Here is a hot-swappable external SATA drive USB converter. At $56 they aren’t cheap. For any newbies, what it does is take an ordinary hard drive and convert it to a USB. With all my recent computer troubles, it really takes time to continually be connecting up hard drives internally, where you have to be concerned with such things as slot types and suitcase straps. Hot swappable means I can change out from one hard drive to another while the computer is still on. Should have done this years ago, but until recently, money has been a problem.
You don't get the answer to y'day's simple arithmetic problem until last. Time to ponder that Iran has become the latest nation to launch a satellite into orbit. No doubt every one of the scientists and engineers involved was educated at an American school. This development explains my interest in the cost of these missiles. A V-1 with a modern GPS guidance system would still be a deadly weapon.I stopped at the club on the way home to find a note left for me by a guitarist wanting to start a three piece rock-blues group. I called, it's legit, but I'm cautious. Where would such a band play around here? The local music "scene" moved north twenty years ago. I asked him to call me when they are next playing, his response confirms my statement that there are no new bands in this town. Only endless re-combinations of the same old players.
Trivia. The largest database in the world is not credit information, but fingerprint identification. Approximately 10,000 Americans daily have their fingerprints added to "repositories", most without their knowledge or consent, or they believe they are only applying for a job. The first use of fingerprints to snare a criminal was in 1911 when fingerprints were allowed as evidence. That's just one of the reasons I dislike databases. I doubt anyone would consent to having their personal information in such a file if they understood the potential for abuse. The only two two types who have nothing to hide are losers and deadbeats. Again, I do not object to the data, but to the abuse of data (defined as any usage other than that for which it was originally given).
I had a MacDonald's coffee, that's twice in this century. It wasn't bad, but they've widely announced their intention to undersell Starbucks. That part I'm glad about. Starbucks ruined America's coffee shop industry. It takes more than half your twenty minute break to get through their glacial lineups. And, my original complaint remains that they killed the concept of the free refill. Screw them.
Off to Singapore was a letter concerning questions from the recent club discussions. And a description of the Braille gadget I've designed. That's on paper only, I do not have the mechanical skills to build the thing. What I can't find is any place in town that sells Braille books. Lots of libraries, but I need something here at home where I do my power thinking. And I may have to destroy some of the pages during the learning process. Not a single listing in Craigslist. That's good, lack of responses on the Internet means you have actually had an original thought.
I was researching other Braille devices, which amount to a stylus and pen punchboard, printers that "emboss", and talking wristwatches. There are even automotive Braille battery terminals, which is kind of a scary thought. My searches say the Braille books are "very expensive" and most blind readers complain about the lack of selection. I know I once saw a free Braille Bible, but where was that?Now my invention would allow a blind person to use the Internet to a certain degree. It could obviate the need to have a speaker or headphones. There are other electromechanical devices on the market, such as the Bristol, but they are bulky and cost a fortune. Shown here is their $300 computer keyboard. You can see the row of "plungers" that still require the user to go through contortions. Why do people who build these things make themselves so impossible to find on the Internet?
Okay, here is the logic and calculations on the production cost of a V-1 missile.
Let x = the cost of a V-2.
Therefore: .04x = the cost of a V-1.
Therefore: 6,048(x) + 30,046(.04x) = $3,000,000,000
Therefore: 7,249.84x = $3,000,000,000
Therefore: x = $413,802.23 and it follows a V-1 cost $16,552.09 in 1943 dollars.
Inflation factor 1943 to 2012: 12.47
In 2012 dollars, a V-2 cost $5,160,113.81
Thus a V-1 would cost $206,404.56 today. Still a bargain.
QED
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