Bullet Cam

Vortex\Hornady Bullet-Cam
You knew it had to be coming. Via Tam.

Bordertown

Bordertown

Started watching yet another European crime series on Netflix last night. At first I thought it was set on the US-Mexican border, because that's the one that everyone is talking about these days, but no, it's set on the Finnish-Russian border and we have cops from both sides of the border investigating cross-border crimes. The Finnish title (Sorjonen) comes from the star character's name, who is also the star Finnish investigator. It's pretty good. It's subtitled, which I prefer, even for films where the dialog is in English. It makes it easier to catch those just audible phrases that are often key to the plot.

Blockheads

Stonehenge:    51.2° North,     -1.8° West

Easter Island: -27.1° South, -109.4° West
Difference:       78,3°              107.6°       which is not exactly opposite, but good enough for this.

Via Jack.

3D Graphing Calculator

Klein Bottle

Got an email from Saeid Nourian this morning extolling the wonders of his 3D Graphing Calculator, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is not an online tool, it is an actual application program that you have to download and install on your computer. But I took a chance and downloaded and installed it. I tried a couple of simple minded equations and it seems to work and my computer hasn't blown up, so maybe it's okay. It comes in three flavors for Windows, Apple and, surprise, surprise, Linux, which is what I needed. It also comes at three price points: free-try-it-for-30-days, economy and full-boat professional. Now all I need is a problem to try it on.

Saeid works for the Concord Consortium, which seems to be doing some interesting things with computers in education.

How to Fix a Porcelain Mug with a TIG Welder

How to Fix a Porcelain Mug with a TIG Welder
Is this really possible? I mean, the video looks fairly convincing, but the guys who made it are a couple of clowns*, so they could just be having a laugh. I looked around on the net and didn't find much except this page, which kind of implies that it is possible.

*These are same guys who are working on Project Binky, a scheme to stuff a big, fat motor into an original Mini-Cooper.

Engine of the Day

Vernon Maxwell's 1961 Chevy Impala lowrider supercharged engine. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Something this clean and shiny takes a whole lot of dedication, time and money. I am impressed. I think it's the red reflections that sets this portrait off. Some of the red color comes from the underside of the hood. I mean, who cares about the color of the underside of their car's hood?

I like to look, but I don't have the energy or the patience to make something like this. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have done a thorough job of cleaning and polishing a car. For me, there is usually something more important to do, like take a nap, or write a blog post.

Flying Test Beds

Boeing 757-200
Honeywell Flying Test Bed
Phoenix, Arizona

British Aerospace 111
Grumman Corp. Test Bed
Baltimore-Washington Airport
April 23, 2009

Canadair CL-600-2C10
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORP
McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada
March 24, 2017
Tomás Del Coro

This trio of oddball aircraft just fell into my lap this morning. Previous to this, the only one I was aware of is this Russian job.

The Honeywell airplane is used for testing its business jet engines. The Grumman aircraft are used for testing avionics. Via FlightAware.