Really trivial stuff that bugs you

[Trebuchet]

Ouch!

We've been watching the Vuelta a Espana, almost entirely from the DVR. Sometimes on the same day, usually a day late. But today (Tuesday) we watched Sunday's final stage in Madrid.
Like the Tour de France, the final stage is basically a parade except for the sprint at the finish. That gives them LOTS of time to show helicopter shots of the scenery. Including the airport, multiple times.
One of the airport shots showed an airliner accelerating down the runway and taking off. Things that bug me:
1. I couldn't identify the airplane type. Quite likely a Boeing 787 due to the swoopy wingtips, but I couldn't be sure.
2. After takeoff, the landing gear doors opened for retraction, then...no retraction. The aircraft continued climbing for a time then, just before they cut away, the doors could be seen to close with the gear still down. That's not remotely normal, and I've no way to find out what happened.


Just for clarity: Airliners actually have two sets of main landing gear doors. Big ones which allow the wheels to extend out of or retract into the wheel wells, and small ones which stay open to allow the legs to extend through while the gear is down, the big ones then being closed for better aerodynamics.

[Extravoice]

Treb- “Mentour Pilot” on YouTube has a pretty substantial following of aviation nerds, and frequently hawks his phone app where they discuss such things. I suspect you might find some info in that group.

I don’t have the app, but like his YouTube videos.

ETA: The 737 has no landing gear doors, just hubcaps.

[ozduck]

Ouch!

We've been watching the Vuelta a Espana, almost entirely from the DVR. Sometimes on the same day, usually a day late. But today (Tuesday) we watched Sunday's final stage in Madrid.
Like the Tour de France, the final stage is basically a parade except for the sprint at the finish. That gives them LOTS of time to show helicopter shots of the scenery. Including the airport, multiple times.
One of the airport shots showed an airliner accelerating down the runway and taking off. Things that bug me:
1. I couldn't identify the airplane type. Quite likely a Boeing 787 due to the swoopy wingtips, but I couldn't be sure.
2. After takeoff, the landing gear doors opened for retraction, then...no retraction. The aircraft continued climbing for a time then, just before they cut away, the doors could be seen to close with the gear still down. That's not remotely normal, and I've no way to find out what happened.


Just for clarity: Airliners actually have two sets of main landing gear doors. Big ones which allow the wheels to extend out of or retract into the wheel wells, and small ones which stay open to allow the legs to extend through while the gear is down, the big ones then being closed for better aerodynamics.

Amusingly enough, when we were watching the final day of the Vuelta I was talking to my wife about exactly the same incident. I am sure that it was a Saudia B787 that did not stow its wheels - based on the scalloped engine cowling. My thoughts were that the pilots were seeing a 'high heat' reading off the undercarriage and were leaving the wheels in the air flow for a while to allow for some cooling to occur.

[Trebuchet]

Treb- “Mentour Pilot” on YouTube has a pretty substantial following of aviation nerds, and frequently hawks his phone app where they discuss such things. I suspect you might find some info in that group.

I don’t have the app, but like his YouTube videos.

ETA: The 737 has no landing gear doors, just hubcaps.

The 737 does have doors, they have to open to let the "legs" out! I also like Mentour Pilot's videos. And his cute doggies!

Amusingly enough, when we were watching the final day of the Vuelta I was talking to my wife about exactly the same incident. I am sure that it was a Saudia B787 that did not stow its wheels - based on the scalloped engine cowling. My thoughts were that the pilots were seeing a 'high heat' reading off the undercarriage and were leaving the wheels in the air flow for a while to allow for some cooling to occur.

I didn't think to look for the nacelles! We haven't deleted yet, still having the podiums to watch. I'll look for it again.

[Extravoice]

The 737 does have doors, they have to open to let the "legs" out! I also like Mentour Pilot's videos. And his cute doggies!

I sit corrected.

[ozduck]

The 737 does have doors, they have to open to let the "legs" out! I also like Mentour Pilot's videos. And his cute doggies!



I didn't think to look for the nacelles! We haven't deleted yet, still having the podiums to watch. I'll look for it again.

I re - watched the plane taking off and it is definitely a Saudia plane. It think that it is far too big to be a B737 and the curve of the wings looks like the B787 ones that we have flown on. Then I had a look at Saudia's flight schedules out of Madrid and they fly a B787-9 Madrid to Riyadh. The only concern is that they are scheduled to fly on Tuesdays & Fridays but these days I could easily see a schedule change or a delayed flight occurring.

[Jens]

I re - watched the plane taking off and it is definitely a Saudia plane. It think that it is far too big to be a B737 and the curve of the wings looks like the B787 ones that we have flown on. Then I had a look at Saudia's flight schedules out of Madrid and they fly a B787-9 Madrid to Riyadh. The only concern is that they are scheduled to fly on Tuesdays & Fridays but these days I could easily see a schedule change or a delayed flight occurring.

