Netfoot

I have to disagree. Belters live happily in this system, with planets that present a gravity well. They could easily do the same in another system, such as a Ring World, if they chose to. They would need to select a system with a large asteroid belt (or two) and simply ignore the planets. They would have their own system where they could live howsoever suited them, free from the influence of any 'inners'. The Ring and the Ring Worlds is/are at least as valuable to the belter community as it is to anyone else. No, the problem with TBS and the belters is the same we see in real life with every group with a cause that turns to violence for fulfillment. They quickly come to enjoy the violence more than they desire the fulfillment of their cause. TBS isn't really interested in getting better conditions for the belters. He just wants to blow shit up!

Want to bet she ends up shooting him in the head? I'm with you on this.

They could still 'emigrate' to a new system via the ring. They just need to identify one that has a large asteroid belt. They could continue to live in low-gravity non-planetary environments, and at the same time be beyond the influence of the 'inners' they eschew. In fact, they could probably move more easily than anyone else, since they could take their entire living environments with them whole and intact.

I tend to agree, but so much has happened in 2020, who knows what can be accomplished in the early months of 2021? Perhaps they can pull a rabbit out of a hat late in '21 and finish the season. Not likely, but not impossible. In any case I'm sure they won't do anything dangerously precipitate. I just hope they don't start production again, and have to stop because somewhere along the route they encounter a fast-occurring medical situation. Like a sudden, unexpected lockdown! Or a new regulation about how many can ride in a taxi at one time. Or something unexpected, sudden and race-critical. A second halt to the season would probably be a death-knell.

To continue, they would have to recall all the not-eliminated-so-far racers. To introduce new racers, they would essentially have to be given a 'free ride' to leg #4, not having had to avoid elimination three times, like the returnees. This could be considered unfair. Not to mention, the challenges and tasks that had been arranged and scheduled might not be available any more. So they will probably have to redesign the race completely. But to scrap the three episodes they have "in the can" will be to throw out what ever value those episodes might have. Given that these episodes have been expensed and paid for, I'm sure they'd prefer not 6to throw them out. It is possible they will air the first three episodes, and then, acknowledging the effect of CV19, have a re-start for an abridged, 9-episode race, with as many of the original teams as possible, and introduce new teams to fill any blanks. But I don't think that is likely. I believe they will have to do a full restart from scratch. But I'm curious to see what structural changes they will incorporate, in an effort to get the Race running again with the least delay.

Elimination seems a little harsh, but a penalty would certainly be OK with me. You can eliminate U-Turns entirely, if you ask me. But if you are going to have U-Turns you can't remove the pictures of teams that have gone ahead. If you do so, you will tell racers who is behind them, and eliminate the case where they guess wrong and unwittingly U-Turn someone who has already passed. It does eliminate the deliberate "burning" of U-Turns, but U-Turns are inherently antagonistic / aggressive / spiteful, so I'd just eliminate them entirely. Or make them random, or self-inflicted. Roll a dice and if you roll a six, you just U-Turned yourself. Nobody can target you with the U-Turn, and you can't blame anyone else, because you did it to yourself. Difficult. If a crowd gathers and some random stranger in the crows decides to be "helpful", it's hard to penalize the team they helped. I see where you're trying to get to, but this needs some thought. The linear tasks are definitely a problem. Especially ones where you have to go down a water slide and the team ahead of you is chucking a wobbler and holding you back. Tasks are best where people come in, get started, discover they have a knack for it, and finish before teams that have been there for a while and are still struggling. Worse, tasks where the racers have to stand and watch someone do something tricky, before they get their next clue. Example I've repeatedly pointed out from S32: "Watch some guy knock a clue out of a tree with a blowpipe." Why not: "Observe how it's done, then do it yourself!" That might have shaken up the running order quite a bit, and it isn't a task your alliance-mates can give you the answer to! More of these little challenges should make alliances less useful, and be more interesting for the viewer! I know there is a formula: Plane ride; 1 Roadblock; 1 Detour; Pitstop. Would it really hurt to add a few extra mini-challenges along the way?

