Deburring of Crankshaft timing sprocket.

Hi ,

I am developing a Crankshaft sprocket for a domestic customer where I find deburring of teeth after CNC turning on this cold forged part is extremely difficult due to the burr folding on to the parent material which acts soft while trying to remove by deburring wheels.

Also the machin

Beeper Code: The Caveman Days of Text Messaging [Y2k10]

In 1999, 45 million Americans had pagers. They were an equal-opportunity technology, owned by drug dealers, whores, doctors and CEOs—and new college students whose parents couldn't drop the leash. At least there was the code.

Saddled as I was with my beeper, I did what I could to avoid actually picking up the phone. For Christmas my mom gave me a few rolls of quarters: a reminder that when she paged me, I was supposed to call her back. Most of my paging, however, was sending numerical messages to my friend Sarah.

My pager was green! Hers was pink! We were so very cool. This number-to-word conversion we became addicted to will probably go down as only a very minor footnote in turn-of-this-century communication, but, for kids who'd never known from text messaging and hardly used email, the idea that I could send her any kind of message and she'd get it instantly—that was pretty darn huge.

Some of our codes were super private so I can't share them, but others were standard: 411 for information, 911 for emergency, 143 to symbolized the number of letters in each word of the phrase "I love you."

There was also an accepted system of sending numbers so that, when written together, looked vaguely like letters. We'd grown up getting adults to spell "BOOBLESS" on calculators by typing in the elements of a story about Dolly Parton and then holding the calculator upside down. (Her bra size was 69 and that was 2, 2, 2 big. So, she took 51 diet pills and went to see Dr. X eight times. Now she's... 55378008.) From there, it was an easy jump to many other words. Hello was 07734. That was one of the easiest one. We said "Hello" a lot. Bitch? Why that was 81764, naturally. There were so many, it became necessary to have beeper-code dictionaries, or at least, a basic decoder.

Now, Sarah and I text using actual words written using actual letters. Boring.

Anna Jane Grossman will be with us for the next few weeks, documenting life in the early aughts, and how it differs from today. The author of Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (Abrams Image) and the creator of ObsoleteTheBook.com, she has also written for dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Salon.com, the Associated Press, Elle and the Huffington Post, as well as Gizmodo. She has a complicated relationship with technology, but she does have an eponymous website: AnnaJane.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnaJane.



How to Get Free Inflight Wi-Fi This Holiday Season [Dealzmodo]

Holiday travel can be a tiresome experience. If you want to relax with a little Wi-Fi on the plane, MyMoneyBlog.com has compiled a list of the codes you can use to get free internet access during your holiday excursions.

Yesterday we showed you the inflight Wi-Fi cheat sheet, and according to the chart there are really only four airlines where you even have a chance of finding the internet: Delta, AirTran, American Airlines and Virgin America. The first three require a code to get free Wi-Fi, but Virgin America doesn't.

According to FlyerTalk and MyMoneyBlog.com, these are the codes you'll need to use on Delta, AirTran or AA. All expire on December 31:
Delta: DELTATRYGOGO
AirTran: AIRTRANTRYGOGO
American Airlines: AATRYGOGO

Edit: Reader Fo just reminded me that these codes are for new users only, and work once per email address. The same likely applies for the codes below. (But if you have a Gmail account, you can insert random periods in the username to create "unique" addresses that all go to your account.)

If those don't work for whatever reason, FlyerTalk and MyMoneyBlog.com also reference these three codes. They should be valid until January 7:

• 2287548427snk
• 2472564126dvu
• 2285632980tlk

If you're flying Virgin America, you don't have to do anything. Google partnered up with the airline to provide free Wi-Fi throughout the holidays until January 15.

Those are your best bets. Hopefully free Wi-Fi will make your holiday travels a little more tolerable. [My Money Blog, Virgin America]



Video for Owning the Weather Panel in Copenhagen | The Intersection

I participated in two panels while in Copenhagen, and the first–a discussion following a screening of the docu Owning the Weather–now has a YouTube video up recapping the event. Yours truly is in there, talking about the film and about geoengineering, as are scientists Stephen Schneider and Jason Blackstock. Hope you enjoy–don’t miss the incredible gigantic spinning globe that was displayed at the center of the Copenhagen city square, and is captured in the video:


Next Week’s Best Buy TV Sales Are Surprisingly Good (Again) [Dealzmodo]

Gary at HD Guru once again snagged next week's Best Buy TV circular early, and just like last time, the deals are surprisingly good. Here's a sample, check out his site for the full list and price comparisons:

• Samsung PN50B550 50? 1080p plasma $979.99
• Toshiba 46XV645U 46? 1080p 120 Hz LCD Best Buy $999.98 with Free Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player bundle
• Sony KDL-40XBR9 40? 1080p 240 Hz LCD Best Buy $1244.97 with Free Sony BDPS360 Blu-ray player and HTSS360 5.1 Home Theater in a Box system
• Sony KDL-46XBR9 46? 1080p 240 Hz LCD Best Buy $1704.97 with Free Sony BDPS360 Blu-ray player and HTSS360 5.1 Home Theater in a Box system
• Samsung PN42B450 42? 720p Plasma $624.99 Best Buy

Not too bad. Not too bad at all. [HD Guru]



Hot Tub Enclosure Steam Problem

Hello Guys,

I am having a slight problem, hoping I can get some information on what is going on and maybe some solutions if possible.

I have a hot tub outside, I build an enclosure for it about 20' x 20' the roof is made of metal. The problem is everytime i use the hot tub the room gets v

Mechanical drawing/drafting programs

Several months ago there was a thread on drawing programs; I have taken a quick look at these. Is there anything new on the market that you have used and can recommend? I do not need the power, size, and expense of something like AutoCAD; but would like something fairly simple and hopefully free.

Star Wars Weather Finally Puts the Forecast Into Terms I Can Understand [Star Wars]

Weather reports are complicated. Barometric pressure, precipitation probabilities, there's too much to keep track of. Star Wars Weather takes all that info puts it into terms I can understand: what Star Wars planet the current conditions most closely resemble.

I live in the northeast. All I really need to know for the next few months is that it'll be like Hoth outside. Once it starts turning to Endor, I'll be in the clear.

See? Simple. [Star Wars Weather via Neatorama]



How to Not Get a Headache During Avatar [Avatar]

Shadow Locked makes a great point about how 3D movies don't gel with our perception of the world. If you have trouble with 3D flicks, check out their tips for how to get through Avatar without getting a splitting headache.

The author argues that when we're presented with a limited depth of field in a movie, we're trained to focus on the blurred section of the frame. That's where directors traditionally hide details.

When we're looking at a shot that has a limited depth of field in 3D, though, we expect to be able to shift our gaze and focus on that blurred area. But instead of seeing that part of the frame clearly, it remains out-of-focus.

I can see how that could be disorienting for some people. I've never had a problem with 3D, but I know people who have. Hit the link for a full rundown of how the author managed to control his headache. [Shadow Locked, Thanks Martin]



Put a Giant Condom On Your Bed [Pillow]

I never realized we were such pillow fans: iPhone icon pillows, pillow blankets, TV pattern pillows, laptop pillows, pillow rings, extra-terrestrial pillows, wiimote pillows... it never stops. Until now. Here's the pillow to rule them all: The Condom Pillow.

Hand silk-screened, the Condom Pillow has a small pocket to put real condoms inside. Genius? I think so. It's a great reminder, in any case. You don't really want to have to use the undo pillows one day. [Etsy]



Dodge Ram 1500 truck acting goofy

My 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD extended cab is acting goofy. First--and this is a continuing problem--it doesn't like to start. It has plenty of battery, but I have to jiggle the shift lever from Park to Neutral and back again, and finally it works. I get power to the starter, and it starts just fine. O

Bacteria Assemble in Mario Form to Battle Bowser Virus [Science]

Here's Mario, and he's ready to rescue that pinky amoeba called Princess Peach. Or give you a food intoxication that will tie you to the toilet for a day. It can go either way, because he's made of glowing bacteria.

Those pixels are really genetically engineered bacteria, modified to "express fluorescent proteins and carotenoid pigments" by Team Osaka, at the nanobiology laboratories at the University of Osaka, Japan. [Microbial Art via New Scientist]



Closing Statement from Copenhagen — No Legally Binding Agreement

The climate change talks at Copenhagen, despite last-ditch efforts by President Obama and many others, went on through the night, into the morning and then into the early afternoon.  In the end, no legal agreement, though they do have a “Copenhagen Accord” with a maximum temperature agreement, financial support, deforestation agreements, and lots more that will be analyzed for months. If you have heard that Obama accomplished a lot in Copenhagen, that depends on what you mean by “a lot”.    You can download the accord and read it: Copenhagen Accord (182 kB)

Here is the final statement from Yvo de Boer. You can read all the documents and see archived video on the UNFCCC site.

“Briefing the press at the end of the two-week conference, Yvo de Boer said an accord has been reached that has significant elements, but that is not legally binding.

He described the accord as “politically important,” demonstrating a willingness to move forward. It brings together a diversity of countries that have put in place a letter of intent with the ingredients of an architecture for a response to climate change.

The key points of the accord include the objective to keep the maximum temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius; the commitment to list developed country emission reduction targets and mitigation action by developing countries for 2020; USD 30 billion short-term funding for immediate action till 2012 and USD 100 billion annually by 2020 in long-term financing, as well as mechanisms to support technology transfer and forestry.

The challenge now is to turn what is agreed into something that is legally binding in Mexico one year from now.”

The accord is a political agreement only, not  binding, and it’s primarily to reduce emissions on a voluntary basis without legal oversight.  The accord is called operational. That means the money pledged by countries to help poorer countries adapt and develop will be available to them.  Yvo  de Boer calls it “politically significant” but without legally binding requirements I don’t see how the U.S. and China and India will do what needs to be done in reducing emissions.   I do believe that most people in the U.S. government want to do what is necessary but there is strong political opposition from some anti-science right-wing Congressmen who are  most concerned with protecting their own state interests.

What would have helped get a legally binding document?  For one, stronger reliance on the science, and a strong climate change bill (as opposed to a cap and trade, or a jobs and energy bil) passing through the U.S. congress before this conference.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has made a big deal recently of focusing on climate change from the perspective that it’s all about “jobs, jobs and jobs”.   No it’s not, it’s about science, the climate, the forces of nature that we will soon be unable to turn around,  and the future of humanity on the planet.  But such is the intelligence [...]

Sholes Tablet Gets Specs and Press Shots: It’s Still Lumpy [Motorola]

That weirdly-shaped Sholes Tablet we saw a while ago has an official Chinese press page up. There's also details on the XT800, the much less lumpy handset of the two.

Both of the phones feature Android 2.0 (sans Motoblur from what I can see), Cortex A8 processors and 854x480 displays. The XT800 is a hybrid EVDO-CDMA/GSM handset. Except for the lump on the Sholes (or XT701 if you're a model number kind of person), they both look pretty nice.

Here's to hoping these find their way to U.S. shores soon enough. Check out the link for full specs on both. [Mobile Review Forums via BGR]