Archives

Welcome to SlowHands' Curiosity Corner!

This little zone of CleanMPG is where you'll find a (hopefully) daily diet of the Weird and Wonderful world that we live in.

Pictures will be the primary ingredient, and will range from the naturally beautiful to wildly creative to :D to :confused: to :eek:. Reader 'alternative captions' will be encouraged for many of these, its always fun to see how other people's perceptions differ when looking at the same thing. I'm planning on taking the cleverest and posting them in perhaps a monthly 'best of' or something like that.

The other ingredient will be bits of perhaps useless but fascinating facts, short stories, puzzles and other flotsam and jetsam that I just happen to come across while surfing the net "from apathy to tedium with occasional side trips to monotony and ennui."... <nods to Mr. Roberts>

So here we go with the third week:

Feb.16, 2009

Those of us that are involved in the building trades have a 'special' appreciation for dedication, hard work, and attention to detail that the 'modern' architects and engineers put into their design and construction plans...especially when something like this happens..this took place at Lloyds in London England...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/stair-column_at_Lloyds_in_London.jpg

Those of us that are involved in the building trades have a 'special' appreciation for dedication, hard work, and attention to detail that the 'modern' architects and engineers put into their design and construction plans...especially when something like this happens..this took place at Lloyds in London England...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/stair-column_at_Lloyds_in_London.jpg




I'd say " Rising to your level of ineptitude" that architect surely has . I've had a supervisor or three in the past that resembled those steps .

Feb.17, 2009

Yes this is a day late.. but I've been working on a special project! I've been accused of having some mad scientist tendencies...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/medium/Mad_Scientist_worth_1000_com_.jpg

** Caption This! **
(picture from Worth1000.com)

Feb.18, 2009

These are pictures from an abandoned Russian fortress. Those aren't icicles of water..The reason for it to have such a strange look is because it was used later by Russian army to test the influence of Russian alternative to napalm inside of the brick houses.

Due to very high temperature of napalm the bricks started melting just like ice melts in the spring forming the icicles, but those icicles are of red brick
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/Russian_Fortress_01.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/Russian_Fortress_02.jpg

(pictures from englishrussia.com)

steps to nowhere up top huh.

to melt brick, those napalms must burn at some incredibly high temps!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/medium/Mad_Scientist_worth_1000_com_.jpg

Caption: Art Spinella, while writing "Dust to Dust"

[quote=SlowHands;188664]Feb.17, 2009


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/medium/Mad_Scientist_worth_1000_com_.jpg

Lil Stevie didn't believe the advertisements ..."This is your brain on drugs "
Drugs are bad , M'kay?

Feb.19, 2009

In the ever continueing saga of builder's expertise... er um ... well you wouldn't believe how hard it can be to get things to look 'JUST RIGHT' ...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/window_alignment.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/window_alignment2.jpg

** Caption This! **

Feb.19, 2009


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/window_alignment.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/window_alignment2.jpg

** Caption This! **
Lil Stevie (in an apparent attempt to outdo the great pillar step architect) eyeballed his mark .

Feb.20, 2009

Many people that come here to CleanMPG are very careful about researching products before they buy. We all like to be sure that we are getting a 'good bang for the buck' . We like to have peak performance and efficiency from the things we buy and certainly most of us drive that way too.

Some of us love music... some of us like it REALLY LOUD... some of us like it REALLY CLEAR... we'll spend good money to get good sound. Check out this little doodad.. at first glance it appears to be just a normal duplex receptacle...well, its not ;)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/Wattgate_381_duplex_receptacle.jpg

Here's a description from the place that sells them to 'audiophiles'...

If you are building your own audiophile power cord to improve component performance, you need the WattGate 381 receptacle. Why build a performance power cable only to plug it into the same receptacle that's been in use for almost 100 years? WattGate's 381 is a no compromise solution for the demanding AV enthusiast. Construction of the 381 is top-notch and features glass-filled, nylon front and rear housings. Mounting strap, rivets and grounding strip are gold plated, solid brass for the ultimate in corrosion resistance and power transfer. Installation of the 381 is simple and efficient due to rear wiring and large, #10 brass terminal screws. Terminal clamps are gold plated, solid brass and shaped to better grip the conductors. Like the 330 and 350, the 381 leaves the competition behind with its contacts. Configured in a triple-wiper design allows the plug blades to be gripped at three separate points. Additionally, the heavy-duty contacts maximize the clamping spring-rate and ensure conductivity. A three-layer plating process is also completed on the 381: Oxygen free copper plating, electrolysis nickel, and finally 24k gold plating. Receptacle is cryogenically treated and rated at 125 VAC, 20A.

