Dick sent me this one.
Bubba and Junior were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up. A
blonde lady walked by and asked what they were doing. "We're supposed to
find the height of the flagpole," said Bubba, "but we don't have a ladder."
The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a few bolts, and laid
the pole down. Then she took a tape measure from her pocket, took a
measurement and announced, "Eighteen feet, six inches," and walked away.
Junior shook his head and laughed. "Ain't that just like a dumb blonde?
We ask for the height, and she gives us the length."
That is NOT a dumb blonde joke, it is a dumb redneck joke.
Posted by: Jim Macklin on September 22, 2007 11:03 AMOf course the proper way to measure remotely involes a protractor, plumb bob and the tape measure. Remembering your high school algebra and trig helps.
A 45 degree angle read on the protractor means you are as far away as the object is tall [from your eye height]. So measure how high it is above your eye and add the eye height. It works horizontally for surveying too.
I would'a used a yardstick and the sun, but I like your method Jim.
Posted by: B....... on September 22, 2007 01:18 PMAn advantage of the protractor is, if you the angles, you don't have to go as far away as it is tall.
The Sun angle changes, so you have to measure the shadow lenghth of the yards stick and mark the spot for the pole/building/mountaim. Then yo have to measure from the central base, hard to do with a moubtain.
Posted by: Jim Macklin on September 22, 2007 02:25 PM