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Happy Talk

General discussions of the systemic, societal and civilisational effects of depletion.

Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Sat 13 Mar 2021, 18:05:44

Walked off the boat this am, about 7:10, frogs were in full throat. So I am standing there listening to them for a little bit....and then they shut off!

Just like a light switch: OFF. 8O :-D
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby careinke » Sun 14 Mar 2021, 04:45:11

Got my stimulus deposit today. I've already moved it out of the economy and bought Bitcoin with it. 8)
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Thu 25 Mar 2021, 20:01:43

For those following my little project I continue to make progress on my portlight trim rings.

Above I showed the ply, then the mold I pulled from the plug and the first trim ring. It was pretty rough and I had several issues. But not a total failure, I called it my “prototype” so it sounds better.

My second trim ring was better in some ways yet I still found more ways to screw it up.

My third attempt has turned out much better, a real usable product that needs only; the normal trimming, a minor touch up, a finish light sanding, and wax polishing. Not only is it a better product but my cycle time is down considerably. Each time you use the mold it “seasons” and the whole process should get easier from here out.

Below are 2 photos. In one I cleaned up the prototype a bit and trimmed off the excess and did a dry fit with a port light. The fit is about perfect and I may actually end up using this ring.

The other photo os my 3rd trim ring just as it came from the mold. It looks damn good.

I am happy!

URL=https://imgbox.com/Kp2cjIaT]Image[/URL] Image
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby The_Toecutter » Fri 02 Apr 2021, 00:22:53

3 weeks ago I got hired as an engineer. The job is only for 6 months, but it will allow me to get my mother's house paid off. I've been working this job full time, and have been working the restaurant job part time in addition to it until they can find a replacement for me. I haven't had time to post here.

For the engineering job, I also get reimbursed vehicle miles traveled, for which I've been using the velomobile I built to visit job sites. The IRS reimbursement rate is $0.575/mile. This thing costs almost nothing to run. A nickel of electricity gets me 50 miles @ 35 mph. The most expensive component of its operating cost is tires at $0.01/mile, next after chain @ $0.004/mile, then brake pads @ $0.002/mile. All told, I'm getting paid more than $0.50/mile net to visit job sites to gather data in addition to my base hourly pay, and it arrives to the sites on time and every bit as quickly as a car(the job sites are all in an urban area). The use of this thing for my job is literally paying for upgrades. I cannot afford to take it out of commission for a day or two to re-wire the torque sensor and rewire the computer BUS to accommodate the 72V pack I've been working on(the higher voltage will destroy the sensitive electronics without modification), so I just ordered some used 46.8V 15.6AH packs, $200 for the pair, which are about as close to a plug and play solution as I can hope for. I'm going to run the two in parallel for 46.8V and ~30AH(they're used and delivering about 15AH each instead of what they are rated for) and get a 150-200 mile range, which will be a significant improvement over my current 50 mile range, and only add 9 lbs. I need the range, as I've been having to charge this thing every day. The upgrade could be done in a few hours, will allow me to improve acceleration by increasing the peak power to 3 kW, but will give me the same top speed of 46 mph. Going faster can wait.

In the warmer weather, I've been averaging about 8 Wh/mile. Lifetime average energy consumption is down to 10.3 Wh/mile.

Future upgrades are going to include solar panels and a 2 kWh pack made out of Panasonic 21700 cells found in the Tesla Model 3, thicker 20mm axles, a rear suspension(to compliment the front suspension already on it), rack and pinion steering with a butterfly steering wheel, light-duty motorcycle rims laced to the hubs, solar race car tires rated for highway speeds but low enough in rolling resistance to still be easily pedalable, and when I get the chance, I'm going to use the tubing bender at my friend's shop and get the roll cage finished.

I'll also finally have money to finish the electric Triumph GT6.

It "only" took me more than 10,000 job applications and 3+ years to get this job... and I might again be stuck dishwashing in the covid den once the contract is over. This economy has been pretty fucked for over a decade.
The unnecessary felling of a tree, perhaps the old growth of centuries, seems to me a crime little short of murder. ~Thomas Jefferson
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Fri 02 Apr 2021, 09:41:54

That is a very hopeful event. Congrats. Heres to hoping one success leads to another.

