Jane & Rog Plod to Portugal (7 Viewers)

[scousebird]

What I’m less sure about is if those arms are strong enough. ABS has a good Young’s modulus of 2.8 GPa: well able to resist the forces Jane’s arm can produce or that of an egg shell when a point force is applied (we will approximate Jane’s teaspoon as a conic body for ease of calculation). However 3d printing introduces layers into any object which lower the Young’s modulus through a combination of imperfect adhesion and small sharp corners at boundaries concentrating stress.

We will of course report back on usage of the egg cup and any yolk related spillage resulting from catastrophic delamination of egg support arms.

 

[The Coops]

The egg cup is made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (commonly known as ABS) it’s the same stuff that Lego bricks and probably a lot of the dash and plastic trim of your van is made of. As I’m sure you know all 3d printing filaments are thermoplastics and ABS is no exception. It’s glass transition temperature - the temperature at which is becomes malleable and deforms is 105C - which is why you can’t dissolve a LEGO brick in your tea and why Jane’s morning egg - assuming it ever exists - will not melt the egg cup.

What I’m less sure about is if those arms are strong enough. ABS has a good Young’s modulus of 2.8 GPa: well able to resist the forces Jane’s arm can produce or that of an egg shell when a point force is applied (we will approximate Jane’s teaspoon as a conic body for ease of calculation). However 3d printing introduces layers into any object which lower the Young’s modulus through a combination of imperfect adhesion and small sharp corners at boundaries concentrating stress.

We will of course report back on usage of the egg cup and any yolk related spillage resulting from catastrophic delamination of egg support arms.

All very well but me 'Ed "urts now

 

[Jane And Rog]

Well, as 3D printing is layered, can you not make some of the layers from Euros. The notes, obviously, not coins. Not sure about the Youngs Modulus of banknotes, though, but you are obviously an expert in elasticity - and stiffness!

He’s 57 you know.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Well, I’m afraid that’s it. I’ve got to stop this blog right now, because it’s impossible to think that we’ll do anything this holiday that’s more exciting than today’s lunch.

Yes, the egg cup was used! Just look how happy I am.

I’m pleased to report that nothing melted or broke. The only issue was that cup is super light so I had to hold it while applying my spoon to cut the top off. It needs setting in a block of concrete or something.

In other lunch news, Rog did not join me in a boiled egg, but did have some delicious pressed pig’s head and local cheese. Luckily I spotted an educational poster in the supermarket, so he can be sure to cut the latter correctly.

We are staying the night at Camping St Martin, on the Atlantic coast at Moliets-et-Maa, where we got an ASCI spot for just over 20€. All nice and good but they force you to wear a wristband. Rog was not happy!

Flynn’s little doggy mind was blown by the direct access to the beach…

Well, mine was too to be fair. It was a lovely coastline, the weather was fantastic, and we had a good walk northwards up the beach and the Courant d’Huchet (a river trying to get past the dunes to the sea).

Then we back tracked through the forest and into town, where we scoped out the restaurants and indulged in an ice-cream. Only about my third this year, standards are really slipping. Must try harder. Anyway, they were delicious - rum and raisin for sir and lemon meringue for me. Mine was excellent as for once the lemon was tart and lemony enough to withstand the meringue.

Back at the van, our first game of Scrawlopolis. Not convinced, feels more like a puzzle to play on your own.

After a drink at l’Océan…

… we ended up eating there as most of the other restaurants we’d seen earlier were actually closing from lunch - not just for a break, but for the day. Probably until summer 2025.

Luckily the food was excellent. Razor clams and the untranslatable “graisserons” to start, and then squid and Basque rice, and croustillant de pied de cochon (pig’s foot thingy) for me. Although we actually ended up sharing them, pretty much.

When the waiter came with the bill, we realised he spoke English, so tried to decode the graisserons. With a bit of that and my request for “simple French” we found out that it was pork in duck fat, a local delicacy apparently. All very good anyway.

 

[Lenny HB]

All nice and good but they force you to wear a wristband. Rog was not happy!

Hardly use sites that would put me right off, no way would I wear that.

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[garry55]

Wrist bands! Is that an "all-inclusive" camp site then?

 

[Jane And Rog]

Wrist bands! Is that an "all-inclusive" camp site then?

It’s for security reasons because of the open beach access. We did complain to the reception chap, but he just said that we were putting up with it for just one night, and I thought, yeah, fair enough. Didn’t want to move on, did want the services, and apart from a little red wristband it’s been great.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

That is strange. I’ve just deleted and downloaded the app to make sure it’s up to date and double check but it still only shows Portugese (Brazilian)!

Pretty sure they will still understand you. My daughter said she always spoke Spanish and they replied in Portuguese. We have found the use of English is very widespread in the most of of the way places. But it’s great you are trying to speak it. We can only say the basics plus I can say “sheep’s cheese” and “without lactose”

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Mainly driving today. First on the D roads and then finally the N10 which is great because it’s fairly fast and very toll free. The N10 is also somewhat symbolic for us - the last time we used it was driving to Morocco - our first long trip after I retired.

Today we’ve come about 500kms south to just north east of Bordeaux. We’re sharing the free-if-you-buy-some wine camping at Vignoble Pestoury amongst representatives from every other European country except France.

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Denby, Jane and the chateaux before the Swiss arrived​

Before we get into the wine, I also feel I should sing the praises of my new 3D printer. Not only do we have a nice bedside phone stand each and the lighter no longer rattles, there is a new funnel for the Aeropress, the little gas canisters for the new bbq can be hooked under the table and most importantly Jane has a science fiction egg cup for the boiled eggs we never eat in the van.

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A watched egg never boils​

The wine tasting at Vignoble Pestoury was very informative. It was also quite long - you could feel everyone willing the nice lady to speed up and splash the free wine. She wasn’t to be hurried though. We got a detailed explanation of the winery and her family, the weather and politics of Bordeaux wine and how you might transition to organic wine making.

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Sanctioned scrumping​

Finally we were ushered into the tasting room where we were given a further 30 minute lesson on the geography of Bordeaux and differences between small producers and the grand crus. It was actually very interesting - she knew her grapes and soil and was pretty funny. When it did come the tasting was very generous. They make seven wines, we tasted all of them, three versions of their mainstay and a bonus Saint Emillion from a vineyard they sold a few years ago.

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Geography teacher with benefits​

This 3D printer really interests me.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Hardly use sites that would put me right off, no way would I wear that.

It might be worth us all clubbing together to pay for a night just to see you wear it

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[Orion]

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The only issue was that cup is super light so I had to hold it while applying my spoon to cut the top off. It needs setting in a block of concrete or something.

C’mon, Rog needs to apply some lateral thinking to the problem then. A QD fitting recessed into and screwed through the table with the opposing part on the underside of the eggcup would be a ‘simple’ solution!