What I've been doing with myself

Alright, its been long enough that I should make another go at updating my blog.
I've been sick for the past two days with a sinus infection and I did not help by working in a poorly ventilated workshop.  So my imaginary readers you might be asking "What have you been doing?!!" well I can say with some pleasure that I've been making designing and working on a lot of different projects.

 I started working on a Garden to grow some basic foods I could eat at my new home.

The Garden is made up of two beds side by with with about a foot of walking space in between each other.

I planted some Apple Mint  along with some flowers in the supporting bricks to bring in some bugs that I would want to help fight off the bugs I didn't want.

My Garden grew rather quickly and I was left with a good number of jalapeno, tomato, carrots, okra (Thank you Emily), & and a guets Cantaloupe vine (just popped up out of the Æther)

I also made this little jewel, a project I need to get back to as its gone ignored for a few months now.  This is a Copper Condenser used for science'y stuff... 

I also tried my hand at making a a reagent kit, I was very successful at this.

  I also made some more rings!  a completely new method of doing it too, I made a plaster cast and melted down of lead free solder into it.
I have 11g of raw silver that I plan on using to make a real ring soon.

I also have been to another burn or two!

A feed of nice things.

Brown Dress With White Dots (Tumbler Feed)


This photo is thanks to a rather low profile feed I follow Called 'Brown Dress With White Bots, it features simple one photo posts that are examples of some fantastic design and aesthetic.


A Great way to get inspired or just spend some time looking at nice things.

This old stale blog

 Once upon a there was a blog that just showed pictures of abandoned places around the world.
its been a long time since there was a new post into this blog but every now and then I open the bookmark and I run though these abandoned worlds.

I really enjoy this blog and cant say enough how I really wish there was more content.  Walking through theses photos is like exploring another part of the world.



I want to leave you with a few gems from this blog here is a Church that Found its Self in Lava & Abandoned acoustic mirrors

TED: How to tie your shoes

 Before I watched this video I thought this man was going to attack the way I tied my shoes and I was going to hiss and fuss about how he was dumb.  Turns out that there are two ways to tie the knot that we use on our shoes.  The first and wrong/weak way will end with the knot aligning its vertically while the second and right/strong way ends with the knot aligning its self horizontally.


Terry Moore the director of the Radius Foundation, found out he'd been tying his shoes the wrong way his whole life. In the spirit of TED, he takes the stage to share a better way. (Historical note: This was the very first 3-minute audience talk given from the TED stage, in 2005.)

Zombie Apocalypse 101

In hopes that reading this article you will learn something about preparation for a real emergency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have prepared a zombie outbreak preparation guide.

"What should I do to prepare myself?!"
Well not much if your a Burner. If you are you more than likely have most of this stuff stored away for your next burn.. For those less fortunate I would recomend acquiring the items in the following CDC recommended list.

• Water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
• Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
• Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
• Sanitation and Hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
• Clothing and Bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
• Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
• First Aid supplies (although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane)

For a Full list of Items you should have in a emergency kit please take a look at the CDC's Emergency Kit page

"How would the CDC treat the zombie apocalypse?" you might ask.
"If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation. This assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine). It’s likely that an investigation of this scenario would seek to accomplish several goals: determine the cause of the illness, the source of the infection/virus/toxin, learn how it is transmitted and how readily it is spread, how to break the cycle of transmission and thus prevent further cases, and how patients can best be treated. Not only would scientists be working to identify the cause and cure of the zombie outbreak, but CDC and other federal agencies would send medical teams and first responders to help those in affected areas (I will be volunteering the young nameless disease detectives for the field work)."

To learn more about what CDC does to prepare for and respond to emergencies of all kinds, visit:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/cdc/orgs_progs.asp

To learn more about how you can prepare for and stay safe during an emergency visit:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/

To download a badge like the one above that you can add to your social networking profile, blog, website, or email signature visit:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies.asp

You + Chickens + Dallas

Stonewall gardens is Hosting a Chicken Coop Tour in Dallas. The idea of chickens in our urban sprawl is getting more and more popular and if you want to learn more Sunday, May 22, 2011 from 11:00 to 5:00 is your chance to do so! See what they will be doing and where

Stonewall Gardens is based with in Jackson Elementary and you very well might have seen it if you have ever driven along Mockingbird Ln east of 635.  Started 15 years ago following budget cuts within the DISD that ended all funding for the garden program but it is now maintained by a non-profit group made up of volunteers and students.