You are demonstrating a very necessary trait for success, tenacity.

Good on ya! :-D
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Pops » Fri 02 Apr 2021, 15:37:33

Congrats Toecutter

Newf those do look slick.

Here's my project:
120 Y/O house, the kitchen was in a shed lean-to addition about 7' wide. The service porch was added on to that, it was about 7' wide. The porch roof was built on top of the kitchen roof... To make the two usable we need to take out the original kitchen wall, on which the kitchen roof is built, and the porch roof on it.

So far we've demoed the plaster and drywall and installed props through the old original roof to hold up the newer roof.
Next I'll demo the original roof and the once exterior wall it sits on (the one the ladder is leaning against) then sister up 2x12s to the existing 2x4 rafters and fix to a new ledger.

Image

Image

Old houses are amazing, there was a total of one 2x4 holding up that roof on the outside wall (everything to the left of the white door all the way to the corner) To the right of the door no stud reached the ground for about 10 feet, they were all rotted or intentionally cut for this or that.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Fri 02 Apr 2021, 17:54:53

Pops,

When we met my Wife had a very old and very odd house in Philly. One issue was it had 13 floor joists in a row that were rotten off or cut. Quite literally the flooring nails were holding the joist in place. It was a bed room and felt a lot like sleeping on a water bed. I sistered it out and made other repairs. Talked her into dumping it ASAP.

In spite of all the work I did on it the the next owner ended up doing substantial structural repairs. I was very glad to be out of there.

The “new” house was built 1887 and slants 7-1/2” in 15’. The common wall sank shortly after it was built, but has been stable for the last 100 years.

Old houses are a trip. I feel your pain.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Pops » Sat 03 Apr 2021, 08:16:47

Newfie wrote:One issue was it had 13 floor joists in a row that were rotten off or cut. Quite literally the flooring nails were holding the joist in place. It was a bed room and felt a lot like sleeping on a water bed.

HaHa, same!
Here they just cut off 8 rotted floor joists about 8' from support, overlapped new lumber about a foot and called it good.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Sat 03 Apr 2021, 10:52:00

The “fun” part is trying to figure out how to save it.

In this case The basement has a ship stairs and no standing headroom. Very limited space. So I laminated a 3 piece beam using 7 layers of 1/2” ply. Each piece overlapped the other by 2’, each way. I could get the short beams into the basement then bolted and glued them into a single beam, about 18’ long?

Anyway, the joist ends were soft where they laid on the stone foundation. So I mounted this new beam about 18 inches inboard and used screw jacks to take the load off the old foundation. Then I sistered out the old joists. The difference in the floor stability was shocking.

I had a building inspector come in to look at my work. He gigged me because I did not drill holes and run the electrical cables through the new joists. Not one word about the structure. FI!!!

That place was a money pit. Subsequent owners have spent fortunes there. It now sports tie backs, and the latest was to replace the brick walls on one side.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby The_Toecutter » Mon 05 Apr 2021, 01:44:35

The batteries arrived. A printout of their delivered capacity during testing from the seller was provided. They were 15.51 AH and 15.35 AH respectively. This means 30AH when I parallel the two together is a given. I charged both of them up to full.

I hadn't had much in the way of free time so I didn't get to fully install them. I need to make a wiring harness to parallel them together AND I need to make a custom enclosure to fit both of them lengthwise underneath the boom with their narrowmost dimension placed between the rotating pedals. Being a holiday weekend, all the places I could get the needed parts were closed, so I decided to devote the free time I had after 3pm today to testing the vehicle.

I was able to fit ONE of the battery packs underneath the boom. I used the higher capacity pack of the two for a total capacity of about 726 watt hours. It was held to the boom with zip ties, a temporary solution but one that works. To say I was pleased with the results would be to understate things. I rode it 83.6 miles, with cruising speeds of 30-35 mph plus pedal input. At the end of the ride, I had used 15.5 AH, and had consumed slightly under 8.7 wh/mi, the equivalent energy consumption of almost 4,000 miles per gallon! The battery wasn't yet dead, but it was on the verge of being empty. I plugged in my charger for about 20-30 minutes at an outlet at a pavilion in a park, got a few AH back, and then rode it another 20 miles.

