0 Richard Sach's Cyclocross experience!

0 The Tour - A Pharmaceutical Farce!

Right. Thats what reporters are calling it.

Believe me, no one can cover cycling like in a controversy. As you might all be knowing by now, the CHICKEN has been thrown out of the Tour. Within 24 hours, there were 1000+ news articles covering the story all over the internet.

Christian Moreni is the latest suspect for a positive testosterone test. His team, Confidis, is sent home and Bradley Wiggins is just pissed off! Cant blame him, after putting the best of his training to the test, he must have rode the best rides of his life so far. Now he has to sacrifice everything that he came hoping to do because of an idiot in his team. What a shame!

Now what is this year's Tour coming to?

Race organisers say the Tour will go on. Others, like this reporter, firmly thinks that the Tour this year should be pulled off under the legs of the riders, so that everyone clearly understands the severity of the embarrassment to the sport. We may be left to ask ourselves, what is the future really of this sport. Is a 100 years
just too much for the Tour to take, and as if out of some magic book, all the evil knowledge of human body and the pharmaceutical industry are taking out the very substance of the grand race - a showcase of pure human performance, mental and physical.

Its funny. He claims that Alberto's potential Tour victory will leave fans and sponsors politely accepting the fact, but now will start to ask , 'How did he beat the dopers?!' Silly as it sounds, thats how grave a situation the sport is. The Tour winner may no longer be a public hero, because he can't be a champion for his own sport. He leads a bad example. He may no longer be a climbing God, or a sprinting rocket. 

All the credits for those performances will be taken by the pills at the pharmacy.

Or someone else's blood.

0 Pelo Pics

The Chicken meets the chicken! Hahaha...

Look at the rabid fan on the left. Put some clothes on and ride a bike duuuude!

To be very honest with you, I think its terrible that everyone calls Rasmussen a chicken. Alright, granted that some riders in the peleton are known by certain names. For example, Hinault was named "The Badger" because of his aggressive riding style. But chicken?! Chicken is the worst thing to be called... haha, sure Rasmussen looks like one. But rider database says he weighs more than Contador, and ofcourse there are much lighter and smaller riders in the peleton. Chicken can't have a power-to-weight ratio like Rasmussen's... I feel a bit bad for the man, and I'm not ready to call him that until it is proved that he DOPED! Until that point, its going to be a self esteem issue for the poor Dane.

This picture is funny. Soler, with little experience riding in a grand tour, is downing everything he can find around him, to muster the energy to stay with the leaders. With his weird cycling helmet on, he reminds me of a character from ET hurriedly climbing up the slopes after a heinous crime. Brave Soler!

Cadel Evans - boy, does this man have the courage or what. I say balls!! However, he doesn't look too graceful in a stance like this one here, where the reporter must have been prudent about Evans puking all over him.

Rasmussen has a tattoo , or is it just me? Wonder what is says? Suppose the chicken has a dragon on his right shoulder? Hmm...

Great pics though. Epic man. Epic!

Note : These are courtesy of PezCycling News. http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=pelopics/pelopics07/pelopics-jul07c

0 Team Astana out of the Tour

As of this afternoon, I'm very disappointed to learn about Team Astana's withdrawal from the race.

Reason?

Cruelly betraying as it sounds, the heroic time trial victory of Alexander Vinokourov in front of a million cycling fans and his stage victory yesterday has been overshadowed by testing positive for a banned blood transfusion.

I want to yell out, I'm quite disappointed and angry. Considering a man of his reputation, age and experience, I never expected him to come out with something like this.

Another big big blow to cycling and the Tour de France. Its disgusting.

Because of one man's fault, the whole team has to leave the Tour. What a waste of effort, time and money.  Think about how the team members might feel, after sacrificing all personal ambitions to pull the leaders into the massive Alps and Pyrenees.

I can't help thinking about Astana's sponsors, the Khazakastan Railways, who, after discovering the potential of the team and Vino amazing stage performances agreed to sponsor the team for the next 10 years!

Very disappointing news indeed.

0 The Real Cyclist

And... the man of the year award goes to ....

0 Something is just weird about him...

Notice anything fishy? The way he sits, talks... his body language. Its funny.





Boonen's comments.

0 Templates, to do or not to do?

Chucking out a template from the WWW is easy as eating apple pie. Not until I discovered bandwidth problems have hit my template and its going whack. When I do get more time, I'll look for a rarer species.

Meanwhile I completed a hard century in the hills of East Aurora with buddy Kina last Saturday. At some points , I arrived at near to heat exhaustion in the sub 80 degree temperatures... not to mention the fact that I had 25 pounds worth of water and supplies on my back as I climbed mighty Centerline. Hey, not recommended... but I feel you get better pushing yourself. Thats fine...

Im more confident to ride to the Aurora's and I'll be doing hills there more often.

This is a week of active recovery from the past days of hard riding. Upsetting is the fact that the UB criterium race is contantly being thwarted by the wet summer this July. So I hope I can get to race one more before I do some nice rides in August, mainly the Tonga Denali Tri State Tour.

Adios.

0 My Rides in Weeks Ahead - 300+ Kilometers

I'm going to be doing quite some riding in the next few days, and weeks ahead.

10:00 AM July 14th - Going to rock out my bicycle on an trainer and ride at 70% Vo2 Max Power Output...

9:00 AM July 15th - Road Race in Buffalo called Corfu West.

If that doesn't work out, I'll probably end up doing some 8 or 10 hill repeats on this local climb in Lockport. Thats some 15 miles one way, so it'll be a sweet 50 miles in total.

July 19 : Jean Masse' Memorial Local Criterium Race - 30-40 mins of high speed action! I'll try and stay with thefront pack, usually its just too darn difficult for me because I don't do things right. I have to find a sweet spot.

July 21 : (If weather willing...) A super cool 1 day 100 mile ride through the hilly village of East Aurora and back. Thats some 4500 feet of climbing in total.  Let's call it Tour de Sore. I named it! Some guys from our collegiate cycling club might also join, so its going to be sweet. I hate being lonely for a long onee...

August 6th-11th - The Tonga Denali Tour, a Tri State bike ride from Connecticut to Massachussetts and then back to Oneonta (around the Catskills).. I don't have much official information about it, but its more like a 200 mile ride, so we could be doing 30-40 mile rides everyday for a week though some awesome hilly roads and the excellent scenery offered by the Hudson River Valley. 


I'm positive some of these rides will continue to make my leg sore and my lungs heavy, 
but hey, theres tremendous fun in this suffering. You don't get it, do you?

Try riding a bike!

0 Real Tour heroes

Unfortunately, these boys have to go home from the Tour. Kudos to them for putting up a brave fight. The Tour de France is decidedly the hardest physical and mental thing one could do, so the fact that they atleast PARTICIPATED for their various teams and countries should be a matter of pride and encouragement to us all....

