Ultimate Steve

Maybe not though depending on how busy life goes.

Probably I think.

The reason for the 1.0 is that the atmosphere of kerbmun shouldn't change again so I can better build a base.

Good question. I got burned out moving the base back and forth for realistic temperature levels. I intend to go back to it once 1.0 comes out. However life is picking up pace so it might be dead for good sadly... If I had infinite time it would not be dead, but grr college.

My number one priority forums wise is to finish Voyage: The Final Warning before I go to college. Originally the goal was this year but that's not going to happen. At least 5 more chapters I'd say. Probably more.

Oof. I hope you get better soon, but better for real.

Yup!

Hmm, accordion style, that's something I hadn't considered. It would probably make deployment more reliable, but it would make the message slightly less legible. I could do it with the mechanism I already have in place. Unfortunately, there are some components that protrude slightly into the poster's path. The unrolling means that the poster will harmlessly roll over those parts, but with an accordion it may get stuck. Thank you for the idea, though.

The poster is about standard for a poster.

Maybe a bit smaller, though. I can't use the top few inches because they may show, and the bottom few inches may not unfurl properly and will have the PVC pipe weight (which I am going to re-attach so it doesn't look so ugly) covering it, so I'd say that roughly 2/3 of that space is usable. And it has to be mounted vertically.

Hmm, those could work.

Technically though I spent more than a dime, I bought the hot glue sticks used in the making of the machine (although not directly for the machine, so maybe it shouldn't count? I'm thinking too much into this).

Speaking of hot glue, that reminds me of some of the logistics that go into building a machine like this. It has to be:

1. Mobile
2. Resistant to minor impact, vibration and shock
3. Able to be laid on its back for transport
4. Reliable
5. Consistent
6. Semi-permanent
7. Non damaging to the shelf it's made from
8. Visible and slow enough to be watched and understood
9. Mildly idiot proof
10. And I must come up with a fix for (almost) EVERY problem as it appears.

Mobile - I mounted it on wheels. Later I changed that to a creeper because those wheels sucked. It also needed to be self contained, on a shelf, one piece. This is closely tied to #2,

Resistant to minor impact, vibration and shock - This means that I can't have a part of the machine be super sensitive. It has to roll, and cross a bump between tile floor and carpet. If that sets something off it would be really bad. This was a problem with that weird thing I talked about a few comments up, but I fixed it. I have one part more vulnerable than others, so I have a "Remove before activation" tag attached to it which I will remove once I'm in the room. This requirement also means I have to make some design considerations. For instance, I can't use dominoes at all because they are extremely sensitive to this sort of stuff.

Able to be laid on its back for transport - I can't have anything extending beyond the back of the machine. Except I have three things which do that, but two of them are removable and one of them is really small but I can't fix it. I may put it up on small blocks.

Reliable - This is the big one. Initially I was shooting for 50% reliability, but now I want it to work 5 times in a row before I send it to school. I may lower that to three. I am okay-ish with having to give one element a push during the run, but not two. One is understandable, two is embarrassing.

Consistent - NO EXPENDABLE COMPONENTS!!! LITTLE VARIABILITY!!! MARGIN!!! Anything that introduces variability in how something performs, whether that be a balloon popping, something that can be reset an inch away, something secured with only tape that will weaken over time, must usually be eliminated. I think I have done good with this, only a few things are left with variability (strings can stretch, a few things are still taped rather than hot glued, the poster must be rolled up and may curl over time, etc.). Less variation leads to fewer failure modes.

Semi-permanent - Again, no tape in a crucial position. It has to survive for 2-3 weeks. Screws when usable, hot glue, and fishing line are good for this. Very few materials that wear out are on the machine.

Non damaging to the shelf - I can't drill into the shelf. I did some tests with tape. Duct tape will leave residue, but I'm willing to deal with that. Hot glue will damage the shelf if it's removed quickly, but I am hopeful that I can remove it safely. I've tested it. A bit. My parents would like the shelf back.

Visible and slow enough to be watched and understood - I had a 1 minute time goal when I started. This has been dropped to 30 seconds. I can't have shock resistance, margin, and stuff going slowly. It needs to be going fast enough to always-ish trigger the next step. The whole machine is averaging 20-25 seconds right now, which is multiple steps per second on average, depending on what constitutes a step. SO I had to compromise on this. As far as visibility, there are two parts in the back which are not visible, but only two. I intend to keep it that way.

Mildly idiot proof - It would really suck if it didn't work only because I forgot to reset one step, or wound the yo-yo wrong, or put something an inch off. Markings are in a few crucial spots to help me reset, and I'm going to make a checklist.

Fixing things - If I see a problem, I will usually fix it before the next test. Because of this, the last few steps are rock solid by now. I aim for the whole machine to be mostly rock solid.

 

My homework is to write three paragraphs on specific subjects, but I'm procrastinating bu writing ten paragraphs...

That definitely sounds better than what I've come up with, I may use something like that. "In hindsight this is a bit too over the top" is definitely something I will consider, or some derivative of it. Maybe I could make it rhyme somehow.

I will be posting a video, and pictures, and maybe its own thread in the lounge, but not until it's said and done, I don't want to take too many chances of the news getting out. Fortunately, you can't get much more obscure than buried in the comments of a status update on a nerdy video game forum.

Also guys I need poster ideas. What would you put on a Prom poster that just unfurled itself from a Rube Goldberg Machine? My current idea is "It doesn't have to be this complicated. XXXXXXX, will you go to Prom with me?" But I don't like it, it doesn't flow.

Thanks for the reminder @qzgy and @Kerbalstar, and sorry for the late response. It has now been twelve days working on the machine. I wanted to have it done this weekend so I could test it for a day or two and use it Thursday or Friday, but Saturday was extremely busy (ACT, shopping) and I hung out with friends on one of the other days. As much as I want it done, it can't take over my life.

