Back in Holland, after a kinda short but extremely nice trip to Montpellier in France, where my incredibly beautiful and sweet girlfriend lives and studies.
Today the HKU started again, and we where introduced to our final year of school. I will participate in a project concerning our (apparent) disability to communicate with each other in public spaces. Which I have to say is true, but if I have to be honest, I contribute to this myself as well. If you find me in public transport (IF you do you are one lucky son of a bitch) I will probably be crowned by a set of large headphones (Sennheiser). So speaking to me or being spoken to by me is pretty much out of the question.
But ok, I guess we don't have to talk to each other all the time, but there is a equal lack of reason to not speak at all. So the coming weeks we will research this fact, and hopefully prototype some 'solutions' to this 'problem'. I happen to like prototyping. I do.
Speaking of which: I have been thinking about doing workshops concerning molding and casting using CNC machines and 2 component rubber or waxes. If anyone is interested in that, please let me know.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
So how do fish stay upright?
Today a good friend of Haakon, our lab manager, came back from 3 weeks on an oil-rig. Sören (that's him) normally works off-shore for 2 weeks, and then stays on land for 4 weeks. That's the way these oil-people roll here in Norway.
To welcome him home, we had a very nice fish dinner consisting of the Red snapper that he brought along, potatoes and broccoli. They taught me how to eat the fish head (not the whole thing obviously, but the tasty parts). which turned out to be quite the snack. I was kind of surprised to find they don't eat the eyes of the fish, but the part around the eyes does get eaten. Interesting feature of the fish: the whole head is easy to disassemble, almost like it has been build with that purpose in mind. Maybe there is a creator after all, and he is smiling on us happy humans, for we have used his intelligent fish-design like he intended. In the most tasty part (according to my teachers), the brain, there are two very small and sharp bones on either side:
These bones (which apparently are sharp enough to cut glass) are used by the fish for balancing. Maybe when there is time, I should do a how-to-disassemble-a-fish-head tutorial. Although I don't know how many people will actually use that.
I'm also still working on a recurve-bow I want to make. I guess I'll make a tutorial for that once I'm finished, for it might turn out to be interesting to more people.
To welcome him home, we had a very nice fish dinner consisting of the Red snapper that he brought along, potatoes and broccoli. They taught me how to eat the fish head (not the whole thing obviously, but the tasty parts). which turned out to be quite the snack. I was kind of surprised to find they don't eat the eyes of the fish, but the part around the eyes does get eaten. Interesting feature of the fish: the whole head is easy to disassemble, almost like it has been build with that purpose in mind. Maybe there is a creator after all, and he is smiling on us happy humans, for we have used his intelligent fish-design like he intended. In the most tasty part (according to my teachers), the brain, there are two very small and sharp bones on either side:
These bones (which apparently are sharp enough to cut glass) are used by the fish for balancing. Maybe when there is time, I should do a how-to-disassemble-a-fish-head tutorial. Although I don't know how many people will actually use that.
I'm also still working on a recurve-bow I want to make. I guess I'll make a tutorial for that once I'm finished, for it might turn out to be interesting to more people.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Outdoors
Yesterday Alex (my colleague from the De Waag Society) arrived at the lab. Haakon promised me we would go to Tromsø (where the airport is) a bit earlier, so we can have a look at his motorbike. It appears he owns an old BMW R70 bike... This guy just keeps amazing me, but since it was sunday, everything was closed... so we just had a nice fish meal.
The day before, Haakon, Johan, Aslak and I went on a little trip to the most northern part of the peninsula we are on. Where the land meets the sea, a lot of boats crashed. When the tides change, millions of liters of water flow from or into the fjord thus creating massive currents. Walking along the shore we encountered lots of wreckage, and even found a whole ship (well, whole... check out the pictures).
We also stopped at a little lighthouse to have some tea and found a can of joika (traditional sami reindeer meat) we decided to eat. It was such a nice place that both Johan and I agreed that we would go back there to leave new food, so it was ok to eat some of the stuff there.
It was nice and cosy:
The day before, Haakon, Johan, Aslak and I went on a little trip to the most northern part of the peninsula we are on. Where the land meets the sea, a lot of boats crashed. When the tides change, millions of liters of water flow from or into the fjord thus creating massive currents. Walking along the shore we encountered lots of wreckage, and even found a whole ship (well, whole... check out the pictures).
We also stopped at a little lighthouse to have some tea and found a can of joika (traditional sami reindeer meat) we decided to eat. It was such a nice place that both Johan and I agreed that we would go back there to leave new food, so it was ok to eat some of the stuff there.
It was nice and cosy:
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Fresh food
Days sort of seem to flow into each other when the light never goes out. Yesterday evening we (Johan, Kenny, Luis and I) decided to go fishing on the fjord with a borrowed boat, but before we went we had to put out a starting fire at the Shopbot (the CNC machine). It seems the machine missed some steps while running through a program, got stuck and made the vacuum suck up a couple of embers... which consequently started to smolder inside the machine. Mats (one of Haakons son's) came in after dinner and told us there was smoke coming from the Shopbot house... I think we where just in time.
So when that was over we packed our stuff and headed out onto the fjord, with two fishing rods. At first we didn't catch anything, so when we landed ashore at around 3.30 in the morning we found some mussels and cooked those as a snack. Cooking them on some damp seaweed you put on a open fire works fine, and gives the mussels a nice smokey flavor.
We then took the boat further onto the fjord and by chance discovered a really beautiful spot to fish. Kenny was the first to catch a pollock and shortly after I caught one as well. I took one raw bite of the fish (first time I bite a fish that is still wriggling) and cooked the rest in some seawater. We had some cooking pots with us so steaming the fish was really easy.
