Zeno has been at Don Satnik’s Shop since Tuesday and in that time we’ve been able to confirm the following. First, the diesel fuel pump has a leak which is allowing fuel to escape the pump before it is pushed into the injectors. The amount of fuel isn’t much, but it was one of the things that concerned me greatly on the drive up from California. I knew that the fuel pump was the cause of the leak, but couldn’t locate the source. Thus I asked Don to take a look and sure enough he was able to isolate the problem.

Resolution of leaky fuel pump proved slightly more difficult than identification. But that said I need to thank everyone on the [Diesel-Vanagon] list serve for their help. I ended up getting the referral I’m acting upon through the list and while everyone I called for the part was helpful Jack from VW Diesel Parts is getting the business specifically because of the recommendations sent regarding the quality of work. Price appears to be the same just about anywhere you look. The re-conditioned fuel pump core is being taken care of as I write and I expect its arrival late this week or sometime early next.

The second problem was a lot more obvious. The transmission routinely pops out of 4^th gear while traveling down the road. By the time I made it back from southern California I think the muscles of right shoulder and neck were about ready to file for divorce. The recommendation for a rebuilt DX model transmission came through Vanagon Mailing List and Daryl from AA Transaxle called this afternoon to let me know that the rebuilt transmission is done. I’ll be picking it up Friday.

There may be some work that remains on the shift box when all this is complete. The shift level is sloppy and it took me a good week to be able to find reverse consistently. This may be caused by one of two things. Either the nylon parts in the shift box are worn or scared or the transmission that’s in there today is just that bad. Either way, it won’t do anyone any good at this point to replace the parts in the shift box so this will wait for diagnosis until after the replacement transmission is in.

Finally, I’ve ordered parts to replace the timing belt so I can reset the clock on this collection of parts now and avoid roadside repairs in the near future.

Proseal Tray Sealers Minimise Soft-Fruit Packaging

Three GT2 tray sealers from Proseal are helping soft-fruit grower Hall Hunter Partnership minimise its packaging and reduce its carbon footprint to meet the environmental requirements of UK retailers. The Proseal GT2 is capable of sealing up to 96 packs per minute and was therefore capable of handling Hall Hunter’s requirements for packing around 2.5 tonnes of product per hour per line.

Servo-controlled pack transfer creates a smooth movement for the punnets throughout the sealing process to ensure gentle handling of the product, while self-centring pack guides ensure the trays are accurately positioned for sealing. The three tray sealers were integrated into Hall Hunter’s existing packing line. A touch-screen display provides step-by-step guidance for operators to ensure ease of use.

Pre-programmable menus enable the machine to be set up automatically for each different pack and the display also provides fault diagnosis and production information. The GT2 is manufactured to food-industry-approved hygiene standards with full wash-down protection. Polymer bearings are used in water-contact areas to avoid the risk of corrosion and maintain long-term reliable performance.

The lifecycle of a mechanical device, or rather, of a component begins first with the design stage. This process traditionally starts off with a portrayal of the component in mind in paper (a tedious process involving the use of a drafter and a drawing board), followed by the selection of  a material which will endure the stresses experienced by the component, the machining of a prototype and the rigorous testing of this prototype in the ultimate environment. It is but anticipated that this archetype will not satisfy all the requirements of the necessitated component. This leads us to the bromide – back to the ol’ drawing board, to make additional changes to the illustration or to pick a different material; and this iteration is followed, imaginably many times over, until the perfect component envisioned at the start is now reality. You can get a sense of the lead time for design, most likely taking a few months even for a relatively simple component.

This is all history now with the entire design process fundamentally computerized. The plethora of design and analysis softwares available in the market now can fulfill any predicament faced by professional design engineers swimmingly. Various modeling softwares now reduce hours of sweating on the drawing board to a few clicks and drags of the mouse to generate a complete 3-D model of the component. The same model is analyzed for stress and other constraints for various materials in a different software (or  many a time in a different module of the same one) and compared with the yielding (maximum) values to check its consistency with the envisioned component. Most softwares now have integrated CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design, Manufacture) which will directly program and generate CNC codes (Computer Numerical Controlled) which will also enable machining.. no sweat! This outstanding reduction in time and effort required for design (and manufacture) is attainable owing to a many substantial factors, to mention a few:

• The advent of fast processing workstations which limit the time taken for thousands (and probably millions!) of computations to a few minutes at most; and
• The various analytical techniques that have been developed ( and perfected) in the recent future which approximate the problem of analysis just enough to obtain a mathematical solution.  ( Finite Element, Finite Difference and Boundary Element method to name a few)

These magnificent advancements have reduced design from being a tedious, painstaking endeavor (mentally and physically) , to a mere intellectual exercise involving a methodical procedure which in most cases provides the desired result.

