Strange roomba behavior

The Roomba was stopping after half a minute. I figured this was because his battery is over 1.5 years old. But after a reset, he does fine. I don't understand. I'm assuming he monitors the voltage from it (or possibly available current), gets hungry when it drops. So why does a reset help? What state does he maintain?

California fires -let 'em burn

Fire season is upon us, there's a fire up north. My opinion: let it burn,
they're natural (in fact, good). Do not risk firemen (or pilots, or spend money)
defending forests, only homes. And only those with adequate clearance.

I've gone hiking where it burned locally and it grows back very well. And I've not seen any animal skeletons either.

Spider web

Came home, one of those orange spiders is weaving a web.
He was actually white with patterns, but they get
orange later, in october, when they make great *actual* halloween spiders,
I recall. I think he's a he because he had big "fangs" actually pedipalps (?)
to hand a package over to females. Anyway I saw him just as he finished the
radials, probably woven with strong fiber, and was beginning the probably sticky
spiral. From outside to inside, counter clockwise viewed from above the spider.

Probably a radial every 10 degrees. The spiral ranged from maybe 10mm on the outside to
much finer, and very regular, 2mm inside. Then he stopped.

How the hell does a spider with a tiny brain do this? In random environments, with random wind disturbing him?

Front legs seemed to move fasters, likely sensing, and his back legs and butt laid down the new fiber. What was he sensing? What are the rules? How do you encode these in a spider brain? How do you encode that in a spider genome?

I've written and run simulations of ant behavior. But how does a spider work?

Suzuki Sidekick

(Chevy) Sidekick rolls off the 5, bursts into flame, 5 dead.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/chp-vehicle-down-2517845-hill-suv

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I had a Sidekick once. It was very fun, very stiff suspension,
cloth-roof convertable, very affordable (mine had no
air, no power windows, no 4WD, no radio). Veteran of many desert adventures.

Later, when I had a kid, I got a Subaru Forester. Still have it.
Good car.

I also once blew a tire on the 5, but got over to the right
safely and recovered. Also once overcompensated and bounced off
a Jersey barrier, no harm done, but scared us. Never, ever, made snap
decisions near the gore.

The real problem I had with that car was that every 30K miles, it needed new ignition
wiring. I went through several sets of high quality silicone-insulated
ignition wires, never made a difference. Once I drove back from the desert
in it, with two cylinders not firing --little HP, and a pickup truck with mexicans
gestured wildly at me, so I pulled over. The muffler was cherry-red incandescent
from the unburned fuel burning in the catalytic converter. Thanks guys! But I still
drove home, but didn't take the scenic/mountain/faster route, instead taking a freeway.
Again, thanks guys.

Once took same car to Mexico with a friend. We got stuck in a soft shoulder. A guy with the same kind of car stopped to help, pulled us out with the help of a random piece of
cable from the side of the road. I went to offer him money, but he refused; I insisted,
and he produced a *fat* wad of american 20s to show he didn't need it. Very cool.
Likely related to the (demonized) pharmaceutical trade, and he helped us tourists.

I've only been a few times there, and would not go back, out of fear and not speaking
spanish. But the locals are friendly.

My first time there was in a Ford Escort, for an eclipse. The Federales (teenagers with
rifles with toilet paper in their muzzles) found a lame firework, but let us go.
I did not like military checkpoints though. Some years later, I encountered the amerikan version of same when exploring the lower Anza Borrego desert. I loathe the amerikans more, because I have no expectation of freedom in Mexico, whereas the US government is supposed to be constrained.

On the way back from the eclipse (awesome) the steering wheel disconnected, and we went off the road. (A friend was driving.) Fortunately I had a few MIT engineers (electrical, nuclear..) with me and they had tools. They reconnected the steering wheel, aligned it using a flashlight, inserted a compression pin, and we drove home. I drove with that fix for years afterwards.

It is of course somewhat amazing that I've made it to 45.. and every day is thanksgiving, which makes them more valuable.

Who is attacking Jupiter?

Not only Levy-Shoemaker, but now another meteor attack on Jupiter, this System's
most obvious planet. Who is attacking? Do they think we live on Jupiter, and are sick of our TV?

Its obvious someone doesn't like us, but their aim isn't perfect.

Biology = computer science plus physics

Just occurred to me: biology is where computer science and information maths meets physics.
(As are various forms of electrical engineering.)

Hummingbird savior

Was just wondering where the cat was when all of a sudden there was a hummingbird fluttering around the kitchen. Followed by the cat. The bird hit a wall and fell down, and I found him lying on his back on the countertop. This saturday-morning cartoonish behavior did not bode well for the bird, I thought. I scooped him up and let him go outside and he buzzed off. The cat continued to be interested in the spot where I scooped him up. Then he went through the stages of grieving "you just lost your hummingbird" -- denial (where did the bird go?), anger (that human stole my bird!), bargaining (if you get my bird back, I won't let it go inside), depression (my bird is gone!), acceptance (well, I can still stalk more, and there is a dish of kibble in the garage), etc.

This is the third hummingbird I've saved from cats, one literally from my cat's jaws.