Making an Adobe Oven

This weekend we set about making an oven for bread and pizzas, using mud. We have a brick barbecue edifice on the patio, and so we used that as a platform.

First we bought and laid 21 red bricks on a 1/2″ layer of sand, making sure to get them even and with small gaps. We could have just used the existing brick oven base, but we wanted something very flat, which it wasn’t. There’s nothing worse than catching your peel on an uneven surface when trying to extract a pizza.

21 bricks laid flat on a bed of sand

Next we marked out on the bricks where the wall of the adobe oven would go: both the inside and the outside edges, using a sharpie. We had bought five 50lbs bags of medium sand, most for the oven wall mix, but some for the oven mould – basically a mound of wet sand like a sandcastle.

The mound needed to be 16″ high, so we first cut a stick to that length and positioned it in a small mound of sand at the centre of the oven bricks.

Then we started to build a sandcastle around the stick, trying to keep the sides of the sandcastle as vertical as possible, and making sure that the sides followed our outline of the inside adobe walls we had marked on the bricks.

Once we had our sandcastle made (in the shape of a dome, reaching the top of the stick), it was time to go digging in the garden for subsoil – the stuff under the topsoil that contains the most clay. We dug about a 3′ deep hole and then extracted a wheelbarrow full of soil.

The clay soil needed to be mixed in one part soil to two parts medium sand. To mix it, we made a ring of four buckets of sand, and put two buckets of the soil in the centre. Then we set about sprinkling it with water and treading it all in to mix it. In fact we found that we had too much sand, and ended up using six buckets of soil to the four buckets of sand.

We checked that the mixing was good when a golf ball sized piece of the mixture, when squeezed tight, and then dropped from shoulder height, didn’t crumble when hitting the ground, but rather just squashed to an oblate spheroid.

At this point we were ready to apply the mud to the sandcastle former. First we placed sheets of damp kitchen paper over the former – this is so that, when we come to remove the sand, after the mud had been applied and set, we could tell when we were at the edge.

16″ measuring stick

Building the sandcastle around the measuring stick

Preparing to mix the clay soil and sand, on a black plastic sheet

The well trodden sand and clay soil mixture

We made an oven door from a piece of old wood. Shaped like an arch, it had to be 12″ at the base and 10″ high. We folded a sheet of paper in half, drew half an arch against the folded edge, cut along the line with scissors, then unfolded the sheet to use as a template on the wood, which we marked around the paper’s edge. Then we cut the wood with a jigsaw.

The door was placed against the front edge of the sandcastle, before we started placing the mud. Then we started packing mud around the sandcastle, being careful not to press inwards on the castle, and trying to maintain a mud thickness of 4″ all the way around. After we had surround the sandcastle with mud, we smoothed out all the bumps, and patted the surface down with a flat paddle made of wood, for an even finish.

Now we need to wait for the mud to dry – after which we will remove the door, and scoop out the sandcastle.

To be continued ….

Packing the mud around the sandcastle. Note the oven door.

Finishing the mud packing

Quadcopter

I have just finished ordering the parts to build a Quadcopter, similar to the one shown in this clip:

The design I’ll use is based around an Arduino Duemilanove processor, and is called an AeroQuad. Here’s what I ordered, for a total of around $250:

Motors, Speed controller and Propellors

Four TowerPro BM2410-08T / 18A BEC / 9×3.8 Prop Combo

According to the HobbyKing table this motor should run at up to around 8900rpm at full voltage (10V). Plugging the size of the propellor (9 inches with a pitch of 3.8 inches) into this static thrust calculator, the thrust from each motor should be a maximum of 0.6kilos, so a total thrust of 4×0.6 = 2.4 kilos.

Battery

One Turnigy 2650mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack

At around 11 Amps for each motor, maximum, the total will be 44 Amps. This battery should give a minimum operating time of (60*2.65)/44 = 3 minutes.

Radio Control Transmitter/Receiver

One Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx & Rx (Mode 1)

The “Mode 1″ refers to how the controls are laid out. Apparently in the USA, most pilots use Mode 2. Mode 1 looks like a more logical layout to me, and since I am not a pilot, is what I chose. The Transmitter/Receiver works at 2.4 GHz. One idea I have is to put an X10 RF Spycam I have on board the quadcopter: this also operates at 2.4GHz, but in analog, so there should be no interference. I also have an ICOM IC-R3 handheld I will be able to receive the X10 video stream on:

One Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx USB Cable for Win2000/XP

This interface cable allows the Transmitter to be controlled from a laptop/desktop.