This is easier said than done with more complex components, but as engineers of the 21st century, our travail is considerably eased so we may utilize our ‘more valuable’ time in more opportune undertakings.

The luxury watch brand A. Lange & Sohne was originally established by Richard Lange in 1868 in Glashutte, which was regarded as the forefront of watchmaking in Germany. The brand’s attention to detail has won a lot of admiration from watch collectors and many consumers.

In the early years of development, the brand mainly manufactured watches to serve the rich and even monarchs. In 1898, the manufacture of a unique jewelled pocket watch as a present to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire has gained a lot of prestige to the brand and most people regard the brand as a symbol of noble.

In 1994, the launching of the splendid timepieces including the Lange 1, the Arkade, the Saxony and the Tourbillon has satisfied the needs of those people who are fond of mechanical watch movement and complications.

The brand stopped manufacturing for a long time since it was destroyed by an aerial bombing during the war in Europe. And it did not begin its production until the reunion of Germany. In 2000, the brand was purchased by the famous Richemont Group, and soon it gained a large market share with the excellent traditions of the A. Lange & Sohne brand.

One prominent feature of the A. Lange & Sohne collection of watches lies on their hand engraved components. They are regarded as a combination of art, innovation and perfection. For those people who are in the pursuit of perfection, these watches are really a good option and they are worthy every penny of your hard earned money.

Another of my just-sneaking-in-under-the-wire moments for the group project. You never would have known this whole thing was my idea

So what do I have to say for myself? Voila!

I suppose I have no one to blame but myself. It is clearly not an image that required any “think outside the box”. I freely concede that. No point in trying to do otherwise. If I had been a far more clever lad I would have jumped right in, feet first, with my original idea, which was a photograph of the mess of cables and wires pouring out behind the computer cabinet in the basement.

However, not being a particularly clever lad I missed that window of opportunity and conceded it to that rascal Mike. And mine would have had far more cable and even bigger tangles!

Humph.

Then came the thought of borrowing myself as a model and doing something whereby I might muster a perplexed expression while fiddling with some thing…an owner’s manual, a new electronic toy, etc. Alas this opportunity also went begging.

Are you beginning to see a pattern? If not, let me give you a hand: I suck.

Licking my wounds, I put the whole matter out of my head and hoped for divine inspiration. Another wrong move considering my atheistic activities. “So now what?” I mused while dragging out my IBM Selectric III typewriter as I had some typing I wanted to do.

“Hum…” I muttered to myself. “What is this preoccupation with a typewriter when I have perfectly fine word processing opportunities scattered about the house? Three computers. Three printers. What gives?” And it was at this moment I realized I was perplexed.

About myself.

(big surprise, right?)

And this particular oddity is not completely alone in the dichotomy that makes up the Forkboy world. Oh no. There is also my preoccupation with mechanical timepieces (both clocks and watches). And with mechanical weather measuring instruments.

It is perplexing, and I think you may agree, that a guy who so completely and utterly embraces our modern consumer electronic world would also keep one foot squarely rooted in the past in certain areas. And as well as I believe I know and understand myself I cannot, for the life of me, offer a reason for these diametrically opposed positions.

Why would I want to type, when I can speedily and readily utilize a word processing application? Why would I better appreciate a watch that must be wound and loses/gains seconds every day over a modern LCD that not only tells time, but can act as an alarm, stop-watch and timer? And what is up with the desire for a thermometer, barometer and hydrometer when one can purchase a sleek, modern and sophisticated weather station that will output to your computer and give you hour-by-hour information over time?

It doesn’t make sense! It’s weird! It’s nonsensical! It’s perplexing!!

But it’s me.

Today Yamaha released New Jupiter to Indonesian market. Attended by Jorge Lorenzo, YMKI deployed its new line up of moped

Controlling weeds under vine is an important job in the vineyard. Weeds compete for water and nutrients and can lead to stressed vines and stressed vines = stressed wines.
The most popular method for controlling weeds is by spraying a band underneath the vine row with herbicide. This gives excellent control of weeds but does have disadvantages. We had found that we had in effect been selecting for hard to kill weeds.
Last year we bit the bullet and purchased an under vine weeder, to take out the problem weeds.

