Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Six Keys to Success for New Pilots - RC Groups

Six Keys to Success for New Pilots - RC Groups: "WIND
Orientation
Speed
Altitude
Over Control
Preflight Check"

Woot : Amazon, Woot, and You: But Mostly Woot

Woot : Amazon, Woot, and You: But Mostly Woot:

"From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are simply adding one person to the organizational hierarchy, except that one person will just happen to be a billion-dollar company that could buy and sell each and every one of you like you were office furniture."

Upgrade your RC Transmitter with a DIY Tilt Motion Control Module

Upgrade your RC Transmitter with a DIY Tilt Motion Control Module: "This article describes how to create a motion control module for your RC transmitter, that will allow you to control your model or robot by simply tilting the transmitter case."

CSI | Power Line Panic and Mobile Mania

CSI | Power Line Panic and Mobile Mania:
"What is the physics that underlies any possible linkage between mobile phones, power lines, and cancer?"

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Las Vegas Weekly : - A uniquely Weekly ranking of the personalities who define Las Vegas

Las Vegas Weekly : - A uniquely Weekly ranking of the personalities who define Las Vegas:

Penn:

"Teller and I have been brutal to Christians, and their response shows that they’re good fucking Americans who believe in freedom of speech. We attack them all the time, and we still get letters that say, “We appreciate your passion. Sincerely yours, in Christ.” Christians come to our show at the Rio and give us Bibles all the time. They’re incredibly kind to us. Sure, there are a couple of them who live in garages, give themselves titles and send out death threats to me and Bill Maher and Trey Parker. But the vast majority are polite, open-minded people, and I respect them for that."

Saturday, June 26, 2010

6061 Tricopter

6061 Tricopter: "The 6061Tricopter frames are light weight (under 300 grams) and will be great for the Professional or Do-it-Yourself RC pilot that demands performance as will as good looks. You can add your own electronics/gear or you may already have a Tricopter made from lessor material and want to swap the gear to a better, stronger airframe."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Flutter-By Models Flutter-By Review - RC Groups

Flutter-By Models Flutter-By Review - RC Groups:

"Wingspan: 38”
Wing Area: 570 sq''
AUW weight: 17.6 oz.
Length: 43”
Wing loading: 4.45 oz/sq. ft.
Servos: 2 – 9 Gram TowerPro
Transmitter: Spektrum 12X
Receiver: Spektrum AR6100
Battery: Thunder Power 1350mAh 3s LiPoly
Motor: E-flite Park 450 890 Kv
ESC: E-flite 25a Pro Brushless
Manufacturer: Flutter-By Models (jefsquared@comcast.net)
Price: $295.00"

Migrating to CouchDB — CouchDB: The NoSQL Document Database

Migrating to CouchDB — CouchDB: The NoSQL Document Database: "CouchDB is document oriented, schema-free database similar to Amazon’s SimpleDB and Google’s BigTable. It stores data as JSON documents and provides a powerful view engine that lets you write Javascript code to select documents from the database, and perform calculations. A RESTful HTTP/JSON API is used to access the database. The database boasts other features as well, such as robust replication, and bi- directional conflict detection and resolution."

MSP430 LaunchPad (MSP-EXP430G2) - Texas Instruments Embedded Processors Wiki

MSP430 LaunchPad (MSP-EXP430G2) - Texas Instruments Embedded Processors Wiki: "What is LaunchPad?

LaunchPad is an easy-to-use development tool intended for beginners and experienced users alike for creating microcontroller-based applications. At $4.30, the LaunchPad offers everything you need to get started with your projects."

Monday, June 21, 2010

Build A Flying Wing For Less Than $5 | The Hobby Guy

Build A Flying Wing For Less Than $5 | The Hobby Guy: "I am always happy to make things from cheap parts, especially when you add up all the money I spend on my hobbies. Building radio control airplanes from BlueCor (Fan Fold) foam board keeps cost down.

In addition to being low cost, Fan Fold airplanes are fast to build and easy to repair. This build should take less than two hours, and sans electronics, cost under $5.00. Compare this to commercial kits, which start at $40.00 for a box of foam. Forty Dollars is not a bad price, very good in my book, but you can build eight wings for the same price."

