Keyhole full of lollipops

Ending incandescent bulb production: Are LED bulbs the answer?

2012-01-16T16:47:00.000-06:00

∙ ∙ ∙

I got an email today from a non-tech friend with this link in it.
http://www.asiapacificnews.net/story/202667941#.TxO7Bn2Wej0.email

It gave me the opportunity to think about and compose an answer for that audience about my own major doubts about the state of LED bulb production as a successor for the ubiquitous incandescent illumination bulb. U.S. law caused the "phasing out" of all production of standard household incandescent bulbs beginning 1/1/2012.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/story/2011-12-28/light-bulb-rules/52256656/1

Here is my reply to him...and to you:
Thanks for bringing that up. I first have a quote for you:

Quite a bit of the GeoBulb’s light is directional. It’s very bright directly underneath it, but if you move far off to the side, it’s not producing nearly as much incidental light as the incandescent bulb. For many situations, this isn’t a problem at all – recessed lights and lamps won’t skip a beat. However, for other uses (such as a single bulb that lights a small room), you may want to wait for next generation LEDs.

That is exactly the problem with LED bulbs. The physical function of how LEDs GENERATE light is behind the problem. Incandescent bulb filaments squirt out light as if from a point source. (Imagine a point in space that emits the same light as a 100W bulb in all THREE dimensions.) You can see the shape of the light intensity in this diagram. It is the large set of lines...just extend them all the rest of the way around the bulb.

The way an LED works is that the light is instead generated out from the SURFACE of the "semiconductor junction" that creates it. So, in the same mental state, imagine the light of a 100W bulb squirting out instead from the SURFACE of a tabletop straight up from it with some spread, but mainly only UP. Now think about how many tiny LEDs it would take to accomplish sending light in all the directions we use light from a generic home light bulb to illuminate! Being drastically efficient at squirting light out of a tiny hole (too simple, I know) is NOT the same as sending it effortlessly in all directions.

Part two of the problem is that in order to WORK, incandescent bulbs have to incandesce or get hot enough to glow white hot. So heat is part of what makes 'em work and the distribution and dissipation of that has been solved over the last 120+ years. But the heat generated by the LED function is the BANE of their existence. And dissipating it is one of the major problems standing in their way of being successful. The hotter they get, the WORSE they work. That is why the bottom part of most of the LED bulbs is a metal heat radiator. Having that metal all over the base is also one of the things that means they eat up lots of resources (metal production and crafting of the heat sink) to create. See the image below. That may be partially done away with by the top developmental quote where a company has new bulbs with liquid cooling.

In order partially overcome the part one above, the makers put many, many LEDs inside the bulb to attempt to squirt light out in several directions. But it takes a whole lot of "several" to equal "all", so they compromise by only squirting light vaguely less than that above some horizontal plane surface. That is the part of the quote about not having light off to the side of straight out the end of the bulb. This is shown by the 60º beam angle shown below where the light has already dropped off to only half what it is straight out the end of the bulb. This makes the bulbs seem more like spotlights instead of general light bulbs. If you are viewing really wide items, you might have to move the item you're viewing around to stay in the bright part of the light pattern. I do not like this.

Part three of the problem is that there are several common methods out there for powering LED's. Why all the fuss? It boils down to this:
1) LED's are very sensitive to the voltage used to power them (ie, the current changes a lot with a small change in voltage)
2) The required voltage changes a bit when the LED is put in hot or cold air, and also depending on the color of the LED, and manufacturing details.
Incandescent bulbs work over a fairly wide range, but their target brightness and effective color temperature is only achieved in a few volt range of the 120 volts we have from household power. But the above numbered statements say we can't power the LED bulb the same if it is in a 140º attic as we can when it is dangling outside in -10º blizzard. The circuits have to be very careful how they arrange this, which means NO direct application of the household power: there have to be electronic control circuits containing many components built into the base of the bulbs, thus adding complexity and room for failure of one of the tiny parts to ruin your whole $30-40 bulb, as there is no replacing parts inside the bulbs. They are manufactured so the parts are NOT replaceable by the consumer.

See how hard it is to explain the idea of what the makers of the WONDER LED BULBS gloss over in their gushing rush to get ya to buy their bulbs? These makers are trying really hard to get you to buy these darned bulbs at $30-40 a pop, but THIS EE is not havin' any o' dat. They have to get mucho better-o before I bite. And they darned well better get a heap cheaper.

Hope I didn't lose you in the discussion. I tried hard to keep it on a non-EE-level basis. But feel free to ask comment.

New use for mini-copters

2011-12-15T13:57:00.005-06:00

This National Geographic assignment was just called to my attention. They are being used on the Serengeti to enable new views of lions and other wildlife there. There are a series of posts at the linked page that detail the photographer's assignment and the ways he has chosen to get around obstacles to achieve the best photos possible. It is worth a read.

Comments are welcomed.

No fade, no run, no erase, no disappear

2011-11-08T00:43:00.002-06:00

Here is a blog post that features a set of tests for a pen with which to write your lab notes, if you plan on them being around through some sort of accident after they are written. Several different kinds of pens are tested, and the winners of permanent writing are discussed.

Comments are welcomed.

Ridin' the rails to nowhere

2011-10-21T00:20:00.004-05:00

In case you are one of those folks who are desperately in love with old train cars or never got over the tug at your heart over a toy train set, there's this fellow's post. He details some of the interesting homes people have made out of cabooses or other train cars long retired, but still serviceable from a domicile point of view.

I found the page while I was researching a scene from a 1973 trip across the Sierra Madres on a passenger train. It was the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad. Far up in the mountains, I saw families living in old boxcars on short sidings. They had cheery window boxes with flowers in them during the June trip. Children were at play outside of the several boxcars. They had cut doors and windows more suitable for a dwelling in the sides, with stairs leading up to the doors.

From the quick perspective of passing the homes out on a mountain siding, they looked very minimal and near infinitely remote. But think...they had company pass right by several times a week in the form of the train I was on.

Comments welcomed.

2011-10-12T12:32:00.003-05:00

Today's Google logo has paid 90th birthday tribute to artist Art Clokey and his creation, Gumby In this tribute page, you can see Clokey's first clay film, done on his parent's table tennis table. It does not star Gumby, but it is a fun, early animation in modeled clay.

Location of ALL Austin Moonlight Towers

2011-09-26T23:56:00.003-05:00

Moonlight towers are one of the really fun things left from the end of the 19th century in Austin. There is a dark story behind their creation that you can read here. They have been decimated by construction permission, accidents and "accidents", as well as benign neglect. Expensive work was done not too long ago to refurbish them and prevent further failure for some time to come. I was trying to answer a question about an old photo tonight that showed a moonlight tower in the background. In my research, I found this map at the Austin History Center Web site. If you are interested in the topic, all current and past tower sites are marked on the map.

Comments welcomed.

Project Gutenberg Founder Dies

2011-09-09T22:55:00.003-05:00

Wow. Somehow I didn't expect THIS fellow to disappear on us. The founder of Project Gutenberg died at 62. Whether or not you have a Kindle, you can download readable eBooks of many, many, many books written further back than a valid copyright goes. Pretty much any classic you can think of is available for free. It won't smell musty and won't take up space on your bookshelf, but there it will be, waiting on you to read it when you wish to do so. Worth a read...and a follow-up visit to see what you can snag to read....and a bookmark in your browser.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/09/project-gutenbergs-michael-hart-builder-of-public-libraries-tinkerer.html

Comments welcomed.

A man for THIS season: Al Yankovic

2011-09-01T09:25:00.003-05:00

Al Yankovic (some call him "Weird") is a man who is so intimately plugged in to our society that his lyrics sound like they were written for me...just for me to send out to those people like you hear about

==> RIGHT HERE <==

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSA7kKNu2Y

A maze within a maze within a photograph

2011-09-01T00:07:00.003-05:00

Wow. If you have the time, read this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/15/korea.photography?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

Every revelation of a facet of life in N Korea strikes sparks of fear in my heart that one day others will not only wish to emulate that country's leaders, but successfully DO SO. Yow.

As a citizen of the world, there is not much other than instant annihilation that is quite so repugnant to me.

I'd love to see the book, though, in order to see the sheer, steely face of maximum repression...and still be safely a half world away.

Scraping two photos together...

2011-07-29T12:03:00.002-05:00

I just went through the several years of this blog and refreshed the photo entries. (You don't think *I* really took all those photos, did you?)
It wasn't a long and completely arduous task, since it gave me a chance to once more mull over what I've written. This post today is just a reminder that there is more to the blog than what you're reading this minute. If you have some spare time, please go back and re-read all that amuse or edify your consciousness. You be the judge.

Comments still encouraged.

2011-07-22T11:41:00.002-05:00

Huzzah! Comics from the Web, specifically tailored for daily read for ME! I figured out how to get beyond the recent merge of my favorite comics site (Comics.com) with GoComics.com. I lost all my RSS feeds, which had given me daily strips not carried in my local paper. Now they are back and arranged in any order I want with ability to read 6-10 days of back strips, should I fail to catch them daily.

