Creating something new, day 27
4 days later
Windpower and gifts.
After the mornings combat lesson we're traveling into the city, again. I can at least be a bit more time effective by riding, so I don't have to spend time on that later today. Its just more practical that I ride when we're going into or leaving the city, and learning to ride is just like that bad old joke;
'A woman approaches a man and asks how to get to the opera. The man answers: Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.'
I miss my car.
As we pass the main square I see people looking at the sundial I helped install a couple of days ago. It looks quite good on its stone plinth, and the brass glitters in the sunlight. The sundial have attracted quite a bit of attention, and I get a feeling it might become a fashion item. A way to look modern, updated and wise, because I got two messengers yesterday asking if their master could buy a sundial from me, which I of course agreed to. I've decided to mount a sundial in the garden on the farm as well, as a small memorial and gift because I've lived there for quite a long time - most of my time since arriving in Alfheimr - and it has been important weeks. I will add a special plaque on the poster saying so. I wonder if we'll be back at the farm in time, so I can make another measurement with my simple device I've fastened to the outside wall, to try to work out a working time equation.
We visited Craftsman Digraldi to pick up my stuff and order more, and I ask if he have seen his craft in the main square. Digraldi is very proud, and knows about my donation to the King and the square, and becomes even prouder when I tell him I also donated a sundial to Jarl Skiringe. I make his day better as I place an order parts for 15 sundial and accompanying plaques. If I don't manage to sell them, I can donate them, because they arn't that expensive. A sundial in every city is quite cheap PR for the Academy, and people will have to learn about time measurements. I hope to sell most of them, but the advance payment on the ordered two means I've already gone plus, but I'll have to spend a bit more by hiring a stonemason to make ready-made stone plinths for them. Maybe unnecessary, but it just feels better to make a proper installation considering what the buyer pays. If I sell just one or two more, any other sale is pure and really good profit.
Digraldi still has the molds like I asked him to keep, but I asked him to add the Academy logo over the 12 o'clock marking and on the plaque. And his own bomärke, housemark, on the side of the base. The plague won't explain what the time equation is, and I can't add the equation since I don't know it yet, but I expect few will ask for details, as they probably don't want to seem stupid. Which is stupid.
The leaf springs seems okay and useful, although they seem to differ slightly in 'springyness'. They won't endure as much as steel but will be much cheaper, and less prone to theft and rust. I'll have to balance them so that the two front and the two rear are equally strong, and also balance from side to side.
I take the opportunity to also give Digraldi the job of making parts for drum brakes in brass, also for rust and corrosion resistance. I've learned to compensate for material shrinkage in my models, although its not a huge problem so far. On monoculars and sextants it affects, but nothing that is not manageable, but for the drum brakes it can be a problem. The really hard problem is manufacturing brake linings in some form of fiber-reinforced ceramic, and they must fit and be able to slide in from the side and be locked in place sideways with a screwed-in brass frame. I've tried to make a design that should be relatively easy to repair and maintain, as I reckon the pads will wear out really fast or just break. But I have no idea if or how earthenware shrinks, and what treatment is best, or if they are durable enough. Once I have the inner brakeparts made, I'll see if on of the potters wants to take on that job as well. Its gonna be a lot of work and trial and error with different combinations.
No idea how good these brakes will be, and thats not even taking in to account I can't do any form of hydraulic system since there is no good hose or pipe solution, and there arn't even any steel cables. So a shaft with two cams will rotate and push out the brake calipers against the brakedrums inside, and this shaft is pulled via a rope unless my idea for a rigid system works. The brakepedal is pressed down, a lever is pushed back, which presses on the shaft, which pushes out the brake pads. Compression instead of pulling feels like the safest and most user-friendly solution, and I can add a brake lever with simple locking as a parking brake. But this is complicated and hard enough to just give the rear wheel pair a brake, as it will be a leafspring hung rear axle. I have no real good solution for the front pair of wheels, as they also turn. My only idea so far is to have a brakepedal push a solid rod down through the center of the center turning system, and that rod push down on a lever, which rotates the shaft and brakes. But it is for the future. A working rear brake is sufficient, and it's so much better than 'pushing a wooden plank against the wheel' type of brake, which is what wagons now have, if they even have a brake system at all.
It will take time to assemble all the ship cranes parts and do the final work on it. I've made a couple of critical errors in a couple of parts dimensions, so they will need to get get re-done, and Digraldi understands. I'll won't even try to file those parts correctly and I still have to change something else to work, but it can be remelted so it will be a little cheaper. I still have to order a large mounting plate for the deck, and large long rivets to keep plate, and by extension, the crane in place, so it doesn't really delay the crane, and its not a critical project anyway. The boat builder in the crew along with a couple of others, has finished the oak beams and is building the crane frame, and Asta has received a small increase in her cash for this work and what she payed out of the cash register for sails and flags in Skiringsalr. The cash register was hardly empty, but it needs to be bigger. The crew seem to enjoy their lazy life on the ship in the harbor.
