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| Sunday, September 7th, 2008 |
polydad
|
12:47p |
MicroHouse, Part 2
So I'm building a MicroHouse for Laura's son Matthew. (Next time I have access to a scanner, I'll include pictures of Ken Isaac's 1966 original.) Currently, I have 25 pieces of plywood cut to proper shape and size; eleven more to go, which I hope to finish this afternoon. (Starting blanks are four feet square; finished pieces are 42.25" x 42.25" x 39" x 39".) But I leave on Tuesday night, so that's all the progress that's likely to get done this trip.
Still to do: Drill 20 holes in each sheet, sand 'em all smooth, and paint 'em. Bend 480 angle irons to the proper angles, mostly 98 degrees. Devise wood-brace replacements for 130 more such angles; will be using a single piece of wood to replace five braces each in 26 places. Then buy the pipe to use for the legs, cut and bend it to shape, and bolt everything together.
End result is a near-cube, each side about 84", with a point in the middle sticking out about another 4" and the rest of the side tapering neatly away from that point. Up on legs, it looks a bit like a simplified Lunar Lander.
I need to figure out how much time this-all is going to take. The holes can be gang-drilled, to a degree; clamping four sheets together and drilling 'em all at once is recommended. Nine of the sheets have big cut-outs in 'em, and thus get different hole configurations. But that leaves 27, clamped and drilled in seven groups. I don't know how long doing one group will take, yet.
Then will come sanding. Using an orbital sander will be vastly faster than the hand-blocks Isaacs used, but I don't know how much time, yet. Obviously, have to do that one board at a time. And painting the same; since with painting clean-up is more than half the job, doing as many panels at one time as is possible is the best strategy. Once the panels are drilled, sanded and painted they're done.
At least two internal edges will need metal-cladding to protect them from the wear a rambunctious nine-year-old will put on them that a 40-year old Isaacs didn't. easy enough in principle; get a piece of sheet metal, bend it over the edge, and bolt it in place. But again, time-consuming.
Not yet planned or scheduled: Cutting the two hatches, and figuring where and how many windows, then cutting holes for 'em and installing 'em. I'm thinking four. I'm also thinking about gluing some foam-board to the ceiling and a couple of the upper inside walls, for extra insulation. Cheap, and not difficult, but again time-consuming. Should glue some fabric over it, also. Matthew likes blue, and denim is nice and durable.
For him to want to use it for his bedroom, it should be very comfy. I'm thinking about creating some form of warm fuzzy giant-teddy-bear for him; separate project but might need to be included in this project timeline. Isaacs had heated the originals with 1-kw. space heaters, and reported them to be nice and cozy through a Minnesota winter. And he wasn't using foam-board.
Buzzer went off; time to go cut some more wood. |
| Saturday, September 6th, 2008 |
luscious_purple
|
11:15p |
How a T-shirt saved my life... (Part Three) ( Note: Once again, if you are reading your f-list from newest to oldest entries, go here to read the first two installments of the story.) Soooo ... you have SOME idea of how all this turned out, because I'm sitting here writing up the tale. But wouldn't you like to know all the gory and poignant details? Then read on! ( Back to the scene... )( The immediate aftermath... )( The long-term aftermath... ) Current Mood:  grateful |
luscious_purple
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9:44p |
|
lesliepear
|
8:26p |
Wet, wet, wet and an update It's pouring from TS Hanna and DH and Alan are in Alan's room watching a Three Stooges DVD. Not my thing, but amazing to think it still brings laughs 70+ years later. Alan had soccer practice on our brand new soccer field (artifical turf) last night. Hope it will be ok with the rain - there's supposed to be an opening day parade tommorrow. New team, new coach, new teamates. Need to replace the 2nd hand cleats I'd gotten him - they are baseball not soccer ones - but they'll be ok for tommorrow. Packed his backpack for Monday's start of Kindergarten. On Friday we stopped by the school so I could see where his classroom was. His teacher turned out to be there (she seems very nice). Her aide had Alan in his first year of disabled pre-k, so it was nice to see a familiar face. I also saw some names I knew on the sign she had for the class. It was worth stopping by :) We then checked out a local library book sale and a local park. Alan loves pony rides now. We also looked around the zoo - he's been there a few times this year and loves it - not like when he was a toddler and would just zoom past everything. He's still bossy at home and I hope that calms down after school starts. Otherwise we may see if we can get some help curbing it at home. I had my annual visit to Sloan Kettering at the end of last month. All is well, I don't need to go back till August 2009. But I've got some sort of congestion now and my chest