The Sorcerer's Progress (Page 55 of 62)

Good... now you need to get to posting

You've been busy while Ive been away, I see. Sorry about the computer drama. It's always something, isn't it?

I’ll give it a peek

It's sbout 4 years old.  I don't think it's backlit; it looks like an LED screen.  Or OLED?

Trying to work on The Rockpile.  Of course, now is when plot notions for the next two books come into my head.

At one point, Kirsey should have occasion to say "When an adventuring sorcerer gets into trouble and tries to get out of it, it's like falling out of a tree onto a rotten roof, which breaks, dropping you onto the rotten floor of the attic, which drops you down into the second floor.  But that's rotten, too, so you fall through into the first floor.

Which is when you fall into the kitchen where the lunatic cook is sharpening her knives.

That's when her pet alligator gets you."

I also am imagining a chase scene out of =A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum=.

Sigh.  I've got a couple of chapters to finish, if I can.  Why do the ideas come now?

And you have to make the reader fall for it

What, alligators Get No Love?

"I shall turn his balls to gunstones."  Find the mocking scene and mock away.

Where is NJC t?  What is he about?  Whither dost he wander?

Side projects are popping up more side alleys than any sorcerer's nightmare.  I need, eventually, to get to project A.  But it will help to do project B first, both because having B will help with A and because if I don't get B outt of the way, it will be in my way while I work on A.  And then ...

In thinking about how to test B under severe-but-realistic load, I've been thinking about project C.  Which started small, but quickly became interesting.  I spent most of yesterday filling pages with algebra to understand the non-linearities of parallel-series combinations of fixed and variable resistors (both as potentiometers and as rheostats).  My bladder woke me overnight and as I took care of business it occurred to me that I could (probably) finesse the problem with current sources.  Looks workable, but will be ten hours or more of lab work.  LATER.  I just now thought of a useful mod for project B.  I'll try to do it.  And project C has a detail to be worked out using an RC network to drive a MOSFET to provide a brief, fast reset current to the timing circuit on each side of an astable multivibrator.  (The MOSFET's gate may be approximated as a capacitance that depends on the voltage on its drain terminal.)

I've got a circuit layout for project B to breadboard and test.  I need to do a clean drawing of the layout, and I need to test it in parts: Current source, three-way current mirror, and voltage source.  The voltage source first with only the voiltage output, on the circuit board, and then with the power block (not complete yet) including both the voltage output and the current bootstrap transistors.

And then I need to test it.  Unfortunately, I passed up the chance to stock up on 5- and 10-ohm 10-watt sand-cased power resistors.

And, oh, yes, The Rockpile.

New Jersey,

Just checking in for a status update and notice for everybody else. I'm on maintenance chemo now (3 of the five meds that I was on continue) with various continuing side effects that don't need elaboration. My energy level is better, especially the first few days. I got a lot of stuff done this past cycle, xmas cards, the tree, cleaning out a corner so that the tree will fit...decorating said tree.

Not any writing, but if my energy continues, then watch out world.

Disney went well. I did a ton of walking, and proved to myself that I'm not as feeble as everyone else seems to think that I am. My sister threw her back out, and all I had was some bruising on my ankles. A small price to pay. We went to Animal Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom (twice) and Hollywood Studios. Only one day for Universal Studios, but we made it count.

Collin already wants to go back and he can keep on wanting. The price tag was pretty steep. I told him it is going to be years before he gets to head back that way.

I'm scarce but not forgotten. Talk soon, Ya'll.

A

Sounds like your vacation paid you for the time and effort, if not for the lucre.

I've been chasing some distractions, and learning more about how electronic components behave at low current levels.  And under other interesting circumstances.  I spent four days trying to figure out WHAT was happening and HOW it could be happening ... and then remembered that MOSFETs have a Miller capacitance too ... and learned that it's a sneaky son of a so-and-so that gets LARGER as the device turns on and SMALLER as it turns off ... with interesting consequences.  (Look up Miller Effect.)
I've also been wrangling some network problems, soon to be fixed, I hope.

On my problems with Pausonallie: She's changed since I invented her.  I just had the idea of her being the True Heir of G-Aunt Maugram, just now coming into her own.  Have to think.

Have (metric) tonnes of reviews to catch up on.

Thank the stars for Naproxen and that cane. Keep yourself moving.