October 08, 2014
I need to learn to curse in Russian
This weekend, I got a dashcam.
Frankly, I'm amazed by the technology, it's so frigging small, but shoots 1080p, and with a 32 gig MicroSD card (it comes with an 8, but I bought one so that I could get the adapters for it.) I think the smallest mode can go around 8 hours. It has a still picture feature, but since it's so hard to hold steady, that's not too useful. It has a built in battery, but that's just to tide it over in the event of power interruptions (like an accident). It records in a loop, producing files between 1 and 10 minutes long (user selectable) and if you push a button, or if the internal G-sensor detects an sudden jolt, it will automatically protect the current file from being overwritten. It also has motion detection, so I'm curious about what it would do with an external power supply. (Connected to a computer, it acts like a USB drive, or it can act like a USB webcam, but I haven't tried that yet). It also auto-starts recording when it detects power from the cigarette lighter cord.
The only thing it doesn't come with is a mini HDMI to HDMI cable, but yes, it can talk to a TV in 1080p or 720p modes, but other than that lack, it comes ready to use out of the box.
I don't really have any amazing videos to share, just my commute to and from work. And hopefully I never will. But considering all the crazy dashcam videos you get coming out of Russia, you can see the logic behind my title.
(Amazon link: Cobra CDR820 Dashcam I paid $99 at Fry's. It's $80 and change on Amazon.)
Update: I bought a MiniHDMI/HDMI cable for too much at WalMart (but the cost of gas for a trip to Fry's and the opportunity cost of waiting made it worth it) and hooked up the Dashcam to my TV. Although they don't say much in the manual to document it, this feature works VERY well if you don't have a computer to play the files from.
I also bought a little portable power source/USB charger thingy, and that also makes the dashcam happy. The thing can charge from USB or plug directly into a lighter socket, has 1450 mAh of capacity, and can function as a car USB power supply without involving its battery. Plus it has a built-in flashlight. I want to try hooking the cam up to the battery, put the cam in motion detect mode, and see if the cats can set it off.
Frankly, I'm amazed by the technology, it's so frigging small, but shoots 1080p, and with a 32 gig MicroSD card (it comes with an 8, but I bought one so that I could get the adapters for it.) I think the smallest mode can go around 8 hours. It has a still picture feature, but since it's so hard to hold steady, that's not too useful. It has a built in battery, but that's just to tide it over in the event of power interruptions (like an accident). It records in a loop, producing files between 1 and 10 minutes long (user selectable) and if you push a button, or if the internal G-sensor detects an sudden jolt, it will automatically protect the current file from being overwritten. It also has motion detection, so I'm curious about what it would do with an external power supply. (Connected to a computer, it acts like a USB drive, or it can act like a USB webcam, but I haven't tried that yet). It also auto-starts recording when it detects power from the cigarette lighter cord.
The only thing it doesn't come with is a mini HDMI to HDMI cable, but yes, it can talk to a TV in 1080p or 720p modes, but other than that lack, it comes ready to use out of the box.
I don't really have any amazing videos to share, just my commute to and from work. And hopefully I never will. But considering all the crazy dashcam videos you get coming out of Russia, you can see the logic behind my title.
(Amazon link: Cobra CDR820 Dashcam I paid $99 at Fry's. It's $80 and change on Amazon.)
Update: I bought a MiniHDMI/HDMI cable for too much at WalMart (but the cost of gas for a trip to Fry's and the opportunity cost of waiting made it worth it) and hooked up the Dashcam to my TV. Although they don't say much in the manual to document it, this feature works VERY well if you don't have a computer to play the files from.
I also bought a little portable power source/USB charger thingy, and that also makes the dashcam happy. The thing can charge from USB or plug directly into a lighter socket, has 1450 mAh of capacity, and can function as a car USB power supply without involving its battery. Plus it has a built-in flashlight. I want to try hooking the cam up to the battery, put the cam in motion detect mode, and see if the cats can set it off.
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October 07, 2014
Kill La Kill OVA
Maybe I'm late to the game, (it came out in September) but maybe someone else is later.... Underwater just put out (okay, a month ago) the Kill la Kill OVA.
Update: Having watched it, I have to say, it does sew up some loose threads.... :-)
Update: Having watched it, I have to say, it does sew up some loose threads.... :-)
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October 04, 2014
Why did I...