feels tight. Hope it goes away, I just got over being sick in Mid August :( Labor Day weekend we did our annual camping trip to Ithaca. Had a good time, although didn't hike much. I did go in the waterfall pool, wasn't brave enough to try jumping off the diving board. Need to get in shape for next summer to try it. We checked out the Farmer's Market (very crunchy with all sorts of interesting eats - asian/organic etc - but NO pickles!) Today we had company - our friend Dave stopped by to tell us about his singles cruise - he met some people, but it was an interesting itenary as it was diverted due to Hurricane Hanna. Then a friend of DH's from high school he hadn't seen in 29 years stopped by - he and DH reconnected on classmates.com. Neither one noticed our messy place fortunately. Anyway, I've got some rebates to send out and paperwork to sort so that's all for now. Current Music: Three Stooges in the background |
luscious_purple
|
7:44p |
How a T-shirt saved my life... Somewhere in my closet hangs a hot pink T-shirt. It doesn't have a slogan on it, just a chest pocket. My Mom once bought it (and several others in different colors) for me because she thought I needed some T-shirts that didn't have words on them. *rolls eyes* It's kind of worn and stretched out now, but I have no plans to get rid of it. You see, a dozen years ago, that shirt, in all its bright ultra-pinkness, just might have helped save my life. How could a T-shirt do THAT?????? ( Setting the scene... )( Our travel day... )( The morning of the adventure... ) |
destabee
|
6:32p |
|
lifewithlogan
|
12:18p |
Doctored photo update Although I edited my previous post about the phony but funny Palin bikini photo, most people probably won't read back that far, so I'm adding a new post here. The original photo from which this "photoshopped" version was made has been found.The original version of the photo, posted here now includes the following: "This image is copyright 2004 Addison Godel. It is pending registration with the US Electronic Copyright Office." The "photoshopper" was Innocuous Fun.Snopes has included the photo in its internet hoax debunking list, here.I'm sorry that people were offended. I still think it's a funny bit of political satire, with the flag bikini and the gun, and the fellow in the background with the beer can and the cigarette. I heard someone joke the other day, "If Sarah Palin were President on 9/11 she would have personally hunted down Osama bin Laden and killed him with her own gun." There's a visceral part of each of us which responds favorably to the archetype of "Sarah Palin as Sarah Connor." This campaign isn't being fought over issues at the moment, if it ever was, or if any presidential campaign ever was; it's a battle of symbols, a war of metaphors. The Republicans have found another powerful emotional button to push, and if the McCain-Palin ticket actually wins, it won't be on the issues, it will be because people are scared enough by all the war rhetoric to want someone with a big gun standing in front of them, and because Sarah Palin is good at playing to that fear. |
lifewithlogan
|
11:55a |
Logan plays the pathos card Logan just played the sweetest little bit of "pick-me-up" pathos. As I was walking into my office, he rubbed his head against my pants leg and then, when I paused, he put his head down on the bottom of my pants leg, kinda pinning me in place until I picked him up. Words can't convey how adorable that gesture looked. He totally won, and is snoozing in my lap now. Current Mood:  amused |
| Friday, September 5th, 2008 |
wordweaverlynn
|
10:16p |
Blase Yes, I felt it, but said, "Oh, that's a quake," and went back to burning CDs for ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gramina. It wasn't that far from me, but it also wasn't big. Apparently a 4.0. |
davidkevin
|
9:08p |
No Values Voters' Looking To Support Most Evil Candidate 'No Values Voters' Looking To Support Most Evil Candidate' (Seems all too real, doesn't it?) EDITED TO SUBTRACT: Badly behaved embedded video removed per requests, leaving HTML link only. Sorry, I didn't know Onion video was programmed that way. Current Mood:  cynical |
destabee
|
4:31p |
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luscious_purple
|
2:33p |
Musings on randomness Thanks to all who responded to my post yesterday about e-mail vs. telephone. So far, R. hasn't called me and I haven't received any other e-mails from the recipients of my initial query. If R. doesn't call me some time this afternoon, I'll give him a ringy-dingy and see what's up. Not that I want to go to the MDRF tomorrow, with 3 to 8 inches of rain in the forecast.... Lately I have been spending time pondering things. I know that sometimes I'm not the best explainer of my own feelings. Partly that's due to my relentlessly just-the-facts-ma'am education and work experience; partly because I, for all my progressivity in the voting booth, am still just old-fashioned enough that I don't want to mention certain things on LJ. And not just what your id might think I mean by "certain things," but also stuff like attacks on people who aren't public figures. Every time I even hint