Good news, though. The machine is built out of a shelf with four levels (including the top) as well as a backboard that I attached, that will have stuff mounted on it and above it. And as of right now, the four levels are finished, minus some moderate tweaking, and the major foundation of the top is mostly in place, again prone to tweaking. So, by volume, I'm 80% done. I plan on adding these things, not that you'll have the context to understand them:

• Release system for the ball/vehicle on the left side of the pulley (potentially moderately complex)
• Release system for the marble (maybe with complex gap filling marbles) on the right side of the pulley
• Maybe stuff between the marble release and the zipline
• The zipline
• A trigger for the zipline in the style of a soccer/futbol goal

So I have 5-10 more steps to build, and that will hopefully be it!

Also, I managed to procure a creeper (rolly thing that mechanics lay on to get under cars) and with some wood stacking, I now have wheels for the whole thing that don't suck, meaning transport will be much easier (after I get it up the stairs, out of my basement, at least). The creeper and the wood stacked on top of it have the added bonuses of raising the machine up, making it look more impressive, and making the lower levels more visible. I should probably disguise the stacked wood, though.

I *might* still hit Friday, but that may require me to have it done and tested Wednesday night, to bring it to school (I've checked with my physics teacher, I can store it in his room but he doesn't know what it is yet) Thursday, to reassemble it after school and do some more testing, test again Friday morning before school, and then actually use it Friday. That's 3 days for up to 10 steps and testing/tweaking enough to get it to work 5 times in a row.

If we have another snow day I'll be more confident, but as of right now it may have to be delayed until Tuesday.

Also, the idea you reminded me about (with a few modifications and tweaks) is working nearly perfectly.

@qzgy @Kerbalstar I'd like to update you. I've spent 6 days working on the machine (with at least one day off because of a speech competition) and it's ~2/3 done, I'd say, with, depending on how you count, about 30 steps. It is the most reliable Rube Goldberg machine I have ever built, but it is not currently reliable enough for what I need it to do.

I built a small section, which flips around to reveal another small section. Both sections work fine, but the trigger for the flipping is insanely sensitive. The thresholds for flipping and not flipping are so close, they almost overlap. Sometimes it will flip if you look at it funny. And that's not good for having other thumps going on in the machine, and it's definitely not good for having to roll it into the possibly carpeted classroom on very bad and jittery wheels. Although, I could build better wheels... That would cost money, though, I don't have the parts on hand. I do have three methods of tuning the flipper, though, a screw I can tighten or loosen to adjust axle angle and a place where I can vary two types of flipper sensitivity. But they will need tuning a lot. Tuning in the room is not an option, and the wheel alignment and the carpet could mean a difference of a few degrees in the angle, which is a big problem.

The good news is that's most of the problems in the machine so far. It's going well otherwise, except for a part where a wheel goes down the ramp (it tends to fall off) and a large swing arm (it's too sensitive, but I can probably fix it by adding a safety pin, to be removed quickly while I'm in the room, like a remove before flight tag) along with general reliability issues. Good news, though, I did just do the first successful run of all 30-ish steps at once. Now I just need to be able to do that 5 times in a row.

Wait... I think I have an idea. It's 11:13, I need to get up at 6:30, and I still have homework, so as much as I want to I can't build it right now, but instead of having a weird angle thing being the trigger, I could have the marble push a block away and trigger the slip that way. You don't know what I'm talking about, but remind me tomorrow, I might forget!

Update, I have began building the first part of the machine, just the base and most of the final step (I'm working backwards). I also released the first chapter of my new story, it's in the fanworks section.

@Kerbalstar No, that didn't work out. And no, I didn't reply in cipher, although I tried to... It was taking too much time, though, I had more than I wanted to say then yes or no.

@qzgy Yup, that's her! I'm still in the zone of "I don't know which way we like each other in." A few things have happened since then, there was a speech competition which we hung out at, we watched each other's performances, she didn't show up when I asked all of my friends if they wanted to go sledding (although to be fair nobody did because everyone was busy - ) we're sitting next to each other in art, and we talked very briefly about Prom, and she's fine with me asking her in an over-the-top public way, which means that I'm going to attempt to build a portable, short-ish, reliable Rube Goldberg machine to ask her with. Wish me luck, I'll need it... It was also her birthday but school was cancelled so I couldn't tell her... Which luckily gave me enough time to finish the drawing I made for her and wow this is a long paragraph, I didn't intend to talk about this this much! Cutting it short, yeah, it's her!

Got it. Don't use the C-word around qzgy. Not the other C-word, though. Speaking of that, I looked into my studying abroad options... Very briefly, only an hour or so, though, so nothing conclusive yet.

The new story, should it happen, will definitely be focusing on different things than my current stories...

 

I'm glad you are better for the time being. Welcome back! I hope for a full recovery!

As long as it fits in one octave, yes!

It's called a slide whistle, also known as the worst musical instrument ever.

@Earthlinger If you are in the US I'd advise you to do it soon, at least for my location we've just entered the short window between the fields being harvested and it getting super cold. Mid fall and Early spring tend to be the best times to launch in my experience, because at least near me there aren't any wide open spaces that aren't fields!

@Kerbalstar As in you possess or can make a model rocket capable of carrying a small payload, are able to video the launch, and edit and upload the video to YouTube.

Aww man, you had me really excited, I thought you meant the show was back!

It is @qzgy's turn, I guess he's taking a bit of a break, but I anticipate finishing it at some point.

Okay, we're going again, T-4 minutes ish.

Launch in 2 minutes

Countdown hold.