Possumblog

Dr. Possum,

How do you do those linky things in Blogger? I would ask Terry Oglesby but he is tired out from telling me so many times. Now I do it this way http://possumblog.mu.nu/ which is just so not elegant.

Not a problem, Cletus.

HTML coding (Hard to Make Legible) can sometimes be difficult to learn.

Look at your keyboard--down there where the comma and period are are also the pointy brackets. These are very important, in that they have to surround the text you're trying to link, as well as the URL of the place you're trying to link to.

First, type a pointy bracket that points left, then type in the phrase

a href=

THEN type in a plain square double quote mark--NOT the type you use when Word makes them nice and pretty, like typeset quote marks, but just plain straight quote marks, and then type in the URL of what you're linking to, then close it with another set of double quote marks.

"possumblog.mu.nu"

Type a rightway pointy bracket. Now then, that's the FIRST part of the trick, the next is to type in the text you want to highlight, such as:

World's Smartest Man

ALmost done--now type a left-pointy bracket, then the text

/a

then another rightward pointing bracket. DONE!

You wind up with an invisible hyperlink, tied to a specific set of words that when clicked will lead you directly to a 404 page!

ALSO, when composing in most blogging software, there usually is a small button at the top that you can use to drop in the URL. Highlight a word or phrase, click the button, a popup pops up, you paste in the linked site, press okay, and it automatically will type in all the annoying pointy things and quote marks.

Hi Doc, first time caller, long time ignoramus.

I've got an application where I need to measure the flow of heavy gear oil in a system. The stuff is ISO 1000, which translates to about 5400 SuS at 100 degrees F. We're looking at a flow of around 5 GPM and a temperature ranging between 100 and 160 degrees F. My question is, are there any alternatives to using positive displacement flow meters? They seem awfully expensive, and add unwanted backpressure to the system. Have you got a prescription?

Thank YOU--what a wonderful question, Skillzy.

Although PD meters do have the drawbacks you mention, there are not that many alternatives when it comes to measuring hi-vis flows. Turbine meters work best with low-viscosity fluids, and require a relatively clean fluid (or gas). Variable area devices require low-viscosity, and just don't offer the accuracy you probably demand.

Not being up on fluid dynamics as I should be, it might not be the best solution, but I would suggest looking into some of the new technology items such as a coriolis mass flowmeter, which I believe would work with viscous fluids, as well as ultrasonic flowmeters or Doppler flowmeters, none of which would have the backpressure interference you cite.

By way of full disclosure, Possumblog Flow Technologies is the sponsor of this answer, and stands ready to be of help to meet any of your flow-measurement needs.

Skillzy, I think I can handle this one.

Old Coke bottles. Glass, not plastic. Tie a string around them, and tie the other end to a hamster suffering nicotine withdrawal. Insert the bottle into the machine oil (top down), and drape the hamster over a nearby ledge.

You should get the results you're looking for. You may have to stick a couple of nicoderm patches on the hamster every 12 hours or so, but I think you'll agree this is still a more cost-effective solution. It's good for the environment, too.

Oh, well, sure, there IS that.

Howdy Dr. Possum, long-time caller and ignoramus.

I've come to that time of the year when I will be called upon to endure a night of chick-flickery. My beautiful and vivacious wife has requested (in not-so-subtle hints) a viewing of the new version of Pride and Prejudice, the one with that long-necked gal.

My thinking is that if I show myself making a sacrifice this weekend, then next weekend's college basketball marathon may be better tolerated. Four solid days of pressure-packed hoops ... whee-OH!

What should I do wrt training/preparation prior to this night of sobbing cinematic silliness? Would it be wise to schedule post-chickflick therapy as well?

Well, Marc, all in all, there are worse chick-flicks than P&P. It does, after all, have a plot and stuff like that, and was written by someone with some sense and sensibility. But the best part of it is that it's also a costume drama, and the costumes are of a variety that encourage much heaving of the bosomus regionus amongst the female actors. Entertaining and educational--but given the circumstances, it would be best for you to ACT like you're watching along out of love and devotion for your wife. If she thinks you might actually be enjoying yourself, that whole basketball deal goes right out the window.

