When can we get a DOGE for aviation?

by philg

We had a 0-time Continental factory rebuilt engine dropped into a 2005 Cirrus SR20 back in 2019. The steel oil filler cap was new at the time. After 5.5 years of operation, in which combustion generated water vapor as a byproduct, the cap rusted out to the point that it is missing one of the teeth that engages spring tension to keep it in place.

Some pilots remove the cap after every flight for some period of time to let the steam out, though quite a few of these heroes of diligence also report having suffered from rusted oil filler caps. You might reasonably ask why anyone should care about the lifetime of this part. Why not buy a new cap every 5 years? An impervious-to-rust (plastic) ACDelco GM oil filler cap is $11 (presumably this is because people sometimes lose the caps, not because the cap won’t outlast the engine in ordinary circumstances). How much more could an aviation cap cost? (Answer: $386-$11)

I talked to some aviation mechanics about this and none thought that there would be any problem in Continental or Lycoming catching up on 70+ years of improvements in plastic or taking a class titled “Here are some things that Ford, Toyota, and GM were doing in 1985”. The best explanation that anyone had of why this expensive and rust-prone part would be used is that the engine family was certified like this back in the 1930s and it is too much effort to get the FAA to sign off on a change.

Maybe general aviation will be saved by eVTOLs that are designed and built with a completely different philosophy. If not, though, I wonder if we could get a DOGE going between the manufacturers of legacy piston engines/aircraft and the FAA to ask and answer questions of the form “Why wouldn’t you use a plastic cap in a rust-prone environment?”

3D printing nerds: have we advanced to the point that it is possible to toss a metal cap into a scanner and print a dimensionally identical plastic replacement that can handle the temps at the top of the engine (the oil temperature redline is 240F so maybe you want a plastic that is good to 400F)?

For reference, here is the perfect-condition oil filler cap, never previously touched or used by anyone other than the dealer, in our 4.3-year-old Honda Odyssey:

It’s available for $13.49, including shipping, from a Honda dealer via Amazon. If we assume that shipping is bundled into the price, this is a $10 part at most. Why did people replace it? Here are a couple of Amazon review reasons:

  • The original cap began to leak around its base after 8 years and 60K miles.
  • Don’t know what happened to my oil filler cap?

Searching for incidents across all cars where an oil filler cap was replaced, and ignoring those where the cap serves an engine venting or emissions function, it seem as though loss is the most common reason and typically due to a service shop forgetting to put it back on.

Full post, including comments

Robots that exterminate immigrant plants and animals?

by philg

We’re informed by Science that immigrant humans make life better/easier for natives (the enrichers and the enriched). Science also tells us that immigrant plants and animals make life extremely difficult if not impossible for natives. Examples from the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida:

What about robots that tirelessly hunt for immigrants that Science says we don’t want and that Californians characterize as “invaders”? They could catch Burmese pythons in the Everglades, for example. Sea robots could hunt lionfish in the Caribbean and Asian carp in the Great Lakes (folks in Illinois hate Asians almost as much as Harvard does!). The idea is already out there for immigrant plants (e.g., “Seeing Beneath the Trees: Using Robots and AI to Control Understory Invasive Plants” (UConn 2021)) and “weeds”. Maybe nobody wants to think about robots, such as Elon Musk’s Optimus, having the power to trap and gather live animals (or kill them).

This is my April Fools’ Day message. It can fit the theme of the day either because (1) we are all fools for not noticing the apparent contradiction in simultaneously believing that low-skill immigrant humans are hugely valuable and animal immigrants are hugely destruction, (2) the idea of robots roaming the Everglades and gathering up baskets of pythons is foolish.

Related… “Densely packed invasive anoles outcompete natives”:

Invasive brown anoles might outcompete their native cousins in the southeastern U.S. merely by living more densely.

Brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) inadvertently came to Florida in the 1800s by tagging along on cargo shipments. Since then, the invasive species have moved steadily northward in the state, often taking over territories occupied by native green anoles (Anolis carolinensis). Researchers know that over time, the invasive Cuban anoles change the native species’ habits. After moving in, the newcomer species typically occupies the ground and lower parts of plants and trees, while the green anoles occupy an ecological niche higher up on trees and bushes. The native anoles also become less common once the brown anoles have established themselves in the new territory.

Instead, she speculated that brown anoles in the wild might be outcompeting green anoles based on sheer numbers. Brown anoles may lay eggs more often than green anoles. The Cuban newcomers also tolerate much denser living conditions, while green anoles don’t. This allows the invasive species to take over more territory.

