Wanna Go Steampunk?

Here's something they did at my work a couple weeks back. They had an artwork design contest using industrial supplies sourced from the company. They had done it last year, also, and I'd been thinking I could make something very cool to enter, but never came up with an idea. This year I came up with this idea. My son could really use a desk lamp, and he's appreciator of the Steampunk aesthetic.

My original idea was to use primarily copper and brass fittings, but it turns out, even with the employee pricing, those are some expensive materials!!! Therefore, I made it out of mostly black cast iron and aluminum fittings. It still added up, but only to around less than half of what it could have been.

I had a lot of ideas that changed over time with the project, and once it was as it at the end of the initial construction, I wasn't pleased with the results, so it was already being redesigned in my head as I entered it in the competition. At the beginning concept, I was thinking of having a valve at the base, and the light shade an oblong copper float with one side cut out. A bit later I was thinking the slick thing to do would have been to mount a rotary switch near the base and use a valve wheel on it to turn it on and off. Where the power cord comes in I covered it with mesh sleeving to make it look like that's where the gas or steam or whatever is supposed to run it comes in (which, now that I think about it, it does!!!)

I finished the modifications today, which consisted of replacing the pipe lengths with shorter pieces, especially for the back end where the cord enters. The major issues were that the back pipe was way too long (I'd been thinking running it long like that with the adapter and the brass fitting back there thinking that would help lower the center of gravity and counter balance the light shade's weight) and bumped into everything, and the height made it a bit ungainly. Nice thing about the construction, it's pretty easy to change things around, just unscrew the area you want to change!!!

I'm pretty pleased with it now, but just one more thing I've got in mind. I've ordered an LED spotlight to give it the harsh glare that seems like it would be fitting with this design!!! Also, an incandescent bulb would probably be a bad idea with no venting on the shade. I entitled it "Steampunk Sparklamp". I got a lot of positive comments from my co-workers. A funny question I got asked a couple times was if it works!!! The other thing I got asked about was the gauge. Of course, the gauge was for nothing but aesthetics, but I told everyone that asked that if the gauge shows over twenty pounds, you'd better run!!! I had been thinking of perhaps offering it for sale online for around the retail cost of the supplies (or with the reserve set there, if on an auction site) and see if there's any takers. I'm good with it if there aren't, but if there are I could make another fairly easily, and possibly change things around a bit.

Of course, in the course of construction, I come up with other ideas how I could it all again... only different!!! I was thinking adding in an hour meter would be an interesting touch, but for a really functional touch would be to have it USB powered... and add in a USB hub, probably concealed behind an ornamental brass hatch, maybe sourced from a pocket watch!!!

Last year the entrants were a bit weak, in my opinion. The two I remember were a duct tape wallet, and a layer cake made of buckets. I came in thinking I'd be a lock for best in show, but the other entrants this year were way better!!!

The first shot, the metal flowers, took best in show. Behind it is a chess set made of nuts, bolts, and washers. Even the board is made of square washers!!!

The next shot??? What is it??? The flowers weren't there when I put mine in, and that was the one where I thought to myself that I wasn't going to win the top spot. It wasn't going when I got there, but later in the week it was running. It was entitled "Brass Teardrop", and has a gear motor driving an offset under the first layer. This has a series of strings going to the concentric rings and brass ball in the middle, and as it rotates, the rings and sphere bob up and down in a wave type motion. Fairly epic, but just about the least practical of all the entrants, IMHO.

More flowers, this time constructed from the pages of a first aid pamphlet, dyed with layout fluid. Final shot is a few concrete planters, placed on top of woven rope mats!!!

I already revealed the best in show winner, and the brass teardrop took the most intricate. My creation took most serviceable. I don't remember the other categories, but all but one of us won, and the other one got judges special mention. I completely agree with all the verdicts!!!

Wanna Go, Punk?

Haha!!! I happened on this a few days back. Not that funny the first time you watch it, but play it over and over, and it gets funnier and funnier!!!

Recovery

Here's a project I did the other day. As you can see in the first shot, kitty cat's claw post is ALL tore up!!! He's vicious with those claws!!!

I've seen the claw posts wrapped with rope, and that seemed like a pretty good way to go. Figured all I'd have to do is get some nice, fibrous rope, unbolt the post from the base, pry the top cap off, secure the rope under the top cap, wrap to the base, and bolt it back on with the rope under the post!!! Easy, huh???

