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

Those of y’un’s that have hung out here at the shop for a bit, know my stance on drones,,,  Hell, I published my stance four(!!!) years ago,,,    What we have seen over the last two/three is just further evolution that would be inevitable in our technological times.   The FPV setups are much more refined than those I dialogued in my book.   Maybe they don’t have the LIDAR aspect, YET,,,  but seeing how full thermal optics are available for rifles and home-use applications, I fully expect that those points are addressed already in drone warfare.   

Not a time to be a grunt.   Silent killers that are hard to see in the best light, that can come from 1000′ in a second, to wish you a ‘good night’.    And the operater will suffer no consequences if you happen to get lucky: he may even have a reserve unit loitering nearby, only needing to shift freqs to carry on with the mission.

and if a drone has your coordinates, there is a strong chance there are grunts enroute as the cleanup crew.

I DO wonder why the fascination with the quadcopter set up.   Maybe it has to do with the ‘no need for a feild’ take off aspect.   Personally, fixed wing would carry more payload and better reliability, but,,,   I guess I can see the mobilty factor of STOL for the ways these things are being used.   (and I do cover that quite a bit in my book.  Side Bar Or this link for those new here that haven’t read it.)

I haven’t been following too closely, the stories of Drones being seen repeatedly over the east coast,,, Not sure what to make of it.   Could be Recon, and if so, we are in for a world of shit, and I would expect that kick-off to happen AFTER the Swearing in of Trump and Krew.    I keep saying, whatever comes next will be dumped in Trumpeds lap.    Could it be terrorists/Enem-grants/sleeper-cells just waiting for the word “GO”???   Could it be China filling in the blanks from other fly-overs?   (personally, I don’t see China as being an invasive force,,, that shit goes against Sun-Tzu strategy, and the Chinese are all about that.  They like to play the long game.)

I did see something about Trumped offereing an out on the tariff situation to other countries: Invest a Billion dollars in the US and get expedited permits and such.    Sound, from a business point of view.  Unfortunately, maybe a dollar short day late kind of situation.   Our reputation has taken a serious beating the last decade or two, and our stance on the world stage is that of a bullyboy with delusions of granduer.   We ain’t all that anymore.    The ONLY aspect that makes us so much different than the rest of the world is NOT our Gooberment (the Constitution, YES, but that is NOT our government current.)    Our main difference is in our individual attitude of “WE ARE THE POWER, not some king”    At least in those that still act like Ameri-CANS.   We don’t like being told what to do, and I am seeing that attitude coming back online with a quickness, now that the Selection cycle is over and swung the way it did.   Trump is NOT the key point: he IS the representative of that mentality.    If he goes buh-bye, the attitude doesn’t, and it might EXPLODE if something were to happen to our rep,,,    Dunno,,, too many variables to say one way the other right now.

My biggest fear right now is Financial collapse.    I learned many years ago. if you REALLY want to hurt someone, don’t punch them in the face: find the way to kill their income.   Hard fact of the world, it runs on this thing we call money, (not just dollars, but any concept of money)  and if you take that away from a body, you have destroyed that person without shedding a drop of blood.  Its vicsious and vindictivce, AND EFFECTIVE.

and there is a whole country on the verge of getting bitchsmacked back into early-industrial age times if that economy tanks.

As Sarah likes to say: when America catches a cold, the rest of the world gets pnuemonia.    That would be the case IF the BRICS don’t have a say in the matter, and I personally think they are just waiting for that moment to pounce.   I think that was why Putin ‘endorsed’ Biden ( I noted that he DID NOT endorse Quemala,,, hmmm?)   over Trumped.   He knew Trump would, if not recover the economy, he would at least prop it up until the next Selection Cycle and possible flip-flop.   ( Assuming the mentioned attitude doesn’t keep members of the Krew in play,,, Only the future knows whats in store, and it ain’t talkin’.)

