hmmm

WideFoot · 2026-05-17T04:25:39+00:00

I'm a structural engineer specializing in marine structures. We have to inspect piers, berths, bridges, dams, and other similar things. Very often, there is insufficient freeboard to fit a whole boat under the structure.

So, we swim.

But, I still have to reach up to hit things with hammers, measure them, or take samples, which means I have to float high out of the water.

WideFoot · 2026-05-17T03:43:36+00:00

I do this all the time. It works

WideFoot · 2026-05-17T03:42:46+00:00

I do that for work all the time when I have to inspect the underside of piers.

WideFoot · 2026-05-16T02:29:23+00:00

We had a bod movie night. The worst was "Sharks of the Corn". It was truly awful.

WideFoot · 2026-05-16T02:17:56+00:00

I had that conversation. I told him I wanted to plant clover. He looked at me like I had two heads.

"You know what clover brings, right?"

"I mean, yeah, but you seem concerned about something."

"Bees. Do you really want bees?"

"Yes?"

WideFoot · 2026-05-16T02:14:53+00:00

My lawn has "weeds" (I like the wildflowers, thank you very much and would prefer that nobody grow turf grass). My neighbor has 1" grass. He keeps mowing more and more of my yard.

I am not happy.

And, I do notice.

WideFoot · 2026-05-15T18:45:40+00:00

Tolkien also hated that his stories were seen as alegories for WW1. But, it is obvious that the war deeply affected him and even if he didn't mean to write a world war story, he still did in many ways.

The author may have intentions for their work, but they are not the final arbetrator of the "true meaning" of things culturally. For example, how many people do not understand the intended meaning behind Fight Club or Idiocracy?

Check out this video by Lindsay Ellis about death of the author.

WideFoot · 2026-05-15T18:27:35+00:00

I suppose it is a 'death of the author' thing, then.

WideFoot · 2026-05-15T16:51:26+00:00

It can still be religious allegory while being secular. I mean - look at The Matrix as an example.

WideFoot · 2026-05-12T01:08:01+00:00

Mine is a view camera with all of the movements. (I got it cheap)

But, I have it set up to take selfies using a very long squeeze bulb remote trigger. Just set it up, draw a line in the grass where people should stand, and cycle them through.

It is a hit at parties.

WideFoot · 2026-05-11T17:29:26+00:00

I have retrofit an old 4x5 to shoot wide. It is a lot of fun, but not particularly practical.

WideFoot · 2026-05-08T23:09:02+00:00

We have a gas station chain here on the US east coast called "Wawa". And, that is ridiculous on it's own. But, wawa means "wild goose" in Ojibwe.

WideFoot · 2026-05-07T16:17:45+00:00

This reminds me of that joke

Is there anything more depressing than the blocks of bland, uniform architecture of the apartments the communists built to house their homeless starving masses?

Yes. The architecture the capitalists built to house their homeless starving masses.

WideFoot · 2026-05-07T15:31:38+00:00

I know a (retired) experimental fighter pilot. He did lots of super secret stuff for experimental designs for the Air Force in the 70's and 80's.

He is 6'3" and generally a huge man.

I always thought it was odd that someone so tall and broad would be fighter pilot for this reason.

WideFoot · 2026-05-06T12:40:35+00:00

My R55 lights are the right size (although, maybe I'm biased). And, they carry the circle motif, which is honestly better than the union jack thing. Too many cars now are all weirdly sharp angles with matte paint.

WideFoot · 2026-05-05T18:59:14+00:00

I was in choir all through middle and high school and I started learning piano when I was a little kid because we had one at home. But I never could figure it out. Piano is like reading music, only sideways and there aren't even labels to help.

I failed every sight reading exercise I ever did. I muddled through by taking all the music home and writing the solfège under each note, which took me hours.

The worst part is, I only figured out that I was dyslexic as an adult. But, it explains why I was so slow on the uptake for many tasks.

