 |
| Keith Wikle, one of the organizers of The Gales, surfing last weekend. |
 |
| Alec prepares to carve on a wave. |
 |
| Scott Fairty tries to break out through Great Lakes surf in a whitewater boat. |
 |
| Heading out in search of another ride back to shore. |
Chủ Nhật, 30 tháng 9, 2012
Forecast for The Gales: chance of fun 100%
The Gales Storm Gathering is less than one week away. The roster of coaching talent is impressive: Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme are returning, and are joined this year by Nick Cunliffe, Chris Lockyer, and a host of top Great Lakes coaches.
This year's featured guests are wind and waves. To maximize the chances of their attending, The Gales is scheduled in October and located this year at Naturally Superior Adventures at the mouth of the Michipicoten River in Wawa, Ontario.
The Gales is a rare intermediate symposium, designed to give students instruction and experience in "conditions." This means surfing, rock gardening, rough-water rescues, leadership and incident management, as well as paddling long boats in current and working on navigation by day and by night.
It's not too late to register for this year's Gales. And if you happen to see wind and waves, tell them they're expected!
Thứ Bảy, 29 tháng 9, 2012
If you don't read my blog, read his
I'm often pretty critical of the whole 'Harley' thing, although anyone who knows me really well knows there are plenty of Harleys that are close to my heart, they're just not the ones ridden by guys in "If you can read this, the bitch fell off" T-shirts and German WWII-style non-DOT helmets. I've got no problem at all with the Harleys that my friends on the AMA Pro Racing flat track circuit ride, and enjoyed dragging my knee at Road America during the XR1200x launch a few years ago.
A little while ago, I was alerted to a blog called Bikes and Buddies. It's put up by a guy named Kevin Moore, who as far as I can tell is a Harley guy but probably doesn't own a 'bitch fell off' shirt.
Seriously, if you like good motorcycle writing this is a must-read blog. I was suprised and even a little ashamed of myself that I didn't already know about a trove of motor-writing this good. The quality of the posts is high enough that he's only updating one or two times a month, so I signed up for an email alert when new stuff goes up. If I were you, I'd follow this link right now, and delve into it.
A little while ago, I was alerted to a blog called Bikes and Buddies. It's put up by a guy named Kevin Moore, who as far as I can tell is a Harley guy but probably doesn't own a 'bitch fell off' shirt.
Seriously, if you like good motorcycle writing this is a must-read blog. I was suprised and even a little ashamed of myself that I didn't already know about a trove of motor-writing this good. The quality of the posts is high enough that he's only updating one or two times a month, so I signed up for an email alert when new stuff goes up. If I were you, I'd follow this link right now, and delve into it.
Thứ Sáu, 28 tháng 9, 2012
How Portable Temporary Shelters Can Meet Your Needs
Using SolidWorks Plastics to plan your mould
You may be aware of SolidWorks Plastics, but are you aware of the benefits that its functionality could give you?
SolidWorks Plastics is a fully integrated tool set for SolidWorks that allows users to simulate the injection moulding process for your SolidWorks designs.
For this example, a basic plastic cup made from ABS Polycarbonate is used.
Using SolidWorks Plastics Professional to run a simulation study, it can be seen that the original wall thickness of the cup was too thin which caused a “short-shot” and the cup would not have been moulded fully. This is where the plastic material reaches a solidified state through cooling before it can completely fill the mould and is often evident where thin sections of the design cause the plastic to cool too quickly.
As SolidWorks Plastics is fully integrated into SolidWorks, it is simple to return to the Feature manager design tree and edit the wall thickness to increase it.
A re-mesh is required when the physical geometry of the model has been altered. Using the same settings as the previous simulation, the cup now fills with no issues.
As injection moulded plastic components are typically used for large runs of plastic components, we can use the functionality of SolidWorks Plastics Premium to start considering a multi cavity mould meaning that more than one cup can be moulded at the same time.
Multiple copies of the Cup part were inserted into a new part file positioned as they would be in a mould. A sketch was also created to use for runner creation letting the flow of plastic be controlled to each component.
The runners for each part should be roughly the same length to ensure even filling of the mould cavities. In this example, the runners have been made exactly the same length.
These runners are then defined in the study and a Gate location is set at the start of the runner system. And, as we know that the cup now fills correctly, we can create a shell mesh of the parts to simulate how multiple cavities will fill.
With the shell mesh completed and the material and moulding machine chosen, the study can be run.
SolidWorks gives a wide range of results including the Fill time and the Cooling time. This allows you to estimate production run times taking the cooling time before ejection from the mould in to account.
There are also options to view areas where Sink Marks, Weld lines, and Air traps may occur so that you can consider alternate gate locations and vents in the mould tool.
By using SolidWorks Plastics Professional, it is possible for designers to fully consider the manufacturing capability involved in the final production of their plastic designs. This allows them to anticipate and re-design at a stage in the design process where the cost implications are minimal.
By using SolidWorks Plastics Premium, the mould tool can also be considered through the introduction of family moulds and runner systems. This has the possibility to save on costly re-working or re-designing mould tools.
Hi everybody, I know some of you are waiting more information about "patch layout" explanations: How to build the patches / Where to find the shutline between patches etc.
It is a long work and long time to learn (after more than 15 years I am still learning this topic...).
I give you one link about the Technicon Design France latest movie who can see the patch layout done in Alias at the end on this movie...
It is a long work and long time to learn (after more than 15 years I am still learning this topic...).