Stage 1: DNF Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Spa) Agritubel - broken collarbone
Stage 3: DNS Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Discovery Channel - broken thumb stage two
Stage 4: DNF Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - broken collarbone
Stage 5: DNS Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux - broken elbow stage four

I also wonder what it is with the human collarbone, that it is so fragile. So many riders break their collar bones. Is it that at such an elite level, the bones around the shoulder are soft? Is it the way they fall during a crash?

0 Hello to my readers!

I believe I'm getting a fair share of readers from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. I've seen some new readers pop up in Germany, England and France. Bonjour! Cheers mate!

Anyway, thanks for reading guys. Feel free to share comments with me.

0 Tour's most difficult climb?

Whats the most difficult climb in the Tour de France this year? 

I don't know, but now I want to find out. Okay, maybe I knew this a bit late, but 
seemingly the legendary Alpe d'Huez, the staggering uncategorised 13.1 km climb at 8.1% with 21 hairpin turns (ooooph thats a pain!) is not featured this year. Since it is located in 
Isere, France.. I did not find it anywhere in the 21 stage profiles of the Tour. So, the riders
probably won't go on Alpe at all.

Then what?

Look at Stage 8 : Le Grand-Bornand Tignes (165 km).

Mountain passes & Hills
Le Grand-Bornand Tignes - 165 km
Km 15.5 - Col du Marais - 3.8 km climb to 4.1 % - 4 Category
Km 22.0 - Côte du Bouchet-Mont-Charvin - 2.0 km climb to 7.1 % - 3 Category
Km 46.5 - Col de Tamié - 9.5 km climb to 4 % - 2 Category
Km 99.5 - Cormet de Roselend (D.925-D.902) - 19.9 km climb to 6 % - 1 Category
Km 136.5 - Montée d'Hauteville (N.90-V.C) - 15.3 km climb to 4.7 % - 1 Category
Km 163.0 - Montée de Tignes - 18.0 km climb to 5.4 % - 1 Category

Now that's a hilly stage!!! At km 99.5, the boys will go 19.9 km at 6% straight up on a Cat 1! That will be a pain!

Look at stage 9 : Val-d’Isère - Briançon (159.5km).

I don't know if Alpe d'Huez comes somewhere in this stage. Maybe not. Here's what is known:

Mountain passes and hills :

Val-d’Isère Briançon - 159.5 km
Km 15.0 - Col de l'Iseran - 15.0 km climb to 6 % - H Category
Km 99.0 - Col du Télégraphe - 12.0 km climb to 6.7 % - 1 Category
Km 122.0 - Col du Galibier - 17.5 km climb to 6.9 % - H Category

Look at that last one there. 17.5 km at 6.9%. We won't miss the great Col du Galibier,
deemed to be the highest point in the Tour de France where legendary cyclists have shown
spectacular performances in the past years. Note however, in the stage profile, that Col 
de I'Iseran is 2770m, more than 100 meters above Galibier. Technically, that shouldbe the
highest point this year, when riders will breathe most hardest and meet the angels of cycling.

Now lets go to stage 15 : Foix Loudenvielle - Le Louron (196 km)

Mountain passes & Hills

Foix Loudenvielle - Le Louron - 196 km
Km 27.5 - Col de Port - 11.4 km climb to 5.3 % - 2 Category
Km 98.5 - Col de Portet d'Aspet - 5.7 km climb to 6.9 % - 2 Category
Km 114.0 - Col de Menté - 7.0 km climb to 8.1 % - 1 Category
Km 159.5 - Port de Balès - 19.2 km climb to 6.2 % - H Category
Km 184.5 - Col de Peyresourde - 9.7 km climb to 7.8 % - 1 Category

This could easily be the most difficult stage! The Col de Mente, at an amazing 8.1% gradient is sure to make some dizzy, I would most certainly puke going up that at racing pace!

Hold your horses though. When the riders are in Mazamet for Stage 14, lots of pain mightawait them.

I mean, just look at this staggering profile.

From 187 m at 67.5 km, riders will be riding at almost a constant uphill until the 94th kilometer,
when boy, that road will rise above their wheels like a rug. The boys will be going straight
up to Port de Pailhères.

Check out the info :

Mountain passes & Hills

Mazamet Plateau-de-Beille - 197 km
Km 9.0 - Côte de Saint-Sarraille - 9.0 km climb to 5.3 % - 2 Category
Km 146.5 - Port de Pailhères - 16.8 km climb to 7.2 % - H Category
Km 197.0 - PLATEAU-DE-BEILLE - 15.9 km climb to 7.9 % - H Category

Even though are two "H" category climbs (God knows what H stands for, if you ask me,
I would guess HORRIBLE!) in stage 9, stage 14 will most likely be the killer course, with both
those climbs looking solid at excess of 7%, 15-17 kms each.

17 km  = 10.6 miles.
1711 meters of climbing from kilometer 94 to 176.5.. thats 5612 feet of climbing in 82.5 km or 51.56 miles.... That, according to me, will take 
a lot of nerves.

I mean, who knows whats the most difficult. Its purely subjective and will depend upon the race
conditions, breakways etc. The pressures will be immense, I would say, in each of these
stages.

I'm just worried about who the King of Mountains will be...and who will take that Yellow Jersey
away from Cancellara and when. I put my hopes on Vinokourov, but he has been known to break at the wrong times. I really want him to win!

Source info : http://www.letour.fr

0 What was he thinking?

I imagine what drinks Pope Benedict took the night before he said this. It is ridiculous that he thinks the Roman Church is the only legit church. Makes no sense to me. Read...

0 How the Tour Works

Picture courtesy of www.velonews.com.

MAIN COMPETITION

There are a number of official and unofficial competitions that are contested in the Tour. The key competitions are :

• The General Classification – The winner of the General Classification is the rider with the lowest cumulative time over the entire race. Since 1919, the leader of the GC at the end of the previous stage wears a yellow jersey on the following day’s stage. Standings in the GC are reported with the total time of the leader and the number of minutes and seconds slower each of the other riders is than the leader. The standings for the GC are subject to two adjustments. First, riders can earn “bonus” seconds (more accurately, deductions from their cumulative time) by winning or placing highly in a mass start stage (as much as 20 seconds off for winning one of the flat stages in the first week) or by being one of the first 3 riders across pre-determined points on the course called “intermediate sprints”. The second adjustment is that, for reasons of safety, all riders who cross the finish line in a group are credited with the same time, even if it takes the group a number of seconds to get across the line. Also, if there is a crash within 1 km of the finish (as in Stage 1 of last year’s tour in which Tyler Hamilton broke his collarbone), all riders in the group that crashed who eventually cross the finish line are credited with the same time as the rest of the group. The combination of bonuses and “same time” finishes means that aggressive riders who make long break-aways (and thereby get the intermediate sprint bonuses) and strong sprinters (who typically get the stage winner’s bonuses) fight it out for the yellow jersey early on – and the gap between first place on the GC and 100th place is measured in a handful of seconds. Once the race hits the mountains (or a large break-away succeeds – as in the stage to Pontalier in 2001), gaps of many minutes open up in the GC and the tight fights for a 2 second bonus in the first few stages are soon meaningless.

