Why? I dunno. Seemed like all the kewl k1dz were doin' it.
Update
1 year ago
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Big Secret Project: Your Heroine
Shown here next to a local celebrity who is not, in fact, actually in the room. (And who is usually taller).Interdimensional transmatter warpage? Oh, no no no: it's a high-definition TV display large enough to be one wall of a room!
Big Secret Project: Before
...Photos taken, however, after my department (and others) had done an awful lot of prep work:
See that tall object in the corner? It's a "skyscraper" rack, about 15' tall. They don't make that kind. But we do.
Here's a different angle on a (mostly) empty room the size of a small-town High School gymnasium (starships are big!):
Last but so very not least, a close-up of another "skyscraper" rack, a kind of scary jungle-gym for adults. Dont try it at home! (Please note it is bolted to the wall and floor. Here at the Manhattan Engineering District, we're careful. -Ish
See that tall object in the corner? It's a "skyscraper" rack, about 15' tall. They don't make that kind. But we do.
Here's a different angle on a (mostly) empty room the size of a small-town High School gymnasium (starships are big!):
Last but so very not least, a close-up of another "skyscraper" rack, a kind of scary jungle-gym for adults. Dont try it at home! (Please note it is bolted to the wall and floor. Here at the Manhattan Engineering District, we're careful. -Ish
Monday, July 21, 2008
It Merits A Link
Jed commented that the Zeusaphone reminded him of the Pyrophone, then blogged about it. If I understand the Wiki article, the human race had an internal-combustion musical instrument before we had internal-combustion engines. Kewllllllll!
I'm reminded of that triumph of Roman Engineering, the water organ, thanks to which a day at theColosseum Flavian Ampitheatre* might well have reminded modern folks of Roller Derby....
P.S.
___________________
* The non-crossed out term being the one by which Iulius Kaisar would'a known it, precisely as he would have not so much recognized "Julius" as being any part of his name. Durn furriners! --Er, credit to Anon in comments: that is he would have, if the blame thing hadn't gone and had itself built long after he was safely dead. Where'd Romans go for a day's entertainment during the late Republic/early Empire, then? Double-durn furriners!
I'm reminded of that triumph of Roman Engineering, the water organ, thanks to which a day at the
P.S.
___________________
* The non-crossed out term being the one by which Iulius Kaisar would'a known it, precisely as he would have not so much recognized "Julius" as being any part of his name. Durn furriners! --Er, credit to Anon in comments: that is he would have, if the blame thing hadn't gone and had itself built long after he was safely dead. Where'd Romans go for a day's entertainment during the late Republic/early Empire, then? Double-durn furriners!
Indy Blogmeet
It's on. Sunday, 27 July 2008. 3:00 pm. We'll meet at Broad Ripple Brew Pub and figure out where to go from there. Kewl barbeque jernt right across the way?
BR may be hoppin', there's a NASCAR race earlier that day. Just sayin'.
BR may be hoppin', there's a NASCAR race earlier that day. Just sayin'.
The ABC Of Me
Accent: American Midwestern. While this may seem like no accent at all, pity the poor Brits who've had to try decoding it over a transAtlantic telephone connection: compared to most versions, Midwestern has but one vowel sound, the schwa.
Breakfast or no breakfast: Breakfast! Oatmeal and coffee, most days; mad breakfast hash or pancakes as weekend indulgences.
Chore I don’t care for: The litter box.
Dog or Cat: 4 cats in the house -- two mine, two Tam's.
Essential Electronics: Why, yes, a lot of it with toooobes.
Favorite Cologne: A city in Germany? --Mostly I don't do scent. Giorgio during my wild, ill-spent youth. My tomcat disapproves of it, very, very much.
Gold or Silver: Silver. I'm too pale for gold.
Handbag I carry most often: Beat-up carry purse, chosen for maximum number of useful compartments.
Insomnia: Very rarely. This has not always been the case but you'd be amazed what maintaining a high level of physical activity will do for the ability to fall asleep.
Job Title: Chief Operator/Senior RF Technician
Kids: Baby goats are cute! Children, less so.
Living Arrangements: Roomate who is even crazier than me. Of course, she says the same thing.
Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Disregard for rules. Failure to respect authority. Insolence. Yes, yes, what a su-prise.
Overnight hospital stays: Lots. Most recent after a motorcycle accident. Otherwise, well, you wouldn't want my sinuses.
Phobias: Being alone in the dark. Strange men.
Quote: "There are better way to go through life than to be dragged kicking and screaming."
Reason to Smile: I woke up this morning and I was Still Here!
Siblings: Older sister, younger brother. Funny, there used to be large age gaps between us.
Time I wake up: 5:00 am if I'm on-track, 6 if it's a lazy week.
Unusual Talent or Skill: Define "unusual." Being able to put one's feet behind one's head? Do hand lettering? Slap verse together in a hurry? To have built an X-ray machine as a teenager?
Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Yams. I still can't believe anyone eats those things.
Worst Habit: Procrastinating.
X-rays: Yep. Wanna see? I have 3-D CAT scans of my skull! (See "sinuses," above). Also radiographs of the steel plates and screws in my right leg. Oh what fun.
Yummy Stuff: Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee with real cream and turbinado sugar. Homemade bean soup with plenty of raw onion and celery and fresh cornbread and margarine. Morels. Chocolate. Fresh popovers. (I need a better kitchen range!)
Zoo Animal I Like Most: Either Golden Lion Tamarinds or Clouded Leopards.
Breakfast or no breakfast: Breakfast! Oatmeal and coffee, most days; mad breakfast hash or pancakes as weekend indulgences.
Chore I don’t care for: The litter box.