Intellectual Ventures Lab & Climate Control Systems.

A proposed system to control the effects of global warming by Intellectual Ventures Lab. Our planet is getting warmer this is a fact that is ringing true on both sides of the "global warming" argument and its either us or just us leaving a ice age at this point it doesn't really matter.  We have come to enjoy our cool wet springs and we don't want to see them turn into hot springs that phase into burning hot summers.
Lets start being honest no one is making this device nor did they plan to, then why write this paper on how to do it and its effects?  because we need to start looking at the problems that we might be causing and seeing if we can find a solution to them.  If we wait to find out that "oh wait it was us" its going to be too late.


"What is the StratoShield?
The StratoShield is one possible way to respond to a climate 
emergency in which greenhouse warming becomes intolerable. The StratoShield would reverse greenhouse warming by slightly reducing the amount of solar radiation that hits the Earth. The shield does this by increasing the amount of sulfur aerosols injected into the stratosphere by about 1%, a process that happens naturally whenever volcanoes erupt. The aerosols reflect incoming sunlight back into space. Although the change in sunlight would be imperceptible to human eyes—and probably beneficial for plants—it would have a substantial cooling effect for the part of the Earth under the shield"

Changes Have Begun on 635/LBJ Freeway!

Congestion Relief – In 1969 I-635 was built to accommodate 180,000 vehicles per day. Today, in the project area, average daily traffic counts exceed 270,000 vehicles. Future corridor traffic demand is estimated to exceed 450,000 vehicles by the year 2020. 

I-635 New LBJ – Project Overview from the Texas Department of Transportation What we can expect from the plans outlined is that 635 will have new frontage roads along the entire length of the new construction zone and six new "Managed HOV" lanes.
The hopes are that it will relieve the already heavy congestion of this freeway and pave the way for better Air Quality.

The "LBJ EXPRESS PROJECT TRACKER" of this Spring states that construction has already begun on as of January 2011 and has a anticipated substantial completion date: 2016.

Managed HOV lanes?
Managed lanes are a Tollways that have a reduced price if you meet the normal HOV lane requirements allowing for those who want to pay a option to skip ahead and those who carpool to save while also getting ahead.

TxDOT has been awarded the rights to maintain the new lengths of free/tollway for the next 52 years,
the total cost of the project is $5.7 Billion ( $850 million provided by the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan)

Drinking with Daddy

Ahhhh Drinking with ones father, its somthing of a rite of passage, ya?

My father stops into town every now and then on his way to Tulsa and we go over to Snuffers and grab a beer or two and talk about what ever is going on.  During my fathers most recent visit I informed him that I was “The Second Coming” of him since I look almost exactly like him. (I have a photo of him sitting on a stuffed tiger that everyone thinks is me)

I’ve been attempting to work on my Saab 900 (1985 or 86 one of the two), well I need to change the alternator, should be easy right? well not so much because the last mechanic tightened the tension arm WAAAAAAY to tight, this is already a pet peeve of mine I hate it when people tighten things too tight, there is no need too and you risk damaging the thing you are working on.  This bolt has stopped me from being able to get the car to a point that my father could drive it away and leaving me the jeep… luckily I talked him into taking my Sunfire in exchange for the jeep.

I am mobile again.

Goodnight imaginary people who read my blog~

New things out of trash

I started with this

A roll of carpet I found outside some rich persons house.

I then cut and sized it down to this, a full sized shag rug.  You might think “oh carpet that will make a horrible rug” well think again.

I have played with the idea of adding trim to the outside of the rug to make it look more “Professional”, here is a bit of scrap I attempted to add it on to to see what it looked like.

Bicycle Seats hurt my butt

Riding around white rock lake is one of the most relaxing things… well I think so at least.

well thats as long as you don’t get a flat tire. >:|
I have a loaner bike I keep at the house, its made up of parts from trash bikes so it works… kinda..  Friends had come by to do a late night(ish) ride of the rock and things were going great till about half way though I find out the loaner is and has been flat. I dont have much of a choice at this point so I swap bikes and start to ride this bike with a flat front tire the rest of the ohhh four miles? I was fine until the very last stretch when I started to become not fine and by the time I we were done I was gasping for air…

got drinks afterward and it made up for it entirely.