Author: dave-o

Steam-Powered Aeroplane Footage!

On page 251 of Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred I make brief mention of flash boilers used in steam-powered airplanes, basically just to poo-poo them as dangerously whack–which, as it turns out, was pretty closed-minded of me. Here’s one in action:

I don’t usually advise clicking through to the pit of vitriol and distraction that is YouTube, but the original poster’s comments are pretty informative. A snippet:

A Travel Air 2000 biplane made the world’s first piloted flight under steam power over Oakland, California, on 12 April 1933.
The strangest feature of the flight was its relative silence; spectators on the ground could hear the pilot when he called to them from mid-air.

It goes on with some neat technical details; as it turns out, the flash-boiler design Besler used was arguably an optimal solution at the time for small planes like his. There’s a pretty fascinating contemporary article on Besler’s steam-powered flight in the June 1934 issue of Steam Car Developments and Steam Aviation. Besler’s steam engine was reversible at the flip of a switch, making it possible to slow the plane after landing without risk of doing an endo and flipping the bird. I.e., In a slightly different timeline, steam-powered planes would have been a perfect fit for aircraft carriers.

Running the Gun Numbers: The Quick, the Dead, and Intent

My latest column for the Ann Arbor Chronicle is up; consider it part two in the series “Things We Need to Talk About Before We Can Talk About Gun Control” (part one is over here):
The Ann Arbor Chronicle | In it for the Money: Running Gun Numbers

Here’s a favorite Glib Gun Lover comparison: There are roughly as many cars in America as guns [9], and there were 2,771,497 motor vehicle occupant injuries in 2010, and 33,687 deaths for a total of 2,805,184 American motor vehicle casualties. Cars are 27 times more dangerous than guns!
But, the thing is, of those 2,771,497 automotive injuries, only 8,954 were acts of malice or sorrow, and only 1,789 were attempts at suicide [10].
Check the pie charts: Orange represents blameless accidents; red and blue (and green) represent active human efforts to inflict pain or suffering. We’d have included a pie chart of Automobile Deaths, but it would have just been an orange circle.
In other words, those 2.8 million car accidents were basically just that: accidents. Those 33,000 corpses on the highway were largely the result of bad decision-making and bad weather, bad maintenance and bad luck. Meanwhile, our 30,000 gun deaths weren’t accidents – sorry, 4% were accidents. The rest were acts. They were deliberate expressions of hate and sorrow and frustration and desperation. That should mean something to us as human beings.

All Hail THE OCTOPOD!!!


Created by Sean Charlesworth and totally *{squeeeeee!}*worthy:
It has working suckers on the tentacles! Opposable arms! LED lights! An operational iris access hatch! It was 3D-printed in basically a single pass and required *no painting*! (Tons more pics and vids here, including some footage of the printing process and a time-lapse of the final build.)

There’s also this nifty interview with Charlesworth:

Of all the mechanical bits to work out, the tentacles were by far the hardest and required the most test prints. I knew the tentacles had to really come alive or the model would be a flop. I rejected traditional joints for various reasons and ended up printing a flexible core with Objet’s rubber-like Tango material and fusing Objet Vero rigid knuckles to it for detail. I modeled a small shaft down the center and inserted brass armature wires afterward so the tentacles could be posed dramatically. It took about four versions to get it right. . . . I found the Objet Connex [3D printer] to be great for this project due to the multiple materials. While the ABS-like Digital Material would have ultimately been the best choice structurally, I didn’t want to deal with painting the model. I chose to do most of it with the Black and White Vero materials since I could digitally mix them and have something that looked great right out of the printer. I was also really happy with the resolution and precision of the parts.

Nifty Things Happen When You Co-ordinate Frame Rates and Wavelengths

This is *so* beautiful!
This is What Happens When You Run Water Through a 24hz Sine Wave | Colossal

Just to clarify what I’m 99.999% certain is happening here: The photographer is buzzing the water with a 24hz sound wave–thus creating a wave in the falling water that oscillates 24 times each second. He then shoots video of it at 24 frames per second. Provided that the video is interlaced (which is the norm with modern digital video), then FPS rate and Hz are equal, and so his camera is always catching the wave at the same position in its oscillation–thus the illusion of a frozen wave of water. When he bumps the sound wave up a notch, to 25 Hz, you see a slowly progressing water-wave, because now each subsequent image capture is catching the wave at a *slightly* different position further along its oscillation (same with the water-flowing-backward effect he gets when he dumps the oscillation down to 23 Hz). You can get the same effect in a dark room by exciting a stream of water with a sound wave coordinated with a strobe light.
In real life, if you were standing there in the garden, the hose would just look like it was pouring a plain old sloppy stream of water; it’s the magic of shooting at a frame rate that matches the oscillation rate of the wave that makes this magic. So *rad!*

RECOMMENDED GAME: “Pipe Trouble”

Spoiler Alert: I don’t believe in Good Guys and Bad Guys, and don’t really believe in the narrative necessity of antagonists and protagonists or the centrality of Conflict. Stories, to me, are about Problems, and the most interesting Problems are the ones that arise when everyone thinks they are basically the Good Guy Doing the Right Thing. Subsequently, most video games bore or frustrate me. That said, I’m loving Pipe Trouble, the newest new-media thingy from affable pop-culture gadfly Jim Munroe.

