Two Bad Tracks`
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
There are many schemes for integrating the "power" of a smartphone with traditional computer elements such as a keyboard and large sized monitor. As smart as those phones may be, they are not built for viewing by human eyes. LOL Connecting the desktop world to the mobile world can be done in a number of ways, but the heart of the matter is software. It's much like remote desktops where one machine controls what is seen/done at a remote location. Thus software has to be installed on both ends if you want to interact between a mobile device and another fully fledged computer. In the case of my Pixel cleverphone, I have an android app that connects to this desktop via the WiFi network. That is to say, the phone uses WiFi to get to the router and the router has a cable going to this desktop. Thus the two can communicate with each other on a peer to peer basis. The software is what determines the functionality. Windows 10 has a marvelous piece of software build in that allows for file transfers and remote control. My Android is not so marvelous but I can transfer files and do some instant messaging from the desktop to the phone. I like that feature because I can use a real keyboard to type those inane messages people like to send to each other. While that's cute, it's a stretch of a concept. I don't need my phone to engage in instant messaging. It can be done locally on the desktop or laptop. Businesses have better software than I do. They have card readers and printer capability, but the networking is the same. It can be done with Bluetooth, but WiFi is easier and more prevalent. The coolest feature of my phone is the near field capability. That's the rf signal that only works at a distance of about 2 cm. The purpose of it is to swipe your phone across a terminal in the store (a credit card reader) and things magically get paid for. In my case the payments can be handled by Google in lieu of my credit card. But then, I have to pay back Google eventually, and guess how that is done. LOL
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
My wife had an app on her Schmartz-Fone, the one before the one she has now.
She could scan the bar code on items as she put them into her cart, and it would keep track of the number of items.
Then when she got to the register it displayed something they scanned, then counted the items, and she pushed another button an the payment appeared on their cash register screen as completed. I think it only worked at Kroger though.
She thought it was novel only about three times of shopping there, then skipped doing it after that.
And now she has a new Schmartz-Fone that wouldn't handle that particular app, but no biggie, Kroger don't use it anymore either.
The man who delivers my O2 tanks and other things, has a Kindle, provided by the company, with all their delivery and pick-up stuff on it. When he delivers my tanks, he checks off that he delivered them, and checks off that he got the empty tanks back, and if he is delivering something else, he checks that off, then I sign the page. A copy of that page is sent to me via e-mail if I want a copy, which I don't. I was actually surprised they used a Kindle instead of a dedicated machine like most other places.
She could scan the bar code on items as she put them into her cart, and it would keep track of the number of items.
Then when she got to the register it displayed something they scanned, then counted the items, and she pushed another button an the payment appeared on their cash register screen as completed. I think it only worked at Kroger though.
She thought it was novel only about three times of shopping there, then skipped doing it after that.
And now she has a new Schmartz-Fone that wouldn't handle that particular app, but no biggie, Kroger don't use it anymore either.
The man who delivers my O2 tanks and other things, has a Kindle, provided by the company, with all their delivery and pick-up stuff on it. When he delivers my tanks, he checks off that he delivered them, and checks off that he got the empty tanks back, and if he is delivering something else, he checks that off, then I sign the page. A copy of that page is sent to me via e-mail if I want a copy, which I don't. I was actually surprised they used a Kindle instead of a dedicated machine like most other places.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
As you know Amazon is trying to create stores that don't require checkout staff. It's not surprising that they would juice up their Kindle brainchild to integrate with that kind of shopping. And, if it works for Amazon, why not for other people too? The software is likely up in the cloud to make it all seamless. Several companies are now handling merchandise payments designed for handling by mobile phones, or any other device you can swipe, touch, and otherwise enter data. Making that all happen, of course, requires the store to be geared up for it. Custom apps for individual shops and service providers might be the enticement to bring them into the cashless payment arena. It's an interesting way to handle business, and now that I think about it, I seldom use hard currency when I buy things. Last Christmas I took $100 out of the ATM machine at our bank and today I still have a bit more than $20 of it left in my pocket.
The next step, also something Amazon has it's fingers into, will be delivery by a robot in an autonomous vehicle instead of a live person driving a rental truck.
The next step, also something Amazon has it's fingers into, will be delivery by a robot in an autonomous vehicle instead of a live person driving a rental truck.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
I'm sure some day, stores won't take money anymore either. I think there are a few like that already.
The Kroger by us has tried all kinds of things, but only for short periods of time, then abandoned them.
For a while, they had scanners on each shopping cart. Then shortly before self-checkout, they had longer conveyors for you to space your products out on, and as the items passed by the scanners, it recorded them. You had to make sure the barcode was facing either side or the top though, and people just couldn't seem to do that right, hi hi.
I used to pay most things with cash, until I got this credit card that pays me cash back, and they deposit it into a savings account for me each time I'm over 25 bucks credits at the end of the month. My savings account is now over 1,400 bucks from cash back, and I don't do hardly any shopping myself.
I usually carry around 300 bucks on me at all times, and when I go to the ATM I always take out exactly 280 bucks, for a security reason.
A year or so ago, there was this company who would mount a box up on the eave of your house.
A drone could open the top and place a package inside. Then you could push a button and the box would lower itself down to you so you could take out the package, and then it would return back up to the eave again.
I think it was something UPS was considering, as they had a few trucks already with drones that delivered to outside your front door on the ground where packages could be easily stolen.
I don't think we will see autonomous vehicles in our lifetime, because of all the illegally marked roads.
But deliveries via drones is a very real possibility, even for pizza shop owners, hi hi.
I think the Rexall Pharmacy has been looking into drone delivery for some items also.