I give you one link about the Technicon Design France latest movie who can see the patch layout done in Alias at the end on this movie...
Regards,
Thứ Tư, 26 tháng 9, 2012
If Lorenzo=Obama, and Pedrosa=Romney...
The MotoGP season -- and the Presidential election season -- end in early November. And while it seemed as if both could be close races early on, Lorenzo and Obama now seem to be pulling out leads that are, event by event, looking more and more unassailable (thanks in no small measure to a.) Hector Barbera, and b.) 'Anne Onymous', whoever she is.)
Neither the 2013 MotoGP #1 plate nor the next presidency of the United States are decided, however. Which leads me to this survey.
Imagine, if you will, that the 2012 election is a MotoGP race of, say, 28 laps. Check the box that indicates the relative positions of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney (respectively the first African-American and first Mormon riders in Grands Prix.)
If you don't think any of these options reflect the current situation, please feel free to present your own scenario in the Comments section. Submitting your email address is optional, but one person who checks the most popular box, and another who submits the most insightful and/or entertaining comment, will be contacted about a prize -- a copy of my book Riding Man.
Neither the 2013 MotoGP #1 plate nor the next presidency of the United States are decided, however. Which leads me to this survey.
Imagine, if you will, that the 2012 election is a MotoGP race of, say, 28 laps. Check the box that indicates the relative positions of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney (respectively the first African-American and first Mormon riders in Grands Prix.)
If you don't think any of these options reflect the current situation, please feel free to present your own scenario in the Comments section. Submitting your email address is optional, but one person who checks the most popular box, and another who submits the most insightful and/or entertaining comment, will be contacted about a prize -- a copy of my book Riding Man.
Thứ Ba, 25 tháng 9, 2012
Honda's 'RC213V for the road'
A few days ago, Honda announced that it would build a new V-four sportbike. Apparently, Mr. Ito alluded to the venerable RC30, which was sold in limited quantities from 1987-'90. People quickly dubbed this project an RC213V for the road.
Of course, unless Honda plans to release a bike with a $1,000,000 MSRP, it won't really be an RC213V for the road. And I doubt that it will really be analogous to the RC30, which was a true homologation special -- complete with gear-driven cams and magnesium valve covers -- built and sold so that Honda could race it in the World Superbike Championship. It's more likely that Honda's new V-four project is a way to extract value from its MotoGP marketing exercise.
But, the idea begs a couple of interesting questions. The philosophical question is, how loud would SBK competitors howl if Honda did build a road-going version of its MotoGP bike, and then homologated it for SBK? Recall that Aprilia's SBK rivals bitterly complained about the Noale firm moving its ill-fated MotoGP project over to SBK, and Aprilia has a fraction of Honda's ability to execute such a plan. Tranferring even some of the real RC213V dna to a homologated superbike would continue the blurring between MotoGP and SBK that began with the arrival of production-based motors in the oft-lambasted CRT sub-class.
The commercial question is, will Honda remember that as brilliant a bike as the RC30 was -- and as collectible as it is now -- under most riders it was no faster than Suzuki's GSX-R750, which was half the price? Honda may have captured the imagination of sport bike riders and club racers when it released and homologated the RC30, but Suzuki sold them the bikes they actually rode and raced. The Gixxer was the category-defining machine, leaving the RC30 as a glorious footnote.
Of course, unless Honda plans to release a bike with a $1,000,000 MSRP, it won't really be an RC213V for the road. And I doubt that it will really be analogous to the RC30, which was a true homologation special -- complete with gear-driven cams and magnesium valve covers -- built and sold so that Honda could race it in the World Superbike Championship. It's more likely that Honda's new V-four project is a way to extract value from its MotoGP marketing exercise.
But, the idea begs a couple of interesting questions. The philosophical question is, how loud would SBK competitors howl if Honda did build a road-going version of its MotoGP bike, and then homologated it for SBK? Recall that Aprilia's SBK rivals bitterly complained about the Noale firm moving its ill-fated MotoGP project over to SBK, and Aprilia has a fraction of Honda's ability to execute such a plan. Tranferring even some of the real RC213V dna to a homologated superbike would continue the blurring between MotoGP and SBK that began with the arrival of production-based motors in the oft-lambasted CRT sub-class.
The commercial question is, will Honda remember that as brilliant a bike as the RC30 was -- and as collectible as it is now -- under most riders it was no faster than Suzuki's GSX-R750, which was half the price? Honda may have captured the imagination of sport bike riders and club racers when it released and homologated the RC30, but Suzuki sold them the bikes they actually rode and raced. The Gixxer was the category-defining machine, leaving the RC30 as a glorious footnote.