Videos. Noisy! So bewares your ears! One, two, three!

Well, Buddy and I decided to go out, and it payed off. I got ma a slice of Bajan Great Cake and two minced pies! Dr. K would not approve, so ... Shhh! Also, while out of the house, I met up with a couple of friends at out our local slope. And some model aviation took place! The photos are sorta small, taken with somebody's cellphone. But that's better than nothing, which is what you usually get if you try to do it yourself while simultaneously flying! I also got three short (30-secondish) cellphone videos but I don't think I can post them here? So, I'd have to post them online and place links to them here, if anyone is interested. Again, not stunning quality, and very much wind-noisy, but they show her in flight. If you can keep track of her... First impressions? She's fast. And even on the lowest rates, she is extremely agile. For example, at the lowest rates, bang on full rudder and she yaws 180°! Then promptly stalls and plummets out of the sky, forcing you to catch her quick, before she ends up in the rocks! Some tweaking will be required. Rolls are far from axial, which some aileron differential may fix (online research need). And there is a significant pitch change when you apply airbrake, which will require (as expected) some elevator be mixed in to compensate. It's actually already set up, but the percentage is currently set to 0%. So I'll add a couple points each flight until the pitch change is negligible. But fast and agile! Yummy!

Survivor has a single, secluded venue to worry about. They can test everyone, and ensure that only green-lit contestants and staff enter their controlled arena. TAR... not so much.

Or compare it with the discovery and colonization of the "new world". The first to go were those who were the most adventurous or those who had nothing to lose and a better life to gain. I agree that the wealthy elites would be in no hurry to get on board the Olive Blossom. But this also implies that The Belt will diminish and fall on hard times as Mars has begun to do. Belters can seek a better life in the "new worlds" (plural) rather than squabble over the crumbs that fall from the tables of Earth and Mars. Marco's plan for The Belt to become the new power in the system are meaningless.

Me too! Got an Ahi glider burning a hole in my pocket! Meanwhile, I decided to repair the tiny blemish on the wing of the yellow Sonic, which resulted from the cartwheel maneuver. It isn't really much damage and if the aircraft was a bit older I might just ignore it completely. But since she is nice and new, I used a #26 surgical scalpel (They come sterile, which is good for when I inevitably cut myself.) to carefully remove the yellow covering film in the vicinity of the wound. After carving away the damaged balsa, I got a small piece from the scrap bin and glued it into place. I left it long so as to have a handle to work with. A razor saw will remove the excess length when the glue dries. Some whittling and sanding and the shape of the wingtip is largely restored. Normally I'd use a filler and sand to perfection, but for a $75 beater model, I couldn't be bothered. So, with some scraps of covering literally picked up off the floor, I heated up my covering irons and bonded the film into place, to give a nice, waterproof wingtip again. Not exactly perfection, but more than good enough for my purposes: You'd have to go looking for the patch to even know it was there. I reamed a new 9x6 prop so it would fit on the engine shaft, balanced it, painted the tips and re-balanced it. With the engine running, props spin so fast they can't be seen. If your prop is invisible you risk sticking some part of your anatomy into it... and that hurts a lot! Painting the tips in a light colour causes a ghostly circle to appear when the prop spins. This encourages you to keep your hands away. BTW, a 9x6 prop is 9" in diameter (from tip to tip) and has a 6" pitch. The blades are angled, which pulls it forward when it turns. A 6" pitch means that the angle is such that in perfect circumstances (which never actually occur) the prop will be pulled forward 6" with each rotation. So at 10,000 rpm, which is by no means fast for these engines, the prop - and therefore the plane it is attached to - will in theory, move forward at 56.8 miles per hour. The new 3½" nose wheel is attached to the nose leg, but it seems to be a little tight. I will get an 11/64" drill bit on Monday and see if I can't free that up just a little bit. The reprogramming of the radio should be simple since I am using a much simpler setup than I did for the Ahi. No snap-flap, no airbrake, etc. Not at first, anyway. And my new fuel pump is sitting in Florida, with a status of "Assigned to next flight". Did I mention that my 20 year old electric fuel pump fried when I tried to use it? Well that gave me the excuse for buying a new, hand-driven pump to replace it. The 'next flight' is Tuesday. Then customs and blah, blah, blah... I'll have it next weekend if I'm lucky!

