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[05 Dec 2011|12:06am] |
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No comment
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[15 Jan 2007|12:59am] |
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There's snow on the ground, and my beard is frozen.
It's finally winter.
I fuckin' THRIVE on this weather.
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[30 Nov 2006|12:53am] |
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Oh man, The Black Keys ROCKED MY FACE OFF
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[03 Nov 2006|08:35pm] |
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I just ordered $380 worth of hard drives. 1.3TB of storage space, here I come.
They're going to be mounted in a wooden AK-47 ammo box!
Also: Socket head cap screws with a black-oxide finish. wheeeeeeeee!
*/
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[24 Aug 2006|03:39pm] |
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Random stuff:
Prospects for a solar car race in 2008 in the US are looking up. The DOE might be in for one, and Dan Eberly (the main driving force behind Formula Sun) has un-dropped off the face of the earth. Whooo domestic races. The bad news: I really, really doubt we'll make it for the 20th anniversary World Solar Challenge in Australia, October of 2007. We've got 13 months to build a brand new car, compared to the 19 that Borealis III was built in. Admittedly, we're not starting from ground-zero, the 19-month figure includes about 2 months of reverse-engineering BII that we've gotten done, and a lot of testing. But regardless, we're behind, by at least 2 to 4 months. And while there were 40-50ish people working on B3, we've got, at the VERY most, 35, probably between 25 and 30 dedicated people. We're gonna be very crunched for time. If we really, really want to go, but can't finish the new car in time, I'm going to try and float the idea that we take B3 to Australia just for fun. I think it could do well in the class for older cars.
#2: Things are looking up for the ISS, down for NASA.
The STS-115 shuttle mission is delivering major truss sections and the second major pair of solar arrays to the ISS, resuming construction that has been on hiatus since 2002. When the STS-117 mission delivers the third pair of solar arrays (a total of four are planned), the station will finally have a decent amount of power, and as almost everything but the arrays and truss sections can be launched by Russia or other nations if needed, the station will no longer be dependent on the space shuttle for completion. Just three more missions, NASA, you can do it.
Meanwhile, NASA's going full-steam ahead on their "crew exploration vehicle", now officially named Orion, or as most people call it, "Apollo 1.5". I mean, look at it.
Over 40 years and that's the best they can come up with. Decades of research and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent and they come up with a design that in the late 60s was only chosen because it would get us there a few years faster, not because it was the best choice.
"The capsule's conical shape is the safest and most reliable for re-entering the Earth's atmosphere..." Bullshit. The Russian Soyuz "headlight" shape has been in service since the mid 60's, only two fatalities. Everything possible went wrong with the first flight, and a hatch blew out on the 11th, both very, very early in the program; they've had a perfect record for over 30 years. They've had no problems with the shape, and it makes much better use of internal space. The conical shape has been chosen because it's simple and known territory, not because it's particularly good. I am amazed time and again by how NASA is not innovating AT ALL with this project.
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[22 Aug 2006|11:12pm] |
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Oh man ( huge ass photo update! )
In other news, new camera on the way! A Canon S3 IS, which usually goes for $500-600, is for some reason going for $365 on Amazon right now. I just couldn't pass up on that deal, seeing as how I was already eyeing an S3 as a christmas present to myself, and I might as well have a shiney new camera for the hundreds of pictures I'll be taking in Taiwan. Wheeeeeee.
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[22 Aug 2006|09:56pm] |
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HOLY EVER-FUCKING SHIT
They're making a squel to Total Annihilation! Finally! It probably won't come out until TA's over a decade old, that game's from 1997.
Supreme Commander
I'm going to cry with joy the first time I play it.
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[03 Jul 2006|05:58pm] |
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So, I never got around to posting photos from last weekend's massive trip.
( OMG PICTURES )
Have fun with those, I'm off to the shop. Pictures from THIS weekend (as well as the long tale of many amusments) when I get back.
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| GEEKS |
[29 Jun 2006|05:08am] |
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Yeah, I'm updating from the command line using Gentoo Linux.
Woot Linux.
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[11 Jun 2006|11:13pm] |
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Ah, finally in my room.
Everyone needs to check out this link, it's a short video the MN Daily did on the solar car.
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[30 Apr 2006|01:34am] |
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[30 Apr 2006|01:08am] |
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Solar Car testing today! In the rain!
We put the knoby tires on, but the parking lot was slick enough that we didn't dare try anything ambitious. Everyone was so cold and miserable, that we gave up testing after a few drivers. I ended up being stuck in the car to drive back.
You have to drive one-handed, and use the other hand to wipe the fog off the windshield with a paper towel CONSTANTLY. If you stop for over two seconds, it fogs over to the point that you can't see. And that still doesn't halp much, since the rain just sticks to the outside of the windshield. You can't see the curb, and you can't see the center line. You just have to be thankful for the fact that the lead car is red and thus highly visible.
They claim that the car is waterproof, and they're partially right. The car will drive in the rain; all the electronics are wrapped in plastic bags. But the driver compartment is far from waterproof. The seal around the edge of the canopy isn't all that good, but the two air vents are wiiiiide open. And right over your hands/knees. So cooooold.
And now for the ( pictures! )
Sorry about all the pictures, dudes. I know I'm posting a bit much.
*/
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[23 Apr 2006|11:07pm] |
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So, here's they picture post from today's solar car testing. I was going to let it slide until tomorrow, but since Heidi asked, here ya go. It is a post of dial-up rape, 30-some large pictues.
( You have been warned )
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[05 Jan 2006|03:51pm] |
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So, I haven't done a public post in ages, mostly because I haven't been doing any projects, which is a direct result of college. However, SOME things have been slowly building.
A: I'm working on creating the ultimate mobile Apple Laptop. I'm using a 2000 PowerBook G3 "Pismo" as the base. Max out the RAM, toss in a big hard disk, and two brand new batteries. 10 hours without recharging! Bo-ya. It's only a 400MHz model, which is a bit slow, but it's still usable. The thing that bugs me the most is the screen resolution... 1024 x 768 just doesn't cut it anymore. But oh well, the plastic case is rugged as hell, and it gets great wireless range. It was DAMN cheap, I bought a few non functional ones on ebay, swapped around parts and was able to get two working (although one had a pretty ugly screen), and sold the two I didn't need for a pretty good price. Now all I may add to it is a faster G3 proc, if PowerLogix ever gets it's act together again. There are a couple of other improvements that are bouncing around in my head, but who knows what will come of them.
B: I've got a whole bunch of the Apple ADB 1 mice lying around, I'm thinking of converting one to an optical one. The ADB 1 mouse is possibly my favorite mouse ever, it just feels perfect in your hand, and the tactile feedback from the click is perfect. It is by far the best ball-based mouse ever (Just as the original Apple Extended Keyboard is the best keyboard ever) and I would like to bring one into the optical age. I still need to check out the insides of a bunch of mice first, for fit measurements.
C: Looking into getting an old Apple Newton 2100 to play around with. On top of that, I just need the keyboard (cheap on ebay), a Lucent Wavelan Silver card (easily sourced out of a graphite airport basestation) and a compactflash -> PCMCIA adapter (less than a buck on ebay). Possibly a wired internet (ethernet) card as well. All of the related software I need is opensource. It would SCREAM as a notetaking/mobile email device. Also, just plain fun to play with.
I'll try to keep this place updated, as well as post pictures of the great Pismo disassembly of '05.
Later
*/
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theholymac's journal