How a combination lock works

I should have posted this with the space station pictures the other day.... here's how those analog images "sounded" over the radio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuyEwI9fJGk

Electricity basics. Electricity we use in our houses and vehicles is AC or DC. AC is "alternating current". It goes positive and then negative and positive again 50 or 60 times a second depending if you are in the US & Cananda or the rest of the world. Most countries use 50hz but here in North America we use 60hz. With DC (direct current) the current is simply on all the time.

We use DC on things that are close to us. Your car, a tractor's electrical system, a laptop computer. These things simply need to work. DC is usually limited to 5v, 12v, 24v or 48v. Thomas Edison's original DC system used 120vdc but that is not at all common these days.

AC on the other hand is used for when we need to either run larger power powerful devices or transmit power over a long distance. That distance might be a few hundred feet across your yard or a hundred miles.

Why do we use AC? Why not just use DC? In order to transmit power over longer distances we need to boost the voltage to very high levels. Transformers can easily boost voltage up and bring it back down. So we often boost voltage up to 115,000v, 230,000v or even 500,000v to move it hundreds of milles. But we cannot use 500,000v in the walls of our homes, that would be dangerous. So there is a transformer in a green box or on a pole in your front yard that will convert the power company transmission voltage down to 120vac or 240vac used in your house.

And the last step in using electricity is converting from 120vac or 240vac to a very low DC voltage such as 5vdc to run your phone charger.

How to measure angles.

We use a protractor to measure angles. there are even protractors that measure a full circle. If you took a circle and divided it up into 360 equal slices, each slice would be 1degree. If you want to go half way around a circle, that would be 180 degrees.

But did you know that it doesn't stop at 1 degree? If you take a degree and divide it into 60 slices that is called a minute or sometimes an Minute of Angle. And if you take that minute and divide it into 60 slices, you'll have seconds.

The cool thing about using 360 degrees or 60 degrees is that the numbers are very easy to divide by 2,4,5, 6,12, 15, 20, 30, 60. So if makes it very easy to make multisided shapes (like a pentagon or hexagon) or even gears.

It turns out there is an even easier way to zero your scope (calibrate the crosshairs). You must use a shooting bench and have a way to clamp the rifle so it doesn't move. Hold the rifle normally and shoot at your taget from the bench. Clamp the rifle so it can't move and aim the cross hairs at the center of your target. Now without moving the rifle, adjust the windage and elevation knobs until the crosshairs line up with the place your bullet hit.

Sometimes you can't see the point of impact clearly through the scope. In this case, make sure the rifle is not pointed down range and walk to the target and make a mark with a pen or a marker that you will be able to see.

Here's how to do a one shot zero. You MUST make sure the rifle doesn't move while you adjust the windage and elevation. It is often helpful if you have a 2nd person adjust the knobs while you hold the rifle still.

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/nbqXs2V2oDI

Fun garden inspiration when the weather finally allows for gardening!!!!

CAUTION PARENTS: Today's video might be a pass for younger kids. 1) it is about how politics big business and government work 2)it has 4 dirtywords in it. Preview this first before showing to the kiddos. Despite the dirty words, I think it is important for kids to know some geo-politics.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgydTdThoeA

Adding to the above. There is Cement, Mortar and Concrete.

Cement is the "glue" that is made in the video above.

If you mix cement with sand as a filler, you get mortar.

if you mix cement with small stones you get concrete.

Worth saying, mortar is used to hold bricks and concrete blocks together. You will find two types... S and NS. S is used underground and is called structural. NS is used above ground and is called Non Structural.

The top link (the 3rd link) usually has three holes it can connect to on the rear of the tractor. By using the lower holes you can make the plow tilt up more as it is lifted. If you use the top hole, the plow or mower will stay level as it is lifted.