How to Beat a Speeding Ticket for Motorists

[Argentum Vulpes]

Ok so here is the next term.

Alligatoring

Hint: It has nothing to do with the animal, or Ham radios.

 

[flatmaster]

Alligatoring is the drill in basic training where the GI's crawl under barbed wire. They look like alligators walking on their elbows.

 

[Argentum Vulpes]

Not what I'm looking for Flatmaster.

Next hint,
It is a defect to some people, and some people want it.

 

[Danger]

Please tell me that it isn't an S/M version of "scissoring" from the GLBT culture...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Not what I'm looking for Flatmaster.

Next hint,
It is a defect to some people, and some people want it.

Paint cracking?

 

[Argentum Vulpes]

Yup you got it Ivan. It is a paint defect caused when the top coat is more rigid then the bottom coat, causing a regular cracking pattern resembling alligator skin.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Porpoising

Context -
Industrial

Additional clue
Mathematical

 

[Ivan Seeking]

2nd clue:
Proportional

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Next clue: Motion

 

[flatmaster]

Proposing is some sort of motion on a crankshaft. From the side, you may see just the top of the crank arm going up and down. The motion looks like a porpoise continually breaking the surface of the water.

When on the beach, proposing is the fastest way to move through intermediate depth water that is too deep for running, but not deep enough for swimming.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

another clue: Loop

 

[Ivan Seeking]

uh oh, too obscure?

big clue
PID

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I associate "porpoising" with the undulating motion of a servo which is supposed to be in a specific position but the feedback mechanism has sufficient delay in it to cause overshoot.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I associate "porpoising" with the undulating motion of a servo which is supposed to be in a specific position but the feedback mechanism has sufficient delay in it to cause overshoot.

Close enough!

Specifically, I was going for the sinusoidal oscillation that results in some process value for a system, when the proportional term is set too high in a PID [proportional-integral-derivative] loop or controller, for motion and other applications. It could refer to oscillations in pressure, temp, position, speed, solution strength, flow rate, or any variable in a dynamic system controlled with this type of algorithm, which in industry is pretty much any dynamic system where a set point value must be maintained. One common PID equation used is

where
K_p: Proportional gain, a tuning parameter
K_i: Integral gain, a tuning parameterK_
d: Derivative gain, a tuning parametere:
e: Error = SP - PV [set point - process value]
t: Time or instantaneous time (the present)
tau: Variable of integration; takes on values from time 0 to the present t.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller

A subject close to my own heart, the thing that sent me on the path to self-employment was a custom PID equation and algorithm that I wrote for a difficult problem. I also found an error in the Rockwell PID algorithm used in some of their industrial computers, so there is a firmware revision out their with my name on it [literally].

But you are correct that a number of problems can result in porpoising of the process value. And one that is often missed [that has made me a good bit of money in correcting] is not properly allowing for or calculating the feedback time. The PID loop update times are too short and are responding to data that you haven't actually received yet, so you continually get overshoots. So your example is a particularly good one.

Just fyi, another cause can be "windup" in the integral term, where either startup or some deviation in the normal process, or an abrupt change, can cause the value of the integral term to windup [continually add], causing a long delay in the recovery. This in turn can result in windup in other direction, which leads to long-term oscillations. Most controllers now come with anti-windup features but they still have to enabled, or some escape routine added to the code to prevent this if you're writing your own routine. Often you can just set a limit for the max/min value of the integral term.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

OK, next one is "shoe shine" used as an adjective.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

As could be guessed, this term relates to one of my primary interests

 

[Jonathan Scott]

"Shoe shine" is one alternative to the normal technique. "Hooked" is another.

 

[lisab]

Is that a bowing technique?

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Is that a bowing technique?

Yes, it is indeed. It is a string instrument bowing technique for alternating short and long notes, in a "di-dum di-dum di-dum" pattern.

The normal rule is that the stronger (long) note is a down bow and the short note is an up bow. However, in faster music, this can be awkward, mainly because they are different lengths.

One alternative is to use "hooked" bowing, in which the short note follows in the same bowing direction as the preceding long note (but the bow is stopped or lifted between the two notes so that they are not joined). This is very common.

A less common alternative is to use a down bow on the short note, bouncing to an up bow on the long one. This typically gives a very brisk effect of a rapid pair of notes followed by a gap, and gives a more uniform effect than hooked bowing because each pair is bowed in exactly the same way. This action of a short down stroke bouncing to an up stroke is known as "shoe shine" bowing because of the way the hand moves.

OK, you're next, lisab.

 

[Danger]

Is that a bowing technique?

That response made absolutely no sense to me any time that I read it. Then when Jonathan agreed, I realized that there was an "L" missing in what I thought you had typed. I really should wear my glasses more often.

 

[lisab]

OK, this one is petty obscure:

Cheese.

First hint: It's in the culinary realm but has nothing to do with dairy.

 

[Danger]

It's in the culinary realm but has nothing to do with dairy.

I'm not sure if that rules out a yeast infection or not...

 

[lisab]

I'm not sure if that rules out a yeast infection or not...

Yeast has its place in this process.

 

[lisab]

Yeast has its place in this process.

In the olde days, straw had its place, too. It provided a path of escape.

 

[OCR]

It's in the culinary realm but has nothing to do with dairy.

Stinky tofu?... I know, wrong!



OCR... lol

 

[Danger]

I'm thinking on it, but so far... nuthin'.

 

[lisab]

The "cheese" is actually a by product, and is often fed to chickens or other farm animals.

 

[collinsmark]

Here's a guess. I'm not sure if it fits though.

Is it a part of a cider press? (fruit press?)

"A stack of cloth-wrapped, mash-filled 'bags' layered between pressing discs (a.k.a., racks) is traditionally referred to as a cheese."

http://www.whizbangcider.com/2012/07/how-to-make-proper-cheese-for-pressing.html

[Edit: I imagine that maybe the remaining, fruity solids that are leftover after the pressing/squeezing takes place might still be considered the cheese, perhaps. (or "pomace"?)]

 

[lisab]

Here's a guess. I'm not sure if it fits though.

Is it a part of a cider press? (fruit press?)

"A stack of cloth-wrapped, mash-filled 'bags' layered between pressing discs (a.k.a., racks) is traditionally referred to as a cheese."

http://www.whizbangcider.com/2012/07/how-to-make-proper-cheese-for-pressing.html

[Edit: I imagine that maybe the remaining, fruity solids that are leftover after the pressing/squeezing takes place might still be considered the cheese, perhaps.]

Excellent, yes that's it (the bolded text)!

You're up.

 

[collinsmark]

You're up.

I'm not sure if this is going to be hard or easy. But just in case, I'll ensure plenty of hints.

What is the shoulder? Context: used in the phrase, "over the shoulder."

• It's pretty abstract. You can't hold this type of shoulder in your hand.
• It's kind of technical.
• It's even sort of mathematical.
• Ironically though, most people who study (or have studied) the subject matter are not necessarily technically minded, and are in fact artists. This may have been considered as one of those areas where mathematics has some real-world applications.
• It is almost always undesirable for things to be "over the shoulder." (I'll concede that there can be some rare exceptions, however.)

Hint:
It involves a dying art. Well, that's not entirely true. In a more general sense the art is flourishing. As a matter of fact the art is more popular now than it ever has been in the history of all human kind. It's just that the particular aspect of the art where the phrase "over the shoulder" would apply is dying a speedy death. Some have argued that it is already dead.