Saturday, December 16, 2006
Graduation!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Geminids and Felines
Late last night my mom and I decided to go watch the Geminid meteor shower since it was clear, dark, and semi-warm for this time of year. We always used to watch the Perseids before school started in August, but with weather and internships and lots of other stuff, we haven’t done it in years. The geminids aren’t as numerous as the Perseids, but they are slower, bigger, and burn up nice and slow so they are easier to see. We went to Tinkers Creek on Old Mill road to escape the city light and though there were some clouds, it was an okay show. We saw two really good ones and a bunch others before it got too cold. It’s been a long time since I got to see some good meteors.
Also there was a stray kitten that came up to us and was even sitting on my lap before we got up to leave. It’s fur was pretty rough and there weren’t any houses around so I dont think it belongs to anyone. We felt bad to leave it alone in the winter so we brought it home and it’s in the garage. I’ll take it to a shelter today. Pretty nice cat for a stray. It should get a nice home.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Science!
Forum question posed: Would an airplane on a gigantic treadmill be able to takeoff?(17:32:04) BobCortex:
i get the whole gyst of the dumb argument(17:32:17) BobCortex: figured i'd ask someone who flys the things
(17:32:37) Eclipse: if the engines are going, the plane will leave the treadmill
(17:33:08) BobCortex: even if the treadmill can keep it from actually moving foward?
(17:33:12) Eclipse: its like pulling a wagon, the wheels dont do the pulling
(17:33:21) BobCortex: right
(17:33:25) Eclipse: the wheels just let you move
(17:33:34) BobCortex: plane with breaks on and full power wont move or take off
(17:33:41) Eclipse: a treadmill would change the speed of the wheels, but not the body of the plane
(17:33:50) Eclipse: right
(17:34:29) BobCortex: its some weird physics question
(17:34:48) BobCortex: plane + treadmill that can keep up with the plane. prefect world physics
(17:35:09) BobCortex: people come up with all sorts of junk
(17:35:15) BobCortex: like wheels dont do jack
(17:35:22) BobCortex: planes can take off on water
(17:36:08) BobCortex: but i always kinds thought the engines kinda moved air over the wings
(17:36:15) BobCortex: at least with props
(17:36:42) Eclipse: the engines pull the airplane forward, wheter its a prop or a jet (a jet is a prop with a cone around it)
(17:37:03) Eclipse: the moving airplane causes lift under the wings
(17:37:03) BobCortex: but i guess if the plane is not moving. the wings arn't moving. thusly lift is not being generated
(17:37:13) BobCortex: therefore sits still?
(17:37:21) Eclipse: correct
(17:37:31) BobCortex: if eclipse says its so i can sleep easier!
(17:37:45) BobCortex: it was fun reading people bicker about it
(17:38:09) Eclipse: heh
(17:38:26) BobCortex: fun stuff like "piolts" saying they wouldn't even really notice a diffrence on takeoff
(17:38:52) Eclipse: they wouldnt, the airplane would still accelerate like normal
(17:38:59) Eclipse: the wheels would be spinning faster or slower only
(17:39:10) BobCortex: but take off would never happen
(17:39:13) BobCortex: no climax!
(17:39:26) Eclipse: the wheels do not pull the airplane!
(17:39:37) Eclipse: the engines pull it forward and therefore judge acceleration
(17:39:59) Eclipse: a treadmill would only change how fast the wheels spin
(17:40:30) Eclipse: like a car spinning out on ice, the car still moves forward at the same velocity (due to inertia) and the wheels spin really fast
(17:40:53) Eclipse: the airplane is similar except the engine cause the motion instead of inertia
(17:41:05) Eclipse: and the treadmill would only change how fast the wheels spin
(17:41:26) Eclipse: once the airplane accelerates enough, lift will form under the wings and takeoff would happen
(17:41:42) BobCortex: but its not really moving
(17:42:01) Eclipse: yes it IS
(17:42:08) Eclipse: you're thinking of a car
(17:42:13) Eclipse: thats not how airplanes taxi
(17:42:19) BobCortex: ok
(17:42:23) BobCortex: you keep changing your mind
(17:42:29) Eclipse: no im not
(17:42:34) BobCortex: i know the wheels on a plane dont actually move it
(17:42:46) BobCortex: they roll freely and have brakes
(17:43:34) BobCortex: sure the plane would accelerate on the treadmill. but it wouldn't really be moving in physical space
(17:43:46) BobCortex: is the conculsion from earlier
(17:44:28) BobCortex: heh
(17:44:32) Eclipse: wrong
(17:44:49) Eclipse: the airplane only needs air to move
(17:44:58) Eclipse: otherwise it would be a real shitty airplane
(17:45:18) BobCortex: ugh hurting my head
(17:45:18) Eclipse: so the treadmill will not affect the acceleration
(17:45:39) Eclipse: unless the treadmill is in a perfect vacuum, the airplane will move in space
(17:45:53) Eclipse: because it uses the air to accel and not the motion of the wheels
(17:45:55) BobCortex: but the treadmill is preventing it from actually moving foward to get lift
(17:46:08) Eclipse: no, the treadmill only moves the wheels
(17:46:40) Eclipse: if there were no wheels, and the plane's belly was sitting on the treadmill then maybe
(17:46:52) Eclipse: but the wheels spin freely
(17:47:28) BobCortex: plane acceleration -----> <------ treadmill
(17:47:59) BobCortex: if its moving the plane backwards as its trying to move foward. its not really going anywhere
(17:48:36) Eclipse: thats what i am trying to say, it doesnt move the airplane
(17:48:47) BobCortex: right its spinning the wheels
(17:48:54) BobCortex: and the wheels are connected to the plane
(17:49:05) Eclipse: i think that's where you are not getting it
(17:49:22) Eclipse: are the brakes on?