* Cryogenically treated
* Solid brass contact construction
* Three step 24k gold plating process
* Triple wiper design increases contact area
* Superior performance over standard receptacles

Oh, my. Sounds awesome! How much is this little beauty, you ask?

Wattgate 381 Audio Grade Duplex Socket

List Price: $148.00 EA
Your Price: $147.72 EA (1-3)
$140.33 EA (4+)

Sku 110-439: In Stock

Request a large quantity quote.
No Hassle Returns

I can see that a group of us could get together and buy enough to get that discount! I'm listing the link to the site because you really should read the 'reviews'...

http://www.parts-express.com//pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=110-439&DID=7

Feb.20, 2009 Bonus!

Some of you probably wonder how or why I came across the previous item, the very special duplex receptacle. Many of you might not realize that my 'real job' is at an electrical contractor's office as an estimator / project manager / CAD draftsman / etc. In the daily course of looking stuff up related to the project I'm working on there sometimes are gems like these.

While looking up some specialty cables for some equipment, I came across these two items. Now keep in mind that these cables are approximately 2 meters long...I'm going to paraphrase a quote from another electrician:

Don't forget that you need to have a power cord worthy of that fine duplex receptacle that you have purchased. How about this one?

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/PLMM_700x407_power_cord_1_995_00_EACH.jpg

It is $1,995.00. Yes the decimal is in the right place...

Let's quit fooling around and go to maximum extreme silliness...Gentlemen, i have for your viewing pleasure, a cable designed to interconnect your checking account to the manufacturer's checking account. These items may have audio or electronic properties as well. This is a cord to connect surplus money to a needy corporation. it is the best there is.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/OMM_700_cable_30_995_00_EACH_.jpg


Actually, it is ONE speaker cable and it costs $30,995.00! :eek:

Of course, for stereo you need a PAIR of them: for $61,980.00!!

The mind reels... you can buy a pair of PRIUS for what a pair of these cables costs...hmmm which would you choose??

This company has even more stuff for the extreme audiophile ;)
http://transparentcable.com/

:eek: Just :eek: !!

And to think, Beethoven had to saw off the legs of his piano to feel the vibrations of the music he wrote.

Well, these necessities make the price of groceries look very reasonable now.

Imagine how you'd feel if you bought the cable that cost $500 and realized you really wanted the $2000 one!

Neither of those cables will make that $20,000 guitar sound like you know how to play!

I think of those cables in relating to an audiophiles quest for ultimate sound quality much the same way a hypermiler quests for that last 1% of mpg. Would I pay that kind of money for "wires" - Hell No (and I consider myself an audiophile) but someone out there obviously would indeed pay for that .0001 thd less. Makes your choices and pay your nickels (in this case 40,000 of em)

Feb.21, 2009

Now for some really pretty stuff that begs the question: how did they do that?! I think most of us have seen pictures like the first one shown here: a high speed photo of a water droplet impacting on still water.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/clear_green_water_drop_photo.jpg


these next couple pictures are quite a bit different... just how could someone get a pictue like this? Really amazing. These are just some of the pictures shown at http://www.pbase.com/fotoopa/water_figures_2007, by a photographer from Belgium.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/yellows_and_blues-footopa.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/multicolor_round_water_drop_photo-fotoopa.jpg

http://www.parts-express.com//pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=110-439&DID=7

I just have to say they don't approve reviews in spite of their claims. :D - Nixon and Wattgate

Feb.22, 2009

There's an expression that many have used as a reason an excuse to explain why we've taken some kind of shortcut to perform some task. Sometimes its a way to 'save some time' but might compromise some aspect of the job like quality...or safety. Notice the brick placed by the tire to insure the truck doesn't roll. Note that the gentleman is wearing a welding helmet, and appears to be wearing long sleeves, as he should. But somewhere in his chain of thought things started to go awry."Surely 2 chunks of half-rotted 2x4 are strong enough to hold up the truck.." and "I only got to weld a little bit by the GAS TANK...:eek:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/gas_tank_welding1.jpg