One thing that isn't national by a long shot, is an auto parts company who is making deliveries to like three or four automobile dealers by drone, but only up on the Motor Mile on the way to Alcoa. I only read about this in a local paper and that was before they did it, so I don't know if it ever happened or not.
We do have several photographers in our area using drones to take pictures, mainly of businesses to sell to those businesses.
My dad bought a picture done in 1945 or 46 of our florist taken from a hot air balloon.
And then later another picture at the same angle taken from a helicopter.
I myself took numerous pictures from a helicopter of our florist, and many sites along the way there and back.
The Kroger by us has tried all kinds of things, but only for short periods of time, then abandoned them.
For a while, they had scanners on each shopping cart. Then shortly before self-checkout, they had longer conveyors for you to space your products out on, and as the items passed by the scanners, it recorded them. You had to make sure the barcode was facing either side or the top though, and people just couldn't seem to do that right, hi hi.
I used to pay most things with cash, until I got this credit card that pays me cash back, and they deposit it into a savings account for me each time I'm over 25 bucks credits at the end of the month. My savings account is now over 1,400 bucks from cash back, and I don't do hardly any shopping myself.
I usually carry around 300 bucks on me at all times, and when I go to the ATM I always take out exactly 280 bucks, for a security reason.
A year or so ago, there was this company who would mount a box up on the eave of your house.
A drone could open the top and place a package inside. Then you could push a button and the box would lower itself down to you so you could take out the package, and then it would return back up to the eave again.
I think it was something UPS was considering, as they had a few trucks already with drones that delivered to outside your front door on the ground where packages could be easily stolen.
I don't think we will see autonomous vehicles in our lifetime, because of all the illegally marked roads.
But deliveries via drones is a very real possibility, even for pizza shop owners, hi hi.
I think the Rexall Pharmacy has been looking into drone delivery for some items also.
One thing that isn't national by a long shot, is an auto parts company who is making deliveries to like three or four automobile dealers by drone, but only up on the Motor Mile on the way to Alcoa. I only read about this in a local paper and that was before they did it, so I don't know if it ever happened or not.
We do have several photographers in our area using drones to take pictures, mainly of businesses to sell to those businesses.
My dad bought a picture done in 1945 or 46 of our florist taken from a hot air balloon.
And then later another picture at the same angle taken from a helicopter.
I myself took numerous pictures from a helicopter of our florist, and many sites along the way there and back.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Up where I lived near Chicago there were real estate companies using drones to photograph properties they were listing. If I recall correctly there also was some sort of wedding photographer doing something similar. At the moment photo reconnaissance seems to be what drones are used for most often, but as the package delivery people demonstrate there are many other possibilities. I think it's Elon Musk who is developing a battery powered semi-tractor trailer that is sans human drivers. The trials are on a special strip of road between two specific depots, but I believe the connecting road is actually a public highway. There are buses of a similar ilk being used in Scandinavia; Norway I think. In any case these are all very small operations with a huge potential for the future. Our life expectancies are on the short end, but I don't think it will be too long before automatons will be cruising the streets and highways with regularity. The driving force, of course, will be cost. I think Uber had this in mind with their fleet of self driving vehicles. Sadly one got involved with a fatality and now Uber sold the project to somebody else. So much for saving labor costs.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
As far as I know, all of the Interstate Highways are properly marked, so it is possible for an automatonic car or truck to follow the route without problems. They can probably exit the highway into a parking area where a real driver will have to drive it to its stop.
I saw on Farcebook where they were testing a small electric car with driver assist, etc. It wouldn't let the driver move across the double yellow line to avoid an area where the edge of the road had caved in. Needless to say, the car ended up on it's side in the creek, hi hi.
I don't remember which state it was where a city who had several delivery companies testing drones, passed some legislation that the spinning blades of the drone must be completely shielded with no larger than 1/4 inch holes or screening, and a solid guard had to be around the entire unit, not just the blades, but around the blades also.
There was also something about how fast it must land safely in the event of a low battery condition. They didn't want them come crashing down carrying a ten to twenty pound load on somebodies head. Also, the owner could be fined heavily if it landed on a roadway, car, or person, even if accidentally.
The drones UPS was testing not only had open blades, they also carried 20 pound loads, making the whole unit around 50 pounds.
I saw on Farcebook where they were testing a small electric car with driver assist, etc. It wouldn't let the driver move across the double yellow line to avoid an area where the edge of the road had caved in. Needless to say, the car ended up on it's side in the creek, hi hi.
I don't remember which state it was where a city who had several delivery companies testing drones, passed some legislation that the spinning blades of the drone must be completely shielded with no larger than 1/4 inch holes or screening, and a solid guard had to be around the entire unit, not just the blades, but around the blades also.
There was also something about how fast it must land safely in the event of a low battery condition. They didn't want them come crashing down carrying a ten to twenty pound load on somebodies head. Also, the owner could be fined heavily if it landed on a roadway, car, or person, even if accidentally.
The drones UPS was testing not only had open blades, they also carried 20 pound loads, making the whole unit around 50 pounds.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Drones and robots bring up a whole new can, or multiple cans, of worms. There are not many existing laws to govern them because there are not that many bots out in the wild. Then there are the liability problems. Who is responsible for what? At the moment it's all in a state of flux, but things can move quickly once they know what direction they are moving in. I think the appeal to replace human activity with mechanical equivalents currently exists. The bots and drones are extensions of real life people and once that can be monetized we will all be stunned by how quickly things develop.
I saw an interesting video the other day where they were teaching robots how to build houses. The one I looked at showed robots putting up drywall. These were mostly full sheets being attached to studs and they didn't get into a lot of detail, such as how the cut outs are made, or how do they mount partial sheets. It was all pretty interesting nonetheless.
I saw an interesting video the other day where they were teaching robots how to build houses. The one I looked at showed robots putting up drywall. These were mostly full sheets being attached to studs and they didn't get into a lot of detail, such as how the cut outs are made, or how do they mount partial sheets. It was all pretty interesting nonetheless.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Back when I was flying model RC airplanes, I had to have insurance on them to use any of the flying fields in the area.
Homeowners insurance will cover an accident on your own property, but not if you send something off your property and it does damage to someone else or their property. I know that because one of my sons rockets failed to deploy the parachute and it made a dent on the trunk lid of a neighbors car. I had to pay to have that dent fixed. It was less than the size of a dime, but it still cost a goodly amount, they had to repaint the entire trunk lid to get a proper paint match.
Although it wasn't exactly a robot per say, I watched this machine install 5/8 drywall on the ceiling of a restaurant. It didn't do the whole job, it lifted it, added like six or eight screws, then moved on while another platform with workers added the rest of the screws to that sheet. By the time they were done, it was time to screw up the next sheet. I guess basically it was only a lift with a couple of rows of power screw drivers. Even so, it sure saved a lot of work.
I have also seen machines that paint murals on walls, worked like an ink jet printer sorta, only using paint.
Homeowners insurance will cover an accident on your own property, but not if you send something off your property and it does damage to someone else or their property. I know that because one of my sons rockets failed to deploy the parachute and it made a dent on the trunk lid of a neighbors car. I had to pay to have that dent fixed. It was less than the size of a dime, but it still cost a goodly amount, they had to repaint the entire trunk lid to get a proper paint match.
Although it wasn't exactly a robot per say, I watched this machine install 5/8 drywall on the ceiling of a restaurant. It didn't do the whole job, it lifted it, added like six or eight screws, then moved on while another platform with workers added the rest of the screws to that sheet. By the time they were done, it was time to screw up the next sheet. I guess basically it was only a lift with a couple of rows of power screw drivers. Even so, it sure saved a lot of work.
I have also seen machines that paint murals on walls, worked like an ink jet printer sorta, only using paint.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
The bots I saw lifted the drywall sheets from a pile, carried them over to a wall, aligned them, and then screwed them into place. I guess that saves a lot of the heavy work, but to me the finishing is the most laborious part of installing drywall. Teaching bots to do that would truly be an advance in technology.
I never thought about the liabilities involved with flying RC models. Some of the ones I've seen were pretty big and heavy. All I ever did was control line flying, and I wasn't all the great doing that either. Then, too, I was a kid and probably didn't have the same liability risks as my parents did.
I never thought about the liabilities involved with flying RC models. Some of the ones I've seen were pretty big and heavy. All I ever did was control line flying, and I wasn't all the great doing that either. Then, too, I was a kid and probably didn't have the same liability risks as my parents did.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
I got second place in a county wide control-line plane race. I probably would have taken first place if the guy to my right went over instead of under and our lines got twisted. He did that to catch the last streamer of the guy I was bearing down on. On the bright side, he did the same thing in another race and got disqualified, hi hi.
I'm sure you remember all the sizes of ThimbleDrone Engines, from PeeWee up to their largest.
After I moved up I went with Enya 45 and Veco 61 engines for my RC planes.
Amazing how I remembered that, all of a sudden, since I tend to forget everything else, hi hi.
The hardest RC plane I few was an RC Nobler, it had a straight wing, no dihedral for stability.
But it flew upside down just as easily as right side up though.
I never did get good at doing stunts.
I did build several RC Boats, some of them quite huge too.
One was a an RC sailing ship, no motor, you had to rely on the wind and how you adjusted the sails.
My second RC sailing ship did have an emergency rescue motor in it though. Because the small models don't work like a real ship, the wind can carry them away regardless of how you have the sails set. This makes the dual sail ships much easier to control.
I would imagine those drywall bots used vacuum suction cups to pick up and hold the sheets.
I wonder what happens when they hit studs that are not properly spaced, like around a window, or an extra stud for a switch, etc.
I'm sure you remember all the sizes of ThimbleDrone Engines, from PeeWee up to their largest.
After I moved up I went with Enya 45 and Veco 61 engines for my RC planes.
Amazing how I remembered that, all of a sudden, since I tend to forget everything else, hi hi.
The hardest RC plane I few was an RC Nobler, it had a straight wing, no dihedral for stability.
But it flew upside down just as easily as right side up though.
I never did get good at doing stunts.
I did build several RC Boats, some of them quite huge too.
One was a an RC sailing ship, no motor, you had to rely on the wind and how you adjusted the sails.
My second RC sailing ship did have an emergency rescue motor in it though. Because the small models don't work like a real ship, the wind can carry them away regardless of how you have the sails set. This makes the dual sail ships much easier to control.
I would imagine those drywall bots used vacuum suction cups to pick up and hold the sheets.
I wonder what happens when they hit studs that are not properly spaced, like around a window, or an extra stud for a switch, etc.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
I had a big interest in building model airplanes, but I think you had a lot more practical experience with them than I did. One of my school mates lived with a family that owned a hobby shop so that he became one of my best buddies. In fact he is the one who encouraged me to build flying models. It might have had something to do with promoting their business too. LOL I made a few model planes and boats that they bought back from me to display in the shop. I was pretty proud of those models, and of course would buy that many more; most of which they did not buy back. I might have enjoyed building RC model boats if we had a place nearby to launch them. Most of the planes I built had a fiery end to their life. LOL Boats would have lasted longer.
I've tried finding that clip about the robots putting up drywall, but it's gone forever. In think it was on Mashable, but I'm not sure. They didn't show all the fine work required in most cases, and it didn't look like they used suction to hold the panels either. Also, I don't know how they found the studs. Perhaps they only drilled a few screw, enough to hold the panel to the wall. Then, too, these machine looked clever enough to have stud finders built into their arms.
I've tried finding that clip about the robots putting up drywall, but it's gone forever. In think it was on Mashable, but I'm not sure. They didn't show all the fine work required in most cases, and it didn't look like they used suction to hold the panels either. Also, I don't know how they found the studs. Perhaps they only drilled a few screw, enough to hold the panel to the wall. Then, too, these machine looked clever enough to have stud finders built into their arms.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
I've built many boats, some quite elaborate, that I never intended on putting in water anywhere. Mantle pieces!
When I first started hanging drywall, you wouldn't believe the rules that applied in each county, and how different they were.
In one county, on ceilings you had to use two nails, angled about 30 degrees away from each other, and place each pair of nails at 8 inch intervals, screws were not allowed. Move over one county and nails were not allowed, only screws on ceilings and they had to be no further apart than 12 inches, plus some rules about how deep they could be sunk so it didn't damage the paper face.
Did some work in a neighborhood, a small village actually, that had their own rules. Before you could put up the drywall, this tacky tar soaked felt strip had to be placed on each stud, then one screw, and two nails, 1 inch apart, and every 12 inches along a stud. This was for both ceilings and walls. Screen type of joint tape, and the heavy joint compound, no light compounds allowed. Although you could use some light compound over the heavy as a final coat.
As an aside: Due to the plaster Unions, early drywall had to be perforated, so a skim coat of plaster had to be placed over it.
I hit many houses that had this type of drywall in my remodeling days. I also hit some houses that used a fiberboard that did not contain gypsum at all, and you were not allowed to tape the joints at all at the time. My first father in laws house was like this. I went ahead and taped a room to see if it would cause any problems. Five years later, still no cracks, so I did the rest of his house for him. A decade later, still no cracks. So I have a hunch it had something to do with Union influence at the time it was in use.
I've also done tons of lath and plaster jobs too, in those historic homes. Including the lath, screens, and plaster. I got pretty good at it if I don't say so myself.
When I first started hanging drywall, you wouldn't believe the rules that applied in each county, and how different they were.
In one county, on ceilings you had to use two nails, angled about 30 degrees away from each other, and place each pair of nails at 8 inch intervals, screws were not allowed. Move over one county and nails were not allowed, only screws on ceilings and they had to be no further apart than 12 inches, plus some rules about how deep they could be sunk so it didn't damage the paper face.
Did some work in a neighborhood, a small village actually, that had their own rules. Before you could put up the drywall, this tacky tar soaked felt strip had to be placed on each stud, then one screw, and two nails, 1 inch apart, and every 12 inches along a stud. This was for both ceilings and walls. Screen type of joint tape, and the heavy joint compound, no light compounds allowed. Although you could use some light compound over the heavy as a final coat.
As an aside: Due to the plaster Unions, early drywall had to be perforated, so a skim coat of plaster had to be placed over it.
I hit many houses that had this type of drywall in my remodeling days. I also hit some houses that used a fiberboard that did not contain gypsum at all, and you were not allowed to tape the joints at all at the time. My first father in laws house was like this. I went ahead and taped a room to see if it would cause any problems. Five years later, still no cracks, so I did the rest of his house for him. A decade later, still no cracks. So I have a hunch it had something to do with Union influence at the time it was in use.
I've also done tons of lath and plaster jobs too, in those historic homes. Including the lath, screens, and plaster. I got pretty good at it if I don't say so myself.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Oh my ... lath and plaster. I have some experience with that stuff. About a 2' x 3' section of wall in our first house was damaged and needed replacement. The ceiling above it too needed work, but we called a pro into do that job. There were at least two kinds of plaster, maybe three, needed to make a wall from lathing. The friendly Ace Hardware dude helped me at the time and sold me about twenty times more material than I needed for the patch. LOL I did a fair job as I recall but not as good as the original. Fortunately it didn't matter because we put wallpaper over it and my imperfections didn't show.
I bet you are one of those guys who build a replica of the Cutty Sark, aren't you?
I bet you are one of those guys who build a replica of the Cutty Sark, aren't you?
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
You are correct! Over the lath goes a heavy sand coat, over the sand coat goes a scratch coat, and over the scratch coat goes the fine white plaster. But then in the current age, we keep the the final white plaster coat shallow and finish up with the heavy type of drywall mud, using doing a skim coat over the whole wall or ceiling, but not all the time. Can't get by with that in a home they are keeping historical. Although we are allowed some leniency on the plaster decorative moldings. and in some cases on the wood moldings also. We can make a mold using a piece of naugahide and auto body putty, from a good area, the fill the mold with plaster of paris to replace the broken out section. It's still a lot more work than it sounds like, hi hi.
The hardest ship I built was called the Flying Cloud. Took me almost a year to complete working on it for at least an hour a day.
It looks about like the Cutty Sark, except the Cutty Sark I built, most of the canvas was not unfurled and ballooned out like on the Flying Cloud. But they were both basically the same design. The easiest to build, and the largest one, was the Maltese Falcon. Did it in under 3 weeks, all the parts were pre-cut and finished. Although most were kits, all you got was the wood and a roll of canvas, of which you had to cut your own sails out, sand down the wood pieces, and carve in the areas of relief. I did buy one I never finished at all, because it was intended for a wood carver I assume. All I got was a block of basswood and a bunch of wooden dowels of various sizes. The blueprints to build it were plain enough and easy to follow, IF you are a wood carver, hi hi.
There wasn't a whole lot to the ones I built for use in water. Most were just plastic, or plastic and wood kits, easy assembly. Most came with the motor, and some with RC receiver for a specific range of controllers.
Don't laugh, I built a couple of cigar boats that used a CO2 cartridge to shoot it across the lake, hi hi. But both had a small motor and simple RC circuit to get it back to your shore. Most of them only had a 1 button RC Transmitter. Hit the button once to start the motor and make it go straight. Once it was running, if you hit the button again it would turn right momentarily, then return to straight, hit the button twice and it would turn left momentarily, then return to straight. There was no on/off switch on the transmitter, it worked more like a garage door key fob. I didn't have this boat for very long, it hit a small wave, bounced a bit then nosedived into the water. You could see the bubbles from the CO2 cartridge as it moved away, but it never came back to the surface. I figure it either got stuck in mud or hit something under the water or ran into a sunken bush or something. It should have floated back up, but never did.
And I already mentioned the RC ones that used sails you controlled. They were more of a pain than they were worth.
The hardest ship I built was called the Flying Cloud. Took me almost a year to complete working on it for at least an hour a day.
It looks about like the Cutty Sark, except the Cutty Sark I built, most of the canvas was not unfurled and ballooned out like on the Flying Cloud. But they were both basically the same design. The easiest to build, and the largest one, was the Maltese Falcon. Did it in under 3 weeks, all the parts were pre-cut and finished. Although most were kits, all you got was the wood and a roll of canvas, of which you had to cut your own sails out, sand down the wood pieces, and carve in the areas of relief. I did buy one I never finished at all, because it was intended for a wood carver I assume. All I got was a block of basswood and a bunch of wooden dowels of various sizes. The blueprints to build it were plain enough and easy to follow, IF you are a wood carver, hi hi.
There wasn't a whole lot to the ones I built for use in water. Most were just plastic, or plastic and wood kits, easy assembly. Most came with the motor, and some with RC receiver for a specific range of controllers.
Don't laugh, I built a couple of cigar boats that used a CO2 cartridge to shoot it across the lake, hi hi. But both had a small motor and simple RC circuit to get it back to your shore. Most of them only had a 1 button RC Transmitter. Hit the button once to start the motor and make it go straight. Once it was running, if you hit the button again it would turn right momentarily, then return to straight, hit the button twice and it would turn left momentarily, then return to straight. There was no on/off switch on the transmitter, it worked more like a garage door key fob. I didn't have this boat for very long, it hit a small wave, bounced a bit then nosedived into the water. You could see the bubbles from the CO2 cartridge as it moved away, but it never came back to the surface. I figure it either got stuck in mud or hit something under the water or ran into a sunken bush or something. It should have floated back up, but never did.
And I already mentioned the RC ones that used sails you controlled. They were more of a pain than they were worth.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
I think I know the Flying Cloud boat of which you speak. Back in the early days of my youth I smoked a pipe. One of my favorite brands of tobacco was ... Flying Cloud. They had a picture of the ship on the tin and the tobacco was better than most others. I don't recall ever seeing a model of that ship but there must have been more than a few people building them.
I knew one fellow who spent way too much time on his ships. Almost all the parts were working. He went into great detail painting the models too, even as far as putting mustaches on those 1/4th inch tall crew members that came with the kit. I don't think he carved wood, but his work was a step above the rest of the model builders. This guy also had a ship inside a bottle. He claimed he built it but would not divulge how. I didn't see any seams on the bottle, but I think he was good enough to hide them if there were any.
I knew one fellow who spent way too much time on his ships. Almost all the parts were working. He went into great detail painting the models too, even as far as putting mustaches on those 1/4th inch tall crew members that came with the kit. I don't think he carved wood, but his work was a step above the rest of the model builders. This guy also had a ship inside a bottle. He claimed he built it but would not divulge how. I didn't see any seams on the bottle, but I think he was good enough to hide them if there were any.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Our local hobby shop, back in the sixties, had nearly a million different model kits in stock. Including those no longer made. They had metal kits, plastic kits, wood kits, etc. If it was ever made, they probably had it. A lot of the inventory was not replaced around the time the slot car phase rolled around, but he also had the largest selection of them anywhere too.
It was just a shame when he retired and his son took over and drove the business into the ground due to drugs and occult activities.
I have made two ships in bottles, the first was fairly easy, because the ship was built outside the bottle, then folded to get it into the bottle, once inside you held it in place with a stick and pulled a string for it to open back up again.
The second one was much harder because you used long skinny tools provided in the kit to actual build the ship inside the bottle.
My problem was, I would either drop a piece or hit the glass inside while placing a part, and then have glue on the inside of the glass. A few times I didn't hold the piece long enough for the glue to set up properly, and it leaned over during the night, hi hi.
My whole room smelled of Acetone from cleaning up my mistakes, hi hi.
The neck on the second bottle was really tiny, so the hull itself was set in place in three pieces. I did learn a trick of using small foam rubber pieces inside the bottle to hold things together until the glue dried. We only had Oil of Mustard glue back then, no super glues yet, hi hi. Oil of Mustard glue is the best for gluing plastic pieces, but takes longer to dry on wood for some reason.
This is going to sound crazy, but when I was into model railroading, I was more into the sculpture work to make it look real.
Laying in some plaster then carving it out to look like a stone or rock wall. I used to take pictures of places to use, and then have the picture sized to the scale of my layout. This made it much easier to get things looking more realistic.
I had hundreds of pictures of my train layout, and lost all of them in the first flood. I was really sad about that.
It was just a shame when he retired and his son took over and drove the business into the ground due to drugs and occult activities.
