ABS Data Flawed

I quite like that noble institution, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a treasure trove of information used for such things as guiding public policy and business marketing decisions. I would be pleased to help them in any way I could if they just asked politely. I would even have told them of the Glaring error that even a none-statistician such as myself could not help but see in the last form they forced me to fill out - it was either deliberately designed to provide inaccurate data or put together by an entire team of imbeciles. ... if they just asked politely.
I received a letter this morning informing me that I had been selected to participate in an ABS survey that involved someone coming into my home and asking me questions, and later, a follow up phone interview (the logic of having both a face to face and tele-interview I have yet to understand). A little investigation led me to discover that participation was compulsory and I would be fined if I refused to comply.
This blatant contravention of basic human rights leads to something called resentment, resentment leads to participants sabotaging the data collection process in the only accessible way they have at their disposal - being frugal with the truth.
Yes, the information I will be supplying will be about as accurate as the last form they made me fill out under duress.
So if you find, after sifting through all those stats, that there is a single person in West Beach with a PhD thesis titled 'The Influence of Feminist Principles in Yak Husbandry', an income of 20 sqillion dollars a year, an IQ of 576 that also claims an all liquorice diet is the only true path to enlightenment and that he is regularly contacted by extra terrestrials ... some of it might just be true !
Off to dust off my copy of Mein Kamf and polish up the jackboots

Weekend Project 3

1/12 scale 10' dinghy

Plans for full size boat - off the net
Frame - Paddle Pop Sticks
Hull - Scrap Pine Veneer
Mast - Bamboo meat skewers
Fittings, Rudder Hinge etc. - Brass lace making pins
(they don't rust)
Sail - Plastic shopping bag
Finish - Many coats of Lacquer

Main Design consideration was keeping the
upper sections as light as possible - hence the
plastic and bamboo sail and mast, both having
an excellent strength to weight ratio.

Using POV-Ray for movie special effects

(Not for the mathematically challenged)
POV-Ray is still the best Ray tracer, there are many tutorials available to get you started and it is FREE. Get it here: http://www.povray.org/
The effect I wanted was the view from a helicopter as it was flying over a city but you could also use this technique for making documentaries based on old photos or for whatever else your imagination can dream up.
First I loaded an overhead picture of a city onto a plane (the geometric type) in POV-Ray then pointed POV-Ray's 'camera' at it. Next I worked out a starting and ending position for the camera, largely by trial and error, then used
POV-Ray's animation functions to output the rendered frames as a sequence of images. All that remained was to batch convert the images to .jpg and use a program like
JPGVideo http://www.ndrw.co.uk/ (also FREE) to make the sequence of images into a movie clip.

If you are unfamiliar with POV-Ray read the 'quickstart tutorial' then have a look through help for 'animation' and you'll have all the knowledge you need.

NOTE: Remember there are all those lighting and atmospheric effects at your disposal.

1950's Wessex Navy Helicopter

I needed a shot of myself climbing into a helicopter for a movie I was making. A quick call to the local Aviation Museum and the problem was solved - many thanks guys. And with a few SFX (see above) I was off into the wide blue yonder, on celluloid at least. And yes, the child within got a real buzz.

ILD (improvised lifting device)

We went crabbing last night at a nearby jetty. There's not much involved, just throw a baited trap over the side and haul it up every 10 or 15 minutes to remove the crabs. So there I was watching the trap slowly sink out of view in the greenish H2O below when an agitated young lady walked up beside me, said 'excuse me' and promptly tossed a bicycle over the side into the ocean, before stamping off. Being concerned with ocean pollution and being unable to resist a challenge I knew something had to be done. Having only limited means at my disposal; just a bucket, rope and a pair of clippers I quickly devised a hook by firmly tying the clippers to the end of the rope. Then it was just a matter of lowering the 'hook' into the water and raising the bike.

GLOBAL FLOWER DELIVERY

Another WebSite by CHRIS - Software Development & Design
GLOBAL FLOWER DELIVERY - Easy Selection - Speedy Delivery
betterflora.com
Start Sending Flowers
http://www.betterflora.com

Bicycle dual inner tube system

How to fit a dual tube system to a bicycle wheel that will enable you to deal with a puncture without having to remove the the wheel or need any tools other than a pump until you get home. When you get a puncture the second inner tube is sitting right there in the tyre waiting to be inflated.
CLICK HERE to learn how on instructables.com

No Rust

I bought myself a new bike - only $70, on special at K-Mart. It would have cost me more than that to
re-fit the tires, cables and brake pads on the old one which had just about been killed by rust anyway.

