Kite video attempts

I tried attaching a camera to a kite and recording video but there was not enough lift to keep it in the air.  I ran a short distance to try to get it high enough to catch stronger wind.  Above is my first attempt and below is the second.

An old chair

Here is another item of free furniture.  A wooden chair painted in white.

Underneath the seat is a label, Tarm Stole Møbelfabric.  By the way, "fabric" means "factory" in German and I suspect it has the same meaning in Danish.  

There is also a "Made in Denmark, 1   9  8 4" stamped into the wood. 

You might be able to see the stamp in the picture above. 

The problem with this chair is the legs keep working their way loose and falling off.  This is exasperated/exacerbated (they both mean to intensify and annoy...) by M's habit of leaning it back on two legs.  I have glued it back together several times with carpenter's glue.  V suggested I throw it out but it has kind of turned into a running joke to see how far I can keep it stumbling along.  In the latest iteration I used a turnbuckle, plumber's chain, and some S-hooks to help hold the legs together, and so far it seems to be working. 

The Future Party

A big problem with American politics are short term fixes that are penny wise and pound foolish.  What if we put together a political party that focused on the long term picture solely to invest in the future of the US⸮ 

I am all for individual self-determination, rights and freedoms, but this doesn't mean we can't take part in collective actions--that we can not do alone--if we decide to do so together as a democracy.  The best way to start long term investment in the future of the country is to promote education, health care, and reduce debt.  Another component is to promote a sound economic infrastructure, like rail travel, renewable energy and basic research. 

How to encourage politicians⸮  What if we pegged politician retirement income and benefits to the median income, updated yearly, of US citizens (or people living in the US, not just citizens, whichever is lower)?  Also, what if we spread out terms over a longer time period so that politicians could not serve consecutive terms but could serve alternate terms (perhaps at half the time span, elected once and serve twice over a longer period)?

Icosidodecahedron

Six wire loops can be combined to make a projection of an icosidodecahedron onto a sphere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Icosidodecahedron.png

 
I've been playing with a simple way to approximate a sphere with the least copper wire and the smallest gaps in between for some possible future electrostatic plasma experiments.  Of the platonic solids the best sphere approximations are the dodecahedron and icosahedron.  However, the icosahedron has five edges that meet at each corner, which seems like a waste of wire in a dense area.  Ultimately, I think the best approximation will be a « soccer ball » truncated icosahedron; however, that can not be made with simple loops of wire.  This pattern, the icosidodecahedron, is interesting; it combines an icosahedron and dodecahedron together.  If you dropped out the five sided faces and pushed everything together it would be a icosahedron; if you dropped the three sided faces and put the rest together it would be a dodecahedron.  By combining the 20 sides of an icosahedron and 12 sides of a dodecahedron we get an archimedian solid, the icosidodecahedron.

Rescued Coffee Table

Here is another one of our finds: a coffee table that was being thrown out.  I cleaned it up, tapped nails back in that were working their way out (with a hammer we found that was also free), and am half way through oil treating the wood in the picture above.  The top is made from a single broad board. 

Weekend Update

M and I saved up styrofoam blocks from packages going all the way back to Christmas.  We taped them to a cardboard base to make a target for her to practice with.

Then we went to "round top" an overlook above Honolulu.

Then we washed the van, but first a before shot showing our chalk work, math and art, on the driveway.

A clean car and soaked kids!

Planetary Resources

Here is an exciting news article (link). 

Planetary Resources plans to send up some telescopes to look for asteroids to mine for a profit.  Asteroids can contain tremendous amounts (compared to earth surface standards) of valuable rare metals.  By the way, the price of platinum, gold, palladium, etc. might crash over the next few years...  Just finding and reporting the contents of an asteroid, before actual mining, may make the markets realize how much is available up there.  Also having common items like water (or even dirt) in space is valuable for space use because it doesn't have to be transported off the surface of a planet.  Wow, V can verify that for over a decade I have suggested private companies need to start doing what the government isn't: space exploration and specifically asteroid mining.  It is a positive move forward to begin building a space based economic infrastructure.  I wish I could be a part of it somehow.