(Non-Animated) Short Films (youtube, vimeo..)

[Art Blade]

that guy, as far as I know, has been doing that kind of thing for the last 26 years and accumulated more than 18,000 jumps. He wanted to show that physics would actually allow to do that -- he compared it to a Formula 1 racing car that accelerates to very high speeds and brakes down to full stop within just a few meters. He wanted to do that, only instead of horizontally, he did it vertically.

[fragger]

Surf's up!

Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal, home to some of the biggest waves on Earth.

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[Binnatics]

 :o :o :o

I've been to the Southern Atlantic coast of France, near Bordeaux. That is close, and the waves over there are extreme as well, but this... wow

[fragger]

It looks better on Youtube where you can see things more clearly than on the "small screen" here. Some of those waves are nightmarish. The people surfing them are either very brave or very crazy, dunno which. Both, I'd say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgDtRmSCxBg#

[Art Blade]

 ??? :-X :) whoa, crazy.

Here, for (us) oldsters. ^-^

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[fragger]

 :-D Heh heh, that's more my speed these days!

They stole my idea. A few years ago I thought about starting up a Boring Old Farts club, along pretty much the same lines as this one. I know a few people who would be naturals, like a guy I know who collects beer bottle tops. He's got hundreds of them, all sorts of exotic brands I've never heard of from all around the world. I've also known somebody who collects pub coasters and someone else who collects Corgi toys ("Corgi" in this case is a brand name for anybody not familiar with them, an English company which made hundreds of small but very well detailed die-cast models of cars, trucks and vehicles in general. Some of the old ones are worth a fortune if in good condition and still in the original packaging. They can date back as far as the 1950s). This dude had a collection that I would have given my eyeteeth for when I was a kid.

My thought was that very senior and distinguished members of the club, those who proved themselves to be uniquely talented in the fine art of being boring, could join an elite inner circle called The Paint Watchers :-()

[Art Blade]

yeah.. have a fit girl paint that same wall over and over again.. :-D

[fragger]

Sorry, that's not in keeping with the spirit of boring old fartdom. Membership denied.

Our subsidiary, the Dirty Old Man club, may be more to your liking :-()

[Art Blade]

 :-D they're ALL MINE!




not the dirty old men, moron, the fit girls!

[mandru]

I had to laugh at that video for the Dull Men's Club.  I admire that the gentlemen featured fully grasped their quirkiness and reveled in it.  :-X

I had to stop the video a few times to relate some of their humorous comments over to Mrs. mandru including a line by one of the guys "...Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once" that she's heard me say several times over the years.


I'm wondering if their club has an experimental thought exercise group.  I spend a lot of time pondering the combination of unexpected elements to modify anything from ingredients for spins on new recipes for meals to life simplifying step-saving devices or even fanciful art installations.  I'm constantly looking at things and thinking "How can this be repurposed?"

Fortunately for Mrs. mandru I only ever get as far as the thought experiment portion of almost all of my ideas.  Earlier this evening I described the construction of a fountain using a plexiglass cylinder to display a captured whirlpool and showed her a cabinet from the Ikea catalogue that would w@&k beautifully to not only house the fountain but had spaces that were a natural to be converted (repurposed) into adjoined planter boxes.

She looked around our cramped apartment and asked "Where are you going to put this thing?"

Hon?  I was a bit shocked that she's gone that direction.  To put her at ease I asked "When do I ever build one of these things I come up with?"


And then there's my love of Science and thinking up things that haven't been tried yet.



An example on one of my latest thought projects.  I'm convinced that Aerogel capsules with hydrogen as the captured gas in its closed cell matrix could be used to provide superior buoyancy for hundreds or even thousands of enclosed exploratory probes to be seeded into the upper atmospheres of our outer gas giant planets.

In the same way a ship made of steel can float on our oceans one of these buoyant probes would sink a controlled distance (based on the displacement volume provided by the thickness of the outer shell of aerogel capsule and the weight of instruments enclosed)) once released into the various planet's atmospheres settling at a point of equilibrium riding the winds of other worlds.  You wouldn't want the probes to go too deep or they would be crushed by atmospheric pressures incomprehensibly greater than ours here on Earth.