... download Macademi Wasshoi?
Oh, now I remember.
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October 02, 2014
I might actually be in this one...
Although for once, on that night, putting the fin down I was NOT up on the stand. That might be me down below. (I can tell because typically I have a yellow hard hat during the lifts that I whimsically drew the Tonka logo on, because I never had one as a child.)
Although for once, on that night, putting the fin down I was NOT up on the stand. That might be me down below. (I can tell because typically I have a yellow hard hat during the lifts that I whimsically drew the Tonka logo on, because I never had one as a child.)
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September 27, 2014
Space Dandy
Space Dandy has been becoming less and less of a guilty pleasure.
No, not that it's becoming less of a pleasure, but that I'm feeling less guilty about it.
Sure Dandy & co. are definitely the lesser lights in the universe, but the Universe they inhabit is MUCH more interesting. What they first promoted as Alien hunters and Boobies has, for one thing, had far less boobies than advertised, but in spite of the low-brow premise, a whole lot of high-brow stuff has been chucked into the mix. One of the latest episodes introduced one of Dandy's former girlfriends, a 4th dimensional creature only visible to us as a rotating hypercube with a heart suspended in it, and she's asking for help with another former boyfriend of hers, a Two-dimensional king who warps his two-dimensional world into threespace just to pursue her.
Yes, that's right, a Space Dandy retelling of Flatland.
Other episodes have rounded up a massive collection of alternate universe Dandys and crews caused by pulling on a Cosmic String that interconnects all the possible worlds.
Even the Infamous Time Loop story gets the Space Dandy treatment, which is better than it sounds. Sure, the idea has been around since Groundhog Day, or the far superior 12:01, but what really saves it is the loop turns into a rather sentimental character piece that reconciles Meow and his blue-collar family whom he's turned his back on since he ran away to space.
The Episodic, no-continuity format has freed up the writers from the typical anime tropes and allowed them to experiment wildly. Not all of the experiments succeed (in fact, there have been a couple of really miserable episodes), but the show really is a breath of fresh air.
No, not that it's becoming less of a pleasure, but that I'm feeling less guilty about it.
Sure Dandy & co. are definitely the lesser lights in the universe, but the Universe they inhabit is MUCH more interesting. What they first promoted as Alien hunters and Boobies has, for one thing, had far less boobies than advertised, but in spite of the low-brow premise, a whole lot of high-brow stuff has been chucked into the mix. One of the latest episodes introduced one of Dandy's former girlfriends, a 4th dimensional creature only visible to us as a rotating hypercube with a heart suspended in it, and she's asking for help with another former boyfriend of hers, a Two-dimensional king who warps his two-dimensional world into threespace just to pursue her.
Yes, that's right, a Space Dandy retelling of Flatland.
Other episodes have rounded up a massive collection of alternate universe Dandys and crews caused by pulling on a Cosmic String that interconnects all the possible worlds.
Even the Infamous Time Loop story gets the Space Dandy treatment, which is better than it sounds. Sure, the idea has been around since Groundhog Day, or the far superior 12:01, but what really saves it is the loop turns into a rather sentimental character piece that reconciles Meow and his blue-collar family whom he's turned his back on since he ran away to space.
The Episodic, no-continuity format has freed up the writers from the typical anime tropes and allowed them to experiment wildly. Not all of the experiments succeed (in fact, there have been a couple of really miserable episodes), but the show really is a breath of fresh air.
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September 21, 2014
Anime Invades Reno
I took a lot of pictures at the Reno Air Races with my dinky little Olympus, and some of them even came out okay. I even took some horrid little avi videos, but until I can find a good video editor (suggestions welcome) they're only good for some really cool engine sounds and annoying announcers.
But one thing I did get some good shots of were the banners and nose art. It seems that Anime Girls have invaded.
Multiple Champion Strega had this hanging in their shirt booth:
Click to Embiggen
And Precious Metal had this banner, invoking their Rolls Royce Griffon engine and dual counter-rotating props:
However, I think Anime Girls must be a curse, since both racers got disqualified at a critical juncture.
La Patrona, a Grumman F7F Tigercat, who under her previous owner raced in standard Marine Corps livery, and never did too well, persevered in Navy colors and a more traditional bit of nose art.
