Candles in the Bathroom

My wife likes candles because they smell good and are pretty. I see them in a much more practical manner. I realized that I can use the heat from the candle's flame to increase the surface temperature of the mirror and thereby increase the dew-point reducing the the fog that builds up during my shower. It works out great. I light the candle and place it next to the mirror, near the sink. When I am done, there is a nice, clear, vertical column for me to shave in the mirror, that is clear of fog, and the bathroom smells "nice." A real win-win situation.

Insangerous

What a great made-up word. Truly, it describes the actions of anyone who doubles the speed limit - they are insane and endanger others. Here are some examples:

1. Fastest Lap - I have never been to New York. I have know idea what the roads are like except through movies (Men in Black). That being said, driving around Manhattan in less that half an hour sounds fast. Looking at the approximate route he took, The route should take around 40 mintues averaging 36 mph (Google). The driver averaged 56 mph, topping out at 144 mph. Pretty good.

2. 520 Bridge - The speed limit is 60 and people commonly drive slower. The trooper believes the driver reached 150 mph; he averaged 137 mph while weaving through cars. I don't even think I can imagine what that looks like in my rear view mirror - approaching faster than cars if you were parked on the freeway. (Here would be the loop of Lake Washington)

Lastly, please don't drive this fast!!! Sign up to be a test pilot (for missles) or something else, that doesn't endanger others.

Google Chrome

When I see this logo, it always strikes me as odd. It is the normal Google colors I am use to seeing; so what makes it catch my attention as quirky? The other day, I finally figured it out - the colors are arranged clockwise. There is nothing wrong with the rotation being clockwise but the colors "start" on the left. That is where they start because I am familiar with green, yellow, & red on traffic lights.

Thinking more I guess Google's logo is working from stopped internet at the top (red), accelerating through yellow, and moving to green (go). This would make more sense with the direction arrows. Hmm maybe I can finally find peace with this conclusion.

BBQ Stall

In my Heat Transfer class in college, my teacher wanted us to start designing experiments. One student put a temperature probe in the freezer and plotted the temperature between the 30 minute compressor intervals. Although I would someday like to hook up my kitchen to do such tests, I think I will leave my wife alone - she makes great food.

A recent article revealed how to reduce how much meat dries out while cooking. The problem occurs during the temperature stall. The temperature of the meat stalls because the juices start to sweat out of the meat. As the juices burn off, evaporative cooling occurs, and cools the meat. The secret is to wrap the meat in foil at the beginning of the temperature stall.

Sorry this comes at the end of the cooking season. Best of luck next year.

Water Polo Math

For an water polo officiating class we were asked, "which is more damaging, a counter or an exclusion?" Here is the analysis:

Given:
A good team scores on 15% of normal possessions, 50% of counters, and 50% exclusions. (Note: for normal possessions, I am averaging the 6 goals of 30 possessions with the "rarely better than 10%).

Find - which is more damaging:
A contra at the start of possession would be worth (+0.50 goals) to the offended team and the offending team loses (-0.15 goals). The offended team gains (+0.35 goals) per possession. A contra at the end of the possession would be worth nothing since the shot clock is expiring anyway. On average a contra is worth (0.35+0)/2 = 0.175 goals to the offended team.

An ejection at the beginning of the possession would be worth ((exclusion-normal)+0.50-0.15 = 0.35 goals) and the offending team loses nothing. An ejection at the end of the possession, the offending team loses a possession (-0.15) and the offended team gains a possession (+0.50 goals). This gives a 0.65 goal advantage to the offended team. On average, then, the ejection is worth (0.65 + 0.35)/2 = 0.5 goals to the offended team.

Results:
Therefore, an exclusion is 2.85 time more damaging than a counter. Q.E.D.

Hack Me

How are your passwords? For the one's that count, I like to learn a new word in the dictionary, maybe even one in a foreign language.

To make sure your password isn't something too easy, check it against the NYTimes or common iPhone combinations.

Moving

Thinking about robotics, won't it be cool here in 10 years when you pick up your Uhaul with an exoskeleton. How cool would it be to lift and move the sofa, or entertainment center by yourself. Talk about manly. You could also spin it as do-it-yourself for women.