Imagine a spacecraft arriving at and inserting itself into a stable orbit around Jupiter.  Then a number of descent drones (either powered or parachuting) would detach from the orbiter in a timed sequence so that once their atmospheric insertion maneuver is completed and at a safe drop off position (considering speed and altitude) the probes would be released to spread widely where the air currents might carry them.

Each probe when prompted by the position tracking orbiter would respond with its collected data for relay back to Earth.  Some tiny probes may have no other than the simple task of saying "I'm alive!  Here I am." while more ambitious probes could report on a wide range of statistics from atmospheric composition, temperature and beyond up to planetary x-ray emissions.

I chuckle at the thought of how coordinating scientists back on Earth would handle a more sophisticated probe's report of "EEK!  Something just touched my keel!"  :o




But getting back on topic to the video.  One of the things that really cracked me up was the lyrics and music "Not the Wanderer" (suitably reduced to something like elevator muzak) used to roll the end credits.

Hey, I'm the type of guy - who likes to stay at home
I'm always in one place - and that's my front room
And when I find myself - nodding off a bit
I get myself to bed - cause that's the sensible thing to do

I'm not the Wanderer - I don't like wandering
I don't know why though


In FO4 I've been spending a lot of time recently managing my settlements and because I'd heard that the settlers liked music I liberally scatter radios to the point where every corner of each site is filled with music from Diamond City Radio.  Not only is Wanderer one of the often repeated songs on their limited play list but when I was enlisted as an operative for the Railroad I'd selected Wanderer as my code name.

It even goes further than that.  If you examine one of the many abandoned motorcycles scattered around the Commonwealth there's an inscription on the left side of the fuel tanks that say "Lone Wanderer" 

[fragger]

Very entertaining read mandru, as always :) And a nice little synchronicity tale about the Wanderer :-X I like your ideas for things. The whirlpool fountain sounds cool. How would you keep the whirlpool going though?

The Jupiter probe idea sounds entirely feasible to me. Maybe you should drop NASA a line about it, just to see how they respond.

Just on the subject of groups of old men, I'm wondering if any of you guys have anything like this in your parts of the world. In Australia there is a national organization called "Men's Sheds". These are usually funded by local councils, volunteer groups, or the members themselves, with a reasonable chip-in from the Federal Government. The idea is to provide male retirees with a place where they can get together and continue to practice their vocations. They vary widely in size and function, but generally they'll be kitted out with all kinds of equipment and tools for carpentry, metal working, auto workshop, and various other practical trades. They're not social clubs - Men's Sheds are expected to contribute useful benefits to local communities and to act as information hubs on the health status of the ageing male population.

The movement began mainly as a way to encourage older men to open up about their health issues, something they're reluctant to do around the opposite sex as it's often considered embarrassing or "unmanly" by men of certain generations. It also encourages them to have regular health checkups, which men are notorious for avoiding or putting off (including yours truly). Men's Sheds give these guys a place where they can not only do that but can also indulge in their interests and ply their trades among like-minded men without having to worry that they might be boring the ladies. Members are required to have a trade or skill they can bring to the Shed, but if they don't they are encouraged to learn one from other members. It's a great idea for retirees or lonely widowers who are able and like to feel that their skills and trades are still of value to society. Men hate to feel useless.

Not just any man can become a member, however. There is quite an intensive screening process to ensure that only decent and productive men come aboard who will act ethically and courteously. The Sheds are operated like a proper workplace. No drinking or drugs, no fighting, no racism or other discrimination, no profanity, and no antisocial or offensive behaviour is tolerated.

The Sheds are intended to put back useful benefits into society in the form of not-for-profit community support. In turn, each Men's Shed is uniquely designed and equipped to reflect the prevailing needs and abilities of the local members and their communities.

Not just anybody can throw up a Men's Shed however. One of the core requirements is that local health practitioners are involved and that there is an approved men's health program in place. This usually needs to be established before a Shed is allowed to operate.

