...why I haven't posted more about my FJ Cruiser modifications.
Here's why: I'm right in the middle of a couple of modifications that turned into a really big project: mounting the roof lights (four large headlights for night-time offroading) and the CB radio (going on the ceiling in the center). These two modifications have one thing in common: the need to run wiring under the FJ's headliner (the material above your head when you're sitting in the car). To remove the headliner from the FJ, you have to disassemble nearly the entire interior of the car. In our spare room there is now a pile of perhaps 50 parts, along with a box with perhaps 75 fasteners of a bewildering variety. If you look into our FJ, you see metal everywhere – all the wiring, airbags, and windshield washer plumbing is fully exposed. I've mounted the CB antenna and run coax back to where the CB will be mounted; that will all be hidden between the headliner and the metal roof. Next up is running power to the roof lights and the CB; this includes punching a hole in the roof (yikes!) and running big fat wires through 1" tubing (gee, that oughtta be fun!). Only after that's all installed and tested can I put the FJ back together again. And only after that will Debbie make up her mind about whether I'm completely insane or just partially insane...
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The Most Symmetrical Thing Ever Made by Man...
That would be these niobium-coated fused quartz spheres, which about 1.5" (3.8 cm) in diameter and are spherical to within 40 atomic diameters...
Planetary Photos...
Michael Benson makes planetary photographs from original science data, using up to hundreds of images to make a mosaic. He also goes to great lengths to get the color “right”, meaning that the color in his photos is what we would see if we could somehow get to the planet (or moon) in question. Below is one example: Jupiter's fantastical moon Io:
There's a collection of his images in this article.
Kitchen Conversions...
Amongst the many irritations of living in nearly the only country that doesn't use the metric system of measurements is the need to remember all the crazy arbitrary stupid ratios of American measurements, like the number of teaspoons in a tablespoon, or the number of ounces in a quart. This infographic makes it all easy:
Of course, it would be even easier if we'd just convert to the metric system like the rest of the world! I don't expect to live long enough to see that, though...
Of course, it would be even easier if we'd just convert to the metric system like the rest of the world! I don't expect to live long enough to see that, though...
Plant Circles in African Deserts...
What causes these odd-looking circles – so-called “fairy rings” – found in the Namib desert? Answer: sand termites.
Children Should Be Supervised By Adults...
A fun collection of tricks you can use to win bar bets. A bar is approximately the last place you'd ever find me, but I think some of these might be fun when gathering with friends somewhere else, too:
California's Net Worth...
We're talking about the net worth of the state government, not of all the people and businesses in the state. The net worth of the state government is the sum of all its assets (buildings, land, cash, investments, taxes due) minus the sum of all the liabilities (debts, pension obligations, etc.). For most of California's history, the net worth of the state has been somewhere between a few billion dollars negative to several hundred billion positive (the latter during Ronald Reagan's term). Today: -127.2 billion dollars. That's over $3,000 for each man, woman, and child in the state. Sheesh...