The weeder has a blade that slides along just below the surface slicing through plant roots. The obvious problem to overcome with the design of an under vine weeder is to not damage the grape vine. This has been achieved by the wonder of hydraulics. Above and slightly in front of the blade is a sensor bar which controls the blade; move the sensor bar and you move the blade. The sensor bar is 30 cm above the ground and as the weeder moves along the row the sensor bar is pushed back by a vine or post and slides around it and the blade follows the sensor bar.

It was necessary to put stakes around irrigation risers (pipes that feed the irrigation lines from the underground mainline) to catch the sensor bar and protect the riser pipes from being cut by the weeder. Other than that it was an easy change to make and in our soils the under vine weeder works really well.
Cheers for now

Stuart

http://www.toreawines.co.nz/
Join us on Facebook here
Join us on Twitter here

A fascinating story of courage, dedication, skill, and genius. Hugh Herr is an inspirational guy…and we, at General Catalyst, are so proud to be a part of his journey.

A Step Beyond Human

Andy Greenberg
Forbes Magazine dated December 14, 2009

MIT professor and double amputee Hugh Herr is building the world’s most advanced prosthetic foot.

On his way to a lunch meeting a few years ago Hugh Herr was running late. So he parked his Honda  Accord in a handicapped parking spot, sprang out of the car and jogged down the sidewalk. Within seconds a policeman called out, asking to see his disability permit. When Herr pointed it out on his dashboard, the cop eyed him suspiciously. “What’s your affliction?” he asked dryly. Herr, a slim and unassuming 6-footer with dark, neatly parted hair, took a step toward the officer and responded in an even tone: “I have no [expletive] legs.”

Blurring the boundaries of disability is a trick that Herr, director of the biomechatronics group at MIT’s Media Lab, has spent the last 27 years perfecting. At age 17 both of Herr’s legs were amputated 6 inches below the knee after a rock climbing trip ended in severe frostbite. Today he’s one of the world’s preeminent prosthetics experts. His goal: to build artificial limbs that are superior to natural ones. His favorite test subject: himself. “I like to say that there are no disabled people,” says Herr, 45. “Only disabled technology.”

Read more at the link below.

via A Step Beyond Human – Forbes.com.

A mechanical cow, that lets out a blast of steam in a strictly defined time, became the new point of interest of Scotland’s capital.

The cow’s backside, that is attached to the wall of Rowan Tree pub in the historic neighborhood of Edinburgh, called the Old Town, raises its tail three times a day and shoots out the blast of steam.

The mechanism works by hours, and thus allows people to synchronize their watches, as well as the another Edinburgh’s sight – One O’clock Gun, a canon, which fires every day at 13.00.

The cow itself was set up more than a year ago, though the mechanism that allows her to let off the steam was installed quite recently.

In spite of it, the cow already acquired popularity not only among the local citizens, but also among the tourists.

The owner of the pub, Norrie Rowan said: “The cow already became popular all over the Edinburgh, that is why hundreds of tourist pass by my pub every day and take the pictures of it.”

Many countries have already realized the importance of the development of the touristic branch, especially in city travel and are already spending huge budgets to install interesting objects and places of interest in the cities.

A good example of this are the Baltic countries that have recently entered the Schengen Zone. This means a possible increase in the tourist flow and surely great income, because an average city travel tourist spends more than $500 during his stay in the city.

Therefore such new members of the Schengen Agreement as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are refurbishing their cities, resorts and points of interest and performing huge advertising campaigns to attract as many tourists as possible.

Mechanism of Mind, by Edward de Bono

The Mechanism of Mind, by Edward de Bono

“Freddie was designed as a space age pet for modern living. He is a small black sphere which is completely smooth on the outside. When Freddie is kicked he starts to roll about. To stop him you kick him again. Whenever he comes up against an obstacle he just backs away, moves along it or just changes direction as he feels inclined. The purpose of Freddie is to provide intelligent animation without the owner having to feed him, look after him or take him round the lampposts every evening.”

Freddie’s image is so intriguing that we find ourselves smiling, but not at the implication that our lives might well be similar to his own. When it comes to our mind, to our way of thinking, we resent being told that our mental processes are mechanical, and that there is no separate self or agent initiating or directing our thoughts.

Though Dr. de Bono is a physician and is currently working in the Department of Investigative Medicine at Cambridge University, England, he uses no monkeys, rabbits, rats or electronic brain probes to make his case. He seeks to convince us with models made from pins, lights, switches, blocks, jelly, water and other equally familiar materials.

