Other Hobbies / Interests

[SwedeSport]

Worked on the track layout today again. Cut and attached all the elevation risers. I used 1x2 and 1x4 to make the framework of the platform. I attached the road bed made from luan, then the panels for the flat parts of the landscape. I bought some poly fleece fabric from Wally World. Ill staple it down to create the sloped areas. Ill brush polyester resin onto that to create a firm landscape surface. Imperfections get filled with drywall compound. Everything gets sanded then painted. The track will be screwed to the roadbed surface.

[SwedeSport]

Fleece fabric stapled to the wood frame to creat the topography.

[Geoff]

That's pretty neat! When I wanted elevation changes and topography as a kid I used to put the track on top of some shoes and lay down a green blanket.

[SwedeSport]

For a temporary track on the living room floor, we did the same. Blocks of wood, shoes, books, whatever we could find. This setup is intended to be a little more permanent.

I plan to add some detail into the layout. The cliff in the center will get some rock face texture. Possibly some roadway painted onto the surface to create a "paddock" area. The rest will get painted grass green and have "Lawn Flakes" broadcast into the paint. I have some plastic trees from a train set that will add a little landscape texture.

I plan to give this to my nephew for his 4th birthday. His mommy bitched that I'm getting him hooked on expensive toys way too soon.

[DrewP]

Did you mention to her that you're into it like $15 and some hours?

Way less expensive than one of those iDroidGamePad things that they all have now anyway. Elementary school kids with iPhones... crazy crazy world.

[SwedeSport]

Im in deeper than that. At the end it will probably top 100.00. The used set cost 15.00 @ the yardsale, but wood, and fabric, and other supplies are adding up.

I think she was referring to the downward spiral that begins when little boys discover their fascination with cars.

[DrewP]

Haha, I missed that. I bet since she saw what that's done to you her feelings are justified... 8)

[Geoff]

Just remind her that it could be worse. Last night we saw a couple in a bar that had brought their two year old and had trained him to punch daddy in the face. It may just be me but I think toy cars are a better option.

[SwedeSport]

I plan to wait til my nephew is at least 6 before I teach him how to start a bar brawl.

[SwedeSport]

Trying to overcome a major fail on the track layout.

I soaked the fabric in epoxy resin, and let it sit for several days to harden before I tried to overcoat it with polyester resin. There must be some incompatibility between the two, as the poly resin never kicked. This is in spite of mixing the batch with twice as much hardener than the recommended mix.

I tried squirting more hardener over the surface, and even tried using a spray bottle with MEK to kick the batch. To no avail. The best result I got so far was to overcoat the piece with another super hot batch of resin. That hardened up but because the underlying coats did not, the top layer just cracks when I touch it.

I tried to bake it in the sun for a few days, maybe not to harden it as much as to let the VOC outgas. As it sits right now, I question whether I should let a 4 year old play with something made of uncured fiberglass that has been soaked in MEK.

[Geoff]

I tried to bake it in the sun for a few days, maybe not to harden it as much as to let the VOC outgas. As it sits right now, I question whether I should let a 4 year old play with something made of uncured fiberglass that has been soaked in MEK.

[Jordan]

I tried to bake it in the sun for a few days, maybe not to harden it as much as to let the VOC outgas. As it sits right now, I question whether I should let a 4 year old play with something made of uncured fiberglass that has been soaked in MEK.

[kuponut]

Did you mention to her that you're into it like $15 and some hours?

Way less expensive than one of those iDroidGamePad things that they all have now anyway. Elementary school kids with iPhones... crazy crazy world.

I just read these forums, but I thought this was interesting.

I work in Sound&Comm. Technology Division of a local Electrical Company. In the past year, over a 9~ month period, a few of us installed installed approx. 30 wireless access points per school in a well-to-do school district. There were maybe around 20 schools or so? It included all elementary, middle, and high schools in the disctrict. Each device costs about $500, and that doesn't include the license key per device, master control switch for the entire network, and however much they charge per quarter or month to run the network. Each school was bid between $30K and $50K for equipment and labor.

I was told by the staff in more than one school that the district plans to get a bunch of ipads and try some learning on that.

If they can find a way to teach better this way, I guess its worth it. I personally view it as a waste and very inefficient, but I prefer a hardwired connection anyhow and have virtually no need for a cellphone, much less a smart phone.

(If you have a gmail account, you can get a phone number assigned to it using GoogleVoice and make calls from your computer for free within US and Canada, though they ominously add "through the end of 2012" so mayhaps they will add a fee... you can also link your gmail number with your own cell number, so when someone calls your gmail, it will forward it to your cell as well. So you can make and recieve calls from your computer... just need a mic. You get to pick your phone number, so you could also get a phone number with "SAAB" or "Turbo" or whatever in the number, you can choose any area code as well, not just your own.)


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[Crazyswede]

Did you mention to her that you're into it like $15 and some hours?

Way less expensive than one of those iDroidGamePad things that they all have now anyway. Elementary school kids with iPhones... crazy crazy world.

I just read these forums, but I thought this was interesting.

I work in Sound&Comm. Technology Division of a local Electrical Company. In the past year, over a 9~ month period, a few of us installed installed approx. 30 wireless access points per school in a well-to-do school district. There were maybe around 20 schools or so? It included all elementary, middle, and high schools in the disctrict. Each device costs about $500, and that doesn't include the license key per device, master control switch for the entire network, and however much they charge per quarter or month to run the network. Each school was bid between $30K and $50K for equipment and labor.

I was told by the staff in more than one school that the district plans to get a bunch of ipads and try some learning on that.

If they can find a way to teach better this way, I guess its worth it. I personally view it as a waste and very inefficient, but I prefer a hardwired connection anyhow and have virtually no need for a cellphone, much less a smart phone.

(If you have a gmail account, you can get a phone number assigned to it using GoogleVoice and make calls from your computer for free within US and Canada, though they ominously add "through the end of 2012" so mayhaps they will add a fee... you can also link your gmail number with your own cell number, so when someone calls your gmail, it will forward it to your cell as well. So you can make and recieve calls from your computer... just need a mic. You get to pick your phone number, so you could also get a phone number with "SAAB" or "Turbo" or whatever in the number, you can choose any area code as well, not just your own.)


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But I dont want any SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAMMITY SPAM SPAMMITY SPAM

[sjones]

I've been working on this 1955 International Harvester project since 2006 with my telephone pioneer chapter. Its in North Bend and we only work on it Fridays in the Summer. It was a former Bell System line truck and was used to plant telephone poles and spool cable.