Tesla Model S gets Supercharging - Electric Vehicles
 | Tesla's model S is designed from the ground up to maximise the advantages of electric vehicle architecture. Model S boasts an ultra-low center of gravity, with a light weight aluminium body engineered for superior handling. And now comes with 'Supercharged' network of Solar carports! |
Tesla has created a vehicle that is not only visually stunning, but also extremely efficient (the 85 kWh Model S received a U.S. fuel economy rating of 89MPGe and EPA rated range of 265 miles!). All this AND 0-60mph in around 4.4 seconds! A distinct lack of an internal combustion engine or transmission tunnel, means that the interior of the Tesla 'S' has more cargo space than any other sedan in its class including a extra trunk under the hood. The car seats five adults plus two children in optional rear-facing child seats. The interior features a 17" in-dash touchscreen giving internet, streaming radio and nav. SuperchargingThe technology at the heart of the Supercharger was developed at Tesla and uses the existing charging technology already fitted to the 85KWh Model S, enabling Tesla to create the Supercharger device at minimal cost. Electricity used by the Supercharger comes from a solar carport system provided by SolarCity, which results in almost zero marginal energy cost after installation. Combining these two factors, Tesla is able to provide Model S owners free long distance travel indefinitely.Each solar power system is designed to generate more energy from the sun over the course of a year than is consumed by Tesla vehicles using the Supercharger. This results in a slight net positive transfer of sunlight generated power back to the electricity grid. In addition to lowering the cost of electricity, this addresses a commonly held misunderstanding that charging an electric car simply pushes carbon emissions to the power plant. The Supercharger system will always generate more power from sunlight than Model S customers use for driving. By adding even a small solar system at their home, electric car owners can extend this same principle to local city driving too. The six California locations unveiled today are just the beginning. By next year, we plan to install Superchargers in high traffic corridors across the continental United States, enabling fast, purely electric travel from Vancouver to San Diego, Miami to Montreal and Los Angeles to New York. Tesla will also begin installing Superchargers in Europe and Asia in the second half of 2013. The Supercharger is substantially more powerful than any charging technology to date, providing almost 100 kilowatts of power to the Model S, with the potential to go as high as 120 kilowatts in the future. This can replenish three hours of driving at 60 mph in about half an hour, which is the convenience inflection point for travelers at a highway rest stop. Most people who begin a road trip at 9:00 a.m. would normally stop by noon to have lunch, refresh and pick up a coffee or soda for the road, all of which takes about 30 minutes. "Tesla's Supercharger network is a game changer for electric vehicles, providing long distance travel that has a level of convenience equivalent to gasoline cars for all practical purposes. However, by making electric long distance travel at no cost, an impossibility for gasoline cars, Tesla is demonstrating just how fundamentally better electric transport can be," said Elon Musk, Tesla Motors co-founder and CEO. "We are giving Model S the ability to drive almost anywhere for free on pure sunlight." Watch the video - The future is here......or will be soon! | |
Javascript ~ format numbers as money
Number.prototype.formatMoney = function(c, d, t){
var n = this, c = isNaN(c = Math.abs(c)) ? 2 : c, d = d == undefined ? "," : d, t = t == undefined ? "." : t, s = n < 0 ? "-" : "", i = parseInt(n = Math.abs(+n || 0).toFixed(c)) + "", j = (j = i.length) > 3 ? j % 3 : 0;
return s + (j ? i.substr(0, j) + t : "") + i.substr(j).replace(/(\d{3})(?=\d)/g, "$1" + t) + (c ? d + Math.abs(n - i).toFixed(c).slice(2) : "");
};
(123456789.12345).formatMoney(2, '.', ',');
source
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/149055/how-can-i-format-numbers-as-money-in-javascript
var n = this, c = isNaN(c = Math.abs(c)) ? 2 : c, d = d == undefined ? "," : d, t = t == undefined ? "." : t, s = n < 0 ? "-" : "", i = parseInt(n = Math.abs(+n || 0).toFixed(c)) + "", j = (j = i.length) > 3 ? j % 3 : 0;
return s + (j ? i.substr(0, j) + t : "") + i.substr(j).replace(/(\d{3})(?=\d)/g, "$1" + t) + (c ? d + Math.abs(n - i).toFixed(c).slice(2) : "");
};
(123456789.12345).formatMoney(2, '.', ',');
source
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/149055/how-can-i-format-numbers-as-money-in-javascript
Thứ Hai, 24 tháng 9, 2012
LA firefighters now know something you know
 |
| Now available with defibrillator option. If, that is, you work for the LAFD. SoCal firefighters need all the help they can get, fighting fires and clogged freeway traffic. Kawasaki's smart to have convinced them to add motorcycles to the mix just in time for fire season. |
According to the LA Times, "The pilot unit features five off-road-capable motorcycles on loan from the Kawasaki Motor Corp. Each bike retails for about $6,300 and is outfitted with a defibrillator, a small fire extinguisher, various medical supplies and a handlebar-mounted GPS system. A dozen firefighters have undergone the necessary training, and a permanent unit could have up to 10 motorcycles and 28 riders, said Capt. Craig White, who first proposed the unit to the department."
Nice one, Kawasaki, for setting up this pilot program! The specific model is not named in the paper, but it will come as no surprise to Bikewriter readers that they're venerable KLR650s.
