Oh, you didn’t know you got me a present? You did! I’m in the Amazon Affiliate program, you see, and occasionally I include a link to that evil empire in my blog entries, and you click on it, and maybe you buy something, and then I get a tiny cut of what you spent. Once a month I get a little gift certificate from Amazon. I’ve been saving them up for about 8 months so I could splurge on a toy, and last week the total finally reached what I needed to cover all of the costs, so you got me an early Christmas present. It’s very nice.
I got myself a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter Drone
It’s slick and easy to fly, and the software is reasonably sophisticated. I did have a bit of concern when I first set it up and it told me I needed to update the firmware…and the stupid installation procedure failed utterly. I thought for a while I was doomed to have a plastic brick that could sit on the table and buzz, because DJI has a notoriously terrible reputation for customer service, but fortunately they released a brand new software update the day after I got it that worked perfectly.
So that’s how I spent Thanksgiving morning: I took it up for a couple of flights and went spying out the local neighborhood.
Here’s an ugly example. I just went across the street to the UMM parking lot and zoomed it up to a 100 meters and fumbled about with the controls. It was fun! It’s hard to get smooth movies that show what I want — partly because there were a few times I was wiggling the wrong joystick, and because when it was high and drifted away on this blustery day, I sometimes lost track of the orientation and had to scan around to figure out where I was and what way I was pointing. Don’t feel obligated to watch it — it’s just me noodling about in the sky.
Practice makes perfect, though, unless on one of these practice flights I crash it and then have to save up gift certificates for another 8 months to get a new one.
Now I just have to figure out how to mount lasers or a missile launcher on it, and I’ll have everything a boy could want, a real stress-reliever.
</frankenquote>That is not quite the usual interpretation of “the war on christmas”.
It’s not? But I’m arming up to intercept Santa Claus! I’m hoping to be skillful enough to outmaneuver him by Christmas Eve. After all, how good could a 19th century sleigh drawn by reindeer be at dodging?
Lucky! Us poor kids have to make do with a Air Hogs toy helicopter with a smart phone duct taped to it. ;)
Doesn’t have to dodge. Santy’s sleight goes quite fast — around the planet in a day — is invisible, leaves no trail, and except for Apollo VIII, has never even been detected / seen in flight. You won’t be able to find him, “lock in” on him, and the lasers will pass right through and the missiles will be too slow.
I think you should target the Easter Bunny. Lasers melt chocolate (seems like a waste), and the missiles will make sure (and, of course, are nice and LOUD even when you “miss”)…
Two points:
Clearly, blf, Santa and his sleigh (&c.) are made of Dark Matter, the evidence of which is (detectable) gravity effects and gifts left behind.
Also, you, PZ, sure live in a flat part of the country.
Looking in the distance I wonder if maybe the flat earthers are right…
And what cute little trees!
Running that through our redwoods would be like that chase scene in Star Wars.
Have fun!
This gives me a happy. These days, every Evil Overlord needs his own drone. I wonder if you could affix tentacles to it–without compromising its capabilities–
Nice to see where you live and work, PZ. Thank you, and you’re welcome, too. Looks mighty flat in them parts. I assume the dome on the front of the building is the missile silo.
As a kid this would have been the most awesome thing ever. Then Google maps came along and turned the extraordinary into today’s mundane everyday fare.
Still want one though. But with nightvision and thermal imaging channels, because Google doesn’t nor do they have real time images (yet).
These things look like tremendous fun and right up a tinkerer’s alley, but I’m afraid of getting one. I imagine slicing my hands or face open in a gruesome accident.
Great job on your flying! I wonder if these drones are being used by biologists for gathering population data?
Wondering if anyone will complain that they expect that money to only go toward the blog, or work, and nothing else. Over the last year I’ve heard so many people complain about people using Patreon and such having the temerity to spend that money on themselves and not plow every dollar into their creations.
I do not know much about drones, but it seems pretty cool, and quite stable. I am sure we will see some nice, smooth flying before too long. Though with winter coming, it could be a short season. Not sure what range of temperatures it is meant to operate in.
