Look at the three versions of the cross. The original, on a light tan background, was somewhat hard to perceive. So the Germans painted a dark square in the background. The center pattern shows dark green, called “fungicidal green”. Now the cross could be seen 500 yards away. The leading panzers found out the hard way that is the exact distance the Polish anti-tank crews were trained to open fire. And what did they aim for?So the Germans blotted out some of the white, resulting in the last version. Wiki says it is an adaptation of the Iron Cross with all the military and political implications thereby, but I prefer this more common-sense explanation.
It was a stay-home Friday after all. We considered visiting the bookstore, seeing the Django movie and even the kebab over on Federal, but home takes over. This place may be smaller than my others but everything is here. So once we oomphed down in the easy chairs with tea and ginger snaps, it was like in my twenties all over again. We didn’t go out (remember Judy and I?). I should have a name for this because it happens so often, in my life, I mean.
There are two contributing factors. One, the place is just comfortable enough and two, there is no TV. Only a cable addict would object to a quiet evening, at least around here. We looked at pictures of Lake Balaton and Caracas. I found Udo Jergens on youTube, and some early Tommy James. Estelle likes the guy singers with the big voice and the big hair, like Tom Jones and Modern Talking. I still prefer the man who writes, plays, and sings his own music. One of the best kept secrets of singing is how easy it really is once you catch on. I regard voice lessons about the same as elocution lessons, you don’t take any unless you really desperately need them.
So other than a trip to the bakery, where Fridays are Deadsville, the only other event was having to show proof of age on the bus. I was mistaken for under fifty, which does not happen as often as it should. That’s a serious challenge from a no-nonsense bus inspector type, not the route driver asking for my card. The sore arm and the cool spell has me riding with the public these days. It is down to the mid-seventies.
The mechanic changing the batbike tire didn’t call. I knew it, there was much more to the job than he thought. That’s why I rejected his original offer and told him to track his time independently. It is possible the sidecar may have to be removed [temporarily, to change the tire]. Either way, I love my batbike and it is worth such hassle and more.
ADDENDUM
Without getting too deep on the subject, there is more to the sensor logic I wrote about last day. I believe that the sensors, in combination, can be used to interpret significantly different results than merely their sum. No, I have not done so yet, I’ve stated only my intention to look closely at it. And I take this opportunity to spell out how I’ll procede and emphasize we don't pick investigative topics out of thin air over here. If thinking was as easy as lifting weights, you'd see the 800 pounds.
I thought how single-purpose sensors are quite common, the smoke alarm, or the seatbelt alarm. That’s what I meant when I said sensors tend to be used in one simple manner each. I regard a thermostat the same, even the programmable ones that appear to be multi-tasking. My focus is about a thermostat that, instead of programming, it sensed the ambient light and decided when it was evening by itself rather than you setting it for 6:30 PM. And it knew if the room was empty, leave it cooler. This gets into the realm of meta-information, and that is my specialty: information about information.
My goal is to investigate the type of programming that works best. Linear programming won't work here. Think about meta-information. A bad programmer knows from the records who you telephoned. A good programmer (such as myself), with the exact same data, can figure out your salary, religion, marital status, ethnicity, and even what days of the week you aren't at home. That is why you should shred your grocery lists.
To chart a course, I imagined how sonar is used. Not how it works, that’s engineering. Sound waves in the water act funny. I know from reading that sonar development was a long process and it still doesn't not work right all the time. The original blips or pings were often totally misinterpreted. Somebody eventually learned there is more to it than the sound. So, I choose that as a model on how to approach my idea about sensors.
Find or create a known set of conditions. Test the sonar and the sound speed, both above, below, and through a thermocline. Take a few extreme readings to check for reasonableness. I believe, it enough different viewpoints are taken, sooner or later a pattern emerges that was unsuspected. Until at least one such pattern is found, it would be futile to start programming. And it will affect the layout of the coding.
I'd start simple. Vary the temperature and find out if there is a correlation. Is it linear? Is it reversible, that is, if I know the speed, can I calculate the temperature? Same with salinity, turpidity, even the amount of light. Somewhere, I know I’ll find an overlap that has been overlooked. I double know that because of the caliber of writers on such subjects. They leave out far too many important details for it to be ordinary oversights.
Then I bought and read the article on multi-sensory speech testing in this month’s Scientific American. I have always agreed on the findings and thought this matter had already been thoroughly investigated long ago. Then I find out it is thesis material. Of course it is easier to understand someone in a noisy room if you can see his lips moving. But these are highly paid scientists doing leading edge study, so it must be important. Then again, what did I just say about oversights?
That's plenty to show how difficult it would be to write out the really deep thought patterns about my approach to this topic. You don't need to experience the same frustations. Besides, my deepest thinking doesn’t lend itself well to being scripted out.
