Poofy Goof Rant-O-Matic

http://v1kram.posterous.com/liu-bolinthe-invisible-man

Al Krug lays it down at http://www.alkrug.vcn.com/rrfacts/rrfacts.htm . braking, calculating traction, how to read signals, how not to break couplers, etc.

UUCP, Unix-to-Unix CoPy, is a store-and-forward protocol used primarily for mail, news, and copying files. the loose newsgroup network known as USENET was implemented largely on UUCP. since the advent of accessible packet-switched networking (AKA the internet), UUCP is now only used in rare cases. I still wax fondly over it.

the WES DMUs are controlled by custom-programmed PLCs, specifically, those from KW software: http://www.kw-software.com/com/index1024.html . during testing, the DMUs had debug builds of the PLC controls, which allowed for tuning of parameters. once the parameters settled down, a release version was built, which has less tweakable knobs. I assume the IP and code for this went to US Railcar after Colorado Railcar went into liquidation.

A decaying shipyard in Australia: http://patrickboland.com.au/project/index.html "As a photographer, I'd be like a kid in a candy store in this place," says Bob.

as stdio studios moves its location from the main floor to the newly remodeled attic of chez poofygoof, I have been contemplating what work I will soon be able to accomplish. getting creative juices flowing again is not something that can be forced, but having a regular reason for being in the studio and working the controls can help things along.

"The Railway Applications Section (RAS) provides a forum to bring together practitioners, consultants, and academics interested in applying operations research and management science (OR and MS) techniques to the railroad industry."

they're running a contest: http://informs-ras.org/Problem.htm the problem is to find an optimal fueling system for a provided rail network. the trains can't run out of fuel between yards, and the railroad wants to minimize cost. find the cheapest solution!

I swear I posted this before but I can't find it... I have two motherboards with verified bad caps, and another that is suspect, although none of the caps are visibly bulging.

http://www.badcaps.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

I need 21 of these for the dual PIII machine:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=493-127...

the via C3 needs some too, but I'd need to take the machine down to find out for sure.

Northern Soul was popular in the 80s in parts of Britain. the sound was built around out-of-print soul 45s from the US recorded primarily in the 60s, and by definition had a limited repertoire.

http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/northern_soul_top_500.htm

CD reviews coming up?

gotta love phone system geeks. LincMad has information on the evolution of the north american numbering plan (area codes) at http://www.lincmad.com/ . Oregon's 503 is on that list, but southern california's 619 wasn't created until 1982. (that means my phone number was originally 714 when my family moved to San Diego in 1979.)