** Caption This! **

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/gas_tank_welding1.jpg
** Man complies with new stricter safety regulations for work vehicles** or

**Wall-E having found the taste of flesh intriguing after that incident at the
morgue watches with anticipation as he is about to catch his first live prey** - :D - Dale

Feb.26, 2009 - A Catch Up Day

Some of you are aware that I was tied up the last few days with bidding on a HUGE electrical project...virtually no sleep for several days. There were 3 of us working on this for about 3 weeks, and of course it comes down to a huge push at the end for the 'due date'. Well, that's why I hadn't posted anything here in the 'daily' column... oops.

Since my brain has been tied up with this stuff, I thought I'd share some pictures from a couple of large electrical projects the company I work for has done. These pictures have similar content to what would be built at the project we were bidding on. I'm rather proud of the men and women (yes we had several female electricians on site!) that did this work. I think that even those that aren't in the 'trade' can appreciate the skills involved... not only physical but plenty of math and conceptual thinking too.

Oh, yeah... I also drew most of this in AutoCAD before a length of conduit or busduct was put into place...so I really built the whole place in my head and on paper first... and 99/9% of the time everything fit :D

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/conduit_mazeA.jpg

This is a view of a maze of conduits and busduct at a rather large switchboard at a 'secret' data facility. This kind of place cannot have power failures. There are 2 separate utility services, 2 sets of large UPS modules, batteries and switchgear, and multiple diesel generators in enclosures the size of mobile homes..

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/conduit_maze2A.jpg

This view is from a substation (takes 12,470 volt incoming and transforms it to 277/480 volt, and then distributes it to loads) that feeds a data room. The conduit work here is amazing... the math involved makes your head numb. The skill to lay this stuff out and bend it into the shapes to make it look this nice is commendable. Oh, these are mostly 3" and 3-1/2" conduits...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/data_room_conduitsA.jpg

This is a view of the conduits running from that substation out onto the data floor. I love how this looks: neat, straight, level...skill was at work here.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/data_room_conduits2A.jpg

A side view of the same conduits. Notice the multiple LAYERS of large conduits.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/spreading_bends-A.jpg

This was at a different facility, with very cramped quarters, and a rather novel approach to getting the conduits in and out of the switchboard.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/spreading_bends2A.jpg

Another view of the same novel approach.

Ken, that is simply amazing precision and worksmanship! :eek: You have every right to be very proud indeed.

Ken, I am very familiar with installations such as this. 3" sch40 conduit bent with such symmetry is an art form itself.
Great design job too!

Amazing work. You and your fellow crafts people should be commended for the highest level of incorporating all those exhaust headers into your project, very Monster Garage.

:D- Dale

Feb.27, 2009

There are quite a few Star Trek and Science Fiction fans here at CleanMPG. For your amusement:


http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/618/medium/nacelles565_2a.jpg


Here's the story behind the 'cover'


Trek Fans Respond to Abrams with Mock Mag
by John Scott Lewinski - Wired Underwire - February 27, 2009

A new, fan-generated mock-up of a fictitious magazine is a direct response to recent comments J.J. Abrams made about Star Trek followers who might be dissatisfied with the redesigned look of his new movie.

The original Starship Enterprise was designed by Matt Jefferies in 1965, but Abrams commissioned a redesign by Ryan Church for the new film. Some fans weren't pleased with the retooled ship and, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Abrams said, "The key is to appreciate that there are purists and fans of Star Trek who are going to be very vocal if they see things that aren't what they want. But I can't make this movie for readers of 'Nacelles Monthly' who are only concerned with what the ship's engines look like."

While Abrams may wish to reconsider antagonizing the core fan group for his new movie months before it hits theaters, Trekkers Anthony Pascale, Tobias Richter and Thorsten Wulff teamed to design a cover for the magazine Abrams hopes you'll never read.

Artwork by Thorsten Wulff

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2009/02/hardcore-trek-f.html

yeah, those do look like headers for what... a V-20??!!