If you need any help doing this, drop me a line and we can probably work it out. All you need is a browser for your computer and a free subscription to Google and GoComics.com!

Comments welcomed.

The power of one

2011-07-18T00:39:00.003-05:00

If you only had ONE word to share with the world, what word would that be?
Imagine taking your moment of universal fame and blurting that word to a worldwide audience, some of whom might actually take it in.
Imagine what they would do with it.
Would it change their lives?
If not, then how many words WOULD it take to change ONE person's life?

Would TWO?

Comments welcomed.
[also, see
http://atthewindow.blogspot.com/2011/07/one.html
http://rtmulcahy.wordpress.com/2010/09/]

An Assortment of Sentiment: Dang Me

2011-07-13T20:38:00.003-05:00

There I was, just sitting here in my daily currents and undercurrents of life...then I got around to really paying more attention to a recent email from ole ham radio & college buddy, Bill Byrom of Irving, TX. In the email, he threw out a couple of links that made my hair (and my backbone) just stand up straight, wake up from daily life and decide that there might be more out there than meets the ear. Check it out.

Quoting:
was listening to Undercurrents on the local KXT public FM station and heard the Buddy Miller band version of the old Roger Miller (unrelated, as far as I know) song Dang Me. Listen to these versions:

Roger Miller (who wrote Dang Me) on Hee Haw. It started out as a comedic country song.
The Majestic Silver Strings (featuring Marc Anthony Thompson on vocals) live -- isn't this a great blues version! That's Buddy Miller with Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot and Greg Leisz.
Buddy Miller (featuring Chocolate Genius - Marc Anthony Thompson) -- The studio version I heard on Undercurrents.

Comments welcomed...

Buggin' the 21st Century

2011-07-11T22:03:00.003-05:00

A friend sent a link to this blog post today. It was written by a fellow who uses one of my favorite tools: A semi-automatic key or bug. That is what the manufacturer of them, Vibroplex, calls these wonders of very old technology. I won't stand in the way of the nicely written blog post. Enjoy!

Comments welcomed.

Science Fiction on the Web: Pioneer One

2011-05-22T00:12:00.002-05:00

A friend just told me today about an exciting series on the Web: Pioneer One. Here is what I know about it so far. You can watch it via YouTube.

About Pioneer One
http://www.pioneerone.tv/about/
Pioneer One Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoYnnsiicwE
Wikipedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_One
Pioneer One Episode 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68RD46kl8ng
Episode 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG-iLENGDrk
Episode 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32YBygD3_iM
Episode 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbThDmSGCNM

Sharing of "Your So-called Education"

2011-05-16T21:39:00.002-05:00

This article from the New York Times exactly counters the Texas governor's wish for "$10,000 degree" plans, and evaluation of professors largely by student reviews. If you are of an age to be working your way through a college or university or if you have close relatives who are, please take the time to read this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/opinion/15arum.html

And if you wish, comment on what you think as a result of having read it.

Social networking?: That’s How We Roll

2011-04-11T13:59:00.003-05:00

Who knew that this bizarre looking device was the basis for a whole sport in Germany?
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/awesome-rolling-guy-makes-awesome-rolling-contraption.html

I think with my loss of half my balance center (my left inner ear), this might make me very sick. But I would have really enjoyed it, I believe, before this happened. It even seems to be oriented to electrical engineering...at least the way this fellow gained the hoops to use.

Comments welcomed.

New physics rider on a dark horse

2011-04-06T10:00:00.003-05:00

There may be a new cowboy in Physics Town, riding in on a dark horse, just as the saloon is closing down for good. Check the link, pardner.

How to (possibly) get your lost camera back

2011-04-04T16:34:00.002-05:00

I followed this Washington Post Technology tip's advice today. I created a textual image of the default camera image size that told how to get the camera back to me by various ways AND I included a small image of my face, in case I might be in the room with the finder when they discovered my missing camera. That last is something the article failed to mention. I also made the filename of the file one that included what it was for and my name. I pasted the photo image in the default sub-folder of the card where my images live AND in the root of the card in case I forgot and removed the special image from the sub-folder when I remove the photos.

But, this only works if you create and store the suggested image RIGHT NOW to your camera's memory card. And, while you're at it, also store the image to the extra cards you keep in your camera bag. Someone finding THEM might return the bag to you if they see your request.

Comments welcomed.

The seeming inevitability of "progress"

2011-03-18T00:37:00.002-05:00

Another name for "progress" in instances such as the site I use to type in this blog entry (which is http://www.blogger.com) is to do the same things differently. I just read that the site is going to change things for those of us who type things in. How much fun is that? We will get to mentally run around like rats in a maze, checking out what could possibly have changed (WHAT!? Tell the users? Why would we want to do that? It is far more fun to see 'em run around like ants.)

So, I don't see any changes yet in what I see as I type this in. If you see that things are different from YOUR point of view, please send me a comment and tell me what you've found. Unsettling as change is, I suspect that I can cope with all that it brings.

AHN't they wonderful?

2011-02-25T14:45:00.003-06:00

This post is to introduce a wonderful trio (piano, violin & cello), who are playing a delightful (!) piece. It is a part of the TED: series of presentations on the Web. The subtitle of their works are always "Ideas Worth Sharing". This one definitely IS worth that and more. TEDWomen is the particular occasion. Read about the Ahn sisters when you follow THIS LINK to the two pieces: They start with the bright and poppy "Skylife," by David Balakrishnan, then play a gorgeous, slinky version of "Oblivion," by Astor Piazzolla.

As always, comments welcomed.

'Nobody Knows' the videos I've seen...

2011-02-01T14:06:00.003-06:00

There are many styles of music video on display. I enjoyed the inventiveness of the first ones that went beyond simply showing the band or singer standing on a stage and giving you the music you came there for. The one for 'Her Morning Elegance' really grabbed my attention and held it for the whole strange trip it takes you on for the lady's dreams and the singer's song. I recommend it to your viewing...and listening.

Thanks to Dagmar Kusa for pointing it out.

May your eyes take in and your mind comprehend

2010-12-07T09:58:00.002-06:00

National Geographic <== That organization's magazine's name rings through the centuries (now) as a bastion for the perfect photograph of distant places, scenes, animals, people, insects. Belches of fire from earthly openings below the crust; rushing, raging rivers; along with quiet moments of peaceful tranquility are all shown in its pages. This annual contest seems to distill the best of the best for passive viewers to take in and gasp at pangs of feelings evoked about what we see.

Enjoy!

Comments welcomed.

Large solar arrays come to San Antonio

2010-12-01T16:11:00.006-06:00

There are all kinds of negative comments coming the way of renewable energy projects. We went to San Antonio this week and saw this installation. It is impressively LARGE.

"The Blue Wing solar farm near San Antonio, Texas is operational and producing 16.6 megawatts of DC power (14.4 megawatts AC). It’s the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in Texas and the third largest PV farm in the U.S. The amount of generation from the facility is approximately 25,000 megawatt-hours.

"The installation includes a 500-kilowatt demonstration facility where an assortment of thin film and crystalline silicon PV modules as well as a concentrating PV unit have been installed for research and comparison purposes." Quote from Juwi Solar.

Ideas for a "Homemade Christmas"

2010-11-30T15:31:00.005-06:00

My friend, Gary, said:
Avoid the "Great Gift Card Exchange" AKA "Money Swap"..... here's a starting place.... http://www.instructables.com/community/Letter-from-the-Editor-Homemade-for-the-Holidays/
To which I added:
Here are more thoughts for the homemade gift group:
Hand scrub with lemon
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/05/mothers_day_homemade_hand_scru.html
Homemade gift contest winners
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/01/homemade_gift_contest_win.html
More gifts to make
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/instructables_diy_gift_id.html
Gift cards you can make
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/holiday_projects/?p=2
Gifts for "foodies" on your list
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/11/gifts_for_foodies.html
If you have a youngster, this might be interesting:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Kinetic-Marble-Track-Around-The-Top-Of-A-Room/

Whatever you have in mind beyond these ideas, you are welcome to make a comment here.

POEM: Ode to "Weeping Onion (in the desert)"

2010-11-22T11:09:00.002-06:00

Ode to "Weeping Onion (in the desert)"
(c) Richard Herndon 2010

I thought that my eyes
Were running in tears,
From peeling an onion
I'd had for years.

I thought that my life
Was down in the drain,
From living a life
I'd never regain.

I thought that you'd done
A painting for me.
My life seemed so much
Like the image, you see.

I thought that I'd peel
The layers on back,
And wind up again,
My life now on track.

I thought that when
I finished peeling it away,
My essential life'd be
Full of color, not gray.

I thought that would be
The life so good and grand,
But when I finished it was
"Weeping Onion" in the sand.