Processor

Arduino Duemilanove with ATmega328

Sensors

One 5DOF add on board (X,Y,Z, Roll and Pitch)

One Dual Axis Gyro

The concept is that the sensors detect the position and orientation of the quadcopter, and the Arduino board runs software that uses this information, together with motion control signals from the Transmitter, to adjust the power going to each of the four motors. This in turn affects the thrust from each of the propellors, which produces the desired (or not!) motion of the quadcopter.

Nash Equilibrium

I was in a discussion the other day where the topic changed to Nash Equilibria, about which I knew nothing. Later investigation led me into Wikipedia vortex in which I discovered not only what a Nash Equilibrium is, but also that if you add a new road to a transport system then it can increase the congestion, rather than alleviate it. Who knew? Apparently this is a real phenomenon, and has been observed in various large cities around the world, and is called Braess Paradox.

Will I ever use my new found understanding of Nash Equilibrium? Quite possibly not, but it’s generally true that time spent investigating stuff like this is well spent. I recall reading about genetic algorithms years ago, and spending quite some time writing my own for fun (looking at the Travelling Salesman problem), never thinking that it would turn out to be useful in the future. Nowadays I use GAs a lot, for all sorts of problems.

Earlier on today, a chap contacted me and asked if his 1913 British Penny was worth anything. He included a picture of a very worn specimen, probably essentially worthless, and I told him so. Just because something is old, doesn’t mean it is valuable

On more pressing matters, Microsoft Security Essentials is asking me to reboot my machine, and I must obey. I love this MSE, so much better and less intrusive than that awful Symantec/Norton thing that I had before, and which seems to snarfle a significant fraction of my system resources.

The Oscars

As a veteran of watching these long drawn out proceedings, I can say with some confidence that this year’s was Yawnsville, Arizona. Why on earth we needed two not quite funny guys compering rather than just one is a puzzle. Bring back Billy Crystal.

I didn’t understand what had possessed James Cameron’s wife to wear that dress, and I couldn’t get my mind around the idea of Sandra Bullock being a decent actress. Seeing the Big Lebowski win was heartening, though, and the collection of horror films was very well done.

The only film that really demands to be seen is the “Up in the Air” thing with Clooney: it looks mighty entertaining.

Brass and Bottoms at the Rose Parade

Once you’ve seen one X, you’ve seen ‘em all. Where X = floats, fannies, etc.. Again, this year, there was no stealth bomber doing a fly-by, which was disappointing. On the other hand there were lots of large brass instruments.

Holidays

Well, I haven’t updated on here for a while, and now it’s time for the holidays.

I will *not* be shopping at all at Best Buy in protest at their obnoxious pop-up ad that is making my LJ browsing a misery. Do they really think that by forcing me to watch their cruddy ad it will make me want to go in their shop? Guess again!

Collisions at the LHC!

Protons are colliding: min bias rate around 1Hz. This is the first physics run.

Watches

I have about ten watches which I don’t wear because the batteries have run out. All of these darned watches seem to use a different size of battery, none of which tend to be available in the places I normally look. So the watches sit unused.

Perhaps I should order new batteries online. But for the cost plus shipping, it’s almost the same price as buying a new (cheap) watch.

I’m really discombobulated by this predicament.

Cinq Questions

1. What brought you to the States?

Initially, I believe it was a Boeing 747-400. I had steak. I was going to Colorado Springs for a Digital Equipment Corporation customer jamboree. When we got there, it was snowing and cold. The next morning, it was 75F and sunny. This gave me a strange initial impression of America.

Later, when I moved her permanently, I came in a different model ‘plane. For a more complete description of why I came to Pasadena, you’d need to fish around in the archive of this LJ, something I don’t recommend unless you have trouble sleeping.

2. Do you love it, miss home, or a mixture of both?

Southern California is easily the best place to live in the world. Everything you ever want or need is here, except for really old buildings, and they are over-rated. There are some things about the UK I am nostalgic for. An example that occurred to me yesterday is Goddard’s Components, a little shop in St. Albans where you could buy electronic bits and pieces, like a BC108 transistor and an old computer board. Also there was a very good market on a Saturday. What I don’t miss is the damp, grey mornings and the ubiquity of plastic bags and sick in the gutters. Oh, and I miss custard tarts and the occasional Jaffa Cake.