Put some table jelly in a shallow dish; now spoon some hot water onto the jelly and then pour the water off: as the water melts the jelly, it creates channels. As more water is spooned onto the jelly, the patterns become more diverse and intricate. But soon, no matter where you pour it, most of the water will flow through the channels already created, thereby making these channels deeper and ensuring that any additional water will flow through them. Think of the jelly as the memory surface of the brain, and the channels as memories or associations. The flow of water through these channels is the “interpretation and recording of incoming information. . . the main point is that there is flow, and that the flow is dictated by the contours of the surface.”

In other words, the past shapes the present. But what about new ideas and perceptions? Can we receive them without their being processed by the various patterns which have accumulated through suggestion and repetition, or are we doomed to a constant repetition of past thoughts and perceptions (as the jelly model indicates)? The answer seems to demand a more precise study of the mechanics of the human mind, of the way it is “kicked” in and out of action by influences from outside as well as from within.

Dr. de Bono distinguishes between several different kinds of thought, all of which are equally mechanical, but which nevertheless differ in the results they bring. The most “primitive” form of thought is “natural thinking.” This is the passive associative flow along the contours of the memory surface. It is totally dependent on whatever happens to be accumulated at the moment. There is a momentum from cliché to cliché. “Natural thinking makes use of absolutes and extremes since these patterns become more easily established than intermediate ones.” In de Bono’s words:

“The lack of proportion in natural thinking in some ways resembles the contents of newspapers. The odd, the unusual, the emotional, all get as much emphasis as ordinary events, or more, even though the latter are much more important in real-life terms. Labels and categories are much used in natural thinking since they provide quick interpretation and firm direction of flow. There is little vagueness or indecision in natural thinking since even a slight degree of dominance in one area is sufficient to attract the flow.”

“Logical thinking” differs from natural thinking only as a result of the experience of “non-identity,” or “no.” No conveys an awareness of more than one alternative; it implies a “mismatch,” a conflict between patterns. As a result of no, one pattern or pathway is selected and another is blocked from our attention. “The effect of logical thinking is like that obtained by a farmer who directs the water to his fields by careful blocking of some irrigation channels in order to get the water to flow through the others.” The difficulty is that what may have been useful in the past may be the exact opposite of what is necessary now. Once no has blocked a particular pathway it is likely to continue doing so even when the conditions have changed. “The more emotion that was infused into the no label by upbringing, the more powerful would be its use and its effect.”

With “mathematical thinking” we come to what is supposedly the least subjective form of sequential thought. This kind of thinking, for de Bono, is based on the use of “ready-made recipes,” or “algorithms.” “An algorithm is any fixed pattern which is not derived from presented information but serves to control and sort out that information. Algorithms may be mathematical techniques but they may also be word patterns or any other type of preset pattern.” Instead of the incoming information finding its own path along the contours of the surface, specific channels are pre-cut and the information flows through them. If the “preset pattern” actually represents the given situation then mathematical thinking can avoid many of the errors of natural and logical thinking. Unfortunately, in most cases, neither the algorithm nor the choice of what it processes is itself the result of mathematical thinking.

Dr. de Bono makes it clear that none of these forms of thought can get beyond the limitations imposed by the nature of the memory surface. He therefore offers a fourth classification which he calls “lateral thinking.” This type of thinking is based on the disruption of the sequential flow of our ordinary thought:

“Lateral thinking has nothing to do with chaos for the sake of chaos. Disruption of a pattern in lateral thinking is only in order to let a better pattern form. Later the process can be repeated again. For this reason those chemical methods of disruption which work by upsetting the smooth co-ordination of the mind are useless since the smooth co-ordination of the mind is required to snap the new patterns into coherence. The art of lateral thinking is to bring about the disruption while still retaining the ability to benefit from it in terms of coherent ideas.”

How does one achieve this kind of thinking? Dr. de Bono offers a number of different methods, all of which are dependent on the ability to allow one’s thought to organize itself in a “new” way. But whether this new organization be the result of shocks coming from without, the intentional effort of turning an idea upside down, or the effort of a slight shift in attention, it is always necessary to confront what de Bono calls the “main information sin”–arrogance. “Arrogance appears in many forms. Just as one particular fixed way of looking at things leads to the arrogance of pride so another fixed way of looking at things leads to the arrogance of despair.”