WHAT I DO KNOW: Top down society is NOT WORKING.    We were a bottom up economy before WWI and a certain Amendment added a Central banking scheme to our world.      There is one other variation of that in our history as a country and “Stonewall” Jackson abolished it early on.   We GREW like a mad weed on steroids after that even after the Lincoln debacle made the Federal Government we now have, possible.  Even if there is a financial collapse (and maybe we need that to kick off the next evolution of human self governance)  there are bottom up industies growing NOW.   GIg economy sort of stuff.    Like the guy with a 3d printer, working in his basement making parts for some other dude making gee-gaws for sale on Etsy.    Look on that site and see all sorts of things going on, not mass produced, and maybe better for that,,,,     This is not a ‘trend’ but the beginnings of a new age IMO (and I am not alone,,,)   Lord knows that I and Brudda B have looked at how to make CNC tooling that isn’t under some propietary code like the CriCut sticker makers.  We are rank amatuers there, and there are people making and doing such.   (saw a 5 axis 3d printer recently,  Straight out of NERDVILLE and not restricted to melting plastics to print. WAY COOL!)  Gonna hit a soft spot for some here: Look at China and its current production methods.  Some like to say its “slave labor” but if you ignore the communist slant and look at how individual communities are in production mode for the world stage, THAT is where our future is headed.  Large megaplex factories (Sorry Elon, those things are dinosaurs) aren’t going to be the future: its going to be Suzy homemaker watching the kids while telling the CNC printer how many units and what color to make for the orders she just recieved online.  THAT scares the ever loving fuck out of our current power brokers: A mom, homeschooling and BEING SUCCESSFUL without the government.     “you will own nothing and be happy” isn’t going to happen.  Big Government is dying as people realize more and more, its THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES and their groups that actually make the world go round; government just gets in the damned way.    Look to North Carolina and Tennessee for examples of both and you will see the veil being lifted from peoples eyes.  

——————————————————–

All of this going on, and there is nothing I can control outside of what takes place in my home or on my porch.   I wanna build a new kayak: one putting ALL the tricks and trades I have acquired, into play.   A fiberglass unit, using a SOF frame as my plug.   And I find me sitting on my thumbs because “Unknown unknowns” about the future.    (why spend time (and money) on something while I have my escape pods already,,,)

We don’t know where this ‘Good Ship FUSA’ is headed.  We can extrapolate a course form currents we are on, but who knows where that seamount is located ahead of us, or if the prevailing winds will shift and die, AND, as things stand currently, we are really not even deckhands on that ship.  We are mere passengers along for the ride until such time as we make it to a leeshore.     We have so little say in the big picture (until we raise voice as one)

Keep on keeping on,,, thats the PATH, good, bad, indifferent,,,   Keep balance in your life and improve.  Don’t try to emulate anyone, just be better than you were yesterday, and try to leave the world a better place with your passing.   Nothing else matters IMO.

Live

Learn

Love

Laugh

LOAD.  (Yeah Mike,,, its five L’s now.)

Spent the day building a huge Cantilever gate: one of two to cover a 50′ opening. (we learned our lesson building those monstrosities as single units.)

Then stepped out of my routine, and did something completely frivolous.    I went out.  I had a dinner (by myself for those nosey-bizzy-bodies) and then did some shopping for gifties.  

It was dark by the time I came home, and the only aspect of ‘routine’ I kept was I called Da to let him know I was gonna be late and ‘cya tomorrow’,,,    That was more a pre-emptive strike than a polity,,,  If I am ‘too late’, he’s calling me wanting to know if I’m ok.    Better to get it out of the way and not get interruptions.

Not that I was up to no good or seeing someones wife behind backs.   Just getting out and being, I dunno, NORMAL I guess you could say,,,   Not really something I am familiar with or good at, to be honest.   And it has been a VERY long time I ‘took a left turn’ in routines.   When I lived in Cincy, such was the Norm for me after EX and I split.   More nights spent slurpin’ down coffee at some diner, reading the nets, deep diving in rabbit holes and the occasional wild conversation with a friend or two.   I haven’t many of them left in this ‘little galaxy’ and our times tend to be much more scheduled: not impromptu.  (THOUGH,,, When we do get together, the events might take strange turns and do strange things; like paddling the DirtyBird at low flow,,,,)   Admittedly, none of us take ourselves too seriously, as can be shown by the recent addition of a T-shirt we all sport.