• The Points Competition – In addition to the GC, there are a number of other competions within the TDF. After the GC, the next most important is the points competition. Riders earn points based on the order of finish in each stage. For example, the winner of a mass start stage earns up to 35 points with lesser points awarded to finishers down to 20th place. In addition, a handful of points are also awarded at each of the intermediate sprints. The leader in the points competition wears a green jersey. In each of the last 3 years, the final winner of the green jersey has not been decided until the very last stage finish at the end of the Tour.

• The King of the Mountains competition – The next most important competition is the climbers’ points or “King of the Mountains” competition. Over the course of 3 weeks, the Tour goes over a number of mountains and mountain passes. Key stages finish at summits in the Pyrenees or the Alps. Each of the major climbs in the Tour is categorized based on its level of difficulty from a relatively painless category 4 up to long, steep category 1. The nastiest climbs of all, like the Galibier, Mont Ventoux, the Tourmalet and the Alpe d’ Huez, are classed as “hors categorie” or “outside of the classification”. Points are awarded to the first riders over the top of each climb – the tougher the climb, the more the points. The leader in the KOM competition wears a white jersey with large red polka-dots.

• Other Competitions – Prizes are also available for the leaders of the Team Competiton – a separate GC based on the total time of the first three riders on each team (exclusive of bonuses) on each stage. The leader of the Best Young Rider competiton (the highest placed GC rider under the age of 25) wears a White Jersey. A purely subjective assessment by the race officials determines who has the honour of wearing a red race number as the leader in the Most Aggressive Rider competition – awarded to the most stubborn of the break-away specialists. There is also the unofficial “competition” not to be the Lanterne Rouge – the rider in last place on the GC.

TYPES OF STAGES

Each racing day, the riders race one of the following types of race:

• A Mass Start race – most of the stages of the Tour are mass start races. The riders all start off together to cover a set route from one town to another. The stages in the first week to 10 days of the Tour are normally relatively flat. Later in the Tour, stages will involve riding up and down mountain passes. The winner of the stage is the first rider across the finish line.

• An Individual time Trial – Each year the Tour will include about 3 stages that are run as individual time trials. In an ITT, the riders start out one at a time at a set interval. Each rider is timed separately from the moment he is scheduled to start until he crosses the finish line. The rider with the lowest time for the day is the winner of the stage. In 2004, the first long ITT will be run very late in the race on a course up the Alpe d'Huez on stage 16.

• A Team Time Trial – The TDF usually includes a Team Time Trial stage. A TTT is like an ITT except that in a TTT, all members of a team start off together. If all goes well, the team rides together over the whole course and all members of the team are credited with the same time as that of the 5th team member to cross the finish line. Riders who cannot keep up with their team-mates, however, are on their own and will be timed individually. In a controversial decision, the Tour organizers have decreed that in 2004 no rider on a team that finishes within the time limit on the TTT stage will lise more than 2.5 minutes on the General Classification regardless of how far back the team finishes from the winning team.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

There are 21 teams taking part in the Tour this year, and there are 183 riders in total. Each team is supported by team cars that drive behind riders offering spare tires, wheels, and whole bikes in case of accidents. The person who usually drives the team car is the head coach, or director for that team and is known in French terms as "Directeur Sportiff".

Each rider or lead rider in a team's training protocol is so devised by his coaches that it is ensured that he peaks at the start of the Tour. Peaking means reaching ones highest and most optimum performance point that year, when he's most likely to achieve his maximum for that year. This is an interesting subject in sports science called Periodization.

Interesting thing about the Tour is that, as Phil Ligett remarked on Versus TV the other day, the Tour is the single most prestigious race in a cyclist's career, and that you may or may not be employed if you win a lot of other races. Once you win a stage in the Tour, you stay employed for sure!

0 Tour comments

By now, most of you might have heard about Robbie's spectacular comback after a crash yesterday at the ride into Canterbury.  He appeared from nowhere towards the final meters of the sprint, his wrist hurting, knees bruised... and packed such a hard punch into the sprint that not one could stay behind his wheel. Man, did he own the field.

Meanwhile, news is that he stayed away from getting his wrist X-rayed? Nervousness I believe?

I'm sitting in my office right now and I'm following the 2nd stage into Ghent on here. What are you using?

0 Tour Trivia

For people who know nothing of the Tour de France, here's a nice historic tabulation of the great race beginning in 1903. It will make an interesting read.

For teams, sponsor information, and jerseys, look here. It would be nicer to have a website that told possibly everything, including rosters, what each rider specialized in, etc. Must I have to buy a special Tour de France guide to watch out for that, or must I play the official computer game?

I think its spectacular. Everyone should be talking about it. Apparently, I feel like I'm the only person excited about it from western new york. Not interested to know who's going to win, but I'm literally in the Le Tour cycling mood!!!! If by a stroke of the supernatural, the atlantic ocean yields a path to the riders to cross into the United States, man you bet I'll be hererunning besides them! Haha....! Crazy am I, eh? I'm freaked out.... !

Speaking of the Tour history, a great thing I have with me on my computer is the History of the Tour de France, a superb documentary on the Tour, its champions and their lives. I'm not sure where you can buy one from, I got mine from here. :) Le Tour de France is here, if you know how to handle bittorrent files. 

To conclude the day, here's an interesting read on Robert Millar, one of Britain's top cyclists. Nowadays, no one hears about him. Why? I don't know. Read.

Once you conquer a great race of truth as the Tour, you acheive the path to instant hero-dom. Your pedal worthiness is now instant value, value for your sponsors, your village, your country,
your family. If you're shrewd like Lance, you'll probably end up making millions of dollars a month, a super-luxary home, tons of media contracts and ad campaigns...you name it.  You are household.

Some, like our Robert Millar though, has disappeared off the face of the earth. 

6 Why I hate Chinese Food?

Folks have asked me why I hate Chinese food.

First of all, hey, Chinese are great people okay?! I have no problems with them. They're just a bit different, and that's fine. But me and chinese food are no match for each other. Drinking a bottle of soy sause is not my idea of bon-apetit. I'm okay with their fried rice, but then that's pretty general.Anyone can make fried vegetable rice!

The dintinctly chinese foods are, to me, awful! They're cheap, maybe healthy, maybe not. I can't stop to think why most Chinese are so frail.. What? They all ride bikes? Ofcourse I knew that, and thanks for the prompt....but does it also have to do something with what they eat? My roommates at the moment are a chinese couple, and I haven't seen them NOT eat meat a single day.... beef, pork,chicken,pish,prawns you name,  Chinese eat anything that moves, all topped off with soy sauce, and canola oil!

Wow, maybe I'm really ignorant.

But then what about China being on the top of the list of countries whose food products have been banned by the FDA?

What about all those pets that got sick after eating foods imported from China?

Here's a list of those food products!

