aglet or aiglet - plastic or metal tip on the end of a shoelace or shoestring that keeps the lace from unravelling - from an Old French word meaning needle.
alcohol types: -
isopropyl alcohol is made from propylene gas and is a good disinfectant and used in cleaning products. It is unsafe for drinking
rubbing alcohol is isopropyl diluted with water
methyl alcohol (wood alcohol) us commonly used in manufacturing and its vapors are highly flammable. Ingesting as little as 10 mL can result in permanent blindness. You don't want to know what 30 ml will do.
ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is the essence found in all alcoholic beverages. Sometimes it is used as an industrial solvent. It is fermented from barley, wheat, grapes, or other grains and fruits.
undistilled ethanol gives geer, wine and cider
distilled ethanol gives Vodka, gin, brandy, whiskey, rum and tequila.
apple varieties chart:
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) numbers, up to 127, that represent letters etc. in computers and on the Internet
bar code types and compared
BC stands for Before Christ BCE means the same and stands for Before Common Era AD stands for the Latin phrase anno Domini ("in the year of the Lord")
CE means the same and stands for Common Era which is shared in common between Christians and other religions;
beef cuts - Where does your meat come from?
Bed Sizes - How big do you have space for? Here are the most common sizes. A full bed is the same size as double bed. Do not look at the last bed chart unless you like being confused.
Bed
Mattress
Flat Sheet
Twin
38" x 75"
72" x 102"
Full
54" x 75"
96" x 102"
Queen
60" x 80"
92" x 108"
King
76" x 80"
110" x 114"
Bed
Comforter
Mattress
Full
78"-88" x 86"-92"
54" x 75"
Queen
86"-90" x 90"-100"
60" x 80"
King
90"-108" x 86"-108"
76" x 80"
bible (according to The Canadian Information Minister May 12, 2003) - An ancient novel full of murder, corruption, homosexuality, bestiality, incest and cruelty. It is often read to children on Sunday.
Bill Maher vs Ross Douthat on Christianity & Religion (5 minute video)
bokeh the blurry areas of an image to emphasize the subject, as a portrait with good bokeh
bolt thread lockers are liquids used so your bolts do not loosen. They come in different standard colors for different purposes:
Red: High strength, permanent adhesion. ... requires heat and force to remove
Green: High strength wicking, permanent adhesion. ...apply after parts are assembled
Blue: Medium strength, removable with torque and standard tools. ...
Purple: Low strength, easily removable....
bolt types (also see screw types)
Size and pitch chart for US and metric bolts; Thread measurements:
Five-pages of info about fastener categories: heads drives washers nuts rivits anchors etc. here
buck/boost - a DC/DC converter that can maintain a constant output voltage when the input voltage ranges both above and below that output voltage. For example input might range from 8-20 V and output be a constant 12 V. It is also referred to as a SEPIC (Single-Ended Primary Inductance Converter) or Flyback controller, tending to be lightweight, lacking a heavy transformers. A good application is MPPT with solar panels.
catchlight or catch light - in photography, a specular highlight or sparkle caused by light reflected in a person's eyes. Also known as eye lights or Obies
joke - one set-up, twist, punchline and tag(s), ortopper(s)
bit - a series of related jokes
opener - the comic's first bit, a good one to captivate the audience
closer - the comic's final bit, a good one so the audience will remember the comedian
act or set - comic's routine for a specific show
The Funny People
opener - a comic who opens the show with about 5 minutes, but does not introduce the rest of the comics
host or MC - a comic who does about 5 minutes then introduces the other comics
guest - a visiting comic who does not get paid for doing about 5 minutes
feature - a comic who comes on before the headliner for 15-30 minutes
headliner - the advertised, best and last comic, typically doing 45-60 minutes
Connectors for your electronics
Video connectors for computer screens and TV
VGA has 3 rows of pins, is available for most monitors
DVI has faster response time and better resolution: DVI-I works with either analog or digital monitors while DVI-D works with only a newer digital monitor.
Displayport (left) and HDMI (right) can be high resolution and include sound
USB Connectors and their speeds in megabytes and gigabytes. USB-C charging devices with PPS using PD
PPS (Programmable Power Supply) varies Volts w device communication; PD (Power Delivery) fast charging
pinouts for USB connectors (Plastic slug for USB 1.0, white; 2.0, black; 3.0, blue):
USB Quick Charging New QC technology by Qualcom allows very fast charging of your compattible devices, without reducing battery life. This technology will also charg older devices normally at 5V and 1.5A.
Trailer Connectors:Pin Outs for 4, 6, and 7-pin . Shown here is a seven-pin connector, which wire colors are the same for the same functions with the other connectors, except the grouond is a different color for a four-pin connector.
