Recent posting about Drones and what not, and my prior interests/endeavors,,,

I jumped back in to them, at least researching how far things have come.   O!M!G!,,,,

Just like the computer industry, things have JUMPED FORWARD,,,  no creepin’ along here, things are really REALLY much more complex than they were just four years ago.   Better Long range systems (30 klicks!!! is pretty standard now)   One vid I watched showed the guy ‘toeing the line’ at thirty klicks and it wasn’t the transciever for control that was failing, it wa his video transmitter reaching limit.  (can’t see, can’t fly, unlike with actual flying where you have all the gauges and indicators to guide you along.)    Think about that,,, 25 miles away and he was just hitting his visual limits,,,   Up the power on the Vid and he could have gone further (I believe they don’t want to do that because of interference onboard, AND, they start dipping toes into FCC regs.   FAA has really started some shit with regs recently,,, another ‘government overreach’ from all the F!you’s flying around in comments.)  

and that gets me into where I stopped today.  RID: Remote Identity.  Thats what went into effect Sept 16′ 2024 in FAA regs.   The drone pilots have to install a chip that broadcasts a ‘license plate’ and the have to register with the FAA (which also means they need to be certified by such,  lots of hoops to jump through.) and currently, there is ZERO WAY TO ENFORCE IT.    The idea looks good on paper, but when the rubber meets the road, No traction.    How many cops are going to start tracking down some guy because his RID was ‘caught’ over a ball feild his kid was playing at?    How many departments even have the equipment to pick up that info, let alone the resources to chase down every incident?    The FAA just farted and showed just how inept the department has become over the last 100 years.  The biggest complaint I have read is “You don’t interupt your pilot when he is trying to fly or land the plane, why would your assume that a guy piloting a drone would be more accessible?”   These things are not “Toys” and most of the people flying them are very aware of what sort of damage they can do if things go wrong.  Hell, the things are flying lawnmowers, and even though those blades look weak and fragile, they WILL cut a person to the bone many many times before they succumb to the laws of physics.

I’m starting to think that the recent ‘drone debacle’ was a staged event to drive public sentiment for further regulation of these ‘toys’.   It may have been an actual DOTMil exercise, but the media hype was pure propaganda for other means and ends.  

Now, I have a confession to make.  I am torn in two directions over the use of drones.   One is of the “PRIVACY” factor.  I get a little perturbed when people are looking over my shoulder, and when I find out that a drone was hovering nearby, I get even more perturbed.   Not that I am doing anything wrong or wayward, but that “Someone is being a snoop” feeling gets my ire up.    I dislike being ‘supervised’, and the small footprint and silence of a drone really puts ‘stealth’ and ‘sneaking’ into new lights.   (((we had a drone peeking at us while we were working at one of the schools, recently.   Don’t know who was controlling it, (and I think that is part of my dislike of it, the obsurity it allows) nor why they decided we needed ‘watched’.   Nothing ever came of it, but it left a very bad impression on me, and a little anger.   I can understand why some people get violent with some drone operators,,,    There needs to be SOME discretion on the operators side, respecting others right to privacy: even it that person is out in public or on a lake fishing or whatever.   )))

The other side of that coin in my world.  Its a tool, one that can add levels of safety to a hobby.   I can tell you, from personal experiance, that landing a Model Airplane is MUCH easier when you have the Pilots point of view, not trying to coordinate from a distance out side of the ‘cockpit’.   Much smoother, better able to determine ground speed and attitude of the ship, and you can “see” any obstacles on the runway that need avoided, or if you need to abort a landing and try again.     Same goes for the takeoffs and actual flight: You have a better perspective of what the model is up to, unlike from 100’s of yards away.   

Like any tool, it can be re-purposed for other things, to include “alterior motives”.    Just look at what they are doing in the hotspots of the Ukraine, and other places where things are not friendly to life.   That doesn’t mean you can regulate ethics or morals into people just because you don’t like their ideas. (and I feel that is what the agencies are trying to do: more for ‘control’ aspects than safety.

Not gonna pull the trigger on any equipment to fly FPV right now.   I know the learning curve has steepened since four years ago.   And I have other matters that need more financial attention that some toys.    (and I have two planes that are in need of  a serious dusting and going over  before I would dump more money into the hobby. (would need a new radio,, mine is out of date and unsupported now.)  But I can tell you, the itch was been re-awakened.    and I am feeling like Rip vanWinkle looking around.

Live

LEARN

laugh

Love

LOAD

I don’t care about Musk, Ramaswamy or Trump, what I care about is freedom, both literal and financial, and when their assistance helps that cause, I support them. Where it does not, I do not.

Get on X, Gab, etc, if you have not done so.   I was skeptical at first, but now that I have seen REAL actions from people crying out, I have to board that bandwagan myself.  

