Bob Hunkins dot com

Racoons in space

The Onion has a hilarious parody Mischievous Racoon Wreaks Havoc On International Space Station

"Yesterday, we found fruit rinds in the EVA suits and helmets, and the day before, it was garbage strewn all over the Pirs Docking Module," ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke said via a video-link to Russian mission control. "Today, a controller on the starboard truss failed because the power cord was chewed clean through. The little guy's curious, that's for sure."

Word has it the crew on the station has seen the article and think it's just great. They are referring now to "the rascal" on board.

Ray Charles, RIP

Here's another American icon to pass on. I can't say I've got any of Ray Charles' music in my collection, but I know when I've heard him perform on TV or radio, I've always enjoyed it. The first time I really was introduced to Ray Charles' talents was in the movie "The Blues Brothers" where he played "Ray of Ray's music exchange". I remember laughing when in the middle of a negotiation with Jake and Elwood over musical equipment, he pulls out a .45 pistol, and shoots the wall above a would-be hoodlum trying to steal an electric guitar, then stating "Breaks my heart to see a young kid like that going bad."

Centerboard installed

Described in Surprise's Log

Boat flippin' part deux

The process of getting a centerboard set up just so is frankly a pain. Yesterday I took the new board and found that it was a little too thick for it to retract completely. So I sanded the wooden shims down - took about 7-8 trips back and forth between the boat and the power supply for the sander before it would retract properly, but then it had too much play in it when it was down. So I placed a little bit of glass on the lower forward part of the centerboard head, hoping that it would keep the board from wiggling. It mostly worked except that now the board won't retract again, but instead of binding at 45 degrees like it did the first time, it's now about 5-10 degrees. So I have a little more sanding to do.

I replaced a black rubber roller on the trailer with a wider, clear roller as well as the black bow support with a new gray one, so hopefully black scuff marks on the hull will now be a thing of the past. While I was playing games with the centerboard, Kathy cleaned and wet sanded the hull. If I can get the centerboard working tonight and sand the surface to a smooth, non-paint-flaking consistency, I think I can use it tomorrow... I hope the performance is better than the original board.

ISS toilet not up to safety standards

Florida Today has an article describing problems with the International space station.

"Problem: Toilet in crew quarters not up to safety standards. Consequence: A hose, fittings or connectors on the toilet could burst, spewing stored urine into the station. The floating urine droplets could blind crew members or impair their sight. Urine is one of many potential contaminants that NASA strives to keep contained because of the potential danger to the crew."

Keith Cowing on NASAWatch.com states:

'What is the risk (numerical) of these hoses breaking? Escaping food could be just as hazardous as urine droplets. Indeed I will wager that it is far more likely that food is going to float around in an uncontrolled fashion than is the chance that a piece of the toilet will break. Any droplet - including water - or a small piece of food could cause irritation if it got in your eyes - or nose - or ear. There are nastier things on the ISS than urine that could cause problems - and guess what: people eat them. Indeed, some of the hot sauces on board would be much more caustic and hazardous than urine - and are far more likely to escape human control. Why not classify all food as having exactly the same dire consequences of floating urine droplets if released - just to be safe? Image: Earth's Orbital Spice and Hot Sauce Collection. The large red container is "Sriracha" which is "made from sun ripened chilies which are ground into a smooth paste along with garlic and packaged in a convenient squeeze bottle" according to the manufacturer.'

Cowing makes a point that a lot of people inside the program have groused about for many years. My cynical response to this is that I hope that the safety people at JSC don't read NASAWatch. They will outlaw hot sauce onboard the station.

Ronald Reagan, RIP

I was totally out of touch with the news this weekend and only heard about Ronald Reagan's death today.

I wasn't a big fan of him when he was in office, but as I've grown up and seen how things progressed as a result of his policies, I wish I had been.
I read this article by a fellow named Jim Lileks who writes for a Minnesota newspaper. His views of Reagan have paralleled mine in many ways. It starts after the boldfaced word "Saturday".

Boat flippin' centerboard testing

I pulled Surprise off her trailer on Sunday with Kathy and Jim's help, and leaned her over against a tree in the front yard. I had hoped that I could shim up the centerboard trunk opening to reduce the drag created by an opening larger than class minimum, but after a dry-fitting test, it was apparent that the board would not pull in, probably because the centerboard trunk opening is not perfectly rectangular. It would be very time consuming to get it to work, so I've abandoned that notion and I'm simply going to shim up the centerboard head so it doesn't wobble in the trunk. I used the material I had intended to build up the trunk opening with as shims for the board.
I mixed up some marine-tex to filling some gouges on the hull and I'll clean and wet sand the hull. Another improvement I'll make while the boat is off the trailer is to install mud flaps to keep the hull from getting mud spattered on it. I also plan to replace some rollers and carpeting on the bunks.

I'm not happy with the paint I chose for the centerboard; it's too soft and , scuffs to easily. So I don't think I'll add any more, I'll just sand it down regardless of the looks and use it. Someday maybe I'll try another covering. I'll get the surface as smooth as I can and press.

Personal Robotics - technology the US will miss

Here's an interesting article about personal robotics. The author Rob Enderle asserts that while the US is sending robots to Mars, the Japanese and the Europeans are making them for the consumer. He describes three types of personal robots: Pets, household appliances, and servants.

Personally, the idea of a robotic pet makes as much sense to me as a pet rock. Sure the robotic cat may not cough up hairballs and the robotic dog may not get separation anxiety and leave piles of bolts in each room, but there's something to be said for a living being instead of a collection of circuits and servos. The robotic application I would love is definitely the servant or the household appliance. It would be nice to have a robot that can clean up the place while everyone else is at the office. Like having maid service but without the risk that the maid service will decide to steal the jewels and leave town. There's a company that produces robotic lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners. Interesting, but no information on the price. I doubt they are cheap. And with my lawn I doubt it could handle the gravel drive, and the angled flower gardens well. But it would be fun to see the results of one at work.

Centerboard update

I spent the Memorial day weekend working on the centerboard and completed the fiberglassing. I sanded with 80 grit and faired it with a mix of West System 407 fairing filler and epoxy. I find that I tend to get tired of sanding, and as a result I often will give up instead of persevering, so I had Kathy take a look at the board and tell me where she thought it needed more work. That process took me until Sunday morning, when I put on a coat of primer. I sanded it on Monday morning, but the primer clogs the 180 grit sandpaper I used. I think that the high humidity we had was partially responsible, but I was able to get enough of it sanded down for my own conscience and applied the first layer of white paint. I placed the board inside the house last night and hopefully it will dry hard enough so that I can sand it this evening. I hope to get 3-4 coats of paint on the board.

As for building up the centerboard trunk opening, I laid up 6 layers of glass on a piece of wax paper, and found that it only built up to 1/32 of an inch. So I will need to try a different approach since building this up to 1/8 of an inch would add too much weight. I am considering building up the opening by using a thin layer of wood covered by a layer of glass.
I took a couple of photos of the board, so I'll post them here when I get the chance.