Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Where "the rubber hits the road"
Christianity - It's not just for old men in funny hats arguing endless theological minutiae... Oft-times the spirit of Christ really does express himself in those of us who claim to follow him!
Toilet Paper Folder
The caption on Youtube with this video says:
This is a project that me and my friends built for school (UC Berkeley). Its made of lego mindstorms, scissors, and some scrap metal. With all things considered, I think it turned out alright. Not only does it fold your paper for you, it also cuts it. It would be the perfect accessory for a fancy, high-tech, Japanese bathroom! This video shows two test runs; the first run works well, while the second one could have gone a little smoother...
This is a project that me and my friends built for school (UC Berkeley). Its made of lego mindstorms, scissors, and some scrap metal. With all things considered, I think it turned out alright. Not only does it fold your paper for you, it also cuts it. It would be the perfect accessory for a fancy, high-tech, Japanese bathroom! This video shows two test runs; the first run works well, while the second one could have gone a little smoother...
Musical musings...
I'm thinking about upgrading my DD-55 electronic drum to a Handsonic 10 (or 15?)... If I want to get serious about playing more music, especially live, it would be a good way to up the ante while remaining fully portable.
At first I would be using mainly the 'acoustic drumkit' sounds to do what I already do, this unit does open up many new possibilities. Here are two examples of 'exploratory electronic hand percussion'.... :
While the above Hansonic items are "what we all hope/think we will play like" This is more likely what I'll sound like until I add the hard work of learning and practicing (i.e. the largest part of 'inspiration' is 'persperation'...). I'll keep you posted...
At first I would be using mainly the 'acoustic drumkit' sounds to do what I already do, this unit does open up many new possibilities. Here are two examples of 'exploratory electronic hand percussion'.... :
While the above Hansonic items are "what we all hope/think we will play like" This is more likely what I'll sound like until I add the hard work of learning and practicing (i.e. the largest part of 'inspiration' is 'persperation'...). I'll keep you posted...
Friday, March 16, 2007
You can't make this stuff up...
When I read local history books, I discover so many colourful characters and situations, I think there is fodder and inspiration there for a hundred works of fiction... You can't make up more intriguing and story-worthy people and events than reality already provides. For example - some stories from the book:
Black Diamond City: Nanaimo - The Victorian Era
- Jan Peterson
pg. 30
"The Harpooner arrived in Fort Victoria on May 31, 1849 ...
Aboard the ship was the first independent settler, the colourful Captain Walter Colquhoun Grant, the son of the Duke of Wellington's chief intelligence officer at Waterloo and late of the Scots Greys. Captain Grant, 26-years old and 6 feet 2 inches tall, was penniless when he convinced the HBC (Hudson's Bay Co.) he was a competent land surveyor and was appointed colonial surveyor. He brought with him the necessities of a colony gentleman: eight labourers, coaches and carriages for non-existent roads, and sets of cricket equipment for non-existent playing fields. He also had one distinct disadvantage for the job -- he lacked a sense of direction and got lost on several occasions. He did, however, manage to complete a few surveys, but they were noted for their lack of accuracy. Grant settled in the wilderness at Sooke, about twenty miles from the fort. He named his homestead Mullachard after his ancestral home in Strathspey, Scotland.
---------
The same ship also brought the Muirs and McGregors://
pg. 31
The Muirs and McGregors were experienced miners who took great pride in their work and who did not take well to doing the mundane chores they were assigned at Fort Rupert. Living conditions were not what they expected from their contract, and the coal proved to be inferior. They were also apprehensive about the large Kwagiulth village of Ku-Kultz nearby. Their fear may have arisen from m their first impressions at Fort Rupert. For the day after their arrival, a raid had just been completed on a neighbouring tribe. Sixteen war canoes were drawn up on the beach and sixteen poles erected. Each pole had a human head displayed: trophies from their earlier encounter. Ann Muir, the older woman in the group, was the first white woman seen in the area, She was shown great respect by being offered a choice of any two of the sixteen heads.