Art was by Theresa Bayer:
http://tbarts.blogspot.com/
Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tbarts

Inside - Outside | A Poem

2010-11-20T14:27:00.002-06:00

Inside - Outside
(c) Rick Herndon 2010

On the furniture,
Inside the rooms,
Inside the house,
Inside your mind.

Soft the cushions,
Warm the air,
Light the music,
Inside your mind.

Color the dream,
Swap the images,
Hear the speaking,
Inside your mind.

Solve the equations,
Write the themes,
Study the books,
Inside your mind.

Get the degree,
Get the job,
Get the recognition,
Inside your mind.

Have the marriage,
Have the children,
Have the grandchildren,
Inside your mind.

Resolve your problems,
Rethink your life,
Isn't life lovely,
Outside your mind?

Now for the NEWS (?)

2010-11-19T09:00:00.002-06:00

I just got around to reading this commentary by Ted Koppel to the Washington Post today. Within the last three months, I finally got around to seeing "Good Night and Good Luck", the story of Edward R. Murrow's battle to report the truth during the McCarthy hearings. I can't help but feel that this commentary should also be seen by everyone.

Growing up listening to shortwave radio broadcasts from both sides of the "Iron Curtain", I early on picked up on the obvious propaganda efforts. But, back then they were government sponsored by each of the different governments. What this commentary covers is a breakdown of our news system and corporations changing the expectations of new crops of consumers (which is seemingly how we're viewed).

Worth a read.

Comments?

The Web Playroom

2010-10-16T00:04:00.004-05:00

Okay, there are things that you can miss in life...or a day...or a month...or for a while, and things will be just the same...maybe even better. But, if you miss out on watching/hearing THIS VIDEO, then I'm not sure how it will affect you. But (listen to me now), you will not be the same as you will be if you DO watch/listen to it. I'm betting that there is something for just about everyone that will change you when you listen to this one. You will have a slightly skewed vision of the world; maybe you will have an elevated mood for a while (or forever). You might even get elected to some office (or leave one that you've already been elected to), but I really shouldn't speculate on that one.

I'm just suggesting here that you check this out. Let me know here by commenting if you think you might be different after you watch/listen to it. Or if you are not. And why. Or why not.

Comments welcomed. (I am pretty sure I am different.)

$3 million worth of elapsed time = 3.5 days!

2010-10-13T14:44:00.004-05:00

This expenditure seems to pour forth in front of your eyes in 12 minutes. It was actually a fellow with an overlook of the work done at Church and 30th in San Francisco to replace the intersecting streetcar tracks in a public works extravaganza for the householders whose houses are there. He says they were provided with earplugs for the duration.

I think I would have probably gone somewhere on a short vacation or found some place else to stay until it was over. However, this time lapse photography video is fascinating to watch. He used a Canon A590is camera with some software written by others and installed temporarily on boot-up via the SD card used to record the 18,520, automatic-setting photos to create the video. I found out about it via MAKE: blog.

Kindle: Please not for the short of thought!

2010-10-12T23:39:00.003-05:00

Are we ready for Kindle to be the "Short Attention Span Theater" of this portion of the 21st century? I am seriously hoping not. That's what we have quick-cut TV shows for, to mentally jerk your head (and mind) this way and that, so you can't think of something for more than a couple of seconds at a time. There are those to whom this has become more than a way of life: they seek that experience throughout life and, thus, miss out on ALL of life that takes careful thought and rumination to take in and build upon.

If you are wondering what I'm talking about, check THIS LINK out.

Comments welcomed.

English is dead!!

2010-09-22T15:06:00.004-05:00

I really enjoy critical essays like this one on the ways folks are misusing our native language these days. We sometimes forget that our forebears did exactly the same thing. There just weren't as many folks around to criticize the results. And spellings seemed to be even less standardized than they are now.

The wife and I played the very enjoyable word-based card game called "Quiddler" for lunch. We had at hand a very official Scrabble Dictionary (4th Edition) that we use to arbitrate our games. Having a dictionary that is ONLY filled with legal words for our game is so superior to using a standard dictionary and STILL arguing over words that, once we got this one in our hands, we haven't looked back.

So, if all I've said makes sense to you and you enjoy words, playing with words and having FUN with words, PLEASE read the link at the top sentence of this post.

Comments welcomed.

A never-ending comic strip

2010-09-22T00:09:00.003-05:00

Life can't get much better than THAT, now, can it? Yet someone has come up with the requisite item. You can read about it here.

It reminds me of that old Aggie joke where you hand someone a piece of paper that on both sides says, "Do you know how to keep an Aggie busy? (over)" and watch the ensuing fun (if they have never seen it before).

International Day of World Peace

2010-09-21T23:08:00.005-05:00

The 2010 celebration of this International Day of World Peace has come and by the time I'm typing this text, almost gone.

Tonight, at our house, we watched via TiVo the David Letterman interview with ex-president Clinton the other night about his Clinton Global Initiative. I personally think that if we in this time (all over this place called "Earth") are ever going to dig ourselves out of the whole series of holes we've gotten ourselves into (including the persistent lack of world peace), it will have to be with a whole-world, concerted effort of the sort that this organization supports and urges. The interview on the David Letterman Show makes it almost okay to watch that one show of his.
Parts 1 to 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUr7VxRLKy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2noZoAWIxFI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EWvcLRkrWM

As Clinton says in the interview, this may well be his most important post-presidential contribution to the world at large. Only time will tell.

Hard Labor & Time Spent

2010-08-21T13:46:00.005-05:00

I just got back this week from a few weeks spent at hard labor. Even some of the folks I was paying money to for their own labor commented on being surprised at my efforts. Cleaning up a house and property for leasing is something I take very seriously. I tried my best, and the efforts paid off with a completed lease to folks who seem very nice. There are a crowd of supporters who made it all go much easier, not the least of which are my wife and E.C. Gee.

Getting back home was comforting. I didn't get to sample much of the more cosmopolitan life in Austin, since I was totally engaged in the clean-up efforts.

Error, try again (in red)

2010-07-20T19:56:00.005-05:00

I'm seeing red.

Have you ever been so frustrated that you could {insert absurd and possibly illegal or antisocial action here} I guess my rope is finally frayed and out of length in my efforts to be successful at simply posting my comments on the YouTube site to various video posts already there. You'd think that would be absurdly easy. My wife thinks so, as she has already left several comments and greeted my outbursts of frustration this afternoon with laughter.

Every time I sign in the site and attempt to leave a comment, the comment text is held in place and in red letter out to the left of the button I click on to leave comments, I see the text, "Error, try again". No amount of all the different things I can think of to fix this have resulted in any change in the situation.

I went to the YouTube help page and found the first reporting of the problem is April 7, 2010. Someone named "Liz" answered from the YouTube staff almost immediately and said their "engineers" would fix this known bug in a "few days". It is now mid-July and I still seem to be having this problem on a regular basis. I was successful at posting a new request for help on that site and will await the results.

Meanwhile, I wonder if "Liz" is another name for the old 8-bit computer program "Eliza" and the whole YouTube help page is simply something to keep the users busy while the minions are working behind the curtains...while the wizard is doing whatever he wants. {Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain.}

Thanks for letting me vent...
Comments welcomed.

Ahhh, the 4th of July!

2010-07-06T15:17:00.005-05:00

Ahhh, the 4th of July. The quintessential time for outdoor activities with family and friends. We had a friend here from Austin and went to other friends' house to swim and take in the views of the fireworks folks set off around the nearby lake after dark. What fun! I'd never done that with all the OOOOHs and AAAAAHs and LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK OVER THERE! We sat along the shore and had a great time until about 9:45, when we all decided it was time to be getting home. The pie above was brought as a treat by one of the folks at the get together. It was a SCRUMPTIOUS strawberry pie, which was served with whipped cream, much to the delight of all who tried it! Be sure to notice the stars and squiggily stripes on the top crust.

Until next year...

Judging why the judges decide NOT to judge

2010-06-08T15:05:00.003-05:00

This opinion piece has a really good idea, taken from my own viewing of the facts in this miscarriage of justice. We elect and appoint judges to judge. They know when their right to recuse themselves should be implemented. However, they don't have to tell WHY they are recusing themselves. A cascading set of such actions has set the stage to nullify a correct verdict in a lower court. Worth a read...

Creating a file/folder text listing in Windows

2010-06-08T12:01:00.001-05:00

Creating a file list to send others in Windows. Have you ever (like me) wanted to send someone a list of files in a folder or a list of folders on a drive? (in Windows, but you were stifled by Windows' lack of ability to perform that function?) Well, laydeez and gennulmen, SUFFER NO MORE!

I followed these SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS and created the ability to do such in my Windows operating system in about 3 minutes, which included reading the instructions. Why the Microsoft overlords would fail to put such in the operating system is beyond me...but now it can be done.

U.S.A. Oligarchs and Oligarchy For Real?

2010-05-10T16:08:00.003-05:00

Well, author Michael Ventura thinks so. In this article in the latest Austin Chronicle newspaper, he posits that notion. If you have a chance to read it, please comment back to this post. Maybe a conversation will ensue?