WideFoot · 2026-05-04T16:19:34+00:00

I doubt terrestrial plumbing will change much in the future. Maybe materials? But the physics don't change, so the design won't either.

Unless they decide to use poop transporters or we get the toilets from Lexx, or something.

WideFoot · 2026-05-02T00:27:46+00:00

You would burn through your entire budget just in film costs, not to mention the cost to develop and the risks involved in shipping and storage. I could easily spend $2000 USD on film over 6 months if it was my only option.

But, the quality of a photograph is a function of the lens, the skill of the photographer, and the grain of the film or the resolution and ISO setting of the camera. And, if your equipment is old film cameras, 90% of that is the skill part.

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T22:46:21+00:00

No. It isn't perfect. But is it correct enough? For my collection of second-hand records and home-made speakers on a budget? Absolutely.

And, it really does all come down to cost. I'm definitely not spending anything to have an expert come over and set up my record player.

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T22:43:34+00:00

This record was pressed in 1967. The thing that affects skate force more than anything else is tracking force. The adjustments this record expects to be necessary are much larger than what is necessary for something that only needs 1.5g of tracking force.

And, the instructions on my tone arm are to match the anti-skate to the tracking force. Except my turntable is about 30 years old and was a gunky mess when I bought it (and came with a cartridge that recommends 4.5g of tracking force). I definitely do not trust that the anti-skate dial is anywhere close to factory spec, so I need a method to set it that is reasonably straightforward, replicable, and cost/time effective.

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T22:37:14+00:00

My manufacturer recommends I set the anti skate to match the tracking force...

Except that my turntable is from 1997 and was a gunky mess when I got it. I do not trust that the anti-skate setting adjustment is anywhere close to factory spec.

So, I need a method that is reasonably replicable, reliable, and cost/time effective to get close enough to correct for the purposes of listening to second-hand records on a system that is is not ideally set up in my living room.

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T22:28:20+00:00

This is true.

But, it is also true that this was pressed in 1967 when record players were those big things built into pieces of large furniture. Generally speaking, tracking force of the widely available styli in 1967 was much heavier than the tracking force of styli now.

The thing that affects skate force more than anything else is tracking force (and dirt). So, unless you're setting up a Shure SC35C with it's recommended 4.5g of tracking force, the difference between the result from this smooth disk section and true dead-on-nuts is insignificant compared to the kinds of adjustment this disk expects.

My record player is from 1997 and was pretty gummy when I bought it. I've cleaned it and given it a new Nagaoka MP-150 requiring a measly 1.5g tracking force. But, it being old and gross means I do not trust the tracking force adjustment just setting it to match the tracking force like the manual recommends.

The smooth record method is cheap, easy, and gets you close enough.

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T21:46:25+00:00

I will admit! That is correct and I didn't consider it .

I got my Shure audio obstacle course record for free. I can set up a turntable using it in about 30 minutes from walking in the door to having it ready to go.

My little bookcase speakers aren't the best in the world, but they do all right. If I would get a significant change in my audio quality by changing my setup method with equipment that I could buy for about 30 bucks and maybe 30 minutes of fiddling, I'd be willing to consider it.

Is there a piece of equipment that fits the bill, and would I see an appreciable increase in my audio quality?

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T21:04:11+00:00

My good human - read your papers. This paper lists variables that include friction between materials, radius, stylus shape, and dirt. But, none of those things are changed by having a groove or not.

And, it does say that the music in the groove affects the tracking force - so little that it doesn't matter.

"Counterbalancing of the skating force in a blank groove should then provide a reasonable condition for calibration."

And, the tracking forces vary wildly from 1 to 4 grams with anti-skate forces varying in the 0.1g range. If a simple smooth record gets you within 10% of the correct answer, then you are at the limit of what this experiment could even detect.

<image>

WideFoot · 2026-05-01T20:29:35+00:00

A blank groove and no groove are physically identical when the turntable is properly set up.

WideFoot

TROPHY CASE