Laguna Day - Eve Gets a New CNC Machine

Today was a big day here as we got a major shipment. Eve has heard me talking about CNC machines for quite awhile... and once she saw that they could be used for wood it didn't take long for her to realize that if she had one it would speed up the production of things she could make.

This machine has a water cooled spindle... that means it can run for hours without ever overheating. Getting it into the shop was a big deal... it was about 425 pounds (193 Kg) so I had to pull a favor from my buddy Wolf to get it in here.

Wolf also helped me get the shelves up for the controller and water cooling system as well as get it onto the table I built. We were able to get it completely set up and begin testing... very soon we should have video of it in action too. For now... here is Eve showing off her new machine.



The shop is really getting to a high level of completion... soon I'll be able to have friends over for classes and build sessions.

Stay tuned for more!

Sitting in St Louis - 2013

Hard to believe it's 2013 already, and February at that. I'm assigned here in the St Louis area to do some programming for the local Police/Fire, etc. I've been here a week with one more to go. It was a good thing... as I wanted to get to my storage unit and see if there were any small items I could bring back, and perhaps get rid of a few things that I know I'll never use again. Looking at the little 10x15 foot space, it's hard to believe how much is still in there... some things were expensive, but purchased for another life that is no longer a part of me. I wish I could give someone local a key and have them sell some of the things... but everyone here has a life of their own. I'll do what I can... some will end up back in Texas, and I'll have to deal with it there... some will just end up in the dumpster. Friday is a meeting with the robot group again... I'll cram as much electronic stuff as I can into the car and let them pick through it... whatever is left will get tossed.

I got to visit with family and friends, even attend one of the ROBOMO robotics meetings which are now held at the Science Center near downtown. It was great to see the guys again... some of whom did not know that I was in town... I did a presentation just like old times, that was nice. Unfortunately, being at the Science Center... when the meeting was over everyone just went home. When we held the meeting at the library, afterward we would all go to the Chinese Buffet down the street for lunch and have a great time laughing and telling stories. I miss that. I will say that now in Texas I have that again... slightly different... we meet in the evening, so several of us (I all us the Rat Pack) will meet for dinner first... then hit the meeting. So I still get the comradery that I need.

I taught myself a new but familiar programming language... BASIC-4-Android. And to date I have created 3 applications and published two if them. One is a simple link that allows people to jump to my YouTube page... if anyone actually downloads it I'll be surprised... more of a test to see IF I could do it or not. The other may actually be useful to some people... it's DEAFCOM, written to help someone speak to deaf people. It listens to what you say, then converts it to simple text. I still need to figure out how the deaf person could easily communicate back... typing is a pain... and they usually can't speak... so I have a riddle to solve.

So... it's Sunday... it snowed last night and it's cold outside. I was going to hit the storage unit again and go through more stuff... but it's too damned cold and I just don't feel like it right now. I think instead I'll do some laundry and work on some video that I want to produce. I also am designing a new camera jib crane... so I have stuff to occupy my mind for the rest of the day... and it is kind of nice to just have a quiet day to myself.