On this day, I learned that it’s always a good idea to bring your book to test days! Especially for open book tests on subjects you haven’t quite read the material through on! One could argue that then it’s just testing your research skills, but ah~

I learned that the method for drawing acceleration polygons is much the same as velocity polygons. A_B = A_B/A + A_A. Except you probably want to split all those As into Aⁿ and A^t, where n means “normal” and t means “tangential”. The tangential component points from the center of the curve that describes whatever point you’re finding the acceleration of, and the normal component is perpindicular to that.

I learned that, no matter how crappy your washing machine is, you can always be thankful that it isn’t demonic.

I also learned that you can buy poppy pods and turn them into poppy tea for the imbibing. Hmmmm. Don’t think I’ll try it.

I learned some of Bertrand Russell’s reasoning for not being Christian.

I learned that Penny Arcade is hiring, if anyone is interested.

I also learned that OMG I WANT ONE OF EVERYTHING FROM WWDC. TWO OF SOME. *breathes* Okay, maybe just a new MBP and the iphone 3gs. And snow leopard.

On this day, I learned that snakes do not [usually] make holes. Also, crawdad holes are built up with mounds of mud around them, not just your basic hole. Ergo, the hole we saw the other day was probably not a snake or a crawdad hole. Dang!

I learned that moldy bread can be safely [hopefully] eaten if you simply cut away the molded areas. Bread typically molds when its moisture content is high, and wheat bread is much moister than other breads. However, sourdough won’t mold, as it is too acidic to allow the molds to flourish. Also, finding mold on your practically-new loaf of bread is a terrible way to end a night.

I learned that a displacement diagram shows a mechanism being taken through various stages in its cycle and the final position for the various points of interest in each stage ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Also, limiting positions for mechanisms show the extreme positions the links can be placed into; you can find these by making the input link and the coupler link colinear.

I also learned about the quiet life of Milk Teef.

I learned that three of “my” numbers are primes. what are the odds of that?
(3, 271, 19237) The other common one, which is very not-prime is 88.

On this day, I learned that some people are really offended that Google would dare honor Tetris instead of military vets. The comparison is just. . . I don’t guess I see how they relate at all. If everyone dropped what they were doing on every single holiday, we’d never get anywhere, and not to mention, we’d run out of days really fast. Can’t have Channukah on the same day as Pearl Harbor Day! And watch out if Easter happens to be on St. Patrick’s Day! Sheesh.

I learned that if you’re really good at what you do, you can repossess jets for a living.

I learned that if you want to drill a hole through a relatively small, fine, seashell, you can take a small nail (I used a panelling nail) and a pin, make an indentation in a strong spot on the shell with the nail, then bear down hard on that dent with the pin to poke a hole out. This makes holes about 1/30″ in diameter. Larger seashells don’t work with this method, and you will still have to spend a lot of time sharpening your nail and pin over and over and over.

I also learned that the city ballpark is largely the same as I remember it, which is good because it’s not been that long, but they’ve remodelled most of the dugouts and built a huge castle of bathrooms in the middle of the complex, which is also good because the old bathrooms they had in the concession stand were pretty skanky.

On this day, I learned that each instant center on a kinematic diagram is colinear with at least two others that touch the same links. IC (1,5) is colinear with (5,6) and (1,6) for example. These points can be “colinear” in that they are at infinity, where every line ends up sooner or later, or even they could be in the same location.

I learned that, to use Excel’s Solver, you have a function in one cell that feeds off the value of an item in another cell, and you can maximize that function, minimize it, or get it to reach a certain value by altering the value in the second cell.

I also learned that dogs were invaluable in medical research, among that being the development of the pacemaker. The modern pacemaker is slid through veins to reach the heart. Early ones required the ribcage to be cracked open so the heart could be accessed. Think of it!

I learned that you should never ever buy anything from Jansen Medical Supply :D

I also learned that Neil Gaiman is dating Amanda “fucking” Palmer. Geeze. I knew they were good friends, good enough to share bathtub interviews together, but I didn’t know that!

On this day, I learned that just because your computer works in the store after being fixed, doesn’t mean it will work once you get more than 100ft from the cash register. Dangit! I also learned that the current 85W magsafe adapters are much smaller than my ancient one! I like! I’m going to try to take better care of this one at any rate.

I learned that you can find secondary instant centers off a kinematic diagram by drawing a circle, marking equidistant ticks for each link in the diagram, then drawing lines connecting the ticks for primary instant centers you can find. Then, to find secondary ICs, you find two triangles in the circle diagram that are each missing one common side, and extend the primary ICs until they meet, and therein lies the secondary IC. If the two primaries are parallel, then the secondary lies at infinity.

I also learned that cheap alcohol in a public setting is a easy recipe for havoc.

I learned how to make songs in raindrops.

I learned what the worst poison ivy rash in the world looks like. Totally gross pictures there, btw. Also, how to cure it.

I learned that there is a figure in the wikimedia commons arena devoted to illustrated every sexual act that lacks illustration. (Also NSFW)

On this day, I learned that an alternative to drawing velocity polygons to determine the motion of a mechanism is intant center method. I’m not entirely sure how you use this, and tbh I had trouble keeping my eyes open, but you find primary Instant Centers by just looking at a kinematic diagram of the mechanism, and you find secondary ICs by. . . well, from what I saw when my eyes opened, by drawing lines between the primaries. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

I also learned that my brother has entered the Twitter arena. Way to go, big bro!

I learned how to be a dirty old man. Thanks “Dr. A”!

I learned that this week marks the 20th anniversary of the showdown in Tianenmen Square.

I learned that if you are the right kind of interviewer, you can get Neil Gaiman in a tub with Amanda Palmer.

I also learned that Internet Explorer 7 will not redraw the page to reflect changes in z-index based on :hover status. So lame! (we used javascript instead)

On this day, I learned that reapplying thermal paste on a macbook pro really does help, a lot. Where before I was sitting with a 58°C piece of owwie on top of a thick textbook, I have a 51°C piece of lukewarm delight sitting directly on my lap. It’s wonderful wonderful wonderful. Thank you Ethan from the Uark computer store!

I also learned about the Polish artist Jacek Yerka. Mikeface introduced me to some of his paintings and their quality of making one thing look like another is very special, I think. This picture reminds me of Catbus.

I learned that LIFE Magazine had a couple dozen photographs of Marilyn Monroe hidden in its vaults. I think I like the ones of her where her hair isn’t ridiculously curled best.

I learned about a lovely ukelele arrangement of this song from Kiki’s Delivery Service.

On this day, I learned that replacing the logicboard in a computer that will not boot off of battery but still recognizing the battery does not fix the problem. As a result, I also learned that staying in the computer lab until 9PM is very uncomfortable for sitting, even if you make the chairs recline as much as possible and find another one to put your feet up on. Also no flashplayer:(

I learned about the wonderful world of velocity polygons. These wonderful things are where you determine the motion of a mechanism by drawing the equation V_B = V_A + V_B/A, which means the velocity of point B is equal to the velocity of point A plus the relative (a.k.a. rotational) velocity of B with respect to A. If you know the magnitude and direction of A at a particular time, you can draw the velocity vector of A starting from some fixed reference point. Then, also from the reference point, you draw the velocity vector of B in the direction it will go, and you do the same for the relative velocity of B with respect to A, which starts from the tip of the velocity vector of A. Where the two lines cross, you will find the magnitudes of each.

I also learned that the photography of Daikichi Amano is fantastically creepy and grotesque. It is a beautiful trainwreck of uncomfortable images.