Take a look at the photo here. What type of people do you see? Factory workers? Auto workers hardened from years working in the foundry? Maybe workers from the railroad, experienced with sledge hammers and pick axes? Think again. They’re artists. Yep – art students at the Indianapolis Art Center learning the centuries old process of heating metal to a fluid state until it’s ready to pour in pre-made forms. I don’t pretend to know every step of the process but these students have been working on their creations for weeks, designing and developing – using sand and epoxy mix to create the mold in which this heated bronze is poured.
These students are learning this process strictly from an art standpoint. I can’t help but think of an automobile factory, creating cast-iron engine blocks using this same basic process (using iron of course). Where does this process come from? The Bronze Age? Fascinating learning experience. Once the metal is heated to about 2200 degrees Fahrenheit using this furnace, the container (there is a special name for this container – I forget) is lifted out and the metal is carefully poured into the molds. I have a bunch of photographs at this link, here are just a few:
personal
what I’m going to do this weekend. I left work at the normal time, walked into my house and put my bag down, changed my clothes and then stopped . . . and realized I have no plans, no appointments, no projects, nothing at all on my calendar. Excellent! That’s my perfect weekend!
So let me think . . . tonight, CSI from TiVo; tomorrow I’ll start with a workout on the elliptical followed by a check on whether the Art Center is actually going to hold their aluminum pour, then maybe poke around the garage a bit. I know, I’ll wash out the floor of the garage prior to the winter muck season. Of course all the required chores must get done as well – laundry, groceries, etc.
Maybe this’ll be the weekend I ready my accumulation of eBay worthy car parts, tech gadgets, old cell phones, etc. There, I’ve filled my weekend.
personal
I’ve been reluctant to write about this or even recommend what I’ve found to my family and friends. Why? I don’t want them to think I’m calling them fat.
I can describe my find with these words:
- motivational
- funny
- interesting
- inspirational
“Fat” has such a social stigma attached to it and Jennette Fulda has opened up and written about her struggles and victories. She simply puts it all out there in real terms, not afraid to talk about her flab in every way. I’ve read her blog over the past few days and have been reminded once again that anything is possible, you just have to find the right avenue and the right time. For the PastaQueen, blogging publicly kept her motivated through her weight loss and now she’s getting attention for her efforts.
So no, I’m not calling you fat. Take a look at the PastaQueen blog, maybe you’ll get inspired to do something good for yourself or others.
Daily Reads
I enjoy the change of seasons and do my best to celebrate appropriately. As the weather has changed over the past few days my instincts have led me to:
- Stop at Starbucks for a Venti Hot Chocolate (yes with whipped cream).
- Add split pea and bean with bacon soup to my shopping basket.
- Remove the window screens and wash the windows.
- Transfer my stack of sweat pants from the hall closet to my bedroom closet.
- Unfold and put the electric blanket on my bed.
- Replace the filter in the whole-house humidifier.
- Turn on the furnace and confirm its proper operation.
- Find my slipper-socks to keep my feet covered and warm.
The amazing part is that I do all this with no complaint and little to no planning. It just gets done!
personal
I did not catch this significant piece of news last week. One of my favorite authors and storytellers, Michael Crichton, died. His name is popular to many of us because of the movie Jurassic Park – but he was a well-known author as far back as 1969 with The Andromeda Strain. As you look through his list of novels, you see Hollywood picked up many and created movies based upon them. We are all very fortunate to have benefit of his many public contributions.
personal
Quick follow up to my post regarding my television needing a new projector lamp . . .
I followed the progress of my package via UPS Tracking, and it had been placed on the truck for delivery at 6:42 a.m. so I felt confident it would be on my doorstep when I arrived home from work about 5:30 p.m. Of all the things to look forward to all day long, the anticipation – I realize it doesn’t take much to add a little excitement to my day – I was checking the UPS site as I wrapped up my day at work and found that the lamp had not yet been delivered. Bummer. Should I stay at work awhile so the package would be awaiting my arrival? Or should I race home in case the delivery required a signature? Easy. I raced home.
Still no package. Another hour expired before the rumble of the brown truck signalled the new projector lamp was here! Now that I’ve intalled it (very simple) I realize the prior lamp may have been decreasing in intensity for quite a while. Why? Because the new lamp is freaking bright! Whites are much whiter, greens are much greener and blues are much bluer! I even double-checked my picture settings to be sure they had not changed. The newly-lit screen has a much more even brightness across its full width as well.
