Category: amusing

Virtual Trip-Hazard?

On By JohnIn amusing, home improvement, techLeave a comment

So I’m using the iPhone Measure app to plot out a size of a small structure. After I capture two edges, I walk over to virtually draw out a third… carefully STEPPING OVER one of the virtual drawn lines.

🤦‍♂️

Yep, augmented reality can be immersive enough.

I know how to use and am quite comfortable with a landscape tape (which I have) and a theodolite (which I don’t have), I have to say that, yes, the iPhone’s Measure tool is quite accurate — it does have some curious behavior over uneven surfaces, but over the surface that I was estimating a layout, it’s demonstrated to be within about an inch over a 26-foot distance.

If the surface were flatter, it would probably be spot-on.

Now, if we could find a way to have it snap to 90-degree angles — that would be even more amazing than it already is.

Srand Prix?

On By JohnIn amusing, languageLeave a comment

Haven’t seen this movie in about forty-two years. And I never noticed this back then, but, I gotta ask: what the heck is a “Srand Prix”?

“No! It says ‘Grand Prix’! Duh!”

It’s presented in Fraktur script, which was incredibly common in Germany until it was verboten by the Nazi party in 1941.

Anyway, that first letter that you may readily and quite erroneously interpret as a G is really an S.

In printed (not hand-script) Fraktur, for reference, here are the letters E-F-G-H-I:

And Q-R-S-T-U:

Context matters, of course. Yes, it’s just a movie. Yes, it’s just a musical. And, yes, it’s just entertainment.

Honestly, people readily understood what was intended.

And that’s what matters.