I lived in Geneva for many years, and there is more I miss about there. For example the raclette and fondue and the sublime Italian food, the proximity to all the other countries, the view of Mont Blanc from everywhere, and the excellent skiing. On the other hand I don’t miss scraping an inch of ice off the windscreen in the morning, and the loony French drivers. Nor do I miss driving around the Pays de Gex on a Saturday trying to find a shop that sells a CD player before everywhere shuts at 4:30pm.

3. What do you think of Californians, and do you think they are typical Americans?

To me, a typical American is a guy in a loud check jacket, light blue trousers, and a pair of golf shoes. I haven’t seen anybody fitting this description in California, and I strongly suspect they are all in Salt Lake City.

4. Favorite foods

Haggis and chips (fries) with onion gravy. Caprese salad, with a crusty baguette. A thin crust pizza with pesto sauce, aubergines and pepperoni. And McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits.

5. Are you now what you wanted to be when you grew up?

When I was growing up I had no idea what I wanted to be. I toyed with the idea of being a barrister, and I think I might have been quite good at it, as I enjoy a good argument. Another occupation I remember investigating was a Patent Officer, which is probably interesting at least part of the time. So somehow I gravitated towards physics (if you’ll excuse the pun), probably largely influenced by the fact that my Dad, who I admire, is a physicist.

Portland

Portland next week for a conference. Last time I was there, a few years ago, it pissed down almost continuously, which is perhaps why they gave all the attendees an umbrella!

Old Chaps at the Dermatologists

I overheard the following exchange yesterday, while in the waiting room to see this guy:

(or his spitting image. And no, I didn’t use the ‘phone.)

Old guy: “Hello Charles, how are you?”
Charles: “Oh, you know. How about you, Phil?”
Old guy (Phil): “Coming in for my regular. How often do you come in?”
Charles: “Twice a week.”
Phil: “Oh my God! You must be terrible!”
Charles: “Yup. I’m going straight to Hell.”

This amused me highly for some reason. Also Charles looked just like Harry Stanton:

Which brings me to the point of this post: increasingly I find that many people I meet or see remind me strongly of someone else. I’m forever saying “Ooooh, you know who s/he looks like? Bela Lugosi!” (although not always Bela Lugosi, obviously).

Anybody else suffer from this disease?!

South Pasadena Classic Car Show

Some very nice cars on show today down in South Pas. There was only one 914:

and only one Batmobile:

American Education

It’s no wonder I have been impressed so far by the American education system: Muffet’s school has just been recognised as one of the best in the country, with a Blue Ribbon award.

In other school related news, a high school friend uploaded this photo of me to FaceBook, taken around 1976, when I was in the Sixth Form. Check out the size of the lapels!

Deep Fried Butter?!

I haven’t decided where I stand on this yet.

Huge Cloud

This huge cloud is appearing above the San Gabriel mountains. I wonder if it is related to the Station Fire?

While I was getting my double espresso from the campus cafe, I noticed on the TV that they were showing a piece about how pilots are on strike because they are fed up with having to relieve themselves in bags. My guess is that they are not allowed to emerge from their cockpit during the flight to visit the First Class loo.

How very demeaning that must be … and I fully sympathise with their plight. Many times I have sat on a ‘plane rather wishing I could go to the loo, but the constant stream of women who seem to have to visit it six times every hour for ten minutes a “job” prevents me from getting a look in. Many times I have yearned for a bag, and some privacy while I whip out the old todger and relieve myself into it.

The solution for the pilots is quite simple. Just install one of those tubes that department stores used to have for sending message around the building, running it between the First Class loo and the cockpit. The pilot would then simply uncap the tube, slash into it, and replace the cap. The liquid would emerge at the other end, where it would empty into the loo bowl. Perhaps a button in the cockpit could be provided so that the pilot could remote flush, if desired?

For women pilots, the solution is less obvious, but I suppose equally pressing. Some sort of gas-mask like contraption, placed over the business parts, might work, although clean up would be a problem.

There would also need to be some sort of interlock mechanism so that a First Class passenger seated on the loo could avoid being doused by a copious stream of warm pilot piss whilst they were in mid-wipe.

In which I fondle a long one

Quiz: which of my LJ friends owns the lens I am fondling in this photo?

The Chinaman's Nipple

Just back from a couple of lazy weeks, and trying to adjust to having to do stuff again.

UK Citizenship Test

This is insanely difficult:

http://www.ukcitizenshiptest.co.uk/

I got 14 out of 24 right, and failed. Good job I don’t need to pass it

The Graduate

After the ceremony, we ate in a place called Las Iguanas in Brighton, which was good – I had some creamy coconut chicken thing with fried plantains.

