PERCUSSION AND DRUM STUFF
FOr all of your drumming needs: videos, tips, sheet music, humor, and more!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
How to reduce CATIA part file size - CATDUA
Is running a CATDUA the answer to my CATIA parts being too big? I'm not sure it is the complete solution but it may help a little. For those not familiar CATIA V5 accumulates a lot of junk like code errors etc. in it’s files during modeling, modification etc. Due to this, CATIA files may become corrupt and also during this process, the files become larger in size. To get rid of these problems, CATIA V5 offers CATDUA function. CATDUA is expanded as “Catia Data Upward Assistant”. The CATIA file now becomes cleaner and less prone to corruption. The other main advantage of running CATDUA is decrease in the size of file. Hence your CATIA files when processed with CATDUA, will open much faster. For example see the difference in size of CATPart before and after running CATDUA utility. A CATPart of around 25MB was reduced to 21MB after the CATPart is cleaned with CATDUA V5. For parts with large size, this difference may be higher, at least i hope so! Here goes nothing...
(BTW: two milestones have been past here. This is my 250th post and I have reached over 4,000 unique visitors. Hurray! let's keep it up.
(BTW: two milestones have been past here. This is my 250th post and I have reached over 4,000 unique visitors. Hurray! let's keep it up.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Milton Hershey Interesting Tidbit
At Hersheypark, which now owns Dutch Wonderland, Milton Hershey used to walk around the park picking up any litter he would find. The only thing he would not pick up were Hershey bar wrappers, which he would instead leave turned face up.
Top Ten Reasons to Date an Engineer
10. The world does revolve around us…we pick the coordinate system.
9. Engineers like to experiment.
8. Co-op provides “hands on” experience.
7. Free body diagrams.
6. No “couple” enjoy a better “moment”.
5. We know how to handle stress and strain in a relationship.
4. According to Newton, if two bodies interact, their forces are equal and opposite.
3. We’ve got really big…calculators!
2. We specialize in attraction, vibrations, stress relief, and explosive forces.
1. We know it’s not the length of the vector that counts, but how you apply the force.
9. Engineers like to experiment.
8. Co-op provides “hands on” experience.
7. Free body diagrams.
6. No “couple” enjoy a better “moment”.
5. We know how to handle stress and strain in a relationship.
4. According to Newton, if two bodies interact, their forces are equal and opposite.
3. We’ve got really big…calculators!
2. We specialize in attraction, vibrations, stress relief, and explosive forces.
1. We know it’s not the length of the vector that counts, but how you apply the force.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Vintage Lego Airport Shuttle Monorail #6399.
When I was a young lad, the Lego Airport Shuttle Monorail was a Lego set I desperately wanted to have. I remember gazing at the ad for it in the Lego wish list magazine we used to get every year. I never got the monorail. I think my parents deemed it too expensive, which at the time I believe was selling for $140. Today, I decided to look through the Lego sets on Amazon.com to see what they had. I sorted the selection by price from high to low. On the first page guess what model popped up? Yup, you guessed it, Vintage Lego Airport Shuttle Monorail #6399. And the asking price? $1,485.99! Can you believe that? I couldn’t.
Well, I decided to look through the pages and find some of mine and my sibling’s old sets and see if their prices had skyrocketed as well. I found six sets that I know we owned for sure. The total sum of those sets listed is over $1000! The average selling cost of each set is $170, which I am sure at least twice of what we originally paid for them. But would ours be worth that much in reality? Probably not. For one, all of the pieces are now mixed together in one large box. On top of that we probably don t have the boxes the sets came in and I can only hope that we kept the instructions. I think the main purpose of keeping them in the first place is for future grand kids.
Lego Wild West Gold City Junction 6765 $199.99
Lego System Aerial Acrobats Set 6345 $199.89
Lego Wild West Western Rapid River Village Teepee / Canoe 6763 $199.00
Lego Western #6761 Bandit's Gold Mine Secret Hideout $159.49
LEGO Legend 10036 Breezeway Cafe (Reissue of Town 6376) $129.90
Lego Sheriff's Lock-Up 6764 $115.50
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Need Money Blog: MyView Surveys, is it worth it?
If you’ve never heard of MyView before the concept is simple: you get paid to take online surveys. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Letting a company know about your opinions brings the same sort of pleasure as taking quizzes in magazines, that sense of self-exploration and at the same time the feeling that you are letting your opinions be known to others and making a difference, all the while pocketing some quick cash. Well, I don't want to burst your bubble, but not all online surveys are created equal. More often than not, surveys site promise the world but leave you with nothing but endless advertisements and no money in your pocket.
MyView is legitimate and you will receive e-mails from them stating that you will be paid $1 to $5 to take a 20 minute survey. You will begin to take the survey, so grateful to be offered one that pays cash, and usually 10-15 minutes in the survey will suddenly end and they will say "I'm sorry you do not qualify for this survey. You will not be paid but we'll enter you in our monthly raffle." I do not know anyone who has won that raffle. Call me a skeptic, but I often think that they take the information they want from and just never pay up.
Let’s look at the best case scenario. Each survey you take pays $5 and takes 20 minutes to do. That means you’d be making $15/hour which, assuming the only reason you are doing this is because you don’t have a real job, is not too bad. If you could keep that up for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week that would be a nice little income, $31,200/year. However, from my experience with MyView surveys this is impossible to do. Why? First of all, not every survey is valued at $5. Some are $5, some $3, others $2 or $1, and then there’s the $0 contest entry only surveys. There aren’t always surveys available for you to take either. The surveys that are available usually end up as a waste of time anyways because halfway through it tells you “Sorry, you don’t qualify for this survey” but never tells you why you don’t qualify. Not to mention who knows how long it really takes to complete each full-length survey as it could be over twenty minutes. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you have to make $25 before you get paid. The one time I did complete a survey for $2 I was never able to go and view my rewards.
This is my real case scenario. Out of the twenty surveys I took I only qualified and finished one of them for cash, worth only $2. I’m pretty quick with a mouse so let’s say I can complete the listed 10-15 minute survey in 5 minutes. That’s a pretty good average because the surveys I don’t qualify for are shorter than and the actual are longer. In one hour I can take 12 surveys (still not entirely realistic but we’ll go with it). That means every two hours I would complete 1 or 2 surveys for cash. At most, that is only $2/hour. This translates to a yearly salary of $4160. Now some of you might be thinking “well that’s 4160 more dollars than I have right now” but again that was being optimistic that you could even take 96 surveys per 8 hour day due to available surveys and length of time to complete.
As you can see, you can make money from MyView but in my opinion it is nowhere near worth the time commitment or effort. I read on a forum that one individual said she’s been taking surveys now and again over the course of a year and has only made $25. Then again, if you have no other source of income and plenty of time you might as well give it a try, maybe you’ll have more luck qualifying for surveys than I did or perhaps even win one of their “giveaways.” I have also heard you get money for referring other users but I am not sure how that works. You can test your luck with MyView but don’t expect too much.
MyView is legitimate and you will receive e-mails from them stating that you will be paid $1 to $5 to take a 20 minute survey. You will begin to take the survey, so grateful to be offered one that pays cash, and usually 10-15 minutes in the survey will suddenly end and they will say "I'm sorry you do not qualify for this survey. You will not be paid but we'll enter you in our monthly raffle." I do not know anyone who has won that raffle. Call me a skeptic, but I often think that they take the information they want from and just never pay up.
Let’s look at the best case scenario. Each survey you take pays $5 and takes 20 minutes to do. That means you’d be making $15/hour which, assuming the only reason you are doing this is because you don’t have a real job, is not too bad. If you could keep that up for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week that would be a nice little income, $31,200/year. However, from my experience with MyView surveys this is impossible to do. Why? First of all, not every survey is valued at $5. Some are $5, some $3, others $2 or $1, and then there’s the $0 contest entry only surveys. There aren’t always surveys available for you to take either. The surveys that are available usually end up as a waste of time anyways because halfway through it tells you “Sorry, you don’t qualify for this survey” but never tells you why you don’t qualify. Not to mention who knows how long it really takes to complete each full-length survey as it could be over twenty minutes. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you have to make $25 before you get paid. The one time I did complete a survey for $2 I was never able to go and view my rewards.
This is my real case scenario. Out of the twenty surveys I took I only qualified and finished one of them for cash, worth only $2. I’m pretty quick with a mouse so let’s say I can complete the listed 10-15 minute survey in 5 minutes. That’s a pretty good average because the surveys I don’t qualify for are shorter than and the actual are longer. In one hour I can take 12 surveys (still not entirely realistic but we’ll go with it). That means every two hours I would complete 1 or 2 surveys for cash. At most, that is only $2/hour. This translates to a yearly salary of $4160. Now some of you might be thinking “well that’s 4160 more dollars than I have right now” but again that was being optimistic that you could even take 96 surveys per 8 hour day due to available surveys and length of time to complete.
As you can see, you can make money from MyView but in my opinion it is nowhere near worth the time commitment or effort. I read on a forum that one individual said she’s been taking surveys now and again over the course of a year and has only made $25. Then again, if you have no other source of income and plenty of time you might as well give it a try, maybe you’ll have more luck qualifying for surveys than I did or perhaps even win one of their “giveaways.” I have also heard you get money for referring other users but I am not sure how that works. You can test your luck with MyView but don’t expect too much.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wicked Twister Model CATIA Tutorial
If you are a frequent visitor to Coaster101, you may have seen some of my CATIA amusement park ride computer models, like this. You may also have been asking yourself or wondering how I created those computer models. Well today I am going to explain in a little bit further detail on the process I have used to recreate those attractions on the computer.
I use a program called CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application), which is the most powerful and widely used CAD (computer aided design) software of its kind in the world.
If you’ve ever used No Limits simulator there is an excellent Wicked Twister recreation so I am going to use that to help me out. Keep in mind that this is just one approach of literally thousands of different ways of doing it. If you have a other suggestions I would love to hear them!
The first thing I did was get the coordinates from all of the node points in the No Limits model. I created all of these points in a CATIA part. Be careful of the axis system, CATIA’s default axis is not necessarily the same as No Limits in terms of which direction is X, Y, or Z is. Next, connect all of the points with the spline command. This is the result thus far. You can see the basic profile layout, also called the center or heartline of the coaster.
Continue reading my article over at Coaster101.
I use a program called CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application), which is the most powerful and widely used CAD (computer aided design) software of its kind in the world.
If you’ve ever used No Limits simulator there is an excellent Wicked Twister recreation so I am going to use that to help me out. Keep in mind that this is just one approach of literally thousands of different ways of doing it. If you have a other suggestions I would love to hear them!
The first thing I did was get the coordinates from all of the node points in the No Limits model. I created all of these points in a CATIA part. Be careful of the axis system, CATIA’s default axis is not necessarily the same as No Limits in terms of which direction is X, Y, or Z is. Next, connect all of the points with the spline command. This is the result thus far. You can see the basic profile layout, also called the center or heartline of the coaster.
Continue reading my article over at Coaster101.
Which NCAA Football team has been to the most BCS bowls?
The Ohio State University will be going to their 8th BCS Bowl on January first. The next best is 7 which I believe is a tie between USC and Oklahoma.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
S&S Screamin Swing CAD Model
Today I decided to attempt to model an S&S Screamin Swing thrill ride in CATIA V5 R19. Here are two pictures and the 3D xml of what I made today. It's a little rough around the edges but you get the idea. I made up all of the dimensions since I have no idea what they actually are. I think the scale actually came out quite well. Not as exciting as a roller coaster but the file size is much smaller! You can see some of my other creations at Campus3ds website. Enjoy.
My New Excel Blog!
Check out my new blog: Excel Spreadsheet Help I will be sharing tips, tricks, templates, and examples of how I use Excel at work, home, and school over the years to make tasks easier!
Annoying Work Emails
At work I recently received an email from the V.P. of Human Resources, sent to all employees world-wide, about how everyone in the company should be getting new insurance cards in the mail. Well, this morning I find an email in my inbox that just irritates me. First of all, this guy hits ‘reply all’ instead of just 'reply' so everyone can read this message:
Good Morning,
i will be going to the dentist tomorrow, and have not received a new Anthem card yet. if i do not receive it today in the mail, do i give the dentist the number (--------), since i may not have a new card?
thanks,
------
Wow. People write emails like that? And to the V.P. of HR? You can’t even take the time to capitalize your freaking I’s? This is just sad and really annoys me. He also included his number for everyone to see which I have blanked out here.Are people really that lazy nowadays? I suppose it’s not that really a big deal but still, little things like that just annoy and irritate the crap out of me. Take some pride man and do the thing right, especially when a big wig, let alone everyone in the company, is going to read it. Geez.
Good Morning,
i will be going to the dentist tomorrow, and have not received a new Anthem card yet. if i do not receive it today in the mail, do i give the dentist the number (--------), since i may not have a new card?
thanks,
------
Wow. People write emails like that? And to the V.P. of HR? You can’t even take the time to capitalize your freaking I’s? This is just sad and really annoys me. He also included his number for everyone to see which I have blanked out here.Are people really that lazy nowadays? I suppose it’s not that really a big deal but still, little things like that just annoy and irritate the crap out of me. Take some pride man and do the thing right, especially when a big wig, let alone everyone in the company, is going to read it. Geez.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Magic Kingdom Trip Report
My twin sister and I decided to take advantage of Disney’s free admission on your birthday promotion this year. We registered online and took our printed forms to the guest services office outside of the park. We presented our driver’s license and we each received a complimentary park ticket and happy birthday pin. Every cast member we saw that day wished us a happy birthday. We also saw many other people in the park not only wearing birthday pins but celebrating other occasions like first visit to Disney World, just married, anniversary, etc.
Continue reading and for pictures.
Best Ugly Christmas Sweater EVER
Check out this ugly XMAS sweater we found at value world for $1.80. Sarah is going to wear it for her ugly sweater xmas party then we will use it in my families gag gift exchange/game.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Jonsi Solo Album
Jón Þór Birgisson of Sigur Ros fame will be releasing a solo album entitled GoA free MP3 of the track "Boy Lilikoi" was made available to mailing list subscribers through his website. The MP3 announced gave a worldwide release date of 'the week of March 22, 2010' through XL Recordings, Ltd.http://www.jonsi.com/ You can also preview other songs on the site too. All sound simply amazing to me and I can't wait to listen to the album in full.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wicked Twister CATIA Model
I actually started working on this model over a month ago but I just now got time to actually make some progress on it. I am recreating Wicked Twister at Cedar Point in CATIA V5 R19. I got the initial data points from No Limits simulator program. I am still looking for a solution to help reduce file sizes. This model has many splines and ribs which tend to weight it down. Here is what I have thus far:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Universal Orlando Resort Video
Check out my video from Universal Orlando Resort. I tried to go a little artsy with the music and such and it would've turned out better if I had gotten better video to work with or even if the stupid fades and dissolves hadn't screwed up again. Regardless, I hope you still enjoy it.
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