So totally a wild possibility, but I was looking at flightradar24 a couple of days ago, and it was weird because a Saudi Air Force 747 squawked 7700 (general emergency) somewhere around the Mediterranean. I don't know what it was doing there, but I think it was flying from East Midlands to some undetermined location (presumably Saudi Arabia). I didn't watch it, but maybe it made an emergency landing. It would be strange, though, because it would have been landing rather than taking off. Also, I'm sure you would have noticed if it had four engines. So anyway, back to our regular programming. Just an interesting coincidence.

[Jens]

So totally a wild possibility, but I was looking at flightradar24 a couple of days ago, and it was weird because a Saudi Air Force 747 squawked 7700 (general emergency) somewhere around the Mediterranean. I don't know what it was doing there, but I think it was flying from East Midlands to some undetermined location (presumably Saudi Arabia). I didn't watch it, but maybe it made an emergency landing. It would be strange, though, because it would have been landing rather than taking off. Also, I'm sure you would have noticed if it had four engines. So anyway, back to our regular programming. Just an interesting coincidence.

Sorry, correcting myself, it was not a 747, but a C-130. So not even a jet plane.

[ozduck]

Sorry, correcting myself, it was not a 747, but a C-130. So not even a jet plane.

Yes, a C130 would be pretty hard to mistake for a B787

[Extravoice]

Yes, a C130 would be pretty hard to mistake for a B787

https://media1.tenor.com/images/84ae...temid=17014316

It looks like I can’t insert the image, but it is Johnny from “Airplane” describing the aircraft.

[Trebuchet]

I rewatched the takeoff as well. The swoopy wingtips and engine scalloped nacelles have me 99% convinced it's a 787. I'd still like to know what the gear problem was.

[Jim]

I rewatched the takeoff as well. The swoopy wingtips and engine scalloped nacelles have me 99% convinced it's a 787. I'd still like to know what the gear problem was.

I doubt this has any bearing on your issue, but some years back there were regular commercial flights that landed at Huntington, WV, which then continued on to Charleston, WV. The two cities are about 30 miles apart and both airports are on top of mountains. Some pilots were known to leave their gear down and fly flat (not climb and descend) for that short hop. (Not worth the trouble.)

And speaking of C-130's, the WV Air NG flew them out of Charleston's airport regularly. I remember sitting in the waiting area watching them practice takeoffs and landings. The planes would leave the runway and drop out of sight before climbing back into view.

[Gillianren]

I think the left shift key (you know, the one I use more?) on my keyboard is wearing out.

[DonM435]

I think the left shift key (you know, the one I use more?) on my keyboard is wearing out.

I was going to write "Well, if it's just the keycap and not the mechanism beneath, why not pry off both <SHIFT> keys and swap 'em."

Then I looked at my keyboard and found that the right <SHIFT> was a bit wider than the left, by something like 4:3. In fact, this proved to be true on the other keyboards around the house that I checked. Whatever the size, the right one was wider. (On a sculptured one, they were asymmetrical and wouldn't swap even if the same size.)

I find that interesting, though trivial.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

It look like I have to find a belt, lost a few pounds. Thought I would have find one by this weekend to work the auction but they are a training a guy to take over some of duties from a guy who had heart surgery earlier in the year.

[Gillianren]

I was going to write "Well, if it's just the keycap and not the mechanism beneath, why not pry off both <SHIFT> keys and swap 'em."

Then I looked at my keyboard and found that the right <SHIFT> was a bit wider than the left, by something like 4:3. In fact, this proved to be true on the other keyboards around the house that I checked. Whatever the size, the right one was wider. (On a sculptured one, they were asymmetrical and wouldn't swap even if the same size.)

I find that interesting, though trivial.

Either way, it's the mechanism that's the problem!

[schlaugh]

Either way, it's the mechanism that's the problem!

I expect you've done this already but try holding the keyboard upside down over a trash can and give it a good shake. Or blow some compressed air into the crevices.

[Trebuchet]

I was going to write "Well, if it's just the keycap and not the mechanism beneath, why not pry off both <SHIFT> keys and swap 'em."

Then I looked at my keyboard and found that the right <SHIFT> was a bit wider than the left, by something like 4:3. In fact, this proved to be true on the other keyboards around the house that I checked. Whatever the size, the right one was wider. (On a sculptured one, they were asymmetrical and wouldn't swap even if the same size.)

I find that interesting, though trivial.

Lots wider, on the keyboard I'm using. Keys wearing out is really annoying. My previous keyboard had the upper row "2" key failed. I could use the one on the numeric pad but for @ signs I had to find the one on the actual laptop. Eventually I just bought a new wireless mouse/keyboard combo.