I now have a decent range EV! As an aside, all of the comments I got from random ghetto dwellers while riding it around East St. Louis were hilarious. This thing certainly attracts attention.

Once I put both packs in, a 150+ mile range @ 30-35 mph is assured, and there is a possibly of a 100 mile range @ 45 mph. Plus it's still very pedalable with a dead battery. When operating purely under pedal power with the motor off I can leave spandex fetishists on roadbikes behind in most settings. I won't have any range anxiety using it to visit job sites anymore and won't have to charge it every day, and can opt to just change when it is convenient instead.

An actual car with accelerator and brake pedal instead of bicycle pedals with this sort of form factor and efficiency that is usable on the road in traffic is very doable. In mass production, such a thing weighing in at under 150 lbs, with seating for one, an integrated roll cage, micro AC unit for climate control, enough trunk space for 2 weeks worth of groceries, weather protection, all wheel drive via inexpensive e-bike hub motors and controllers, better aerodynamics on par with a Milan SL velomobile, a 3 kWh pack for a capability of 100+ miles range @ 70 mph, 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds with a 100 mph top speed, enough solar panels for it to cruise indefinitely @ 35 mph in direct sunlight without draining the battery OR recoup about 30 highway miles range a day sitting in a parking lot for 8 hours, could be built for much LESS THAN $10,000. I could buy all the parts off the shelf for such a thing except for the chassis/body(which would have to be designed and made) for under $3,000. The battery pack required for these specs would be so small that any 110V outlet is the equivalent of a CHAdeMO charger for a normal full sized electric car and any run of the mill 220V 50A outlet can function as a 15-minute fast charger, and if you destroy the pack doing something stupid, you'd only be out a few hundred dollars instead of tens of thousands of dollars. Operating costs would be expressed as a fraction of a cent per mile.

It's a travesty that no one is thinking outside the box and making something like this for sale to the general public.
The unnecessary felling of a tree, perhaps the old growth of centuries, seems to me a crime little short of murder. ~Thomas Jefferson
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby AdamB » Mon 05 Apr 2021, 10:57:31

The_Toecutter wrote:It's a travesty that no one is thinking outside the box and making something like this for sale to the general public.


Oh come on Toe. One's cool hobby does not an industry make. The public doesn't want to pedal, and isn't interested in efficiency as much as they are loading an EV with kids, the dog, going to the grocery or Little League practice with the A/C or heat blasting. And they are willing to pay for it.

I've got 2 EVs now, and the new one, with improved weather, appears to have garnered me a gain in efficiency from 3.5 miles/kwh to 4.6 mile/kwh. No thinking outside the box, kanoodling around with the software or hardware, no pedaling, no oil changes, no new chains or brakes needing installed, nothing but plug and play.

Maybe someday I'll change the reduction gear oil, or throw a set of tires at it. Maybe after 4 years of use when it needs either of those things, I'll just trade it in on another used one, and do the same, forever disconnected from the evils of ICE maintenance? Who knows. But I do know that as long as electricity is affordable, and the roads exist, I won't be pedaling one of these things anywhere. For 2 wheels, I do ICE.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby The_Toecutter » Tue 06 Apr 2021, 23:23:26

The reason that mine has pedals is to get around vehicle licensing/insurance/registration laws in the interest of minimizing expenses and government interference, as well as versatility in sourcing fuel, as well as maintaining fitness. With this new job, I'll soon have money to add some solar panels as well(I'll only need a few hundred dollars for the full setup including charge controller). If someone was selling an inexpensive/compact gasoline, ethanol, diesel, or biodiesel fuel cell of less than 2 lbs, I'd also add that with a tiny 1L fuel tank in the interest of making it yet more versatile regarding fuel. My personal vehicle is designed with maintaining mobility during a "TEOTWAWKI MBZ apocalypse" in mind regardless of whether such scenario comes to fruition or not, and is far from a machine for everyone. One for the market need not be so, although it may be able to share the same platform in the interest of broadening the number of niches it could serve. To cement its niche, it will soon be adorned with rust-colored spraypaint and a sloppily-done red anarchy sign on the side, with a 3D-printed Baphomet hood ornament.