They say everything you bring to your mouth these days are poison. Milk is hormone injected, red meat raises cholesterol and bp, spinach is infected with bacteria, bread is not bread anymore yada yada.

Like my best friend says, I'd rather die eating what I love and what tastes good to me than living on what everyone eats, or what money buys for the cheapest, or what culture dictates.

Chinese food is not one of them.

0 Tour de France 2007 - 2 days to go!

The Tour is decidedly the biggest sporting event on the calender. Almost 200 riders crossing
3-4 countries, bridging 3500 miles for 21 days with hardly much time to rest. You tell me whats more hardcore than that.

And as is traditionally the case, the events before the Tour are packed so much heat and drama. Italian sprinting sensation Alessandro Petacchi is out of the Tour, adding another substance to
the list of blackmarked wonderdrugs - Albuterol, a.k.a Salbutamol, a relieving cure for Asthma. A glance at the official site for the drug lists one of the properties of the medication 
as, "It works by relaxing the muscles and air passages in the lungs so that air can flow into them more freely and improve breathing.

Research papers across the internet testify to the anabolic effects that it has on peak power.
Eric Zabel admitted to doping in '96, but he remains in the Tour, so atleast we can see some
clean action from him this year.

All that aside, Riis has opted out of the tour, so that leaves team CSC with his backing and support. Mr. Riis doped as well, in his Tour days.  Andreas Kloden is being pressurized with doping charges as well, and the man is 
enervated,making people believe his story.

Doping here, there everywhere. Its funny. Were all these people stupid? In abattle to please sponsors, team organisers, wild fans, and selfish personal aims, these crooks resorted to popping pills, sacrificing their own lives and careers and delivering a tainted image of the wonderful sport that is cycling.  This sport has taken a consistent beating over the past couple of years. What remains to be now seen is who the hell can beat the odds and have a clean victory and restore
the sport to being legit human performance! No more freaks of nature, no more pill popping, just a nice clean victory.

Sometimes I feel like a rabid fan standing around the Colosseum, waiting for the Tour to begin, to frantically cheer the gladiators of modern cycling, screaming out to them


"Give us more, give us more!"

When I'm sane, I think of the numerous sacrifices the riders must have gone through, 
the challenges of training and preparation, the media battles, the drama everyday in 
their lives...just to get selected for the Tour. 

The Tour still remains, open-minded. The roads are wide open to swallow the bravest of men.

She's a virgin and she needs her next hero.

0 Trek Madone 2008 Testride - 2

Okay. I did the testride. It was a Performance 5.2. I got to the LBS 30 minutes before closing, so honestly, I got only 10-15 minutes of pure carbon fibre ride, and that too for the first time in my life!

Sure, I'll tell you there was a subtle difference in the ride, when compared to my current aluminium frame. The huge lugs of carbon fibre I was sitting on was slowly soaking up the road, but again, it was subtle. I rode on stock platform pedals, so that was a major drawback. I wanted to try out a sprint, and sprinkle a few jumps here and there. From my backpack, I produced my crappy camera that sent the LBS guys raising eyebrows. As if this were a major setback to them, they enquired whether I was a spy from Specialized. I kept clicking away...

Notice the seatstay material above the brakes. Totally solid. That sign looks sweet, like a Ferrari or something.

Made in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

My first impression of the frame - huge! Beautiful yes. Probably in the 17 pound range with the X Lite wheels on, maybe tad lighter than that. The frame is a work of art. Ultegra SL wasn't that great of a deal.

Now I like this, internally routed brake cable that runs diagonally within the frame to rear brake.

Massive bottom bracket region. I really need clipless pedals on to know the subtleties of Q-Factor.

The bottom bracket is massive. The downtube was quite big as well, and this I could easily tell from what I had in mind about my own bike. I am not sure how much stiffness the frame brings about, but the thing is built like a chevvy silverado or a Mustang or something. I had an upright position on this model, and it felt quite comfy. Not very aggressive. The area on the toptube, where it met with the headtude was so wide one could place a cup of coffee on it and go out for a ride without bothering.

Like sitting on a couch.

LBS has agreed to notify me when the Pro's get to store.

I'll tell you one thing. If you're openminded about a new design, you'll like it. If you're kind of style is hammering away on something minimalistic, this may not be for you. But as Trek claims, they have taken the bicycle back to the drawing board and rethought possibly everything. An important aspect of mechanical design is reducing the number of working parts and making a bike easy to fix, maintain, understand. For a novice biker who wants to play around with his bottom bracket on a conventional road bike, think about the number of tools and good working knowledge he would need. Just an example...

I'll take it with a pinch of salt for now...dang, there should really be someone out there who ought to take frames and do a side by side comparison of stiffness, weight,...

Marketing hype is one thing, testing is another.

0 Trek Madone 2008 Testride - 1

I've just heard from the nearest Trek dealer that the new Madone, probably a 5.2 Performance Fit, is in store. I am going to take the baby out for a testride today, and I'm pretty excited. Needless to say I'm itching to see the new bike, and take some sweet pictures for you folks.

That's coming soon.

0 Some great Tour de France Moments - 2

Inspite of a crash due his right pedal, Armstrong uses his rapid acceleration to hammer this climb, catch Ullrich and win the stage.

Tour de France 2003.

0 Some great Tour de France Moments - 1

Watch carefully as Vino attacks that sends Lance and Beloki on a wild high speed chase. Somewhere along that point, comes some spectacular moments. Watch!

Vino eventually won that stage.

0 New Doping charges!

Shocking is the word when I turned to International Herald Tribune to read of fresh doping allegations coming against Di Luca (whom I know will not race the tour), Alessandro Petacchi (one of my favorite sprinters, tell me he didn't do it!! ) Jörg Jaksche and a select few others.

I'm not ready to conclude anything here, but its almost obvious that they might not race the Tour de France next week. If thats the verdict, we all are going to miss some spectacular sprinting action on the first couple of flat stages.

I'm disappointed. Hell with doping!

Its funny how a few months back, on a winter training camp, my friend called to me saying "you look like Fausto Coppi on the climbs". I gleamed at the idea back then, but now I'm more like "Dude, stop comparing me with the guy. He doped, and he doped a hell lot. Worse, he admitted to it to the French back in the days with no remore. "

Times have changes, rules of competition have changed. I cannot entertain the idea that some one will win the Tour on hormones and banned substances... I love the Tour too much. Its a pity!

Cycling needs a new hero to open a new, clean chapter in the book of winners. At the moment, I put my bet on one of my favorite riders, Alexandre Vinokourov. But only time will tell whether his admittance of working with notorious Dr. Ferrari will throw him out of competition.

0 That was a nice week!

A post race snap in cool down mode. Hows the cycling cap? :)

Alleghany State Park!

Looking back at the week, I raced the superfast Jean-Masse Crit, and did the Racoon Rally 25 mile road race in some of the hilliest roads I've been. I'm not sure of my standings in the race, but I did have a sprint finish up on the last climb. I was sucking the wheel of a local American racer, and about 60 meters to the finish , I broke off from him and edged past him at 19-20 mph while racer organiser and friend Larry Mordue cheered me on....


