Circulation of this issue: 59

This is the last October '93 issue of these reports: 4 months we've been
at this now! And it finally feels like things are getting physically
underway... a project of this scope involves an amazing amount of
head-scratching and wall-staring before the real fun starts.

I know some of you have already seen the following paragraph, but mostly
for the benefit of new student volunteers on this list I want to quote
myself (yeah, tacky, I know...). This attempt to summarize the process of
design engineering appeared in Nomadness Notes #23:

"A lot of the work of the past month has gone into mechanical design
-- this is one of those wondrously complex projects in which
electronic component choice affects gross morphology, which in turn
defines constraints that affect the choice of electronics. Such
psychological race conditions can only be resolved by tweaking the
granularity knob until the correct solution congeals in a flash. Put
another way, I form a fantasy of the desired results and allow input
variables to float until an unanticipated combination satisfies the
fantasy-comparator, pretriggering a snapshot of the conditions that
yielded it before accumulated pondering-propagation delays
introduced conceptual drift. (This is not the design methodology you
read about in engineering textbooks, even though it's a good
summary of life in industry. Most textbooks promulgate the myth
that structured methods and sequential procedures will get you
there. But beating trade-offs requires inventing new rules to break,
not bumping into the limits imposed by old ones.)"

* * *

So much for the philosophy of technoid noodling. Here's a quick update on
today's details...

I spoke with Interlink about the DuraPoint, reporting on yesterday's test
and mentioning the posting I did about their product to rec.boats. I
complained about the heavy touch required of the two buttons, and he
replied that they've heard that from about 35% of the people who have tried
it. He's sending a new one with "35% lighter touch" (the appropriate
correction factor given the market research!), and we'll return this one...

The local rep for SonicPro dropped by today and donated an alarm -- a small
unit designed to be attached with adhesive to a computer. Once armed with
a 5-digit code, it makes an obnoxious noise when moved. It's not designed
for harsh environments, but may be a good thing to have around here. After
playing with it, I suggested that they provide an option for screw-mounting
into threaded inserts from the back. As it is, the only way to change
batteries is to peel it off the host machine (non-trivial and potentially
damaging), remove the foam adhesive (scrape, scrape), dissassemble, swap
batteries, find more foam adhesive (not supplied), and re-attach... not
exactly convenient. I told him that many users would not bother with all
this, and urged an alternative solution in their next revision. Otherwise,
it's a pretty cool product, and retails for $69.95.

Drew of Nelson/Marek spoke with Matthew at Current Designs today, reporting
via email: "He has no hydrostatic data, but is going to call his suppliers
to get as much info on the laminate properties as possible. This should
give us some idea of the strength of the kayak..." I also spoke with
Matthew and requested H-channel PVC extrusions for both boats to simplify
the attachment of our custom decks (after fitting and sealing, the sections
are internally glassed together -- H-channel is not terribly structural).

While working on the inventory this evening (stretched out on cushy chairs
in the new library lounge... nice), I sidetracked myself to deal with the
gear stowage issue. Apart from ready-access bins near the cockpit
(foul-weather gear, safety equipment, etc.), long-term storage in the
forward segment, and personal/camping/cooking in the aft segment, there
will have to be some sealed boxes, like Pelican cases, integrated into the
rackmount system below. We'll design the rack system to support built-in
enclosures for equipment as well as a dozen or so removable cases for such
collections as:

o Hand tools and mechanical hardware
o Electronics test, anti-static, and prototyping
o Electronic parts inventory
o Paper documentation and microfiche
o Sextant and manual navigation tools
o CD library
o Floppies, backups, and computer supplies
o Medical kit (apart from abandon-ship bag)
o Mechanical spares
o Batteries, charger, flashlights, etc.
o Office, files, documents, pens, and the like
o Essential books and directories

I want this central compartment to be seawater-floodable without ruining
anything -- a challenging design goal! Heavy, too...

Andrea Woo went shopping this evening and picked up the HELLO badges for
the meeting, but no luck on the scale. James Gerken dropped by and got
about halfway through the CD-reorganization job. And Connie Weyhenmeyer
spent a couple of hours working with me on the philosophical intricacies of
aquatic nomadness.

TJ Tyler and Jim Effros also met here today to discuss management issues --
I think we now have two of the three people needed for the triumvirate. I
still need an ECE person as soon as possible, 5th year or graduate, to
handle the largest of the three major project disciplines. We're slowly
establishing protocols and strategies for working most effectively with a
widely-diverse group of volunteers, some motivated by course credit, some
by pure technical curiosity, others by the fun of working on a shared
project. This will be a good topic for open discussion next Saturday.
(DON'T FORGET: put this on your calendar! Noon on November 6 at EBU-1
room 3325...)

Speaking of events and dates, I'm giving a talk in CSB-001 at 6:00 next
Wednesday (Nov 3). This is an ACM meeting -- contact Adam Sussman,
myddryn@netcom.com, for more details. BEHEMOTH will be there, enjoying the
attention but muttering to himself about stupid boats.

Finally, my friend Jean Polly in New York sent a birthday/care package
consisting largely of chocolate... but the real gems were George Winston's
"Summer" CD and, most notably, _The_Bridges_of_Madison_County_, an
incredible book by Robert James Waller. It's one of those tales that
clears out the cobwebs, affects your world view, provides the emotional
control-alt-delete that we all need now and then, and makes you wander
concrete hallways playing the flute until It's All Been Said. Recommended.
Highly.

Happy Halloween!

Steve