miscellaneous

[serenissima]

Lots of thoughts running through my head today. I'll try and note down some of them before they're gone.  :)

I went back to my hometown last weekend. Chris drove up to see me. We had hoped for a four-day weekend together, but things did not work out that way. We did have a nice one-and-a-half days, though.

Friday night, while home, I went to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" with my brother and some of his friends. The movie was entertaining. I wouldn't pay to watch it twice, but I was into the story enough to be caught off guard by the ending.

It's been a long time since I looked at my Pathfinder book. I took it to work with me today, intending to read it during lunch. I did not, but I did read it on the drive home.
Inspired by this book, I have decided to choose a career by the new year. Not just a job -- a career.

And a design question I pondered, also while on the drive home: if a four-footed critter running on the ground had wings, would it achieve the fastest speed by
A) curving the wings into an aerofoil shape, like airplane wings, to lift it off the ground, or
B) curving the wings into an upside-down aerofoil, like spoilers on a car, to press it into the ground, or
C) folding the wings tight to its back to minimize drag?

And I want more user icons. And a comments page that matches my main page. I may end up shelling out for a paid LJ account after all.

Comments

[zeeth_kyrah]

Lift reduces contact with the ground, meaning you can't get a solid grip and push forward as quickly; this is why cars have spoilers. However, a spoiler pushes down, meaning more friction - and thus more effort required to push forward. If you're bolting for a hiding place, pull your wings in and keep your body low to the ground.

Of course, if projectile weapons aren't an issue, it'd be better if there was room enough to leave the ground entirely: that would start with wings up, ready for the initial leap and flutter.

[pulplit.livejournal.com]

Yeah you don't really need downforce until you're zooming around curves at 100mph. For a running animal, the best way to run fast is going to be minimizing drag. Actually, the really bast way would be to do it like a duck or a loon taking off, flapping with the wings in addition to running -- could be hard for a 4-footed critter, though.

I keep hearing terrible things about the new Pirates flick. It's good to hear someone found it entertaining, because I'm going to be seeing it regardless. Albeit maybe in like 7 months.