Comments welcomed.

One good thread deserves another

2010-04-02T12:22:00.004-05:00

I recently posted this on facebook, but I realized that not all the folks who read my blog are represented there. So, enjoy the hardware view of how to get lost in the modern myriad of strange screws and screwdrivers. A partial title for it is "When a Phillips Is Not a Phillips...."

Moseying beyond the oughts

2010-03-25T18:37:00.003-05:00

I was talking with our small town's city secretary. We had recently been at the city council meeting together. She announced proudly that her learning curve included results for my asking repeatedly for the past council minutes and the next meeting's agenda to be posted on the town's (mostly unused) Web site for all to see and evaluate. Current custom was to post the agenda pages on the City Hall front window with tape, so interested parties could peruse the agenda. Minutes were mostly unavailable to the public.

When even small towns are getting onto the Web with more than just place markers, it is a good sign to me that more universally available information about them is being promulgated and that government is becoming more open. When only the people who know where to ask and wheedle and beg and plead to see minutes of public meetings are rewarded with a few pages (with possibly a per-page charge, depending on the government involved) vs. just cranking up a browser and looking for anyone knowing or asking ONE time for the page address, I feel like progress is being made.

Now, I'll start asking for inputs for citizens on that Web page, like question & answer and reporting problems around town. Things like the state transportation department's video camera that sets when the light turns red has not been changed since a street became one-way. That means folks wanting to turn left onto the town's main street were rewarded with waiting until forever for the light to turn green for their turn. Or another newly one-way street had a missing sign to notify motorists who might have turned into oncoming traffic without the warning the sign allows. Or a school crossing sign with a missing bolt that's now swinging upside down across the street from our house. The government is nothing without the eyes and ears of the populace to help them keep up with what needs fixing.

Stand by for the progress evident in the new decade, in spite of poor economic conditions.

Comments are welcomed.

Having a ball with bearings

2010-03-13T09:37:00.003-06:00

Having been closely involved with bearings since the 6th grade, I was nonetheless impressed with this short video telling of some of the myriad processes and machinery that make them happen in most of our devices that roll and spin and move about. Isn't technology fun?

Comments welcomed.

I am not a futurist

2010-02-15T09:15:00.005-06:00

This blog post essay is from a science fiction author from Britain.

You can verify her post's contention by rereading lots of the 50's and 60's SF (or a smattering sample thereof) to see that, although they write about a far-distant future for the most part, they are writing ABOUT today's issues and concerns.

Even if authors try hard to think they are cutting edge or beyond when they write about the future, if they are going to be successful, they HAVE to write for the audience who will read or purchase their material. As an example, it would have been fairly fruitless for someone in the 1920's to write a body of literature exploring a future with race relations as we find them in the 21st century reality. The world and the reading public just was not ready to embrace the ideas that underlie the day-to-day workings of our world.

Comments are welcomed.

Boggled by farads

2010-01-27T11:09:00.005-06:00

For technical or physics-minded folks: Recall when the news of a big capacitor was that a 0.5 to 1.0 farad capacitor would fill a good-sized barn? Well, I just heard from an old friend that there is this news that this company is now selling capacitors that are up to 5,000 farads in value!

As the friend puts it: "And I don’t mean 5000 units of a one farad capacitor… That’s 5,000,000,000 microfarads/part!"

But (and here's possibly one catch for some practical uses for these parts to replace batteries for emergency operations), the parts are rated at 2.7 volts.

Comments are welcomed.

Generation gap squeeze: Children in cyberspace

2010-01-11T17:04:00.005-06:00

This NYTimes article about the social aspects of today's children, their interaction with electronic connections to cyberspace, the expectations they will have from those interactions, and what it will mean about the social divides between children only a few years apart in calendar age is a fascinating hypothesis and a disturbing one on the level of what it might mean in disruption to our society.

We who are older might be tempted to not think about this situation if it were not for articles like this which call it to our attention.

Comments welcomed.

50,000 hp in a used F-104 Starfighter body: Aiming for 800 mph on land!

2010-01-10T20:10:00.003-06:00

When I used to take my mother's 1954 Plymouth out on the soon-to-open loop on the west side of San Angelo, Texas, I had nothing like this baby in mind. This fellow has lots of folks helping him get things lined up right, since there's not much margin for error at land vehicle velocity beyond the speed of sound. But the idea of cranking up 50,000 hp and lettin' 'er rip is somewhat attractive. The idea of death or months of hospital recovery if there's a mistake doesn't seem in the same breath, so to mentally speak. The subject says what happened and the plans for the future. Read the article for details.

Whoosh! Shazam!

Comments welcomed.

Old plaster walls yield no WiFi & little cell signal

2010-01-03T06:45:00.002-06:00

Many of the places I lived in west Texas as a child had provisions for keeping chickens. I would never have thought of this problem back then. But, those places NEVER had plaster walls; they only had the wire in chicken coops.

The natural state of the human mind

2009-12-13T16:10:00.004-06:00

Well, I won't worry about ALL of the natural state of the human mind. I will just focus on the topic of numbers. I listened to this recent podcast today of the WNYC program "Radiolab". The program starts out with exploration of the minds of babies. How does a baby experience numbers? Who knows? Who knew? How does one find this out? Well, if all this interests you, then this podcast is a really, REALLY fun way to spend an hour being exposed to scientific research and the interior workings of the human mind in a joyful, experimental way that makes one happy to experience. Try it!

Comments welcomed.

A VERY different story: Christmas in Calgary

2009-12-10T23:09:00.002-06:00

Well, now THIS is a story unlike any I have ever heard before. If you have three minutes for a lovely lady, who tells quite a good story (even if I do say so), lend an ear and sit back. It's THAT time of year.

Comments welcomed.

A parallel point of view

2009-12-09T15:18:00.002-06:00

Since we observe things with both eyes at the same time, and all light that falls on our eyes is viewed at once, we don't really think about that concept too much. This is one man's way of showing the process.

Comments welcomed.

Asimov's fictional model used now

2009-12-05T11:33:00.002-06:00

I grew up reading science fiction. One of my very favorite authors was Isaac Asimov. He brought hard science into his stories in ways that made them ever so much more engaging and "real" to me as a science-enthused youngster of the 1950's. My favorite of his longer works was his Foundation trilogy (at least in the fifties...he later wrote several surrounding stories to expand on that future world).

The stories of this series were started by exposing readers to a brilliant mathematician named Hari Seldon, who used his skills to forecast actions of the many worlds in his civilization far into the future. Imagine MY surprise when I find out current, real-world arithmeticians are using current computers to work down the path he created in his stories!

Here is the abstract of the work done:

The Seldon model combines concepts from agent-based
modeling and social network analysis to create a computation
model of social dynamics for terrorist recruitment.
The underlying recruitment model is based on
a unique hybrid agent-based architecture that contains
simple agents (individuals such as expatriates) and abstract
agents (conceptual entities such as society and
mosques). Interactions between agents are determined
by multiple social networks which form and dissipate
according to the actions of the individual. We have implemented
a Java-based toolkit to evaluate the dynamics
of social behavior and the specific dynamics associated
with terrorist recruitment described by expert social scientists,
creating an architecture for simple adaptation to
other group phenomenon.

A fellow science fiction fan/ham radio operator sent me this link today (it is a Portable Document File). I'm pleased to expose you to it.

And researchers at Virginia Tech are using 163 variables from 100 gigabytes of population data to help them to determine possible influenza spread. Discussion of the effort can be found here.

Comments welcomed.

The Cheats Who Call Us

2009-12-02T11:01:00.002-06:00

Even if you are registered on the National Do Not Call List, companies are finding lots of ways around it. I found this on the eHow site:

Permission Tricks
Some scammers trick consumers into giving the scammer permission to call, despite the fact that the consumer's number is on the Do Not Call Registry. Scammers do this in a variety of ways, but one of the most common is to ask people to fill out contest entry forms at a fair, convention or other event. If you don't read the entire entry form, including the small print, you may not realize that by filling it out you have just given a company and its affiliates the right to call you. Websites often ask for your phone number and bury the fact that you've given them permission to call you in the Terms of Use or other fine print.

Comments welcomed.

Compound complex "up there"

2009-11-28T14:29:00.002-06:00

I like the way this flash-driven assembly action works to view this image of the International Space Station. It allows naming and possible future research or review on the major pieces.

Is YOUR R2D2 or C3PO spying on you?

2009-11-22T15:13:00.003-06:00

I just got my electronic copy of the December issue of Nuts & Volts magazine. On page 11, there is a link to a University of Washington study partially sponsored by the National Science Foundation that addresses whether or not any of three currently available home robots could be hijacked and made to spy on the home it lives in. Their findings are that all three were vulnerable to different kinds of attacks. The models of robots were: Erector Spykee, and the WowWee models RoboSapien v2 and Rovio. If you own one of these models or are considering purchase of a home robot, it might behoove you to check out reports on whether or not your trusted servant may be forced to betray your confidence.