that R. isn't a perfect person, I feel rather bad for dissing him behind his back -- he's been a friend to me for 24 years, even though we've had our ups and downs -- and yet sometimes I feels as if I need my own "reality check." Likewise with the boy toy. Sometimes we get along fine, and sometimes I want to vent, and here I am agonizing over what level of complaining is fine for LJ and what isn't. OK, so I'm rambling here.... Lately I've also been thinking about the various threads of my life and how they are all woven together into a tapestry. It's like flipping through the radio dial and coming across a kick-ass song you LOVED when you were younger and hadn't heard in years, and suddenly all the old memories rush back. And sometimes I am truly amazed at the level of randomness that has changed my life along the way. If I hadn't had this teacher ... if I hadn't had conversations with virtual strangers at McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts (in different years) ... if I didn't need someone to lace up my corset and no one was around ... how would my life have been more or less strange, quirky, lonely, wonderful? I guess everyone has these regrets once in a while -- remember how, after my last class reunion, one classmate whispered in my ear that he had asked the wrong girl to the prom? I guess I'm just in a strange thought vortex in which those little "If only I applied there ... If only I joined sooner ... If only I was there earlier ..." whispers keep running around in circles like puppies chasing their tails.... Current Mood:  contemplative |
lifewithlogan
|
8:13a |
More ironic song choices Jess pointed out to me last night that the song "Barracuda" was played at the Republican National Convention after John McCain's speech, apparently as a salute to Sarah Palin. I looked up the lyrics, and I notice that they include the following: "And if the real thing don't do the trick
You better make up something quick"Oh, and how about these lyrics? "No right, no wrong, selling a song, a name whisper game" and "Sell me, sell you, the porpoise said" .... According to CNN: Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart said Thursday night that Universal Music Publishing and Sony BMG have sent a cease and desist notice to the McCain-Palin campaign over their use of 'Barracuda.' "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored," the group said in a statement that said they "condemn" the use of the song at the Republican convention.Source: CNN article mentioning cease and desist notice Current Mood: amused |
wordweaverlynn
|
4:40a |
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lesliepear
|
7:26a |
Palin's children should take priority over being VP Penelope Trunk is a mother of two kids with special needs. She presents her thoughts on Sarah Palin's run for the vice presidency. My personal thoughts about Palin's run are similar to hers, actually. read more | digg story |
| Thursday, September 4th, 2008 |
destabee
|
10:36p |
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destabee
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7:33p |
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luscious_purple
|
6:47p |
The politics of skirts and heels... Some of you may have noticed my silence over the Sarah Palin nomination. Partly that's because I spent a couple of days away from the keyboard, and partly because I've been absorbed with my own activities and issues. Rest assured, though, I've been following the news quite keenly, and I agree with those who say that it's an insult to my brain to think that I might even consider voting for her just because she has female parts even though her views are antithetical to any vision I have for the future of the United States. *sigh* Some of my LJ friends, however, have been making fabulous points in non-friends-locked entries, so that I can share the goodness. Here's a sampling: * osewalrus kicks the Dems' mental butts for thinking like "whipped doggies" instead of WINNERS. Valuable lesson here. I tend to be guilty of pessimistic thinking myself -- after all, out of the seven presidential elections in which I have voted, the Democratic candidate has won exactly twice -- but maybe the trends really ARE with us. * maugorn, who is a perceptive person, noticed that Palin invokes her "fight" response when saying words like "love" and "compassion." Hmmm, fist-clenching is not what most "normal" people do when invoking love.... * herveus rightly calls Giuliani and Palin on their putdowns of the hard work Obama put in as a "community organizer" -- exactly the kind of work Jesus would have approved of. Don't forget to click on the link to the original blog post by Joe Klein. |
luscious_purple
|
2:57p |
It was 30 years ago today... ... that beatrixherald made her first appearance on the stage! Happy Round-Number Birthday, Beatrix!!! Have a joyous and prosperous decade and more!!!!! |
destabee
|
1:32p |
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ratkrycek
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10:20p |
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luscious_purple
|
12:52p |
You heard it here first...