The final ‘short version’ CR was shot down by  all the Democrats (because it didn’t have all that juicy pork in it) and 37 Republicans.    PERSONALLY,,,I am glad it was shot down as well as the first 1500 page porkbelly monstrosity.   WHY? because there is NO REASON we can’t have a government shutdown since only 17% of the workforce actually GOES TO AN OFFICE ANYWAY.   These people are making 6 figure salaries doing who knows what and there is no accountability to THE PEOPLE that actually pay the salaries.    Even with a shut down, these people will get paid for that time even though they did nothing.  They always do.   If you are in the private sector, and are laidoff, you get NOTHING (except a chance to collect unemployment which is a percentage of your original take)  and you are at square one.  These people get told to take a vakay, and get the bennies and the backpay,,,    And most of thier positions have no equivalant in the private sector: because these are make work niche holding positions to keep the budget maxed out,,,,    ANYONE that has dealt wtih military budgets can tell you that when the command figures out they have a surplus on the budget, they go for broke and spend like hell to eliminate it.  They do that or next years budget will be downsized.   I can well imagine that ALL OF GOV is like that.   It’s completetly opposite of how the private sector works:  Watch the bottom line, maximize production, strive for profit.   If a private sector manager tried to do what Command and control does with GOV budgeting, they would find themselves being investigated for embezzling or similar.    And if they are really lucky, may only be out a job with a bad track record: worst case is actual prosecution.    Whens the last time you heard about ANY Gov agent being investigated for Embezzling?  (side thought, how many ‘resign’ before that moment hits the fan?)  

I have no love of Government.   The more I learn about it the less love I have (which is to say HATE more)  When I heard about Musk and Ramswamy being the leads in DOGE, and that it has a finite lifespan (two years to accomplish its goals and NO BUDGET FROM THE GOV for operations) I was tickled.   I WANT to see the BLOB cut wide open and the festering tumors of waste exposed to the light of day and ELIMINATED.    Some that read here may find that idea distasteful.   I find it ‘barely enough’,   I want to see a reduction to bare bones basic agencies that have a limited lifetime and SET GOALS.   If they accomplish the goal, THEN and ONLY THEN, can they bid to re-up the contract.    and the people should get a say BEYOND the representatives that are elected to be our voice on the floors.    IN other words, the Representatives need to LISTEN and HEED their constituents.   

I know, I know,,, pipedream,,,,   Maybe.  Maybe not, if things keep as they are, and the things T.L. mentions in his stack keep gaining momentum.   

Live

Learn

Love

Laugh

LOAD

Read this upon arrival at home today.  Go read, I’ll wait.

‘Kay, ya’back,,,,  Whatcha think? legit? possible? total malarky?   

Dunno,   But that colored my thinking for a spell, and then I read this from the illustrious Robert Gore (this is part one of two: part two will be out soon,,,,)

Christmas is right around the corner.   Starting to feel like its time to turn the phone off and piss with the wind,,,   Ignore the world at large since its pretty obvious (and has been for the last four years) that the Asylum inmates have the wheel.   It seems like, no matter how this Selection cycle wound up, no matter how vocal the people of this country were, speaking out that we are sick of the games,,,,   As Robert says.”Noxious Joe leaves Trump with the premixed ingredients of World War III and he’s heated the oven“.   NO ONE WANTS THIS.   Those that are turning the dials creating this mess don’t give a rats ass about the world, they are doing these things to cover their asses and /or trying to stymie Trumped into useless windmill tilting trying to right this ship before capsize.

We, the people, once again are merely along for the ride, and we have no way to get off this ride.   

Shit is making me,,,     I can’t even say pissed: its beyond that.     I can say, IF, not likely mind you, I were ever to bump into one of the faces of Congress in public (McTurtle, Screw’em’more, etc) I’d be sore tempted to break my hand busting them in the face, repeatedly, until some gorilla pulled me off the quivering carcass.   WE KNOW where all of this shit started and who has names on the documents.

lets toss in the ‘facts’ from the first link in this post: Are there dirty bombs now in circulation on the east coast? is this a psyop of the outgoing gooberment and its deepstate allies?  Is this legit is the first question I have, and if that answer is yes, just how much of this is powered and funded by factions IN OUR OWN SYSTEM?    The text/twitter thingy from Trumped confirming ‘something’ but not really giving it a name,,,,,     Dammit,,,,   

seriously considering just going dark for awhile, ride this whatever the fuck is going on, and get through the holidays with at least some semblance of sanity.   I know I am not the only one,,,,,     The continual barage of the sky falling is old, was old four years ago and is getting to the point,,,,

Kabuki theater, yeah,,, but how entertaining is it when the audience provides the blood and gore for the players on the stage,,,,    I often wonder and have stated “we are being played” and I wonder if that is the case in this instance.    Sure feels like someone is jerking my strings here

and I am going to leave this, right there…   Not going to delve into it, because I know this is part of some game some group behind the curtain is playing in relatiation for Trumped winning (AKA, the People SPOKE and we can’t be having that,,,)  Maybe you can all use my process to come to some middle ground in  yourselves as well.      That this ‘game’ could get millions killed  (billions possibly) doesn’t weigh in, in their process one bit.  They could care less, as long as they keep the power.

hatez government/politics,,,

live

learn

laugh

love

LOAD

Many people think that you need mad money to run R&D,,,   and you might be right.