I know. Sorry about that. I always tell myself to keep it brief and avoid anything technical, but somehow...

Budweiser and I wish a Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate the occasion. And the same to your family and inner circle! To everyone else, we hope you have a chance to enjoy this opportunity to relax for a few days in the company of friends and family. To all, we hope you are able to enjoy a feast, and perhaps a celebratory beverage or two. You should celebrate. You are almost at the end of 2020, and 2021 must be better. Right? And to perhaps make you laugh, or at least smile a little:

I've been having some troubles with 'Jennifer' - not the least of which is that I find myself using that name more and more! She has been very hard to get off the ground, and a handful when in the air. last attempt, she ran all the way down the strip without getting light at all, so I chopped the throttle to abort the takeoff... and at that very instant she unexpectedly leapt into the air at a steep angle! Steep climb-out angles with no engine power lead to only one result: She stalled, hit the ground and cartwheeled. Damage consisted of a broken prop (a brand new APC 9x6) and a chip out of the sheeting on the port wing tip. Essentially, no damage because the prop can be replaced easily enough (I'm pretty sure I have another 9x6 around here) and the wingtip will not be at all difficult to fix. But I decided to stop and think. Why is this bird giving trouble to take off, and why is it such a handful in the air? Only incorrect throws or bad CoG would result in the plane being such a handful to fly! There are four models similar to this. The High- and low-wing versions, and the older Mk.1 vs. the newer Mk.2. The differences are minimal (two aileron servos instead of one, etc). The airframes are virtually identical. So I downloaded all four manuals and checked to see what the recommended throws were. With the three other models, the recommended throws were identical, but for my model they were very different; between 60% and 100% higher. Why? No good reason. So I suspect the recommended throws are too high, and thus causing the plane to be hard to handle. But because she wouldn't lift off, I have been gradually increasing the elevator throws in the hope of getting the elevator authority to get her off the ground. Which makes her even more sensitive in the air! What about a different reason for her wanting to stick to the ground? I had upgraded the wheels to larger units so as to more easily handle the grass on our strip which (sometimes) doesn't get mown as often as it should. Wheels come in pairs so I put two 3½" wheels on the mains, and a single 3" on the nose. The difference in radius (and ride height) is now ¼" lower at the front. This will have the wings angled slightly downward, rather than straight ahead. This negative wing incidence would cause loss of lift, making it very difficult to get her to lift her nose to climb away from the ground. To try and force the nose up, you would increase elevator throw... which is what I was doing. And if, while traveling fast up the strip the front wheel were to hit a bump, a pebble or a tuft of grass and bump upward say ¼" or so, the wing would suddenly start to generate lift and the plane would unexpectedly leapt into the air... which is what was happening! So. Nose wheel has been replaced with a 3½" unit to eliminate the nose-down stance. The radio set-up is to be redone with the more conservative throws recommended in the three other manuals, and a new 9x6 must be reamed and balanced before fitting. I think I'll paint the prop-tips yellow as well, to increase visibility of the arc of the prop while she is spinning, and hopefully eliminate any danger of it chopping off my finger(s). Two of my mates have had prop-strikes in this last month, and their hands were in a bad way for weeks. My last prop-strike was a long time ago, and when I remember it I still feel nauseous with the pain Hopefully then, the aircraft will take off easily, and be a pleasure in the air, rather than the handful she has been so far. But it will be over a week (most likely) before she has a chance to fly. This coming weekend looks like it will be gliders at the cliff. If people can drag themselves away from turkey leftovers and ham sandwiches..... So tomorrow, Bud and I will stay at home quietly. I plan to feed Mr. Greedy Guts as much as he can eat. My Christmas lunch will be a cold boiled egg; maybe two if I decide to splurge. And I have about half a spoonful of jug in the fridge which might go well with eggs. (It goes well with everything else...)