Comments welcomed.

Matrix as a silent film

2009-11-10T15:31:00.005-06:00

There's more than a hint of slapdashery extant in this adaptation (?) of "The Matrix" by a Russian spoof group. Enjoy!

Comments welcomed, though I had nothing to do with this.

Mars scapes

2009-11-09T17:05:00.002-06:00

Wow. An old friend who is an astronomer and science fiction fan sent this link. If you have any interest in Mars, visit

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/11/martian_landscapes.html

for some awesome pictures of our neighbor!

Please look at them. Comments welcomed.

Bike trees!

2009-11-08T13:51:00.004-06:00

The idea of storing up to 6,000 bicycles in one spot has hit Japan. Tired of bicycles piled all over the place and locked to anything that will accept a chain, some cities have responded by creating vertical parking spots for the handy vehicles. See this for one story on them.

Comments welcomed.

Fall Reflection...

2009-11-05T14:23:00.002-06:00

On one of my favorite blogs today, I read this:
http://katry.blogspot.com/2009/11/all-windows-of-my-heart-i-open-to-day.html
and it made me think of how all of us who have gone through a possible half or more than half of an expected life probably ought to pause from time to time and reflect on what we've seen and done. If this does not lead to delight, then it might at least lead us to share what we've seen and done in some way with some or at least one other person. After all, sharing one's life is a valuable thing in the growth of ALL of us as humans.

Peace...

Comments welcomed.

Real is as real does

2009-10-15T22:41:00.003-05:00

Photorealism is perhaps even more fun for me than realism in enjoying art. I recall my first and second shows of photorealism I saw in the U.T. art gallery in Austin during the last century. The first exhibit had every canvas containing some reference to aviation (as I recall, it was sponsored by an airline company). I was fascinated by one painting where there was an old, riveted and shiny-surfaced airplane, captured with all its reflections as in life. But the puddle below the wing of the plane (it was raining in the painting) captured the essence of a real rain puddle. It did not look like a painting of a puddle, but it looked exactly like I would see a real puddle. The difference is subtle but striking in the extreme.

The second show was even more wonderful...I recall three of the exhibited works from it like the show was yesterday: one was a canvas with a bright light shining from above the canvas from a wall-mounted lamp. The canvas was covered with painted droplets, each one captured in full, seeming three dimensions and the bright light from above was refracted in each droplet, just like the bright light above the canvas could have been expected to appear if the drops had been real.

The second work in this show was a 4x8' canvas that represented a piece of plywood, complete with grain, "boats" (the little replacement pieces shaped like boat bottoms to replace bad places in the thin sheets of wood that make up the surface of a piece of plywood), incidental drips of paint and wear places in the wood of the plywood. It was about as perfect as one could expect a painting to be. I loved it.

The third work in the show was a sculpture of a woman. This wasn't just any woman off the street: This woman had no clothing on. She was life-size, standing upright and relaxed with every pore and hair intact...right down to her eyelashes and arm hair. I would say that she attracted quite a crowd of folks who were intently trying to find some mistake on the artist's part and failing.

But this NPR photo blog piece on a modern photorealist artist, Ralph Goings, is about as good as it gets. It contains an interview with the artist on his reasons and thinking for doing what he does, and each of the eight paintings of his in the piece is preceded by the photo from his collection (he does his own photos to work from to produce the lifelike paintings) that inspired the canvas. After you see the blog piece, there is a link to small samples of the 40 years of his work on his own Web site.

Comments are welcomed.

Turkish "pass it on" music video

2009-10-12T23:21:00.004-05:00

Friend (Joe Nation) sent this link along for enjoyment. I'll share it through my blog. It is definitely worth your listen, and it is similar to the music videos I've seen from folks playing folk music all across the U.S.A., one person playing a bit and seeming to pass it along to the next performer, but it is done in Turkey. Very nice, indeed!

Comments welcomed.

A line on energy use vs. property restrictions

2009-10-12T11:08:00.003-05:00

I thought just about everyone was okay with saving energy by drying clothes on a simple line out in the yard vs. turning on a resistive heater and an electric motor to accomplish the same thing. Turns out I was wrong. This NYTimes article tells of fairly heated battles being waged over this simple and expedient effort that has been followed through most of human history as a daily or weekly ritual. What curious creatures we modern humans are!

A fellow electrical engineer and ham radio buddy says:

This article about restrictions on clothes lines reminds me of
restrictions against antennas, solar panels, power lines, cell phone
towers, boats in driveways, rusty Ford pickup trucks on cinder
blocks, and weeds in the front yard. Some people just don't
recognize the beauty in these things.

May we find our way through the tangled web of social pressures and elevated expectations to a plateau of sensible ways of leading our lives before we exhaust the ready energy we need to carry on modern civilization.

Comments welcomed.

Retreats are good

2009-10-06T10:22:00.003-05:00

At the annual clergy spouse retreat for folks in that position from the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church last weekend in Kerrville at the Mount Wesley Retreat Center, I again experienced one of those aha moments that stretched to most of the weekend. In the almost 14 years I've been attending the event, some years stand out in their closeness and cohesiveness...the sharing of attendees and ability of folks to see the world through the eyes of others in similar situations seems to be acute. This year was one of those times. "Rest -- Relax -- Renew" was the retreat theme.

For the last several years, the long trek to Kerrville (about 170 miles from our current home) has been assisted by podcasts played through the vehicle radio from a trusty MP3 player. I choose the podcasts for favorite musicians or interviewees in order to keep myself awake on the fairly boring trip. That part worked well, too.

The trip didn't start out well, as I discovered a rear tire was flat within a half block of the driveway (Note to self: Go back to checking the tires' pressure BEFORE a long trip.) after already being an hour late (Note to self: Go back to being completely packed the day before leaving for a long trip.) getting started on the journey.

On Saturday, I got to sing with a really talented guitar player/singer, reading lyrics from her one copy of them in a loose leaf notebook (I can NEVER remember lyrics to songs, so the notebook pages were very helpful). Besides the three musicians who accompanied us during the retreat, singing hymns both old and new, she pulled out some old 60's and 70's pop music pieces that were SO FUN to sing!

In between rain showers, I got to throw Frisbees with a total novice. I surely got my exercise for the day, but with careful tutelage, he certainly was throwing much better by the end of the experience. We had quite a bit more unfocused time at this year's retreat: time to sing if we wanted to, play games if we wanted to, take walks up to the top of the hill and spend time up there with nature and the big cross. The rain cooled things down so outside wasn't an oven. That surely doesn't always happen!

Sunday morning's worship service was so free and easy that I will remember it for some time. The birds outside the open windows of the little chapel on the retreat center grounds added measurably to our voices and thoughts. The stained glass windows seemed to be crying out to us through their subject matter and images to honor World Communion Sunday. We shared Communion and sang our final songs of the occasion, happy that this ceremony sealed the end of our weekend together.

We had a unofficial, final, Dutch treat meal at a local gigantic Mexican food restaurant with about two-thirds of the retreat folks present. I took the opportunity to load up on coffee for the trip home and tried hard not to eat too much to ward off the sleepy feeling while driving just after a meal. All went well on the way home, which is to say that it was singularly uneventful. I enjoyed the music from NPR's "Mountain Stage", listening on the final leg of the trip to Arlo Guthrie and the Guthrie Family (which included his son, daughter, and son-in-law) singing stuff by Arlo's dad, Woody Guthrie, and newer material, too.

I pulled in the driveway of the parsonage, fulfilled, happy, and so ready to be home.

Do NOT remove your dog from the scene of the crime!

2009-09-20T22:39:00.003-05:00

Today's post concerns a non-shaggy, pit-bull dog story from the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. The story tells of what happened to sisters who removed a couple of criminally charged pit bull dogs from the scene of an alleged crime, hiding them from police.

Comments welcomed.

What to Do If You See an ‘Antivirus’ Pop-Up Ad

2009-09-14T16:08:00.002-05:00

The NYTimes had a problem recently, as did at least one friend, who reported the problem to me. You're using your browser, cruising along, when...all of a sudden...POP!...up pops a problem. Here is the NYTimes situation. The solutions they give in the article are well worth your time to read and remember.

Comments welcomed.

Whither wander modern words?

2009-09-08T23:13:00.004-05:00

This article tells of some trials and tribulations of modern dictionaries and old ones, too. I have spent some non-small portion of my life with my nose in one or the other of these books: hardbound, paperback, Spanish-English, unabridged, collegiate, even elementary or Scrabble. If you like words and wordplay, read the article. If you value your dictionary and wonder if it will be around some day soon, read the article.

Comments welcomed.

Garden benches from chairs

2009-09-08T15:14:00.003-05:00

This looks like a really good way to re-purpose old pipe-frame chairs into garden benches. I saw this today on the MAKE: blog.

Texas governor's list of music pioneers

2009-08-31T22:45:00.003-05:00

I was doing some research tonight and found this list of music pioneers of Texas. It is worth a read. There are many links for various folks from the list. Enjoy.