----------
pg. 31
On March 24, 1850 another ship arrived at Fort Victoria with more immigrants. ... Aboard were 80 immigrants including miners and their families under contract and destined fro Fort Rupert. Their arrival almost doubled the population of Vancouver Island. //If we ignore those "pesky" Kwagiulth... sic// One of the new comers was Dr. John Sebastian Helmeken, a man who would make a mark on British Columbia political history. He was the second doctor to arrive in Victoria, the first being Dr. Alfred Benson. Dr. Helmecken claimed he was "the leading physician from San Francisco to the North Pole, and from Asia to the Red River." This had been a difficult voyage due to a smallpox outbreak The ship was quarantined for three weeks while Dr. Helmeken treated six cases of smallpox. The one unvaccinated man died at sea. ....
Dr. Helmeken had signed on with the HBC for five years in 1849 as a surgeon and clerk at a salary of 100 pounds sterling per year. This included room and board, instruments, and a free passage home.
...
The Miner's Strike at Fort Rupert
...Before long the Scottish miners staged a strike, the first such labour unrest in British Columbia's history... The strike erupted when Andrew Muir and John McGregor were ordered to dig a drain. The men asked for clarification of their contract. If they were to be used as labourers, then the contract should state this, and they would do it. Blenkinsop took the offensive position, threatening the men with sword and pistol. McGregor and Muir reluctantly went back to work on the drain. Four days later Andrew was charged with neglect of duty and fined 50 pounds. // half the Dr.'s annual salary?!!// Since no one seemed to please the management, the miners decided to stop work until the matter was settled.
There were pleas from McNeill and Blenkinsop for the men to return to work. But Andrew and John refused and were placed in irons where they remained for six days without a bed or cloting to keep them warm. Governor Blanshard heard of the problem in Fort Victoria and appointed Dr. Helmecken as a justice of the peace. The dispute escalated and when the barque 'England' arrived to take on coal, the miners had decided they would head for the California gold mines if they could be released from their contract. When this was refused, they slipped away from the fort and boarded the ship. Only Jon Muir, Sr., his son Michael, and their families were left behind until they were transferred to work the coal in Nanaimo. Muir and McGregor went to San Francisco but within a year they returned to Victoria. Andrew Muir was made the first sheriff of Vancouver Island and John McGregor became the chief inspector of mines. In 1852, the HBC welcomed them back to Nanaimo.
Helmeken submitted his resignation to HBC Chief Factor James Douglas in 1850 claiming there was too much trouble at Fort Rupert, and he feared fro his life since there was not protection against the 3,000 Kwagiulth in the area. He threatened to leave the HBC's service unless he could be moved.
Visiting ships provided the only relief and amusement for the isolated fort. One crew of a visiting American ship conferred on Dr. Helmeken the humorous title of honorary member of the "Independent Order of Antediluvian Eccentrics" under the name and title of "Superannuated Rhubard."
Helmecken got his wish and was transferred back to Victoria. His place was secured in the HBC hierarchy when he married Douglas' daughter Ceciliea in December 1852.
Much to Douglas' dismay, the Fort Rupert experience had been less than successful. When news of the labour trouble reached headquarers in London, Douglas received a letter severely reprimanding the actions of Captain McNeill and the other officials there.
Black Diamond City: Nanaimo - The Victorian Era
- Jan Peterson
pg. 30
"The Harpooner arrived in Fort Victoria on May 31, 1849 ...
Aboard the ship was the first independent settler, the colourful Captain Walter Colquhoun Grant, the son of the Duke of Wellington's chief intelligence officer at Waterloo and late of the Scots Greys. Captain Grant, 26-years old and 6 feet 2 inches tall, was penniless when he convinced the HBC (Hudson's Bay Co.) he was a competent land surveyor and was appointed colonial surveyor. He brought with him the necessities of a colony gentleman: eight labourers, coaches and carriages for non-existent roads, and sets of cricket equipment for non-existent playing fields. He also had one distinct disadvantage for the job -- he lacked a sense of direction and got lost on several occasions. He did, however, manage to complete a few surveys, but they were noted for their lack of accuracy. Grant settled in the wilderness at Sooke, about twenty miles from the fort. He named his homestead Mullachard after his ancestral home in Strathspey, Scotland.
