00717, Tree

An ongoing project is to make lots of boxes with things in. They'll go on a wall in the office I work in, but would equally be at home on any interior flat vertical surface with enough space.

Unsurprisingly.

q

00714, Tiny cosmonaut

Cosmonaut is a much better word than astronaut (IMHFO).

In no particular order, here's the 'making of' images from the nice camera:

00702, Fibonacci clock

So Rob (the one from work) sent me an email to say that he'd seen a Fibonacci Clock online, saying (or typing) "Reckon you could make me one of these?".

He didn't really mean it.

But I made him one anyway:

 

 

Arduino Nano and NeoPixels with capacitive touch sensor.

It's not really a clock as such, more a timer. You twiddle the knob to zero (all white) and touch the top of the box, at which point it counts up in five second increments. You set the time with the knob, touch the top of the box and it counts down to zero. You twiddle the knob while it's timing and everything stops.

Good thing he didn't ask me to make heavy ordinance. Can't help myself, can I?

00701, Secret Santa 2015

So Christmas came round again, which was nice.

My first thought was that I should probably not bother this time, but within a day I was lost.

Perhaps it would be better if they just told me about it the day before the office party, that way, I'd have no other option but to buy something instead of doing this:

 

 

 



 

Arduino and capacitive touch with 3 groups of LEDs dimmed by PWM.

Possibly the strangest thing is that I'd never before met the lady who got it. I met her at the do and subsequently never saw her again.

Naturally I wouldn't countenance doing it again. Probably.

00677 Balls

Secret Santa this year and the anti's been upped. It's a man in a box picking up balls of light. As usual.

 

 

 

 

00665 Tower on a rock in a box

It was supposed to be a Secret Santa, but it just got waaaaay out of hand.

The documentation reads as follows:

Operation manual

Thank you for choosing or unwittingly receiving

Tower on a Rock

The box is made of reclaimed timber from a shed in Perelle
The glass is from a greenhouse behind the Fermain Tavern
The three pebbles are

from Petit Port

 

 

 

The instructions, such as they are, read like this:

The on/off switch is located at the back of the box. Switch down to turn on.
Once the box is turned on you can switch on the light by placing one of your fingers on each of the coins on the top of the box.
Two or more people can turn on the light by holding hands and forming a line. The people at either end of the line can then each place a finger from their free hand on one of the coins.
Note: any flesh contact will work, but always observe basic rules of hygiene and decency.
The box also works as a lamp, but because of the hasty nature in which it was assembled, it will only function for around 5 minutes at a time before the power regulator overheats and shuts itself down. To operate from mains power, plug the power supply into the socket on the back of the box and switch on the power supply. Then switch on the box.
Do not touch the coins when the power supply is connected as this will shorten the lifetime of the LED.
It is also recommended that the lamp should not be left on for extended periods of time as it's probably really dangerous to do so.
The box is battery operated and the battery can be replaced by removing the back plate. To access the battery, place your finger in the hole on the left hand side of the back plate and pull as if hinged near the switch. Replace the back plate using the same procedure in reverse.

Should the light begin to flicker, do not be alarmed. The voltage regulator is overheating and needs to cool down. Leave it for a while and it will go back to working normally.

00458 Xmas boxes

I sent a load of boxes to a gallery called Cry of the Gulls in Cornwall and forgot to take any pictures of the guys before they went in. Still, they came out alright. The spotlight attachments are awesome, if you're into spotlight attachments.

They'll be on sale and everything!

00455 I dream of boxes

And when I wake up in the morning I SEE THEM TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For me there is no escape, even if I shut my eyes, I'm struck by the irony that I'm closing the lids.

So it seems that even if it's the little people who go in the boxes, I'M THE ONE WHO'S REALLY TRAPPED!

00452 Ladder jig

Did you ever need to make tiny ladders but they just turned out too damn fiddly and time consuming? Then the Ladderman Pro (TM) is for you!

Ladderman Pro includes all the unique features that we've all come to expect from the Ladderman brand:

• Easy to use
• Nails stuck in a piece of wood
• Quick and easy
• Easy and quick
• Did I say easy?
• Easy

See the results for yourself:

No more crying and banging your fists on the table because you can't make enough tiny ladders and the nasty people are coming to get the ladders that you promised them, but you haven't got them finished yet.

"I used to get so worked up when it took me days to make tiny ladders. Not any more! Now I make them all day" - name withheld by family.

"Probably the best tiny ladder making tool not on the market today" - tiny ladders decenniall.

Don't wait, the Ladderman Pro is a limited edition and this offer (of which there is none) can't last for ever (so much so that it doesn't exist).

Biscuits and tea not included. Terms and conditions apply. Your house may be at risk if you make tiny ladders, lose your mind and get carted away by well intentioned medical practitioners called in by your concerned family who have finally realised that you now pose a danger to them, yourself and society at large.

00450 The end of the Summer

The hols anyway.

And with that, there always comes a slightly reduced volume of this:

Probably means there'll be more of this:

My inner geek embraces the coming winter.