Looking back at the race yesterday, I am surprised I was strong enough to take the decision to sprint. It was good training, and I think I'll do more of it from hereon.


Oh did I tell you.. Some really young kid with a street bike and panniers was with us in the main pack and I was surprised he could take the 26 mph speed so easily. I keep imagining of the wonders of DRAFTING.... boy saves a lot of energy. I saw it first hand right there. The guy was racing with platform pedals!! Just awesome and hardcore....! Larry told me later that day that he finished the race, because on the climbs I never saw him!


Later that afternoon, after the races, we witnessed some hardcore trials, on trial bikes. Trialists (if you will) ride a special bike and maneuver them across boulders as big as houses to finish a short course. Bunnyhopping and balance are the names of the game, and every time you put your feet down, and your points increase. The person with the lowest points win. Amazing stuff. Never seen this anywhere before!


Letting that week go, I have to head to Church in a while, and rest my slightly sore legs. I'll post up my race results as and when I get it, including a photo from a pro-photographer who clicked me on the second climb.

0 Racoon Rally!

As my vastus medialis sort of still recovers from the Jean-Masse 30 min Men's B Criterium we had on UB Campus last evening, I hear that a good friend of mine is inviting and taking me to the Racoon Rally road and mountain bike race.

Racoon Rally is Western New York's biggest mountain bike race held at Allegheny State Park. Not only have I not been to a mountain bike race, I've never seen Alleghany either. It should be awesome fun with some nice climbs.

I'll post some pictures soon!

0 Leo is online!

Here's some hot news on one of my favorite celebrties! Yes, Leonardo da Vinci! According to this news article on Wired News, hundreds of his original papers are being posted in an archive online maintained by The Leonardian Library in Vinci, Tuscany. Read it here.

0 Hi guys!

Wow, its been a long long time and I don't even quite know how to start a writing this back again. So I'll push all the formalities out of the way and just say a brief hello, how's it been... and start writing once again.

0 Malware Outbreak

Impressive. An outbreak of a computer malware being shown graphically on F-Secure's WorldMap.

0 I'm Back!

Alright, its a weekend here after the first week of classes. Some of the courses I'm taking are exciting. As I read about governing equation derivations for my computational fluid dynamics class (CFD - a technique of solving fluid equations numerically on a computer), here is an article I read this evening about CFD applications in sport equipment study - especially in cycling equipment. High tech modern cycling is much about light equipment and aerodynamic design, and there is staunch competition in the market between different manufacturers. A common CFD application that is used to study flow fields around a bicycle design is FLUENT. Here is this article discussing a study on crosswind effects on a cyclist with a rear solid disk wheel as opposed to normal wheel with spokes. The article discusses solid disk advantages and disadvantages, clearly illuminated by FLUENT.

Great way to start the new year is to study some interesting courses and work hard from the start!

0 Happy New Year!

Hi Readers and fellow bloggers. Happy 2007 to one and all. I'm currrently vacationing in a beautiful island off the coast of Hawaii and will return soon. School opens in a week's time and I've got tons of new things to learn and write about. So see you then?

I was kidding about the vacation spot.

0 Finally found it!

My friend send me this forward couple days ago. It was about creative exercises on lateral thinking. Do we all think the same or does our brain take that extra step to think different? To enhance the creativity within organizations of a particular company, they were handed a sheet of paper with some exercises of which a few are listed below. Redeem yourself!

****** man
1. ------------
*****board

2. ecnalg

3. /r/e/a/d/i/n/g/

It is important to know which type of technique should be chosen for a particular type of situation.
1. man overboard
2. backward glance
3. reading between the lines

Got the drift?? Lets see how you fare this one....
****0
------------
***M.D.
***Ph.D.



**********************************************************************************

(ans. Two degrees below zero )

0 Simple Creative Activity - SIX ..

I clearly remember having seen this sometime back in high school. I remember exclusively that it made me think for a while before I came up with a solution.

The problem?

Consider the Roman Number for number 9 . Convert it to a 6 with just one stroke of your pen.

Convert IX to 6 with one stroke.

How would you do that right? Figure it out. Its a trick question, but the hint is to think "outside the box". Don't think too hard though.

Perhaps children would answer this one immediately.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Answer : Using one stroke, write the letter 'S' before IX. you have SIX!

My best friend answered this one in 5 minutes. Apparently, you've got to stop thinking of the Roman Numeral as a Roman Numeral! What does 'IX' sound like? I-C-S right? So, then she saw the connection between the letter S and the "I-C-S" sounding word.

Six!

0 Class Connectionz : Mental Locks

During design concept brainstorming, why is it better to raise the bar for the number of ideas generated?

"The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas."

- Linus Pauling 1901-1994
Chemist , Nobel Prize winner (Nature of Chemical bonds)

As discussed in class, it is important to have a number of ideas during brainstorming. Emphasis is on quantity rather than quality. So judgements are to be deferred.

So with that statement, some of prominent "mental locks" to generating ideas are :

There is only one good answer
That's not logical
Follow the rules
Be practical
Play is frivolous
Thats not my area
Don't be foolish
Avoid Ambiguity
To err is wrong

Part of the problem is that our formal education trains our left brain more than the right. The left is associated with analytical thinking. Emotions, intuition and associativity is related to right brain thinking.

Most of the mental locks mentioned above are associated with left brain (analytical) thinking. So hence I have learnt how important the right brain is in engineering!

Source : MIT Courseware for 2.009 "Product Engineering Process".

0 Class Connectionz : Mental Locks

During design concept brainstorming, why is it better to raise the bar for the number of ideas generated?

"The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas."

- Linus Pauling 1901-1994
Chemist , Nobel Prize winner (Nature of Chemical bonds)

As discussed in class, it is important to have a number of ideas during brainstorming. Emphasis is on quantity rather than quality. So judgements are to be deferred.

So with that statement, some of prominent "mental locks" to generating ideas are :

There is only one good answer
That's not logical
Follow the rules
Be practical
Play is frivolous
Thats not my area
Don't be foolish
Avoid Ambiguity
To err is wrong

Part of the problem is that our formal education trains our left brain more than the right. The left is associated with analytical thinking. Emotions, intuition and associativity is related to right brain thinking.

Most of the mental locks mentioned above are associated with left brain (analytical) thinking. So hence I have learnt how important the right brain is in engineering!

0 Class Connectionz : Optimization

As I read though a chapter in my materials science book, there was a design problem that caught my attention. It's on a relatively simpler level compared to more complex optimization problems with multiple design variables to keep track of.

Design a process to electroplate a 0.1 cm thick layer of copper onto a 1 cm x 1 cm cathode surface. I believe you all know a little about electroplating. If you don't, here's a sweet introduction on the topic.