They've copped a bit of flak from feminists who view it as discriminatory since no women are allowed to join, but these women totally miss the point of why the Sheds exist. It's not a gentleman's club, nor does it have anything to do with any "old boys' network" mentality. It has nothing to do with exclusion of women and everything to do with looking after the health of older men, both physical and mental, which can be problematic when females are present. It's not due to a perception of women as being intrusive or disruptive, nor is it intended to be misogynistic. As mentioned above, men of a certain age tend to clam up about personal issues in the presence of women, and they tend to avoid regularly seeing their doctors. Men's Sheds are intended to subvert that self-defeating macho mentality within a non-inhibiting environment where men can feel comfortable discussing their health issues while enjoying their beloved hobbies and interests, and not feel that they've been thrown onto the scrap heap of society once they retire.

It's a wonderful concept, and I fully intend to join one someday when I reach my dotage :-()

[mandru]

Thanks fragger.  :)

It's easier to show the basic fountain concept than describe its full construction.

Fountain example

Water flow introduced at the base of the cylinder and abutting the inner cylinder wall probably via an elbow joint that injects the water in a nearly horizontal alignment with the base of the cylinder and is aimed to follow (either clockwise or anti-clockwise) the contour of the inner wall will set up the kinetic energy mechanics to drive the whirlpool as seen here:   http://imgur.com/gallery/qxuV0CS

In the example's source Youtube video link a person almost stops the vortex but when his hand is removed it quickly reestablishes itself.  I also notice the aesthetics of having the smooth stones placed up around the outer base of the fountain conceals the fill port elbow joint.

It looks like the water pump is turned off while the guy in the vid is stopping the vortex and back on when he removes his hand.  The water has dropped further below the upper lip of the cylinder than could be accounted for by fluid displacement from his hand and forearm's intrusion.

While the overflow water spilling down the outside of the cylinder is an interesting effect I really like the clearer view of the vortex provided in the period of time that the cylinder is refilling.

It makes me think that balancing the water pump's inflow to the drain's outflow capacity would be worthwhile.  Or maybe an easier w@&k around occurs to me that if the top lip of the cylinder were to have a pronounced pour spout the water would have an exit point other than cascading down the entire outside of the cylinder.  It would achieve the desirable clear view (which I prefer) of the vortex and would give me a chance to figure out something visually interesting to use the kinetic energy of the flowing over spill water.

Maybe if I could get a 20 liter clear Pyrex scientific beaker with pour spout and drill or torch cut input/output points in its base I could...  Hmm...

Oops!  :-[   There I go again. 

[mandru]

I got carried away with the fountain post above and forgot to say that I thought implementation of the Men's Shed program was a great idea and a real boon to those involved but I would probably be denied membership.

Unfortunately for me being maldextrous (equally bad with both hands) the lack of dexterity and finesse with fine detail (like keeping paint off a ceiling while working the walls  :'( ) as well as having a history of being more aligned towards w@&k skills that involved driving, brute force lifting, hauling and swinging an axe or sledge hammer.  Because of simple ageing & body burn out I'm no longer able to engage in most of those things without further injury.

But hey!  The brain's still working on at least 6 of 8 cylinders so thought exercise suits me well and that difference of that two cylinder gap gives me a little leeway to sometimes approach problems with a less than logical answer but still come up with otherwise unseen workable solutions.  :-D

[Art Blade]

"Danny MacAskill's Wee Day Out"

https://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/190785902

[Binnatics]

 :-X Good one :)

Spoiler

I was getting bored because he didn't fall once, so I decided to skip through to the near end of it... saw some funny bloopers there ^-^

[Art Blade]

 :-D

I was amazed by the skill and then enjoyed the last part just as much :-()

[fragger]

Great clip, very talented bloke :-X Lovely looking part of the world too!

[Art Blade]

This vid.. only 5 seconds.. I reckon you're going to watch it at least a second time.  :-D
My Cat Is Crazy.

[Binnatics]

 

[fragger]

 

It's Suuuuper Puss!!!

[mandru]

It's spring and I got hunny bunnies to attend to.  So I ain't got no time for your shenanigans!


! No longer available

[Art Blade]

interesting, I didn't know rabbits would defend themselves against aerial attacks  :-X :-D

[fragger]

 :-X :-D

"Nyeeeah (munch munch munch) Of coss you reelize, dis means WAR!"

[Art Blade]