Yii ~ use CKEditor
到這裡下載ckeditor-integration
http://www.yiiframework.com/extension/ckeditor-integration/
解壓縮丟到extensions裡
然後下載ckeditor丟到root
http://ckeditor.com/download
像我就是丟到yii/xxxxx/底下
在View裡面使用ckeditor的sample code
$this -> widget('ext.ckeditor.CKEditorWidget', array("model" => new Event,
"attribute" => 'content',
"defaultValue" => $item['content'],
"config" => array("height" => "400px", "width" => "80%", "toolbar" => "Full")));
http://www.yiiframework.com/extension/ckeditor-integration/
解壓縮丟到extensions裡
然後下載ckeditor丟到root
http://ckeditor.com/download
像我就是丟到yii/xxxxx/底下
在View裡面使用ckeditor的sample code
$this -> widget('ext.ckeditor.CKEditorWidget', array("model" => new Event,
"attribute" => 'content',
"defaultValue" => $item['content'],
"config" => array("height" => "400px", "width" => "80%", "toolbar" => "Full")));
Yii ~ use Upload class
想當初做網站處理圖片的部分
我都是包Upload這個class來做圖片的處理
http://www.verot.net/php_class_upload_docs.htm
現在用yii的framework
想不到也可以用
這邊下載
http://www.yiiframework.com/extension/upload/
安裝方法就是整包丟進extension
然後這邊是我的sample code
Yii::import('application.extensions.upload.Upload');
// receive file from post
if (isset($_FILES['pic'])) {
$Upload = new Upload($_FILES['pic']);
$Upload -> jpeg_quality = 100;
$Upload -> no_script = false;
$Upload -> image_resize = true;
$Upload -> image_x = 700;
$Upload -> image_y = 500;
$Upload -> image_ratio = true;
// some vars
$destPath = Yii::app() -> getBasePath() . '/../img/origin/' . $this -> id . '/';
$destName = $item -> id;
// verify if was uploaded
//origin img
if ($Upload -> uploaded) {
$Upload -> file_new_name_body = $item -> id;
$Upload -> file_new_name_ext = 'png';
$Upload -> file_auto_rename = false;
$Upload -> file_overwrite = true;
$Upload -> process($destPath);
}
//thumb
$destPath = Yii::app() -> getBasePath() . '/../img/thumb/' . $this -> id . '/';
if ($Upload -> uploaded) {
$Upload -> file_new_name_body = $item -> id;
$Upload -> file_new_name_ext = 'png';
$Upload -> file_auto_rename = false;
$Upload -> file_overwrite = true;
$Upload -> image_resize = true;
$Upload -> image_x = 120;
$Upload -> image_y = 180;
$Upload -> image_ratio = true;
$Upload -> process($destPath);
}
}
我都是包Upload這個class來做圖片的處理
http://www.verot.net/php_class_upload_docs.htm
現在用yii的framework
想不到也可以用
這邊下載
http://www.yiiframework.com/extension/upload/
安裝方法就是整包丟進extension
然後這邊是我的sample code
Yii::import('application.extensions.upload.Upload');
// receive file from post
if (isset($_FILES['pic'])) {
$Upload = new Upload($_FILES['pic']);
$Upload -> jpeg_quality = 100;
$Upload -> no_script = false;
$Upload -> image_resize = true;
$Upload -> image_x = 700;
$Upload -> image_y = 500;
$Upload -> image_ratio = true;
// some vars
$destPath = Yii::app() -> getBasePath() . '/../img/origin/' . $this -> id . '/';
$destName = $item -> id;
// verify if was uploaded
//origin img
if ($Upload -> uploaded) {
$Upload -> file_new_name_body = $item -> id;
$Upload -> file_new_name_ext = 'png';
$Upload -> file_auto_rename = false;
$Upload -> file_overwrite = true;
$Upload -> process($destPath);
}
//thumb
$destPath = Yii::app() -> getBasePath() . '/../img/thumb/' . $this -> id . '/';
if ($Upload -> uploaded) {
$Upload -> file_new_name_body = $item -> id;
$Upload -> file_new_name_ext = 'png';
$Upload -> file_auto_rename = false;
$Upload -> file_overwrite = true;
$Upload -> image_resize = true;
$Upload -> image_x = 120;
$Upload -> image_y = 180;
$Upload -> image_ratio = true;
$Upload -> process($destPath);
}
}
Chủ Nhật, 23 tháng 9, 2012
Une voiturette a pedales
Look what Cedric Doutriaux send me. Two seater, rear wheel steering, front wheel drive, 40 kg, wood and paper. From the inter bellum I think.
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 9, 2012
Zero recall highlights a larger problem for California manufacturer
 |
| A model couple enjoying their limited*-edition Zero S. (*by buyer interest.) |
What caught my eye was, when NHTSA issues a recall, they cite the number of vehicles affected. In the case of the Zero S and DS models, that number was 312.
Yes, with the peak of the 2012 riding season well past, they've sold a total of 312 street bikes this year.
(*Insert your own election-year rant about over-regulation here. I'm sure Rand Paul would happily eliminate NHTSA's funding, confident in the belief that a completely free market is the best mechanism to ensure that auto and motorcycle manufacturers will sell us safe, reliable transportation.)
Yii ~ load config
'params'=>array(
// this is used in contact page
'adminEmail'=>'webmaster@example.com',
'myParam'=>'myValue',
),
$param=Yii::app()->params['myParam'];
reference
http://www.yiiframework.com/forum/index.php/topic/10559-how-to-load-configuration-set-in-configmainphp/
// this is used in contact page
'adminEmail'=>'webmaster@example.com',
'myParam'=>'myValue',
),
$param=Yii::app()->params['myParam'];
reference
http://www.yiiframework.com/forum/index.php/topic/10559-how-to-load-configuration-set-in-configmainphp/
Javascript ~ get json key value
for (var key in p) {
if (p.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
alert(key + " -> " + p[key]);
}
}
reference
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/684672/loop-through-javascript-object
if (p.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
alert(key + " -> " + p[key]);
}
}
reference
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/684672/loop-through-javascript-object
Thứ Sáu, 21 tháng 9, 2012
Hacking the Triumph
I have to work on my bikes outside, in a rough parking lot off the alley in the ghetto where I live. That pretty much limits me to working in the daylight hours. It's finally gotten cool enough to contemplate doing some long overdue basic maintenance on my bikes. Both the Triumph and the scooter were desperate for oil changes, but I couldn't really bear the thought of doing even that when daily highs were over 105 most of the last few months. I suppose the only reason they survived at all was that it was so damned hot I didn't want to ride much anyway.
