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!
The flight started well enough, but I lost control of the drone during the return, right around the guitar solo (Vivian Campbell). 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. Why? It’s a “Mystery”!
To its credit, the Ruko U11MINI 4K gets incredible images with its always-level camera.
The water levels are heading back to their low point. It is a 20 year cycle. It does create beautiful imagery. Enjoy the flight.
Mystery (Dio/Bain)
From The Last In Line (1984)
Can you hear me can you see there’s a storm on the edge of the sky does it matter it does to me, i can tell you why When there’s thunder, there should be rain but it don’t always follow the rule and is the wise man always right? no he can play the fool It’s always a mystery, not what it seems to be it’s always a mystery, just like you and me We are lightning we are flame and we burn at the touch of a spark if there’s fire, but no one sees the there’s only the dark Just imagine, will you try i can see that you’ve opened your mind silver linings can disappear, but they always shine It’s always a mystery, not what it seems to be it’s always a mystery, just like you and me
RECORD STORE TALES #1200: Birthdays, Castles and Cornfields
My goal when making drone videos is never to invade privacy, only to make cool videos of the things around me. Ever since 2022, Jen and I have been driving past this cool “castle” in the middle of nowhere. We have stopped to take pictures because it is such a whimsical looking place. I have long wanted to do a drone video of the castle we once called Deke’s Palace.
I woke up around 5:30 AM on my birthday. I chatted with friends and enjoyed a birthday steak for breakfast. I thought about driving somewhere to make a drone video. Around 8:00 I decided to wake up Jen and make a run into town. I packed up my Potensic drone and made our way up to the castle. We waited for three cars to pass, and then I was airborne. I saw no vehicles for the entire flight, but I did soar close enough to the castle to see its ramparts, battlements, and three turrets. I also hovered over a winding river, and zoomed low over a cornfield.
I always like to try to accomplish something new creatively when I can, and this counts as a brand new location. I am very happy with the resultant video.
After my flight, we went into the essential hobby store Leisure World, and I treated myself to a birthday gift.
Simply a wonderful birthday, enjoyed in the best place in the world.
These three drone videos are the edited-down results of everything I shot on the weekend of July 4-6. All videos were shot with the Potensic Atom SE. I brought both the Potensic and the Ruko, but as you can see, it was a very windy weekend and I did not want to risk the Ruko. Next weekend, I will attempt to fly the Ruko again.
Enjoy these magnificent videos, and amazing songs by Deep Purple, Hello Hopeless and the Arkells.
RECORD STORE TALES #1197: Moose Sausage & Mental Health
Summer is well on its way. I’ve waited a long time to get here.
I love doing live broadcasts from the cottage. This weekend was going to be packed full, just like our bags and boxes that we loaded in the car for our first trip of July. We hit the road at 4:30 on Thursday. Preparing for Friday’s live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden, we played all of Live at Donington on the way to the lake. Not necessarily the best album for a lake drive, but Jen liked it, and it helped me prepare a little bit extra for the show.
Thursday night was peaceful, but hot. There was not much to do but play music on the porch. I cued up Tonight At Toad’s Place by Blotto, and started working on some show-related writing. Dr. Kathryn came over for a quick visit. We gossiped a bit about people we used to know, and after dark I shut it down for the night. Friday was going to be a fun day for us.
I began my Friday morning by cooking up a delicious moose sausage, and editing a new episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden. I wanted to do minimal editing, just to fix a couple spots with issues, but I ended up having a little more fun with it. At 8 AM we left for the butcher (The Beefway) and bought two steaks, a chicken breast, some lamb chops, and the best bacon I’ve ever cooked in my life. This extra thick cut bacon was so soft and sweet. It led me to an idea.
Canadian breakfast: moose sausage & mayo on a bun, with coffee.
We were going to do roasted potatoes on the BBQ. Jen likes to stuff hers with butter, but I had a different idea. I sliced up some fatty parts of the bacon and stuffed my potato with that. The end result was a delicious potato that tasted like a Smokey Bacon BBQ potato chip. The bacon pieces inside were soft and melted like butter in your mouth. A new masterpiece, but one that I feel I can only do with the exact right bacon. It has to be cut thick with lots of fat. And it worked beautifully.