But not when you are reverse engineering,,,  Not really.  Of course money DOES help, because things like machine tools and analyzers cost money.

But Then, the internet happened (DARPA creation that escaped,muhahahaha) and things like 3d printers came to be (which was gonna happen after CAD and CNC became ‘normal’.)

And now,,,, (these are all vid links,,, didn’t want to bore you with shit ton of embeds.)

Homemade Guidance systems,,,,

R&D of Impeller systems IN REAL TIME

10000′ with a toy, playin’ in the clouds (go to the 15 minute mark to see how fast a toy can descend,,,,   ‘Comin’ in HOT!!!’  I would suggest watching the whole vid to get an idea of just what is happening in the private sector with Drones and FPV tech.   Flying is much easier when you can see what is going on ‘on board’.

AND CHEAP, but GOOD, FPV that you can get RIGHT NOW.  (if you are considering such, I suggest moving on it right now before Trumped starts slamming the doors on imports.   That’s what happened last time when I was getting started in that stuff,,,, Then I found kayaks,,,,)

Guys, Gals, this world is getting more complicated and much smaller, and things are progressing faster than TPTB care for.   That my book/ideas, written only 4 years ago, is behind the times/technology is kinda freaky to me.    (the only thing in there that was ahead of itself was my ‘use’ of LIDAR, and I can easily see that being put into play as the technology refines itself (Tesla vehicles use it, so you know its going to be getting refined) and gets more compact/reliable.   

The guys doing this stuff are not re-inventing the wheel, but they sure as shit are putting some polish on them.   Maybe they are finding out the hard way that ‘don’t do it this way’, but they are doing it in a public forum, not hiding their shit behind closed doors and levels of secrecy, and that means that the next guy doesn’t have to make the same mistakes: GROWTH HAPPENS WHEN YOU CAN STUDY THE FUCK UPS WITHOUT SUFFERING THEM.   They share the build files for the printers, they offer links to other places and ideas, they don’t hold back: “Can’t stop the signal, Mal”,

Shit like this is why SpaceX is blowing up rockets on a regular basis: You learn more from the failures than you do from the successes, and thats why SpaceX is blowing by ALL of the competitors.  And doing so with ZERO loss of life (Could NASA lay claim to that from the early start of the space race???)

FACT IS: and I have stated it many many times here, GOVERNMENT JUST GETS IN THE WAY.   The private guy in his garage/basement is gonna come up with more, better, cheaper; than some government funded skunkworks lab with an agenda.   I leave the Bradley fighting vehicle as an example of what happens to a great idea when Government gets involved.  Counter example is what happens when government says, ‘this is what we have and this is what we want: make it happen’, and that example is the A-10 Warthog.   “We have this gun: make a plane around it.” and they stepped away.

3d printers are cheap, not that hard to learn (the basics,, like any machinetool; mastering them is a lifetime effort.) and the feild is in continual growth.  

in a nutshell, UTOOB has much more than JUST cute cat videos,,,  and to IGNORE THAT is to miss out on a HUGE amount of literally FREE information   Well,,, not really FREE,,, they make money on your clicks and someone is buying that information to fund that.   BUT, thats the nature of the game these days,,,  We can’t always hide under rocks hoping to keep our privacy fully private.  Not if we want to live a life.  

And on that note

LIVE

LEARN

Laugh

Love

LOAD (that brainium with more information than you know what to do wtih,,,, IT will figure it out,,,,)

Addendum: a fliers opinion as to what is going on with the droney hype in NJ.

Taking it easy today.  Did the J.O.B. thing for a short spell, but when given the chance to clear out, DID, even though I have work to do.  

Woke up in the wee hours last night, usual hydraulic pressure thing, no issues,,, BUT THEN, as I laid back down, suddenly felt the blood rush from head, the salival glands go into overdrive and KNEW I was getting ready to lose dinner.   Sudden like, no warning, no grumbling tummy issues, just ‘ima gonna puke!!!’.    

