I took a frisbee full of change to the Coin$tar machine this morning. Wanna guess how much it was? Here's some info:
- It was a regulation ultimate frisbee disc
- It was an equal mix of coins (quarters, dimes, nickels & pennies)
- A frisbee holds a lot!
- The frisbee was heaping with coins (can you have a coin meniscus?)
It's spring! At least, every other day is spring. The other half of the days are blustery, cold and rainy. I guess in Boston, that qualifies as spring.
Using the info I got from AR2 robotics, I powered up some of the servo motors from the robot arm - they run great! There's still lots of work before I've got a functioning arm, and even then I have to figure out what good it'll do.
In the meantime, there're quite a few other projects on the docket, including a knitting device for my aunt, the optics machine for my dad, Rif's piano bench, and my coffee table. Yikes! It's gonna be a busy summer.
It's a sad day. Nina Simone was quite an accomplished artist, and will be missed.
Check out pictures from this weekend's frisbee escapade here.
I also added some new pictures to the robot arm project page. I'm trying to figure out what parts of the old controller electronics I need to keep and what can be junked. Needless to say, I'm not gonna junk the sweet instrument panels. Those'll make a great halloween costume or party conversation piece one day. Or they'll just take up space in my garage. Whatever.
I played with X-Mojo (yep, not Love Child) yesterday at the Nor'easterns 2003 ultimate tournament in Falmouth. We did well! Check out the results here (note: although they conveniently left out our score for the last game, it was close - 13-9). Look for a few pictures soon.
I put up some pictures from the Chicago trip - you can check 'em out here. It's a great place, and I wish we'd had more time there.
Two good links:
- The Straight Dope - Cecil tackles such questions as "Is uranium added to false teeth to give them a natural glow?" and "How do I go about creating a zombie?". But really, there are some good questions answered there.
- Sky Scrapers - All the info (and pictures) on sky scrapers you could ever want.
I'm back from a wonderful weekend in Chicago. I think the recorded voice on the CTA subway said it best when it said, "This is Grand."
Some highlights:
- the weather was beautiful
- the Doubletree Suites downtown was fantastic, as well as reasonably priced with the stay-free-Sunday-night deal
- I'd highly recommend the architectural tour by boat
- the Art Institute is wonderful
- great food at the Mambo Grill and Indian Garden (with bangain bharta to die for)
- a visit to East Lakeview that included great brunch (the name of the restaurant escapes me, however) and one of the best vintage stores, Silver Moon, I've ever visited
The new car is still a joy - mileage is way up this days, and averaging about 50 to 55 MPG on my 20 mile commute to work.
Frisbee season starts this weekend. Finally some exercise!
Inspired by AWAD, here's a clerihew for 'W':
President G. W. Bush
has cronies and a life quite cush.
Deep in the jungle we glimpse
W at home with the chimps.
Someone left a magazine lying around the office this morning, something like Harley World or Harley Davidson Fan Club Magazine or Motorcycle Rider by Day, Organ Donor by Night Weekly. There was an advertisement in the back for this company. Yikes!
As you might have guessed, I'm pretty anti-motorcycle - basically I think you're asking for it if you're riding one. There are just too many circumstances in which, as the motorcycle rider, you could do everything in your power to avoid an accident and still end up squished, and that's no good. Everyone I know who's ridden one has had at least one accident, and even the smallest of accidents is one heck of a big deal on a bike.
Okay. Rant's over. Nothing to see here folks...
In the past few days, something "clicked" (not literally, thankfully) in my car, and the mileage has really improved. The average has been steadily increasing, and this morning appeared to be around 50 MPG on the highway. Sweet!
I added some pictures of the new car and a few links to the car page. I still find myself thrilled with the car, which I've dubbed 'Bridget (hy-brid => 'brid => 'Bridget), and I'm also getting much better quickly at driving a manual shift car. My mileage is around 40 miles per gallon, and will improve as I get better at driving the car, as the car is broken in, and as the weather gets warmer.
I'm off to Chicago this weekend. Plans for my time there include an architectural tour of the city by boat as well as a visit to the Art Institute. Any other suggestions?
I picked up my new car last night! I put up just a few of my initial impressions here - I'll post some pictures and more information soon. So far, 40 MPG and improving!
Even The Onion is against this war. It's a rare thing that the Pope, the Dixie Chicks and the Onion are all on the same side about a particular issue - Bush should take this (among tons of other things) as a sign he might not be right.
I get my new car today! I can't wait! Only seven and a half more hours to go...
Bingos from Scrabble last night:
- PrINTER
- LOoPING
- SHADiER
- PLANERS