If you read the paragraph before the sentence you quoted, you will find that I was discussing an actual car being built from this idea, without a bicycle drivetrain, but with the road footprint and mass much more closer to that of a bicycle than a normal full sized car, while retaining most of the practical elements of a normal car, but simply scaled down for one person. Unlike a pedal-able vehicle, mass wouldn't be as much of a concern and a tiny AC compressor of 10-20 lbs could be made to fit without much penalty, and plenty of other comforts could be added.

That said, I made my judgement too soon. See this:

https://youtu.be/SOVDIbi5zUk?t=1173

Arcimoto is proposing a tandem two-seater vehicle of 150 lbs with a 3kWh pack, 35 Wh/mi energy consumption, and an 8sq ft footprint. Not quite the same level of efficiency as mine, but it is approaching its efficiency somewhere within one order of magnitude of difference, probably at a faster speed, and will likely have rudimentary crash worthiness(unlike mine). It is also currently vaporware(also unlike mine. I have a functional physical proof of concept I'm putting 30+ miles a day on). But the laws of physics are what they are and they are very much in support of the possibility of this.

The idea I ultimately have in mind is a hyper-efficient one-seater electric sports car of extreme minimalism and with rudimentary safety(roll cage, 5-point harness, crumple zones, ect). By keeping mass down, the mass of all the parts that compose it can also be reduced due to reduction of all the physical stresses on components that said reduced mass entails while the vehicle is in motion on the road in real world conditions while encountering potholes, speed bumps, road debris, ect. It would be sufficiently light that off the shelf cheap Chinese ebike hub motors and MOSFET based controllers, as well as certain types of batteries(LoneStars are rated to 200C peak) could give it more than one peak horsepower per pound of vehicle weight, with all wheel drive. And the vehicle could be made small enough to fit through a doorway and light enough to be shoved/carried/pushed into an apartment by someone of good fitness as one would an appliance. I could see such a vehicle weighing in at 100-150 lbs, making 150+ horsepower peak, and retaining aerodynamic stability into the 100 mph range. Think about the possibilities here regarding performance, and the possibility or getting it at a very inexpensively accessible price at that!

BTW, 4.6 miles per kWh is still pretty good all things considered given the type of vehicle it is, a 5-seater hatchback. But if its drag was cut in half and mass cut by one third(both very doable with minimal penalty at the design stage), 6-7 miles per kWh could be done without compromising anything other than planned obsolescence, while having lowered the amount and cost of the batteries needed in the process. The 1st generation Leaf's 0.28 drag coefficient was very mediocre as far as its contemporary production cars go(industry average of 0.29 for 2010 model year), and in fact is on par with the 1972 Dodge Charger Daytona(Cd of 0.28) and 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen(Cd of 0.28). It doesn't appear that keeping range up and cost down through efficiency was an overriding concern in its design, and that lack of concern for this tends to be the case across the board in the auto industry in general. Production car aerodynamics are still stuck behind the knowledge that existed almost a century ago, at least in part in the interest of planned obsolescence. Tesla was willing to somewhat think outside that box and eschew planned obsolescence in the interest of building a better product, and at least partially for this reason(aside from the Elon Musk cultists), it has garnered for itself a loyal following. The new Model S has a 0.208 drag coefficient, which is a major leap ahead of anything else currently on the market.

Into the mid 0.1X range is possible without compromising practicality or consumer expectations regarding aesthetics if the vehicle is built around it, at least according to the texts on automotive aerodynamics that I've read, texts that date back to the 1970s when cars were in the 0.4-0.5 Cd range. The Model S platform would need a redesign to accommodate that sort of a change though. The sub 0.10 Cd range is also possible to achieve in a road-going vehicle if one doesn't care about aesthetics and instant brand recognition, and is also willing to make some minor sacrifices in functionality, as evidenced by the various solar cars and human powered vehicles in existence.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby AdamB » Wed 07 Apr 2021, 11:15:22

The_Toecutter wrote:My personal vehicle is designed with maintaining mobility during a "TEOTWAWKI MBZ apocalypse" in mind regardless of whether such scenario comes to fruition or not, and is far from a machine for everyone.