How can we escape this “sin”? Dr. de Bono tells us that one way is through a “realization of the arbitrary nature and historical development. . .” of our attitudes:

“It is not suggested that the realization of the arbitrariness of patterns should lead to a loss of drive and direction. On the contrary, one realizes that patterns are useful no matter how arbitrary, and so one uses them. But uses them without arrogance, with an inquiry about better patterns, and with the willingness to change to better patterns if they should seem more useful.”

But is the interest in “better patterns” sufficient motivation to see and accept the mechanicality of one’s mind? If arrogance is not simply an information sin, if its effects are scattered through our entire being, then perhaps we do need to experience a “loss of drive and direction.” Perhaps freed for a moment from our cerebral manipulations, we will feel the need for a totally new quality of thought–one which could bring us to a wider, more fundamental sense of our existence.

This review first appeared in the journal Material for Thought, Spring 1971 (issue #3), published by Far West Editions. Far West Editions “was begun in 1968 by John Pentland, a direct pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff and president of the Gurdjieff Foundations of New York and California until his death in 1984. Its original purpose was to discover if a more impartial quality of spiritual thought can emerge when a small group of people work at writing while at the same time trying to see themselves as they are.”  Though I am “the author” of this review, it was working in these special conditions that made it possible. You can click on the above link to see what issues of Material for Thought are currently available.

LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT

Are You a Victim of Hurry Sickness

By

VIKRAM KARVE

A central element of lifestyle management is the skill to creatively balance achievement and work success with leisure activities, family life and social involvements.

Another critical aspect is the ability to feel comfortable at work and at home and to enjoy the experience of whatever is being done at that moment.

But nowadays, most of us are obsessed with getting results or completing one’s task. When task completion becomes more important than enjoying and understanding the work or activity one is doing at the given moment, a sure victim of “hurry sickness” is born.

The resultant constant sense of urgency is the trap of hurry sickness. One rushes to “get things done” to the point where it becomes an obsession.

Breaking this syndrome requires that you learn to enjoy experiences for the pleasure they give. When you gain pleasure from an experience, there is no need to get things done painstakingly.

Enjoy experiences, not rewards, and things will get done automatically without any constant stressful sense of urgency.

As defined from a psychological perspective, Hurry Sickness is:

“A pervasive and progressively urgent need to complete task in order to obtain rewards at completion without regard for other aspects of the work experience and by using maladaptive time strategies.”

They key causal factor in hurry sickness is the progressive need for task completion.

Enjoying what you are doing is neglected with a morbid urge to getting it done as quickly as possible, no matter what the activity.

The obsessive need for task completion extends to non-work involvements and activities like eating, playing, romance, making love, sex, leisure, having fun, loafing, taking a stroll, recreation, entertainment, leisure, sports, pastimes, hobbies, holidaying, exercising, lazing around, dozing, enjoying music, cooking, gardening, meditating, enjoying “doing nothing” and delightful timepass, what you consider “wasting your time” with your family, wife, kids, pet dog, friends…

This attitude of Hurry Sickness interferes with the enjoyment of these activities and experiences because of the persistent inclination to hurry up and finish it off.

Getting things done has become such a strong need because the payoffs or rewards for completion have assumed primary importance.

Your work experience has taught you that rewards always come at the end of the activity after you have put forth great effort to achieve a goal. You do not realize that happiness is not a destination but the manner of traveling.

Not only do you feel a sense of personal satisfaction from your achievements, but tangible rewards, such as promotion, cash incentives, awards, and advancements are given to you as well. With time, these rewards have become clearly linked with your self-esteem.

Each time you “succeed”, your ego, your inner self, sends a message to you which says, “You have done well. You are a commendable person because you succeeded again.” Your need for this kind of reassurance has become stronger than you would care to admit.

Time-Urgency quickly becomes a strong internal driving force towards task completion. Your life becomes a frenzy of completing one task after another. You are obsessed with time and wasting any of it becomes almost a mortal sin.

You strive to maximize your productivity by using time ever more efficiently, but you also have a sense that you are controlled by time and you don’t like it. Time is both your challenge and your enemy. A telling sign of hurry sickness is that even while relaxing, you are constantly fighting time-urgency and this that causes you unrest and never allows you to totally “switch off”.

Another way to seek to increase your output is to adopt maladaptive time-strategies. These questionable tactics do help you get more done over the short run, but you pay a heavy emotional price.