---------
The same ship also brought the Muirs and McGregors://
pg. 31
The Muirs and McGregors were experienced miners who took great pride in their work and who did not take well to doing the mundane chores they were assigned at Fort Rupert. Living conditions were not what they expected from their contract, and the coal proved to be inferior. They were also apprehensive about the large Kwagiulth village of Ku-Kultz nearby. Their fear may have arisen from m their first impressions at Fort Rupert. For the day after their arrival, a raid had just been completed on a neighbouring tribe. Sixteen war canoes were drawn up on the beach and sixteen poles erected. Each pole had a human head displayed: trophies from their earlier encounter. Ann Muir, the older woman in the group, was the first white woman seen in the area, She was shown great respect by being offered a choice of any two of the sixteen heads.
----------
pg. 31
On March 24, 1850 another ship arrived at Fort Victoria with more immigrants. ... Aboard were 80 immigrants including miners and their families under contract and destined fro Fort Rupert. Their arrival almost doubled the population of Vancouver Island. //If we ignore those "pesky" Kwagiulth... sic// One of the new comers was Dr. John Sebastian Helmeken, a man who would make a mark on British Columbia political history. He was the second doctor to arrive in Victoria, the first being Dr. Alfred Benson. Dr. Helmecken claimed he was "the leading physician from San Francisco to the North Pole, and from Asia to the Red River." This had been a difficult voyage due to a smallpox outbreak The ship was quarantined for three weeks while Dr. Helmeken treated six cases of smallpox. The one unvaccinated man died at sea. ....
Dr. Helmeken had signed on with the HBC for five years in 1849 as a surgeon and clerk at a salary of 100 pounds sterling per year. This included room and board, instruments, and a free passage home.
...
The Miner's Strike at Fort Rupert
...Before long the Scottish miners staged a strike, the first such labour unrest in British Columbia's history... The strike erupted when Andrew Muir and John McGregor were ordered to dig a drain. The men asked for clarification of their contract. If they were to be used as labourers, then the contract should state this, and they would do it. Blenkinsop took the offensive position, threatening the men with sword and pistol. McGregor and Muir reluctantly went back to work on the drain. Four days later Andrew was charged with neglect of duty and fined 50 pounds. // half the Dr.'s annual salary?!!// Since no one seemed to please the management, the miners decided to stop work until the matter was settled.
There were pleas from McNeill and Blenkinsop for the men to return to work. But Andrew and John refused and were placed in irons where they remained for six days without a bed or cloting to keep them warm. Governor Blanshard heard of the problem in Fort Victoria and appointed Dr. Helmecken as a justice of the peace. The dispute escalated and when the barque 'England' arrived to take on coal, the miners had decided they would head for the California gold mines if they could be released from their contract. When this was refused, they slipped away from the fort and boarded the ship. Only Jon Muir, Sr., his son Michael, and their families were left behind until they were transferred to work the coal in Nanaimo. Muir and McGregor went to San Francisco but within a year they returned to Victoria. Andrew Muir was made the first sheriff of Vancouver Island and John McGregor became the chief inspector of mines. In 1852, the HBC welcomed them back to Nanaimo.
Helmeken submitted his resignation to HBC Chief Factor James Douglas in 1850 claiming there was too much trouble at Fort Rupert, and he feared fro his life since there was not protection against the 3,000 Kwagiulth in the area. He threatened to leave the HBC's service unless he could be moved.
Visiting ships provided the only relief and amusement for the isolated fort. One crew of a visiting American ship conferred on Dr. Helmeken the humorous title of honorary member of the "Independent Order of Antediluvian Eccentrics" under the name and title of "Superannuated Rhubard."
Helmecken got his wish and was transferred back to Victoria. His place was secured in the HBC hierarchy when he married Douglas' daughter Ceciliea in December 1852.
Much to Douglas' dismay, the Fort Rupert experience had been less than successful. When news of the labour trouble reached headquarers in London, Douglas received a letter severely reprimanding the actions of Captain McNeill and the other officials there.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Mann in Space 01
Captain Hugh Mann and the crew of the Indestructible 2 desperately try to power up the hyper-space engines before the enemy arrives!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