Anyway, the other day they both got fresh oil, and the cooler weather made me think about the inevitable approach of winter, and the prospect of another couple of months of miserable riding with temperatures at the other end of the thermometer. That made me fantasize about uprating the Triumph. Again.
It would be very cool to actually make it handle. And go. And, perhaps most of all, stop. The motor (so I'm told) really needs a pair of flat-slide carbs to free it up. A Facebook friend from France assures me that the difference from that one mod is night-and-day. Handling's a trickier problem, as that friend says, the frame may as well be made of sausage. Still, lying on the ground looking up at it while changing the oil, I could see that it would be relatively easy to improve triangulation in the area between the steering head and front motor mount for better stiffness. I could shed some weight by ditching most of the rear subframe and the two bolt-on downtubes that, as far as I can tell, are there mostly for show.
I figure the first assignment would be to source the fork, brakes and front wheel from some semi-recent sport bike, that would instantly improve suspension, stopping power and tire choices at the front. A modern rear wheel, fitted into an aluminum swing arm, suspended by better shocks, would go a long way towards sorting the rear end.
Of course, the problem with this kind of thinking is that even doing this on a shoestring would cost a lot more than it would cost me to buy a 10 year-old GSX-R750 on Craigslist, and no matter what I did to the Triumph, it would never, ever be nearly as competent a machine.
That made me wonder what why it's more appealing for me to take the Triumph from a D-grade bike to a C bike than it would be to just buy a B bike. Then, I read a profile in New Yorker magazine about George Hotz, a computer 'hacker'. Hotz was one of the first guys to jailbreak an iPhone, and later achieved cult status among tech nerds by hacking Sony's PS3 platform.
Hotz has nothing to do with motorcycles, but when I read this comment I suddenly knew that my desire to turn the Triumph into a 'sleeper' suitable for the winding roads of the Ozarks, stemmed from the same urges that motived Hotz...
“It’s a testosterone thing,” he told New Yorker's David Kushner. “It’s competitiveness, but it isn’t necessarily competitiveness with other people. It’s you versus the system. And I don’t mean the system like the government thing, I mean the system like the computer. ‘I’m going to stick it to the computer. I’m going to make it do this!’ And the computer throws up an error like ‘No, I’m not going to do this.’ It’s really a male thing to say, ‘I’m going to make you do this!’ ”
That's what it's all about, isn't it? The very shite-ness of the Triumph increases the appeal of souping it up.
Hmm... If you hear of anyone who owns a semi-late model sport bike that's been rear-ended, leaving the front end intact, let me know. Or better yet, someone who's got the stock forks left over from a Daytona Sport Bike project. I'll need something to do over the winter...
Anyway, the other day they both got fresh oil, and the cooler weather made me think about the inevitable approach of winter, and the prospect of another couple of months of miserable riding with temperatures at the other end of the thermometer. That made me fantasize about uprating the Triumph. Again.
 |
| I can leave it in loading zones because it is a load. Of shite. |
I figure the first assignment would be to source the fork, brakes and front wheel from some semi-recent sport bike, that would instantly improve suspension, stopping power and tire choices at the front. A modern rear wheel, fitted into an aluminum swing arm, suspended by better shocks, would go a long way towards sorting the rear end.
Of course, the problem with this kind of thinking is that even doing this on a shoestring would cost a lot more than it would cost me to buy a 10 year-old GSX-R750 on Craigslist, and no matter what I did to the Triumph, it would never, ever be nearly as competent a machine.
That made me wonder what why it's more appealing for me to take the Triumph from a D-grade bike to a C bike than it would be to just buy a B bike. Then, I read a profile in New Yorker magazine about George Hotz, a computer 'hacker'. Hotz was one of the first guys to jailbreak an iPhone, and later achieved cult status among tech nerds by hacking Sony's PS3 platform.
Hotz has nothing to do with motorcycles, but when I read this comment I suddenly knew that my desire to turn the Triumph into a 'sleeper' suitable for the winding roads of the Ozarks, stemmed from the same urges that motived Hotz...
“It’s a testosterone thing,” he told New Yorker's David Kushner. “It’s competitiveness, but it isn’t necessarily competitiveness with other people. It’s you versus the system. And I don’t mean the system like the government thing, I mean the system like the computer. ‘I’m going to stick it to the computer. I’m going to make it do this!’ And the computer throws up an error like ‘No, I’m not going to do this.’ It’s really a male thing to say, ‘I’m going to make you do this!’ ”
That's what it's all about, isn't it? The very shite-ness of the Triumph increases the appeal of souping it up.
Hmm... If you hear of anyone who owns a semi-late model sport bike that's been rear-ended, leaving the front end intact, let me know. Or better yet, someone who's got the stock forks left over from a Daytona Sport Bike project. I'll need something to do over the winter...
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 9, 2012
My first bike. Almost.
I was at the Barrington Concours (outside Chicago) earlier this summer, and saw a bike that bore an amazing resemblance to my very first motorbike. It was a 1966 Sears Allstate 'Campus 50' made by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, in Austria. My bike, a Swiss-model Puch 'Condor' was very similar to this one, except that mine had slightly more primitive cycle parts (rigid rear end and trailing link front fork) and bicycle-style pedals. The frame and motor were identical.
