Last Viewed Technology Blogs (217)

Bought a couple for the twins, and my thoughts were, another TV gimmick, to rob the poor.
But I was surprised to see that this is really an alternative to costly, vapid, cable, broadcast or Satellite TV.
?Good capitalism?

.. because eYe really want to know...

The Wall. } P Floyd.
.thick as a brick. } Tull...
Off the Wall. } Jackson

At least for a week or two, while the PC is back in the shop, and I struggle with this IPad contraption. Not sure if I'll be using the old name. Now I'm Dreikaesehoch. Don't ask.3KH.

Back when everyone started to carry a camera on them (cell phone)....the skeptics of UFOs would say, why are we not getting any pictures of them? Today, there are many pictures of them taken. Now what?

What is the next move for society?

Do we continue to just go on with life living literally in our own little bubbles.....or....our big bubble (the planet)? Or, do we now look beyond ourselves....our own species....and start to acclimate ourselves to others out there? What would that even look like?

I seen one documentary where they were saying that they want to understand their technology....harness it...and put it to use to protect our environment when it came to developing new energy. My thoughts to that was.....why?....so they can send us a bill in the mail for something that now cost them something even cheaper to make....to make a larger profit?



Perhaps if people could live free....not where government controls you....but where one can have access to the basic elements to life without being a slave to the powerful.

YouTube is filling up with videos now about how the OceanGate Titan submersible imploded. Fingers are pointing to the 5 inch thick hull 'spun' with carbon fiber claiming it was the culprit. They all say it was the materials used.

The video below shows a machine winding a large metal tube with carbon ribbon about 4 inches wide the same way a spool of thread gets put on a bobbin. This is how the hull was created. Was the metal tube part of the hull or was it only used for the process of forming the tube? The first part of the building sequence it appears the tube had something applied first and it could be a 'release agent' used in mold making or the bonding adhesive and the metal tube was part of the hull.

Did the layers of carbon fiber get bonded with resins making a solid casting?
Other than the fibers appearing shiny, the process wasn't clear and I'm guessing the machine that applied the ribbon was laying it on 'wet' with resin applied.
The problem with that process is resin has catalyst and you are limited by the amount of time to work before it hardens. Laying up 5 inches could take all day... maybe longer and take several sessions. The first layers would be curing while the layers on top would be applied over it. That creates a weak point where the layers are attached.

Molded carbon fiber components are used in automotive and aviation sectors... they have been for many years. The process isn't new. The process turns bad when you try to add several layers as one because they each have a different curing rate and may not have a uniform bond between each layer.

Were any layers of carbon fiber running crossgrain (left to right) or did it all get wrapped in the same direction? The video shows all in the same direction of the cylinder.

Note, in woodworking, the strength of plywood sheeting is created by running the layers in different directions giving it stability. If all the layers are in the same direction, the wood becomes flexible. That rule of lamination applies to fiberglass and carbon fiber technology too!

I read that OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush had a US Patent for a device to detect any sound or vibration that would indicate a stress crack in the hull. Maybe, I'll go into that part of the equation later.

From the look of things, the design had no internal ribs or supports.
The titanium rings on the ends were only glued in place. Only glue.
Say that again... Only glue.
What's missing in the construction??
The rings were applied to the OUTSIDE of the carbon fiber cylinder designed to withstand EXTERNAL pressure. Technical no-no.

I do cabinets for a living and have some model aircraft experience for 40+ years and things like that need both a mechanical and chemical bond.
Simple thought... anyone out there having done some soldering of 2 wires knows you first twist the wires making a mechanical connection before heating and applying the solder.

Did the people who designed the Titan forget the obvious...

There should have been double rings with bolts between them to 'sandwich' the hull to the end rings. Titanium and carbon fiber have different expansion/contraction rates so a mechanical connection should be first, with the glue/epoxy/sealant in between.

No assumptions, but let's say the external forces caused the carbon to flex more than the glue between the hull and the end rings, the failure really was the bonding agent and not the materials it was supposed to hold together.
Just a thought.

Another thought was the crane that hoisted the salvaged Titan submersible had a strap through the titanium 'door' where the viewport used to be.
Did it fail causing the craft to implode, or was it removed when brought on deck of the salvage boat making it easier to move it to the dock?

That may have been the weak link to the design and all the talk of carbon fiber would be meaningless.

For years, I had a personal website that I used to display photos and drawings of my work. They raised the price a few times while other sites were lowering theirs. For years I put this off. It's time... more than. I switched to another hosting company last night and by paying for 3 years, I was able to do it for around 75% less than my yearly rate with the other host.
I backed up the menu, data and HTML codes, unlocked the site to capture a code needed by the new host so they can transfer the domain name.
Tech support said to check back in a few days to confirm the transfer went through so I can upload my website at a new host.
The entire event should take an hour here and an hour there and maybe a few more hours to add some updated photos.

Like most hosts, they have 'site builder' software that should make the job go quicker. It's been years since I built a website.

What do you think?

It could have a camera, microphone, it automatically follows you at a distance you do not even know it is there. Perhaps, it could even be armed. Your own guardian angel....

You send it to pick up things from the store for you, you use it to give you up to date road/weather conditions.


Is something in our near future?

Last night CS went offline, probably an hour or so. Trying to reach the site returned a page explaining Technical Difficulties with a Contact Link.
I haven't seen any comments about it and curious if anyone used the link to fill out a trouble ticket. It was late night East coast USA time zone, so most of Europe was asleep.

This is a repeat of an offline issue a few days ago and may be the reason so many blogs, comments and forum threads are disappearing.

Technical Difficulties... sounds viable.

Awww snap!

The 1962 cartoon series The Jetsons is a look at what family life could/would be in the future where every family had their own flying vehicle. YouTube has dozens of videos of experimental one-man drones labeled eVTOL. Vertical Takeoff and Landing.
While they all make lots of claims like no-license, ultra-safe, long flight times, I haven't actually seen any production models flying around my neighborhood.

This morning another eVTOL popped up on my technical radar. It's called the Jetson ONE. At a cost of $92,000 production for 2022 is already sold out and they have taken lots of orders for 2023.

All but one or two of these concept flying vehicles have the rotor blades at knee level and my first thought is they fail miserably with regard to safety.

While they have a cool 3 minute video of the Jetson ONE, it's promoted as a fun vehicle.
The website calendar shows they booked one per month in 2022 and a list of more than 100 orders booked for 2023. Yeah, maybe lots of people have $92,000 to spare.




Official site:

US Withholds Licensure From US Companies & Lets ChiComs Produce The Technology ...


The story was 1st Broken a day ago by NPR ...

What The Freakin' HELL?!?!