BajaNomad

Imagine THIS in Baja on a windy day!

Bob H - 2-8-2011 at 08:42 PM

Oh my... imagine what this would do on the beach in Los Barriles on a very windy day.

An amazing THING made totally out of PVC pipe.

This guy has a mind of his own for sure.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSKyHmjyrkA&feature=playe...

David K - 2-8-2011 at 08:49 PM

Okay... now that was something! Malarrimo Beach (flat and windy) would be perfect...

Just think, and I have been putting PVC underground all these years!!

Bob H - 2-8-2011 at 08:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Okay... now that was something! Malarrimo Beach (flat and windy) would be perfect...

Just think, and I have been putting PVC underground all these years!!


Or a windy day on Shell Island... set it up near some lonely campers and let it go. It would totally freak them out!

fixtrauma - 2-8-2011 at 09:00 PM

That was incredible!

motoged - 2-8-2011 at 10:44 PM

Wind ... schmind....all you need is a hamster :biggrin:

http://www.wimp.com/hamsterwalker/

Marc - 2-8-2011 at 11:05 PM

Creepy. Can they reproduce??:?::?::?:

Bob H - 2-8-2011 at 11:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by motoged
Wind ... schmind....all you need is a hamster :biggrin:

http://www.wimp.com/hamsterwalker/


It's just not the same.... nice stuff though.

dtbushpilot - 2-9-2011 at 02:57 AM

Imagine what this joker could do if he spent his time on something more useful than a stupid toy that the kids will tire of in a few hours. He no doubt had some government grant to waste his (taxpayers) time and money building some "feel good" useless piece of crap.

If you want to see some impressive wind powered stuff go down to North Beach BCS on a windy day.....no tax dollars spent there.....dt

ged's hamster toy looks like a lot more fun and won't take up nearly as much space when the kids go back to their "gameboys"

[Edited on 2-9-2011 by dtbushpilot]

[Edited on 2-9-2011 by dtbushpilot]

heike - 2-9-2011 at 07:08 AM

WOW... how cool.... I can see it on North Beach right now!

grace59 - 2-9-2011 at 07:29 AM

That was absolutely amazing...and beautiful in a weird way. I'd love to see one up close on a windy day to see how they work. Thanks for posting.

Lauriboats - 2-9-2011 at 07:30 AM

Now that guy has alot of time on his hands. Awesome!

LancairDriver - 2-9-2011 at 08:25 AM

Amazing piece of engineering. Agree with DT though, this guy could do wonders on something practical like a wind power generator.

djh - 2-9-2011 at 08:40 AM

joker ? stupid ? waste ? practical ?

C'mon guys, they could have said (did say) the same thing about so many innovators and artists who have contributed so much to human culture, and advancement . . . Consider DaVinci's renderings, abstractions, and wildly creative thinking.

He has a passion and the ability to follow it. Whether simply wonderfully entertaining or provoking new technologies, I like it !

Thanks for posting it for us.

Mexitron - 2-9-2011 at 08:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
Imagine what this joker could do if he spent his time on something more useful than a stupid toy that the kids will tire of in a few hours. He no doubt had some government grant to waste his (taxpayers) time and money building some "feel good" useless piece of crap.

If you want to see some impressive wind powered stuff go down to North Beach BCS on a windy day.....no tax dollars spent there.....dt

ged's hamster toy looks like a lot more fun and won't take up nearly as much space when the kids go back to their "gameboys"

[Edited on 2-9-2011 by dtbushpilot]

[Edited on 2-9-2011 by dtbushpilot]


He might have invented something practical but we just don't know it yet...negative numbers were thought to be a joke in the 18th century..."meaningless". Of course, mathematicians find them indispensable nowadays...you never know.

willyAirstream - 2-9-2011 at 08:47 AM

Fantastic art. Thanks for posting. These would be at home at Burning Man.

dtbushpilot - 2-9-2011 at 10:07 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by willyAirstream
Fantastic art. Thanks for posting. These would be at home at Burning Man.