This was the bike that I was riding as a 14 year-old in Switzerland, as described in this part of my book, Riding Man...
When I was a kid, my dad worked for a big international company. The company moved our family from Canada to Switzerland, so he could run their Geneva office. Our home was in Tannay, an agricultural village that looked down over orchards and vineyards to a big lake. Under Swiss law, at 14 I was allowed to ride a 50 cc moped. In surrounding countries, mopeds had three-speed transmissions, but in Switzerland, models sold to teenagers had the top gear removed from the box. Thus, in theory, they were limited to 30 kilometers an hour. Trust the Swiss to take the fun out of everything.
I counted down the days to my fourteenth birthday anyway. My parents bought me the Cadillac of mopeds: a Puch Condor. To start it, I pedaled it like a bicycle. The pedals came in handy for assisting the motor on steep hills, or when we were racing out of slow turns (though digging the inside pedal into the pavement at maximum lean was definitely to be avoided,)
All the kids I knew had similarly restricted bikes. Since every single time any other kid went faster was a serious personal insult, we endlessly attempted to eke out a little more power. One night, mulling over the possibilities of increased compression, we decided to skim our cylinder heads. Unencumbered by knowledge of milling machines, we cast about for a suitable tool. We found it in a neighbor’s basement: a belt sander. Not one of us waited to see if it worked for anyone else first. We’d have got better results skimming our own stupid heads. Over the next few nights, quite a few local mopeds (which were often left parked outside front gates, in the convenient shadows of stone walls and overgrown hedges) lost their heads.
At every gas station there was always a special premix pump for motorbikes only. We’d decide how much fuel we were going to buy, which was never much. We told the attendant how much fuel–and what percentage of premix oil–we wanted.
Knobs were set, and a handle was pulled down, sort of like the handle on an espresso machine. The customer was reassured to see a little spurt of oil sprayed onto the inner wall of the glass “fishbowl” on top of the pump. Then a second handle released the gasoline, which swirled in after the oil, dissolving it. It was a special mixture–different than buying gas for a car–that may as well have been a magic potion. All of us idiots concluded that by reducing the percentage of oil to two percent from the recommended three percent we could get one percent more gasoline, with a concomitant increase in horsepower.
Of course, nothing we did had any impact on performance at all, except to occasionally make it much worse. The top speed of every bike was determined by the luck of the draw, though since I was the smallest rider, I could pull taller gearing.
While the bikes were simple and rugged, we were awfully hard on them. We rode without helmets, so it’s amazing we didn’t kill ourselves, even at sorely restricted speeds. Low-siding on cow shit was a common excuse. Once, I took to the ditch at full speed when a tractor and trailer laden with 200 bushels of apples emerged from a hedgerow in front of me. Damage from such wipeouts had to be repaired at the local shop. If my bike would still roll, it was an easy push up the street from my house.
The mechanic’s shop was a two-bay garage, which along with a tiny beauty salon, made up the ground floor of a two-storey house. He worked on bicycles and mopeds; his wife was the beautician. In general, his customers were not spoiled foreign children; they were real Swiss–farmers, cops, shopkeepers and like, who relied on motorbikes for day-to-day transportation. The wives and girlfriends of those guys were the customers for the salon. All of them were xenophobes. Their treatment of foreigners usually ranged from outright scorn to something resembling the Amish concept of “shunning,” unless money was changing hands.
If I was pushing in the bike, or walking in to pick it up, I’d always make a little noise, sort of like throat clearing, to warn him of my arrival. He was an intimidating character for a 14-year-old to deal with. He was old; 60 or 70, tall and gaunt. Shaking his hand was like grabbing a bunch of walnuts. When he talked to me, he’d walk up to the sound of my voice, but stare straight out over my head. That was because cataracts had long since rendered him completely blind. His corneas were as opaque as a boiled trout’s.
He did everything by feel. Routine maintenance, stuff like fitting a new inner tube and tire, was absolutely no problem. Sighted mechanics could do that with their eyes closed too, maybe. But he rebuilt top ends, replaced brake shoes; stuff that utterly baffled me. A few hours a week, he had a sighted assistant that came in, but usually he was alone. When I went there, there was always some little thing he’d borrow my eyes for, like having me read the tiny numbers on a carb jet.
Occasionally, I’d stop by his shop just to fill up my tires. (The Condor came with a bicycle pump for the purpose, but you had to pump like a madman to overcome leakage in the pump itself. He had a pump powered by a foot treadle that allowed me to run the rock-hard tires I preferred for minimal rolling resistance.) When I asked if I could borrow his pump, he always sternly warned me to replace it exactly–exactly–where I’d found it.
Luckily for him, the bikes he worked on were all piston-port two-strokes. Their basic design hadn’t changed since the introduction of the NSU Quickly in about 1947. When my bike arrived at his shop for the first time, though, he was fascinated. Until then, most Swiss-market mopeds were sold with rigid front forks, like a bicycle. Mine had an inch or two of suspension travel, thanks to a bogus leading-link arrangement in which a little block of rubber served as both spring and damper. He spent a long time “looking” at it, stroking and probing the workings with his fingers, memorizing the arrangement of the parts. It was not long before he got the chance to repair those forks.
He had a name, of course, but we just called him “the blind man.” By the time I was old enough to get a moped, my family had lived in Switzerland for several years, and I spoke fluent French. Other foreign families came and went every year or two, so I occasionally introduced new customers to the blind man, and acted as a translator. Since his ability was so extraordinary, I sort of showed him off, I guess. He always took the work. He and his wife were making their living about five bucks at a time, so there was no turning away paying jobs.