The glass/lens maker has done great work, and he seems to be improving as well. I will again earn many times more than the expenses on monoculars, and his filters are better for the sextants. But I need to earn silver for the Academy's construction. For other constructions. I'm hardly broke or even short of silver now, but I may be it in the future. A good buffer isn't just nice - its absolutely vital in this world. I need to support my sambos, guards and workers.
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The wheelwright has finished the last four wheels, and I now have two sets. He gladly accepts my praise and compliments, and I also praises his apprentice, and greets his wife and son who comes out. The wheelwright is also a cartwright, although they say wagon maker, and he agrees to make a special carriage for me with the lightest of these wheel sets, and when I show the sketches and give him the leaf springs in brass, both he and his apprentice realize that they have a steep learning curve when it comes to a completely different carriage design as well. This first carrige isn't particularly advanced as far as I'm concerned, and I have been inspired by those common in many big cities for tourists, but adapted to be easier to make in wood and more angular, without being very heavy. The wagons here have thick durable wooden frames, since they don't have any suspension system, and they're obviously a foot, boat and horse based culture. Not wagons.
My design is a small bench with footrest in the front, above the front wheel pair, for two guards, where one of which acts as the driver. Then two padded benches in the middle for four people who sit against each other and step off to the sides. The rear is a small cargo area, with a footrest in the back, where a couple of guards can be with something we've bought. The carrige is primarily intended for our shopping trips and such, and adapted for that. The front and rear wheelsets each have a leafspring hung axle, and the hope that at least the rear wheels will also get drum brakes, but there will be a later upgrade, just like some kind of headlights, waist safety belts and so on.
Cars so much nicer. They also smell better, at least inside, and don't poop on the road.
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Asta's so careful and awed when she receive the two wooden boxes with sextants, and together with two prism monoculars in their leather cases. I also give her two slate boards for the ship.
Most of the crew weren't really impressed by the sextants, but the monocular they can use? Oh, boy. Everyone can easily use it and immediately understand. I doubt there will be a millimeter of the ships surroundings they won't examine, and they handle the monocular with reverence. Asta was very serious when she told them, and I confirmed, that the one I let them use is nicer than the one the King received a few weeks ago, and the King is the only one who has a monocular besides my company. Now when they look at me, its not only reverence for my rank or title, but also for my craft and that I trust them enough to use it freely.
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Apparently the crew on the ship is a bit bored but happy. Easy service, well paid and I'm pleasant to work for. The already know that they will get more to do as soon as I make enough advanced equipment, Asta learned to use it, and we have moved to the Academy so we don't need the ship available all the time. The next few weeks they will be mostly here.
Without hesitating they all agreed to have life preservers at hand, and several of them actually wanted to make a lot of the sewing by themselfs. So Asta got to use a bit of the ship's cash to buy the birch bark and the light orange fabric, to make the wearer more visible if they fall into the sea. They will also sew life preservers for passengers, and mark their personal vest with name or symbol, as well as the Academy's symbol on everyone. I had intended to order it before, but forgot. One is carving a wooden board with the ship's name instead of sewing, guess its more manly work.
After seeing how I took the height of the sun and calculated the latitude, and really thinking about it, Asta now also really understands why the maps I've made have latitude and longitude references, and they arn't deformed like other maps she has seen before in her life. Those maps can't be used to navigate after. The ones I've made can. Before, she thought it was more of a decoration and a way to draw correctly or calculate travel time. We have discussed more about general navigation, the ships compass, North arrow and so on. How the ring sundial helps to estimate time for the sextant, but to really get a good use of sextant except in the middle of the day, a really accurate clock is required, which the sun with ring sundial can't be. Errors accumulate. She's looking forward to making star charts, and finding out exactly how good of a system it is.
I've shown her that she can use a sextant to measure angles between other things, and that it can be used to make better maps. We've taken measurements from the harbor on distant peaks and buildings, and then Asta follow to the farm and made measurements on the same peaks and buildings from a low hill there. I've sketch on a slate board and describe trigonometry. Asta understands that it is technical but would very much like to learn how to use it. Which is good, because she's supposed to teach this. She must be really good at this.
Asta comes to the farm and gets lessons pretty much every day, and she has spent a lot of time with my original math books. Rarely have I seen anyone so motivated to learn math with numbers and trigonometry, and she doesn't seem to learn it as easy as Iselin does. Every day she takes several measurements of the sun's height, and is happy when its correct, day after day, but Iselin is also involved and tries to learn and understand. Asta has started teaching a lot about navigation to Alith, as Alith sees it as a possible future profession as she hasn't given up hope about going on a Viking raid for glory and adventure. She likes her guard duty to me - but a dream is a dream, and giving up a dream is difficult even if you know it is stupid or impractical.
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I'm feed up with building similar things. So monotonous. I really want to hire someone to do the job so I can focus on other things, but I can't. Atleast the work is done for now, as I've gotten all monoculars and the rest finished. Given how much silver I'll get for the monoculars, I should be overjoyed. There's so much wrong with me.