As we are seriously lacking in mountains here in Adelaide I take my mountain bike down the beach -
crashing through the surf over wave swept rocks, coursing through rivers etc.. The new bike was all
steel and chrome - add a little salt water and all you get is rust ! So I decided to water-proof it;
I painted every piece, every nut, bolt, washer and spring and every bit of chrome and steel with
Etching primer (+epoxy for extra sticking power) then several coats of enamel. All the bits painted
black in the factory got some extra enamel too as these tend to be susceptible to rust. Then all the
holes in the frame were siliconed up. Finally all the spaces between the axles and their housings were
packed solid with thick grease to ensure there was no space for water to flow - a foam insert was made
for the crank housing to reduce the amount of grease needed.
And yes - I know what you're thinking - I did get it all together again without any leftover bits.

ANOTHER WEBSITE

Another WebSite by CHRIS - Software Development & Design

The Neurological Council of South Australia

http://www.neurocouncil.org.au/

FREE SOFTWARE 3 - JavaScript DeBugger

A JavaScript DeBugger I wrote that is available here at Planet Source Code is now being used by the Weizmann Institue in the OOP module of their Life Sciences course.

Plasma Balls

Plasma Balls

After 10 years of faithful service the old microwave oven had rusted to the
point where it could start leaking rays at anytime, so I bought a new one.

What do with the old one ..... PLASMA BALLS - think amorphous blobs
of molten air. After the obligatory CD frying of course.

Here's what happens (or at least what I think - not my srongest subject so bear with me)
Blocked off the vents on the microwave. Broke off pieces of incense sticks and zapped
them on full power. These give off carbon vapour. The microwaves then zap the carbon
vapour molecules which makes them attracted to each other and get REALLY hot aswell.
Looks cool watching fireballs dance around inside the machine- see attached photos.

Got really hot in there after a while - the thick glass jars you see in the photos shattered.
Had to stop when the Microwave, after all the sides had buckled, started to smell
like it was burning. Didn't want to risk burning down the place. Sure warmed the place
up though.

And before you call the RSPCA for putting my offspring in mortal danger - we did it
all behind the safety of a Lexan / Plexiglass / whatever you call it in your part of the world /
screen which I just happen to have lying around for such occasions.

More Plasma Balls

News

Going to be busy for the next couple of weeks - any requests for work cannot be
attended to until after then.

Rapid Prototyper / 3D Printer 1

Two old, dead laserjets and a mercifully retired workstation - You see a
pile of rubbish but I think there's nearly enough bits in there to put together
a High Precision Rapid Prototyper / 3D Printer.
This one is going to take a while, will keep you updated.

Handy Hint 1

An electric blanket on the sofa / lounge / divan / settee / whatever you call it
in your part of the world, keeps you toasty warm during winter without putting
too much strain on your bank balance.

News

Another of my sites - Chris' Dating site - now has 645023 profiles in the database.
Take a look

FREE SOFTWARE 2

This is a small application I wrote that lets you type using just the mouse buttons to
enter a modified version of morse code. Why ? I hear you ask.
* Type into your notebook / laptop while it is safely in your backpack without
walking into things or falling down a deep hole.
* Works for injured or Differently abled people.
* With a little imagination, a screwdriver and some glue a $5 mouse could easily
and inexpensively be adapted to allow almost anyone to use it to communicate.

It is poorly documented and still has a lot more room for further development but
it is free. If you have any ideas about how it could be made more useful for you
send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

DOWNLOAD

Weekend Project 2

Paper Motorcycles - a free download from

Yamaha

Recognize This ?

If there is anyone out there that can send me any information about this figurine (19 cm / 7.5 inch high 'N.D DE MONTAIGU' written below figure), the Notre-Dame de Montaigu-Scherpenheuvel, the Basilica of Our Lady of Montaigu-Scherpenheuvel or the miraculous oak of Montaigu-Scherpenheuvel please contact me.

Weekend Project 1

LED light and mount - cheap pocket torch.
Case - cutdown toothbrush holder.
Battery holder (2 x AAA) & contacts - baked beans tin.
Bracket - coathanger.

Smoked Tasmanian Salmon

In Australia we eat smoked salmon everyday for breakfast !

FREE SOFTWARE 1 MP3 conversion

dBpowerAMP Music Converter Release 10 (Free previous version with unlimited MP3 conversion).
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/bin/dMC-r10.exe

Great App with all the bells and whistles - if you upgrade to a later version you'll have to pay for the privilege of full functionality !!!

NEWS

my site -
How to build a lovely iridescent Glow-In-The-Dark TOXIC GREEN chess set
LINK
featured on the eXtremely cool site http://www.hackaday.com

Just Testing

And here is a first test post
CHRIS Software Development & Design