Podcasts and listening in today's world

2009-08-31T00:06:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but it seems to be harder and harder for me to be somewhere I can listen or watch something at an appointed time. Maybe I'm alone in that regard, but I don't think so.

Podcasts of favorite shows are saving my mind, allowing me to catch the shows any time I want to. I now hang an FM transmitter in my Prius' cigar lighter jack, wrap the external audio cord over the rear-view mirror (it is used as the antenna to communicate with the vehicle FM radio), and slap the plug into my Sansa 4 Gb e260 earphone jack. When I turn up the sound, it will let me travel for miles and miles that I have to go to get anywhere significant in Texas without getting sleepy or succumbing to highway hypnosis. Before I travel, I fill up a 2 Gb micro-SD card with podcasts.

While I sit here at my computer, I keep from getting in the way of other things I might want to use the sound card for by plugging the e260 into an inMotion player and listening to those same podcasts.

Some programs I like to catch are these:
Mountain Stage
http://www.mountainstage.org/mtnstagepodcast.aspx

Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour
[I just wish the emcee wouldn't talk so darned much.]
http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp

WHYY's Fresh Air
[Again, I just never seem to be in front of a radio at the right time.]
http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=13

NPR All Songs Considered
http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=37&date=07-27-2009

NPR Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz
http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=24&date=08-07-2009

And, since I'm an inveterate short-wave radio listener, I like things like
Radio Australia podcasts
[you can choose from the large selection of programs at]
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/

BBC podcasts
[again, a huge choice at]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/

Deutsche Welle
[a smaller set in English from the main German broadcaster at]
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1719252,00.html

As you can see from this small slice of the world's offerings, you can find enough audio to entertain you, even if you were a NYC cabbie doing 20 hours shifts for the rest of your (much shortened) life! This piece doesn't mention how to get these automatically sent to your machine. If there's interest, I can do another piece on that.

Comments welcomed.

"Take Back the Beep" Campaign

2009-08-24T00:39:00.003-05:00

Frustrated by the time it takes to access your cell recorded messages left by others? Well, then, this article may allow you to vent and possibly affect how the phone carriers are doing business in that regard. The author, NYTimes writer David Pogue, tells of the obscene profits generated by all of us waiting 15 seconds or more to gain access to our messages or leave messages on another's service. Check it out!

Comments welcomed.

A Memory

2009-08-22T13:10:00.001-05:00

I am an unabashed fan of photography. If you have time, PLEASE look at this one:
http://www.pdngallery.com/legends/parks/large_pages/13.shtml
which comes from this wonderful spread from a photographer of note:
http://www.pdngallery.com/legends/parks/mainframeset1end.shtml

That photo was titled "A Memory, 1993". I could hardly take my eyes off of it when I saw it. It is to me the most striking image of the small collection.

And there seem to be more thumbnails than large photos. I am not sure why that is so.

[Originally gleaned from NPR Radio Pictures blog]

Comments welcomed.

Cardboard "Frisbee"-like device

2009-08-20T12:10:00.003-05:00

Well, Frisbee is is NOT. But this project from Make:/Instructables is cool looking. Maybe you would like to make one? The link shows how to do so.

Comments welcomed.

HAM: Spacesuit satellite answers YOUR call

2009-08-17T10:06:00.006-05:00

Ham radio enthusiasts will go to just about any length to extend their reach into space at a little-or-no-cost boost out there. The latest thing is to have a satellite that grabs and repeats ham radio transmissions INSIDE discarded spacesuits tossed out from the International Space Station to eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere. You can see an article on such satellites HERE. The next one is scheduled during 2010.

If you are interested in becoming a ham operator, information is available HERE. This month, I'm celebrating 49 years of being licensed in the service, so am offering a hand to YOU to join in the fun. It is a never-ending kaleidoscope of directions to go and think and do, helping others and learning new things. There are always folks to lend a hand in ham endeavors, far and near.

Comments always welcome.

ART: Typewriter ribbon tins

2009-08-16T21:56:00.004-05:00

Another mind-boggling art form that I'd forgotten existed. I recall now seeing some of these back during my very first days of noticing things about typewriters. This series of photographs is stunning for the most part. To think of companies putting such design art effort into something as mundane as containers for single typewriter ribbons! Worth a view: here.

Comments welcome.

Morse Code practice

2009-08-14T15:29:00.004-05:00

At a garage sale across the street today, I picked up a Midland model 25-109 Morse Code practice oscillator (not the one in the photo). It wasn't the pristine device I first imagined from its exterior. The wife RATTLED it loudly and asked if it were supposed to sound like that. I told her it wasn't and hurried off to run some errands. While we were at the grocery, I took the opportunity to whip out my Swiss Army knife and see what made it rattle.

Ouch! As I supposed it was, the previous owner had left the two C cells in their holder to rattle around inside the case. It was the most crud and corruption I'd ever seen come out of two cells, equaling about three tablespoons of corroded mess to be dumped. Most of the aluminum holder had dissolved away at one end, leaving the solder lug to dangle loosely. The cells had holes in them and had gotten rid of any gel or liquid they could during their long years of being abandoned.

But, the single transistor, two potentiometers, audio transformer, speaker, slide switch, pilot lamp, terminal strips, and 3.5 mm earphone jack are all in pretty good shape for having been exposed to such corrosive mess for many years. I may have to replace the two-screw-terminal key connection, if the screws are in too bad a shape to allow future connections. Otherwise, I think liberal application of water and 91% alcohol with Q-Tips will fix it right up. And I will need some new battery holder or other to replace the old one.

Morse Code is well worth your while to learn. You never know when a post-apocalyptic world will require you to communicate in that fashion!

Comments always welcome.

Crabs don't throw stones

2009-08-14T12:07:00.003-05:00

The really fine dance of art and science with the natural world has just made another leap. I saw this wonderful image shown above and an accompanying article & video which show how it was done and for what reason. It is worth a visit, I think.

A Pail of Air

2009-08-03T15:13:00.005-05:00

I got into a discussion recently with a friend, who asked what I thought would happen if the Earth were snagged by a rogue wanderer, captured from our calm orbit and pulled out into the cosmos of dark and death. Immediately, my thoughts ran directly to the story "A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber, which was indelibly etched on my brain from when I read it during my grade school years. You can see the book cover above, from the paperback collection of his stories that contained the piece.

In this link from Wikipedia, you can find links to the text of the story and to the radio dramatization audio file from the old "X Minus One" series from NBC Radio.

Central & South Texas Suffering Alone

2009-07-09T16:41:00.005-05:00

A friend just sent this link, which tells of our woes in the no rain department. All you have to do these days is go outside the air conditioned house to slowly begin sinking into the pavement around you.

I walked a very long block in Corpus Christi about lunch today and wasn't sure I was going to make it to the other end. The air is suffocating, the heat beating down on your head is like someone pounding a 10-pound hammer right on top of your head. Your feet begin dragging very soon, like you're crossing the Saharan wilderness. The city around you seems to spin and spin, scenes from normal, workaday world views passing in front of you like a kaleidoscope. The end of the block starts receding before you, faster than you can walk, even though you pick up your pace, it is moving away, away, away.

When I got to the next mall, I headed straight for the first door in sight at the J.C. Penney storefront. As I got there, I was intercepted by three young women, all of them fluttering anxiously about. They blocked my entry and I was asked if I wanted to pay a bill or something they could do for me while one of them spurted out that the store had a possible liability that some customer might slip and fall, so they'd closed the entire store. Closed the entire store! I didn't think I could stand another moment, but I turned, muttering not-very-nice things under my breath, staggering back into the blistering parking lot, weaving toward the sidewalk, making my best shot at shaving any step I could from the remainder of the trip I'd started rapidly and blithely.

Sweat was pouring from me as I rounded the corner by the STOP sign. I was greeted by front-end loaders and hydraulic-assist digging machines, lines of yellow tape and (at last) a small sign that was propped up against a wall not 200 feet in front of me that said in small letters: Mall Entrance. I kept my feet moving, trying not to shuffle, knowing that would sap even more strength from the reserve whose gauge was on EMPTY!!

I entered the mall side entrance, gasping for the cool air that now surrounded me, looking for someone who might know where I was supposed to find the business I sought. I'll spare you the walk down the WHOLE LENGTH OF THE MALL and the quick ascent of the escalator. I found the business and used up three whole paper towels to mop up the sweat before I could begin to enjoy the cool air there.

It is hot in south Texas. 101F here at 5 p.m.!

Comments welcomed.

Electronics parts yield articulated animal robots

2009-06-29T23:52:00.003-05:00

I ran across this post today on the MAKE: blog that discusses robot art pieces that are fashioned from large numbers of electronics and mechanical parts into the most interesting animals you can imagine. Very imaginative and inventive, to say the least!

I was following some of the links about this and I found this post of the artist's own making, that takes a few of the robot pieces even further to make extremely short videos of them going through their articulated paces! They amazed me no end!