Interesting. So your scenario involved TEOTWAWKI and MZBs and you figured roads would still be there to tricycle around on? Let alone the MZBs themselves, running down tricycles on their methanol burning Hogs to loot and pillage the unfortunate pedalers?

The_Toecutter wrote:I could see such a vehicle weighing in at 100-150 lbs, making 150+ horsepower peak, and retaining aerodynamic stability into the 100 mph range. Think about the possibilities here regarding performance, and the possibility or getting it at a very inexpensively accessible price at that!


And how does this protect me and little Johnny on the way to Little League practice from being crushed to death by the superior mass of SUVs when they don't notice me at an eyelevel beneath their hood? You've obviously heard of one of the reasons why folks buy themselves out sized and overweight machines, safety! Me have more mass, me crush other cars like bugs! A roll cage built to do even basic collision protection from normal road going vehicles would have to be made out of what, unobtainium, in order to withstand an impact from something 20X the mass?

The_Toecutter wrote:BTW, 4.6 miles per kWh is still pretty good all things considered given the type of vehicle it is, a 5-seater hatchback. But if its drag was cut in half and mass cut by one third(both very doable with minimal penalty at the design stage), 6-7 miles per kWh could be done without compromising anything other than planned obsolescence, while having lowered the amount and cost of the batteries needed in the process.


If drag was cut by 75% and mass by 50%, it would be better still! My point is that the thing just works. I've got 2500 miles on it so far, and it is doing its job without so much as a yawn. It works. I am satisfied with both the CapX and OpX components of the purchase. And the weather protection, heating and cooling, power windows so I can roll them down remotely for the dog in the back seat, 80mph cruising capability, crumple zones and air bags, and so on and so forth.

The_Toecutter wrote:The Model S platform would need a redesign to accommodate that sort of a change though.


The Model S looks good, and can accelerate faster than the fastest motorcycles I've ever owned, in its current form. Can't complain about that, regardless of current coefficient of drag.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Sat 10 Apr 2021, 10:20:52

Not really “happy” but.....

Yesterday I experienced the most extreme precipitation event of my life. I did not “see” it as we were in a steel building, like a big garage, working on a project I could not put down. When the rain hit, we closed the doors, the noise of the wind and rain was awesome. Then the hail came.

So we are inside, no windows, just the wind and hail. The sound was amazing. I could literally, with no exaggeration, reach out and touch my wife but we could not talk, could not shout with comprehension over the noise. And this went on for about 15 minutes.

Then the building started to flood. I was working kneeling on a bench to keep my feet out of the water while my Wife was running around picking stuff up off the floor and finding dry places to put things. 2” of water over a 50’ by 100’ floor is a LOT of water.

When things subsided I opened the door, pushing the hail back. It was piled up around the perimeter of the building maybe 4” deep. Essentially it made an ife damn around the building which accounted for the flood. Most boats with clear plastic windows had them punched out. One lighting strike apparently hit with 75’ of our boat, between us and another fellow who was watching. Even at 10am this morning there were still piles of ice here and there. It looks to have been very localized, a half mile away things were different. A mile away and the trees have not had their leaves beaten off nearly as much.

My Wire was cool during the whole experience, as is her norm. She freaks out at other times. It is something I really like about boat life, the closer connection to nature.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Sun 11 Apr 2021, 13:24:56

Climbed the mast yesterday and installed a new mast head navigation light.

Felt pretty good I am able to do that in my dotage.

Image Image [URL=https://imgbox.com/UBA53BLU]Image[/URL
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Mon 19 Apr 2021, 19:32:01

Been past this island. No way to land on it.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56740670
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The Great Silence

Unread postby suxs » Fri 14 May 2021, 03:20:02

A Parrot Has a Question for Humans

BY T. CHIANG

Humans use Arecibo to look for extraterrestrial intelligence. Their desire to make a connection is so strong that they’ve created an ear capable of hearing across the universe.