You now do everything faster, you have learned to “multitask” or “double up,” to do two or more things at once, and you are constantly preparing for what is coming next before you are finished what you are doing now.

The insidious trap is that you get something done quickly even when there is no reason to get anything done at all.

You hurry when there is no need to hurry – even when you have all the time in the world.

Because of your emphasis on task completion, you focus on finishing without regard for other holistic aspects of the experience.

In short, you have lost the ability to enjoy yourself while doing anything because of your incessant drive to get to the finish line.

Because you are afflicted by Hurry Sickness, you have lost the ability to emotionally rejuvenate yourself. Chronic fatigue and pessimism are symptoms of this malady.

SIGNS AND SIGNALS OF HURRY SICKNESS

Here are some behavioral signs, symptoms and signals that indicate hurry sickness:

1. Eating.

You now eat in the office while continuing to work or you just skip meals altogether. You multitask while eating. At home, you eat fast, gulp your food, finish meals well ahead of everyone else and eat in bigger bites without savoring the taste of food. Sharing pleasantries at the table is minimal because you cannot sit long enough. Ask yourself – are you eating mindfully and relishing every morsel of your food?

2. Sex.

Relaxed romantic sex and unhurried love-making is but a pleasant memory. The frequency has reduced and even when you do indulge in sex, it is a quick encounter and you are off to sleep or on to some other more “important” or “urgent” activity. Sex is less spontaneous and more mechanical these days. Love-making has become another hurry-up-and-get-it-done-with activity. Worse, you often indulge in “faking it” in order to get it over with in a hurry so you can quickly get on with the more “important” and “productive” things in life – your “high priority” activities!

3. Communications.

Your communication patterns now focus squarely on the negative. Feedback to others emphasizes mistakes and failings and you rarely compliment or offer sincere support to anyone these days. You don’t take the time any more for pleasant chat with family and colleagues. You have stopped listening. You make demands instead of working cooperatively with others or team-building. And hey, are you on your cell-phone most of the time?

4. Leisure.

You put aside less time for relaxation and you enjoy it less when you actually try to relax. Time-off is now more of a hassle than it is worth. When you sit still, you feel uncomfortable almost immediately. You have lost the ability to “do nothing” – it’s difficult for you to loosen up and enjoy an idle hour relaxing, doing nothing. Ask yourself why you work – reflect, contemplate, think about the fundamental reason why you work and realization will dawn upon you that the primary reason you work is to be able to enjoy your leisure, so why aren’t you taking a vacation every day and learning how to enjoy your leisure with full awareness?

5. Family.

Family members now “report” events to you, but you share little of yourself with them. You and your spouse argue more than you talk. The satisfactions of family life have diminished in quality and quantity. Your impatience is just as strong at home as in the office.

HOW TO CURE HURRY SICKNESS

Because you have hurry sickness, your initial tendency is to effect and expedite your “cure” in a hurry too.

But this hurry-up-and-get-it-done attitude may actually sabotage your recovery. What is required is patience, perspective and the ability to deal with setbacks in healthier ways.

It is easy to blame hurry sickness on the pressures of your job, the stress of daily living and what you have to do to survive in the fast paced world of today and on the insensitivity of the complex modern world. While each of these perceptions has a grain of truth in it, the fact remains that most of the responsibility for hurry sickness lies within you.

Your drive to get ahead is the real root of the problem and the fact is that you have lost all sense of perspective. Until you accept personal responsibility for your present state, you will not be in a position to confront and reverse the real mischief, damage and harm caused by hurry sickness.

Remember the well-known story of the hare and the tortoise.

Decelerate your life a bit, slow down, walk leisurely instead of driving and do not carry or switch off your cell-phone where you can, don’t multitask, do one thing at a time with full awareness and mindfulness and learn to enjoy the experience of whatever you are doing.

Do you believe in multitasking?

Are you a victim of Hurry Sickness?

Why don’t you rid yourself of this malady and enhance your quality of life?

Sure, you can get rid of Hurry Sickness!

Just stop multitasking and focus on whatever you are doing at the present moment.

Remember: HURRY BURRY SPOILS THE CURRY.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

A mechanical cow, that lets out a blast of steam in a strictly defined time, became the new point of interest of Scotland’s capital.

The cow’s backside, that is attached to the wall of Rowan Tree pub in the historic neighborhood of Edinburgh, called the Old Town, raises its tail three times a day and shoots out the blast of steam.

The mechanism works by hours, and thus allows people to synchronize their watches, as well as the another Edinburgh’s sight – One O’clock Gun, a canon, which fires every day at 13.00.

