Another Presentation

Last week i presented to CST 155 on data center power and cooling - here are the slides. Only 9 slides but the presentation took 40 minutes, guess you needed to be there. Instructor says he'd like this to be a repeating event; maybe next time i'll add some gfx, that way i don't have to be as entertaining.

How to say

How to say goodbye to a good friend?



This is the memorial i built for Gato Simba Roque. The tree is a Franklinia Alatamaha, an American tree that has an interesting history - named after Benjamin Franklin - and no longer exists in the wild. It is said to be difficult to grow, so the bed is specially prepared, mixed to a 3' depth with lots of compost and acidic modifiers, plus a small combination french drain/dry well to prevent standing water.


The base is two layers of 4x4's, five layers of 1x4's, one more layer of 4x4's and a 1x6 cap covered in copper and soldered at the mitered corners. All the wood is pressured treated and the layers are connected to each other and the ground by 2' long 3/8" rebar at the corners and in the middle, plus the 1x4 layers are connected by 3.5" screws (dimensional lumber, 1" really equals .75" so 3.5" screws goes through all 5 layers). Those 1x4's... their placement/stain/crown combines a couple mnemonic codes that spell out a couple phrases related to this project. But the real gem is in the cap: on top of the wood i carved an epitaph in a font specially made for this memorial.



The hand-drawn font is somewhat styled after Engravers MT but redone to reflect Gato's essence. I hope to make it into a real font, something i've never done before.




This rubbing was made shortly before i covered the cap in copper.

The idea is one of change over time. My hope is that the copper will wear differently over the carved letters than it will in other spots, so that over time the letters will slowly appear, perhaps only a hint of the letters in spots, perhaps all the letter in others, so that twenty years from now visitors might wonder if their eyes are fooling them - are those really words on that metal's surface?

The overall colour of the wood will change over time as well. The stain will fade and the rebar should rust in an even pattern around the base. I've also placed nails (not galvanized or otherwise weather-resistant) in certain places to add distinct rust stains. Plus the copper should streak some green as it patinas.

Yes, the design contains a lot of conjecture, a lot of effort for something that might not work, but for Gato i'm happy to have put in the hours.

Dead Cat No Fun

The last photo of Gato Simba Roque alive.

He died September 12, 2011. I had him killed because his cancer advanced to the point where the last 2 days he could not eat or drink, could barely walk a few steps without collapsing, gazed into the nothingness, and was just generally unresponsive. He only meowed once in his last three days - when i loaded him in the car to go to the vet.

Shortly after i took this photo my mother called me from Addis Ababa, so her and my father were able to say goodbye to him. It was the first time in days that i saw him lift his head and look around.




Gato was a very distinct cat, and the kind that makes anthropomorphism easy. More than a friend, he was a mentor and guide, and seemingly in touch with his Buddha nature. He was there when i dropped out of school, the first time i shaved my head, through all the failed relationships, and more - for 17 years he took all our emotions and turned them into purrs.

I made his coffin out of some spare wood, wrapped him in a cushion cover my mom made, rested his head over a can of tuna, and put his legs around some dry food, toys, seven coins, and some other trinkets. He is being buried in an undisclosed location in Michigan.



I miss him so much.

Berlin Dreams

Spent the night in an apartment built on top of Hilter's bunker, where he commited suicide. It was restful sleep; ain't no problems here no more.

Housing Density

Impromptu conversation with an appropriately named coworker reminded me about the bees, the solitary bees. Just in time for the season, i'm making a few bee boxes.



3 4x4's (scrap i'd kept for way too long) cut 5" wide and glued together, the top one then cut at 45°. Both sides are drilled 3-4" deep according to this plan (1/8", 1/4" and 3/8" holes). The holes are offset so as to not intersect, though i really need a drill press to avoid intersecting tunnels. Top is plywood covered in copper with a 1" overhang to keep them dry.

Still waiting for inhabitants, this housing market really is slow.

Update, Part IV

The project that got away. The one sidewalk slab that leads immediately up to my house is badly cracked. Whoever did it last thought an inch thick slab on top of plain ol' dirt would suffice. Could replace with a properly poured slab, but that sounded a little boring. Instead, a Sacred Cows convinced me to pattern out some concrete pavers.



The arrow pattern points towards the steps in an inviting way, while the words inform that the owner might not be so inviting. The brick shaped pavers should complement the bricks already laid to either side of the slab, while the colour should differentiate from either side while blending with the rest of the sidewalk. Or something like that.



I probably should have rented something to cut those bricks with, instead i bought a pitcher chisel and hand-chiseled the triangles out. Hopefully the shoddy workmanship will look "worn" instead of "crappy".

Unfortunately it took me too long to get all those cut, and the ground is now frozen. Will have to wait until next year to finish this up.

Update, Part III

All that lawn work left me a little tired so i hired a company to install me some new gutters. It's an old house so half-round copper seemed the only way to go, despite the 7x cost. Luckily it's been years since i've had car payments and associated costs, saving me much money for projects like this.



Already dropping too much on the project, i also added in some nice curlicue brackets. Gives it all a nice, detailed touch.



With the change in material outside the house, i also had to replace the outside lamps to match a little better, as well as redo the outside steps. Still need to get a matching kickplate and doorknob.

In about 20-30 years it'll look quite nice, maybe get some burnt orange paint to complement the future patina.