I’d say ‘we let our hair down’ but all the doods tend to be short shorn,,,   But we do get a little loose,,,

I miss ’em.  Been too long;  the most recent event, I had to take off to fix a blowed up toilet and destroyed bathroom floor.   Soon,,, we have a get-together for after New Years,,,

The weekend is upon me, and not sure what I’m gonna do.  May take Lyssa out for a spin, may not, and can’t say it will be weather that stops me.  Nope, if I don’t go, it will be due to my impulsive nature taking a break.    No torn up mekanikal stuff to deal with (so far),,,   I may just take the day to re-organize tools (and clean the danged things) that are still sitting at my Da’s place (in my old shop trolley I used when I was doing that shit for a living.)  

Dunno,,, the pages are blank awaiting a story to be told.

And that can be a liberating thing,,,,

Live

Laugh

LEARN

LOAD.

in a galaxy not that far away,,,

in a time when lib thoughts were still in me head,,,, (yeah, I woke up from that hallucination.)

I had a dream of owning a place with a couple out buildings (more like POLE BARNS) for doing the things I love.  One for metal, one for wood.   Seeing how I do A LOT of welding,,, well, flying spat and sawdust are not exactly friends.   And I do a fair amount of woodworking in my creative muses.   Sometimes the woodworking is for the metal working side: making patterns for foundry work for one.  Same can be said of the metalworking side; making jigs for carpentry projects.

Never really put that dream aside, and lately, I’ve noted that many of my purchases are ‘filling’ those ‘currently not in existence’ shops.   Some of my not monetary efforts have been as well; like my making a 20 ton shop press from old gaurd-rail i-beams (there is a guy here local that gets them for free from the state and I was given a dozen to play with.  Only problem with them being the amount of galvanic coating they have.)   She’s heavy, (could probably handle 40 ton hydraulics)  and completely free of any financial trades.

I have ZERO desire to go back to wrenching for a living.   I am good at it (despite my Noob efforts of late; My defense was being rusty at driveline diags.)  BUT, I also don’t trust many others to do the work on MY TRANSPORTS,,, Seen more than a few hack jobs.  Owned one too: the white S10 I had was a salvage title truck with 99 and 04 parts scattered about.   Like drivers side a-arms were 99 but passengers was 04: wheel bearings are completely different even if the geometry is the  same.  Makes for some interesting parts runs, let me tell ya. 

I  have been (for the most part) maintaining my ‘Mobile’ aspect, but one hits a point where there is just too much to stuff into small places and keep organized.   I’m fast approaching that Event Horizon,,, the one where the weight of the tools overpowers the transportation, and it begins to look like a rolling tool chest with a drivetrain. (brudda B will probably say ‘Too Late!!’.)

but the danged things allow me to make a living (even if I am not being a wrench, I do end up wrenching, among the many other hats I wear.)  

I dunno what I am shooting for in this post: just shooting thoughts into the void to see what comes back?   Dunno.   I only know that the dream I had way back then at the cusp of a separation did NOT die, it only took a back burner and has been directing small actions behind the scenes.  I only noted it during a meditaion this eve, and realized that I am still on that pathway, unconciously making small changes here and there, but never really leaving the pathway to,,,,  I dunno yet.  

I may not be much of a farmer, can’t even say I could raise livestock properly (can you kill a pet?  I’d need to be very tough on myself to not get attached.) But I can provide many other aspects of service that those capable of that stuff would need.   LOTS OF THINGS they might need.    I once remade a side cover for an old Honda scooter that had been dropped.    I can do such again if there is a need.   Barter still works in the locallocallocal,,,

Can’t say we aren’t in for collapse, but I am prepared in many ways if so.   May not be at my prefered prep state, but what I have will work.    

And my dream is still alive and well.

Live

Laugh

Learn

LOAD (more than ammo dammit!)