If you want to see her under the previous owner, and hear the wonderful sound of her engines, here's an airshow performance on YouTube.
Even the smaller planes got into the act:
Another long-standing tradition is to cram teddy bears or other stuffed animals into engine intakes and cowl vents to keep birds and insects from nesting in them. This tradition too gets a little modern updating:
But one thing I did get some good shots of were the banners and nose art. It seems that Anime Girls have invaded.
Multiple Champion Strega had this hanging in their shirt booth:
Click to Embiggen
And Precious Metal had this banner, invoking their Rolls Royce Griffon engine and dual counter-rotating props:
However, I think Anime Girls must be a curse, since both racers got disqualified at a critical juncture.
La Patrona, a Grumman F7F Tigercat, who under her previous owner raced in standard Marine Corps livery, and never did too well, persevered in Navy colors and a more traditional bit of nose art.
If you want to see her under the previous owner, and hear the wonderful sound of her engines, here's an airshow performance on YouTube.
There are pictures of her in both forms at the F7F Tigercat wiki page.
Even the smaller planes got into the act:
Another long-standing tradition is to cram teddy bears or other stuffed animals into engine intakes and cowl vents to keep birds and insects from nesting in them. This tradition too gets a little modern updating:
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September 13, 2014
Live feed
Should have mentioned this earlier, if you want to stream the Reno Air Races, hit www.LiveAirShowTV.com for the feed. (Haven't verified it, but that's what the banners all say.)
If you do, you'll get a chance to see the final race of the Gold Unlimited class, which, unfortunately, will be running while I'm on a plane going home.
Dammit.
The race announce team isn't nearly as good as the one for Formula 1, I'm sure, but the racing can surprise you by being exciting when you least expect it. Like today's Unlimited race where Strega was dogging Voodoo for the whole race, but taking a very high line, until after the last turn when in a dive, he eked out that one last bit of speed that led to a photo finish. And the average speed was knocking on the 500 mph mark.
Unfortunately, he was behind at the line by about the length of a spinner. But man, that brought everybody to their feet.
And get this, at this point, this race was basically for determining the order on the pole for Sunday's final. They're all already qualified. But pushing that hard strains the equipment. Strega actually maydayed dying the cooldown lap and landed first. No idea what happened. But you can bet they will really be running hard during the race I'm going to miss.
Update: Rumor has it the FAA decided to take issue with Strega's higher altitude tactic, and while hashing it out, the Strega team decided to declare that the engine issue took them out of the running in order to avoid FAA action.
Through the wonder of free wi-fi at the airport, I was able to watch the final race from the webcast which concluded just before boarding. Precious Metal, which I had been rooting for since it clawed it way up from the back of the unqualified Bronze class, through Silver and up to the Gold race, put in a tremendous performance and finished third.
Then the FAA decided they needed to prove their manhood even further against these racing hooligans and declared that they had crossed the "Show line" and they were disqualified. In 51 years of racing, there has only been one accident that resulted in injuries and death in the audience. Compare that to Indy racing. But the FAA has been going overboard in their attempts lately to nerf the event. The "Show line" was pushed much further back, this altitude cap was added (apparently all the way around the track, not just at the show line as some unfortunately believed), and jersey barriers were erected 40' from the box seats, obstructing part of the view (And that fucking security truck liked to park between them, blocking our view of the final pylons.)
If you do, you'll get a chance to see the final race of the Gold Unlimited class, which, unfortunately, will be running while I'm on a plane going home.
Dammit.
The race announce team isn't nearly as good as the one for Formula 1, I'm sure, but the racing can surprise you by being exciting when you least expect it. Like today's Unlimited race where Strega was dogging Voodoo for the whole race, but taking a very high line, until after the last turn when in a dive, he eked out that one last bit of speed that led to a photo finish. And the average speed was knocking on the 500 mph mark.
Unfortunately, he was behind at the line by about the length of a spinner. But man, that brought everybody to their feet.
And get this, at this point, this race was basically for determining the order on the pole for Sunday's final. They're all already qualified. But pushing that hard strains the equipment. Strega actually maydayed dying the cooldown lap and landed first. No idea what happened. But you can bet they will really be running hard during the race I'm going to miss.
Update: Rumor has it the FAA decided to take issue with Strega's higher altitude tactic, and while hashing it out, the Strega team decided to declare that the engine issue took them out of the running in order to avoid FAA action.