Ultimately, our decisions will be based on an optimal value of a function. In most cases, it will be a cost. Obviously, something thats not economically viable will not be considered at all. Another important function is the rate of production and quality of the copper plate.

In this scenario, the variables are 1) current (I in Amperes) and 2) time (t in seconds).

A pair of values for these variables will give us the minimum cost. For this to happen, there must be a relationship between the optimization function and the variables.

Or, Cost = function(I,t).

This relationship has to be established by the company is question after digging into their records and what not. I'm not really sure how its done, but this was discussed in class briefly.

Anyway, in order to produce a 0.1 cm think layer on a 1 cm squared surface area, the mass of copper must be :

Mass = Density x Volume = 8.96 g/square.cm (referenced) x (1 square cm)(0.1cm)
= 0.896g

From Faraday's equation (for rate of corrosion - search wikipedia),

I.t = w.n.F/M

where w = mass
F= Faraday's constant (96,500 Coulombs)
n =valence of the metal ion
I = current (A)
t = time

I.t = (0.896 x 2 x 96,500)/63.54 = 2722 A. secc

We may now use several different combinations of current and time to produce the copper plate :

Current Time
0.1 A 27,220s = 7.6 h
1.0 A 2,722s = 45.4 min
10.0 A 272.2s = 4.5 min
100.0 A 27.2s = 0.45 min

The exact combination is current and time might be made on the basis of the rate of production and the quality of the copper plater. Low currents require very long plating times, perhaps making the process economically unsound. High currents, on the other hand, may reduce plating efficiencies. Currents that are too high can also initiate other side reactions that are not desired.

So we see that there are tradeoffs and the optimal solution to this problem is based on experimentation and additional background. A current of approx. 1 A and a time of approx 45 minutes are not uncommon in electroplating operations.

Source : The Science and Engineering of Materials (Askeland, Phule, 2006).

2 Good Designs List

This is my good designs list (for this semester atleast). I'll keep appending to this list every other day so stay tuned. Links have been provided for further reading in order to keep it simple. So here goes.

1. GE90-115B : This mammoth of an airplane engine is the largest in the world.
Good Design features :
a. Unique Complex Swept Fan blade : Made of a composite (carbon fiber and epoxy resin), with leading edges made of titanium to better distribute stresses. Light, durable, less noisy, low rotional speed and exceptional air intake power. Swept back angle leads to better aerodynamic efficiency.
b. Fan Stator Case : Largest part of the engine is fully transportable by air, land or sea.
c. High Efficiency High Pressure Compressor : 9 stage 3D HPC vanes and blades enable a
a thrust of 115,000 pounds. Flow rate and compression ratio (42) has been increased by 20%.
d. Fan Mid-Shaft : Made of a special alloy called GE1014, exclusively developed for this
application enables shaft of older GE90 series design to remain the same, but gives more torque. The alloy has superior fatigue and tensile strength.
e. Hydrocarbon emission levels are 60% lower than those that will be allowed by 2008 standards.

2. Leap Frog Twist and Shout Toys : Toys for children should avoid small parts. It should be intuitive, take into account the child's learning patterns and habits, avoid factors that can bug the parents (like high noise level). It should also be geared towards specific age groups. After
randomly checking the web for children's toys, I came across UK based company Leap Frog. Here's one of their toys - A Hand held Spelling Toy for grades K-5.

Good Design Features :

1. 5 game modes from easy to hard.
2. Twist dial for letter, then slam the end for answer!
3. Teaches core spelling words and fundamental spelling rules
4. Automatically adjusts to player's skill level.
5.Music, animation and sound to keep the child playing.
6. Attractive color, and buttons.
7. Best of all, when the kid has mastered all words in the memory, an additional 1000 words can be added with a Turbo Twist Spelling Cartridge. And its only 20 dollars!

3. Lian Li Computer Case (2oth Memorial Anniversary PC-777A): There have been various mixed feelings from customers, but it looks amazingly cool. Have a look at it. For years, we've been seeing the same old box type desktop cases. Boring as hell. Here's something unusual from Lian Li. I would give it a 80 for aesthetics. It is also quite spacious. This is perhaps a candidate for a bad designs list as well. Since it has a degree of the 'WOW' factor, lets put it here. The space and the snail-like outer body has been irresistable for some buyers.

4. Innovation Factory's IF11000 IceDozer Plus : A bull dozer for ice! Quite the same for the company also. This might be the prayer answered for winter drivers.
Good Design Features :
1) Features Flexiblade, teeth for breaking into the ice and a front plow.
2) Multi-function innovation brush that features plush and durable bristles to plow the snow. It can be detached, and with its own set of teeth, hard to reach areas can be accessed like car mirrors etc.
3) Attractive, ergonomic handles.
4) Specially designed notch on brush can wipe ice right off windshield wipers.
5. I like the color. Yellow stands out in the snow!
In 2004, this company disappeared. Source : Don Normal.

5. Xerox's Reusable Paper : Its not science fiction. Xerox has experimented on a paper design that can erase itself after a certain time period so it can be used again!!! Embarking on a future concept of "dynamic documents", Xerox produced a chemical that absorbed certain wavelengths of light but then gradually disappeared. While XRCC scientists work on the chemistry of the technology, their counterparts at PARC - the birth place of the laser printer - are working on a device that could write the image onto the special paper.
Good Design Features :
1) Images on the special paper fades gradually in 16-24 hours.
2) Reusable, hence lesser wastage and scraps.

0 Self Sensing "Smart" Concrete - Part 3

A sample of self sensing concrete (160mm long and 40 mm wide) using the procedures briefed above was prepared for a laboratory experiment. A 3 point testing was done to measure simultaneous compressive/tensile flexular strength and electrical resistivity along the stress line. The results confirmed that flexural strength increased, and sensing ability was achieved. It was also noticed that with different compositions, different results were yielded. The best linearity for fractional change of resistance and strain vs stress was acheived with methylcellulose. In any sensing device, linearity is an attractive feature which makes calibration easy.

The question will arise as to why continuous fibres cannot be used instead of discontinuous ones. One main reason is that it is expensive, and difficult to incorporate into the concrete. The workability is negatively affected, and the same sensing ability is not acheived. Also, it is not necessary to have all that electrical conductivity for making concrete smart.

Another method that could be done for flexural testing is to coat conventional concrete on the tension or compression side with smart concrete. This scheme will yield higher sensitivity on the tension side than on the compression. An implementation of this procedure is coating ceilings of buildings for self sensing behavior. Through out my life, I have noticed cracks on ceilings in concrete that can increase seepage of water. Imagine if you were the victim and the leaking water came from a dirty washroom on the floor above you!

In a real world application as in the levees we talked about, Dr. Chung explained that structural flaw such a micro-crack would increase the resistance of the structure and this change could be continously monitored by probes on the outside of the structure. She also explains that the outside shell of the levee can be made from this composite (similar to what is done in the airline industry nowadays). This will mean reinforcement with sensing capability.