But I and my fellow parrots are right here. Why aren’t they interested in listening to our voices?

We’re a nonhuman species capable of communicating with them. Aren’t we exactly what humans are looking for?

The universe is so vast that intelligent life must surely have arisen many times. The universe is also so old that even one technological species would have had time to expand and fill the galaxy. Yet there is no sign of life anywhere except on Earth. Humans call this the Fermi Paradox.

One proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox is that intelligent species actively try to conceal their presence, to avoid being targeted by hostile invaders.

Speaking as a member of a species that has been driven nearly to extinction by humans, I can attest that this is a wise strategy.

It makes sense to remain quiet and avoid attracting attention.

The Fermi Paradox is sometimes known as the Great Silence. The universe ought to be a cacophony of voices, but instead, it is disconcertingly quiet.

Some humans theorize that intelligent species go extinct before they can expand into outer space. If they’re correct, then the hush of the night sky is the silence of a graveyard.

Hundreds of years ago, my kind was so plentiful that the Río Abajo Forest resounded with our voices. Now we’re almost gone. Soon this rain forest may be as silent as the rest of the universe.

There was an African gray parrot named Alex. He was famous for his cognitive abilities. Famous among humans, that is.

A human researcher named Irene Pepperberg spent thirty years studying Alex. She found that not only did Alex know the words for shapes and colors, he actually understood the concepts of shape and color.

Many scientists were skeptical that a bird could grasp abstract concepts. Humans like to think they’re unique. But eventually, Pepperberg convinced them that Alex wasn’t just repeating words, that he understood what he was saying.

Out of all my cousins, Alex was the one who came closest to being taken seriously as a communication partner by humans. Alex died suddenly when he was still relatively young. The evening before he died, Alex said to Pepperberg, “You be good. I love you.”

If humans are looking for a connection with a nonhuman intelligence, what more can they ask for than that?

Every parrot has a unique call that it uses to identify itself; biologists refer to this as the parrot’s “contact call.”

In 1974, astronomers used Arecibo to broadcast a message into outer space intended to demonstrate human intelligence. That was humanity’s contact call.

In the wild, parrots address each other by name. One bird imitates another’s contact call to get the other bird’s attention.

If humans ever detect the Arecibo message being sent back to Earth, they will know someone is trying to get their attention.

Parrots are vocal learners: we can learn to make new sounds after we’ve heard them. It’s an ability that few animals possess. A dog may understand dozens of commands, but it will never do anything but bark.

Humans are vocal learners, too. We have that in common. So humans and parrots share a special relationship with sound. We don’t simply cry out. We pronounce. We enunciate.

Perhaps that’s why humans built Arecibo the way they did. A receiver doesn’t have to be a transmitter, but Arecibo is both. It’s an ear for listening, and a mouth for speaking.

Humans have lived alongside parrots for thousands of years, and only recently have they considered the possibility that we might be intelligent.

I suppose I can’t blame them. We parrots used to think humans weren’t very bright. It’s hard to make sense of behavior that’s so different from your own.

But parrots are more similar to humans than any extraterrestrial species will be, and humans can observe us up close; they can look us in the eye.

How do they expect to recognize an alien intelligence if all they can do is eavesdrop from a hundred light-years away?

It’s no coincidence that “aspiration” means both hope and the act of breathing.

When we speak, we use the breath in our lungs to give our thoughts a physical form. The sounds we make are simultaneously our intentions and our life force.

I speak, therefore I am. Vocal learners, like parrots and humans, are perhaps the only ones who fully comprehend the truth of this.

There’s a pleasure that comes with shaping sounds with your mouth. It’s so primal and visceral that, throughout their history, humans have considered the activity a pathway to the divine.

Pythagorean mystics believed that vowels represented the music of the spheres, and chanted to draw power from them.

Pentecostal Christians believe that when they speak in tongues, they’re speaking the language used by angels in heaven.

Brahman Hindus believe that by reciting mantras, they are strengthening the building blocks of reality.

Only a species of vocal learners would ascribe such importance to sound in their mythologies. We parrots can appreciate that.