Comments welcome.

The Case of the Missing Sunspots

2009-06-21T16:49:00.004-05:00

Ham radio operators and shortwave listeners have been pretty discouraged at the lack of our sun to build an appropriate number of sunspots. To the average person, this seems like either a tempest in a teapot or angels dancing on the head of a pin. But to folk who depend on the ionosphere of our planet to reflect radio waves, it is important. The number and size of sunspots on the part of the sun facing the Earth is closely tied to energy coming from the sun to energize the ionosphere's reflection regions. Here is a good discussion from NASA of why those sunspots have not been created and a good story why the folks waiting for them should not lose hope.

Comments welcome.

Bach to the computer

2009-06-20T17:03:00.003-05:00

This is the best computer visualization aid I've ever seen for music. As soon as you click to play it, immediately click on the HQ "button" and the "full screen" "button". It is quite a display. The particular piece involved in this demonstration is Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" for organ.

Comments welcome.

Amazing software for my Canon S3 camera

2009-06-18T23:09:00.007-05:00

I stumbled onto this software site tonight. I have a hard time explaining how wonderful this software add-in sounds to me. There are a number of things that I've been wanting to do and was disappointed that my camera couldn't do that now are possible through this software!

If you want to read about it, the main page is here.
I found out about it through a kind of roundabout means. I read the MAKE: blog. It is a blog for folks who enjoy making things. The post I read on that blog is interesting enough. It is about making an automated robotic device that allows you to create panoramic views with your digital camera at the push of a button. The post is here.
While I was reading it, it linked to the actual construction instructions here.
And on that first page of the 13 steps to make the robotic controller, the CHDK program was mentioned. I did not know before that moment that anyone was mucking about, adding software TO the already existing instruction set inside my Canon camera. I wouldn't have thought of it, though that is the domain of a lot of the MAKE: projects: "hacking" or changing either hardware or software of modern devices to make them do things they couldn't before or extending the possibilities of the device far beyond the manufacturer's thinking. CHDK makes use of the microprocessor that controls the camera (every digital camera contains a microprocessor) to act as a programmable computer that provides the extra capabilities.
This software does that with a vengeance! Here's a partial list of things possible through using CHDK, divided into six categories:

a. Enhanced ways of recording images - you can capture still pictures in RAW format (as well as JPEG), and for video images you can have increased recording time and length (1 hour or 2 GB), and a greatly increased range of compression options.

b. Additional data displays on the LCD screen - histogram, battery life indicator, depth of field, and many more.

c. Additional photographic settings that are not available on the camera by itself - longer exposure times (up to 65 seconds), faster shutter speeds (1/25,000 sec, and faster in some cases), automatic bracketing of exposure, etc.

d. The ability for the camera to run programs ('scripts', written in a micro-version of the BASIC language) stored on the memory card - these programs allow you to set the camera to perform a sequence of operations under the control of the program. For example, a camera can be programmed to take multiple pictures for focus bracketing, or take a picture when it detects that something in the field of view moves or changes brightness.

e. The ability to take a picture, or start a program on the memory card, by sending a signal into the USB port - you can use the USB cable to take a picture remotely.

f. The ability to do a number of other more useful (and fun) things, such as act as a mini file browser for the memory card, let you play games on the LCD screen, etc.

And (just think about it), the possible things that the software can do for the camera and user may GROW in number, because, now that the genie is out of the bottle, there are a host of folks out there, poking and prodding away in multiplicities of experiments, trying to create new features no one else has thought of. I'm boggled...and excited...and anticipating my camera getting much more use.

Run for the hills...er, uh

2009-06-17T14:01:00.002-05:00

The article sent by an ex-Texan friend is about a Kansas spectacle: a land-based spout of debris rising far up into the lower atmosphere. It is the land-based equivalent of a waterspout. Those are frequently seen near the shore, and they are not usually associated with the radical damage we see from tornadoes. The image and article are here. The photo is this month's cover photo for the respected National Geographic magazine, so I do not have any right to display it here. I recommend viewing it, however, as it is truly magnificent, as landspouts go. [I've shown an image at the head of this post of a much less impressive spout.]

Comments welcome.

Power of the photograph: LOOK3 exhibit

2009-06-16T16:25:00.005-05:00

LOOK3 YourSpace Online - Images by Festival of the Photograph

Looking through this kaleidoscope of slices of life in this world causes me to reflect on how both music and images can affect mood and outlook at the same time. Take a while to see what's here. Or go to the Web page of the slide show and look at it full screen! Look and reflect and rejoice and grovel in pain at what happens and can be seen in this world! All I can say in response to this overwhelming cavalcade is, "PEACE!"

Comments welcome.

Console radios: old friends

2009-06-09T14:31:00.000-05:00

I was driving down the main street of my new home town yesterday, when I passed someone using an unused building's sidewalk for their own downtown moving sale. As usual, I shopped to see if there were something I couldn't live without. The pictured console radio just called my name. For not very much, it was mine. Now I have to take out the chassis, check the tubes, replace all capacitors, measure resistors to see if they need replacing, align the radio's tuned circuits, replace the power cord, rewind or replace the AM flat coil antenna, and enjoy the results. Maybe I can even talk the wife into refurbing the cabinet.

Fixing old radios is sometimes fun. Listening is always fun, if you can find any station worth hearing in today's vast jungle of AM talk radio.

This post was started in March. Still working to complete the workshop, so nothing has happened yet to the radio. It is awaiting some attention. Comments welcomed.

Tilting at Windmills, Part 2

2009-06-05T15:54:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I took a side trip to view the new wind farm near our coastal plains town. Here's an album for you to ride along with me. These gentle giants are between Taft and Odem, Texas. There is no generation now, since the substation to get the power into the transmission lines is not even begun.

The company plans to put up 109 wind turbines, which will be 400 feet high, on this 15,000 acres of farmland. It's expected to generate 180 megawatts of power. That's power for 54,000 homes, or enough to power more than 23,000 homes at peak time when air conditioners are running. Last December, CPS Energy of San Antonio signed a 15-year agreement to gain about 65% of all the green power this farm could supply.

Ogden Nash, poet extraordinaire

2009-06-03T00:40:00.003-05:00

I found this page of his poems today, posted by his relatives. It is hard to go at his poems straight on, as he always found an oblique view to give you, most often leading toward the laughter end of the scale.

I recall seeing his poems first in high school American literature class. Although I thought at the time I didn't like poetry, I instantly had a rapport with his words. I laughed and savored the lines again and again. They certainly resonated with my lifelong affinity for playing with words, as he never failed to generate totally new words that fit his rhyme scheme. He also used ordinary, day-to-day words in ways that dressed them up for show, still managing to put on a patina of fun in his use of them.

Whether or not you've read his work before, check out the link above for some word fun.

Comments?

Time for Three Laws to Step In

2009-06-01T15:40:00.003-05:00

I just saw this post and thought to myself, "Yeeks!" This device is definitely a human add-on that could inflict rather dire damage to humans if not properly controlled. It is not yet tied to an independent controller, but some safety features would certainly be nice to see. /sweat begins to roll off forehead/

Here are posted some of Christian Ristow's machines.

Comments?

Get the rust out

2009-05-29T10:55:00.002-05:00

I was reading the MAKE: blog today and found this tidbit of helpful shop lore in the links to the Instructables site. I'm passing it along to anyone who might have OOPSed their way into having items covered in rust, due to unfortunate mental meanderings.

Here's the introduction to the effort:

This is a relatively simple, safe and cheap way to remove light or heavy rust from any ferrous object. I used this process to restore an old wood plane that I bought for $1 (it looked totally un-usable because of the rust). As opposed to grinding, heavy wire brushing and acid bath processes, this method removes none of the original steel and is not noisy or caustic.

Comments?

Influential people painting with links

2009-05-24T15:15:00.003-05:00

Three Chinese artists compiled their list of dozens of influential folks and created the linked painting. What is remarkable about the technology is that you can double click on each portrait for a Wikipedia article about the person.

This could keep you occupied for some period of time......up to you!

Enjoy .... click on the link below . . . (sent by a California ham buddy)

http://cliptank.com/PeopleofInfluencePainting.htm

Fairytale - 2009 Eurovision song contest winner

2009-05-18T17:41:00.003-05:00

It is quite likely that you also failed to note the contest. Here is the video snippet of the contest where the winner performed his winning piece. (Be sure to click on HQ for better video if you have the bandwidth.)

Sad to say, the performance is almost covered up by the video credits for the whole affair. But it is an exciting performance. If I were one of the dancers, I could really say, "Oh, my aching back!"

Comments?

Surreal Saturday Entertainment

2009-05-16T11:27:00.004-05:00

A friend sent the link to this completely surreal piece of video music a few minutes ago. I was boggled. My imagination buckles to its knees when faced by the idea of the Red Army Choir singing "Sweet Home Alabama" with a farcical rock band with fake hair from Leningrad!