You have a graveyard on campus? Cool.
Oh my god it’s full of FLAT.
#8: The drone is simply white plastic. I have an airbrush. I might at some time give it a makeover, but I’ll wait a while to see how well it holds up without crashing.
#13: It’s just north of campus, but right next door. Where else would we get the parts for the biology discipline’s evil experiments?
Wait, you mean they didn’t include the necessary gear to blow up an MSF hospital or a wedding party in the bundle?
What a ripoff
Ooooooohhhh….consider me very jealous! Enjoy your toy :)
Careful with that thing around people in more built-up areas – the exposed rotor blades can cause some quite serious injuries if someone gets too close. Do you have the optional blade protectors as well?
Oh, nice! Mister told me he was eyeballing a quadcopter on Tuesday, but went for Raspberry Pi instead. I wanna do the evil overlord with quadcopter, though. Have fun!
You know that is going to be held against you by someone with a tenuous grasp on reality and no sense of humour right? Good, just checking.
I’ve had a play with a mates older version. The GPS lock is generally pretty good even in very strong winds. If you have the right set up you can also do a wireless link from the camera to an iphone or ipad mounted on the remote. Helps heaps with orientation. That’s a nice campus, the trees must make it especially relaxing place in summer.
Professor Myers,
So nice to see you enjoying the well earned fruits of your labor. Looks like you picked out something really cool too.
Though we can’t help but wonder what ever happened to your earlier posts about Amazon’s problematic business and labor practices.
For example, in 2014 you wrote:
Has Amazon made some significant improvements in their practices to the point where you no longer feel it’s a problem? Otherwise shouldn’t a commitment to social justice include some degree of self sacrifice to the point where we stop supporting Amazon financially? Or is that taking things too far? Not sure that refusing to support Amazon financially would have any effect or improvement but continuing to support them certainly doesn’t seem like a great way to effect change either.
Would love to hear what folks think about this especially as the Christmas holidays are right around the corner.
Have you bought that so you can steal right-wing student newspapers without getting caught?
plethora whatever @ 21:
I think perhaps you could have just let PZ alone to enjoy his long anticipated toy, especially given that he noted it’s [Amazon] still an evil empire. I’ll never forget the fucking harassment I received over buying emergency supplies at Hobby Lobby about once a year. Lots of hypocrisy and nastiness there, which you’re trying to drag into this thread. So, I think perhaps you should just shut the fuck up for once.
Christ.
Kevin @ 22:
Pssssssssst! You should have predicted this accusation will eventually show up in one of Comma’s screeds.
What? No selfie? What kind of evil scientist with his first malevolent drone does not do a selfie on the sinister maiden flight? Your villainous credentials are slipping. On Monday get thee to the Philosophy Department for a remedial lesson in Evil 101.
Amazon gives me FREE MONEY. I guess I could teach them a lesson by not spending it.
It can’t carry all that much weight, so I’d have to steal those papers one by one. Maybe if I equip it with a flamethrower, I could just torch whole racks of them.
By the way, the kids and I just went out with it again, and first crash! Yay! Wind caught it and blew it right into a tree, where the propellor guards and one propellor shattered. It’s OK otherwise, though.
I think I’ll wait for a windless day and practice some more in a treeless area.
Travis @12
I wish I could be surprised. Silly me, thinking Patreon is there so people can make a living being creative.
Plethora @21
You forgot to add “GOTCHA!” at the end of your just asking questions.
I hope it came with a bunch of spare propellers, that’s an expensive toy to be knocked out at the first crash (hurdle).
What’s the battery life like?
Oh, you mean the Dr. Evil Starter kit for children age 8-12 and mad scientists of any age. A very popular item this year.
Caine @23,
Buying emergency supplies is quite a bit different from buying a toy so that’s not really a fair comparison. Also you are kidding yourself if you think our comment is somehow going to prevent Professor Myers from enjoying his toy.
Were we to stoop to your level we might tell you to fuck right off with your bullshit false equivalence.