According to Hindu mythology, the universe was created with a sound: “om.” It is a syllable that contains within it everything that ever was and everything that will be.

When the Arecibo telescope is pointed at the space between stars, it hears a faint hum.

Astronomers call that the cosmic microwave background. It’s the residual radiation of the Big Bang, the explosion that created the universe fourteen billion years ago.

But you can also think of it as a barely audible reverberation of that original “om.” That syllable was so resonant that the night sky will keep vibrating for as long as the universe exists.

When Arecibo is not listening to anything else, it hears the voice of creation.

We Puerto Rican parrots have our own myths. They’re simpler than human mythology, but I think humans would take pleasure from them.

Alas, our myths are being lost as my species dies out. I doubt the humans will have deciphered our language before we’re gone.

So the extinction of my species doesn’t just mean the loss of a group of birds. It’s also the disappearance of our language, our rituals, our traditions. It’s the silencing of our voice.

Human activity has brought my kind to the brink of extinction, but I don’t blame them for it. They didn’t do it maliciously. They just weren’t paying attention.

And humans create such beautiful myths; what imaginations they have. Perhaps that’s why their aspirations are so immense. Look at Arecibo. Any species that can build such a thing must have greatness within them.

My species probably won’t be here for much longer; it’s likely that we’ll die before our time and join the Great Silence. But before we go, we are sending a message to humanity. We just hope the telescope at Arecibo will enable them to hear it.

The message is this:

You be good. I love you.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Fri 14 May 2021, 08:48:36

We had an African Grey for 30 years.

Amazing critters.
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Re: Happy Talk

Unread postby Newfie » Sat 15 May 2021, 15:37:45

Made substantial progress on my port lights. Once we got into the iob we realized fully how necessary it was. The original install was pretty shabby and was creating all kinds of hidden problems, and earlier “fixes” had made matters worse. I ended up needing to do some minor welding repairs as well as enlarging the existing holes in3/16” steel.

The job has grown to 14 lights including 2 completely new in the aft cabin. The 2 new will provide rain covered ventilation and serve as steps to the hatch for emergency exit.

The project is nearly done, 8 installed. The others nearing completion. The boat has been a complete mess all this time. Very much looking forward to getting her clean foe a change.

Here is what it looks like and some before shots.

Image Image Image Image Image
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Re: The Great Silence

Unread postby jawagord » Sat 15 May 2021, 18:05:42

suxs wrote:A Parrot Has a Question for Humans

BY T. CHIANG

Humans use Arecibo to look for extraterrestrial intelligence. Their desire to make a connection is so strong that they’ve created an ear capable of hearing across the universe.

But I and my fellow parrots are right here. Why aren’t they interested in listening to our voices?

We’re a nonhuman species capable of communicating with them. Aren’t we exactly what humans are looking for?

The universe is so vast that intelligent life must surely have arisen many times. The universe is also so old that even one technological species would have had time to expand and fill the galaxy. Yet there is no sign of life anywhere except on Earth. Humans call this the Fermi Paradox.

One proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox is that intelligent species actively try to conceal their presence, to avoid being targeted by hostile invaders.

Speaking as a member of a species that has been driven nearly to extinction by humans, I can attest that this is a wise strategy.

It makes sense to remain quiet and avoid attracting attention.

The Fermi Paradox is sometimes known as the Great Silence. The universe ought to be a cacophony of voices, but instead, it is disconcertingly quiet.

Some humans theorize that intelligent species go extinct before they can expand into outer space. If they’re correct, then the hush of the night sky is the silence of a graveyard.

Hundreds of years ago, my kind was so plentiful that the Río Abajo Forest resounded with our voices. Now we’re almost gone. Soon this rain forest may be as silent as the rest of the universe.

There was an African gray parrot named Alex. He was famous for his cognitive abilities. Famous among humans, that is.

A human researcher named Irene Pepperberg spent thirty years studying Alex. She found that not only did Alex know the words for shapes and colors, he actually understood the concepts of shape and color.

Many scientists were skeptical that a bird could grasp abstract concepts. Humans like to think they’re unique. But eventually, Pepperberg convinced them that Alex wasn’t just repeating words, that he understood what he was saying.