Its an interesting question as tohow small these probes are and what fashion these probes will be placed in. Won't they be subjected to the elements as well? Another question being thrown is whether plants can grow through smart concrete. I've seen tiny plants emerging from regular concrete.

It can be immediately deduced, however, that this sort of technology holds great promises. In situations like earthquakes, or evacuation emergencies in high rise buildings this will greatly help. The weak spots in a structure can be found out without having to actually have a full scale disaster to prove it. A crack is a surface defect and the carbon fibres (impurity) can interfere with the propogation of this flaw, reducing chances of catastrophic failure.

In a post 9/11 world where our borders and important infrastructure (that means a lot economically) are in danger, this technology can provide another avenue of solutions. The idea for this invention adds to other 21st century smart technologies such as cargo analysing at border checkpoints and seaports using magnetic sensors, and "self healing" nano structures.

The 21st century is a dangerous one, as well as one that holds amazing potential for growth in technology. I have to careful about thinking in this manner, but I have often thought that sometimes, disasters are the impulse (the need or want) for newer technologies. In this way, they may be good or bad, but the passion of discovery is never a bad one, whatever may set it off. I'm proud of the fact that Dr. Chung teaches me. I am also confident of the fact that the day is not far when this technology will be adopted in construction after proving to be commercially viable.

1 Self Sensing "Smart" Concrete - Part 2

Self sensing concrete is concrete that is able to sense (measure) its condition without the help of embedded sensors that are used in instrumentation. The patent claim for this invention documents that it is composed of electrically conductive, discontinous, randomly oriented carbon fibres dispersed in an electrically conductive concrete-matrix (or masonsry) base. The electrical conductivity of the fibres are different than that of the base, and as a result of the contact between the fibres and base, the "sensor" attains an electrical conductivity. The concrete acts as the sensor because of this difference in electrical conductivity.

Strain is the change in length of a material per unit length. For ductile materials like steel, aluminium etc, strain is proportional to stress and has a linear relationship until a yield point when strain takes place more easily with a given amount of stress (plastic behaviour). Consequently, the ultimate stress is crossed and the material breaks or ruptures. Concrete on the other hand is a ductile material. Its stress strain curve is almost a straight line without any significant yeield point. What this means is that in the real world, there is no signs or warnings that point to over loading. Hence, concrete structures can fail on a fine morning and will shock many people.

In smart concrete, the detection of strain that can subsequently lead to micro-cracking is done with the help of a slight variation of a scientific phenomenon known as Piezoelectric Effect. Piezoelectric effect is the ability of a material to generate a voltage proportional to an applied stress. In our case, the deciding principle is piezoresitivity, or the proportional change of electrical resistivity with application of strain. In the event of the development of a micro-crack, the contact area between the fibres and the concrete varies sending off a proportionate change in resistivity. This change can then be related to how much strain was encountered.

The change of resistance per unit strain is a quantity called gage factor. Dr. Chung claims that gage factors as high as 700 has been achieved in carbon fibre reinforced concrete.

Traditional methods of sensing were, as we talked about, embedding structures with sensors - peizoelectrics, strain gages, optical fibres etc. This has a significant disadvantage in that the strength of the entire structure can be compromised to an extent because of the heterogenity induced by the cavity. Moreover, surface mounted strain gages are exposed to the elements and can be damaged easily.

In smart concrete, the discontinous fibres in question are about 10-15 micro meters in diameter and nominally 5mm long. Dispersion is brought about through the use of agents such as methylcellulose, silica fume and latex. Preparation includes dissolving the dispersant in water, mixing the defoamer and fibres with this solution and stirring, and then mixing it with concrete, latex and a water reducing agent and they are all mixed in a stone mixer. The mix is then shaken to reduce air bubbles and kept in a mold for some time. After that, it is demolded and cured in room temperature for upto 7 days.

0 Self Sensing "Smart" Concrete - Part 1

Sometime in an earlier post, I briefly described how a professor in my university, Dr. Deborah Chung delivered a lecture on her new invention - smart concrete. I haven't elaborated on what exactly she spoke, and I will do that now.

Dr. Chung is a materials-science scientist and professor at our university. She holds degrees from a number of elite universities in the U.S and has a PhD. I have read a little from her autobiography and I was very impressed and motivated.

Some major disasters around the world mainly happen through engineering failures. Be it man made or natural, a breach in the strength of materials, especially those applied in construction, can mean anything from total collapse of the structure in question to damage to property and loss of human life.

Take for example the levee embankments in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Construction materials were clay deposits interspered with silt or sand seams. It is said that before the flood, the levees themselves had been sinking due to improper sheet metal pilings. They weren't set deep enough. Some of then were only 10 feet deep while others were as deep as 25 feet. Those deep enough could keep the flood at bay than others. With shortage of funds, repairs lagged. I do not know the exact nature of the failure but engineers claim that improper pilings, topping of the huge water surge and erosion of foundational soils were among the main causes of the levee failure. I even watched this on Discovery Channel.

Imagine a situation where the same levees are made of smart concrete that can monitor stress and deformation in real time. You set an acceptable baseline for the deviations. In a situation where the deviation exceeds the limit, an alarm is triggered and engineers are immediately notified.

Or take the situation of a smart roads being able to weigh heavy duty vehicles that move on it, especially at borders or bridges. Think of what that could mean for traffic monitoring and homeland security.

Embedded road sensors have been implemented in areas such as Washington D.C. The Anacostia Freeway that is part of the Interstate 295, has a weight sensor planted under the pavement at the naval station. This helps catch overloaded vehicles that are potentially harming the roads and are a source of tax for the city.

However, a budget of 1 million dollars for a virtual weighing station is too much. This is where smart concrete could come in. Although construction costs with smart concrete could shoot up by 30%, Dr. Chung believes that this option is cheaper than embedding sensors under pavements. At this point in time, it is the high costs that discourages the industry to adopt its use.

2 Around the World in 19 months, 20 days.. On a bicycle!

Here's an inspiring story of an Indian who rode over 37,000 miles around the world on a bicycle to raise awareness about the environment. Consequently, he also broke a Guiness Record.

2 Breville Uses NX Based Technology in Juice Fountain

Today, I read a case study about how a top Australian kitchen appliance company named Breville implemented the NX based digital product development process to speed up their product development cycles.

A consistent design innovator and quality setter, Breville had to find new ways to speed up their design process and getting it out to the market. Some of their main issues were :

1. Clay modelled prototypes took weeks to make. Prototype costs were heavy.
2. Design intent was open to incorrect interpretations among the various departments in the company.
3. Long product development cycle.

After the company implemented NX as their design solution, they chose the Juice Fountain product line to streamline with the NX design environment. Not only are the new juicers capable of doing more than conventional models (example, making juices from whole fruit instead of just slices, more raw power for the motor etc) but they also look tremendously attractive to any mom in the kitchen. The new models have generational changes in them compared to the older models, and these have been inspired primarily due to the company listening to the voice of the customer and the data gathered from in house research. We learnt in MAE451 how important listening to customer demands is. From the Kano model, last years demands (the 'exciting' needs that give the WOW factor to consumers) are today's basic needs.

