neocamel

What's your approach for NFL games?

I'm working on an Arduino project that will likely rely on a 9v for its power. If I can get at least 40 hours of power, I'd be happy with that. Here's why I think it's doable:

First, rechargeable 9v lion batteries nowadays have substantially higher capacities than even a few years ago. I see one on Amazon rated for 5400mWh!

Of course, I'll want to reduce power consumption as much as possible, so I'm thinking an Arduino micro would be the best choice (though I will be attaching a shield to it, which will add to the current draw.

My understanding is that the linear regulator on the Arduino is capable of reducing the 9v down to 5v, but at great expense to efficiency through heat loss. My thinking was to bypass the linear regulator entirely, and rely on a much more efficient buck converter to adjust the voltage down to 5v.

Thinking it might be possible to reduce the core clock as well, and run the Arduino at 3.3v instead of 5.

Anything I should consider that I might have missed? I'm excited for the project, but definitely need to get the power consumption as low as possible so I can run it off a 9v and not be constantly swapping/charging.

My wife works in a restaurant, and the power-tripping manager has instituted a new policy where all shift changes must be approved by management. I think that is reasonable enough, but they're also asking the originally-scheduled employee why they are switching shifts, then approving or denying based on the answer.

For example, her coworker (Tom) wanted Monday afternoon off, and Harry agreed to cover the shift. The manager asked Tom why he wanted Harry to work for him, and Tom said, "I have a softball game." Manager denied the shift change because it was "unnecessary".

Is this legal? I feel like if you're able to find someone to cover your shift, you don't owe management any explanation why you need the time off. How should my wife approach this situation? Colorado, USA BTW.