I’ve got several spare propellors, so no problem. Battery life is about 20 minutes.
AND EVERYONE STOP BICKERING.
You’re welcome.
Tabby Lavalamp @27,
It wasn’t meant as a “gotcha” but we understand that’s the way it came across. We’ll shut up and let it drop now.
Sorry everyone. Please disregard previous comments. Apologies especially to Professor Myers and Caine.
Shit, lets just calm down before we anger the mighty tentacled sky god FFS.
PZ Myers @15
Does the biology department have its own Igor?
I’d say you’re welcome, but I’m afraid I’ve never clicked through to amazon from here (I’m in .co.ukland anyway, so I guess it probably wouldn’t take). But hooray for the shiny toy anyway.
Does this mean we’re not allowed to badmouth you to our pets, now that you’ve got eyes and ears in the sky?
Is that the cemetery with the annoying, loud music that played through the day?
It is. Now as silent as the dead. Yay!
I saw on youtube that someone mounted a laser on theirs!
Also, some people mounted lights and stuff to make theirs look like a flying saucer! And there was a ghost one too, with a mask, hangs, and a flowing cape!
Shiny. I wanted one like that, but I soon realised that if I ever flew it above roof height the point-defence X-ray laser pods surrounding GCHQ would shoot it out of the sky. Or so I’m told.
A man of excellent taste. And pretty good flying skills. Congrats and enjoy.
@ 11 Robert Westbrook
I am not sure about population counts though they might work in country as flat as around MMN. That is flat! Drones (bigger that PZ’s) are being used for crop surveillance and a nature reserve in Kenya is experimenting with using small to medium sized to detect poachers.
I believe I have read that they also are being used for informal deliveries to various correctional institutions. Clearly one step ahead of the evil empire.
@11 and 42
Larger commercial models are also used for 3D mapping. This week a drone has been used to conduct visual surveys of a difficult to access helicopter crash on a crevassed glacier, enabling better planning and staging of the body/wreckage recovery (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/290546/fox-glacier-drone-survey-completed). Not just toys any more, although they are neat toys.
I have one of these, it’s awesome. I have used it to take pictures of local wildlife, and I would like to use it to go nest hunting in late winter, early spring. I have seen people use them to train falcons to take really respectable pitches as well. I can also program it to take very good pictures of my fields once a week. But if I was to make any decisions based on those pictures, that would be illegal and that kind if pisses me off as it could be an awesome field scouting tool.
@40:
More likely you’d get a visit from the CAA – the Doughnut is within the ATZ of Gloucestershire Airport, below the final approach to runway 27.
At least one condo tower near me took a drone up to get panoramas of what the view will be like on each floor.
The salesperson said they flew a “helicopter” to get the photos, then handed me a sheet with thumbnails of the 48 photos. So they’re not yet fully embracing technology.
Hey! You gotta get the VR goggles that streams the AV from the camera!
Then it’s like you’re the one flying around at 150 feet in the air.
@42 & 43:
That is wonderful, opening up possibilities which didn’t really exist before.
I am thinking of getting into fixed-wing FPV (where a camera feeds live video from the perspective of the airplane, as if you’re piloting it from its “cockpit”). They have some amazing range, and since I live on the Atlantic Ocean (Nova Scotia), I thought it might be neat to fly it 20 miles out to sea and just look around. Maybe intercept a ship. This is an edited vid from a person who managed to get 80km range on a flight.
I’m impressed with the camera’s stability. Early in the video, part of the drone is in the camera frame and can be seen to be wiggling but the camera is steady. (So, the camera has to be decoupled from the body, or else the drone-part would look stable and the horizon would wiggle.) How do they do that? Anybody?
@49:
That mechanism is called a gimbal.
Typically also you have a gyro and software to stabilize the image further — the gimbal takes the big stuff, the gyro notices small-scale jitter and the software corrects for it.
So, PZ…
Is that you in the parking lot?
Which windows are your lab?
Can we see your house in the video?
—
No reason…just asking…