But, on a less surreal note and a dollop of sweetness, there is this very nice worldwide sampling of folks working on a good rendition of Bob Marley's song, "One Love".

The Game Isn't Over

2009-05-12T22:52:00.004-05:00

The road never ends and there's one more ball in the game! You can keep telling yourself both these stories, but neither one is true. But, as of today, there is just ONE manufacturer left making pinball machines. Maybe that doesn't affect you, but to some, it is time to run out in the street, placard in hand, proclaiming, "The End is Near!"

This article tells of that last pinball maker from the NY Times reporter's point of view. By the end of the article, you still aren't sure if the reporter "gets" the game or not.

Oh, for the days of three games of five balls each for a quarter! When all the bumpers and flippers on every machine worked because there was someone around who knew how to fix and tweak the machines if they stumbled. When the store owners didn't hike up the screws in the back of the machine until the ball makes a bee line for the exit chute. When a friend and I played all afternoon on a quarter. Or when we each took a flipper and knew the game and each other's minds so well that we won games playing only one flipper apiece.

But, there ARE determined individuals out there who, working with similarly motivated friends, keep the torch lit and the ball rolling.

Comments?

Beyond the pail with the Berrymans

2009-05-12T14:51:00.004-05:00

Sometimes, there's a bucket you have to carry with you to hold all the laughter you can't get out at the moment. This duo is BEYOND THE PAIL (in several meanings/spellings). I'm sure they would agree. (grin) I think humor is one of their mainstays, but lo-o-o-ong Wisconsin winter days with nothing to do but write lyrics and music must add, measurably, to their repertoire. I found some YouTube tidbits for your perusal in order to see if their line of humor matches yours. I'm fairly sure it will, as they are all over the compass, humor-wise.

Here's Double Yodel, which is the Berrymans' unique look at this venerable singing technique.

Here's Mr. and Mrs. Noah, a story of compromises of a married couple in an unusual situation.

Here's Why Am I Painting the Living Room?, an absurdist essay.

If you enjoyed these and want more, well, I can't think of any way to assuage that need other than to drop you into their own Web music sales site, though this blog post is NOT a sales pitch.

Comments?

O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships

2009-05-12T13:48:00.003-05:00

I've read quite a few "what it is" articles on the subject event. This piece, the second on the page, is just about the best of recent attempts to describe the event. Check it out...and the event, too. Since we live so far away, I've been missing the event, which is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

This year, for the first time, we who really can't make it there will be able to aim our data fire hoses at http://www.punpunpun.com/ and soak up the event...LIVE! Again, that will be May 16 from noon to 5 Central Daylight Time. Some photos of last year's event are here.

If you live in or around Austin, grab your sunscreen, hat, folding chair or blanket, some money (It IS a fund-raiser, after all!) and head for the corner of 5th and Neches streets at Brush Square Park. Support the museum by purchasing food and drink, a fun tee shirt. There are usually several means of showing your support available.

Comments?

Robot bartenders and liquor organs

2009-05-09T14:00:00.003-05:00

The wonderful Make blog contains this piece about robot bartenders:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/05/robot_bartender.html

And separately:

"Gallegher Plus"

(May 31, 2004)

From the November 1943 issue of ASTOUNDING, this is one of the five 'Gallegher' stories by Henry Kuttner. (Although they were first published under the Lewis Padgett name, his wife C.L. Moore has said she had nothing to do with writing these stories; a bit unusual, as the two usually collaborated on most of what they wrote.)

These tales are very clever and well constructed, with a surreal sense of humour. I personally found them more amusing than hysterically funny, but of course we all have different ideas on what's hilarious or not. The basic premise is that a young man named Galloway Gallegher drinks pretty much nonstop. When completely sotted, his subconscious comes to the surface and takes over but, instead of being a monstrous Mr Hyde, this Gallegher Plus is an inventive supergenius who cobbles together astounding devices from materials at hand.

The next morning, crawling about poisoned by his hangover, the regular Gallegher is faced with a bizarre invention he has no memory of constructing and which he has to deal with. Since our hero has absolutely no technical knowledge, he is completely lost when faced with this unlikely gizmos. One such invention is the recurring sidekick in the series, a narcissistic robot called Joe. (Joe by the way is a delight, obsessed with his own mechanical beauty and filled with withering remarks about we repulsive meat creatures. "I'll get you a robe. Your ungainly body offends my aesthetic feelings," he informs his creator, fresh from the shower.

In this particular tale, Gallegher is suffering his usual morning hangover as he realizes that most of his backyard was vanished, the soil apparently vaporized by a goofy looking contraption he must have worked up the night before. Giving the matter some urgency, Gallegher finds he has promised to come up with inventions requested by three different people, all of whom advanced him large sums of money he no longer has. Faced with summonses to appear in court and harassing messages from his clients, Gallegher has to muddle through the situation and solve all his
problems at once.

What makes the stories funny is that the dayime Gallegher (who is usually partly sober) has no memory of what the soused Gallegher Plus was up to. He has to go about his business as if he knows what's going on, making him something like a detective trying to solve his own mystery. In this particular case, after much turmoil and tense moments, he finds out the answers to the demands from all three clients are right in front of him. And he also learns why the gizmo plays "St. James Infirmary" while it's functioning....

The story seems to be set in some indeterminate near future – there are references to things like taxiplanes and dashboard teledirectories, as well as a man being hard to reach because he's away on Callisto – but it's not really necessary. Except for a few inessential details, we might as well be in 1943 Manhattan from the way everyone talks and acts. A man in a derby playing pinball in a saloon.... that's really not a futuristic image.

What gives the Gallegher stories a slightly bizarro atmosphere is the nonjudgmental attitude of the characters (and the narrator) toward our hero's alcohol habit. For at least the past ten or fifteen years that I've noticed, popular entertainment has really been dead set against drinking and smoking. Watching the Thin Man movies from the 1930s (where Nick and Nora seldom put down their glasses) or reading detective stories from the 1940s (where Mike Shayne seems to function better with brandy than with any sleep), I'm amazed to recall that until fairly recently, getting drunk was considered fairly amusing. (Remember that guy on the Jackie Gleason show who sang a beautiful song while plastered?)

Gallegher carries this to an extreme, even for that more tolerant period. It`s not like he's cold hard sober most of the time and just becomes Gallegher Plus after two martinis. No, this boy is hitting the sauce constantly. He has set up a "liquor organ" by his couch which dispenses various combinations of booze through a tube. At one point, he goes with a shady character on an alphabetical barcrawl ("You start with A – absinthe – and then work along, brandy, Cointreau, daiquiri, egg flip..."). They have to fudge a bit here and there, and must start all over after realizing they skipped 'N'. Egads, I can only imagine synthetic livers are inexpensive and readily available in this era.

Aside from being an ingenious puzzle story, in which the hero has to figure out what his other self did, while pretending to be on top of things, "Gallegher Plus" is filled with amusing little touches. The vain robot Joe says he will allow people to watch him dance if they wish, but at the same time he has no problem with the idea of breaking a few heads ("I like blood. It`s a primary color.") Four Gallegher stories by Henry Kuttner appeared in ASTOUNDING in 1943, with a fifth in 1948. They were collected in an anthology with the puzzling title ROBOTS HAVE NO TAILS. Now, if someone would only gather his Hogben stories about the superpowered hillbillies into one book...

Above quote excerpted from this page.

Stretching the title: News of Klingon opera

2009-05-07T18:03:00.002-05:00

I was boggled by hearing folks working on (among other things) Klingon opera this afternoon & George Thorogood music in Klingon. It was on All Things Considered. It stretches the title quite a bit. They are the Klingon Terran Research Ensemble!

Finding ever more obscure vacation sites

2009-05-07T17:41:00.002-05:00

Just in case you need a really arcane place to vacation to rise to the top in the ever-increasing push to go somewhere nobody in your office has ever been? Well, this story tells of a place that is pretty unique. Good voyage and write when you get back. I want to hear your story.

Comments?

Posting about a bit of beard ephemera

2009-05-06T14:09:00.004-05:00

The title of this post is

Poets Ranked by Beard Weight

and it really gets into the subject. Some folks are put off by beards and others are attracted. I've seldom discussed the subject with someone with no opinion on them. In a lot of ways, they are like a temporary tattoo, in that they certainly mark a portion of your (male) anatomy in a way that you can make your own, but they are removable to be redone another day. If you at all interested, the pursuit of hirsute is but a click away.

Comments? (link is to "a journey round my skull" blog)

Bending plastic for fun and use

2009-05-02T12:51:00.002-05:00

I ran across this interesting how-to video today. Having a pile of scrap Lexan, my ears perked up. Making covers for keyers and other projects interests me, as well as short stands to support a ham radio transceiver while leaving room for a Morse paddle or notepad beneath it. Now, I just have to find an old hair dryer and some plaster of Paris to try it out.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/05/bending_plexiglas.html

More technical information on the material can be found at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_glass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexan