Be cool in the office

What is Pentrix? Pentrix is the new and improved version of Pentix - The Art of Pen Spinning web site. Pentix has been around since January, 2000 and has grown in popularity among pen spinners ever since. The mission of Pentrix is to teach people how to spin their pens.

Labels: Activities, General, Tutorials

Casino tutoring

Teaching probability can be challenging because the mathematical formulas often are too abstract and complex for the students to fully grasp the underlying meaning and effect of the concepts. Games can provide a way to address this issue. For example, the game of roulette can be an exciting application for teaching probability concepts.
In this paper, we implement a model of roulette in a spreadsheet that can simulate outcomes of various betting strategies. The simulations can be analyzed to gain better insights into the corresponding probability structures. We use the model to simulate a particular betting strategy known as the bet-doubling, or Martingale, strategy. This strategy is quite popular and is often erroneously perceived as a winning strategy even though the probability analysis shows that such a perception is incorrect.

The simulation allows us to present the true implications of such a strategy for a player with a limited betting budget and relate the results to the underlying theoretical probability structure. The overall validation of the model, its use for teaching, including its application to analyze other types of betting strategies are discussed.

"An in-depth but easily readable guide on probability theory, covering various aspects of the theory with a bias to gambling games and strategies. Includes working examples in an excel spreadsheet."

Labels: Activities, Reference, Tutorials

What do steam and paper have in common?

This paper steam engine is based on a Riches and Watts nominal 2 1/2 horsepower vertical A-frame double acting simple slide-valve steam engine circa 1870-75. The original engine was used to drive a water pump to irrigate the fields of Norfolk. If this model had a scale, it would be roughly 1:19. I had to double the size of the eccentric and strap in order to make it buildable. Everything else is close to scale, but changed in design and appearance because, well, paper isn't iron.

Everything will work on this engine, the flywheel turns, there really is a slide valve in the valve chest, the piston works, the cranks and the connecting rods, eccentric and strap all work if built carefully. The final model stands about 12 inches high. I hope you have as much fun building it as I had designing it.

Labels: Activities, Free Stuff, Links

Fold your own steamship

What exactly is a Micromodel? Micromodels are card or paper models that were originally sold from the 1940's through the 1960's. Most were designed by Geoffrey Heighway.
Each model was made up of several small cards illustrated with the pieces of the model, all wrapped up in a label. You could cut the pieces out and carefully assemble an intricate little three-dimensional model.
Micromodels were known for the amazing details that people would add to customize their models. There were more than 100 original Micromodels of all types.

Labels: Activities, Products

ADDENDUM

Indoor/Backyard Battles

"Always follow the rules! If you got hit in the head by a band but you don't want to take the 2-minute penalty (for instance), don't sit there fighting it out. Just suck it up and do the time. No one's going to have fun if all you guys end up doing is yelling at each other about rules and regulations. Take your time out, and keep in mind that, in the long run, you're going to have a much better time.

Clean up afterwards. Nobody's wife (or husband) likes to see rubber bands sitting in the chicken soup she had left simmering on the stove while she went out to buy some more carrots. ("Interesting flavor, honey...")

"This beauty is a fully functional machine gun with TWELVE rotating barrels and a live action trigger. Loads 12 bands per barrel for a whopping 144 rubber bands that shoot off as fast as you can turn the handle!"

Labels: Activities, Tutorials

Do it yourself

. . . "this hour: the surgeon's hands. How do surgeons keep their hands healthy? What kind of training do they go through to keep their fingers tactile and sensitive? How important is touch to successful surgery? Are the hands of surgeons gifted? Over the past month, we've been talking with people who use their head and their hands in their work. Our 'How To' series continues today with surgeons.

Guests

Richard Ellenbogen, M.D. chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Theodore S. Roberts Endowed Chair in Neurological Surgery, the Chief of Neurological Surgery at Harborview Medical Center

Eric Froines, M.D., F.A.C.S. chief of general surgery, Capitol Hill Specialty Center Group Health Permanente"

Labels: Activities, General

Or at least nearby

"I love the fact that more and more devices are sporting built-in Wi-Fi. The lone hitch: Wi-Fi is useless without a hotspot.

What if you could marry the short-range power of Wi-Fi with the huge coverage areas of high-speed cellular services such as EV-DO to create a portable hotspot?
Since EV-DO works at freeway speeds, you could even give Internet access to an entire road-trip caravan.

Now I can surf for as long as three hours without being tethered to anything but a cell signal. The project isn't cheap, but prices for the components and service are sure to come down in the next year or so. In the meantime, you can find me in the hills around Southern California. I'll be the one surrounded by PSP-packing hikers."

Labels: Activities, Products

CrossNumber puzzles

"Sudoku , sometimes spelled Su Doku, is a logic based placement puzzle, also known as Number Place in the United States. The aim of the canonical puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9x9 grid made up of 3x3 subgrids (called "regions"), starting with various digits given in some cells (the "givens"). Each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral.
Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability. Its grid layout is reminiscent of other newspaper puzzles like crosswords and chess problems.
Although first published in 1979, Sudoku initially became popular in Japan in 1986 and attained international popularity in 2005."

1. Enter puzzle values in Starting position grid
   
2. Set Game state to 1
   
3. Press F9 to calculate
   
4. The Possible numbers grid will show the first step in the solution
   
5. The Final position will show the current result
   
6. Continue to repeat calculation by pressing F9 until the puzzle is solved or the solver stops responding

Labels: Activities, Reference

A guy digs a hole in his back yard

"About 2 years ago I decided to dig a hole in my back yard.
Why?
Why not.
Its good exercise and I could get a tan too. Plus holes are cool."

" I'm considering selling scoops of dirt from the hole. I figure 12 bucks should cover the shipping and the trouble. I'll send you a baggie of dirt, with a signed certificate of authenticity. If you want it, you better ask for it now. My house has a sale pending so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do this.

If you want some other piece of a hole like a wood chip, a dead frog, or maybe a mud stained rag. Just ask."

Labels: Activities, General

Traveler's friend

"In January 1988 I left Sweden for warmer climates - Africa. I was there for 5 months. A trip like that is impossible without proper planning. For months I compiled a list of things I might need, as well as things I had to do before I hit the road. When I came back from Africa I realized I could use the list for just about any other trip, even for weekend trips just 100 km away. Over the years I kept adding items to the list, and when I found the rec.travel newsgroup on Internet in April 1993, the idea struck me that it could be fun to make my list available to other travelers."

"You can throw or give away clothes when you don't need them any more. Reminds me of Cairo where I once saw a goat eating a T-shirt! Tough animals!"

For other travel tips see Andy, the Hobo Traveler:
Newsletter Tips

Here's the address for his blog:
HoboTraveler Blog



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Labels: Activities, General

Pictures and history

" Abercrombie is the dirt digg'in, hose pull'in, shovel flipp'in, dozer boss'in, rotor lov'in, firefighter in all of us. Abercrombie has always had more questions than answers. Abercrombie is unable to stop asking why. He feels people are capable of and willing to do a much better job if they understand the "why" in addition to knowing "how". Abercrombie likes to push people's buttons sometimes to provoke an honest response. Abercrombie has a few of his own buttons get pushed occasionally, although he seems to be getting better at slowing his emotional responses."

WildlandFire.com

Fire Photos



Basic Firefighting Training

Other fire stuff:

How Fire Engines work
Fire Engines

Tacoma Fire Department
Seattle Fire Department
Queensland Fire and Rescue
(Including sirens, like the Phaser).

Wheels of Fire: Famous Fire Engines (Wales)
Fire Museums on the Web

SPAAMFAA, privately owned Fire Trucks
Fire Truck Graveyard



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Labels: Activities, History, World

Pumpkin chunkin

"I thought it would be fun to have a Web site that was dedicated to the development of home-brew devices for propelling weird objects through the air. When I put up this page in early 1995, I had no idea that there was so much interest in this kind of foolishness. I apologize for not updating stuff as often as I should, but I have a day job now...flipping burgers at Dairy Queen."

The Mechanical Toys Page
Including:


Instructions to Build a Mouse-Trap Car

Also:

Links to other mechanical toys

The Trebuchet at NF/ Observatory

"The NF/ Ranch is a small cattle ranch in the Mimbres Valley (New Mexico). The earliest signs of human occupation are from 1000AD, when the Mimbres Indians occupied sites along the Gallinas River, just down the hill. A Spanish fort was built over some of these ruins arround 1600, for protection against the local Warm Springs Apaches. Now the residents include Bill, Ty, Nick, Cindy, Amber, and Kaelin along with the animals at the ranch. Ty and Nick are currently perfecting a Trebuchet, a high tech siege weapon from the 10th century."

If you're near New Mexico Make 'em fly or make 'em pie

Also:
Trebuchet MS Font




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Labels: Activities, Products

Tied Up?

The KnotPlot Site
By Rob Scharein

"Knot theory is a branch of algebraic topology where one studies what is known as the placement problem, or the embedding of one topological space into another."

The site includes a collection of knots.



You can, also, download a program called KnotPlot to develop your own knots


Click to see more moiré knots.

Animated Knots

Other nots:

Ripley's Believe it or not!

Hot or Not



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Labels: Activities, Tutorials

Bending cloth

Just to break up a boring dinner setting, learn how to fold napkins.

(things to do while waiting for the news)



Napkin Folding Guide

Napkin Folds

Napkin Folding



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Labels: Activities, Tutorials

Recumbent transportation

Greenspeed

WizWheels:
Why Recumbents? Why Trikes?

SolarTrike:
Solar powered trike
30miles per hour - 10mile range

Catrike

Build Your Own Recumbent Trike

Bike links



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Labels: Activities, Products

Small change(s)

Fund A Business

Loan for a woman

International Medical Corps.
Your gift of $200 can help IMC to give a deserving woman a loan to start her own business. Through a proven "community investment" model, women pay back their loans not to IMC, but to a community bank that consists of the pooled contributions of a group of women.

Expand A Business

Loan for a mother
Foundation for International Community Assistance.

Added income from a $50 loan can help a Tanzanian mother expand her business and feed her children more nutritious food.. And you're providing a self-employment loan, not a gift. Your donation will build discipline, responsibility, and self-confidence as women create their own business.

Rent A Market Stall

Loan for a woman
Foundation for International Community Assistance.

With a $100 loan, a Haitian woman can rent a market stall and increase her income two-fold. And you're providing a self-employment loan, not a gift. Your donation will build discipline, responsibility, and self-confidence as women create their own business.

Support Development

25 chickens & rooster
Operation USA.

Give the gift of life – literally! Giving a loan to purchase and raise animals, such as cows, rabbits, sheep, chickens and roosters is the perfect gift for someone who cares deeply about providing opportunity and empowering a family to lift itself out of poverty.

Labels: Activities, General, World

Cut your own

Labels: Activities, Art, Free Stuff

The real stars

JPL NASA

Also:
Arachnoid.com

In 1826, the astronomer Heinrich Olbers asked, "Why is the sky dark at night?" By his time, physicists had learned enough to realize that, in a stable, infinite universe with an even distribution of stars, the entire universe should gradually heat up.

You will also discover the connection between a rubber band, your refrigerator, and the universe.

An Observation of the Night Sky
There is plenty here to keep you busy: Beginners will find the Tutorials very useful along with the Constellations and weekly Skycharts.
By Jerry Pool

Photographs:
Events in the night sky

StarDate Online
StarDate is the public education and outreach arm of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory.

English and Spanish radio programs air daily on more than 500 stations.

Fourmilab Switzerland
To make a sky map, enter the latitude and longitude of your observing site and press the "Make Sky Map" button

This site is developed and maintained by John Walker, founder of Autodesk, Inc. and co-author of AutoCAD.

Space Watch
by Imaginova Spaceware



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Labels: Activities, General, World

No need to starve

Little kids eat with chopsticks, surely you can learn how.

Here's a link to seven easy steps.

Chopsticks in Seven Steps

Also:
How to Eat with Chopsticks


Chopstick Kids



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Labels: Activities, Products, Tutorials

No match cover required

Do you want to learn how to draw? Now you can online! Learn how to draw like an artist, from a professional artist. Begin by learning the fundamentals of drawing with easy to follow interactive instruction.

Learn how to draw a person and make it actually look like the person! Take drawing people further and learn how to draw a caricature of a person!

• DRAWING BASICS
  You don't know how to draw? Begin learning how to draw.
  
  
• DRAWING PEOPLE
  You know how to draw, but you can't draw people.
  
  
• DRAW CARICATURES
  You want to draw funny people, but you don't know how?

Labels: Activities, Tutorials

Is it right?

"Red Bricks (Brickus vermillius) are found around the world. Their association with humans is a long one, for bricks have been found in archaeological sites from the very ancient to the modern.

The vast majority of bricks are working bricks, used mainly in construction of human houses and other buildings. A tiny minority of bricks, however, are unfortunately kept for human consumption, a use that is thankfully dwindling under the force of anti-brick-cruelty laws."

Pet Brick FAQ


The site also has more than enough information about rats.

Rat Behavior and Biology




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Labels: Activities

Photo Walk

Robert Scoble, tech evangelist, has been touting the fun of Photowalking. Getting together with a group of like-minded people to just walk around and take pictures.

Robert has made a number of videos that you can see on his blog The ScobleShow on PodTech.net.

Locally Kevin Freitas, a web developer and community supporter, solicited participation in a Tacoma area walk.

Since digital film is free. After you've got a camera, why not set a walk up in your city?

The results of our stroll can be seen at theses links:

• Tacoma Photo Gang - Shot da Tideflats
  
  
• Gavin Jensen.net
  
  
• Tacoma Photo Gang on Flickr
  
  
• Tacoma Foto Gang Muvee
  
  
• Waterfront shots
  
  
• Light and Power

Labels: Activities