The Fast Forward Engineering Garage Sale

What We Have

Two 486 computers:  66 MHz - $50, 133 MHz - $65.

Each has 8 MB RAM, video card, 3.5" and 5.25" floppy drives, serial/parallel interface, IDE controller.  No hard drives or monitors, but we'll throw in a mouse and/or keyboard if we have a spare one lying around.

Genoa 8500VL VLB Video Card w/1MB RAM (manual and software included) - $20

Genoa TurboExpress 486VL VLB motherboard w/AMD 486DX/40, no RAM (manual included) - $25

"Felix" pointing device (mouse replacement for PCs) - $20

2 Microchip Technology PRO-MATE PIC Programmers - $500 each

PRO-MATE Socket Modules - $100 Each

AC164001 - Programs 16C52, 16C54, 16C54A, 16C55, 16C56, 16C57, 16C58, 16C58A DIP

AC164010 - Programs 16C60, 16C61, 16C62, 16C620, 16C621, 16C622, 16C70, 16C71, 16C71A, 16C72, 16C84 DIP and SOIC

AC164012 - Programs 16C63, 16C64, 16C65, 16C73, 16C74 DIP

AC174001 - Programs 17C42, 17C43, 17C44 DIP

What We Want

At the moment, we seem to have all the equipment we need. However, we are looking for the name of the shape made by a bead of water on the hood of a newly-waxed car. You know... Flat on the bottom and curved on top?

Note that we're looking for the name of the shape, not a description of it.  "Oblate spheroid", for example, ain't it... And we're not looking for a mathematical equation which describes the shape, either.

We've been asking everyone we know for, oh, about three years... We've asked chemists, physicists, engineers, a couple of reference librarians, mathematicians, university professors, and newspaper columnists.  The following is a partial list of responses we've received and rejected:

 

drip, drop, droplet, water droplet, bead, sessile drop, oblate spheroid, meniscus or meniscoid, cabochon, peeble, opthalmic lens, collimator lens, limacon (or Limacon of Pascal), lomp, lump, blob, truncated blob, bubble, and "you know... like a drop of water on the hood of a newly-waxed car".

If you have any idea whatsoever, please send the answer to us.

The first person with a verifiably-correct answer gets a "Felix" pointing device.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. You can reach us by e-mail at: fastfwd@ix.netcom.com.
If you link your Web site to ours, please let us know.
Last modified 17 April 1998 by Andrew Warren.
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