Started in, and the first complication arose: The wood block for the top splintered into pieces, first one edge as it was being knocked loose, then in the middle as I attempted to hammer the top back into place with the rope under it, to where it was unusable. I pulled out some long finishing nails instead, hammered them partway in, then bent them over to secure the rope end. Not pretty, but functional. Wrapped away, and ended with another. While trying to secure the end under the post by bolting it down, and the hole stripped out!!! Used half a dozen 3" drywall screws and fixed that up... kind of. it's leaning back about 5°!!!

And the final results??? The wrap started out real good, but came up short on the bottom end. Apparently you need more than 50' of rope to pull this off. Now remains to be seen how durable it is!!!

Another project I undertook recently was re-purposing the 80's era stereo cabinet in our front room. One of the things I got for Christmas last year was a 46" LED TV for our front room. There's only one place it fits well in our front room, and that's diagonal in the corner. I bought a mount kit and had the idea of running a 2x4 across the corner and hanging it from that, but haven't done that. I just stuck it on top of the wood and glass stereo cabinet. The tuner/amplifier in the stereo hasn't worked in a couple years (and I link to a post where it ended up working afterwards!!! I'm thinking it was a year or several months later that it really quit, so maybe only a year or so). The tape player gave up the ghost years ago. I think the turntable was fine, but I never really used that anyway. My vintage 18-disc player was the only thing going that I might have used, but without an amp, it wasn't seeing any action either. So, finally, I took all that out, and set up the DVD/VHS player on the top where the turntable goes, used the next shelf for DVDs, put the old VHS 2 drawer cabinet on the bottom, with a row of VHS tapes on top of it, and a digital clock off to the side. Not shown is the sound bar on the floor to the front. New TV's have really bad audio!!! We've got a 17" flat screen TV in the bedroom, and it's got better sound than the new TV!!! In retrospect, I could have kept my 18 disc player onboard and ran it through the sound bar, but these days most our music gets played on pocket sized devices!!! Anyway, I'm more pleased with the way this came out than the claw post!!!

Semi Quick Instant Post

So back on my birthday, I'd taken the day off. Went to the beach, then the eye doctor, then the older boys' new school orientation night. Here's me new glasses.

Picked them up yesterday. I like the look, but so far I'm not crazy about the glasses themselves. They give me a headache and a neckache. They say give them a couple weeks, you'll get used to them. I think they need a bit of re design.

Yesterday the younger & I were out washing the car in the late afternoon. Here's a shot of when the sun was on it's way down. Looked pretty sweet!!!

A few months back, my laptop's power jack was acting up again. I got a replacement metal jack and swapped it for the plastic one I'd replaced before. Had to open the hole a bit, and trim some of the plastic on the case, but it looks solid!!!

After I did that, discovered the power cord had some issues, too, and I replaced that. Now all is good.

Arroyo Seco

Today, on our Labor Day day off, we went for a picnic at one of the parks along the Arroyo Seco.

Arroyo Seco translates to "dry stream", which it almost never is, but usually there's not much along this portion. Whenever we're by there, the younger boy wants to go for a hike along the stream.

A couple of posts back, I'd made mention of my latest technology purchase, but never said what it actually was!!! Ipod Touch 4th generation, same as my older picked up, but I got mine as a refurb rather than used with a corner of the screen cracked already. I've been kind of keeping an eye out for a decent but tiny camera at a reasonable price. Most weren't much cheaper than this, and only would take pictures!!! Found out afterwards that the generation 5 has a WAY better camera, and experience a tad of buyers' remorse. My younger boy has been saving for one of his own, and I've agreed to sell him mine at a nice discount when I get myself a gen 5, probably around gravy time. Did I mention that my wife got me a nice case for it for my birthday???

All the pictures here are from my Ipod. The only edit I preformed on them was to use the clarify function in Paint Shop Pro. First shot is by where we entered, he declared it to be dead hobo swag.

Second shot is looking upstream. If I'd had my Pentax with me, you would probably be able to make out the antennas of Mount Wilson!!! That was the shot I was going for. Picture #3 is straddling the stream, and #4 is one of the inlet pipes, probably from the local street drains. I know I've got a shot from a while ago of the stencil they have near storm drains that have the "empties to the ocean" legend on them!!!

The last shot, I'm guessing, was one of the unfortunate victims of the freeway running alongside the Arroyo.

Shaved Pussy

As mentioned in my previous post, our cat had some medical issues. Apparently, tom cats have a rather Hank Hill-esque narrow urethra, and are susceptible to it getting clogged up. We've never had a tom cat before, so this was news to us. Another first, this is really the first time I've ever been in a position to be able to do anything for a gravely ill animal other than having it put down. As also previously stated, 2013 is still an expensive year. Well, he is a beloved member of the family, so I did what must be done. He'd better not make a habit of it.

So there's the shot of his shaved forearm (forepaw???). When we first brought him home, he had a blue bandage around it. My older got a picture of that, it's probably on his tumblr somewhere. On the estimates from the veterinarians they listed Elizabethan collars, AKA the Cone of Shame. For spending more on the kitty than I spent on my wife's latest car, I was looking forward to posting embarrassing photos of that here, but if he ever got one, it was off by the time he was sent home. Likely would not have fit inside the cat carrier with it on. So all I get is a shot of him with the bald spot where the IV was. They said he was rather uncooperative. If you've already got a swollen full bladder and they're trying to catheter your achey urethra, see how cooperative you are!!!

The second shot here is just a cute pose. He was playing one of his favorite games with me when I took the shot, Big Cat in a Cage!!! Bonus, when we got him back, his claws had been nicely trimmed, making the game more enjoyable for the hooman involved.

I have to get some amusement out of this situation. If I don't get it from getting to see him in that cone of shame or from the increased traffic from this posts' title, I'll close with a little joke at his expense:

A cat walks through the double doors of an old west saloon. His front leg is bandaged from the wrist down. He declares, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw!!!"

Island Inland

As usual, I've got a backlog of posts I'd like to do. Yesterday was my birthday, and much happened. The week before our kitty had to go in for emergency surgery, and they saved his kitty bacon. Once again, 2013 is turning out to be rather expensive. He's got a bald patch on his front leg where they had an IV that he kept trying to pull out. Muscle relaxers for a cat, you wouldn't think they'd even make such a thing, huh???

Took the Falcon on a beach cruise, and we went up to the mountains for another vacation. My mom fell in a brier patch. Bought myself another cool little technology device, a month before my birthday, but I'll call it my birthday present to myself. Putting Little Black Submarines on me blog drove up traffic. Hope someone else enjoyed my artwork.

But for now, here's part two from our first vacation, the part where we went on the Inland tour!!!

Last time we were over there, I saw one of the buses they use for the inland tour, 1953 Flxable buses. Actually going out of the Avalon city limits would be a nice change, and going on such an awesome looking vintage bus was a plus!!!

I had to get a few shots of the bus. They ride as good as they look!!!

And a cool shot in a parabolic mirror going around one of the hairpin turns, only marred by a little piece of duct tape!!!

A shot I didn't manage to get on last year's trip, a bald eagle!!! Too bad it was in an animal sanctuary, but it made for a good shot.

And buffalo. Originally brought over for the filming of the movie "The Vanishing American" by Zane Gray (who himself lived on the island for a while, heard an amusing story that I again may relate...), and when the movie was done filming, William Wrigley Jr. opted to purchase them. They about overran the island, and now are kept on birth control. One of the offerings by many of the restaurants on the island is buffalo burgers. I had always assumed it was locally raised buffalo, but it is all imported from the mainland, where the USDA can keep an eye on the proceedings!!!

Back side of the island. Kinda makes you want to camp out there for a while, huh???

Another shot of the bus, and my sweet 512 shirt!!!

The famed Airport in the Sky!!! Since my nephew has his pilot's licenses, I always think it'd be cool to have him fly us over there. It is notoriously tricky, as the strip is high in the middle, so coming in, it tends to look too short.

The bus driver told us about the cookies. He was right about the cookies. I've heard about the "$100 burger" at the Airport in the Sky. I could have gotten in on that, but opted for the cookie and a Monster. The $100 burger is when a pilot will fly over and get lunch there.

Outside there was a pretty cool tile mosaic map of Catalina. I jumped up on it and was taking pictures when one of the Air Traffic Controllers stepped out onto the balcony of the tower and told me to get down from there. Of course, after that I saw the sign saying not to get up on it!!!

My wife's sunglasses broke the first day, and she'd looked at one of the shops along Crescent Street in Avalon. They were over $50 there, and these at the airport were only $14, so bargain priced!!!

It was a pretty long voyage, but it was a great experience!!! Even little babies approve!!!

Little Black Submarines

Little black submarines

Operator please

Put me back on the line

Told my girl I'd be back

Operator please

This is wreckin' my mind

Oh can it be

The voices calling me

They get lost

And out of time

I should've seen it glow

But everybody knows

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

Pick you up, let you down

When I wanna go

To a place I can hide

You know me, I had plans

But they just disappeared

To the back of my mind

Oh can it be

The voices calling me

They get lost

And out of time

I should've seen a glow

But everybody knows

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

Treasure maps, fallen trees

Operator please

Call me back when it's time

Stolen friends and disease

Operator please

Patch me back to my mind

Oh can it be

The voices calling me

They get lost

And out of time

I should've seen a glow

But everybody knows

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

The Black Keys. Amazing tune!!! First time I heard it was partway through the song on my car radio. It was on one of the more "new rock" stations, and my first thought was, "Wow, they're playing Zeppelin on here..." Totally sounds like...