I dig games that 1) interestingly model real-world conundrums (however abstractly) and 2) force the player to balance competing interests in a Universe where there is never (or rarely) a zero-loss win-win. Add in adorable high-rez 8-bit graphics, interestingly quasi-narrative faux CBC radio clips between scenes, and reasonably ramping difficulty (I’m crappy at most traditional video games, so you kinda gotta take it easy on me), and this is just a perfect-fit game for dave-o.
Added bonus: Playing this game with my 6-year-old catalyzed a great conversation about 1) how to balance the stress of being challenged with the enjoyment of playing (levels get steadily harder and faster, which mega wigs both me and my kid out), 2) balancing economic development and environmental conservation in energy policy, and 3) how competing interests aren’t generally ones of “good guys” vs. “bad guys,” but situations where various groups are disagreeing because they have different visions of what constitutes the Best of All Possible Worlds, and their actions–no matter how destructive–come out of a good-faith effort to Do the Right Thing.
You can play a trial version online for free before buying–but I’m telling you, this is worth the price of a decent cup of coffee. Go get it for iPad or Android thingy.

MI voters: Plz take 10 seconds to help preserve public education in Michigan! Plz Share & RT! #PureMichigan

UPDATE MARCH 20, 2013: Although this stupid bill made it out of committee unamended (boo!), it still needs approval from the House–so call or email your rep ASAP and repeatedly! The sample letter below still applies. Thanks!

If you live in Michigan and give a crap about local-control of the public schools you pay for, please contact your rep *right this second*–you can even crib from my letter, included below!
The state House Education Committee will likely vote this afternoon on House Bill 4369, which expands the Education Achievement Authority “takeover” district (currently dicking things up big time in Muskegon Heights and throughout Detroit) to a statewide entity . I wrote about this extensively back in December–the bill numbers are different, but the bad plan remains the same. The website of the Michigan Educator’s Association (I.e., my wife’s union) has a concise bit on the current bill.
Here’s the letter I just sent. You can use it if you want, modify it how you choose, customize it to best speak to your concerns and community–just write your rep and do it *RIGHT NOW!*:

SUBJECT: I OPPOSE HB 4369! DO NOT EXPANDED THE EAA OR PRIVATIZE PUBLIC EDUCATION IN MICHIGAN
Dear __________________,
Please do everything you can to oppose any expansion of Michigan’s as-of-yet unproven Education Achievement Authority, and to limit the implicit privatization of public education in Michigan. This includes opposing House Bill 4369 (which expand the Education Achievement Authority to a statewide entity composed of charter schools). I have deeply held philosophical reasons for opposing the operation of our public schools on a for-profit basis.
Handing over our public institutions – and tax dollars – to private companies with no demonstrable record of success, and doing so without strict oversight, flies in the face of reason and should offend rational, honest public servants on both sides of the aisle.
For a detailed analysis of the hazards of pitfalls inherent in the EAA, charter schools, and “cyber” schools, please take a few minutes to read this 2012 article by Ann Arbor Chronicle columnist David Erik Nelson: http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=102112
Thank you for your time, consideration, and good faith.
Sincerely,
NAME
ADDRESS

(Obviously, plugging my old column is totally optional–but the details are all there, and the concerns for citizens laid out clearly, with citations and everything!)
The MEA suggests contacting both your own rep and the entire House Education Committee. I agree with this strategy; info for the entire Committee is pasted below:

  • LisaLyons@house.mi.gov Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons, R-Alto (chair): (517) 373-0846
  • RayFranz@house.mi.gov Rep. Ray Franz, R-Onekama (vice chair): (517) 373-0825
  • HughCrawford@house.mi.gov Rep. Hugh Crawford, R-Novi: (517) 373-0827
  • KevinDaley@house.mi.gov Rep. Kevin Daley, R-Lum Township: (517) 373-1800
  • BobGenetski@house.mi.gov Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck: (517) 373-0836
  • PeteLund@house.mi.gov Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township: (517) 373-0843
  • TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills: (517) 373-1773
  • ThomasHooker@house.mi.gov Rep. Tom Hooker, R-Byron Center: (517) 373-2277
  • BradJacobsen@house.mi.gov Rep. Brad Jacobsen, R-Oxford: (517) 373-1798
  • AmandaPrice@house.mi.gov Rep. Amanda Price, R-Park Township: (517) 373-0838
  • KenYonker@house.mi.gov Rep. Ken Yonker, R-Caledonia: (517) 373-0840
  • EllenLipton@house.mi.gov Rep. Ellen Lipton, D-Huntington Woods (minority vice chair): (517) 373-0478
  • DavidKnezek@house.mi.gov Rep. David Knezek Jr., D-Dearborn Heights: (517) 373-0849
  • WinnieBrinks@house.mi.gov Rep. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids: (517) 373-0822
  • ThomasStallworth@house.mi.gov Rep. Thomas Stallworth III, D-Detroit: (517) 373-2276
  • ColleneLamonte@house.mi.gov Rep. Collene Lamonte, D-Montague: (517) 373-3436
  • TheresaAbed@house.mi.gov Rep. Theresa Abed, D-Grand Ledge: (517) 373-0853

