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REVIEW: Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone

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.

Buy the ATOM SE Drone on Amazon!

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!

This is an easy 5/5 stars and a solid gateway into a fun hobby.  You can get an ATOM SE Drone on Amazon.

Save at Capitol One Shopping, at this link.

VIDEO: Fox on the Run! May 30 to June 2 2024 at the Cottage

First the first time in the Cottage Video Series, we have:

  • A fox!
  • Rock Daydream Nation!
  • Fireworks in super slow-mo!
  • An Amazon delivery!
  • A war for territory:  Blue Jay vs. Chipmunk!
  • And of course the food and scenery that you expect!

Enjoy!

 

#1131: Foxes & Fireworks: Five New Things This Weekend at the Lake

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!

 

 

#1036: Sleeping My Day Away

A sequel to #1029:  Lick It Up (In Bed)

RECORD STORE TALES #1036: Sleeping My Day Away

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!

2 years later: “LeBrain’s Covid-19 Message”

This did not age well. The comment about hoarding toilet paper is funny. I remember my dad didn’t like this video. He found it too “angry”. It did start the whole “VoiVod!” thing with Rob Daniels though! This is just after lockdown began, but before the LeBrain Train launched. Interesting from a certain point of view. Where’s that Queen shirt now? Can’t find it anywhere!

Originally posted March 18 2020.

#899: Gathering

RECORD STORE TALES #899:  Gathering

It was a beautiful day today.  In the afternoon I got the ol’ laptop dusted off, and brought it out onto the patio to listen to some tunes and watch some YouTube.  The laptop is at least a decade old, probably older, and has served me well as my travelling machine.  Today, it could barely do two things at once.  Obviously it will not serve me well for live streaming this summer at the lake.  It did a stand-up job last year, with Streamyard and video editing.  This year it simply will not cut the tomatoes so I pulled the trigger on a new HP.  I didn’t want to go down in screen size so I ordered a 17.3″.  I always get nervous when buying a new computer, and I’ve never bought HP before.  I’m excited though.  Whatever happens, it cannot be worse than a decade-old Acer.  It could be here as early as Tuesday.  Wish me luck — this summer’s future LeBrain Train episodes will depend on this laptop!  Meanwhile the old one will be brought to Sausagefest — if there will be such a thing this summer.

The laptop is delivering by Purolator, which is totally safe.  Amazon unfortunately is not.  Their couriers leave the parcel at the door and that’s that.  Because there is so much theft of Amazon parcels in these parts, for the last six months or so, I have been having everything sent to my mom and dad’s address.  I am still working from the office and they are home all the time.  Jen has appointments that usually has her out of the house when Amazon come knocking.  As a result, I have to pick up my parcels from them about once a week.  And, according to Ontario’s current regulations, having an outdoor socially distanced visit with them is currently illegal.

“Hey, would you guys like to come out back for an illegal visit?” asked my mom.

“Sure,” I shrugged.

We’ve all been vaccinated with the first shot and are at 50% immunity.  We distanced.  Well, my dad got a little close as he sometimes does.  But it was nice.  Something almost normal.  I would like to go down into the basement and look for some of my old sketches from when I was a kid, but we aren’t taking any chances.  We stayed out.  Doug Ford can suck it.

Ironically, one of the things I was picking up was a cheap pair of computer speakers.  Every time Doug Ford goes live on TV to open his big mouth, I can’t hear him.  It’s too quiet.  Annoying.  So I ordered some cheap Amazon branded speakers so I can actually listen next time he opens his big yap.  And they’re my speakers, so if I want to use them for my new laptop, I’m good there too.

Some music also arrived.  We will be interviewing Paul Laine soon on the LeBrain Train, so I grabbed his Zokusho album by the Defiants.  Looking forward to that.  In a previous order, I received Long Distance Voyager by the Moody Blues.  Uncle Meat told us that it was his dad’s favourite album, and he would love if we listened to it or even reviewed it.  So I listened to it, loved it, and ordered a CD so I can listen properly for review.  I’m happy to do that for him.