The wind turbine is technically finished now, and the others looks at the weird rotating thing where it sits on a pole over the fence. Bodil doesn't really know what it is she helped me do, but seems to be happy to have helped me with the box for the NiMH batteries and the adapter, so the finished result is surprisingly pretty, but I've stopped her from wasting time making the outside more beautiful, as this is hopefully a temporary solution. Wood and brass, with my modified 12V USB adapter inside the box. Outside, the three power resistor made of brass cartridges sits on top, and at the front, two small brass switches poke out, and under them there is a recess to access the dual USB sockets, and finally the adapter's blue LED shines through a hole between the switches. Everything works, and with the voltage drop across the resistor, I can also determine the charging current, which was far too high for the AA NiMH cells in normal wind, which is the reason for another power resistor. I don't need such a high charging power, and one of the switches connect a power resistor as a current load before the diode when there is a stronger wind. Manual and ugly, but hey! It works!
It feels so good that I have something that can charge my technology in addition to the solarpanel, especially that I've completed it before winter because it can be weeks without visible sun. There might not be any wind to talk about for days or weeks inland, but since we'll be living on the coast that shouldn't be a problem. I should invest time and effort in trying to make lead acid batteries in the near future, so I have more battery power and can freely use the tablet and mobile. Lead-acid batteriers should also be able to handle variation in charging current better, and much more powerful charging current. Damn, I also need to build the framework for attaching the wind turbine to the mansion. More and proper power lines to build, that should be insulated. More drawings to complete.
I've just finished my measurment and the drawing book. Well, not really finished, but its at least useful now, and I have made three metersticks in metal with graduations, and one is an experiment for branding on wood. It's hard to brand something exactly, but it doesn't have to heat up too much to work on wood. I've also planed for a thicker foldable meterstick solution with brass hinges and ends. If I make 25 cm long sections, I can easily produce them exactly the same, and only require three hinges and two end pieces in brass, so the meterstick is more durable, while still being easier to carry.
Ciara has been finished with the ship maps for a long time, and Kari has finished rewriting my math books, and I've gradually checked them. Kari's new project is writing a translation to Frigones. She volunteered, and I think Kari wants to feel like she's contributing more, or just have something to do. Several seem to have that attitude, even the guards.
I'll still need to make a printing press in the near future, as long as books are handmade they too much work to spread wide. Work, Work, Work. Eh, I like doing things, as long as they're not repetitive and boring, but I should be better at finishing something and not jump around between projects. I wonder how many people I need to hire to start mass producing everything I think needs to be mass produced?
It's charming to sit in here, work and chat a bit with either Iselin, Kari or Ciara. It gets nice in a completely different way when I'm sitting on the edge of my chair, leaning over the work table focusing on drawing, and apparently completely missed that Ciara has crawled under the table, as I feel someone spread on my legs apart, pull down the front of my shorts, followed by her hands and her mouth. Oh, wow.
It goes from different to embarrassing, when Iselin knocks and just walks in a minute later, because Ciara doesn't seem to care at all. I hear a slight giggle from her, as I cover my face, but Iselin just walks forward, remove the drawings in front of me and gracefully jumps up and sits on the table in front of me, and starts pulling up her skirt with a wicked smile.
Guess we all needed the next half hour of relaxation in bed. And in other places.
The slightly dented sundial can be straightened.
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I decided to say 'fuck it' and not wait until Christmas/Midwinter feast with the knives for the guards, but I tell them that this is an advance gift and it will take a long time until the next one. It just felt silly that the knives would be waiting when they can use them in the meantime.
It's fun to see Alith, Bodil, Gunhild and Hillevi's reaction when I give them their own 'RobA' knives, and I need to persuade them to accept the gift. To them, the knifes are really worth a couple of horses or something. I have given them great treasures. How many annual salaries in armor, dresses and now knives have I actually given to Alith and Bodil? Six to eight? Personally, I have a hard time seeing the value in that way, but I understand how they see it. On the other hand, they would never spend their silver on buying something so expensive, either in clothes or a knife, when cheaper works well and looks good enough. But they're all very proud and happy women. Something that unites them and the rest of us. Makes me happy to see how satisfied and happy Bodil is when she's carving wood with her new knife.
Its my turn to be suprised, when it turns out that Bodil has worked on two more chess sets, and is finished with the one she intended to give me this autumn as a present for her service so far as my guard. She really gives me a handmade chess set with nicely carved chess pieces, and a chess board she's engraved with 'To Robert Arnesson, by Bodil'. I'm man enough to admit that there is a few tears. Bodil has a hard time understanding that. The chess set she's given me isn't really valuable, and she has done it while guarding us, and I have just given away enormously expensive knives as nothing, but I'm moved by her 'simple cheap gift'. I explain it is because she has done it. Something she has done, that she knows I would appreciate, and she put a lot of her time into. The pieces are nice.
It is easy to give gifts when you are rich. But Bodil isn't rich and she doesn't have many possessions. It honestly seems like I gave her and Alith all their most valuable possessions. Of course knives and armor, but also dresses and jewelry as well as Bodil's bow.
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Its late in the evening, and just before going to bed, that I sit outside and watch the moon rise while hugging Iselin, when she asks me about the stars...