Mini camera plane construction thread - RC Groups

Mini camera plane construction thread - RC Groups: "I'm working on a small plane to carry one of those keychai/pen cameras. The idea being a plane that can be put inside a small box so I can carry it with me when I travel around and have the chance to shoot some aerial views of the place."

1.4g micro camera FPV setup - RC Groups

1.4g micro camera FPV setup - RC Groups:
"Complete system

-Cam cost $60
-TX cost $38
-RX cost $28"

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Welcome to AeroCinema, the home of classic aviation!

Welcome to AeroCinema, the home of classic aviation!

YouTube - 808 Car Keys Micro Camera - Removing Date Time Video Stamp - Logoaway

YouTube - 808 Car Keys Micro Camera - Removing Date Time Video Stamp - Logoaway:

"This short test video shows how Logoaway and VirtualDub can be used to remove (effectively blur) the date time stamp from the lower right corner of a video. This video shows 15 seconds with the date time stamp and 15 seconds without.

VirtualDub V1.9.9
http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net
is a free AVI video editor / converter.

Logoaway V4.01
http://voidon.republika.pl/virtualdub
is a free plugin for VirtualDub.
The logoaway.vdf file must be copied to the VirtualDub plugins folder.

The source file is a 720x480 MJPG AVI file from a #3 808 Car Keys Micro Camera. Re-scaling this video to 640x480 removes distortion.

VirtualDub is configured with 2 filters: Logoaway and Resize.
The Logoaway filter is configured for logo border position: 343x448, logo border size: 343x31, UGLARM, exponent power: maximum , border default sets: over video, visible border: unchecked.
The resize filter is configured for aspect ratio: disabled, absolute pixels: 640x480, filter mode: precise bicubic A=0.75."

Saturday, June 19, 2010

ArduPilot - DIY Drones

ArduPilot - DIY Drones: "ArduPilot Mega is a pro-quality IMU autopilot based on the Arduino Mega platform, which will fly fixed-wing aircraft, quadcopters and (soon) helicopters, handling both autonomous stabilization and GPS navigation. It supports 8 RC channels, has four serial ports and features an all-in design."

Map: Where Americans Are Moving - Forbes.com

Map: Where Americans Are Moving - Forbes.com: "More than 10 million Americans moved from one county to another during 2008. The map below visualizes those moves. Click on any county to see comings and goings: black lines indicate net inward movement, red lines net outward movement."

Introducing the Google Command Line Tool - Google Open Source Blog

Introducing the Google Command Line Tool - Google Open Source Blog: "GoogleCL is a command-line utility that provides access to various Google services. It streamlines tasks such as posting to a Blogger blog, adding events to Calendar, or editing documents on Google Docs.

For example:

$ google blogger post --blog 'My blog' --tags 'python, googlecl, development' my_post.html
$ google calendar add 'Lunch with Jason tomorrow at noon'
$ google docs edit --title 'Shopping list' --editor vim

GoogleCL is a pure Python application that uses the Python gdata libraries to make Google Data API calls from the command line."

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences: "by R. W. HAMMING"

8 Questions to Ask When Interviewing at a Startup

8 Questions to Ask When Interviewing at a Startup: "That’s a great question. I immediately thought of Tony Wright’s post: Guide to Evaluating Startup Ideas. It’s definitely worth reading, but it’s also quite high level and doesn’t deal with some of the more nitty gritty issues of startup work life. So here are 8 questions I’d suggest you ask when interviewing at a startup:"

SuperFly

SuperFly: "The SuperFly by SuperFly RC features High Density CNC cut ULTRA DURABLE EPP wing cores and a Powerful Brushless Motor! Whether you fly fast or slow this is the plane for you.

Is it windy where you fly? The SuperFly can handle winds that ground other aircraft with ease. You can turn up the throws for high alpha harriers and insane roll rates or simply throttle back and float gently around. The stall resistant, ultra stable, extremely predictable SuperFly does it all.

Assembly time is under 4 hours with flights that can last 15 minutes or more! Be sure to check out the photo gallery and movies sections!"

Friday, June 18, 2010

wincent.com: Fixing nginx client body temp permission denied errors

wincent.com: Fixing nginx client body temp permission denied errors:

"Diagnosis

Upon inspection, you see that /usr/local/nginx/client_body_temp/ is owned by the user that corresponds to one of your Rails applications (the first one that tried to create it). You'll see the problem only when the second application actually tries to use the client_body_temp folder.

