Member postings for Farmboy

We could possibly produce all our own " green " energy if all farms switched to biomass, solar panels and wind turbines. At least we could keep warm while we are starving to death . . .

Perhaps we should look at the vast resource we apparently pump into the sea in the form of raw sewage. It would seem more credible to use that as a source of biomass, with the added benefit of using the solid by-product as fertiliser, and the purified water can be recycled into the reservoirs. Our local water company are already supplying treated sewage water through our taps. One side benefit from this is less limescale in the kettle.

Mike.

The majority of contributors here are not a representative sample of the population at large when it comes to technical abilities.

I think there is a good case for preventing the average 'man in the street' from tampering with the insides of electrical equipment. If they can't get past the tamperproof screws they're probably not bright enough to deal with what's inside

I'm always very sceptical about such things when reported in the media, but did indeed find many similar incidents when I looked for them. The most surprising part of my incident was that there was no physical or thermal shock involved. The jug had been sitting quietly in the cupboard for many hours, there was nobody in the kitchen at the time, and it just spontaneously exploded. We heard the noise of shattering glass from another room and were unabe to find the source at first. When I eventually opened the cupboard there were bits of jug everywhere.

I read somewhere that the change from borosilicate to tempered soda glass was due to the latter's better resistance to physical shock, which is apparently the most common reason for breakage.

Mike.

I have personal experience of a Pyrex jug exploding in a cupboard, probably about five years ago. It had not been used that day and there were no unusual circumstances, extreme weather, etc. and nobody was in the kitchen at the time. It truly exploded, distributing shards of glass throughout the cupboard among the other china and glassware. Fortunately, most of our Pyrex was acquired before the change but the jug had been a more recent purchase.

I remember finding much online comment about the phenomenon at the time and have not bought Pyrex branded items since.

Mike.

I can't decide whether human/robot integration is a 'good thing' but it is going to continue to develop whether we like it or not. I am fascinated by the technology but apprehensive about the outcomes. Helping people with disabilities or injuries is perhaps the best use of this technology but there are numerous ways it might be used by those with evil intent. One of the more disturbing thoughts is the likelihood that the brain-computer interface will become 2-way.

In Isaac Asimov's sci-fi universe the robots and associated technology are largely benign and for the benefit of humans. In the real world I suspect this may not always be the case.

Mike.

Anyone who, like me, hasn't already done so might like to scroll through the comments below the Reddit post where the owner of the device has added a few more details about its operation.

Mike.

I thought perhaps the line observed through the hole at 30 might be caused by a pin inserted and scratching the surface before it drops into the corresponding hole below.

I feel there must be something missing, even if only a pin. The single hole close to the centre of the inner disc must also have a purpose, possibly associated with whatever is missing.

All three scales must be read in combination somehow.

P.S. The clockwise only rotation suggests some kind of progressive calculation rather than a simple conversion.

Mike.

Edited By Farmboy on 17/01/2022 15:34:09

He was a brilliant entertainer on Animal Magic. I didn't know he did Thomas, I must have a look at that link .

I believe he was a farm or estate manager before he was a TV star.

More observations ( I really need to stop this and get to bed )

I think there may be a disc under the visible ones, with the dial ring attached to it by the two screws at positions 9 and perhaps by what appear to be rivets at 4.5. The whole disc pivots on the central screw and the inner disc is free to turn independantly. The small wire loop on the centre screw does look like a friction device, possibly to ensure the inner disc turns with the outer until it is locked by the detent. The signs of wear under the loop show it is in close contact with the disc.

I'm beginning to think it might be a one-off or prototype. There is sufficient, if slight, variation in the numbers to suggest they were hand drawn by a good draughtsman.

There must be some significance in the arrows indicating clockwise rotation. I wonder if it suggests some sort of progressive calculation. For just a simple static calculation it wouldn't seem to matter which way it is turned.

Mike.

He's a strange and controversial character, but if you can overcome your prejudice for long enough to listen he does say some very deep and though-provoking things about our future.

There's a better picture and a video at the LINK that MichaelG posted last year.

The small dots on the surround that Nick has arrowed in blue are said to be pins holding it down to the wooden base.

The two spots near the numbers 9 on the ring appear to be slotted screw heads but I can't work out their purpose.

There doesn't seem to be any complicated mechanism involved other than what is visible.

This is just further observation and speculation

EDIT:

Further observation: In the ring of dimples on the centre disc the one at position 30 is a through hole which lines up with either a hole or mark at both postions 0 on the dial ring.

Mike.

Edited By Farmboy on 14/01/2022 17:40:35

Just had another go at trying to analyse this logically, disregarding all other suggestions:

Observations:

Inner disc indentations numbered 1 to 30
Outer "telephone dial" ring numbered 0 to 9 : 0 to 9
Fixed scale numbered 0 to 18

Speculation:

A possible use would appear to be to rotate the inner disc to select a number between 1 and 30, lock this with the sprung detent pin, then rotate the outer ring to select a number between 0 and 9. From this point one would presumably select a number on the fixed scale and read the appropriate 'fractions'.

I can't work out why there are two sets of numbers on the outer ring but 0-9 suggests they might follow a decimal point. However this does not seem to fit well with the 0-18 on the fixed scale.

I still have no idea of the original purpose. Perhaps the next step would be to make a copy of the device and create a table of results using the above method. Has anybody tried this?

Mike.

I am reminded of an interview with Elon Musk about artificial intelligence in which he suggested that as it develops there will come a time when we have to wonder "what is the point of us?"

Just in case I'm not the only one who hasn't seen it before . . .

The Do Nothing Machine

It just popped up when I was browsing earlier. Looks like something I might have made if I had more free time

I think it was the EU but happy to be corrected.

I rather think the cookies were always there, it was government legislation some time ago that forced the web sites to tell you about them every time. I believe Firefox settings let's you create a "white list" of sites you want to allow cookies.

With both Microsoft and Google I start by uninstalling or disabling all the " special features" that I have no use for. While it is very annoying that Google insist on regularly reorganising my contact list I have learned to live with it and barely notice it now. In fact I believe it has more or less stopped, maybe the artificial intelligence algorithms have noticed I don't like it 🤔

My old blackberry phone seemed much more grown up but sadly the battery died.

I upgraded to Windows 10 pro as soon as it was available and found that all my third party software worked fine, including turbocad 8. In fact I use hardly any Microsoft 'apps'. I turned off almost everything. I use libre office, Firefox and Thunderbird for most of my online activities.

Obviously we all have different experiences and no two PCs are identical so it is difficult to make recommendations. Whatever else you do, back up everything!

Mike.

Michael,

Have you looked at the Android one phones? I've had a Nokia 4.2 for a couple of years and been well pleased with it. Of course, what suits me may not suit you but it's the clean android system without bloatware. Might be worth a little research.

Mike.

Edited By Farmboy on 13/12/2021 09:59:34

Fully agree with doing it in the lathe if you can. Alternatively, I have done it with the rod held in a bench drill chuck and the dieholder flat on the table to keep things true, turning by hand of course.

To my eyes the threaded section of the rod pictured seems to be actually bent, which is easy to do when hand threading something that small without a guide.

Mike.