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Old 03-09-2005, 10:38 PM
Warren
 
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Salty Thumb wrote:

pick a set of reference coordinates. You know the east, south and west
are tangent to the circle. equation of line is y-b=m(x-a), circle (x-c)^
2 + (y-d)^2 = r^2. Solve for c, d, r. Choose the r the fits your
criteria.


Gee. I didn't realize it was that simple.

Nor have I felt as dumb as I do right now looking at that equation. I have
no idea where to even start.

One of the things complicating this is that there are two segments on the
west side. I'm not sure if the circle will be touching both, or just one.

It's to the point that I'm ready to scrap this project. Solving this problem
in a practical way looks like I'm going to have to clear the whole area at
once, which isn't something I'll be able to have enough labor to do at the
right time of the year in the available window. I could just put in a
smaller circle that doesn't touch the edges, and hope it's placement doesn't
look too "off", but then I'll have some left-over scrap areas that'll need
to be cared for in some way. (It's hard to describe it all, as it is such an
irregular space.)

I'm ready to just toss the whole concept of repeating circles, and go with
something more free-form. I did think that the repeating circles vs. the odd
angles of things I can't move (like the driveway, the house, the street and
the lot line) would look good, but I obviously underestimated the difficulty
of the geometry when one can't just clear the land, and use more practical
methods like stakes, strings, and chalk lines that can be easily erased if
drawn wrong.

--
Warren H.

==========
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response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
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