--Pete

There is a 4-page topic on painting Revs here: http://kitelife.com/...-an-indoor-rev/ Lots of good advice, including paint brands and techniques. In spite of the title, it applies to outdoor Revs as well.

Just so you understand: right now, as long as your computer is turned on and it is plugged into your cable box, YOU ARE ONLINE all the time. This is unlike your old dial-up system where you had to run a program - supplied by AOL - that turned on your modem, dialed an AOL phone number, signed you in, and THEN connected you to the Internet. (And you had to sign off when you were done, so as not to tie up the phone line all the time.) Since you are always online now, you can visit any website just by typing its URL (internet address like " www.kitelife.com ") into the addressbox of any browser you have on your computer. (You have to start the browser by double-clicking on the desktop icon, or going to Start/Programs/{browsername} and clicking on it.) It is OK to have several browsers (programs) installed on your computer like Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, the AOL browser, and probably others. One of these will be set as your default browser, so if you click on a URL in an email or on another webpage, that default browser will automatically be started and display the website. Most browsers "want" to be your default browser. When you start them, if they are not already the default browser, they will ask you every time: "Do you want ME (whatever browser it is) to be your default browser?" There is a way to turn this off, but i would have to research it (and know what version of Windows you have) to tell you how to switch that off. At some point during the installation of Chrome, you were probably asked "Do you want to make Chrome your default browser?" If you answered "Yes", it is now your default browser. If you answered "No" then the AOL browser is still your default browser. One last thing: since you now have a broadband (fast) connection to the internet, you do not have to (and should not) connect through the AOL phone line. You are probably paying AOL about $30/month for the right to connect through the (slow) modem connection. I think you could still use the AOL portal if you wanted (like I said in another post, if you want to keep using the AOL email and so forth), but you don't have to pay that $30/month anymore since you got connected through Comcast. Before you cancel your AOL dial-up, you might want to export your AOL addressbook of email addresses, and save any important emails you have stored on AOL to your own computer. If you want to do this, I just looked up a way to do it and can give you a hand with it.

I ran through several albums (Safari browser on Mac OSX 10.6) that didn't work properly before, and saw no little"blue boxes with question marks" like I saw before. Either something has been fixed, or there was something gone screwy with the Kitelife servers the other day. I DO think that G4T's previous problems may be related to an older browser supplied by AOL. Not much KL can do about that. ===== G4T, I noticed you said that using another (modern) browser seemed to fix the problem. You may be able to have it both ways. Do your email and favorites with the AOL browser, and do your general internet browsing with Chrome (or any other modern browser). I do think that it would help you to understand what is happening if you understood the way things are arranged on your computer and how it connects to the Internet. I would be happy to discuss this with you, either via email, PMs (Private Messages via the Kitelife system) or in a dedicated Topic in the "Everything Else/Off Topic" area of the Kitelife forum. Maybe something like: "The Way Things Work". (Actually, it should have a more descriptive name like "How your computer connects to the Internet" and perhaps should be a "sticky" topic or have a section of its own called "Computer Help" under "Everything Else".) On another forum (Scottish genealogy) that I frequent, there is actually a forum section dedicated to understanding how computers work and connect to the Internet. It really is nothing to do with the main subject of the forum, but members find it useful, and there are a few people there who know a lot (more than me - I've only been playing with this since the late 1970s) about computers and the Internet. I expect there are a few like that here as well; if I had to guess, Jeff Burka is one. I think that might be up to JohnB. JB, do you think this sort of thing would be of interest to Kitelife members in general, or should we take this off-forum? I would certainly be willing to keep an eye on the Topic and offer what help I can.

G4T, If you have your computer connected to the Internet via Comcast, then you do have BROADBAND. Good thing to have, especially if you like to upload pictures to places like Kitelife and go to websites with a lot of graphics. Much faster than dialup. You are used to seeing the main page at AOL as the first thing you see when going on the internet - maybe even when you first turn on your computer. When you first installed AOL, it put some programs on your computer and made some changes to make using AOL very easy. People like AOL because it saves them a lot of trouble learning how to manage their computers for themselves. I am pretty sure the AOL service includes things like anti-virus software and many other things you would need to take responsibility for if you switched to something else. You may also use the AOL email system (your email address may be something like duanex@aol.com). You may also keep your addressbook of email addresses on the AOL system, as well as your list of favorite Internet bookmarks (generally called Favorites or Bookmarks). I'm assuming you have Windows (the operating system from Microsoft that makes most home computers work). If so, you almost certainly have a program somewhere on your computer called Internet Explorer. Now that you have a broadband connection through Comcast, you could use Internet Explorer to access the Internet, if you wanted to. If you have all your addresses, Favorites, email and the like at AOL, it may be more work (moving things, getting used to doing things a different way) than you care to do, in order to quit using AOL and use other methods of accessing the internet. You may or may not know that you also have an email address at Comcast (all comcast customers get one as part of the package), which (if you've never changed it or used it) probably looks something like xx123456FL@comcast.net. In fact, you can have up to six more email addresses as part of the package, so you could have one for fun, one for business and, more for other family members. (I use all seven of my available Comcast email addresses for different purposes. I also have hotmail, G-mail and Yahoo-mail addresses.) BTW, "Guru4Tru" and "Kite-Arian" are fairly unlikely email names for anyone else to choose, so you probably could get 'guru4tru@comcast.net" and "kite-arian@comcast.net" as email addresses if you wanted to. It would mean having to learn to use a different mail system, and letting all your contacts (and websites where you are registered) know about your new email address. Like I say, switching over would take some work, and be a cause for some frustration during the changeover. It's not trivial to do this. I think that if you wanted to make the change, the best thing to do would be to arrange some help from a local friend who knows a lot about computers. They could come over and help you through the process and come back occasionally to get you past any difficulties. (Once you got the main changes done, you could also probably ask a question in the Everything Else/Off-Topic section of Kitelife if you got stuck on something that could be answered by one of us.) Finally, switching is only an option. Continuing with AOL as your Portal is perfectly reasonable. You have a lot of time invested in getting used to it, so there are good reasons to continue. I just wanted to make sure you understood that you HAVE options.