The cow itself was set up more than a year ago, though the mechanism that allows her to let off the steam was installed quite recently.

In spite of it, the cow already acquired popularity not only among the local citizens, but also among the tourists.

The owner of the pub, Norrie Rowan said: “The cow already became popular all over the Edinburgh, that is why hundreds of tourist pass by my pub every day and take the pictures of it.”

Many countries have already realized the importance of the development of the touristic branch, especially in city travel and are already spending huge budgets to install interesting objects and places of interest in the cities.

A good example of this are the Baltic countries that have recently entered the Schengen Zone. This means a possible increase in the tourist flow and surely great income, because an average city travel tourist spends more than $500 during his stay in the city.

Therefore such new members of the Schengen Agreement as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are refurbishing their cities, resorts and points of interest and performing huge advertising campaigns to attract as many tourists as possible.

The most annoying thing about owning more than two cars is that something always needs replacing. In this case my TX3, Skyline and RX-7 are all gonna be needing new tyres at some point in the near future.

so I headed on down to good old Hyper Tyres on Friday to see what they had available in terms of performance tyre stock (and no we’re not talking Nankangs). The guy behind the counter thankfully didn’t try to sell me a set of drift rims but we talked about the Toyo T1-R and Yoko C-Drive plus he did get me some useful info on Bridgestone’s RE-11 asymmetrical tyre. Apparently they’re so flash they don’t advertise them on the website because only serious buyers would think of inquiring about ‘em…

tasty

being that the RE-11 is the replacement for the old RE-010R I consider them way too overkill for the TX3 and RX-7, but they sound like a nice fit for the Skyline which will hopefully be making around 250kW once it’s been put together. Good tyres were always part of the plan, I just hope the sizes I want (205/55R15 front and 225/50R15 rear) aren’t too expensive.

(the 195/50R15s I got a quote for were $229ea)

208211     การสร้างแบบจํ าลองเรขาคณิตสํ าหรับการประยุกต์เชิงวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล     Geometric Modeling for Mechanical Engineering Application

ระบบสํ าหรับแคดในงานอุตสาหกรรม การใช้ซอฟต์แวร์พื้นฐานสํ าหรับแคด หลักการเขียนและการประยุกต์ใช้แบบจํ าลอง การระบุสัญลักษณ์ในแบบ งานท่อ งานเชื่อม ลักษณะเฉพาะของอุปกรณ์ยึด เกณฑ์ความคลาดเคลื่อน ความหยาบละเอียดของผิวงาน การเขียนแบบรายละเอียดและแบบประกอบ

(System for industrial CAD; basic software usage in CAD; principles and application of modeling; model annotation; piping, welding, fastener specification, tolerancing, surface texture; detail and assemble drawing.)

(208211 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208322     การสั่นเชิงกล     Mechanical Vibrations

ทฤษฎีของการสั่นแบบอิสระและแบบถูกแรงกระทํ าของระบบหนึ่ง ระดับขั้นความเสรีและหลายระดับขั้นความเสรี การหมุนที่ไม่ได้ดุล การควงของเพลา เครื่องมือวัดการสั่น การแยกการสั่นและการดูดกลืนการสั่น การประยุกต์ทางอุตสาหกรรม

(Theory of free and forced vibration of systems with one and more than one degree of freedom, application to unbalance rotating, whirling of shaft; vibration measuring instruments, vibration isolation and absorption, industry application.)

(208322 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208381     ปฏิบัติการวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล I     Mechanical Engineering Laboratory I

งานทดลองในด้านกลศาสตร์ของเครื่องจักรกล การควบคุมอัตโนมัติ วัสดุวิศวกรรม อุณหพลศาสตร์ และเครื่องยนต์เผาไหม้ภายใน

(Experimental work in the areas of mechanics of machinery, automatic control, engineering materials, thermodynamics and internal combustion engines.)

(208381 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208411     แคด แคม สํ าหรับวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล I     CAD CAM for Mechanical Engineering I

ฮาร์ดแวร์และซอฟต์แวร์สํ าหรับแคด แคม คํ าสั่งสํ าหรับการสร้างแบบจํ าลองสามมิติ การเขียนแบบรายละเอียดและการให้ขนาด การประกอบและตารางวัสดุ แคมสํ าหรับการกัดพื้นฐาน

(Hardware and software for CAD CAM, commands for creating three dimensional models, detail drawing and dimensioning, assembly and bill of materials, CAM for basic milling functions.)

