June 5, 2015

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 5, 2014, one busy day.
Five years ago today: June 5, 2010, bingo rising.
Six years ago today: June 5, 2009, lightning will strike idiots twice.

MORNING
           Last evening I kind of sat down and figured out once and for all the sequence of flaps and ailerons needed to fly an airplane. Unless you are a combat pilot, there is no reason to have the flaps on one side (left or right) move in opposite directions. I certain all my critics will test this before they say it is wrong. I learned what has to happen and it was an eye-opener.

           Shown here, I’m pointing to one of the newer (I think) mini-servos, about one-quarter the size of the standard models. In the background is part of the airframe. The fuselage, and you can see there is room for the servo. For the eagle-eyed, yes, the tailplanes have notches cut out for the flaps, not installed yet. And this servo is to operate the rudder. The other two servos will go where the cockpit would be. It is not meant to fly, only to demonstrate servo control.
           This means the configurations for every normal flight maneuver could therefore be accomplished with three servo motors, whether model or full scale. I presumed it would be more, but three will do. Pitch, roll, and yaw. There are some gear ratios involved, but so what? If I absolutely had to build a flight simulator (analog) I think I could. In about a month with help, and it would be impressive.
           However, I have no method of cutting small gears, say the size you’d find inside your printer. And to purchase them is a prohibitive expense. Today I’ll look at whether pulleys could be substituted. Here’s an plot twist. That Sony laptop I bought was paid for by a check from a friend who owed me the money. The check has not yet cleared at his end, so we went looking for it. The comparison of bank records was revealing.
           That is, anybody who is concerned about wire-taps and phone surveillance should note that every last financial transaction with banks has been going on for years. My advice is that you always should take even amounts of withdrawals, say $100 per week, out of an ATM for your daily expenses. Never pay by debit—the banks are plainly over-concerned with what you spend and when. You probably don’t want strangers keeping this level of information on your activities.
           People who say that sounds like a conspiracy theory must have a crystal ball and know what new laws will be brought in over the next ten years. I’m saying keep your personal life off the computer screens of people who are literally spying on you behind the scenes. You can’t prevent it, but you can make it easier for them to spy on somebody else. Use your brains.

NOON

           “Don’t waste time playing cards.” –Farm wisdom.

           Tell you what, I had a lot of intense calculations to do over today. I sat around shelling peanuts and I remember when I was a kid about the neighbor whose parents owned an ice cream parlor. Everybody made friends with that kid. They used to send us upstairs and let us shell peanuts. For hours on end. That kid, by the age of four, had been thoroughly trained to make you shell peanuts.

           Back to today, here is a photo of what happens behind the scenes with robots. Shown here are a tiny fraction of the calculations and sketches needed. I’m pre-occupied with the sale of the property but I can still design fighter aircraft in my spare time. It’s mind-boggling how many experts you meet if you draw any diagrams in public.
           It’s almost Canadian-like how many people who have never fabricated a robot still know more about it than you do. I remain optimistic that someday I will actually meet a Canadian who says something I have not heard fifty times before. Meanwhile, it seems I somehow persist in doing all my original thinking the hard way.

NIGHT
           Interesting. I’ve received inquiries about Craigslist blocking individual posting lists. For example, you try to post to “auto parts” and your postings are blocked, but you can still post to “books”. I took a close look. That only confirms that Craigslist is a strange universe unto itself. They certainly play favorites and there is no getting around that level of control. But I will investigate.

           News from the north. I have a copy of the tax office file for the cottage. Plus information that the seller seems to be late on his payments on his expensive house up near New York. This hardly matters in the face of what’s happened here in the past few days. What matters is JZ and I got organized. It seems, after all, JZ and I can come up with plenty of cash if we really, really get motivated. Now the bad news.
           He warned me and I didn’t listen. He said after he met Peggy that she was bad company. You want gossip? Here it comes. After twice confirming last week that I could crash at her place this upcoming Sunday night, she called this morning to say she was “busy”. She is fully aware this is a house-buying expedition and not some junket to Disneyworld. My thoughts were that if you are going to lie to me, you should practice in front of a mirror. It’s dodgy if she’ll make the Xmas list this year.
           That explains the horrible picture you see here. This is a property that is priced less than the amount we scraped together. It is in that area west of town toward the river and the railway houses. It’s a trailer, sure, but it is also an indication that we could buy something in the area for the asking price. Be leery on this one, as the west end of town, some miles away, is also the bad area of town. While perhaps okay, I’d have to see it.


Last Laugh


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