In short, anole migrants have a higher birth rate and don’t mind living in squalid conditions that native anoles would consider intolerable…

Full post, including comments

The Last Breath (Hollywood version)

by philg

Back in 2019, I watched a documentary about a diving accident (see Movie: The Last Breath). This year, I watched the Hollywood version. It’s the same director, but upgraded to meet the diversity quotas imposed by Hollywood for Oscar eligibility:

It’s difficult for three guys to have sex with each other while hundreds of feet down under the North Sea, so an Academy-approved LGBTQ+ theme was not going to be possible. The real-life individuals in this drama all appear to be white males (Scottish and English; see photo below (source), though perhaps David Yuasa has some Asian heritage). The filmmakers nimbly substitute an East Asian guy as one of the divers, a Maori actor as the captain, and a female as the ship’s first officer (maybe these last two aren’t doing their respective victimhood groups any image favors given that it was entirely the ship’s fault). I don’t think that it helped Oscar eligibility, but they put an American actor (Woody Harrelson) with an American accent in as one of the Scottish divers.

The dramatization is more dramatic and has much higher production values than the documentary (which includes a lot of 2012 footage from the ship, the ROV, etc.).

I recommend the movie. There’s not too much colorful language, especially considering how dire the situation got, and there is no sex despite the Academy’s attempt to make everything LGBTQ+. Therefore, our 9-year-old didn’t learn anything new about things that we don’t want him to learn about.

Related:

Full post, including comments

Eid Mubarak from Apple

by philg

Eid al-Fitr is now a “US Holiday” according to Apple:

(Separately, nobody can write precisely precisely?)

How about some new phrases, e.g., “As American as Eid al-Fitr”?

(Eid al-Fitr is not on the analogous Google Calendar “Holidays in the United States”. Hatefully, neither Apple nor Google includes International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31 every year) on the list of US Holidays.)

Related:

  • Profiles in Corporate Courage (Apple offered Pride Edition products in 2021 and “is proud to support LGBTQ advocacy organizations”, but at the same time does not offer these sacred rainbow items in places where full LGBTQ rights have already been achieved, e.g., in the UAE (Wokipedia 2021: “Male homosexuality is illegal in the UAE, and is punishable by the death penalty under sharia law”))
Full post, including comments

Is the Sacred Rainbow Flag the new Golden Calf?

by philg

Today is the big day for the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County:

Here’s the organization’s “Inclusivity Statement”:

Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County embraces a culture of diversity and inclusivity in accordance with our Jewish values. We celebrate the uniqueness of our community members, lay partners and staff as varied perspectives enrich our learning and reinforce our commitment to making the world a better place. We aim to create an accessible environment that accommodates individual needs and welcomes the full participation of our community. Learn more at jewishpb.org/inclusivity.

I’m wondering why attending a Pride parade is a specifically Jewish activity, especially in light of Leviticus 20:13. My conclusion is that the Sacred Rainbow Flag is to modern-day Jews (at least the non-Deplorables) what the Golden Calf was to ancient Israelites.

Update… let’s look at a few photos. From the Palm Beach Post…

A child on the sidelines…

… learns that the Future is Trans:

The 2SLGBTQQIA+ religion is not promoted in public schools, but the public school police department actually paraded in the parade:

Here’s a T-shirt from the “Jewish Dems” and, apparently, the trans-enhanced rainbow flag is something everyone at the intersection of Judaism and the Democratic Party could agree on back in 2023:

Loosely related, a tweet from Tim Cook, who identifies as a member of the 2SLGBTTQIA+ community, today:

What is the traditional way for the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community to celebrate Eid al-Fitr?

Full post, including comments

Should cars be able to signal a U-turn?

by philg

Compared to Maskachusetts, Florida is the land of the divided thoroughfare, dedicated left turn lane, and legal U-turn. It’s a little tough for people making a right turn on red on the cross street, though, to determine if a driver is making a left turn (no conflict) or a U-turn (conflict).

Now that all of the exterior lights of a car are LED, why not a mechanism for signaling a U-turn to other drivers? The rear left turn signal could add an extra color and a “U” symbol that lights up in between flashes (there’s already an array of LEDs that make up the “taillight”, right?) The front turn signal, seen by the right-turning driver (above), could add the same standard extra color.

Perhaps the toughest part is the gesture to activate the U-turn signal. The stalk is already heavily overloaded with user interface (pull back for temporary bright headlights; push forward for persistent bright headlights). Maybe a steering wheel button?

Full post, including comments

More Tesla Full Self-Driving reports

by philg

Our neighbor has a Model Y that is one generation behind the recently introduced one. He reports having made a 4-hour trip from Gainesville (home of University of Florida, which needs to branch out!) without once touching the steering wheel. I wonder if this supports a “yes” answer to Do self-driving cars work better in states with modern road networks, such as Florida?

A friend who is rich enough to pay $900/month to garage his Tesla X in Manhattan reports regular 3-hour trips to what he refers to as “Long Island” (fake humble; I suspect “the Hamptons” is more accurate) and intervening on average less than once per trip. The FSD feature was one of the reasons he was willing to purchase a second home that is so far away.

This CyberTruck in our neighborhood the other day is beginning to look better with every report like the above that I hear.

In other car news, Waymo is coming to Miami (this does not support my theory that Florida is easy because they say that the intermittent heavy rain in Florida interferes with their self-driving system (LIDAR?), though maybe a vision-based system such as Tesla’s is just as degraded and nobody cares because there is always a backup human available in the “supervised” FSD).

The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach has a fleet of EVs for ferrying guests around. They apparently didn’t want cars with a Nazi affiliation so, instead of Tesla, they’re using Maybach/Mercedes EQS 680s:

Also from The Breakers, a photo showing how much more beautiful cars have become over the years as humanity has advanced in aesthetic capability. In front we see a hideous old car and in the background the beautiful Chevrolet Suburban and the sinuous Mercedes G-Wagen (also Nazi-free):

The jalopy in the photo is, according to ChatGPT, “a 1963–1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III”.

Full post, including comments

AI Product Idea: Alter Ego

by philg

How about this use of artificial intelligence/LLMs… a complete personality upgrade.

Consider that in-person interaction is becoming increasingly rare. Most of what is known about someone’s personality is based on whatever he/she/ze/they has typed into a computer or a phone. There is a range of personality quality and some of us are near the bottom, e.g., gratuitously annoying or offending people. What if phone and desktop operating systems were modified to include an AI personality adjuster? The user’s emails, social media posts, text messages, etc. would all be edited to read like whatever a person with a great (kind, optimistic, non-sarcastic, non-sour) personality would have written.

“I paid $45,000 for this car and your incompetent mechanics haven’t fixed the A/C after three visits” becomes “Thank you and your team for working hard to get my A/C fixed on the last three service visits. I appreciate your diligence, especially since you sold me the car for only $45,000, which I know was an especially fair deal. I am wondering if I can schedule a fourth service on the A/C.”

Here’s a tweet from someone with a terrible personality:

Instead of “How is an organization with a white male leader equipped to demand that others stop being racist?” this comment would be rewritten to “Thank you and your tireless UN colleagues for all of the work that you do to make the world a better place. I hope that you can stay in your Secretary-General job until you’re 95, but if you choose to enjoy a well-earned retirement it would be interesting to see what a Secretary-General of color would do.”

(Note how my reply got only 28 views; X has an algorithm to keep people in echo chambers. It has learned that nothing I write is going to make people who follow the UN happy or interested and, therefore, suppresses views for any comment that I might make on a UN post. Similar replies on conservative users’ tweet have gotten at least a few hundred views.)

This could have saved James Damore, the Google Heretic. His entire manifesto would have been reduced to “Women are so much better at programming than men because they just love a job where they sit by themselves and stare at a screen all day. It would be wonderful if Google would hire more females even if their education and skills don’t appear to be sufficient for the jobs.”

If fed statistics from online dating markets and told to write for success, the AI would rewrite most messages from men to women to be variations on “I am 6’2″ tall and earn $750,000 per year.” (see “Income attraction: An online dating field experiment”, for example) “Rammstein is my favorite group” would become “$10,000 is not too much to spend on a Taylor Swift concert.” The political stuff would be trivial for an AI to handle. If a man wrote “I voted for Donald Trump” that would be tweaked to “I am inspired by Kamala Harris and all of the other amazing Democrat women.”

A social media comment on a post celebrating a female aviation achievement under the Are women the new children? standard would go from “Don’t forget Hanna Reitsch, the first woman to fly a helicopter, and a passionate advocate for her government and nation.” to “Great to see someone breaking barriers.”

Full post, including comments