another success. It is always a pleasure to try new tunes for the road. I am happy to report that both albums did very well, and voices were raised.
We settled in quickly for a quiet weekend. Well, quiet for the moment. I inaugurated the weekend with some Deep Purple on the porch. This was done to celebrate Rock Daydream Nation’s excellent Deep Purple Stormbringer episode, which I was a part of. The episode was well received and I had a blast doing it. Of course, Friday night was Grab A Stack of Rock which I always love doing from the lake. There’s only one issue with doing anything on the porch involving a computer.
As another hallmark of my increasing age, my back hurts plenty after a day of rocking out and a night of live streaming from the porch. Writing? Extremely difficult. The deck chairs are very comfortable there, but only for leaning back. For working with a keyboard and a screen, they are not so practical. Not to mention, we just have these small glass deck tables to put my laptop on. I’ve used a number of laptop stands, but none offered the height, position and stability that I needed to easy my aching back. There must be a solution. Enter: Amazon.
New thing #2: Amazon calling
I heard through the grapevine that Amazon were now delivering to the cottage, though sometimes they have problems finding the addresses. Some of these places are not on GPS. However, let’s give it a shot. I picked a new desk that I thought would work on my front porch, and had it delivered straight to the cottage.
Much to my surprise, it worked! The delivery truck backed into the driveway at 3:00 in the afternoon, and I went outside to find a cardboard box on the deck, waiting for me!
The game has changed. With Amazon now offering next-day delivery to the cottage, imagine what things I will waste my money on when I’m bored! When we were kids staving off boredom, we were limited to whatever toys and cassette tapes the local stores had to offer. Not anymore!
Now, time to set up the desk!
New thing #3: I have a desk on the front deck now
The desk was easy enough to assemble, though the included tools were no match for my dad’s ratcheting screwdriver. It would have taken me an hour or more if I used the wimpy little screwdriver that came in the box. Soon, I had my desk set up, and adjusted for maximum comfort. The game has been changed.
I could spent all day typing now. It was like I had my own little porch nook, surrounded by coffee, lego, potato chips and CDs.
With this new desk, I should be able to do more writing and more video editing than ever before. If I want to! That’s the key to remember. The cottage is for relaxing. I must remember to do what feels right, instead of pressuring myself to “produce”. That said, it was great broadcasting Grab A Stack of Rock with such comfort.
I did want to produce a video short this weekend, and that was semi-successful.
New thing #4: Slow-motion fireworks
My mom and dad left us some Roman candles from the May 24 long weekend. Though not as practical as fountains, they would do for my attempt to get some slow motion video of fireworks.
The first one didn’t give me any footage. The problem is the firework is mostly pauses between bursts of colour. It’s hard to hit record at the exact right time to capture anything, and even at super slow-mo, it’s hard to get more than five seconds of footage. Next time we’ll try a fountain, but for this experiment, I was able to get two videos up on Youtube.
I love it when a plan comes together!
The last new thing that happened was complete serendipity.
On the Saturday night, Jen and I went down to the beach after finishing our delicious ribeye steak dinner. It was after sunset, but the glow of the sun lingers for hours, and you don’t need a flashlight at the beach during twilight. I got up to have a pee in the bushes, and after doing my business, I sang a little song and turned around. That’s what I saw him.
The fox was heading straight towards me. He had a gait unlike a dog. He was unmistakable. With absolutely no fear of humans, he walked with intent right past both of us, and on down the beach.
New thing #5: I finally captured the fox on camera
I’ve been trying for four years now, and I finally got him. The pictures don’t do him justice, but you’re never expecting the fox until he’s right there in front of you. I named this one Eric Caravello.
We didn’t even get into the Lego, the steaks, the fish fry! That will eventually make it into the cottage video.
A wonderful weekend of firsts. Maybe the next weekend will just be old favourites!
Insomnia ain’t no joke! As a long time sufferer (since childhood), I have continually sought new ways to fall asleep. Last time we checked in, I was looking at using my laptop and a small pair of laptop speakers to play music and rock myself to sleep. I have since revised the setup and experimented some more, with promising results. Here’s the scoop.
The idea of keeping my laptop near my bed, next to my alarm clock and night-time drinks, was not ideal. I’ve spilled plenty of night-time drinks so the laptop was not going to suffice as a long term solution for music in the bedroom. I’m sure kids today have more efficient ways of playing their music wherever they want, but I also require certain minimum levels of quality. Gotta have stereo, not a single speaker, for one. The sound quality has to be slightly better than my buzzy, bass-free laptop speakers. And I have to be able to play my own music, because Spotify doesn’t have what I want.
I looked around for my old Sony mp3 player, but I couldn’t get it to charge. I had a second Sony too, but it appears to be lost. So, my parents bought me a new mp3 player for Christmas. Yes, they still make them! It’s an off-brand player called a “AiMoonsa”. The Amazon writeup said it has an “HD” speaker built in. I don’t know about “HD”, but it doesn’t sound too terrible. It does violate my stereo rule. Gotta have stereo. Of course, stereo is available through the headphone jack. What’s nice about this player compared to the old Sony is that it has a removable 64 gig SD card. Easy to swap in and out, and upgrade if desired. I find swapping just as easy. I’ll always put my old Kiss albums on my mp3 player, and the rest of the space can be taken up by other favourite bands and new musical purchases. The only thing about this player is the controls are a little clunky, and it doesn’t display cover art like the Sony did. But I also only need it to do the bare minimum of work. That being, playing mp3 files over a pair of speakers while I try to get to sleep.
I needed new speakers, so I ordered the standard Amazon computer speakers, the Amazon Basics USB speakers for $24 bucks. This is actually my third pair. I have a set at the lake and you’d be surprised how far you can hear the music up there. I also have a set at work. This third set is for the bedroom.
I needed a power source for the speakers, so I grabbed an extension cord and one of those USB cube charges. A bit jerry-rigged, but it works.
I loaded up the mp3 player with the aforementioned music, including my entire D-A-D collection as gifted to me by Thor. Lemme tell something people: D-A-D is a band with a deep, rich discography of awesome tunes! Latter day stuff like “Empty Head”, “Something Good”, and “Everything Glows” are great tunes! I put on the D-A-D compilation Good Clean Family Entertainment You Can Trust, and had a Christmas holiday nap. And yes, “Sleeping My Day Away” was indeed the first track.
It was perfect! The music sounded good enough (certainly better than when I used to fall asleep to music on cassette in the 80s). The D-A-D did the trick, as tune after tune rocked me to sleep. I fell asleep mid-way through the disc and stayed that way for a couple hours.
Now, who’s to say that I wouldn’t have fallen asleep that day even without the music? It was a good nap though, and I enjoyed falling asleep that way, like I used to. Jen came in to nap too, and whaddaya know? Now she’s a D-A-D fan.
Mr. and Mrs. LeBrain fully endorse D-A-D. Now go get some!
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