Blink

The American College of Ophthalmology says that the average person does it about 30,000 times a day. Most of us do it unconsciously except for times when we get soap, jalapeno juice or some other irritant in an eye; then we do it deliberately in hopes of ending the discomfort.

A couple of days ago, an item pitching a home security camera system from Amazon showed up in my FB feed. Several of my friends have ADT systems. I’ve contemplated such a thing for several years, but the idea of rewiring my house was a deal breaker. Besides, unlike many RWNJ types, I do not live in fear of those people coming to take my shit or do me harm. It is much more likely that another stroke or some other vascular calamity will do me in. So it goes.

It turns out that there are deep Prime Day discounts for various types of home security camera rigs on Amazon. The Blink units are completely wireless, motion-activated, and powered by non-rechargeable lithium AA batteries that are pricey but not exorbitantly so. The Blink site says that the Energizer variety last a couple of years.

A three-camera Blink system for outdoor use goes for about $80. I ordered four cameras with a base unit that connects everything to cloud storage and is also capable of backing-up 256G of video on a thumb drive. Total cost under $200 with a free 30-day trial of cloud service. The cloud storage service costs $10/month.

It took about 30 minutes of effort to install the Blink app on my phone, put batteries into the cameras, install the base module in a power outlet, and connect everything to my Google Fiber home Wi-Fi network. The hardest part was installing the camera bases on the outside of the house. After breaking the drill bit that I was going to use to make pilot holes, I wound up using an awl to make an initial hole in the siding and then a nail to make it sufficiently deep to accept the mounting screws. It wasn’t particularly difficult, but a heat index of 109F made the chore less than pleasant.

I armed the system last evening in hopes of capturing various critters that visit after dusk. I recorded fox activity, a couple of racoons, and one curious skunk. There were no signs of the possum or armadillo.

It turns out that the Vixen has two kits! They appear in the film clip below.