I enjoy most everything I've heard by them. Did I make mention that last time I saw Counting Crows at the Wiltern they played "Gold on the Ceiling" between acts??? I looked up, and it was all true!!!

Crashed Star, Black Star

So last night I was going to log into Runescape for just a few minutes, to swap my 13 bones for bonemeal & ectoplasm and to do my mining for Managing Miscellania, keep my approval rating at %100, you know. When I got there, however, there was a crashed falling star!!! Size 6, and no one had found it yet!!! Tag!!! Not the first time I've tagged one, but every time I do I think to myself that I've got to get over to the observatory and get a screenshot of my name on the noticeboard... then I forget!!!

Last night was no exception. Of course, I was on a world with less than 150 players, so no one else came to help. Six layers to go through with no help. I got a good amount of experience, but it disapeared before I made it to the middle. Oh well. Stayed up a lot longer than I'd wanted to. This morning I remembered I hadn't made it over to the observatory, so I quickly did that and got my screenshot, just in time it would seem!!!

Whenever I go to do a post, I usually get distracted looking at the stats and traffic sources. Apparently having Black Star mentioned on the older's birthday post pulled in several views from Japan. Surprisingly. In a shameless bid for a few more views, here's a few more pulled directly from the WWW!!! Love to Japan, and WTF Japan!!!

One of my favorites from Soul Eater is that crazy moon!!! The sun isn't bad, either.

Never made mention of the time we were at a park, and the younger found a stick with three long branches going three different directions, and a handle branch coming out of the middle. He thought it a great Black Star throwing star!!! Should have had a camera with me... I need a pocket sized that takes good pics like the older has!!!

So, the referring site was a Yahoo image search page in Japanese. When translated, one of the lines was "Black Star do you satisfied with the sound and amplifier rattle change! The free gifts the quick fix of efficacy distinguished" I love translation software!!! An apparent refrence to Black Star tube amplifiers. Never heard of 'em, but I'll bet they sound awesome!!! Another line: "are selling now if this!"

I'll bet another show that'd get me a TON of views is "Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt"!!! Not great animation, but some pretty funny lines!!! They've got a Hummer they've named See Through. The line: "See through always gets us there in style!!!" Interestingly, it seems like if you were doing an image search trying to find actual pictures of panty and stocking with garterbelt, you'd likely be disappointed!!!

The Sweet Suite

As mentioned at some length in the last post the executive suite at our stay in Catalina was awesome. In fact, that whole situation is the one that gets brought up most when telling people about our vacation!!! Thought I'd put together a post on the room we had there.

In that post I had a couple pictures, one of the boy enthusiastic about the room, and the second looking along the roof line, looking out towards the ocean.

Here again we see more of that enthusiasm, and in the background the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

Next shot is the dining area, where I parked my laptop pretty much the whole time we were there.

And there's the wall of kitchen. Last time we stayed here, our breakfast most days was bagels and cream cheese from the restaurant on the premises, to go which we would take back and eat on our balcony. Pretty much the best bargain for breakfast in Avalon. As of yet, I've not actually dined at that restaurant, maybe next time. My wife got in on the nachos one afternoon (during happy hour for the half price!!!) while the boys and I were out either paddle boarding or swimming. Since we had a little fridge this time, we stopped at the Vons and bought a pack of bagels and a couple cream cheeses, juice and milk. The next day the older bought himself a 6 pack of IBC root beer, which he ended up carting around a few of for the rest of the vacation!!! Also worked out for having leftovers.

And there's the balcony on the other side, looking out towards the mountains. There was the butt of a cigar out there when we arrived. Made us consider buying another couple...

Giant two person whirlpool tub...

And giant two person (at least!!!) shower stall. There was a red phone on the bathroom wall right next to the toilet. Just in case you run out of paper, I guess.

And the final few shots are of the courtyard we were overlooking. The two with the pool are actually shots from last time, apparently I didn't get any shots of that this time.

In the second shot you can see the patio area for the restaurant. Not pictured is the gazebo with the hot tub in it. It's all really nice!!!

Final shot was on the morning we were departing. Low cloud cover, and just a touch of drizzle. Good time to get out!!! The shuttle van driver was saying that the island makes it's own weather system, guess that makes sense when you've got a mountain rising out of the ocean!!!

So there you have it!!! The hotel room that all others shall be judged by henceforth... and found wanting!!!