Breville successfully implemented these changes by implementing NX from start to finish. This is perhaps a classic example of a company that retains its traditional methods of design, adopts new technology to lower costs and increase production cycles, and at the same time, adapts to the increasing competition in the market by bringing out new inspired changes in their products.

0 Advantages of Solid Modelling

Going from 2D to 3D has many advantages, particularly for companies designing products that require complex manufacturing processes. One such company is Delsey, a France based luggage manufacturer.

Delsey made a wise decision to switch to a 3D modelling application to speed up its product development cycle. Here is the article. It is quite remarkable that products with complex molded surfaces such as straps, zippers and buckles that took 1 to 2.5 years to bring to the market now only took them a matter of 3-4 weeks. Switching to 3D also meant that Delsey could customize parts according to the customer's requirements. They could preserve these changes in a library of models that could be retreived later. The down time and the costs involved with modifications was significantly reduced. The Epoca, a suitcase with built-in wheels for easier transport was made exclusively by a 3d modelling application -UGS's I-DEAS.

Another significant advantage is that standardization of parts speeds design construction and allows the designer to be more creative with his extra time. As discussed in our MAE 451 class, this extra time and resources can help steer the direction towards a better design. This can lower costs and expand performance. The creative technique is an intergral part of the engineering design process.

1 Pulley Assembly

Here's a pulley assembly model done in Pro/E. Given the fact that I followed the book from Dr. Roger Toogood, I took considerable time to make it. I appreciate it that Toogood takes the pain to make the modeller think on his own about certain things, but if he wants to write a book for beginners, he better rethink his style and mode of presentation. I think it can get better in many ways.

0 Yawnnn (design issues...again)

So for two consecutive nights I have been solving fluids problems, playing NFS Carbon, and mulling optimization techniques in engineering design. (Such a waste of time...hehe yeah I know..) The latter is interesting stuff. Considering unconstrainted multivariate optimization problems, does anyone know which method would help one converge fastest to the optimum point? I know it depends upon a lot of things, but you engineers would know...

I'll be starting my design portfolio soon on my blog. Each day, I will write my train of thoughts regarding design methods, things that I find in engineering products around me, and I will also outline my plans to design my final project, which I have yet to confirm with my prof. If I can do it in SolidWorks, that'll be sweet.

Hi to Bosson from China!

0 Max models

Simple Trees (here, the leaves are just boxes with their vertices manipulated to make them look like trees. The polygon count on models like these are very less.

Models in a playground - entrance, steel cages, a ticket booth etc. You bet these are some 'heavy models' when it comes to detail.

A portable toilet.. dum

This is a stupid example of how you can texture a bitmap onto models toy have created to make them appear more life-like

0 More..

Here's an example of one of my modelling, texturing and lighting self-projects) Looks nicer but it could look nicer.

A kettle made by Max's inbuilt kettle feature

An anchor

0 More 3ds Max models of mine..

Here's a textured park bench. This took some time to make and it involves some cunning tools in max.

Half-done fish

A shell (reminds of the 'loft' feature)

0 ART vs. CAD (Media industry packages vs. CAD applications)

Hello World. Most of you might be wondering where I am. Let me be faithful to you and let you know that I'm terribly busy at school. But its interesting. I'm learning a lot of things.

Last year around this time, I was in the process of learning a 3d modelling tool called Autodesk 3D Studio Max in order to create a 3D world that would be shown on a screen which would eventually be synchronised with a 50,000$ motion simulator at our VR labs. Ofcourse it was only a volunteer experience, but its nice that I got familiar with packages the game industry uses - 3dS, Alias Maya (Alias merged with AutoDesk some months back I heard), and Zbrush.

At this time of the year, I am learning engineering CAD softwares - mainly solidworks and Pro/E. I hope to learn a little bit of them at the same time so that I can know how the same things are done in each of the two applications. I enjoy modelling.

What are the differences between t.v and motion graphics modelling applications and engineering applications? Well, there are a lot of similarities. There is a certain thing such as 'workflow' in all. You start with basic entities and make then more detailed and complicated through the tools each program has. Things like extrusion and revolved cuts are present in both fields (trust me, they make life so much simpler).

However, there is something basic we work with in 3ds Max and other like softwares called Polygons. If you ever played a computer game, you'll know that 3d entities are made up of millions of points, vertices and eventually what it all comes down to is polygons. So in these packages, you're sitting down manipulating polygons to make shapes, sizes, characters, guns, vehicles, cars. The more polygons you have, the more detailed the model will be. Its more like art. Even though everything is done virtually and you don't actually physically touch the model, the way you model itself relates to the actual craftsmanship of the artist. And every computer game or animation film has to optimise its polygon count and detail if considerable rendering time is not to be lost. Rendering is basically making images out of 3d to present it on a 2d platform. Atleast thats what I think it is.

Engineering CAD applications are so much more easier to work with. The way things are made on computer is mostly how things are done in industry - extrusion, sweeping, lathing etc. Welcome to the world of dimensions and mathematical relations, constraints and what not. There's so much intelligence built into the system that so much of your work is simplified for you. Ofcourse, there is such a thing as processing time related to the detail on the model, but none of this is associated with polygons or vertices and such and such. Thats art. (Ofcourse I'm not implying there is no art and creativity in engineering. There is. But the way things are done is different)

This is solid modelling. You create parts, each part has a 'feature' and finally you assemble all the parts to make a working model. Eventually, you'll have to work with the manufacturing division to see how that assembly will be done, but you get the point don't you.

I get it too.

I hope to learn more of solid modelling in the art and engineering side and I also hope to get out some models and animations soon. I like this! You should try it too!

Here are some 3d models from last year, just to give you an idea how much I learnt (modelling, texturing, adding light what not).

0 Headphones

Here's a simple headphone (with a huge strap) made in Pro/E.

By making this model, I learnt about the following :

Variable sweeps, that a curve isn't always necessary to make one (you can even select the edge of a feature to do it) - the headstrap, wire etc were made using this tool.

Solid revolutions with a single profile like the headphones cup

Creating fill patterns like the little holes in the cup

Making polar patterns given an axis (the holes on the headstrap)

Mirroring the whole model - We always want to reduce the amount of our work. So we make one half of the headphones, and mirror it across a given plane to make the other half. That saves us a lot of time.

Modelling time : 4-5 hours (cos I'm a newbie!)

0 Simple Calculator

Here is a simple calculator model. Surfaces you see are all extruded and the rounded for smoothness. The buttons, the cuts for the mic and speaker have been made using the patterns command. Buttons could have two dimensions (vertically and horizontally) and an offset from a reference line, while the cuts for the speaker had just direction.

More detail could be added to this model by selecting the buttons as drawing planes and drawing numbers and finally extruding them a given height.

Time : 1 1/2-2 hours (I'm a beginner afterall!)



Done in Pro/E