Neanderpundit

I usually have four or five books on the go. My bedside book for the last several days has been Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”.

Coppola did the story a disservice, I think. The original as was would have been a good way to do it, and it would have probably made more sense, but then he wouldn’t have been able to send his all important messages about Vietnam.

if you’ve never read the original, if the only version of it you know is “Apocalypse now” I reccomend you read the original- it’s free for kindle. And it’s well worth the time to read it.

is something I’m always afraid of, when I go out to some of these training courses. I am, after all, an old dog, and these are some mighty new tricks.

Thankfully, I adapt pretty well, and the tech I’m learning today is pretty damned cool. I’m sitting next to thatguy, though, so I have to hurry and learn the stuff, and then back off so I can help teach thatguy. The teacher is an indian lady who is patient and articulate, and knows the subject matter.

Classes like these cost a wad of cash, and they are directed at the least common. So the whole class has to move at the speed of the dumbest pupil. THe teacher, on the other hand, hasd given me, from around her very neck, a memory stick that has a simulation of the software on it so i can run it here, on my notebook, in the room.

Damn.

This is inspection software, and the idea is that it drives a piece of equipment to do flexible part inspection. I programmed these machines (CMM’s) years ago, but the language used was complex and cumbersome. Now, the systems fair program themselves, and they do so by manipulating virtual models in virtual space. It helps to understand N dimensional geometry, which any good robot guy does (all six of us) and it helps to understand what you’re trying to do.

One way or the nother, this is as good as it’s gotten for me for a long time. I can’t let on I enjoy this so much or they’ll question why theyre paying me.

Sold the zuke to Ed so he’d have a normal size motorcycle to ride; I feared someone I knew would see him riding around on his little dirt bike, and he’d be the laughingstock of morningside heights.

Fact is I never got it running right, and told ed if he could do so, it would make a good bike for him; we eventually discovered there was a sort of a check valve missing, he bought a suitable substitute at an auto parts store for $5 and drove it on down the road. Good for him. I may even still get to drive it, which will be more fun now that it RUNS.

The cost benefit analysis was against me ever buying a $92 petcock for this one, that was for sure, and now that Ed has it he can play to his hearts content; he certainly grinned like a kid on Christmas. it made me happy to have him happy, and it made me happy to be able to get the shed space back. I know he’ll be careful.