(208411 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208412     แคด แคม สํ าหรับวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล II     CAD CAM for Mechanical Engineering II

การสร้างแบบจํ าลองของของแข็งและผิวที่ซับซ้อน การออกแบบงานแผ่นโลหะ การสร้างแบบจํ าลองและการวิเคราะห์ไฟไนต์เอลิเมนต์สํ าหรับโครงสร้างและการไหลของพลาสติก แคมสํ าหรับเครื่องตัดโลหะซีเอ็นซีด้วยลวดและเครื่องกลึงซีเอ็นซี แคมขั้นสูงสํ าหรับเครื่องกัดซีเอ็นซีการผลิตแผ่นโลหะ

(Complex solid and surface modeling, sheet metal design, finite element modeling and analysis for structure and plastic flow, CAM for CNC wire-cutting and CNC turning machines, advanced CAM for CNC milling machine, sheet metal manufacturing.)

(208412 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208413     แคด แคม สํ าหรับวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล III     CAD CAM for Mechanical Engineering II

การใช้แคด แคม สํ าหรับการออกแบบชิ้นส่วนทางเครื่องกล การออกแบบอุปกรณ์จับและยึดชิ้นงาน การออกแบบแม่พิมพ์สํ าหรับพอลิเมอร์และแผ่นโลหะ แคดสํ าหรับการวิเคราะห์ความเค้น ความเครียดและการสั่นสะเทือน การคาดคะเนพฤติกรรมของพอลิเมอร์และแผ่นโลหะในกรรมวิธีการผลิต

(Application of CAD CAM CAE for mechanical components design, jig and fixture design for polymers and sheet metal, CAE for stress-strain and vibation analysis, prediction of inprocess material behavior for polymer and sheet metal.)

(208413 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208472     เครื่องจักรกลซีเอ็นซีและการเขียนโปรแกรม     Computer Methods for Mechanical Engineering

ประเภทของเครื่องจักรกลซีเอ็นซี กระบวนการผลิตและการวางแผน เทคโนโลยีการตัดโลหะ การเขียนโปรแกรมซีเอ็นซีสํ าหรับเครื่องกลึงและเครื่องกัด

(Numerical methods in engineering problems, root of polynomials using Newton’s method, data interpolation, numerical integration and differentiation, numerical solution to ordinary differential equations, error and stability of each method, computer-aids analysis of mechanical systems.)

(208472 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208473     การใช้อิเล็กทรอนิกส์ในวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล     Practical electronics in Mechanical Engineering

อุปกรณ์ไฟฟ้าที่ใช้ทางเครื่องกล หลักการทํ างานของไดโอด แอลอีดี และทรานซิสเตอร์ หลักการเบื้องต้นของวงจรฟิลเตอร์ ไทม์เมอร์ คอมแพเรเตอร์และระบบดิจิทัล การนํ าออฟแอมป์และวงจรอินติเกรตมาประยุกต์ใช้ในการออกแบบวงจร การใช้รีเลย์ การอินเทอร์เฟสทรานสดิ้วเซอร์ การทํ างานของเซอโวแมคคานิซึม หลักการทํ างานของระบบต่าง ๆ ของโรบอติก

(Electrical instruments in mechanical systems; characteristics diodes, LED, and transistors; fundamental concepts of filters, time comparators and digital circuits; application and design us operational amplifiers, integrated circuits, relays, transdue interfacing and servomechanism; principles of robotic system.)

(208473 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208481     ปฏิบัติการวิศวกรรมเครื่องกลเฉพาะด้าน     Mechanical Engineering laboratory II

งานทดลองเฉพาะด้านกลุ่มวิชาวิศวกรรมยานยนต์ วิศวกรรมปรับอากาศวิศวกรรมพลังงาน วิศวกรรมการออกแบบและการผลิต วิศวกรรมการป้องกันอัคคีภัย และวิศวกรรมการออกแบบพลศาสตร์

(Experimental work in the areas of heat transfer, refrigeration, air conditioning, power plant engineering, energy conversion, fluid mechanics, and internal combustion engines.)

(208481 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

208495     การเตรียมการโครงงานวิศวกรรมเครื่องกล     Mechanical Engineering Projects Preparation

การจัดเตรียมข้อเสนอโครงงาน การตรวจเอกสารและรายงานความก้าวหน้า

(Preparation of project proposal, literature review and progress report.)

(208495 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)