The problem may take a while to materialize because the client_body_temp folder is only used if the body is sufficiently large enough to require it. In my case I saw the error the first time I tried to submit an edit for a wiki article that was beyond a certain size.

The fix

The fix is clear: each nginx master process must have it's own client_body_temp folder. The directive required is client_body_temp_path and it's documented here."

Basic RC Crash Course

Basic RC Crash Course: "This is a paper that was put together to help newcomers with the great hobby of Radio Control. It is the rough draft so bear with us."

R/C Desk Pilot - a free rc flightsim |

R/C Desk Pilot - a free rc flightsim |: "Are you thinking about taking up the exciting hobby of R/C aviation but don't want to crash that plane on the first flight? Or is the weather preventing you from flying? Are you thinking about buying that cool new plane but want to try it first? The answer is simple: fly from behind your desk!

R/C Desk Pilot is an R/C flight simulator in development that will allow you to fly without having to worry about the weather or your expensive model. And this for free!!!"

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Sport Designs | Budget RC

Sport Designs | Budget RC: "NutBall

The Nut Ball is Here
The 20″ NutBall…..It’s what you get when you
combine a Pizza Box
Flyer with a Smart Dart,
Get the best of both worlds. It’s round, and it flies
like crazy; hence the name.
It can be set up for flying from mild to wild. It’s an
easy quick build, so any repairs are a breeze.
There’s no nose or tail to break of,f and the wing
can’t fold. As a trainer it can fly slower than slow,
super stable and no bad habits."

Thursday, June 10, 2010

YouTube - Aggressive Maneuvers for Autonomous Quadrotor Flight

YouTube - Aggressive Maneuvers for Autonomous Quadrotor Flight

Amazing quadrotor!

The Road to Serfdom as a Comic Book @ AMERICAN DIGEST

The Road to Serfdom as a Comic Book @ AMERICAN DIGEST: "The book was originally published in 1944. A condensed version of the book written by Max Eastman was then published as the lead article in the April issue of Reader's Digest, with a press run of several million copies. This condensed version was then offered as a Book of the Month selection with a press run of over 600,000 copies. In February 1945 a picture-book version was published in Look magazine, later made into a pamphlet and distributed by General Motors. [Reproduced here.] The book has been translated into approximately 20 languages and is dedicated to 'The socialists of all parties.' In 2007, the University of Chicago Press put out a 'Definitive Edition.' In total the book has sold over two million copies."

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

A Self-Appointed Teacher Runs a One-Man 'Academy' on YouTube - Technology - The Chronicle of Higher Education

A Self-Appointed Teacher Runs a One-Man 'Academy' on YouTube - Technology - The Chronicle of Higher Education: "The most popular educator on YouTube does not have a Ph.D. He has never taught at a college or university. And he delivers all of his lectures from a bedroom closet.

This upstart is Salman Khan, a 33-year-old who quit his job as a financial analyst to spend more time making homemade lecture videos in his home studio. His unusual teaching materials started as a way to tutor his faraway cousins, but his lectures have grown into an online phenomenon—and a kind of protest against what he sees as a flawed educational system.

'My single biggest goal is to try to deliver things the way I wish they were delivered to me,' he told me recently."

SACRC Home

SACRC Home

Located on the East Side of the San Francisco, California Bay Area, SACRC was first incorporated in 1967 and holds AMA Club Charter #162.

Sport Aviator - www.masportaviator.com

Sport Aviator - www.masportaviator.com: "Sport Aviator’s “Pri-Fli” column is designed to provide the student model pilot all the information needed to insure that the first model flight, and all succeeding flights, are successful. Pri-Fli is where you will find basic information and techniques about setting up a model’s radio system, engine controls, airframe balancing, control line and free flight trimming, etc."

Coroutines for the Dazed and Confused

Coroutines for the Dazed and Confused:
"I hope these lies and oversimplifications will help others understand coroutines. See below for an increasingly accurate explanation."

tornado/xmlrpc.py at master from thafreak's tornado - GitHub

tornado/xmlrpc.py at master from thafreak's tornado - GitHub:
"XMLRPC Module

This module adds support for XMLRPC to the Tornado Framework.
I've moved this code out to it's own module to make it easier
for changes to web.py to be merged in from upstream."