I have made two ships in bottles, the first was fairly easy, because the ship was built outside the bottle, then folded to get it into the bottle, once inside you held it in place with a stick and pulled a string for it to open back up again.
The second one was much harder because you used long skinny tools provided in the kit to actual build the ship inside the bottle.
My problem was, I would either drop a piece or hit the glass inside while placing a part, and then have glue on the inside of the glass. A few times I didn't hold the piece long enough for the glue to set up properly, and it leaned over during the night, hi hi.
My whole room smelled of Acetone from cleaning up my mistakes, hi hi.
The neck on the second bottle was really tiny, so the hull itself was set in place in three pieces. I did learn a trick of using small foam rubber pieces inside the bottle to hold things together until the glue dried. We only had Oil of Mustard glue back then, no super glues yet, hi hi. Oil of Mustard glue is the best for gluing plastic pieces, but takes longer to dry on wood for some reason.
This is going to sound crazy, but when I was into model railroading, I was more into the sculpture work to make it look real.
Laying in some plaster then carving it out to look like a stone or rock wall. I used to take pictures of places to use, and then have the picture sized to the scale of my layout. This made it much easier to get things looking more realistic.
I had hundreds of pictures of my train layout, and lost all of them in the first flood. I was really sad about that.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Of all the documentaries I've seen on television I do not recall seeing one showing how to build a ship inside a bottle. My guess is that if I went over to YouTube today I would find several. LOL Ships in a bottle always seemed fake to me, but I guess there are ways to do it.
I never heard of glue made from oil of mustard so that I was curious enough to look it up on my friend Google. Apparently as an essential oil it has some health benefits associated with it, but it has been banned in the USA as an item for human consumption. It also has some negative side effects. I've not found reference to it being a component of plastic glue, but why not?
The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry at one time has a model railroad on display. It was some large gauge model and took up a lot of space. Anyway, it seemed like a lot to me as a kid. I think Marshall Fields downtown Chicago also had one equally impressive they put up for Christmas. Somewhere in my teens I attempted an HO gauge railroad on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. After about six months and very little progress I lost interest. I wasn't that good with plaster and it showed. LOL
I never heard of glue made from oil of mustard so that I was curious enough to look it up on my friend Google. Apparently as an essential oil it has some health benefits associated with it, but it has been banned in the USA as an item for human consumption. It also has some negative side effects. I've not found reference to it being a component of plastic glue, but why not?
The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry at one time has a model railroad on display. It was some large gauge model and took up a lot of space. Anyway, it seemed like a lot to me as a kid. I think Marshall Fields downtown Chicago also had one equally impressive they put up for Christmas. Somewhere in my teens I attempted an HO gauge railroad on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. After about six months and very little progress I lost interest. I wasn't that good with plaster and it showed. LOL
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Well here is one short minute and a half video showing how it is done.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+ ... KBy7WYBA15
When we were growing up, model airplane glues, like the one the kids were sniffing, Testor's brand was the first to add oil of mustard to deter kids from sniffing the glue. I guess my original comment was misleading. Every tube of airplane glue clearly stated on the label, contains oil of mustard. Since that was the only ingredients listed, I wrongly assumed that is what airplane glue was.
My dad built us kids a Lionel Train Layout that took up about 100 sq. ft. if not more. It was fun to play with as a kid, and we had almost everything Lionel made, from the huge transformers to the fully operational cars. But Lionel, as popular as it was, just didn't look real.
When I got a room of my own in our old house is when I started modeling using HO trains. This is where I did most of the plaster and paper mache designs.
Right before we moved from that house, my dad sold the entire Lionel set to a former employee for probably about 1/10th of what it was worth. Mine was not movable the way I had built it. Nevertheless, some guy knew came in with a cutzall and sawed it into like 4 sections, without hurting any of the really hard worked areas. He was supposed to move it to the new house for us and set it back up again. But he made dad an offer for it and he took it, and gave me about half of the money, even though I'm the one who paid for everything to do with it. But then it was better than just leaving it with the house.
When I lived in grandma's old house, I did come up with an old used O gauge train set, ironically from a restaurant that was closing and/or remodeling. A few of the grocery stores had O gauge trains running above the cash register areas at the time too.
I got plenty of track when I bought my set, but none of the suspension materials it was on originally. So I went out and bought some simple angle irons I mounted to the wall in one of the larger center rooms of the house. I then had to buy J-channels to put between the angle irons, and finally I could set the track up. At first I let the thing run while I was home, then after a while, due to the maintenance, I would only run it when we had company over. Even so, I had to replace the motor in the engine at least three times in the five years I owned it. One fellow told me I was pulling way to many cars with it, they were only designed to pull four to six cars, not fourteen cars that I was pulling, and that is why the motors were burning out so fast.
I did sell it right before I moved to Creve Coeur for more than triple what I paid for it. But they got everything, with it.
Now at my house in Creve Coeur, I got back into HO, but not as a hobby, but more as a decoration Idea I got from Jack Benny's Rochester. Rochester had an HO layout that ran all throughout his house, and out into the yard as well. Needless to say, I didn't get that elaborate. But my HO train did run from room to room following the perimeter of the house inside, except for the kitchen.
It only took a small hole in the drywall for the track and train to pass through the walls of each room. I only had it up probably about six or seven years, until I started doing a lot of remodeling. Gave it all to my step-son Joshua who set up a train room in the basement. He only played with it for about two years, so I decided to sell what I had left of everything. Didn't get much, maybe a hundred bucks is all. I too lost interest in that hobby, but mainly because of having to work so hard and not having enough hours in the day to do the things I really needed to be doing.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+ ... KBy7WYBA15
When we were growing up, model airplane glues, like the one the kids were sniffing, Testor's brand was the first to add oil of mustard to deter kids from sniffing the glue. I guess my original comment was misleading. Every tube of airplane glue clearly stated on the label, contains oil of mustard. Since that was the only ingredients listed, I wrongly assumed that is what airplane glue was.