Dog or Cat: 4 cats in the house -- two mine, two Tam's.
Essential Electronics: Why, yes, a lot of it with toooobes.
Favorite Cologne: A city in Germany? --Mostly I don't do scent. Giorgio during my wild, ill-spent youth. My tomcat disapproves of it, very, very much.
Gold or Silver: Silver. I'm too pale for gold.
Handbag I carry most often: Beat-up carry purse, chosen for maximum number of useful compartments.
Insomnia: Very rarely. This has not always been the case but you'd be amazed what maintaining a high level of physical activity will do for the ability to fall asleep.
Job Title: Chief Operator/Senior RF Technician
Kids: Baby goats are cute! Children, less so.
Living Arrangements: Roomate who is even crazier than me. Of course, she says the same thing.
Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Disregard for rules. Failure to respect authority. Insolence. Yes, yes, what a su-prise.
Overnight hospital stays: Lots. Most recent after a motorcycle accident. Otherwise, well, you wouldn't want my sinuses.
Phobias: Being alone in the dark. Strange men.
Quote: "There are better way to go through life than to be dragged kicking and screaming."
Reason to Smile: I woke up this morning and I was Still Here!
Siblings: Older sister, younger brother. Funny, there used to be large age gaps between us.
Time I wake up: 5:00 am if I'm on-track, 6 if it's a lazy week.
Unusual Talent or Skill: Define "unusual." Being able to put one's feet behind one's head? Do hand lettering? Slap verse together in a hurry? To have built an X-ray machine as a teenager?
Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Yams. I still can't believe anyone eats those things.
Worst Habit: Procrastinating.
X-rays: Yep. Wanna see? I have 3-D CAT scans of my skull! (See "sinuses," above). Also radiographs of the steel plates and screws in my right leg. Oh what fun.
Yummy Stuff: Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee with real cream and turbinado sugar. Homemade bean soup with plenty of raw onion and celery and fresh cornbread and margarine. Morels. Chocolate. Fresh popovers. (I need a better kitchen range!)
Zoo Animal I Like Most: Either Golden Lion Tamarinds or Clouded Leopards.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Catching Up
The non-cash wages of excessive OT:
New Jovian Thunderbolt had a Blogiversary and I missed it. :(
Squeaky Wheel Blog* was gettin' Google-whopped by some lefty whiner. Can't have that. Must fix.
________________________
* Officially "Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease." Google-fu, y'know. Did I mention she's a Carry Permit Holder?
New Jovian Thunderbolt had a Blogiversary and I missed it. :(
Squeaky Wheel Blog* was gettin' Google-whopped by some lefty whiner. Can't have that. Must fix.
________________________
* Officially "Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease." Google-fu, y'know. Did I mention she's a Carry Permit Holder?
Saturday, July 19, 2008
It's Got To Be Fixed
But I don't mind:
My results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)
You are good at fixing things.
You are usually cheerful.
You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.
Click here to take the "Which Serenity character are you?" quiz...
My results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)
You are usually cheerful.
You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.
Click here to take the "Which Serenity character are you?" quiz...
One Out Of Four
One in four Victoria's Secret models has her doubts about the other three...
You don't suppose any of them are -- could they be? Fat lot of good it would do them on most campuses -- carry permit holders?
You don't suppose any of them are -- could they be? Fat lot of good it would do them on most campuses -- carry permit holders?
30-Odd Hours Later
...And the successful completion of a migraine later (oh! Aura! Not to mention prodrome), things are lookin' up. The Big Secret Project is (essentially) complete and will be unveiled Monday or Tuesday and even Evil Boss unbent enough to make today's OT optional rather than mandatory. Me, I have thus far passed on it (see opening sentence) but may yet go in to catch up on tasks left undone while the push was on.
I may even be able to post before & after photos of the work.
And, for anyone who needs to run a big 240 Volt appliance on 110, allow me to point you at the nifty big toroids Digi-Key sells. They are definitely in the "assembly required" class but after running a 3000 VA (call it 3 kiloWatts) version for a week, I have been very happy so far. Mind you, that's big enough that it's not a wall-socket application on the primary side -- it takes a 30 Amp breaker and fat #10 wire. --For hobbyists with less heavy-duty applications, I have long been of the opinion that toroidal iron is the best way to go unless low cost is the prime requirement. For only a little more than the price of conventional iron, you get less volume, less stray magnetic field, lower core losses and better inherent regulation with varying loads. What not to like? They're even good for audio -- Western Electric's legendary 111C repeat coil, which offers specs to make audiophiles swoon, is a toroidal transformer. (N.B, WeCo never claimed any better flatness than zero dB change between 30 cycles to 15 kc/s but real-world response far exceeds the spec). Besides: donuts. Mmmmm.
I may even be able to post before & after photos of the work.
And, for anyone who needs to run a big 240 Volt appliance on 110, allow me to point you at the nifty big toroids Digi-Key sells. They are definitely in the "assembly required" class but after running a 3000 VA (call it 3 kiloWatts) version for a week, I have been very happy so far. Mind you, that's big enough that it's not a wall-socket application on the primary side -- it takes a 30 Amp breaker and fat #10 wire. --For hobbyists with less heavy-duty applications, I have long been of the opinion that toroidal iron is the best way to go unless low cost is the prime requirement. For only a little more than the price of conventional iron, you get less volume, less stray magnetic field, lower core losses and better inherent regulation with varying loads. What not to like? They're even good for audio -- Western Electric's legendary 111C repeat coil, which offers specs to make audiophiles swoon, is a toroidal transformer. (N.B, WeCo never claimed any better flatness than zero dB change between 30 cycles to 15 kc/s but real-world response far exceeds the spec). Besides: donuts. Mmmmm.
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