MORNING
Ever been to a hack-a-thon? Me neither, but that is the suggested meet-up for the Nova group this month. Since I’m in town, I’m considering. This event is at the Sunlife Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, and this being Florida, it is nowhere near Miami, but out near southwest Hallandale Beach. When I say out, I mean it has a secret address. The sumbitches who advertise the place collectively refuse to mention the address. (It is 2267 Dan Marino Blvd., Miami Gardens, Florida.)
Apparently (I’m guessing here) there are seminars that teach people how to program their own web pages. Ergo, there must be such people still out there, which still does not explain why all this is being held in a stadium. Here is a photo of their useless information site. Note the “G” is clipped on “Grand”. That’s good advertising. Nor can I figure out what this has to do with robotics. Nonetheless, it is something new and different so I called in my request for a free pass.
The remainder of the morn, until the motorcycle shop opens, I spent reviewing my weaker areas in celestial navigation, which includes plotting charts. For example, I notice other charts seem to be able to always get their assumed position inside the compass rose. It is not that easy and there are no instructions, but I’ll figure it out. My study limit on this topic seems to be around twenty minutes every second or third day, so yes, this does seem to be taking forever.
Then again, it’s like playing bass. I’m not concerned with just doing it well enough to fool the uninitiated, that's how the Liberal mind goes about things. I hate shallow learners. I’m deep into learning the theory needed to get original. I understand why some navigators or bassists will say anybody can do it. No way, and I go so far as to say there are certain people who should utterly stay away from these and other complicated matters. The USA has already achieved the pinnacle in educational mediocrity. I mean, look what they’ve voted for since Reagan. And how nothing new has been invented since the moon landing.
NOON
Here’s where I get cranky for ten minutes. The batbike is home from the shop and the misfiring piston is explained. Motorcycle electronics are not great. The alternator must fire up to 13.9 volts minimum, preferably over 14.0, to work the plugs. I was running at 13.4. The cPod, even with its independent power supply, still requires a slight voltage to work the relays. I’m looking at opto-isolators to help but either way, I’ve missed my big October holiday. Grrr. The motor has to be pulled to replace that single item. At least $700 for that upgrade.
Whoa, talk about flak, what I said about people who should not try complicated matters. It looks like some people would force others to grant everybody the same abilities. That’s plain dumb. No, I meant it, there are some people who should not play bass. And top of my list on that is, you guessed it, ex-guitarists, particularly failed ex-guitarists. If I could ladle out the advice to 99% of guitarists and bass players, I tell them music is wonderful, music is fantastic, but stay in school.
“But if I utilize my quota of talent to learn math, how will I ever get as good as I can be on the guitar?” Yeah, I’ve heard that lame excuse before and always from a dumb bastard who can't do his math. Son, intelligence and musical ability don’t overlap the same parts of the brain and I ought to know. If I can take a break from music to freshen up my mind with the mathematics of electronics and navigation, the opposite is also true. Besides, if one’s talent is that marginal as to be interrupted by academic thought, that person is going nowhere and they can hang it up, seriously.
There is no merit to the argument that intellectuality impairs or detracts from musical “sensitivity”. Music is not a substitute for basic education, and yes, I’ve heard the stupid song. This world is full of talented people so stupid they can’t be decent company. So quit exhaling through the microphone and stay in school.
You can also self-test to see if, with the exception of The Beatles, you like any of the tunes on Wikipedia’s worst ever song list. Three strikes and you’re out.
Will I ever do anything musically original? That’s a question of perspective. Not everyone would agree a famous recording hit is the measure of success, but I’d consider it a damn good yardstick. Talent? What kind do you mean? When you get on stage, do women from your audience come running up to join you? Happens to me all the time. Well, not all the time, but often enough to point it out as a feature. But I put on my own brakes because I realize that after all these years, I'm playing in front of a trained audience. These women often know me already.
I would like to leave some kind of legacy, though. One good song.
NIGHT
My afternoon was in an easy chair, pondering the more complex ways I could connect some Arduinos. Two brains or two processors are always better than one, I say. Other projects stick with one unit, or if two, operating independently. Did I mention, I found another box of Arduinos in my supply drawer. If you think navigation is complicated, you should now see what is on my Arduino drawing board. It is complexity for its own sake. Because I like complicated.
Other than the motorcycle, I have not left the house all day. I can explain. Remember that turkey pot roast from last evening? Well, it’s all gone and I didn’t have company. So I had no reason to go out. Here’s a picture of
[photo delayed]
I’ve delved into the batbike electrical problems and there is no option to redesign the system. It all works off that Honda generator/alternator contraption that cannot be upgraded. So, where is the next nearest available source of electricity? Better yet, where is a source that I don’t need for any other purpose when the Honda is running? Ah, the solar panels. And now that I know how they work, a solar panel regulator is cheap. All I do is run it backwards, toward the power source instead of away from it.
This is a mickey mouse arrangement, one that was rejected last year: the solar panels running the Honda battery. But that was before the cPod got itself efficient enough to have extra power during the day. I will rig up some ordinary speaker wire which I happen to have in oversupply and test this out soon. Maybe tomorrow. It was a pity to take the cPod down and back into storage mode. Lights, mothballs, small anti-mold fan with night timer, etc.
And I’ll have to settle for 13.7 volts. Later, the speak wire is a notch too flimsy. I’m off to the store for a spool of 18 gauge automotive. Which gave me time to think, which in return made me realize there is a connection between this repair and the slight difficulties I had with the cPod in Cape Canaveral a few months back. I did notice the slight sputter on cloudy days, but I wrote this off to the known problems the Honda has always exhibited in wet weather. Did I just spend $360 I didn’t need to? Not really, the carburetors are another known expense on that machine.
ADDENDUM
I’ve completed my year-end budget reviews and tweaked the long-term outlook. This is the third consecutive year of operating at a profit (defined as a reasonable increase after inflation). While disaster and surprise attack will always be around, I’ll never be “poor” again as I was in 2009-2010. And 2015 looks like it will be a banner year. However, the inflation thing is still a worry and I keep an eye on that.
You’ll never be rid of government-induced inflation for all the government knows how to do is print money. It isn’t a big move from central banking to central planning—and making huge segments of the population dependent in some way on the government is a formula that works for all of Canada.
As far as currency collapse, I still think the trick is to outrun the bear. Make sure you can last 90 days with reasonable independence and you’ll come out a clear winner. Keep your survival needs basic, as in food, water, this kind of thing, and a fifty-pound bag of rice can ensure your survival. It’s trying to preserve a lifestyle rather than a life itself that makes most disaster plans vulnerable. Another danger is feeling sorry for people who refuse to hear you out. Never make that mistake.
[Author's note: Moments later, I read that last bit and it is hard to follow. What I'm saying is those people who do not prepare will be the ones wanting pity when the inevitable happens. They don't want to listen to warnings. Part of every survival plan must allow such elements to starve to death, if necessary. It is no good trying to teach them a lesson they don't want to learn. And buy food that can be eaten raw--cockroaches can smell cooking food a mile away.]
Here is a photo I could not figure out. It defied analysis for the longest time, every simple explanation fell short on several points when I looked closely at the picture. Well, I just found out. This is in Finland in 1939. The Soviet invaders were shelling the town and the people in the street hunched up against a wall facing the direction the shells were coming from. The neatly stacked piles of rubble were the key.
Return Home
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