I have also completed my set of Whitesnakes Red, White & Blue trilogy.  In hand are the recent compilation CDs The Rock Album, The Love Album, and The Blues Album.  All tracks have been remixed and updated, while unreleased songs are also included.  John Snow over at 2loud2oldmusic did a fantastic job of reviewing them all.  The Blues Album came from Encore while the other two are Amazons.

We talked current events, we talked family matters, we had a few laughs.  All is well, more or less.  This is the first pandemic for everyone present.  In the five stages of grieving, I think my mom is at the anger stage.  Last week on the phone, when I told her that us visiting would be against the rules, she said “I don’t give a damn about the rules!”  I don’t know the last time I heard her that angry!  Let’s face it, we the people of Ontario have been getting jerked around.  She has a lot to be mad about.  I love my mom.

My dad, on the other hand, decided to watch a documentary about Ozzy Osbourne on A&E.  Excitedly, he told me all about his history with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist.  “He had a lot of success on his own, when no one thought he would!” he explained to me.  But it wasn’t easy for the Ozzman either.  My dad told me all about Ozzy’s son Jack, and the role that Sharon played in his success.  It was one of those moments you cherish.  I love my dad.

My mom also loved The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which concluded on Friday.  We talked about Sam and the new Captain America.  To my dad, there is only one Captain America and it’s not Sam Wilson or Steve Rogers.  It’s someone I’ve never heard of — Grant Gardner, district attorney and the 1944 version of Cap that he grew up with.  He has no interest in the new Cap, while my mom was really drawn into the storyline.  Hopefully next time we visit illegally, my mom will have seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier which I told her to watch next.

I realize I have incriminated myself and my family with this story, and to that I say:  oh well.  We were safe and respectful of common sense.   When this pandemic eventually ends — and history has shown that eventually it will — I will have these chapters as a document of the weirdest times of our lives.  And that has more value than a fine.

 

#897: Spam

RECORD STORE TALES #897: Spam

Making a long-ish story short(er):  before launching this site in 2012, I was an active reviewer on Amazon.  On a good day I could finish two or three.  Those reviews became the bulk of content when I launched my own site.  I must have written so many that I ended up on the Amazon Canada “Hall of Fame”.

From my Amazon profile, you can get to this site. I figured, “Hey, if somebody liked my reviews enough to click my name, then maybe they’ll like the ones I have on my site even better”.

It took me a little while to put two and two together, but a year or so ago, I started getting bombarded with emails asking me to do Amazon reviews.  The emails would come through the contact page here.  The requests would be for USB cables, lights, HDMI cables, you name it.  Anything but music.

The first few requests were vague.  “Would you like to write some Amazon reviews and get the product for free?”  I would respond, “Sure, I am looking to review the new Metallica album,” and that would be it.  I wouldn’t hear back.  They clearly didn’t check to see what kinds of products I was reviewing, which were almost exclusively CDs and DVDs.  They just saw “Hall of Fame” and jumped.

Some of the requests were more detailed — like a form letter.  I would have to buy the selected product myself, but after posting the review, they would refund the money and I keep the product.  Some of the emails specified a “positive” review.

I don’t need extra clutter, and am generally uncomfortable writing reviews on request like that.  I know a lot of those products and I would be writing a negative review on some of the USB cables and lights.  The whole thing seemed kind of shaky to me.

The requests kept rolling in, so I put a disclaimer up on the contact form on this site:  “no Amazon review requests”.  And the request emails immediately stopped…

…Only to continue on my Instagram and Facebook pages.  I have to admit the first one to come in on Instagram surprised me.  (Nothing on Facebook surprises me.)  An Instagram one really bugged me by calling me “dear” repeatedly.  I blocked that one, and then suddenly mysteriously was contacted on Facebook by a  seller who called me “dear”.  Persistence like that only earns the Instablock.

The last request was for an electric toothbrush review.  Eventually I figured out that I needed to put the disclaimer directly on my Amazon profile — “no review requests please”.  That was a couple months ago and I haven’t had a single request since!

This message came in at 1:57 AM!

 

One small victory against spam.  Then again, maybe I really blew it.  Maybe I could have had the best USB cables and lights.  My teeth could have been whiter and shinier than ever!  I don’t know anyone who’s gone for one of those review deals, so if you have any insight or feedback, let me know.