It’s almost like a brand new TV. I’m happy.
personal, technology
Last night about the time CNN was declaring Barack Obama the next President of the United States, my 4 year-old Toshiba DLP TV decided to celebrate with some fireworks of its own. With a loud “pop” the screen went black but the status lights on the front panel were speaking to me in some dot-dot-dot dash-dash-dash dot-dot-dot sequence. A power cycle continued the light show from the front panel, so I had to resort to watching the election returns via the CNN Election Central website.
According the the Toshiba owner’s manual I dug out of my filing cabinet, the projection lamp had expired. Much to my dismay, an affordable solution was found on the web – so, no new Plasma for me this Christmas.
A quick search found
DLP Lamps.com where I found the part I needed and placed my order. (I used Google Checkout for the first time and actually saved $5.00.) Some basic reseach found that this online retailer had excellent reviews and quick shipping. I’ll likely agree with those reviews, since I already have a UPS tracking number and the package is expected to arrive in a couple days.
So for now I’ll have to use my
Slingbox via a computer to watch TV, though I’m already missing the big screen. (Photo shows the graphic remains of the broken lamp.)
personal, technology
Winter in Indiana isn’t so much about snow and cold, it’s about holding on during the endless few months of gray days, holding on for the promise of spring. Today came the abrupt reminder that winter is here. As I walked out of the office late this afternoon I noticed to my shock that the sun had set and darkness was following closely behind. What? No more spending a couple hours outside after work, enjoying the remainder of the day?
Indeed, since Hoosiers now follow most of the rest of the country in turning back the clocks to observe Daylight Saving Time, darkness now comes earlier than I have become accustomed to during the long summer. And those clocks were turned back over the weekend, so today I drove home from work in near darkness.
So, it’s time to buckle down and hold on – winter has arrived.
personal
AutoWeek has been reminding me for the last several months that my magazine subscription is about to expire. I’ve been a long-time customer of theirs and fully planned on renewing my subscription. After three or four mailings requesting my renewal and two issues exclaiming “this is your last issue” via a cover wrap I decided to do something.
My normal course of action is to do some research first before paying the full price that is initially offered. First step was to pull up my account via AutoWeek.com and see if there was a renewal deal. Nope. Still $29.99 per year. I do think that’s a good value for 52 issues so I’d be willing to pay that . . . but searching and finding a better price via the Internet gives me some great sense of accomplishment. Not that I want to “stick it” to AutoWeek (I don’t), it’s really just fun to hunt down that cheaper price and then swoop in for the kill. (Hunting instinct carried out on the web?)
It’s my form of shopping, checking things out before I lay down the cash. So, after 5 minutes of Google searches, what did I pay for a year’s subscription? $9.32! Woo Hoo! If you like to hunt down deals like I do, a Google search is all it takes to save you some dough. By the way, I found this deal at
www.magazinemaster.com. For whatever reason, if you go directly to their website and search for AutoWeek, you don’t get the special pricing. But when you search via Google you get a special link that includes the coupon code. Enjoy your hunt!
finance, personal, technology
I voted today! Great experience, researching and finding information on the web – even watching YouTube videos from the local candidates. There is so much information readily available – you just have to be aware of what is wheat and what is chaff.
I heard that the state of Virginia expects a very high voter turnout – as much as 90%. Wow!
personal
Take a look at the photo here. What type of people do you see? Factory workers? Auto workers hardened from years working in the foundry? Maybe workers from the railroad, experienced with sledge hammers and pick axes? Think again. They’re artists. Yep – art students at the Indianapolis Art Center learning the centuries old process of heating metal to a fluid state until it’s ready to pour in pre-made forms. I don’t pretend to know every step of the process but these students have been working on their creations for weeks, designing and developing – using sand and epoxy mix to create the mold in which this heated bronze is poured.
These students are learning this process strictly from an art standpoint. I can’t help but think of an automobile factory, creating cast-iron engine blocks using this same basic process (using iron of course). Where does this process come from? The Bronze Age? Fascinating learning experience. Once the metal is heated to about 2200 degrees Fahrenheit using this furnace, the container (there is a special name for this container – I forget) is lifted out and the metal is carefully poured into the molds. I have a bunch of photographs at this link, here are just a few:
