The Fungi are Back

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Take a moment

Spring 2018 approaching

We went for a stroll through the neighborhood last week. I brought along my little point and shoot digital camera. Not because I had specific plans for anything. I try to carry the camera along with me for the opportunistic "just in case" scenario. Because I never know when I'll happen to see that really cool thing that calls to my attention. It is then and there where having the camera with me pays for it's worth in weight. Below are a couple of images I captured last week.

 Nothing spectacular really. Just a couple of images I caught of some California poppies in bloom. The iridescent, golden orange colors always catch my attention. Not always am I able to repeat the colors on my computer monitor after I upload the images. Today I think I came very close to achieving that goal.

Annoy-O-Bug

In a recent issue of Make magazine there was a nice little project called an Annoy-O-Bug. Very simple and cheap. The article listed all the parts and instructions on programming and assembly. Being a kind of geek, I took to the project with enthusiasm.

The device randomly emits a very short chirp. Sort of like a bird or a smoke alarm that needs it's battery replaced. The object of the device is to do this in such a way as to encourage the "victim" to start hunting for the source of the chirps. The goal is to hide the device and make the "chirps" far enough apart to make echo location difficult.

I've pranked one person already, but they were sort of alerted in advance. That way the hunt would be more of a game.

First I made one on a prototype breadboard. Then I made another one on a basic prototype board. Then I got inspired to see if I could make another one smaller. After that I became obsessed. Finally I made one about the size of a quarter. Not as thin of course, but just about that big of round. Here's the timeline of the rest of my progress.

 

 

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I've given one away to a friend to use for a little fun. The first one I have at home that Janet and I take turns hiding on each other. The remaining two others I'll use to prank some other friends. They're small. Not destructive. Cheap and actually kind of fun to make.

This last one is likely my last. I've got some other projects to make before Halloween. They'll be fun making and deploying.

Helping Hands tool

New and improved, deluxe version of the Helping Hands tool. I got tired, very quickly, of the cheapo version of the Helping Hands tool I use for doing soldering with with tiny parts and delicate wires. So I made some parts to give me more better control and allow for fine adjustments.

 This is the original working part of the Helping Hands tool.

It was awkward to set in position and it started rusting up within months. I kept the tool out in the garage where I have created my shop or "man cave" area.

 

The only part of the original Helping Hands tool that I've kept is the cast iron base. And even that I ended up dong a little maching to suit my needs. The rest are parts I ordered online, material I machined or parts from old sink drain controls.

 

I made an axial cut in the ends of the rods. Then I pressed the back of the clips into the cut and fixed them in place with some epoxy. Note shown in these images, but I've covered the two parts of the clip jaws with heat shrink tubing. That prevents the "teeth" from biting into the insulation of delicate wires. 

 

Plus! Since this is the Deluxe version, I made a second set of slightly larger clips for the tool. Now I can hold a couple of small parts together in a specific orientation  while they are being glued together.

 Overall, I'm totally pleased with how this project came together. Now I can use it to assist in making more projects. Which will, no doubt, lead to even more projects. The fun just never ends with everyday being a Saturday.

Quantum Fluctuations

Light, reflections and perspectives

Most recently we have had a closely spaced series of storms pass though our area. By itself that has not been a bad thing as we can use the rain. However, due to the rain we dropped our usual plans of driving around to look at the various homes adorned with holiday lights. At our home I have a very simple array of colored lights strung up under eves of our garage. It's not much, but if feels festive.

Then one evening while I was dashing across our patio between the house and the garage, I noticed the reflections of the lights in the rain water flowing across the patio. Then I noticed the reflections of the lights in the water puddling up along side the garage. Inspired, I went back in the house to grab my camera and tripod.

The following are some of the images I captured using some very, very slow shutter speeds. By using the slow shutter speeds, this allowed the reflections of the light to twist and dance in various patterns while the shutter was open. I thought the effect was very interesting. After I uploaded the images from my camera, I took advantage of a little artistic license by pushing the saturation and contrast of the images.

 

  

 

  

 

A few days later, we were given a break from the rain. The day was mostly sunny, so Janet and I did a little stroll over to a little creek not far from our place. Once again I was inspired by the way the water and light interacted to produce some interesting, abstract images of reality.

 

  

 

 

 After taking the images of the clear water in the creek, we continued for a stroll up the top of the near by hill. Along the way I noticed some tiny droplets of water suspended from a spider web. By positioning my little point and shoot digital camera in just the right spot, I was able to pick up some of the prism effect of the sunlight in the droplets of water.

 See what I mean? This was just way too cool to pass up. To me this is what life is about. Finding and experiencing all the interesting things out there that living has to offer. Why? Because when it's over, it's over. Everything intangible becomes ethereal. All the memories, the humor, the love, the sadness, the good times and bad. All of that will no longer mean a thing. All those electrical impulses which is our memory will be gone and lost as little more than evaporation of quantum heat. Anything beyond that is only a story we make up to comfort ourselves for fear of the end. I freely accept what ever labels that philosophy brands me as because in the scheme of the universe the memories of one creature on a rock orbiting a star in the body of some average size galaxy in a universe full of galaxies does not add up to anything significant. The only thing that matters is now, because we live in the present.

I don't believe there is some cosmic energy watching over the universe making rulings of justice on every atom in every dimension making sure good triumphs over evil. Good and evil are purely human constructs. It is our choice to abide by those mores because we are judged only by our fellow beings and only by those in the present.