Just don’t ask me to review your damned electric toothbrush!

Adventures in Epilepsy – Live LeBrain Train with Guests

Episode 30 – Adventures in Epilepsy

A few technical difficulties with the Facebook feed, but a good show all around.  A more personal show this time, if you ever wanted to know how epilepsy can change lives, then you’ll want to check this one out.  No more concerts, no more movie theaters — such is the new reality that my wife lives in.

But we did more than just talk about epilepsy, much more in fact.  Unboxings, books, and guests — it’s all below.

The live stream feed is much choppier on Facebook so I encourage everyone to watch on Youtube from now on.  The Youtube feed was solid.   People on Facebook were reporting freezing video, so in an effort to fix that, I stopped the feed and started over.  That’s why there are two Youtube videos below.

  • I started with some cool unboxings — Japanese imports and vinyl.  Go to 0:05:10 of the first video to see some metal goodies and rarities.
  • For the start of the epilepsy show, go to 0:18:25 of the first video.  It continues at 0:07:15 of the second video.
  • Old pal and author Aaron Lebold came on to talk about his own history with epilepsy, and his new book Genocide at 0:41:15 of the second video.
  • Kevin Simister aka Buried On Mars stopped in at 1:06:35 of the second video to talk about crappy Amazon shipping and to do a CD unboxing.
  • And finally Rob Daniels came in at 1:20:45 of the second video to hang out, talk music, and his own show Visions in Sound.  He has lots of fun planned for October!

Thanks for watching the LeBrain Train episode 30!

First video – start of show

Second video – continuation and conclusion

#839: Stop Thief!

GETTING MORE TALE #839: Stop Thief!

I’ve only been a victim of theft a couple times, but both times it felt like such a violation.  My car was broken into about 20 years ago, and my old Discman was swiped, along with my CD of Kettle of Fish by Fish.  I always hoped the thieves learned to like some good music because of me, but in reality they probably ejected the disc from a moving vehicle.

I’ve worried about mail theft over the years, but never failed to get a refund if a parcel didn’t show up.  It’s trickier now in the days of Amazon.  They have their own delivery drivers, and when they drop a box on your porch, they take a picture of it and call it “delivered”.  There is nothing to protect you if someone grabs it after the driver is gone.  Amazon won’t refund it.  You’d think paying for Amazon Prime delivery would offer you some protection, but it does not.  You’re actually better off having something sent in the mail.

I ordered a parcel from Amazon recently, and it was stolen right from my door.  Our condo has a controlled front entrance, but anybody can get in if they wait for someone to open the door for them.  My theory is that this is what happened.  Perhaps the Amazon driver was delivering a package, was buzzed in, and let someone else in with them.  Typically an Amazon driver will be delivering to multiple residents in one trip, and only one has to buzz them in.

Nobody was home at that time, so the driver left the parcel at my door, and took a picture of it.  That’s all they have to do.  I’ve never had a parcel stolen from my door, until this week.

When Amazon showed my parcel as “delivered”, with that nice little photo attached, I knew someone had snatched it while we were out.  Jen began making phone calls to get security footage reviewed, and then suddenly she received a call from the police!

Whoever stole my parcel ditched it, unopened, in a park nearby.  Someone else found it and called the police, who returned it to us!

I am comforted by the fact that the bad person who stole my parcel was balanced out by a good person who also could have stolen it, but didn’t.  They did the right thing and because of them, I have my Captain America action figures.

Captain America figures?  Is that what all this fuss is about?

I ordered Cap & Peggy Carter, Captain Marvel, and Ghost & Luis.  I’d been looking forward to them all weekend.  But that turned to pure anger when I thought they had been stolen right from my door.  The violation made me furious but when the police returned it, I was so grateful. Thank you Waterloo Regional Police Service.

There are lots of other people who live in this building, and any one of them could have lost a delivery too.  Highly unlikely that it was just me.  I understand they caught the thief so I hope all my neighbours can sleep better tonight.  I feel better now.

 

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Covideo #5 – Feedback required!

Enjoy the video, and for those who also enjoy the live streams, your feedback is requested!