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Monday, June 07, 2010

tornadorpc - Project Hosting on Google Code

tornadorpc - Project Hosting on Google Code: "This library is an implementation of both the JSON-RPC and the XML-RPC specification (server-side) for the Tornado web framework. It supports the basic features of both, as well as the MultiCall / Batch support for both specifications. The JSON-RPC handler supports both the original 1.0 specification, as well as the new (proposed) 2.0 spec, which includes batch submission, keyword arguments, etc."

Sunday, June 06, 2010

HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : OrangeRx Spektrum DSM/DSM2 Compatible 4Ch 2.4Ghz Receiver

HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : OrangeRx Spektrum DSM/DSM2 Compatible 4Ch 2.4Ghz Receiver:

"A perfect foamie or parkflyer receiver. Very small and very light!

The new range of OrangeRx receivers are built using original components and MCUs and with state of the art SMT automation to ensure a quality product each and every time.

All OrangeRx receivers are QC tested before leaving the factory.

The OrangeRx will work with ANY Spektrum DSM or DSM2 2.4Ghz transmitter"

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Jelly Lens

Jelly Lens:
"Best Seller
1. Series 1 - Wide Angle
2. Series 8 - Close Up
3. Series 10 - Starburst
4. Series 7 - Polorizer"

808 Car Keys Micro Camera, Spy Video Recorder, Review

808 Car Keys Micro Camera, Spy Video Recorder, Review: "My second camera is a version #3 camera. I ordered it from eBay seller joymyzone.. It was delivered from Hong Kong in 19 days for US$16.98, with free shipping. I am using an 8GB micro SDHC flash card. This camera creates a 30 fps AVI video file with only a few duplicate frames per second. The video quality is much better than my #1 camera."

808 Car Keys Micro Camera, Spy Video Recorder, Review

808 Car Keys Micro Camera, Spy Video Recorder, Review: "Q. Which 808 car keys micro camera should I buy, and from who?
A. Buy a #3 camera and a micro SD flash card (class 4 or faster recommended). The video and sound quality is good. The reliability is good. You will be amazed when you see the first video that you take with this camera. See the #3 Q&A below for a list of sellers and other information."

Friday, June 04, 2010

The Scythe � CrashTestHobby.com - We make em' you try to break em'

The Scythe � CrashTestHobby.com - We make em' you try to break em': "Scythe Beta Test Kits Available now!!!
Two 30' Scythe planes in each kit.
Can be cut to a micro plane or 24' or less."

Thursday, June 03, 2010

HigherPlaneProductions - Worlds Greatest RC Video

HigherPlaneProductions - Worlds Greatest RC Video: "Higher Plane Productions makes the most entertaining RC videos you'll find anywhere. We specialize in filming remote
control aircraft. From small local fly-ins, to the biggest RC competitions. Our RC videos and RC DVDs are endorsed by the
world's top RC pilots like Mark Leseberg, Andrew Jesky, Jason Noll, Gernot Bruckmann, Seth Arnold, Ido Segev, RJ Gritter,
Bill Hempel, Chris Brislin and many more."

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

[Python-Dev] Fixing the GIL (with a BFS scheduler)

[Python-Dev] Fixing the GIL (with a BFS scheduler): "The problem addressed by the GIL has always been *scheduling* threads to the interpreter, not just controlling access to it. The patches by Antoine and David essentially evolve the GIL into a scheduler, however both cause thread starvation or high rate of context switching in some scenarios (see data below)."

Python Performance Part 1 � Kurt Seifried

Python Performance Part 1 � Kurt Seifried: "These articles will specifically cover how you can speed up Python performance (parallelization, code profiling, performance measuring, etc.) and include code examples (for brevity I will use pseudo code for some of the longer examples). I will also cover some Python internals so that you will understand why speeding up code doesn’t always work as expected (and what you can do about this)."

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

The Volokh Conspiracy � Sabotage! Or How “Dilbert” Won The�War

The Volokh Conspiracy � Sabotage! Or How “Dilbert” Won The�War:

"(1) Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
* * *
(3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for “further study and consideration.” Attempt to make the committees as large as possible–never less than five.
(4) Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.
(5) Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.
(6) Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.
(7) Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and urge your fellow-conferees to be “reasonable” and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.
(8) Be worried about the propriety of any decision–raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon."