Wapsi Square Forum

Dave wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:

Alkarii wrote:I want one of those as well, but it may be a pain in the ass to mount it in the car.

One of the single-line ones that scroll the message across - slightly larger than a license plate.

Put it in the rear window. Program several appropriate messages, control it from your phone or in-car system.

I could swear I've seen versions for sale which are built right into a license plate frame...

Could be. I want four-inch-high letters they have no excuse for not noticing.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Could be. I want four-inch-high letters they have no excuse for not noticing.

You're probably limited to a separate unit, then... maybe mounted at the bottom of the rear window. A transparent OLED matrix mounted right on the glass might work, but it would be terribly expensive at that size, and the glare in your rear-view mirror could be blinding.

The techno-hacky (but dangerous) method would be to mount a single 4" high strip of ultra-bright LEDs, and then use a microcontroller to "strobe" the dot-matrix characters out to this, one column at a time. If you look right at it, you just see a vertical line of light. If you sweep your eyes from left to right, the flashing LEDs "paint" the characters on your retina and you see the message appear briefly across your field of view.

It's a neat hack, but it's certainly dangerous to do in a motor-vehicle environment. You do not want the tailgater behind you glancing back and forth, left-to-right-and-back, to read your message... and then rear-ending you because s/he wasn't paying attention.

Dave wrote:So, "go uphill until you aren't wet anymore" is not as simple and obvious a solution as it sounds at first. The water can be extremely insistent that you go downhill, along with it, and go meet its whole big family.

And if you have a combination of volcanic eruption and flood, then you might end up with the Leidenfrost effect sending some of the water uphill to getcha!

AnotherFairportfan wrote:I keep wanting to get one of those programmable LED message signs.

When I had an old Hudson Hornet that had been built as a police car, it still had a high-powered spotlight directed out through the back window that could be turned on or off with a switch on the dashboard. I used it more than once on people who got too close, though I did avoid doing that on any really narrow winding roads at night.

Dave wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Could be. I want four-inch-high letters they have no excuse for not noticing.

You're probably limited to a separate unit, then... maybe mounted at the bottom of the rear window. A transparent OLED matrix mounted right on the glass might work, but it would be terribly expensive at that size, and the glare in your rear-view mirror could be blinding.

Like this:
That's 4 x 26 inches, and fully programmable.

With luck you can program more than one message and use some sort of control to switch...

OSHA regulations state you must have both hands on the handrail and wear a hard hat to ride my ass.

You drive an expensive car. I drive a rattletrap. Should I brake suddenly, guess which one ends up costing more to repair

I'm flattered, but I just don't swing that way, go find another tail to ride.

Ride my ass and your future cell-mate will ride yours.

I just installed some really awesome brakes. Wanna see how fast I can stop?

That last one is the best. I bet it would certainly get their attention!

I simply installed a bypass switch that manually activates the brakelights... works every time... Ideally, on an outside curve in icy conditions... it's mounted on the turn signal indicator...

Sgt. Howard wrote:I simply installed a bypass switch that manually activates the brakelights... works every time... Ideally, on an outside curve in icy conditions... it's mounted on the turn signal indicator...

Japan? Japan has all kinds of weird vending machines.

I wouldn't trust the eggs. Or rather, I wouldn't trust thin layer of styrofoam to keep the eggs safe during a deliberate 6" drop.

Jabberwonky wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:I simply installed a bypass switch that manually activates the brakelights... works every time... Ideally, on an outside curve in icy conditions... it's mounted on the turn signal indicator...

I get the feeling this is illegal somehow, but it's hilarious and ingenious.

Sgt. Howard wrote:I simply installed a bypass switch that manually activates the brakelights... works every time... Ideally, on an outside curve in icy conditions... it's mounted on the turn signal indicator...

A lot of military vehicles have something like that, where you can flip a switch to disable the brakelights for when you want to drive around all stealthy-like at night. It also means that you can flip the switch and have fun gradually slowing down and watching the guy in the car behind you suddenly realise that things aren't quite right and go into confused panic mode. . .

Mama Hawk has chick! Or eyass if you are a birder. Had to look that up, what baby hawks are called...

You can see a little white head if you look closely at the nest below mama hawk's head. Hope to get some better pictures from the roof and with better lighting. Better vantage point and a little closer. The nest is high up in a pine tree one house away.

Good thing I'm paid by the hour.

I stopped for lunch, and the car won't start. Battery issues. I'm almost an hour from my last stop, and from there, an hour back to the lab. However, it is also an hour back to the lab from where I am.

The boss is on his way with a new battery.

I wish my (alleged) car only had battery issues.

It has issues with everything but the battery.

Pigeons have apparently decided that my apartment's garage is a wonderful place to nest. They flew in after my wife got in her car this morning, and promptly hid in the eaves behind the back wall of the garage.

GlytchMeister wrote:I wish my (alleged) car only had battery issues.

It has issues with everything but the battery.

Well, I guess I'll never get those two (or was it three?) hours back...

Incidentally, here is an example of the Alleged Car, taken from the Live TV section (from the Cosby show):

My mom let my niece's cat out with the puppies this morning. Not long after that, I brought the puppies in, not knowing the cat was outside. Not long after that, I noticed I didn't see her, or hear her, so I went outside to look for her.

She's just on the other side of the driveway, cold and stiff, with blood staining her fur. I'm waiting on my parents to leave and take the kids with them before I bury her. Hopefully I can sneak out and move her somewhere else before the dogs come back for her.

This cat acted like I was her favorite person. She slept on my bed almost every night, and would frequently crawl all over me, rubbing her head against my hands.

I'm about ready to start shooting the neighborhood dogs.

Could've been a car.

Sorry, man.

A car wouldn't fit between the trees next to our driveway, though. Also, when I picked her up, the side on the ground was still a little warm.