G4T, If you have a Windows computer: while looking at a web page (Like Kitelife.com) click on "Help" in the menu and then on "About (your browsername)". A window will pop up showing the name and version of your browser. If you have a Mac: while looking at a web page, click on the menu item (this is actually the browser name) just to the right of the black Apple icon in the menu bar; then click on About (browsername). A window will pop up with the version number of your browser. In either case, just close the pop-up window when you have copied down the information. AOL started out as a dial-up Internet Service Provider (ISP) and still offers dial-up service to areas that do not have broadband internet access (cable, DSP and the like). It is also a Portal for those who got used to it as a dial-up ISP, but have switched to broadband access. It is not a browser name as far as I know. They may very well have a browser which has been modified to suit their customers. It is almost certain to actually be one of the common browsers like FireFox or Internet Explorer with AOL modifications.

As you can see, I've swiped your smileys with the signs.

I think this means that it doesn't have to be a kite book, just that you enter the Amazon site by clicking that link. In the URL is a 'tag' that lets Amazon know that you "came" from the Kitelife site and gives a bit of a rebate to Kiteife. (No change of price to you, the buyer.) I probably get 10 to 15 packages a week (4 today f'rinstance, including the Japan Kite Prints book) from Amazon, so I will try to set up my system to always enter using that link. I'm not sure that all things sold through Amazon qualify for the rebate.

Tonight it was beer (Sam Adams Noble Pilsner) with dinner (bison burgers), and then shared two bottles of wine (2003 Castello di Magione Carpaneto and 2004 Goretti "Le Mura Saracene" Sagrantino di Montefalco) while watching two James Bond movies (we are re-watching them all; up to #19 now), but I confess, Eva got the short end of the wine sharing.

I'm getting some similar issues. Maybe 5% of images just show small blue square with "?" - indicator that image is not available. This suggests to me that maybe the code that constructs the HTML may be failing to give the correct image location under some conditions. I haven't seen any pattern to the missing images yet.

I have a few kite books, but none of them really favorite. I've been looking at the new "Widget" at the bottom of the page. I have some of those (Pelham and Greger), but see a few that I plan to get. I really like the looks of the Japanese Prints book. (Just bought it; ain't tabbed browsers wonderful?) BTW, buying through the Widget sends a little rebate to the Forum and doesn't cost you anything extra. And BTW to JB: I saw some other Kite books on Amazon. If you can add them to the Widget, I'd probably buy them through Kitelife.

My wife thinks the place should be called "Wahnsinn" (that's German -- get it translated). (Sounds like VAHN- s'n.) I actually chose the tunnel length to allow for a 25 yard indoor shooting range. Wasn't even thinking about linesets, much less the "new" standard team length.

The tunnel (under construction in 1999 or 2000) where I hope to set up a rig for making line sets with no wind or even drafts to disturb the process. If you look at my location on the MemberMap, it goes from the house to the building to the west.

Yes, including the loops. If you can just loop the ends over nails which are xxx feet apart, you have xxx foot lines. I am getting inspired. I have a LONG, straight, well-lighted concrete wall in a 4 foot by 8 foot by 106 foot tunnel: (From when it was under construction.) I am thinking of setting some screw anchors at a comfortable working height with one at "0" and more at 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 80, 100, (ack! not long enough for 120s - have to make a third bracket with pulleys) feet (plus a bit) so that I can fasten two brackets with sets of 4 nails to the wall at exact distances (measure once - use forever). Pics, when/if I get around to actually doing it.

Very cool devices those Torque Flex. Definitely bookmarked. I have a distributor only about 20 minutes away. I was visualizing something like a torsion bar, like the VW bug suspension (front and back) which would require a lot more hardware. I would really like to see pics when you get the T-F set up.

Easy enough: just set up some nails at the proper length; pick the knots out (used dental picks with the tips slightly blunted/polished are good for this); slide the sleeve inwards; and re-tie at the "right" length. (And cut off the excess.) That works for anyone with slightly long lines. if you made them under-length, you just have to make a loop of bridle line with a knot for the line larks head at one end to extend your lines by the amount of shortage. You will probably want to put the extension at the handle end of the lines to keep the weight at the kite down. Or not! As Sirrom and JB (kitelife) said, up to three feet doesn't seem to be a problem and may even let you "tune" the team by deliberately choosing who gets which lines (or who flies at which position).