EV Connectors (Electric Vehicle Connectors 2023) CHAdeMO is a legacy connector for the old Nissan Leaf
Coyote Basinn Park has an area that has been designated by the City of Phoenix for RC aircraft flying. It is our favorite place for flying our
fourth RC micro helicopter: Blade Nano CPx that has a tail rotor, no flybar and true collective positive and negative pitch
helicopter.
Click to see our GPS measurements of the flying area and if it's going to be too windy with these NWS Graphs.
demo - (as in demonstrate) A word used loosely to describe taking kites, boards and other equipment out for a trial run. You can demo equipment when a shop has demo days.
drift launch - taking the kite out into the water with the lines ready to fly, hooking in and then letting go of the kite. With a little finessing the kite will drift downwind and can be launched with normal water relaunch techniques.
Duet - An excellent organization that we support and for which we volunteer. Duet provides many services, free of charge, to older people in the Phoenix area.
electricity can be put into formulas for Volts (electromotive force), Amps (current), Ohms (resistance) and Watts (power). More units and explanations.
Electricity Circle
Ohms Law Triangle
Power Triangle
Energy in Joules (Watt-second) Triangle
Energy in KiloWatt-Hours (Thousand Watt-hours) Triangle
Ethernet cables are used to connect modems to routers to computers etc.
The frequency indicates how often the signal can pass through the cable, according to KABE
Cat5e - Has a speed up to 1.000 Mbit/s, 100MHz
Cat6 - Has a speed up to 1.000 Mbit/s, 250MHz
Cat6a - Has a speed up to 10.000 Mbit/s, 500MHz
Cat7 - Has a speed up to 10.000 Mbit/s, 1.000MHz
ethylene is a hydrocarbon gas which ripens fruits. It is produced when plants are injured and by fruits as they ripen. You can ripen fruits faster by storing them together in a closed space, or preserve them longer by keeping them separate and open to the air. This is especially true with apples, melons, apricots, bananas, tomatoes, avocados, peaches, pears, nectarines, plums and figs, which produce the most ethylene.
exFAT (Extensible File Allocation Table) is a computer file system developed by Microsoft in 2006 as a file system optimized for flash memory devices such as USB flash drives and Secure Digital or SD cards. File sizes are unlimited but it does not have journaling so is more susceptible to errors and loss of data if power is interrupted during file transfers. It is compatible with most operating systems like Windows, Mac, Linux and Android
expected wealth = one tenth of your age times your income (pre-tax annual household income from all sources except inheritances)
FACTS - A file of information about energy, batteries, deaths, health, disease, history, inventions, weather, astronomy, computers, education, business, power, ecology, governments, transportation, technology and anything else we have found interesting, amusing or amazing. If you want to know something, you might find it there; or just try browsing the file.
fiber optic cable - plastic or glass light guides for the transmission of data used with an SFP, or an ONT
Financial Abbreviations
FINRA - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
ICI - Investment Company Institute (mutual finds?)
NICSA - National Investment Company Service Association
SEC - Securities and Exchange Comission (creaded in 1934 with 5 members, serving 5 years, appointed by the President)
Force 5 - a one-person monohull sail boat similar to a Laser that accommodates two adults.
Fuse Types used mostly for DC applications such as boats and automobiles. Below, types and colors.
Geography of a Woman - Tongue-in-cheek comparison of a woman and a man to geographic locations
cylinder = corrective power for astigmatism in diopters (0-2=moderate; above 4 = significant)
axis = the meridian that contains no cylinder power, with 0° starting on the right horizon
PD = distance between your pupils
astigmatic fan: The line that appears darkest gives the axis for that eye
hearing aids - meet FDA standards as a medical device and are obtained through an audiologist. OTC (over-the-counter) hearing aids also meet FDA standards as a medical device and are adjustable by the user. Sound amplification products (PSAs) only amplify the sound and are regulated as consumer electronics.
HISS - Hatteras Island Sail Shop (OBX)
homonyms - words that sound the same - 40 with fun illustrations, or go for multinyms
IKO - International Kiteboarding Organization - certifies instructors etc.
inflatable kite -
a kite with air tubes in the leading edge and struts that are inflated to about 7 psi with a hand pump. This type of kite is easier to re-launch when it gets down in the water. Pete refers to it as a "bubble" kite.
kite loop progression - progression of kite loops, starting small and building to the more difficult:
Kite loop sitting or standing in the water to get the feel of the kite and conditions
surface kite down loop slide-switch transitions
carve toe-side to heal-side with kite down loop
jump (always working to improve these)
jump jibe with kite down-loop
jump with kite back-loop
normal carve heal-side-to-toe-side, bringing the kite across the wind window
carve heal-side to toe-side with down kite loop, making a super tight kite loop and edging hard!
juggling boosts brain development. Research indicates that learning to juggle accelerates the growth of neural connections related to memory, focus, movement, and vision, especially with aging adults. The beneficial changes persist even after weeks without practice. This is an excellent step-by-step how-to video by OTB (Out of The Box). Some other good videos are available by Taylor Glenn, Chris Dacosse and Josh Horton.
KHK - Kitty Hawk Kites (OBX)
kiteboarding - riding on a board powered by a kite in the wind. Typically the kite is up about 75 feet in the air. The board can be a wekeboard, surfboard or landboard. When done in the water, and especially in the ocean, it is sometimes called kitesurfing. Some wind/water sports are:
hang gliding
kiteboarding/kitesurfing
kite landboarding
land buggy powered by a kite
paragliding
parasailing (being pulled by a boat)
snow kiting
wakeboarding (done behind a boat)
windsurfing/sailboarding
Lark's Head
"
lark's head - The knot used to attach kite lines to a kite's pigtails. It is a loop that is placed over a knot in the line to which it is connecting. The harder the pull, the tighter the loop becomes. It is also easy to undo.
Other names for the same or similar knot are cow hitch, lark's foot, girth hitch, ring hitch, lanyard hitch, bale sling hitch, baggage tag loop, tag knot, deadeye hitch and running eye
lit - having so much wind for the size of your kite that you have difficulty controlling the power. In this situation it is usually necessary to have someone hold you down in order to land the kite safely.
laundry care symbols for washing your cloths correctly
LOUisms - Inspiring sayinngs and ideas we have collected and come up with over the years.
masking tape (Painter's tape) - blue comes off easier and is better for general use; green has a more powerful adhesive and is good for irrigular surfaces. More tapes and more information
MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface, passes musical information between various electronics devices
MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) - a buck/boost controller that keeps solar panels operating at their most efficient output voltage as it charges batteries at their most efficient recharge voltage (either higher or lower than that of the solar panels). This tracks the output voltage of the solar cells and has nothing to do with tracking the sun.
Naish Custom Fish - a short surf board used for kiteboarding, used with or without the foot straps (image above)
New Elements: Scientists have discovered three. Here's a summary of what they found for Wo (Woman), Xy (Man) and Gv (Governmentium).
nitrocellulose (cellulose nitrate) - has been used as smokeless gunpowder because it decomposes explosively. Other uses have been in plastics, movie films, paint, nuclear track detection and in the detection of specific proteins.
OBX - The Outer Banks: A series of long, narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina which include Nags Head, Pea Island, Hatteras Island, Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke Island. The dogleg, along with the shallow water depth, gives it the best kiteboarding conditions I have seen anywhere! To add icing to the cake, the Atlantic Ocean is just across the island to the east.
ONT (Optical Network Terminal) - a specialized modem that connects fiber to Ethernet, similar to an SFP
paper sizes, ISO chart and more than you ever wanted to know about ISO paper sizes.
paper weight chart with bond, caliper, points, Metric and other measurements for the thickness/weight of paper.
Measured with Lou's digital calipers: 1 pt = .001 inch; = 22g/m2 (approximately)
4pt 20lb bond 75g/m2
8pt Wausau index 110lb 200g/m2
9pt Walmart 65lb Premium Cardstock (176g/m2)
9pt Exct Index Heavy Card Stock from Kelly Paper 110lb (200g/m2)
10pt cheap business cards 220g/m2
11pt Lou's new thin business cards (80 bond cover paper - 216g/m2)
14pt Lou's new thick business cards 308g/m2
15pt Lou's old thick business cards 330g/m2
27pt back cardboard for Lou's daily note pads 594g/m2
Bond Paper Weights (Writing, Ledger, Duplicator, Rag Paper) US Basis Weight Size 17" x 22" sheets)
MERV Ratings (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) measures the filtering performance of a furnace or HVAC filter. The higher the MERV rating the better the filtration but the greater resistance to the flow of air. A higher MERV rating air filter will cost you more to buy and also increase your utility bill. Too high a MERV rating can reduce the efficiency of your system or even damage it.
If you have no pets, smoke or allergies a MERV rating of 1-7 is OK. Otherwise consider 8-10. Homes with smokers or a wood-burning fireplace should have a filter in the MERV 11-13. That is the highest for most home HVAC systems. I plan to get MERV 8 or, preferably, 10 for my older AVC system.
partition map is how a computer's disk drive is organized. As of 2023, the GUID Partition Map was the best partition scheme for most situations. GUID stands for globally unique identifiers. It is the bootable standard for computers that use united extensible firmware interlace (UEFI). It is the standard for all the latest versions of Windows, macOS and Linux
PASA - Professional Air Sports Association (national association for kiteboarders - certifies instructors etc.
profane relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or biblical; secular rather than religious... not initiated into religious rites... not respectful of religious practice; irrevernet. blasphemous or obscene language. (The New Oxford American Dictionary)
PWM (Pulse Width Modulator), or switching power supply - One of the many uses is for light-weight power supplies that can put out a constant voltage with an input range of 100 to 220 volts AC, by varying the duty cycle with a very fast electronic switching circuit.
PVP PVP (Photoselective Vaporization of the Prostate) is a procedure using GreenLight™ Laser to treat BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), an enlarged prostate. Lou had this precedure in 2012.
PAW (Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth) - over double expected wealth, according to Thomas J. Stanley
Powers of 10 are useful in the metric & other systems like computer memory
sandpaper & abrasives sizes & uses
screw types (also see bolt types)
Head types & specifications.
Five-pages of info about fastener categories: heads drives washers nuts rivits anchors etc. here
Pilot hole size is important - too small and you can start hari-line cracks with the screw. Too large and you lose the holding ability of the screw. Pilot holes are similar for a variety of materials. Generally thicker materials require a slightly larger pilot hole. The following chart is for sheet metal screws.
Here is a more comprehensive chart:
slick - downwind from a low (usually grass) island where the wind is not effected, but the water is glassy smooth. A great place to practice jumps, turns and speed runs.
tethered launch - launching your kite (depowered) by clipping the chicken loop to an anchor, such as a sand bag and then carrying the kite to the edge of the wind window and setting it up in the C position. The kite will stay there, bouncing on the wingtip, while you walk to the bar and transfer the chicken loop to your harness and away you go!
SEPIC - SEPIC - Single-Ended Primary Inductance Converter (see Buck/Boost)
SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) or mini-GBIC (gigabit interface converter) connects copper cable, such as Ethernet, to fiber optical, similar to an ONT
Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea - Periods of little or no breathing during sleep (20 seconds or more). AHI (Apnea-Hyponea Index) is the average number of breathing interruptions per hour during the night. A CPAP or APAP machine can help.
SPI - South Padre Island: the southern part of a long barrier island that extends off the gulf coast from Corpus Christi, Texas almost to the Mexican boarder
SPIWKA - South Padre Island Windsurf/Kiteboard Association
SSID - Service Set IDentifier (the name of your Wi-Fi network)
Stand-up Comedy - Standing, usually with a microphone, and entertaining people by trying to make them laugh a lot and hard. Here is an excellent Stand-Up Glossary from CJ Alexander and 10 Tips for Beginner Comedians by Patrick Bromley
SUP - Stand-Up Paddleboarding: A person stands up on a big flat board, uses a long paddle and tries to look cool and maybe surf some waves.
tent types, some types, materials and parts
time zones in the conterminous United States
TLD - top-Level Domain: the letters immediately following the final dot in an Internet address, as .com .net .org .tv .adult .bio .biz .bike .fit .sexy .sucks .asia. Here is an alphabetical Internet country domains list (TLDs).
Toilet - a high tec device for getting rid of waists of various sorts. Posted in the restroom of Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) in Phoenix, AZ
Top Tier Detergent Gasoline - is a higher standard than the EPA minimum, keeps your car engine running cleaner and is worth the possible additional 3¢/gal. ARCO is on a long list of of Top Tier Detergent Gasoline Brands.
(look for this logo: at the gas station)
traction kite - Any kite that is designed to pull; from the same root as tractor
UAW (Under Accumulator of Wealth) - less than half expected wealth, according to Thomas J. Stanley
USPS (United States Post Office) - First Class minimum size = 5" x 3.5" and 0.007 inch thick; More First Class size restrictions
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Washout - sometimes called the Isabelle Washout - an approximate half-mile stretch of Hatteras Island, north of Hatteras Village, where Hurricane Isabelle washed the island away in 2003 (our GPS waypoint HAWASH). Of course, man does not like change and put it all back and rebuilt the road and the parking lot at taxpayers' expense.
wealth (net worth) - what you have (assets) minus what you owe (liabilities)
GFS - 50 km resolution; updated every 6 hours for 180 hr (7.5 days) - Global Forecast System
HRW - 4 km resolution; updated every 12 hours for 48 hours (2 days) - High Resolution Window
ICON - 13 km resolution, uses a grid rather than Latt/Long, which eliminates the polar effect - Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic
NAM - 12km resolution; updated every 6 hours for 84 hr (3.5 days) - North American Mesoscale
NCEP - National Centers for Environmental Prediction (US NOAA unit, runs the GFS model)
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NWS - National Weather Service
QPF - Quantitative Precipitation Forecast. A spatial and temporal precipitation forecast that will predict the potential amount of future precipitation for a specified region, or area
UKMET 75km resolution; northern hemisphere by United Kingdom Meteorological Agency
WRF - 9 km resolution; most of Europe and Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Madeira and part of Morocco's Atlantic coast - Weather Research and Forecasting
wire sizes in AWG and metric with sizes amps and more information than you need to know.
The X-Plan is a scheme to get your kids or other family members out of unsafe situations.
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at the gas station)
