gdp's Comments

Atomic Toasters : User Input: Technological End-Run

Fri, 8 Nov 2013 20:51:20 +0000

In case anyone doubts this, I have witnessed Jeff enter text in Morse code on his phone. He's impressively fast.

Atomic Toasters : Shutdown: Special Delivery

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 06:24:38 +0000

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the truck is built on an International Harvester D300 chassis and belongs to the Washington Cooperative Egg and Poultry Association. The photos below are from 1941. http://preview.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?... <img src="http://images.wisconsinhistory.org/700003050002/0305000028-l.jpg" width="360"> <img src="http://images.wisconsinhistory.org/700003050153/0305002443-l.jpg" width="360">

Atomic Toasters : User Input: Blinker Fluid

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 21:00:51 +0000

Correct. As a geoscientist who earlier worked in video production, I found that one really raised my hackles. <img src="http://blogs.agu.org/mountainbeltway/files/2012/09/hodgepodge01anno2.jpg" width="175/">

Atomic Toasters : What Ever Became of…HUDs on Cars?

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 17:41:58 +0000

Since pedantry seems to be tolerated here, I'll point out that it's supposed to be "head-up display." It's still available on various GM products, by the way.

Atomic Toasters : It's A Game Of Cat And Mouse

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 21:51:46 +0000

80% of my cats enjoy chasing the dot projected by a laser. The first laser operated on 16 May 1960. There's your answer.

Atomic Toasters : Why All The Power Plant Pr0n This Week?

Tue, 8 Oct 2013 17:03:51 +0000

I know--I want to buy land in some remote place just to do this! Can you imagine the permits that you would need to divert a portion of a stream in the United States, though?

Atomic Toasters : Why All The Power Plant Pr0n This Week?

Fri, 4 Oct 2013 20:50:27 +0000

I didn't get a chance to check out all of the comments this week, so maybe this has already been posted: If you want some power plant pr0n, check this link out: http://ludens.cl/paradise/turbine/turbine.html

Atomic Toasters : Vulcan Street Power Plant: A Power Plant In A Shed

Wed, 2 Oct 2013 22:27:36 +0000

I've been past the Vulcan Street Power Plant numerous times--I went to the college just across the river. I knew about it and its historical significance, but I wonder how many other people spent four or five years there and never bothered to investigate the little white shed they could see from the union lounge.

Atomic Toasters : Times Beach, MO: A Modern Ghost Town Tale

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 20:31:03 +0000

Well done. I've driven through that area on I-44 several times and I never knew this.

Atomic Toasters : Vanguard 3: 84 Days of Glory

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 00:55:08 +0000

... where "buff out" means "get sent to China, melted down, and recast as a brake rotor."

Atomic Toasters : Vanguard 3: 84 Days of Glory

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 23:16:53 +0000

I was just thinking about this crazy design. When the freewheeling is disabled for racing, how does the engine avoid lubrication oil starvation during deceleration when RPMs are kept high but fuel+oil feed is restricted by the throttle? It is just a matter of driver behavior adjustment--don't let up on the throttle EVER?

Atomic Toasters : Vanguard 3: 84 Days of Glory

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 21:16:05 +0000

Glad to hear you made it home OK.

Atomic Toasters : Delayed Action

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 21:49:28 +0000

This last weekend, I drove over the new Emperor Norton Bay Bridge twice. It's pretty nice.

Atomic Toasters : A. B. Dobrowolski Polar Station: An Antarctic Ghost

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 17:07:21 +0000

Except there are already zombies there--the overwinterers.

Atomic Toasters : Startup: You Need An Adapter

Wed, 11 Sep 2013 17:20:06 +0000

A few years ago, my neighbor gave me a Bose SoundDock. It has no input outside of the iPod dock connector, and it also can't be turned on without a 3.3 V signal on that connector. It has been great for my wife's iPods, but I haven't been able to use it at all. A few weeks ago, I bought an "extension cable" from a Chinese seller on eBay and removed the female connector to use in my own custom adapter. A voltage divider circuit from the charge pin to that sense pin turns the unit on, and audio comes in via a regular audio cable connected to the audio pins. Now the SoundDock a universal powered speaker set!

Atomic Toasters : Have You Seen Me?

Sat, 7 Sep 2013 00:05:42 +0000

I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing/smelling this thing run!

Atomic Toasters : User Input: No Longer Special

Wed, 4 Sep 2013 18:03:53 +0000

About a year ago I found a stack of reputable-brand Blu-Ray players at a liquidation store for an excellent price. I thought it might be a good purchase, so I noted its model number and went home to read some reviews. At the site I checked out, the reviews were nearly universally bad, with complaints of mechanical failures, buggy behavior, and premature death. I was glad I didn't make the impulse purchase while I was at the store. Then I thought it might be worth seeing how much it would cost to buy a good player, so I clicked on the entire list and sorted by highest user rating. It turns out the model I checked was the top rated. Apparently, they're all crap.

Atomic Toasters : All That For Nothing

Wed, 4 Sep 2013 17:31:32 +0000

Polar aircraft recoveries have had mixed success. In the austral summer of 1987/1988, the US Antarctic Program attempted to recover an LC-130 Hercules that had crashed in December 1971. During their recovery attempt, they crashed and destroyed another LC-130 at the recovery site. They were able to return the first aircraft to service. At the end of the whole affair, USAP had spent one third of the cost of an LC-130 and two Navy airmen lost their lives, and the number of LC-130s in service was unchanged. Story: http://www.southpolestation.com/trivia/history/32...

Hooniverse : Hooniverse Asks- It’s Labor Day, What Automotive Projects are You Working on?

Mon, 2 Sep 2013 23:29:35 +0000

Wow, things really have gone wrong on this one. Are you able to pull the axle onsite? Someone with a van or truck might be willing to help you transport it to a better location (see also $20 in-town U-haul rentals, or the trucks at Home Depot).

Atomic Toasters : Startup: Browser Wars

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 16:46:02 +0000

I hate all browsers. Firefox has separate search and URL bars, so I use that one.