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| On the subject of awards - a little online research revels that something called the Plain English Campaign has an annual "Foot in Mouth" Award. Self-appointed guardians of clean diction and articulation, they have compiled a list of public figures noted for producing confounding quotes. Included in their past awards are:
"I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe and somebody said I was a snake, I'd think 'No, actually I am a giraffe." - actor, Richard Gere
"I could not fail to disagree with you less." - MP, Boris Johnson
"I love England, especially the food. There's nothing I like more than a lovely bowl of pasta." - model, Naomi Campbell
I can hardly wait to see what 2008 brings! For a real chuckle and to see the complete list, just click this link: Foot in Mouth Awards. |
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Can You Solve This? |
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 It's always gratifying when a customer comes to you with a problem and you have just the right solution. We had a machine rebuilder that had acquired a collection of controllers and encoders over the years that were perfectly fine, but represented a variety of input types and voltages. Not surprisingly he had a wide range of encoder types and resolutions as well. For some of his projects, it didn't matter if the equipment was a few years old as long as it was tested and was working. He originally came to us looking to see if he could send in an encoder to change out the code disc from 4096 to 1024. What were his options?
Answer: Though it's not practical to change out code discs on encoders, we could do the next best thing - which was to convert a 4096 output to a 1024 output by using the Divide By function in our Optical Isolator Module at a fixed value of "Divide by 4". At the same time, the Opto Isolator could also convert the encoder output type from it's native open collector into a differential line driver - making it compatible with his controller. In addition, the BEI encoders that he had could be sent back to our factory for an evaluation and refurbishment where required. When all was said and done we helped him restore and use virtually all of his inventory which made him a happy man!
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H-Two-Oohh
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 We're surrounded by it. It is the key component to virtually all living things. And it's one of the most common molecules around. Yes - you guessed right - it's water. Though our bodies contain mostly water, it turns out that it's a pretty mysterious substance that scientists are still studying and learning about.
If you click the picture at left you can read "Five Really Weird Things About Water". Aside from the peculiar behaviors that we all know about and regularly experience (frozen water is less dense than liquid - the opposite of most other substances), this site explains and/or demonstrates such oddities as why hot water might freeze sooner than cool water; behavior of supercooled water, and an amorphous phase of really cold water known as "glassy" water. There are also bonus items showing frozen water "spikes" in ice cubes and how to make instant snow from boiling water. Next time you take a drink of water - you might look at it a little differently.
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The picture at left represents that unique orientation of our planet where the earth's shadow passes directly from pole to pole; the equinox. The Autumnal equinox happened on September 22nd and now with the regular march of the seasons, days will be getting shorter (or longer - for "Southies") until March of 2009.
We don't ordinarily like to brag, but if someone is willing to brag for us, well then who are we to argue? These past several weeks were notable for two reasons. First, we received top honors in the Control Design "