It's so; especially if you add on a few inches "for luck". (And perhaps you've made a clearer explanation of WHY it's so.)

Teams (especially 2-line teams) often deliberately make small (foot or so) differences in their lines so they can "stack" the kites, leaning against the lines of the kite ahead, while still standing in an attractive and even row on the ground. This also lets the team member flying last in line move a bit quicker, when needed, to tighten up a formation. So, I would say Yes, it does make (some) difference. Revs, with speed control, need this sort of thing less (but are also bothered less by it).

To me a 100' line set will hook over two nails which are 100' apart, so the length of the loops are included. It means cutting the "blank" to 100' plus enough extra to make ONE loop (and a bit for luck). This way the length added by the first loop is subtracted from the 100' when you tie the second loop. Measure the distance between your nails and start tying. Best to use four nails at each end and suspend the lines between them as you make them. Observing the sag will give you a very accurate gauge of the tension on each line. Keep them pretty tight. Put a loop on one end of all four lines. Keep the sleeving TIGHT as you lay out the loop, and as you tie the knot. Give the lines all a good stretch. Then begin putting the loops on the other ends. If you miss your length, take a loop apart and try again. You will quickly learn exactly how much your combination of knot, sleeve, and line will shorten the loop. (Or you will get a LOT of practice tying and untying the loops.) (If you are good, and have the right picks and tools, you may be able to work a fraction of an inch of line and sleeve through the knot, without loosening it, to adjust length.) (I am assuming that you use a double-overhand knot for the loops.) One lesson I learned a long time ago to prevent line creep THROUGH the sleeved knots: keep the two strands of sleeved line EXACTLY PARALLEL through the knot. If they twist around each other inside the knot, the knot will creep. It just takes a few seconds more to adjust the paths of the lines as you draw up the knot, and it makes all the difference. You can always tell when the line is creeping through the knot: the sleeving in the loop will scrunch up. It can happen days or weeks after setting the loops. (Note that I am using "creep" in a slightly different sense than Jeepster. I mean actual slow movement. Jeepster means permanent elongation of the line. Both are good usage, but you need to keep the difference in mind.)

Looks like you have it. No sense risking overheating my powerful brain now.

What?!? You mean there are more videos only available to double-subscribers? (Just kidding)

How many 120' linesets does anyone need? Make some 100s or some 30s and 50s out of that roll as well as the 120s.

Yep, that was it. Thanks for tracking it down. (I have to say, the wind looked too brisk for any problems with slack lines. It must have taken three fast steps and a huge arm-swing to make the lines slack on that particular day.) I think a larks head would be satisfactory for the first attachment; the clove-hitch can't hurt, but may be un-needed. The half-hitches made with each leg of the loop really would make a difference, both to keep the fabric stretched and to keep the spar joints from separating. I will look for my solution to the spar separation issue and get a picture posted. My method adds a bit of weight to the kite, so perhaps it is less satisfactory than Blane's method.

Well, they fly at up to 30 mph when migrating, so they only have to fly for an hour or two per day. Good thing; they need some time to replace all that energy. Thinking back at viewing robins in flight, my GUESS is that they flap at about 15-25 flaps per second. (Geese and swans are about 3 fps; ducks are about 7; good way to tell ducks from geese when all you can see is a tiny dot against the sky.) 31 days x 5400 secs (1.5 hrs) x 15 gives about 2.5 million as a lower bound. 31 x 7200 x 25 gives 5.5 million as an upper bound. So, my guess is about about 4 million flaps (give or take a million) for a robin to fly from your place to mine. (Very rough guess; ready to be contradicted.) I think I will applaud the first robins; they will have worked hard to get here. (Never kid a kidder.)

If you can "read" NTSC, then I really doubt that either the Dodd Gross dvd or the Prism dvd are restricted by region. The first one listed is a VHS tape. I tried to find them on amazon.fr but got no useful hits on searching for "dodd gross". In addition to the Amazon.com (USA) listings I notice that intothewind.com also sells both of the DVDs. Kitelife gets a little kickback from Amazon if you buy by clicking on those links, but it may be easier to get foreign shipping from ITW. (Or ask me. I'd be glad to get one or the other and send it to you to try.)(Also, I expect it would be easy enough to ask ITW whether the DVDs are region-restricted.)

Ah, right. These will be in NTSC format. Guy will need PAL versions. Guy, do you know anyone with a NTSC rig who would let you watch these? I know people in PAL countries sometimes set up a separate system to let them view US material, just as folks in NTSC areas do the opposite so they can watch European DVDs. ( I doubt that they are restricted to Region 1, so it wouldn't be a copyright issue, just the NTSC/PAL difference.) Alternatively, has anyone contacted the producers of these videos to see if they have (or could make) a PAL version? Maybe they just are not advertised on US sites. I am quite sure that they don't WANT to restrict them from PAL distribution.