Security Questions My Arse

Signing up for some online banking the other day, and getting invited to select from several “Security Questions” that would apparently enhance the safety of my “online banking experience”.

The questions had to be selected from a drop-down menu of four, if I remember:

1) The name of the mascot of your high school (In the UK we didn’t have “mascots”)
2) The town in which your father was born (No idea. I know the region, but not the town. I bet my daughters don’t know the town *I* was born in.)
3) The street you grew up on (I grew up on several)
4) Your favourite teacher (Didn’t have one)

Who thinks up these questions? Isn’t it possible to come up with a set that everyone can answer? Or (the best option) allow me to choose my own security questions?

Perhaps it’s not so easy. Let’s see:

1) The name of the nasty boy who stole your James Bond DB5 Corgi toy and hid it in his underpants
2) The location of the first embarassing pimple that appeared on your pubescent chin
3) The name of that girl who showed you her fanny behind the bike sheds
4) Your favourite licquorice allsort
5) The word your first girl/boyfriend used to describe your private parts
6) The alcoholic drink you first got pie-eyed on

From my catalogue of embarassing French moments … #215 "Voila, voila!"

bmused‘s tales of incomprehensible French has made me remember this little embarrassing incident.

'Fridge sex

The decadence of a built in ice maker/dispenser is profound and delicious.

The Great Train Robbery

I am pleased to hear that the Home Secretary has denied Ronnie Biggs his parole, and am reminded of this excellent sketch from Beyond The Fringe with Peter Cook and Alan Bennet:

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

(Embedding not allowed.)

Bennet: Who do think is behind this crime?
Cook: We believe this to be the work of thieves.

…

Bennet: Who do think is behind the criminals?
Cook: Well, we are, considerably.

Dear Katelin

I received an email from Katelin:

“Hi It`s katelin again. Will you ever contact me?
I made those nude pictures especially for you and I wont write to you again!
If you wanna see them just drop me a line at: bkatelin60@dhatori.com”

and replied as follows:

Dear Katelin,
I apologise for the delay in replying, as I have been dealing with a very large influx of email recently, and filing away all the image attachments they contained has been time consuming. It’s kind of you to consider the requests I made last time, and I hope that the cost of the apparatus and costumes was not too high. Did you manage to find a suitable studded corset with large enough openings? What about the reciprocating machine driven plunger saddle – was that a problem? I suppose you may have ordered the pieces online, or maybe there are shops in Estonia that stock them? Anyway, please send the pictures along and I will add them to those you did with the Puerto Rican tree frogs.
Sincerely,
Cogshifter

Whoopeeeee and Yib Dab Dooblies

Excuse me while I gush over my daughter J, who just got her degree results: a 2.1 from University of Sussex. I am a very proud daddy

"SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700 PORCUPINES"

My Mum sent me this, and it is worth sharing:

PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE WORDING AND SPELLING. IF YOU
KNOW THE BIBLE EVEN A LITTLE, YOU'LL FIND THIS HILARIOUS! IT
COMES FROM A CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEST THAT KIDS WERE
ASKED. THE QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ABOUT THE BIBLE WERE WRITTEN BY
CHILDREN. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN RETOUCHED OR CORRECTED.
INCORRECT SPELLING HAS BEEN LEFT IN. ;


*1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS. GOD GOT
TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF.

*2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S
WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK. NOAH BUILT AND ARK AND THE ANIMALS
CAME ON IN PEARS.* *
*
3. LOTS WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A
BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT *

4. THE JEWS WERE A PROUD PEOPLE AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY
THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH UNSYMPATHETIC GENITALS.
*
5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY
BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH. *
*
*6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE
APOSTLES.

*7. MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA ! WHERE THEY MADE
UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS.

*8. THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE DESSERT.
AFTERWARDS, MOSES WENT UP TO MOUNT CYANIDE TO GET THE
TEN COMMANDMENTS

*9. THE FIRST COMMANDMENTS WAS WHEN EVE TOLD ADAM TO EAT
THE APPLE.

*10. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT IS THOU SHALT NOT ADMIT
ADULTERY.

*11. MOSES DIED BEFORE HE EVER REACHED CANADA THEN
JOSHUA LED THE HEBREWS IN THE BATTLE OF GERITOL.
*
12. THE GREATEST MIRICLE IN THE BIBLE IS WHEN JOSHUA
TOLD HIS SON TO STAND STILL AND HE OBEYED HIM.