My dad built us kids a Lionel Train Layout that took up about 100 sq. ft. if not more. It was fun to play with as a kid, and we had almost everything Lionel made, from the huge transformers to the fully operational cars. But Lionel, as popular as it was, just didn't look real.
When I got a room of my own in our old house is when I started modeling using HO trains. This is where I did most of the plaster and paper mache designs.
Right before we moved from that house, my dad sold the entire Lionel set to a former employee for probably about 1/10th of what it was worth. Mine was not movable the way I had built it. Nevertheless, some guy knew came in with a cutzall and sawed it into like 4 sections, without hurting any of the really hard worked areas. He was supposed to move it to the new house for us and set it back up again. But he made dad an offer for it and he took it, and gave me about half of the money, even though I'm the one who paid for everything to do with it. But then it was better than just leaving it with the house.
When I lived in grandma's old house, I did come up with an old used O gauge train set, ironically from a restaurant that was closing and/or remodeling. A few of the grocery stores had O gauge trains running above the cash register areas at the time too.
I got plenty of track when I bought my set, but none of the suspension materials it was on originally. So I went out and bought some simple angle irons I mounted to the wall in one of the larger center rooms of the house. I then had to buy J-channels to put between the angle irons, and finally I could set the track up. At first I let the thing run while I was home, then after a while, due to the maintenance, I would only run it when we had company over. Even so, I had to replace the motor in the engine at least three times in the five years I owned it. One fellow told me I was pulling way to many cars with it, they were only designed to pull four to six cars, not fourteen cars that I was pulling, and that is why the motors were burning out so fast.
I did sell it right before I moved to Creve Coeur for more than triple what I paid for it. But they got everything, with it.
Now at my house in Creve Coeur, I got back into HO, but not as a hobby, but more as a decoration Idea I got from Jack Benny's Rochester. Rochester had an HO layout that ran all throughout his house, and out into the yard as well. Needless to say, I didn't get that elaborate. But my HO train did run from room to room following the perimeter of the house inside, except for the kitchen.
It only took a small hole in the drywall for the track and train to pass through the walls of each room. I only had it up probably about six or seven years, until I started doing a lot of remodeling. Gave it all to my step-son Joshua who set up a train room in the basement. He only played with it for about two years, so I decided to sell what I had left of everything. Didn't get much, maybe a hundred bucks is all. I too lost interest in that hobby, but mainly because of having to work so hard and not having enough hours in the day to do the things I really needed to be doing.
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
Oh yes ... I remember those glue sniffers. LOL I didn't recall that they did something to the glue to stop that, but apparently you have a better memory than I do. Personally I never understood the attraction to sniffing glue. It was pretty offensive to my nose and I couldn't see how anybody would derive joy from its high.
Thanks for sharing the clip about ship building. I had an idea how the string pulling would work, but my curiosity wasn't about that method. Building a ship in a bottle from scratch obviously can be done, but you got to have nerves of steel to do it. Personally I think I could do brain surgery better. LOL
The first house I owned was part of a town that had a 1950's style ice cream parlor called The Sugar Bowl. It was an amazing place and had the best ice cream I ever tasted. There was seating at a counter where I enjoyed some of the best banana splits of my life, but they also had booths in an adjoining room. The room with the booths also had a train running around near the ceiling. Then, a couple doors down from this ice cream parlor was the Choo Choo Restaurant. It was all sit at the counter type thing. At the inner edge of the counter was model train tracks and a train that delivered your order. It was mostly hamburgers and not all that great either, but the idea of the Choo Choo train delivery system was a brilliancy. Did I mention both of these places were across from the train station of the Chicago and Northwestern railway?
I had an America Flyer train set and never did take a liking to Lionel. Those third rails just didn't seem right. LOL
Thanks for sharing the clip about ship building. I had an idea how the string pulling would work, but my curiosity wasn't about that method. Building a ship in a bottle from scratch obviously can be done, but you got to have nerves of steel to do it. Personally I think I could do brain surgery better. LOL
The first house I owned was part of a town that had a 1950's style ice cream parlor called The Sugar Bowl. It was an amazing place and had the best ice cream I ever tasted. There was seating at a counter where I enjoyed some of the best banana splits of my life, but they also had booths in an adjoining room. The room with the booths also had a train running around near the ceiling. Then, a couple doors down from this ice cream parlor was the Choo Choo Restaurant. It was all sit at the counter type thing. At the inner edge of the counter was model train tracks and a train that delivered your order. It was mostly hamburgers and not all that great either, but the idea of the Choo Choo train delivery system was a brilliancy. Did I mention both of these places were across from the train station of the Chicago and Northwestern railway?
I had an America Flyer train set and never did take a liking to Lionel. Those third rails just didn't seem right. LOL
Re: Two Bad Tracks`
I didn't mind the smell of model airplane glue, but I sure wouldn't be sniffing it on purpose, hi hi.
It really isn't that hard once you get the hang of it.
Then you can build them inside of something with a small neck, like soda bottle size neck.
Here is one trick I used that made it even easier.
Instead of using two separate sticks, I used a pair of sticks with a band of tape around them, but no adhesive on the first turn of tape so the two sticks could slide, sorta like a slide rule in a way.
To place a mast on a ship, you have to feed it in long ways, then turn it upright.
Most folks use a single pin stick to hold it, and another stick to turn it vertical, which is tedious because you are forever moving to far or not enough. By using two pin sticks tied together, you can just slide one stick to make the mast vertical and it will stay that way, making it much easier to hold just right for the glue to set.