3dsmax ~ another way to export md2, export to MilkShape3D ms3d
上網找的輸出md2的script.....
輸出的東西似乎都不能用......打不開= =
所以才找到這東西
作法就是先輸出成,ms3d給MilkShape3D
再從MilkShape3D開啟再輸出md2
關於3dsmax輸出ms3d
到這邊下載
http://www.maxplugins.de/r2009_files/collberg/max2ms3d_v112_Max2009.zip
解壓縮放到3dsmax裡的plugins目錄
開啟3dsmax就可以輸出ms3d檔了
reference
http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-721754.html
輸出的東西似乎都不能用......打不開= =
所以才找到這東西
作法就是先輸出成,ms3d給MilkShape3D
再從MilkShape3D開啟再輸出md2
關於3dsmax輸出ms3d
到這邊下載
http://www.maxplugins.de/r2009_files/collberg/max2ms3d_v112_Max2009.zip
解壓縮放到3dsmax裡的plugins目錄
開啟3dsmax就可以輸出ms3d檔了
reference
http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-721754.html
3dsmax ~ import md2
到此連結下載plugin
http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/quake-ii-md2-importer
下載後解壓縮
把importmd2.ms貼到Script裡的startup目錄
像我是
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2009\Scripts\Startup
丟進去開啟3dsmax
進Utilities
點MAXScript
選Quake2 MD2 Importer
Load all frames打勾
在按Import MD2就可以匯入到3dsmax裡
http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/quake-ii-md2-importer
下載後解壓縮
把importmd2.ms貼到Script裡的startup目錄
像我是
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2009\Scripts\Startup
丟進去開啟3dsmax
進Utilities
點MAXScript
選Quake2 MD2 Importer
Load all frames打勾
在按Import MD2就可以匯入到3dsmax裡
3dsmax ~ Keys may not be set when in figure mode. exit figure mode
這是移動骨架並設定key時發生的問題
離開figure mode
點motion的tab
選骨架
把Figure Mode按掉就好
reference
http://forums.3dtotal.com/showthread.php?t=82892
Thứ Tư, 19 tháng 9, 2012
Do me a favor, would ya'?
Hey, would you do me a favor? My wife, Mary, is trying to win something. Some of you may know that, a year or two ago, she made a dance video every day for 365 days. It was a cool project that influenced many people to, as she put it, "Sit less and dance more."
This has nothing to do with motorcycles, but I am hoping lots and lots of you will a.) copy this link, to a short video about that project:
http://bit.ly/V90C30
...and b.) Tweet about it, and/or post it to your Facebook page. There's nothing weird or unsuitable for work in it, and the underlying message of her 'Freebox' project is very positive. Besides, anyone who's ever seen both my wife and I will intuitively understand why I just do whatever she asks me to do (and she's asked me to get people to Tweet this link, or post it to FB.)
Thanks. I realize that this post has nothing at all to do with motorcycles, but I promise you that I've got some great stuff in development -- including an interview with a motorcycle hero who's currently embroiled in another high-profile controversy -- it's as juicy as The Nobby Clark Fiasco.
But first things first. Share Mary's link. Thanks.
This has nothing to do with motorcycles, but I am hoping lots and lots of you will a.) copy this link, to a short video about that project:
http://bit.ly/V90C30
...and b.) Tweet about it, and/or post it to your Facebook page. There's nothing weird or unsuitable for work in it, and the underlying message of her 'Freebox' project is very positive. Besides, anyone who's ever seen both my wife and I will intuitively understand why I just do whatever she asks me to do (and she's asked me to get people to Tweet this link, or post it to FB.)
Thanks. I realize that this post has nothing at all to do with motorcycles, but I promise you that I've got some great stuff in development -- including an interview with a motorcycle hero who's currently embroiled in another high-profile controversy -- it's as juicy as The Nobby Clark Fiasco.
But first things first. Share Mary's link. Thanks.
