Thursday, August 16, 2001
Cop Magnet; Century Tree; Motor Head
Someone knocked aggressively on the door the other day at around 7am. What the hell? Pound pound pound. Last time someone knocked like that, they kicked
the door in before I got there. Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong. Yup, just
like last time. I stumble to the door in my pajamas. If I own a gun, I
have it with me. I throw open the dead-bolt and yank the door open firmly,
ready to bear my teeth at the would be criminal. It's a cop. There's
another one standing smack in the middle of my front yard, shin-high in
weeds, wired with an ear piece and with one hand on his holster. I hadn't
expected organized crime. If I own a gun, I turn a little more to make
sure that hand isn't visible. I look at him sleepily, raise my brows at
him as if to say "yeah, well?" He says he has some paperwork for some
woman I've never heard of. "Never heard of her." He repeats her name.
"Never heard of her." He looks something between suspicious and
perplexed. "This is 380, right?" I snorf "uh, no. It's
378." "Oh, sorry about that. Have a nice day" he says as he walks
away.
"Someone trying to sell something?" a half-awake Michelle asks. "No, was the cops." "Figures" she says. I go back to bed.
The century plant has become a century tree. But you really can't appreciate the size of this thing unless you're standing next to it.
I spent the last three days obsessing over DC motor characteristics.
I have an idea for a better actuator for robotics. It's a little
early to be thinking about this -- I need to work out the AI behind
the control first. But the numbers all work out -- I think I'll
be able to build something fairly strong and agile. It's the combination
of the two which is missing right now; but I may have solved that.