[Van Rijn]

I expect you've done this already but try holding the keyboard upside down over a trash can and give it a good shake. Or blow some compressed air into the crevices.

Also, with most keyboards you can pop the caps with a flat screwdriver. Remove carefully, of course. Gunk can sometimes interfere with key operation.

And then as a last resort, it is possible to wash a keyboard in the dishwasher, but do it with cold water or low temp setting, no soap, and give it week to dry out. Of course for that, you need to have a spare unless you can wait that long. I always keep one or two extra on hand, there are very inexpensive ones available these days.

[Gillianren]

I'm using a very inexpensive one; after all, I'm on a fixed income. I will probably try cleaning the whole keyboard later today, depending on how much the kids get done. They've been resisting doing their work lately, and it's been taking up all my energy to make them do theirs.

Meanwhile, I have been working on reducing the size of my fabric stash this week. I made myself a pair of pajama bottoms and a pair of pants, a pair of pajama bottoms and a full pair of pajamas for Simon, and a pair of pajamas for Irene. And then yesterday, I went to start a few things--and either couldn't find the material or the pattern or both for three different things.

[Trebuchet]

A cat barfed in the water bowl. Ugh. Why do cats throw up so much?

[SeanF]

A cat barfed in the water bowl. Ugh. Why do cats throw up so much?

What I've never been able to understand is why they don't barf in their litter box. We're smart enough to through up in the toilet, after all.

[grant hutchison]

A cat barfed in the water bowl. Ugh. Why do cats throw up so much?

Did the cat vomit or just regurgitate? Regurgitating into the water bowl might be an indication that the cat has eaten too quickly or too much, so the food comes back up when they drink. And eating too quickly or too much can be a sign of food anxiety--perhaps competing with your other cats? Or maybe just a greedy cat, I suppose.

(When I was a kid, our cat regurgitated around his food bowls all the time after we first acquired him, from a neighbour who also owned a dog. The vet said there was nothing wrong with him except that he was still trying to get all his food down before the dog ate it--and sure enough, he destressed over the course of a month or so, and very rarely threw up again, unless he ate something ghastly.)

Grant Hutchison

[Trebuchet]

Did the cat vomit or just regurgitate? Regurgitating into the water bowl might be an indication that the cat has eaten too quickly or too much, so the food comes back up when they drink. And eating too quickly or too much can be a sign of food anxiety--perhaps competing with your other cats? Or maybe just a greedy cat, I suppose.

(When I was a kid, our cat regurgitated around his food bowls all the time after we first acquired him, from a neighbour who also owned a dog. The vet said there was nothing wrong with him except that he was still trying to get all his food down before the dog ate it--and sure enough, he destressed over the course of a month or so, and very rarely threw up again, unless he ate something ghastly.)

Grant Hutchison

I wasn't aware there was a difference! Regurgitate, I suppose, pretty much undigested food. I've long suspected she eats too much to quickly. (I don't actually KNOW which cat it was, but I'm pretty certain of which.) My wife just told me there's another deposit to clean up this morning.

Excuse, me, I am now being told by the same cat it's time for her grooming!

[grant hutchison]

I wasn't aware there was a difference!

With apologies to those who are currently eating ...
Vomiting involves an "active expulsive effort"; regurgitation is a passive process. So the first is accompanied by noise and effort, and the second is quiet and unobtrusive. Cats that have eaten too much too quickly can just kind of "spill over" when they bend forward and relax their lower oesophageal sphincter to drink.

Grant Hutchison

[Selenite]

My cat makes sort of a hiccuping sound before he regurgitates. I've tried to use this brief warning period to get him out the door before the inevitable.

Usually it results in a future trip to the dry cleaner.

[grant hutchison]

My cat makes sort of a hiccuping sound before he regurgitates. I've tried to use this brief warning period to get him out the door before the inevitable.

Yep. That's the sound of food moving from stomach to oesophagus. Thereafter the result is pretty much inevitable. Your cat has become an open-topped bottle of undigested food.

Grant Hutchison

[Solfe]

I see the Jets are 0-9 this year. I do chuckle at The Onion lampooning them, but it's another reminder that 2020 is sucking the life out of everything.

[DonM435]

Pipe cleaners are good for cleaning under keyboard keys.
As I quit smoking around the turn of the century, I don't have too many of these left around the place.
I guess that you can buy 'em at Arts 'n' Crafts shoppes, but the packaging will probably say "Pipe Cleaners" / "Note: not suitable for cleaning pipes."

[pzkpfw]

A "normal" keyboard is likely to be a membrane keyboard, in which case a dodgy key can sometimes be degradation of the contacts.

I've resurrected a few keyboards by unscrewing the cases, separating the layers, and gently cleaning the contacts (on the membrane and the circuit board) with isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds (U.S. = q-tip?).

I am not a doctor and have not played one on T.V.