I have this sneaky feeling that anything with "coriolis", "Doppler", or "ultrasonic" in the name is not going to be cheap or easy to work on.

Did you know that you can detect possible waterborne target zigs by plotting the sonar frequency over time and looking for abrupt changes? That's my second favorite use of the Doppler effect, after weather radar.

Doctor, doctor give me the cure.

You have only given me semi-empty words of encouragement. I don't have to ACT like I'm watching out of love and devotion, for that will flow naturally. I'm still left with the effects of chick-flickery, and am seeking ways to either minimize the effects prior to watching or some type of therapy afterwards.

[PS I did read a review of this PG rate movie, and supposedly it is more heavily clothed than other versions so heavus bosumus will be kept under wraps, though supposedly some folks objected to the appearance of a few nude statues in the background. Go figure.]

Nonsense, Skillzy--I'm sure once you work with our sales department, you'll see how you can't afford NOT to buy something from our wonderful selection of physics-proven gadgetry.

As for the sonar question, yes, I did know that from that time I spent undercover on a Russian diesel sub.

NOW THEN, Marc, don't worry about the after effects--I promise, merely watching girl movies won't diminish your appetite for "four solid days" of hoop action; in fact, it only makes it that much stronger, much like hunger makes you hungry, and a lot of hunger makes you hungrier. By the time the playoffs roll around, you'll be a stark raving lunatic for roundball, and you won't care if it's tolerated by your loved ones or not.

However, if you really MUST do something, I would recommend eating beans a couple of hours before the movie, and attempt to recreate the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles at appropriately inappropriate moments in the movie.

Nothing like flatulence and cowboys to make you feel all manly.

Well, at least not until very recently.

Dr. Possum

Why do they put that little piece of broccoli on you plate when you order sesame chicken?

Another excellent question!

As with most of Chinese cuisine, there is a heavy element of symbolism included in the food, along with some kind of spiritual mumbo jumbo stuff.

From what I have been able to deduce, the broccoli symbolizes the forest where the dragon lives before he is subdued with the magic seeds of the sesame plant and lured to his death in a light garlic sauce and breading.

So it's just an edible form of Feng Shui?

And, in the inscrutable way of the Chinese peoples, feng shui is a livable form of sesame chicken.

Dr. Possum, Sir,

Can you tell me why an elderly gentleman with a heart problem within a seven minute drive of the doctor's office should sit for an hour waiting for his appointment?

Thank you in advance,

Janis Gore

Well, obviously he shouldn't have to wait. I say it calls for a dose of high drama to get their attention. I know patients in my own clinic are seen within five seconds of walking in the door, and diagnosed within a minute.

Then again, I'm not a real doctor, so that speeds things along nicely.

Terry, this is a local general practitioner, and I see no reason why they couldn't make an effort to call him at home within a few minutes of availability.

Where's that vaunted "small town service"?

I'd say the same for anyone else in his shoes.

You make a good case for Just In Time visits, which would work similar to the way auto manufacturing has been revolutionized through the use of the Japanese kanban system. Goods arrive by truck and are offloaded almost at the same time they are needed at a particular assembly station.

In your idea, patients would be notified within ten minutes (or other number) of the need for them to be at the office, and could come when called. Wait at home instead of at the office.

The drawback, however, is a bit like waiting for the cable guy or phone guy to show up--you never quite know when you will get called, and so you have to be sitting on go and ready to roll when called, or you'd lose your place.

But you already have the 10 o'clock appointment. You're waiting anyway. Why not in comfort?

Absolutely, and I can't figure out why your doc wouldn't be willing to try it with Big Daddy, at least on a trial basis, just to see how it works. He might find out he likes it pretty well.

He'll like it a damn sight better than me being pissed to high heaven.