The lamb, chicken and steaks also turned out really well. I did up some stuffed peppers with cream cheese, green onions and more bacon. The chicken breast ended up being the best one I’d ever made. The Beefway simply have the best food, and I have to admit I’m not too bad a chef myself. I used about half a bottle of BBQ sauce on one chicken breast, but that’s because I wanted it perfectly and completely coated. It came out so juicy and flavorful. Grocery store chicken seems to have a weird preservative taste these days. Not the stuff from the Beefway!
Friday night’s episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden went really well. It was our first live episode in quite a while, but I am glad that Harrison and I still have the skills. A surprise came that night: a donation! Our very first donation! Viewer Ryan Potter had this to say:
Thanks for this series guys! I’ve been enjoying revisiting these albums and going through my Maiden Collection with each episode.
Thank you Ryan for this first-ever thank-you. If we ever felt like we were not doing as good a job as we want to, Ryan’s comment will remind us that we’re doing just fine.
Friday was a difficult episode, because we had to review four CDs of Iron Maiden: A Real Live One, A Real Dead One, and Live at Donington (2 CDs). There were also two CD singles with an additional three bonus tracks to tackle. It required a lot of listening and a lot of notes, but Harrison and I managed to cover it all between the two of us. A proud night.
Friday night’s broadcast location for 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
But that was just the beginning for our live streaming adventures on the weekend.
Jex Russell, my “other” main co-host for many moons in the past, has been dealing with life lately. He recently had some free time come up, and said to me, “I’m ready. I want to do a live show. I want to tell people where I have been and what I’ve been up to. Let’s call it Ask Jex Anything and we’ll discuss mental health.”
I loved this idea.
We discussed when to go live. I was pushing for 8 AM Saturday morning, based on a past show we did in that time slot together. Mostly though, I didn’t want to do two live shows during prime cottage hours. One was fine. Two would be spending too much time on a screen during the best time of day. Jex was hesitant. What’s the point of an “Ask Jex Anything” episode if there’s nobody watching to ask? I crossed my fingers and set up the broadcast from my favourite spot: fireside. I gathered the firewood and a Canadian flag for an epic backdrop. I waited for 8 AM to come.
I think I had pretty much the best broadcast desk of any music show on YouTube today. You can get Pete Pardo with his wall of CDs behind him, or a “Hair Metal Guru” with loads of memorabilia, but nobody else in music had a backdrop like mine. A roaring fire, a Canadian flag, and nature. A few people walking down the road were wondering why this guy was out at 8 AM, talking on a laptop, at a computer desk in the middle of a beautiful green enclave. Why? Because it’s awesome!
Saturday’s office.
I had confidence that we would do a good show, viewers or no viewers. We always do.
It didn’t take long for the viewers to show up, and for Jex and I to open up, about mental health, music and balance. The questions began pouring in, and I could not keep up with the comments. Some people woke up early just to watch this special episode of Grab A Stack of Rock. Johnny Clauser and Tim Durling joined as surprise guests to share their own stories. Confessions were made, and I told a chapter of my story that I have never revealed before. Not even in Record Store Tales.
I believe that Satuday’s show, Ask Jex Anything: Music and Mental Health, is the most important episode we’ve ever done. Much to Jex’s relief, we had great views. Even exceeding the previous night’s 50 Years of Iron Maiden. We are very, very proud.
It ended up being a very good decision to go live in the morning. Black Sabbath were playing their final concert that afternoon. Everybody would be watching that, had we decided to go live later on. The morning show was a blessing.
From that point on, Saturday was ours to enjoy. It got hot – very hot. Eventually we went into town to get some air conditioning and soda pop. Staying cool was a challenge, and it prevented me from doing too much that day. No writing completed.
Droning on.
I did get to fly my drone a bit. I chose to fly my original drone, the Potensic. It is the better drone for stunt flying, and I made a few great videos. I still have to edit these. I managed to get one uploaded, which is “Nothing At All” by Deep Purple, to the visuals of a Lake Huron sunrise.
Sunday morning was time to pack our bags and head home. My mood crashed that day. It was an uncanny feeling of autumn; of “back to school”, even though it was only July. I could not shake that depressed feeling. We listened to April Wine on the way home because I wanted music that I was less familiar with. “All Over Town” is my new favourite song, but the crash hit me hard.