Out of all my cousins, Alex was the one who came closest to being taken seriously as a communication partner by humans. Alex died suddenly when he was still relatively young. The evening before he died, Alex said to Pepperberg, “You be good. I love you.”

If humans are looking for a connection with a nonhuman intelligence, what more can they ask for than that?

Every parrot has a unique call that it uses to identify itself; biologists refer to this as the parrot’s “contact call.”

In 1974, astronomers used Arecibo to broadcast a message into outer space intended to demonstrate human intelligence. That was humanity’s contact call.

In the wild, parrots address each other by name. One bird imitates another’s contact call to get the other bird’s attention.

If humans ever detect the Arecibo message being sent back to Earth, they will know someone is trying to get their attention.

Parrots are vocal learners: we can learn to make new sounds after we’ve heard them. It’s an ability that few animals possess. A dog may understand dozens of commands, but it will never do anything but bark.

Humans are vocal learners, too. We have that in common. So humans and parrots share a special relationship with sound. We don’t simply cry out. We pronounce. We enunciate.

Perhaps that’s why humans built Arecibo the way they did. A receiver doesn’t have to be a transmitter, but Arecibo is both. It’s an ear for listening, and a mouth for speaking.

Humans have lived alongside parrots for thousands of years, and only recently have they considered the possibility that we might be intelligent.

I suppose I can’t blame them. We parrots used to think humans weren’t very bright. It’s hard to make sense of behavior that’s so different from your own.

But parrots are more similar to humans than any extraterrestrial species will be, and humans can observe us up close; they can look us in the eye.

How do they expect to recognize an alien intelligence if all they can do is eavesdrop from a hundred light-years away?

It’s no coincidence that “aspiration” means both hope and the act of breathing.

When we speak, we use the breath in our lungs to give our thoughts a physical form. The sounds we make are simultaneously our intentions and our life force.

I speak, therefore I am. Vocal learners, like parrots and humans, are perhaps the only ones who fully comprehend the truth of this.

There’s a pleasure that comes with shaping sounds with your mouth. It’s so primal and visceral that, throughout their history, humans have considered the activity a pathway to the divine.

Pythagorean mystics believed that vowels represented the music of the spheres, and chanted to draw power from them.

Pentecostal Christians believe that when they speak in tongues, they’re speaking the language used by angels in heaven.

Brahman Hindus believe that by reciting mantras, they are strengthening the building blocks of reality.

Only a species of vocal learners would ascribe such importance to sound in their mythologies. We parrots can appreciate that.

According to Hindu mythology, the universe was created with a sound: “om.” It is a syllable that contains within it everything that ever was and everything that will be.

When the Arecibo telescope is pointed at the space between stars, it hears a faint hum.

Astronomers call that the cosmic microwave background. It’s the residual radiation of the Big Bang, the explosion that created the universe fourteen billion years ago.

But you can also think of it as a barely audible reverberation of that original “om.” That syllable was so resonant that the night sky will keep vibrating for as long as the universe exists.

When Arecibo is not listening to anything else, it hears the voice of creation.

We Puerto Rican parrots have our own myths. They’re simpler than human mythology, but I think humans would take pleasure from them.

Alas, our myths are being lost as my species dies out. I doubt the humans will have deciphered our language before we’re gone.

So the extinction of my species doesn’t just mean the loss of a group of birds. It’s also the disappearance of our language, our rituals, our traditions. It’s the silencing of our voice.

Human activity has brought my kind to the brink of extinction, but I don’t blame them for it. They didn’t do it maliciously. They just weren’t paying attention.

And humans create such beautiful myths; what imaginations they have. Perhaps that’s why their aspirations are so immense. Look at Arecibo. Any species that can build such a thing must have greatness within them.

My species probably won’t be here for much longer; it’s likely that we’ll die before our time and join the Great Silence. But before we go, we are sending a message to humanity. We just hope the telescope at Arecibo will enable them to hear it.

The message is this:

You be good. I love you.


I think the parrots are not up on current events, perhaps they should try e-mail?

https://youtu.be/joLYVix5DLU
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