A pin stick is a stick with a pin with the head cut off stuck in the top end and bent 90 degrees so the point is usable to hold other small balsa parts.
In the flower business, we used to place dried arrangements inside of bottles, jugs, and even a clear base of a table lamp.
And we also did some amazing terrariums for folks too. The thing about terrariums with small necks is you can sell the tools required to care for them, and this is where the profits came from, hi hi. Folks were amazed at the number of tools we had to offer for working on terrariums. Most did look like surgical tools, but then they were made for us by Storz medical equipment supply, hi hi.
We had a diner that was made inside a railroad caboose. It sat on tracks too. The staff wore like different uniforms one would find in a train. The owner had the neatest conductors outfit. The cooks were dressed more like ticket vendors, and the wait staff was dressed like the coachmen or coachwomen as the case may be. The bowl your food was delivered to your table in was like a boxcar or coal car with no top. Drinks were delivered in a tank car with a hole for the glass to sit in. But they were delivered to you across the counter, not on tracks. If I recall, this place was in Rock HIll, or Glendale.
Yeppers, that third rail sure took away from the realism of the train layout, with Lionel. But then you could do things with a Lionel train set you couldn't do with any other type of train track.
Wow, I remember American Flyer trains, yes they were neat looking.
It didn't last long, but there was an HO track made by a company the name of which I've long forgotten.
It wasn't the entire length of track, which was just like HO track, but they made special sections of track that used split rails to operate the special cars they sold. To camouflage the fact the rails were split, they made it look more like a crossing or switch so it didn't catch your eye that their were four rails instead of only two. They were no larger than single rails, but had a fiber between the two pieces of the rail. And the wheels on the special cars were likewise, a fiber spacer, or in the case of some of them, a small slider instead of a wheel under the car touching the inner part of the track.
They had log loader and emptying cars, coal loader and emptying cars. They even had a bottom hopper coal car that was cool.
A passenger car had doors that opened and people would get on or off and stand on the platform, sorta fake looking though.
I had a cow car where the cows would come out and into a corral. This car worked like the old vibrator type football games, the bottom of the cows feet had little rubber pegs about the size of a coarse hair. But the buzz of the cattle car and the corral would drive you nuts, hi hi.
I guess they were trying to come up with things like Lionel had, only on an HO scale. Trouble is, they were way to expensive. Each building that used the special track piece also had to have it's own little transformer and switch box to make it work, and naturally, these were all sold separately, and they were not necessarily interchangeable with each other.
It really isn't that hard once you get the hang of it.
Then you can build them inside of something with a small neck, like soda bottle size neck.
Here is one trick I used that made it even easier.
Instead of using two separate sticks, I used a pair of sticks with a band of tape around them, but no adhesive on the first turn of tape so the two sticks could slide, sorta like a slide rule in a way.
To place a mast on a ship, you have to feed it in long ways, then turn it upright.
Most folks use a single pin stick to hold it, and another stick to turn it vertical, which is tedious because you are forever moving to far or not enough. By using two pin sticks tied together, you can just slide one stick to make the mast vertical and it will stay that way, making it much easier to hold just right for the glue to set.
A pin stick is a stick with a pin with the head cut off stuck in the top end and bent 90 degrees so the point is usable to hold other small balsa parts.
In the flower business, we used to place dried arrangements inside of bottles, jugs, and even a clear base of a table lamp.
And we also did some amazing terrariums for folks too. The thing about terrariums with small necks is you can sell the tools required to care for them, and this is where the profits came from, hi hi. Folks were amazed at the number of tools we had to offer for working on terrariums. Most did look like surgical tools, but then they were made for us by Storz medical equipment supply, hi hi.
We had a diner that was made inside a railroad caboose. It sat on tracks too. The staff wore like different uniforms one would find in a train. The owner had the neatest conductors outfit. The cooks were dressed more like ticket vendors, and the wait staff was dressed like the coachmen or coachwomen as the case may be. The bowl your food was delivered to your table in was like a boxcar or coal car with no top. Drinks were delivered in a tank car with a hole for the glass to sit in. But they were delivered to you across the counter, not on tracks. If I recall, this place was in Rock HIll, or Glendale.
Yeppers, that third rail sure took away from the realism of the train layout, with Lionel. But then you could do things with a Lionel train set you couldn't do with any other type of train track.
Wow, I remember American Flyer trains, yes they were neat looking.
It didn't last long, but there was an HO track made by a company the name of which I've long forgotten.
It wasn't the entire length of track, which was just like HO track, but they made special sections of track that used split rails to operate the special cars they sold. To camouflage the fact the rails were split, they made it look more like a crossing or switch so it didn't catch your eye that their were four rails instead of only two. They were no larger than single rails, but had a fiber between the two pieces of the rail. And the wheels on the special cars were likewise, a fiber spacer, or in the case of some of them, a small slider instead of a wheel under the car touching the inner part of the track.
They had log loader and emptying cars, coal loader and emptying cars. They even had a bottom hopper coal car that was cool.
A passenger car had doors that opened and people would get on or off and stand on the platform, sorta fake looking though.
I had a cow car where the cows would come out and into a corral. This car worked like the old vibrator type football games, the bottom of the cows feet had little rubber pegs about the size of a coarse hair. But the buzz of the cattle car and the corral would drive you nuts, hi hi.
I guess they were trying to come up with things like Lionel had, only on an HO scale. Trouble is, they were way to expensive. Each building that used the special track piece also had to have it's own little transformer and switch box to make it work, and naturally, these were all sold separately, and they were not necessarily interchangeable with each other.