Did the kneel at the porcelain alter, and the feeling passed without fulfilling its purpose, but damn, I haven’t felt right since.   No energy, no gumption for anything except “Wanna lay down for a bit.”

and I am running a slight fever,,, like 1 degree, but its not my usual minus one degree (I have always ran a bit on the cool side, 96.8, not the 98.6 usual peeps run.)   Something in me putting up a fight, likely losing, but still, the consciousness side of me is taking a hit: draggin’ ass.

blech,,,,,

Guessin’ I picked up a stomach bug from somewhere: thought back over the stuff I had for the day (not just dinner, though that is the most likely culprit.) and drew a blank: maybe, but not likely.   Water borne??      Dunno, but its mild, and I expect water borne buggies to be nasty bastaches, so I’m doubting that too. 

I’ll recover,   Fairly quick-like too.   Been knocked over by much worse than this and came back fast.  

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOVE

LOAD.

Lets step back in time, talk about time, bridges dburning and big wheels turnin’

This popped up in my pandora feed this AM and brought back FLOODS of memories,,,,   Forty years old this past November,,,,  

Gawd I’m gettin’ old   (ain’t no gettin’ brudda,,,, GOT!!!)(Shush, you!!!)

Not much to add to the fray this eve, just gonna chill, listen to memories and the wind whippin’ round the porch beams.   Its not KOLD out, but that type of weather that tells you there is some nut-bustin’ to come, and soon.  Certain joints and bones are telling me such as well.

y’all stay warm,,,   Gonna have an evening of DOIN’ NOTHING and enjoy it.

Live

Laugh

LOVE

Learn

LOAD

Woke up at normal times, no alarums, no kitteh whiskas in me face, just, ‘I’m up,,,,’

and felt completely off kilter.   Not dread, not depression, not physical, just ‘not right’.    Dunno what the problem is.   May be that seasonal things, holidays, hermetic living, boredom, all balled up and mixed into this new feeling inside. 

Yeah,,, I’m gonna go with that theory.   To think its something external right now gets the tin-foil hat thing going.    We’ve enough of that just reading headlines.

Like this’un.

and a meme of the same subject matter

Dood!!!  Please,,, can we have ONE month of ‘leave it alone’? 

Some people can’t be happy in their own skin.  They must find the obscure and terrible to hold thier line in the sand of sanity.(if you wanna call it that,,,)  ((In their defense: we do need someone to keep the paranoia levels up, or things slip through the cracks, Like Pandemics and Vaxx wars.))

This weekend has been “Tooling”.   Skipped out on the kayaking (and I am likely gonna pay for that next time I am out).   When Da bought his new to him Pickemup, it had a truck box on it, and Da doesn’t like truck boxes.  He wants that bed wide open for hauling purps.   The heck I recieve for having a short bed truck is amusing.   To carry on; this box was a step up from the box I have been hauling for over a decade (and mine is beat to shit with leaks and holes,,,,)  

And I did a quicky search for it.

DAMN!!!  These things are nutzo expensive now!!!   Hell yah I’ll take a newer better built box than what I have had.

SO yesterday was changing over, mounting it proper and securing it with a new key barrel (old to me, still using my Snap-on tumblers from my old boxes.)   Today is going to be building a slide under box for the handtools/wrenches/sockets.    I had a box for that purpose a long while back, and it finally crapped out.   Gotta make a new one.   The aluminum box above is deeper than my last one and hard to reach the bottom from the side of the truck, AND, I am sick and tired of chasing those little sockets and drivers that get bounced around. Time to make a home for them where they are secure and contained. (you can mount them on socket rails, but when you go off-road, they WILL get loose.  I go off-road just to get HOME!!! EveryDAY!!!)

And yes, I am going to fiberglass the slide-box.   Same way we used to make our gearboxes at L&C (the sound company I worked for.)   Richard the Carpenter was a master at box building and his roadboxes were SOLID!!!   I don’t have the coffin locks we used on those cases, but no worries,,,  I’ll come up with something.

Might be a day or two before I am done building that box, and til then, those tools live at Da’s.   Don’t like not having them with me (when you drive a truck with 300+K on the odo,,,,Tools are a lifeline.) but its not like I am far off if need arises (and I has a phone,,,)

‘Tis a good day for cabinet building; its grey, cold, and wet out.  ALL the kids are hiding in the house right now.   Elbee is learning the ropes of “mouser”, since I have a feildmouse that decided its nasty out there and moved in.   I’ve seen it once, (thanks to Elbees radar dishes pointing it out for me.)  Traps are set, but I want the little-one to take over where his cowardly adopted brother-kat fails.  He’s been doing ‘OK’, with the curiousity kickin’ hard: now its time for the instincts to kick in and he become the killer.   With it being wet out, maybe his boredom will arrange a horrible death for the vermin,,,    (Kats, everything is a TOY,)(I can only hope I find the carcass before it begins to stink.)

more laters

LIVE

LEARN

LAUGH

LOVE

LOAD