Category Archives: Toys

It's a Communist Plot

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There were a number of records set at Domino Day 2008.

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I thought the scene of the last 45 seconds or so, showing a field of dominos falling in parallel, was particularly interesting. The curve that defined the leading edge of falling dominos was not a straight line, and it changed shape a little — the speed of propagation through a line of tiles is not constant. With identical tiles it should depend on the spacing, which would dictate the time it takes for one falling tile to hit the next and the speed with which a domino strikes its target. But wile a larger spacing means the tip is moving faster, it also strikes at a lower point, which means it exerts a smaller torque to get the next tile to fall, so it wouldn’t be a simple relationship. You could also change the mass for another variable in the domino wave equation.

Trekkin'

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Star Trek light-switch, slider and power-outlet escutcheon plates at that Nerdonium money-sink, Think Geek

[F]or just a few strips of latinum, you can decorate your own 21st century domicile with lighting and power wall-plates, complete with LCARS interface designs! Of course, the panels are non-working – probably because our primitive electrical power-systems are incompatible with 24th century technology. Perhaps you need a new phase-inducer, or maybe you can run an EPS purge of the primary relays?

Toys in the Office: Gettin' Medieval

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trebuchet.jpg

Bought this trebuchet as a kit several years ago, and put it together over the Memorial day weekend back then. I had seen a NOVA special about some men who built two using in-period tools, and then knocked down a wall with them. When I ran across the kits on the intertubes, I couldn’t get my wallet out fast enough. It came with what looked to be ~50 caliber musket shot, which is not exactly conducive to indoor testing, so I substituted balled-up aluminum foil. It’s a favorite of some visitors, including the safety inspector(!).

Here’s a Trebuchet Challenge for testing your mad siege engine skillz.