... that Coronation has been canceled due to the storm Hanna. One of the GOOFs (Great Officers of State) just forwarded that news to one of the e-mail lists I'm on.
The Crowns will be handed to Their Highnesses at Chalice of the Sun God the following weekend.
(Gaah, I'm still such a journalist, I love running with a scoop....) |
luscious_purple
|
11:51a |
E-me, oh my... Question of the day: Do I rely too much on e-mail and not enough on the telephone when communicating with friends? What prompted this: Yesterday I sent out an e-mail to four of my friends with whom I've gone to the Maryland Renaissance Festival (MDRF) in the past. I thought I would get the ball rolling by sending them a list of the dates that I have available for going to the faire (excluding three SCA events) and then my friends could match those dates against their calendars and we could start a conversation going. So far, I haven't heard back from M., F., or H. (F. and H. are spouses.) R. wrote back just this: Please phone. We could coordinate that way.
Best wishes,
R.Now, I know that R. has said that he prefers to plan by phone, so maybe I'm just the one who is being pig-headed and stubborn. But I was thinking that doing a "first cut" by e-mail would be the most expeditious thing. That way, if F. and H. say, "Oh, we can't go at all this year because we are too involved with our son's Scout troop," or if none of us can go on, say, Columbus Day weekend, we can eliminate those choices right off the bat and then phone to deal with the nitty-gritty details of exactly when and where to meet. It also annoys me to try to phone three different households (or have them phone me) and carry on SEPARATE conversations about when and where to meet. It's not as if we can do it all on one big conference call, although if anyone has any ideas on how to conference people in on a personal phone line without spending a freaking fortune, I'm all ears. R. complains that he gets 50 or more e-mails a day. Well, guess what, so do I. I've gotten at least that many by now today, in three different languages, and it's only lunchtime. That's life in the 21st century. It's not as if R. is an online n00b either -- he was using the ARPAnet back in, oh, 1982. I love how e-mail is somewhat asynchronous -- you don't HAVE to be at your computer when the message comes through; you can take the time to look something up and get back to that person within a reasonable time frame, even though the person you're trying to contact might be sleeping or using the toilet or tied up in a meeting at that exact moment. I've noticed that when I call R. at his office, his voice sounds considerably more tense than when HE calls ME, and this always makes me wonder whether I've picked the wrong moment when his boss is standing next to his desk or something. (I don't know the ways of giant defense contractors.) Yeah, I remember how, 20 years ago, my Friday afternoons at work often consisted of a flurry of phone calls as The Gang (which included R. and M.) made plans for a movie night. Sometimes that could get confusing too, as phone calls got missed or person X talked to person Y before person Z, and once I even nearly got in trouble with the Reagan White House because of this (yes, folks, I started accumulating No S**t There I Was stories long before I joined the SCA). So, e-mail seems like a vast improvement to me. But then I walk one block to the Metro station and I see literally dozens of people yakking away on their cell phones. They can't all be asking their spouses what they need to buy at the store. Am I weird? Is it totally odd that I remember my friends' e-mail addresses but don't know their phone numbers? How do you decide when to use e-mail and when to pick up the phone with your personal friends? Current Mood: confused |
house_elf
|
1:14a |
gacked from several friends  |
| Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 |
lifewithlogan
|
8:03p |
I will be watching ....
I can't resist tuning in to watch Sarah Palin's speech at 10 PM tonight.
I've been thinking about the different world views that are confronting each other in this election. Any statement which begins: "There are two kinds of people in the world" is by definition oversimplified and inaccurate. There are, however, many different views of the world, ranging along a spectrum from fear, hostility and suspicion toward everyone and everything at one end, to indiscriminate acceptance of everyone and everything at the other, and I think that contrast is being illustrated very clearly this year.
There are so many ways to express that difference, but to me it seems that one world view is "us versus them," while the other is "we're all connected." Or, to put it a different way, one view is: "If it doesn't look like you, hunt it down and kill it before it kills you first," and the other is, "If it doesn't look like you, find out more about it, it might be really interesting."
Edited to add: I'm just enjoying the irony of "Footloose" - the theme from a movie which involved a small town where fundamentalists banned rock music and dancing - being played at the Republican National Convention just before Carly Fiorina's speech.
Edited again to add: Ken is recording it for me, so that I don't have to stay up waiting for Sarah Palin's speech. Jess starts at FMCC tomorrow morning! I'm going up to sleep, and for a change, I'm not going to take either of my cell phones upstairs with me. |
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chosenfamily