*13. DAVID WAS A HEBREW KING WHO WAS SKILLED AT PLAYING
THE LIAR. HE FOUGHT THE FINKELSTEINS, A RACE OF PEOPLE
WHO LIVED IN BIBLICAL TIMES.

*14. SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700
PORCUPINES.
*
15. WHEN MARY HEARD SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF JESUS, SHE
SANG THE MAGNA CARTA. *

16. WHEN THE THREE WISE GUYS FROM THE EAST SIDE ARRIVED
THEY FOUND JESUS IN THE MANAGER.
*
17. JESUS WAS BORN BECAUSE MARY HAD AN IMMACULATE
CONTRAPTION. *
*
*18. ST. JOHN THE BLACKSMITH DUMPED WATER ON HIS HEAD.

*19. JESUS ENUNCIATED THE GOLDEN RULE, WHICH SAYS TO DO
UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO ONE TO YOU. HE ALSO EXPLAINED
A MAN DOTH NOT LIVE BY SWEAT ALONE.

*20. IT WAS A MIRICLE WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND
MANAGED TO GET THE TOMBSTONE OFF THE ENTRANCE.

*21. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LORD WERE CALLED THE 12
DECIBELS.
*
22. THE EPISTELS WERE THE WIVES OF THE APOSTLES.

*23. ONE OF THE OPPOSSUMS WAS ST. MATTHEW WHO WAS ALSO A
TAXIMAN.

*24 ST. PAUL CAVORTED TO CHRISTIANITY, HE PREACHED HOLY
ACRIMONY WHICH IS ANOTHER NAME FOR MARRAIGE.* *

*25. CHRISTIANS HAVE ONLY ONE SPOUSE. THIS IS CALLED
MONOTONY*

New toy

My trip up to Lancaster on Friday was uneventful, except for a slight issue with the underdash wiring wrapping around the steering column and making it impossible to go anywhere in a lefterly direction (soon fixed).

Here is my cute little Porsche 914, 2.0 litre, built in Germany in 1973:

Another Porsche? How decadent.

On Friday I will travel up to Lancaster on the train, and drive this little car home with me:

I was a little surprised to find that there is a regular train service from LA to Lancaster, which is sort of in the sticks, what with being inland and so on. (It’s always a little surprising to find that some people in California don’t actually live within 20 minutes of the Pacific.)

In other home news, we have a new bed. It was a bit of a game putting it together, what with one joint jumping out as another joint was hammered in, plus a set of a billion loose dowels to line up and engage in holes, but it smells good (it came specially oiled), and hasn’t yet collapsed.

Sleeping more than 6″ off the floor is nice – I’d say that this bed is about the right height, being at about 18″. What’s with these ridiculous beds that are so high you need a ladder to get up into them? And don’t even get me started on the beds that are shown with so many pesky darned pillows and cushions on them that there is no room for any human beings.

Our Daft Cat

Put a box down, and he’ll squeeze into it. Can’t be comfortable.

Why I Love The Phone Company, Part 12

while(rant) {

I decided I had better order a replacement phone from AT&T, in case I brick my G1 during the Android flash. The AT&T sim card in it, as far as AT&T are concerned, is still inside my old steam-powered wind-up cellphone, which is about four years old – so they offer me a choice of zero or low cost upgrade devices, many of which (unlike the iPhone for example) do not require a new 2 year service agreement.

After selecting a decent Samsung thing for $0 with no new agreement required and no shipping charge, I added it to my “cart”, and went through a couple more web pages, before being told that there would be an “upgrade fee” of $18. So much for a free upgrade. So I swallowed that, and finally arrived on the “place your order” page, where I was informed that there would be “Estimated Taxes” of around $16 in addition to the “upgrade fee” of $18, making this “free” phone a $34 phone. Moreover, I was required to click on an agreement for a new 2 year service plan before the order could be placed!

Fuck that for a laugh.

This is why I despise the phone companies so – they are money-grubbing bastards who will rook you any way they can by hidden costs, surprise fees, and nonsensical official-sounding charges that they tack on to everything. “Upgrade fee” – what exactly is that fee for? What possible justification can they have for that? “Estimated Taxes” – why not an exact tax? What unknowns are there about my order and my details that prevent them from making an exact calculation? It’s all horse manure.