Through the wonder of free wi-fi at the airport, I was able to watch the final race from the webcast which concluded just before boarding. Precious Metal, which I had been rooting for since it clawed it way up from the back of the unqualified Bronze class, through Silver and up to the Gold race, put in a tremendous performance and finished third.
Then the FAA decided they needed to prove their manhood even further against these racing hooligans and declared that they had crossed the "Show line" and they were disqualified. In 51 years of racing, there has only been one accident that resulted in injuries and death in the audience. Compare that to Indy racing. But the FAA has been going overboard in their attempts lately to nerf the event. The "Show line" was pushed much further back, this altitude cap was added (apparently all the way around the track, not just at the show line as some unfortunately believed), and jersey barriers were erected 40' from the box seats, obstructing part of the view (And that fucking security truck liked to park between them, blocking our view of the final pylons.)
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September 08, 2014
Vay kay.
I don't normally take vacations, but I have some friends I haven't seen in about eight years. In fact, the last time I saw them was at this same event. It was around the end of my long unemployment (although nobody knew it was the end) and they thought I needed to get away, so they paid my full ride, and it was an incredible experience.
So where am I going?
Reno, Nevada.
"So," you shrug, "too cheap to go to Vegas?"
Well, Vegas doesn't have the National Championship Air Races. That's where I'm going. And this time I can pay my own way. In fact, we've got box seats.
I'm in quivering anticipation of being there as the Unlimited Class racers go by and half a dozen screaming Merlin Engines rend the air.
I promise to take photos.
So where am I going?
Reno, Nevada.
"So," you shrug, "too cheap to go to Vegas?"
Well, Vegas doesn't have the National Championship Air Races. That's where I'm going. And this time I can pay my own way. In fact, we've got box seats.
I'm in quivering anticipation of being there as the Unlimited Class racers go by and half a dozen screaming Merlin Engines rend the air.
I promise to take photos.
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August 30, 2014
Surge Position 1
Photography inside the factory isn't allowed, but a few publicly released images can be found. Here are two showing where I work.
In the lower part of the picture is the 48 Join Stand, that's where the tailcone, which houses the APU and has the horizontal stabilizer attached to two giant pivots on its front is mated to the "48 Section", which is the portion of the fuselage aft of the pressure dome. Forward of the pressure dome is the 47 section, where the galley and bathrooms are.
On the upper side of the picture is the Wing/Body Join area, and to the right of that is where the forward and aft joins are performed. That's also where that recent lift and deburr that I mentioned a couple of posts ago occurred. You can see why the catwalk was sorely missed, even though we're not terribly fond of it either.
Click to Embiggen
The view from the floor. That big thing on top, putting it on is my job. Including the one on THIS beauty:
Man, I never get tired of watching that one.
In the lower part of the picture is the 48 Join Stand, that's where the tailcone, which houses the APU and has the horizontal stabilizer attached to two giant pivots on its front is mated to the "48 Section", which is the portion of the fuselage aft of the pressure dome. Forward of the pressure dome is the 47 section, where the galley and bathrooms are.
On the upper side of the picture is the Wing/Body Join area, and to the right of that is where the forward and aft joins are performed. That's also where that recent lift and deburr that I mentioned a couple of posts ago occurred. You can see why the catwalk was sorely missed, even though we're not terribly fond of it either.
Click to Embiggen
The view from the floor. That big thing on top, putting it on is my job. Including the one on THIS beauty:
Man, I never get tired of watching that one.
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August 23, 2014
Book Plug
My buddy John has a new book out, the start of a Fantasy series, and it's really kicking butt in the rankings.
Portals of Infinity: Book One: Champion for Hire
Check it out and see if it's to your tastes....
(Update, seriously, he's cracked the top 50 in Sword and Sorcery!)
(Now the top 25 in three categories.)
Update the second:
Book 2 is out.
Portals of Infinity: Book Two: The God Game
And the first is available in print.
Portals of Infinity: Book One: Champion for Hire
Check it out and see if it's to your tastes....
(Update, seriously, he's cracked the top 50 in Sword and Sorcery!)
(Now the top 25 in three categories.)
Update the second:
Book 2 is out.
Portals of Infinity: Book Two: The God Game
And the first is available in print.
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