One year ago today: July 12, 2013, broken windscreen.
Five years ago today: July 12, 2009, it's MY band, guys.
Ten years ago today: July 12, 2004, Marco Island video.
MORNING
A perfect day for outdoor work and I took it up. After, of course, a leisurely morning coffee and soft bread at the bakery. That’s plenty of time to read the newspaper, which has become the worst way to get news. (Second worst. I've since seen Fox.) I sifted out these gems. A bakery in Wisconsin is cancelling WiFi service on weekends. Seems they got fed up with customers who came in and hogged a table for hours surfing the net while other customers had no place to sit. Did you get that, Dunkin?
Closeup examination shows the finger does have both a powered grip and open. See video. It is hard to see because it has been painted black. I thought it was grip only, with a spring to extend. Note the Arduino Uno on top, the servo gear-motor is in the blue case. Each finger will require one servo and all these parts must eventually be hidden inside the robot forearm. Since there isn’t room, somebody is going to have to program that Arduino six times. (Five fingers plus wrist rotation.) See below for more detail of the finger joints.
The news from Liberty City was completely sanitized to make the reader who doesn’t know what Liberty City is think a white priest was gunned down by two white youths for his spare change. The good news is Germany is throwing the head US spy out on his ass. Good. Spying is not condoned by the average American citizen and thus I could care less if every country rounded up all the embassy staff and
AFTERNOON
Camper pod progress report. I lowered the “ceiling” again. At this point I should take it on a trip before any more structural modifications. The sleeping area, even with the new support rails, is 37-1/2” wide, barely less than a standard bed size. I can’t tell the difference. A permanent dowel now extends across the interior near center, making getting in and out easier and faster. Everything, including buried end-cuts now sports two layers of anti-fungus undercoat.
I’ve designed a slight foil to the new slanting area to keep airflow laminar over the panels, similar to MiG wing fences. It is better to keep the panels cool than to go through contortions trying to face them toward the sun or put up reflectors. That is experience talking. My calculations show great hope for that fourth solar panel, although to connect it I must purchase an expensive “splitter” device.
I’ve removed and replaced all exterior lag screws to now have a washer, as I notice they bit into the wood to differing depths. The front kick-panel is replaced with a single plate which can only be removed from the inside (two large wing nuts). All other designs were not strong enough from the outside. Oh, and you know those “bend-once” metal plates? I’ve now bent them three times and they still work fine. I also crawled under the wagon for a thorough inspection and it is in brand new condition.
Three hours later, I’m going to lower overall height once more, cancel what I said above. The problem is, and I don’t need a test drive to know it, the design looks a little too aggressive. The last thing I want is the wagon looking heavier than the towing vehicle. But, flexibility was built into the design, four cuts and I’m done. If you see pictures, it means I drove out to BrandSmart and bought one of their Vivitars on sale. I dislike Vivitars as their camera software plays with your computer. If not, you get stock robotics photos. Sorry, we're not made of money over here.
EVENING
I have new neighbors, and they are rookies. They try to put on airs with the cash they “save” by living in a trailer court. It doesn’t work. I once fell in love with a Canadian lady who, if you substitute “condo” for “trailer”, tried to live that way. Anyhow, these new people drive a fancy car but keep running out of gas. I think they are renters. They won’t last long. Folks, you do not "save" money by renting. Ever. Simply because in the end, it is your landlord that has to make the profit.
Tonight, at bingo, I was asked for my autograph. Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, but they were for real. I learned later one of them was a manager of Legions, looking for new acts. I have to admit bingo has been very lucrative for me. But with the autograph thing, well, I’ll just be impossible to deal with for the next few weeks! Kneel before me, mortals. Ain’t braggin’ if ya done it. (Nothing ever came of these inquiries. Nothing.)
And here’s something else with me written all over it. The new schedule is posted for the next Nova robotics meetup. It is solidly moving a long toward the robotic hand (totally my suggestion) and I see responses from the original members who quit attending. Aha. I knew that over-academic simulator material wasn’t cutting it. I can now post serious articles to the Nova site and get responses. Even the dude with the 3D printer came out of hibernation. I’m next going to propose that the core people (about six persons) print one finger each. I’ve posted elsewhere that I noticed all the finger joints were identical. Cost, about $25 each. Robotics is not cheap.
Below is a photo of the finger joints of the planned 3D print. This option was chosen last week, so this is my first time seeing them, but golly, don’t they look a lot like the model I built here on June 27 last? I see their model uses twice as many parts, as they have opted to build the joint hinges internally. Such fine work is beyond my capability. I will encourage the guy with the 3D printer to bring it to the meetup. I long ago predicted these printers will require a maintenance man and several persons to operate it efficiently.
[Author's note 2015-07-12: in the end, he never did bring the printer. The atmosphere of this club somehow promoted the "every man for himself" attitude. Like the rest, he only wants to show up and steal ideas, then go home and use his private little printer to make billions. No such thing will never happen, robotics is a field for highly organized teams. Unless, of course, somebody with true genius happens along. But that person would not waste their time with Nova Southeastern.]
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