Things I've Learned From Strangers

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  So far today...

  Journeyman Apprentice 2:13 pm on August 18, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I’m reading through Oomlout’s Arduino Experimenter’s Guide. Here are a few interesting tidbits from Wikipedia in the domain of mechanical and materialengineering:

  Servomechanism: An electromechanical system regulated by error-sensing feedback. Used for position-control in robotic design. In a servomotor, a variable resistor may sense current position. A microcontroller triggers a positional movement using pulse width modulation. When the variable resistor reaches the correct resistence, the servo shuts off.
  Elastic modulus: a measure representing elastic deformation of, say, a piezoelectric sensor. It’s measured as the slope of the “stress-strain curve in the region of deformation”. Bonus: volumetric and tensile elasticity; modulus of rigidity.
  Bone electricity: Does bone deliver (piezo)electric feedback? Researchers hypothesize a native electrical effect of bone deformation in bone remodelling. The linked article states that an experimental model does not yet exist to test bone electrical feedback in vivo. Nonetheless, researchers have measured dry bone, and the inferred bone shape maps closely to the measured bone topology. To see for yourself, track the dotted outline on the image here. Credit goes to Andrew Marino of LSU’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

   

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  Journeyman Apprentice 4:41 pm on July 25, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I went to Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood this afternoon with my roommate Zhiguo. He guided me to the Richwell Market grocery store at 18th and Canal. I noticed quail eggs for a reasonable price ($1.89) and decided on-the-spot to try them.

  I just finished preparing (and eating!) the first batch. Quail eggs are delicious; I’d strongly recommend that you try a few. Quail egg white (albumen) is quite small compared to quail egg yolk. Expect a rich eggy flavor, with undertones you’ve never experienced before.

  If you’re in the mood, keep in mind that after boiling quail eggs the shells do not peel off as easily as chicken egg shells would. I recommend shocking the eggs with ice water, then peeling away the shell by hand. Be careful: you can easily lose a quarter of an egg if you’re not cautious. Remember to salt the eggs before you eat. For maximal flavor, you can reboil the shelled eggs with soy sauce and salt.

  Thanks again, Zhiguo, for introducing me to more and more elements of authentic Chinese cuisine. I can’t wait for dinner tonight. Zhiguo’s cooking a farewell feast for our roommate Ed. It looks like he’s cooking up a storm!

   
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  Journeyman Apprentice 11:55 am on July 25, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Finishing the second book of The Black Swan.

   
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  What Happens When Rubber Meets The Road

  Journeyman Apprentice 9:17 pm on July 11, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  My delivery driver was running late on his route with a package that I desperately needed. I waited patiently outside on our apartment steps for his arrival. As he slowed the delivery truck, I paced forward to his van door. A middle-aged man with a paunch emerged.

  “I’m David Clayman,” I say. “What’s your name?”
  “Hah! My name’s Ed. Do you have some id?”

  I showed him my driver’s license and we got down to business. As I was signing off on the package, I asked him about whether his routes were truly right-turn maximized (in other words, left-turn eliminated). That, I learned, is a sore point for delivery service drivers.

  “Those engineers say all kinds of things,” he said. “We don’t never listen. When rubber hits the road, I got to make my own decisions. What do I do if school lets out on my route? Do you think those engineers think through school hours when they’re making these routes up?”

  “Do you have access to the engineering staff? Do they ever come out with you?”

  “Man, I ask them all the time! They never come. What I wouldn’t give to have them in my van for a day.”

  What’s more, Ed shared tips on how to defend yourself if you’re mugged. I listened intently. He speaks from experience. After all, he’s been attacked twice in the last fifteen years of living on the South Side. If you are the victim of a mugging, be prepared to “beat ‘em bloody, then call the cops on ‘em.”

  “Wait, don’t you have that in reverse?”
  “No,” said Ed, “I mean it. If you’re a man, you’ll show ‘em what you got.”

  Editor’s Note: Needless to say, this demonstrates that not every lesson you learn from strangers is to be accepted or acted upon. Please do not act upon any of Ed’s advice. Unless you’re an engineer involved in route planning. If that’s the case, I’d urge you to tag along with a driver like Ed once a month (if not more). How else could you know the way rubber meets road?

   
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  To Test Itch Response...

  Journeyman Apprentice 10:23 pm on July 8, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  To test human itch response, apply an itching (aka pruritic) agent. You could use histamine (intradermal), cowhage (punctate) or capsaicin (topical) in metered quantities. Then use a coping saw with a medial gauze pad. Stroke with a downward “compressional force” of 100mN, and with each stroke move to and fro 40 millimeters per second. To find allokinesis, test along surrounding radial pathways until the site is fully mapped.

  Credit for the technique goes to Parul Sikand, Steven Shimada, Barry Green and Robert LaMotte. I learned about this from reading a paper written by anesthesiologists working in and around New Haven. It’s a nice trick, as it requires only a coping saw and a gauze pad. If only electrically-induced itch were so easy.

  Citation: “Similar itch and nociception sensations evoked by punctate cutaneous application of capsaicin, histamine and cowhage.” PAIN 144 (2009) 66-75

   
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  How to Say "Thank You" in Japanese

  Journeyman Apprentice 1:18 pm on July 3, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Transliterated to English, “Thank you (very much)” is “Arigato gozaimasu”.

  I first learned this phrase in Italy from a fellow backpacker named Roberto. Roberto was a Brazilian of Japanese descent. He had achieved mastery of Portuguese, English and Japanese. We were sitting beside one another on the floor of a overbooked and cramped overnight Trenitalia train bound for Milan from Rome. The cabin seats filled before either of us arrived. Neither of us could get any sleep, so we spent the night trading stories of our travels.

  At the end of the trip, we traded contact info and promised one another we’d stay in touch. I have not seen Roberto since. When I find myself in Rome, I’ll give him a ring.

   
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  Zymurgy 101

  Journeyman Apprentice 10:51 pm on June 30, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I’m learning the practice and theory of fermentation from John, a fellow member of Pumping Station One. The Zymurgy lessons are free and open to the public.

   
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  Manufacturing Processes

  Journeyman Apprentice 1:26 pm on June 30, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: redline chicago design

  Jens, a Norwegian furniture designer, recommends Rob Thompson’s “Manufacturing Processes”

  Jens is staying at a youth hostel downtown. This is his first trip to the United States. His only other international travel has been to Sweden, Norway’s eastern neighbor. When he learned of our shared interest in product design, he urged me to buy Rob Thompson’s “Manufacturing Processes”. “It’s my bible,” he said. “Everytime I open it, I find a useful new tool, or a innovative practice that transforms my work.”

  Soon after returning home, I put in an order on Amazon. The work should arrive by the end of the week. I’ll read the index, scan through it twice, then let it rest.