Ok, so I’m WAY behind in my blog- but I thought I’d get it started again after my dad asked if I could set one up for him. So, here’s a photo I took out of our window when Angel Island was on fire:
I guess you can click that to see the full image.
No promises about future blogging, but I had to post this-
I thought it was funny, but upon further reading I learned that in Portuguese, “Brazil” is spelled “Brasil”. I don’t know why we can’t all spell their country’s name the way they spell it.
This photo was taken with my new cell phone. I’ve definitely been enjoying the upgrade- it’s smaller in my pocket, has a camera, and bluetooth. I only use the bluetooth to get photos off of it, but it’s still cool. It was really cheap, too. After you’ve had the same cell phone with Sprint for over two years, they give you about $200 off a new phone.
I haven’t given up on this blog completely- I’ve just been doing other things. I recently went through the 1500 or so photos I’ve taken since I got my canon S3 IS digital camera, and I’ve put together a photo album.
They photos were mostly taken by me, one notable exception is the photo of me on my bike. This one was taken by a professional photographer, and I’ve re-weblished it here with his permission.
The major categories I have are People, Places, Animals, and Power Soccer. Power soccer people are people too, but they’re playing a sport so it’s set apart. The gallery is just a generic one for now, but it would be nice to organize it a little better in the future. Here’s the link-
Hey, I know I need to update the blog, it’s been forever and you all wonder if I’m still alive. Here’s photographic evidence that we’re actually alive and well:
I’m glad to say that this is one project that is finally over, hopefully with a happy ending. A long time ago, I forget the story that led up to it, Kendra asked me to make a stick with a hook on the end. With her old wheelchair it was really useful, and she used it to pick things up off of the ground and press dirty elevator buttons.
It was a good stick, but when she got her new chair storage became a problem. She used to keep it right next to her, but on the new chair the end of the stick wound up in an area with moving parts. The first time she used her tilt/recline, the end of the stick snapped off. I think the noise scared us both!
After that, I took a shot at building a two-part folding stick to replace it. I tried to keep using oak for the beauty of it, and a copper tube for the coupling, but I just couldn’t get it to work out. The sizes were just slightly off, and I didn’t have the tools to make things “just right”. In retrospect, I probably could have used the lathe at work, but hindsight is 20/20. We’ll see how the present stick works out.
The latest attempt at the two-part stick-with-a-hook is hollow fiberglass with a steel coupling, all covered in a black gloss enamel. Here’s a picture:
I think the finish makes it look a little like one of those magician’s wands I remember seeing as a kid… but I hope Kendra doesn’t see that, or she might think it’s too geeky. In reality, it’s a decent match for the finish of her chair. Here’s a close-up of the joint:
There’s a big thick elastic hair band in the center of the tube holding it all together, similar to a tent pole. It’s hard to see, but there are two tiny neodymium magnets attached to the steel, and held in place with electrical tape. This lets the stick attach fairly firmly to the chair’s steel tubing. I don’t think it’s going to fall out on any bumps or anything- she stores it on the inside of the armrest anyway, so hopefully that’ll keep it safe. If it breaks, I may try a visit to REI to see about actual replacement tent poles.
Action shots soon, maybe!
Time will tell if it’s durable, or if there is anything that would make it a better tool. I must say, it put a big silly grin on my face to watch her spend a solid ten minutes (see, you people need to hire her!) pulling the stick apart and then flipping it to the “open” position out and away from her :)
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