    • (And here’s all those emails in one easy-to-copy&paste-string: LisaLyons@house.mi.gov, RayFranz@house.mi.gov, HughCrawford@house.mi.gov, KevinDaley@house.mi.gov, BobGenetski@house.mi.gov, PeteLund@house.mi.gov, TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov, ThomasHooker@house.mi.gov, BradJacobsen@house.mi.gov, AmandaPrice@house.mi.gov, KenYonker@house.mi.gov, EllenLipton@house.mi.gov, DavidKnezek@house.mi.gov, WinnieBrinks@house.mi.gov, ThomasStallworth@house.mi.gov, ColleneLamonte@house.mi.gov, TheresaAbed@house.mi.gov)
    Thanks! GO FORTH AND HASSLE YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES! Be the Boss!

    RECOMMENDED READING: The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

    The Last Policeman is a really enjoyable read, both as a literary novel and as a low-grade mystery/crime thriller. About 60% into the book you suddenly realize that the crime has been solved and all loose ends secured–which leaves one to wonder what the hell is going to occupy the remaining pages. At this point, though, the investigator tracks backward through his solved mystery (not temporally, just in terms if the relationships of cause and effect), and unwinds a whole second layer to it all. So, right there, it would be a great piece of mystery writing, wonderfully managing expectations and non-cheating reveals (a la the best of Christie or Doyle). Throughout, it’s also great crime writing, showing the way that ordinary folks can resolve–without cognitive dissonance–the mismatches between their external and internal lives (I think of Price’s Clockers as being the epitome at this aspect of crime fiction). This is all pinned against an almost classic SF backdrop: Impending meteor strike is gonna end the world on a known date. Everything that means for workaday humans–including this fair-and-square regular-joe cop who’s found himself suddenly bumped up to detective–brings these “lowly” genre pieces up a notch. It’s fine *craft* being used to explore the poignant humanity of Kobayashi Maru, which is basically the thing we mean when we say “art,” right?
    Takeway: Read this. It’s a quick one and worth your time.

    (DISCLOSURE Those are indeed Amazon affiliate links to the book; if you click on them and buy it, I’ll get some minuscule percentage. Also, the book itself was a gift from my mom; all of these factors may have swayed my opinion. I’m only human.)

    Thrill to the sight of the mighty OREO Separator Machine!

    This is worth the 4 minutes, ’cause this machine gets increasingly excessive. I.e., even if you accept “robot for dismantling OREOs” as a basically rational project, you’re going to get to the self-flossing hatchet and ask yourself: “Hunh; that maybe seems sorta over the top?”–but then there’s a homebrew CNC router made from scrap metal and a Dremel, and the conclusion is obvious: This is the greatest cookie-cleansing machine ever concocted. Watch; learn:

    On Guns and Control, Tools and Instruments, the Quick and Dead

    I’m back to writing a monthly column for the Ann Arbor Chronicle. February’s column kicks off a series on guns (and largely builds off thoughts I posted here back in January). If you have experiences of guns–your actual first-hand experiences–that you’d like to share, please feel free to hit me over Twitter or email.
    The Ann Arbor Chronicle | In It For The Money: Guns And Control

    A gun isn’t a tool – it’s not a hammer or a drill that you can pick up, use to solve a problem, and put away until you have the next problem you want to solve. It’s an instrument, like a guitar or piano. It requires constant care, it requires checking and tuning before each use, it requires an intimate relationship with its mechanisms, with its parameters, with what it can do and what it should do and what it is meant for. It requires care and feeding. And it requires practice, near constant practice for you to be any good at doing anything with it.
    But most of all, it requires attention – all of your attention. You are exquisitely focused when you are holding a gun – and not just because the gun can hurt or kill anyone nearby, including you. (Our cars are far more likely to hurt and kill anyone nearby, and we zone out behind the wheel all the time.)
    There is an essential quality to this instrument compared with others; its nature is to make us aware of how vital and powerful our attention is, in and of itself. I don’t look at my father when I’m holding my loaded shotgun. I don’t look at my son when I’m holding my loaded pistol. I look at the target – only at the target, because whatever I’m looking at is the target.