Memory Secrets

I have finally found the secret to retaining a good memory.  All I need is a major transplant to insert a few pieces of wire into my brain. It should be quite easy to do.
Have a look at the attached videos which show the amazing properties of the metal alloy NITINOL, which is an alloy of Nickel and Titanium.  Just copy this link and paste it into the command line of your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKBM9my5eOA
And also an example of a small Nitinol engine that runs on hot water. (just the thing I need for my bike)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVCX5BfPn6A

Pilot Sam

A Red letter day today - Sam had his first official flight from Clifton to Stanthorpe.

For the computer Gurus out there - this image contains a secret message. Maybe you can figure out how to unpack it???

The Grain Silo

I came across an interesting problem this week, which will definitely confound my maths class at U3A.
The problem involved a massive stockpile of grain (wheat) in a 60 meter diameter cone shaped stockpile. It is easy to calculate the volume and hence the tonnage, but the real tricky bit is to calculate the maximum amount that can be extracted from a single outlet located 3.3 meters inside the perimeter wall.  This means that I have to calculate the difference in volume between 2 intersecting non-concentric cones.
The following diagram shows the situation, and I invite anyone to give me the formula because I am completely stumped.

The French Alps

Last Sunday the Tour de France stage 14 traversed 2 major passes in the French Alps, and this revived my memory of a certain day on 14th October 1998, when I drove over part of that route. We stopped at the summit of the Col du Lautaret at 2020m altitude. Last week it was crowded with thousands of spectators and parked cars lining the road as the 171 riders made their way over the pass to continue down to the next major peak.  But on that day many years ago, we enjoyed a peaceful few minutes in that spectacular location with the feeling that we were on top of the world.

Westland Weather

I am reading Eleanor Catton's prize winning novel "The Luminaries", and enjoying the graphic descriptions that she uses to describe the life in the gold rush days of South Westland, an area which is well known to me. This passage, (which I include without her approval) provides an imaginative description of the dismal weather that so often greets the tourists as frequently these days as it did for the pioneers 150 years ago:-

"As Balfour turned into Revell Street, he was met with such a lash of wind and rain that he was obliged to clamp his hat to his head with his hand. According to Saxby’s Weather Warnings, that dubious oracle published daily in the West Coast Times, the deluge would let up within a day or three – for Saxby was expansive in his predictions, and allowed himself a generous margin of error on either side of his guess. In general, the specifics of his column changed but rarely: downpour was as much a part of the Hokitika constitution, as frost and sunburn had been in Otago……."

All Boys Throw Stones

Yes - Throwing stones is always a favorite pastime for young boys, but this is a bit ridiculous.
This was a typical scene on our rather challenging climb up to Castle Rock in the Girraween National Park, but the effort that it demanded was well rewarded by the 360 degree views that we enjoyed in rare perfectly calm conditions on the top.

Last Man on the Moon

I came across this while browsing the web. The history books are full of records about who did what for the first time, but there are not many activities where a person can claim to be the last to have done something.  One of them is certainly the astronaut Gene Cernan who is known for being “The Last Man on the Moon” as he was the last man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission, and there is no indication that his record will be broken in the forseeable future and maybe never, given the uselessness of that piece of rock that floats around 380,000 km above us.   He may also be credited with being the ultimate graffiti artist, because he traced his daughter’s initials in the dust on the surface of the moon before he left. He has documented his story in the book “The Last Man on the Moon“, which is now turned into a film by the same name.

"As I take man’s last step from the surface, back home for some time to come – but we believe not too long into the future – I’d like to just say what I believe history will record. That America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus–Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."