We tried to cheer me up by ordering in a nice dinner (The Burgers Priest), but failed. I woke up Monday morning unable to get out of bed. I lay there for hours, tired and worn out. I worked from home on Monday. In the old days I would have gone to work and felt worse and worse as the day went on. This time I managed. It is nice to have those options to work from home. It saved my Monday.
A beautiful weekend was had, despite the crash at the end. We’ll be back for my birthday. Close yet far!
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.
RECORD STORE TALES #1188: I Wanna Be A Lifeguard: Long Weekend at the Lake – May 2025
Jen and I were fortunate enough to spend a long weekend at the cottage, arriving Thursday night (May 8). As has been my goal for several seasons now, I try to do new things each time, when possible. This time, it was something out of the box.
Having become more comfortable working from home thanks to the pandemic, I asked my bosses if I could work from home Thursday afternoon, saving me 30 minutes of commute time and accumulating traffic, and getting to the lake that much faster.
“That’s a great idea, you should do that,” came the first response.
“Why don’t you just work the whole day from home?” came the second.
I was pleased to receive so much support. With that plan in motion, we hit the road at 4:30 sharp.
Unfortunately traffic was slow, and it took over two hours to get there, but imagine if we didn’t have that extra time. Music on the way up included Sing the Sorrow by AFI, to prepare for that Saturday’s show with D’Arcy Briggs, an album in review. Once we arrived, I hit the porch and rocked out to “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard” by Blotto. I delighted in emailing Broadway Blotto the video footage.
With coffee and snacks in hand, we were well prepared for a great weekend. Though cold, I did manage to spend a lot of time outdoors, with hoodie protecting me from the bitter breeze. All the snow was gone now, though only recently.
The next morning I went for a fly down to the river with my drone, and captured some wonderful footage.
Music: Blue Rodeo – “Dragging On”
At 8:15 AM, we headed out to get the best choices of steaks at the Beef Way. We chose two T-bones, some fry-pies, and for me, lake trout and duck legs. The duck legs made for a tasty lunch that afternoon. I wanted to do some kind of potato in duck fat, so I boiled two potatoes in hot water until they were soft, but still solid. I then got a grooved aluminium tray, and laid slices of potato in the grooves. I placed the seasoned legs on top and seasoned everything. When the duck fat started to render, the potatoes fried in it, making them so crispy with a pleasant accent to the flavour. In short, the best fries I ever made. And the duck legs weren’t bad either.
Sometimes at the cottage when it’s cold, you have to force yourself to be outside, so I pulled out some old Transformers toys (some vintage, some reissues) and did some fun photos on the front porch. I even experimented with filming one of the big ones from the air with my drone.
I had more changes to fly on the weekend, capturing incredible images of Lorne Beach, on the western coast of Lake Huron. The footage was some of the nicest I’ve managed to take.
Music: Bruce Cockburn – “Lovers In A Dangerous Time”
It is always fun editing these drone videos to music. This time it was all Canadian content and nothing too hard. There’s a line in “Lovers In A Dangerous Time” that has long resonated with me:
“Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight, got to kick at the darkness ’til it bleeds daylight.”
Playing the song on the front porch that afternoon, I dedicated the song to a couple of friends who are dealing with health struggles. Raise your goblet and send some love to these friends.
I watched a lot of Doctor Who, ate too much meat, and had a great time feeling like a kid again. There was one eerie moment of déjà vu, and I absolutely love when these moments come. Usually the come when music was the trigger, but this time it was Doctor Who. I was watching some classic Tom Baker era episodes on Tubi, on my laptop on the front porch. As a kid, I always associated Doctor Who with Sunday nights. There would be a few episodes to watch (either Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker) before bed time, and back to school the next morning. As the day grew late and I started working on dinner, it felt like a Sunday night again. Family dinner as the sun was getting low. It was actually Friday, but the feeling of Sunday was uncanny. Do you ever get the Sunday blues? It was like that, but warmer because it was Friday and just a memory of happy childhood.
We didn’t see any wildlife, which was disappointing, but there’s always next time.