}

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, me hearties

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I have been excited to pick up the “cupcake” build of Android, and lost no time in firing up Eclipse and seeing if I could now get access to the low level audio samples from the mic. And I could – so this allowed me to make a simple FFT spectrum display and SPL meter. Unhappily, although the app runs fine in the Android emulator, I cannot run it on my Google G1 since that is still running Android 1.1: I need to upgrade it to 1.5, which is apparently quite a palaver. Since I use the G1 as my everyday phone, I don’t really want to take the risk until the release is more stable.

In other news this post has nothing to do with pirates.

In still further news, why am I always coming across discarded knickers in the bathroom?

Stinky Plant Coming Up

I last saw this in 1999:

Phew, what a stinker.

Picked Up For You Today

1) I am amused to learn that the Eminem/Bruno stunt was in fact staged after all, and hope that all the jerks who commented on the YouTube video of the event along the lines of “Eminem had it coming to him, that’ll teach him, it’s a shame Cohen didn’t fart in this face”, now feel suitably stupid and idiotic.

2) The Mars Rover is, according to the gleeful press, “Stuck in Mud”. If this is true, it is NASA’s biggest discovery since Neil Armstrong found a pair of Chucks on the Moon, since you need water to make mud, last I heard.

3) Susan Boyle has predictably lost her marbles due to the stress of publicity etc., which is hardly surprising considering she went from being an anybody to a major somebody in a very short space of time, and all the pressure that entails. What amuses me is that apparently most people polled in the UK (more than 70%) say she shouldn’t even have been allowed to compete … that a pyschological test would have revealed her unsuitability. Presumably a large fraction of those same people watched and adored her anyway?

4) The “officials” involved in investigating the France Air crash are now revising their prior categorical assertion that the incident couldn’t have been a terrorist attack, which seemed like a pretty daft assertion yesterday, when almost no details were known. The way I look at it, it seems highly likely it was a terrorist attack. Planes don’t drop out of the sky just because of a bit of bad weather.

Puzzled by Planes

What puzzles me about this Air France crash is the lack of technical information apparently available. Here we have a modern ‘plane, crammed with state of the art control systems and failsafe electronics and other gizmos, and yet it is as isolated flying across the Atlantic as a ship would have been sailing the same route hundreds of years ago. Why are such ‘planes not sending a continuous stream of digital monitoring information to satellite and ground stations? In the event of a mishap, it would simply be a matter of examining that data to find the cause. The design seems to be focussed on making the ‘plane a completely autonomous and stealthy vehicle, with no thought given to automated wireless communication of its vital signs to equipment on the ground, which could be used at the time, or post mortem, to diagnose problems.

Nothing to crow over

This rook is making a hell of a racket outside my office window.

Maybe it’s a raven? It’s as black as your hat, whatever it is.

Raw Entertainment

I am in awe of these musicians.

Knickers!

I think these are very nice, and a real bargain for 1p. Not for me, I hasten to add. If I was in the UK I’d be hot-footing it round to Marks and Sparks and buying a pair for each of my LJ friends.

Best Buy

To land_girl and lady_mitzi: no, Best Buy do not sell chocolate or cheese!

I think you both need to get your pretty bottoms over to the US of A and have a Best Buy experience

Dangerous Hubble Repairs

Apparently a few chaps have endangered their lives, at huge expense, by bolting a new camera onto the Hubble telescope. If the old Hubble was no good, then we should send another one up, unmanned. Or send a robot up to fix it. We should not allow people to endanger their lives by sending them up to float around in spacesuits wielding spanners and tools. If there is no funding to send up a new Hubble, then so be it. If robotic technology is not up to doing those sort of repairs on equipment in space, then spend money on R&D so that it is.

The idea of sending people up to fix cameras, at incredible risk and expense, is simply ridiculous. And yet a lot of folks seem to think is it heroic and brave etc.. For a camera? Come on!

Hubble

Apparently a few chaps have endangered their lives, at huge expense, by bolting a new camera onto the Hubble telescope. If the old Hubble was no good, then we should send another one up, unmanned. Or send a robot up to fix it. We should not allow people to endanger their lives by sending them up to float around in spacesuits wielding spanners and tools. If there is no funding to send up a new Hubble, then so be it. If robotic technology is not up to doing those sort of repairs on equipment in space, then spend money on R&D so that it is.

The idea of sending people up to fix cameras, at incredible risk and expense, is simply ridiculous. And yet a lot of folks seem to think is it heroic and brave etc.. For a camera? Come on!