When Johan caught a fish as well we walked around the shore a bit (very nice and peaceful around 9 in the morning) and then took the boat back to shore (with a nice detour of course).
Being up most of the day and fishing all night makes you kind of sleepy, so this we slept from about 12 this morning till around 6.30. I'm now working on some timelapse footage I took, and will probably spend some time working on my bow design (I'm making a bow).
And it will not get dark...
So when that was over we packed our stuff and headed out onto the fjord, with two fishing rods. At first we didn't catch anything, so when we landed ashore at around 3.30 in the morning we found some mussels and cooked those as a snack. Cooking them on some damp seaweed you put on a open fire works fine, and gives the mussels a nice smokey flavor.
We then took the boat further onto the fjord and by chance discovered a really beautiful spot to fish. Kenny was the first to catch a pollock and shortly after I caught one as well. I took one raw bite of the fish (first time I bite a fish that is still wriggling) and cooked the rest in some seawater. We had some cooking pots with us so steaming the fish was really easy.
When Johan caught a fish as well we walked around the shore a bit (very nice and peaceful around 9 in the morning) and then took the boat back to shore (with a nice detour of course).
Being up most of the day and fishing all night makes you kind of sleepy, so this we slept from about 12 this morning till around 6.30. I'm now working on some timelapse footage I took, and will probably spend some time working on my bow design (I'm making a bow).
And it will not get dark...
Friday, June 27, 2008
Nice and slowly
So the guys here are still working on building a modular house. They made one from cardboard that looks really well... so this evening Haakon and I drove to some wood shop 2 hours from the lab to get them 1400 kilos of plywood to make the real thing.
It was a very pleasant trip, although the weather wasn't too good; a lot of rain these last couple of days, but that doesn't really matter, since there is enough to do inside.
Haakon promised me later today the it will improve and we will get a lot of sunshine. So I will go into the mountains this weekend, probably taking Aslak (Aili's brother) with me and perhaps Johan. We'll catch fish in the mountain lake and roast it on an open fire on top of the mountain.
Everything here is moving forward fast, but nice and slowly. Aslak played a lot of Fable (cool game, check it out) on my computer today, so I read about Python and just relaxed. Kenny just made some nice bread, and the sun will not go down.
It was a very pleasant trip, although the weather wasn't too good; a lot of rain these last couple of days, but that doesn't really matter, since there is enough to do inside.
Haakon promised me later today the it will improve and we will get a lot of sunshine. So I will go into the mountains this weekend, probably taking Aslak (Aili's brother) with me and perhaps Johan. We'll catch fish in the mountain lake and roast it on an open fire on top of the mountain.
Everything here is moving forward fast, but nice and slowly. Aslak played a lot of Fable (cool game, check it out) on my computer today, so I read about Python and just relaxed. Kenny just made some nice bread, and the sun will not go down.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Working, but ahead of time...
So I arrived safely in the lab in Norway... Got there and immediately got pulled towards the fjord with the guys here who made their own boats.
Guess what: they did float. So my Norway trip started floating on a quiet lake, between the mountains at the middle of the night, in perfect daylight.
Johan (on of the guys here) came up with a way of screen printing using the laser cutter and some anti-static bags in which they normally ship electronics, so I decided to make my own t-shirt. It worked out pretty well I must say. Check out the pictures below.
Norway is such a beautiful country, it never stops to amaze me. The mountains, the fresh air, the light 24 hours a day... It's just great being back here :)
Lasering the screen (attached to a wooden frame (also made with the laser))
The result after laser cutting (for the front of the shirt)
Put it on a shirt, wipe paint on it...
And there you go!
Guess what: they did float. So my Norway trip started floating on a quiet lake, between the mountains at the middle of the night, in perfect daylight.
Johan (on of the guys here) came up with a way of screen printing using the laser cutter and some anti-static bags in which they normally ship electronics, so I decided to make my own t-shirt. It worked out pretty well I must say. Check out the pictures below.
Norway is such a beautiful country, it never stops to amaze me. The mountains, the fresh air, the light 24 hours a day... It's just great being back here :)
Lasering the screen (attached to a wooden frame (also made with the laser))
The result after laser cutting (for the front of the shirt)
Put it on a shirt, wipe paint on it...
And there you go!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Loose ends again
So I'll be leaving for the Fablab in Norway again this monday. Just one more night shift (after the one I'm in now) and the plane takes off.
In Norway I'll continue on building a multitouch table using the FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection) technique as described here, help as much as I can during the Kokompy camp that is currently being held (about adding functionality and usability to the cad.py program that Neal Gershenfield wrote to control all the machines in the labs from one interface) and I want to try to make a longbow like this one with the shopbot (for the handle) and some kind of lamination process for the limbs.
But today I also bought a new sleeping bag (which supposedly keeps me warm even at minus 20) and a new travel backpack to go on a long trip in the mountains. It's time for some reading about the
.
and some quiet and calm moments up in the mountains.
As Laozi said:
Gravity is the source of lightness,
calm the master of haste.
In Norway I'll continue on building a multitouch table using the FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection) technique as described here, help as much as I can during the Kokompy camp that is currently being held (about adding functionality and usability to the cad.py program that Neal Gershenfield wrote to control all the machines in the labs from one interface) and I want to try to make a longbow like this one with the shopbot (for the handle) and some kind of lamination process for the limbs.
But today I also bought a new sleeping bag (which supposedly keeps me warm even at minus 20) and a new travel backpack to go on a long trip in the mountains. It's time for some reading about the
.and some quiet and calm moments up in the mountains.
As Laozi said:
Gravity is the source of lightness,
calm the master of haste.
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