Would it be practical to continue the race after all this time? Or would they have to scrap what they have and restart from the beginning?

You may... but I won't.

Yeah, those guys didn't have good beards.

Yes, he had a very tiring morning. He has a very difficult life! ETA: Just added Airbrake on the throttle stick. Gliders have no throttle, so the throttle stick is used "backwards" to activate airbrake. Normal flight is with the throttle at 100% for fastest flying, but to slow down for landing you pull the throttle back, to gradually bring the airbrakes in to play. Buddy assisted by clawing at my leg the entire time I was setting this up, because when he says he wants a treat, he means he wants a treat NOW!

Actually... that went much smoother than I thought. With a home-built gauge and my trusty little 8J radio, I set the throws on all surfaces as recommended. They are my "low" rate settings. Then, I added "medium" (+20%) and a "high" (+40%) rate options on a three-way switch. I put plenty of exponential on the surfaces; 40%, 50% and 60% on low/medium/high rates respectively. All this to be almost certainly adjusted when I've had a chance to experience her handling characteristics. Then there was this suggestion called "Snap-Flap" which didn't sound too easy, but the great 8J made it simple! So now I can camber the ailerons 10mm (max) up when the elevator goes down, and vice versa. I have that on a separate switch so I can enable if I want it, otherwise/normally it will be off. Never tried it before. If it turns out to be as good as suggested, I can reassign it to the same switch I used for the rates. Now, the Ahi is completely finished and ready for the sky. I just have to switch it on, and throw it over a cliff! So, here's hoping we get a good windy day soon! Please?

Maybe. I'm pretty sure I could have eaten that whole stack of King cakes, if they's given me a big cuppa coffee to go with them...

If they came here, they's have to have a test and remain sequestered for at least a couple of days. It may be more difficult to enter other countries. Perhaps the vaccine will help.

The Ahi is now complete. At least physically! I now have to program the radio. Setting maximum travels on the control surfaces is simple. I'll also set a few options to give some flexibility, like dual or triple rates, and exponential. There are also options like flap and snap-flap, but I can add that later. Funny thing: a friend is also building an Ahi. He too, has chosen black and orange stripes..... And another friend has an Ahi which he has not started work on yet. Maybe I should offer him some orange and black covering? And as a matter of fact, I myself have a fourth Ahi, new on in box. If and when I get around to it, I think I'll paint that one*, instead of using an iron-on film. In some other colours. Like pink & silver. Which would be weird because my gliders have almost all been orange & black, for the last 20 years. But after 2020, I guess anything could happen. Like no wind, day after day after day... * Assuming I can find some paint that won't melt the Ahi into a puddle.

Excellent interview!

Followed by "Oh my Gaaaad! So much inhuman hardship and torment! I am being forced so cruelly to eat a fucking beignet!"

Part of the problem was when teams caught a bum flight and arrived at the pitstop 12 or more hours later than the leading teams. This meant a 12 hour separation at the start of the next leg, with teams departing on the next leg before other teams had even checked in from the leg before. I never understood why they simply didn't put a cap on late arrival. Anybody later than (say) four hours leaves four hours after the race leaders. The cap could even be varied leg to leg to deal with the scheduling of the following day. As for teams arriving at the mat before Phil, I understand there was an instance where the lead team ended up in a footrace with Phil to see who would reach the mat first. The Amazing Phil won, of course, and the lead team checked in as usual, with a breathless Phil waiting there to receive them...