(17:49:24) BobCortex: no
(17:49:38) Eclipse: then why would moving the wheel move the airplane?
(17:50:06) BobCortex: but the engines are pulling it foward
(17:50:28) Eclipse: if you attach a rope to a wagon and put the wagon on the treadmill, will the treadmill pull you?
(17:51:00) Eclipse: now what happens if you pull the wagon?
(17:51:07) Eclipse: the wagon comes towards you
(17:51:18) Eclipse: the wheels are what prevents the treadmill from having any effect!
(17:51:32) BobCortex: trickery
(17:51:33) Eclipse: now the airplanes engines provide that same force as you pulling the rope
(17:51:59) Eclipse: because the airplane can accelerate independantly of the treadmill
(17:52:11) Eclipse: thats not true for a car
(17:52:25) Eclipse: cars need the friction between the wheel and the ground to move
(17:52:27) BobCortex: i thought the treadmill would act to keep it in place. as in someone running on one. like a propelled treadmill. not one of thoes free running ones
(17:52:27) Eclipse: airplanes do not
(17:52:45) Eclipse: the person would need the friction
(17:52:56) Eclipse: airplanes do not need friction under the wheels to move
(17:54:11) BobCortex: so glad i never took physics
(17:54:22) Eclipse: do you get it though?
(17:55:16) Eclipse: i have to go soon
(17:56:11) BobCortex: so the engines pull the aircraft. regardless of what the wheels are doing. beacuse the wheels do absoluty nothing except keep the plane from falling over.
(17:56:19) BobCortex: someone needs to build a giant ass treadmill
(17:56:32) Eclipse: thats right
(17:56:48) BobCortex: no matter how fast the mill goes it wont affect the plane
(17:56:54) Eclipse: right
(17:56:58) BobCortex: just makes the hwels spin faster
(17:57:01) Eclipse: right
(17:57:13) Eclipse: or slower, if the treadmill is going the other way
(17:57:41) BobCortex: crazy airplanes
(17:58:12) Eclipse: they have to rely on the air or they will be useless after leaving the ground
(17:58:20) Eclipse: like a car in the air can't do anything
(17:58:43) BobCortex: so the plane will justhop off the treadmill and carry on its way
(17:58:48) Eclipse: yup
(17:59:00) BobCortex: sorcery!
(17:59:09) Eclipse: physics!
The answer: The airplane will take off and the pilots will not notice any difference
Monday, December 04, 2006
Macworld 07 Rumors
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of the 12” powerbook by apple. I was waiting for so long for them to announce a new intel one before I finally broke down and bought the 15” macbookpro. I like the 15” (I just realized I never did a review of it, probly cause my site was down thx jo) but could I return to the 12 inch form after living the good life of my current awesome laptop? Probably. Let’s take a look at what I want:
Proc: Intel, semi fast…..nothing demands a super awesome processor anymore.
Ram: Upgradable to 2gb would be nice
Screen: Widescreen or not, >1024x768 would be nice
Vid Card: Capable of gaming in Windows. This is the only reason i picked mbp over mb
Hdd: My 80gb in the mbp is getting tight, would like more
CD: want one in there, thats why i got rid of the Dell L400
Design: I like the aluminum design over the mb, but at least offer it in black if not
Tablet: rumored that this could be a tablet. Depends on reviews..
So basically it comes down to how well does it game, and what does it look like? Unfortunately it has to beat my current mpb to justify the effort of selling it, which is a difficult feat. I sure like the ultra portability though. I take it everywhere. :D
Now onto other rumors. iPhone. If you’ve seen my phone lately you know I need a new one. I want to see what the iPhone will look like. It’s supposed to be an mp3 player and phone in one and supposed to work with every provider. I am holding off until macworld to make my decision, and it’s all based on design. If I don’t like it I will probably get a motorala PEBL. I know the PEBL gets bad reviews due to storage space and bad camera, but my current phone is the same and I don’t really care. I like the PEBL design and I just want it for a phone.
Widescreen iPod. I need a new iPod since my 3rd gen’s screen stopped working. If both the iPhone and the widescreen video ipod are released and both look cool I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m betting only one will be released or I’ll only like one. I want an 80gb at the moment but I can wait until macworld to see if a new one comes out.
With my luck, things will be announced and not ready until August or something. Until then, It’ll be a long 5 weeks!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Website Fixed
I fixed the PHP errors I was having. Actually I didn’t, but I hid them from view. I have yet to see anything not work, so I don’t know why it was throwing errors around. Just had to put an ini_set(‘display_errors’, 0); tag in every .php file. Search and comments are back up. Tell me if you see anymore errors kthx.