Javascript ~ convert number display format
var num = 12345678;
var str = num + ""; // cast to string
var out = [];
for (var i = str.length - 3; i > 0; i -= 3) {
out.unshift(str.substr(i, 3));
}
out.unshift(str.substr(0, 3 + i));
out = out.join(','); // "12,345,678"
reference
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1943828/convert-digital-display-format
var str = num + ""; // cast to string
var out = [];
for (var i = str.length - 3; i > 0; i -= 3) {
out.unshift(str.substr(i, 3));
}
out.unshift(str.substr(0, 3 + i));
out = out.join(','); // "12,345,678"
reference
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1943828/convert-digital-display-format
Javascript ~ set cookie, get cookie
reference
http://www.w3schools.com/js/js_cookies.asp
function setCookie(c_name,value,exdays)
{
var exdate=new Date();
exdate.setDate(exdate.getDate() + exdays);
var c_value=escape(value) + ((exdays==null) ? "" : "; expires="+exdate.toUTCString());
document.cookie=c_name + "=" + c_value;
}
function getCookie(c_name)
{
var i,x,y,ARRcookies=document.cookie.split(";");
for (i=0;i {
x=ARRcookies[i].substr(0,ARRcookies[i].indexOf("="));
y=ARRcookies[i].substr(ARRcookies[i].indexOf("=")+1);
x=x.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
if (x==c_name)
{
return unescape(y);
}
}
}
http://www.w3schools.com/js/js_cookies.asp
function setCookie(c_name,value,exdays)
{
var exdate=new Date();
exdate.setDate(exdate.getDate() + exdays);
var c_value=escape(value) + ((exdays==null) ? "" : "; expires="+exdate.toUTCString());
document.cookie=c_name + "=" + c_value;
}
function getCookie(c_name)
{
var i,x,y,ARRcookies=document.cookie.split(";");
for (i=0;i
x=ARRcookies[i].substr(0,ARRcookies[i].indexOf("="));
y=ARRcookies[i].substr(ARRcookies[i].indexOf("=")+1);
x=x.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
if (x==c_name)
{
return unescape(y);
}
}
}
Thứ Ba, 18 tháng 9, 2012
Android ~ Android Virtual Device (AVD) use graphics acceleration, enable emulator graphics acceleration
reference
http://www.getsteps.com/view.php?oid=5132ea37258d97bd
我覺得不管是不是因為寫OpenGL而開啟這功能
都應該開啟這功能
因為速度差超多
原本噸到爆炸
開了之後順得跟飛一樣XD
我是安裝這些東西
開啟Android SDK Manager
安裝這兩個
開啟AVD Manager
我的設定是選擇Interl Atom(x86)
還有要開啟GPU emulation, Value要設為Yes
再開啟模擬器就好了~~
Thứ Hai, 17 tháng 9, 2012
It's a buoy! Real-time data comes to Indiana
 |
| The lonely life of buoy 45007. (Photo from noaa.gov) |
 |
| The Harrison-Dever crib provides local wind and air temperature readings. (Photo from openwaterchicago.com) |
 |
| TIDAS 900, the new kid on the block, er, lake. (Photo from iseagrant.org) |
We'll be watching it tonight, when the marine forecast calls for gusts to 30 knots and waves of 8 to 12 feet. Its data won't tell us exactly what's happening on our side of the lake, but it will give us one more solid data point and, no doubt, inspire us to zip over and paddle with Keith Wikle when the conditions there exceed our own.
Chủ Nhật, 16 tháng 9, 2012
Thứ Bảy, 15 tháng 9, 2012
How to have a no-regrets paddling season
Autumn isn't the end of the paddling season, but it is the end of most of our out-of-state paddling. We're back at school and back to work, squeezing paddling into our evenings and weekends, acutely aware of the later sunrises, earlier sunsets and ever-cooling water and air temperatures. Board shorts give way to surf skins; surf skins yield to drysuits. Before long, we'll wear gloves or pogies and neoprene hoods, and the long Chicago winter will begin.
The key to contentment during this season of transformation is feeling good about what we did during the summer. Did we get out in a variety of conditions, from calm to rough?
Did we paddle in a variety of places, from the Great Lakes to the ocean?
Did we practice our rescues so they're snappy when we need them?
Did we repair our gear?
Did we paddle multiple craft?
Did we paddle multiple craft in current?
Did we paddle at night?
Did we spend the night under the stars after paddling?
Did we spend time paddling with friends?
Above all, did we teach as well as learn, and develop as paddlers as well as coaches? It's rare to answer all of these in the affirmative, but this year we came close.
Our last trip of the season will be to coach at The Gales, an intermediate, rough-water sea kayak symposium on Lake Superior. If your season is coming to a close and you're looking for one last paddling fling -- a chance to work on your skills in dynamic conditions with some of the top coaches in the US, Canada and the UK -- come join us at The Gales. The location is spectacular: Naturally Superior Adventures just south of Wawa, Ontario. The coaches will include Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme of Body Boat Blade, International; Nick Cunliffe of Kayak Essentials; Chris Lockyer of Committed to the Core; as well as a host of top Great Lakes coaches from both sides of the border.
If you're looking for a no-regrets paddling season, sign up for The Gales.
The key to contentment during this season of transformation is feeling good about what we did during the summer. Did we get out in a variety of conditions, from calm to rough?
 |
| Sharon paddles in a calm bay along the Pukaskwa coast. |
 |
| Alec disappears behind a wave on Lake Michigan. |
 |
| Heading out in search of tidal races in the San Juan Islands. |
 |
| Bonnie and Alec practice a scoop rescue. |
 |
| The NDK Pilgrim awaits its new skeg cable. |
 |
| Leon gets into the long, skinny Valley Rapier 20. |
 |
| Seth in the Rapier 18 and Sharon in a Canoe. |
 |
| Sharon, Ryan and Greg on the Menominee River. |
 |
| Alec and Scott use a sit-on-top to move materials for engineering the Yorkville whitewater course. |
 |
| Bright lights, big city, quiet harbor. |
 |
| Sunset from Sucia in the San Juan Islands. |
 |
| Our good friend Keith Wikle. |
Our last trip of the season will be to coach at The Gales, an intermediate, rough-water sea kayak symposium on Lake Superior. If your season is coming to a close and you're looking for one last paddling fling -- a chance to work on your skills in dynamic conditions with some of the top coaches in the US, Canada and the UK -- come join us at The Gales. The location is spectacular: Naturally Superior Adventures just south of Wawa, Ontario. The coaches will include Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme of Body Boat Blade, International; Nick Cunliffe of Kayak Essentials; Chris Lockyer of Committed to the Core; as well as a host of top Great Lakes coaches from both sides of the border.
If you're looking for a no-regrets paddling season, sign up for The Gales.
 |
| Take the leap! Come to The Gales! |
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