Seeking to avoid a Monday crash, I tried to place my mind in the right set. We drove home without much talking, but a steady soundtrack of Kiss. Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, and Dynasty. When I really need to feel good, Kiss are usually a good band to go to. Nothing but good memories with Kiss.
As for the cottage, it is always sad saying goodbye, but we came home on Mother’s Day and had a nice visit with the folks, and a dinner on Dad. We’ll be back soon enough. And in fact, when we do return, we’ll be doing our first live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden from the cottage. Little things like that get me excited. I’ve already started packing.
RECORD STORE TALES #1185: The Worst Weather, and the Best Weekend! April 2025
We had a busy weekend lined up, but we were prepared for the worst – and the best! We got a bit of both, but our spirits have never been higher. Let’s rock this spring 2025!
Preparation is always key. We left town at 8:30 AM, bound for Toronto. It was time for Jen’s annual face-to-face with the neurologist, but traffic was light. Apparently it was quite busy the day before, with Metallica in town playing Thursday for the first of their no-repeat weekend. That was a stroke of luck, but then we hit a second one just as we arrived. Our appointment was for 10:00, and the 9:30 had cancelled at the last minute. That means we got seen early, and we got to the lake early too!
The doctor was happy with Jen’s progress, and is increasing a couple medications that seem to be have a positive effect. Good appointment, and we were back on the road.
The music to Toronto was Live-Loud-Alive by Loudness, and the music to the cottage was the brand-new Dreams On Toast by the Darkness. The Darkness album is easily their best since Last Of Our Kind, and will warrant a lengthy review over its 29 combined tracks.
We had a second pleasantly uneventful drive up, arriving in Kincardine at 2:00 PM. We made our first stop of 2025 at our butcher, the Beefway. There we picked up two beautiful T-bone steaks, some assorted bacon ends (applewood smoked), and some pickerel, pickles & pies. In and out in under 10 minutes.
Friday afternoon was a weird one. It was cold, then it rained, and then got warm and humid. I took a stroll and found the last patch of snow left on the beach. I attempted to make a snowball, but the snow was not good for packing. It was dark all day, and I set up on the front porch to rock the music. The first album of the year was Combo Akimbo by Blotto, since the guys have been so cool to me this year. Always a fun record. Around “Metal Head”, I decided to try flying my drone. Just as I got it in the air, it started raining. No flying on Friday. The rain did not hamper the 100th episode of Grab A Stack of Rock, which broadcast from the porch as planned. Even Broadway Blotto came to check out the festivities.
We were indoors for the rest of the weekend, but the pickerel and steaks were sublime. The sun did finally come out Sunday morning, which enabled me to take the first real flight of 2025. Nothing fancy, but plenty of beauty. I think I need to start flying less as a pilot, and more as a cinematographer. Maybe that will be part of 2025’s goals. Improve the drone videos with better, smoother shots. I may have something in the works there.
I always like to do something every year at the lake that I have never done before. Here are three for this weekend alone:
First time seeing snow at the cottage this late in the season.
First time barbecuing Spam. (Frying pan is better for Spam.)
Took the drone a teeny bit further this time and got a look down the river.
The music home was, of course, Iron Maiden! There is no rest for the wicked, nor for 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Fear of the Dark is next up on the recording schedule.
It was such a packed weekend that I slept for 13 hours on Sunday night.
We’ll be back soon. The April showers will bring the May flowers.
This could be the last weekend for good drone flying weather at the lake. Here’s what I made, and some great tunes for you to enjoy. First up we have a Thursday night flight to the tune of “The Roller” by Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye. Then we have two Deep Purple instrumentals on an unedited Friday morning flight: “Son of Aleric” and “Contact Lost”.
Notably, the water levels are noticeable lower than two weeks ago, and the river entrance has dried up. I took the drone a little further to the river than on past flights. Got up to max altitude each time. Lots to see here, and some cool flying techniques that really leave you feeling like you’re gliding along with me.
The third flight on Saturday morning might be the most beautiful. The water was so clear, and the reflections from the sun made for beautiful flying. I soared in close to some boulders, and took a look across the river for the first time. There I found an big boulder we used to sit on as kids. The music for this video is “Blue Ocean” by Flying Colors.
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