Exactly willy. I guess I stand corrected, it wasn't a USELESS piece of crap after all :lol::lol::lol:

Bob H - 2-9-2011 at 10:07 PM

DT, you are something else.
Would love to meet you some day!
Bob H

Useful art

oladulce - 2-10-2011 at 01:41 AM

What if...

We took a long rope and tied a couple of tires to the back of the contraption and launched it with the wind down a crappy Baja dirt road. We could admire the beauty of this creation and grade the washboard.

Adjust the sails to allow direction changes and you could strap a hand mower to the back of the thing and steer it with a guide rope on the front and let it loose to mow your lawn while you sit on your porch sipping a beverage. (If I knew anyone in Baja who had a lawn.)

Right now I could use one of these to patrol the perimeter of my garden to scare the birds away from my tomatoes.

Paula - 2-10-2011 at 11:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
Imagine what this joker could do if he spent his time on something more useful than a stupid toy that the kids will tire of in a few hours. He no doubt had some government grant to waste his (taxpayers) time and money building some "feel good" useless piece of crap.



So DT, how do you feel about ArtooDetoo and Cethreepio and friends?

[Edited on 2-10-2011 by Paula]

dtbushpilot - 2-10-2011 at 05:40 PM

Ok, so I guess my initial response to the video was a bit harsh. Let me try again:

What a cool video, thanks for sharing Bob. Being a mechanical engineer I can really appreciate the complexity of this machine. This guy is obviously very artistically as well as mechanically talented, well funded too considering that he has been working on his "creations" for 20 years.

I went back and watched the video a few times just to get a good feeling of the "creators" intent. He doesn't mention "art". He doesn't mention "useful invention". so I guess my observation that it wasn't useful wasn't far off the mark.

What he does say is that he has "created a new form of life", one that will roam the beaches of the world.......

Ok, let's consider that: Wind powered plastic contraptions....I mean life forms wandering unmolested not to mention unmaintained in a harsh windy beach environment. I don't see one of those things lasting very long on it's own on the beach. I do see it getting vandalized, breaking down, ending up in the water and choking a sea turtle to death. Don't we already have enough plastic trash floating in our oceans and washing up on our beaches?

Lets consider that as a new life form it should have some basic rights to survival. Since it can't see us we should pick up our blanket and umbrella and move out of it's way when we see one coming. On the other hand maybe we could have a hunting season for them, I can already smell the plastic slowly roasting on the bar-b-que.

I'll believe that they are a new form of life when I see them demonstrating reproductive behavior on the beach (that right there would be worth the price of admission) and producing offspring. Until then they are just a cool toy.

Thank you all for letting me have a little fun with this post. The contraptions that Theo Jansen create are really cool, very artistic and fun to watch. Thanks again for sharing the video with us Bob.....dt

bajafreaks - 2-10-2011 at 05:51 PM

Definately Burning Man material.

vgabndo - 2-10-2011 at 10:59 PM

Fewer moving parts, much more portable, steerable, ridable, and MUCH MUCH faster!

But only the sailing is an art.

Baja 2011 second download 21000.jpg - 25kB

dtbushpilot - 2-11-2011 at 01:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bob H
DT, you are something else.
Would love to meet you some day!
Bob H


I'd love to meet you too Bob, first beer's on me. I'll be back in San Diego by the end of the month, let's get together.....dt

oladulce - 2-12-2011 at 12:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot

I went back and watched the video a few times just to get a good feeling of the "creators" intent. He doesn't mention "art". He doesn't mention "useful invention". so I guess my observation that it wasn't useful wasn't far off the mark.

What he does say is that he has "created a new form of life", one that will roam the beaches of the world.......



You mean there was some talkin in that video?

I originally watched the clip in the wee hours during an insomnia event with the audio turned off. Wondered what the fuss was about and watched it again with the volume up.

Ok, now I think it's lame. But I'd still like to get one to grade our washboard road.

marv sherrill - 2-12-2011 at 05:49 PM

Beats the hell out of the Watts towers...