Tim Long

Things I built with the packing crate from my HomeDome #3

Episode 3: Rustic Bookcase

Well here is the latest installment of the recycling saga of the HomeDome packing crate. It just seemed too good to throw away! Here I have constructed a nice "rustic" book shelf for my wife Grace. Everything is cut from the base panel and part of one of the side panels of the crate. The white paint is exterior satin, the same pot of paint I used to paint the observatory.

Attached to the side of the bookshelf is a little cubby hole for the computer monitor (you can just see it in the bottom left of the photo) which provides a convenient stand for speakers, PDAs, USB hubs and other such paraphernalia.

That brings us up to date - the bookcase was built just two weeks ago. I still have a sizable piece of plywood and some 2x4 left over, who knows what it will get turned into? Oh - the small bits of 2x4 and plywood offcuts got burned in my log-burning stove and helped to heat the house.

If you've built anything from your HomeDome packing crate or put it to an interesting use, post a comment and let me know.

Things I built with the packing crate from my HomeDome #2

Episode two in the recycling saga of the HomeDome packing crate. Item number two - the walls of my observatory. Some of the 2x4 timber that makes the frame of the packing crate found its way into the walls as studs.

The stud more-or-less central in this photo is one of several used. The 2x4 from the packing crate is planed timber whereas the stock I bought here in UK was rough sawn, so is slightly thicker. I thought I was saving money buying rough sawn timber but later discovered I could get planed 2x4s cheaper! What a shocker. I think the stuff from the crate might be treated with preservative, too. Come back in 100 years and we'll see which ones rotted first ;-)

Concrete or Steel pier?

I have a 35cm/14" diameter solid concrete pier, approx 1.5m/5ft from ground level. The footing is about 1m/3ft cubed and isolated from the slab. The pier is reinforced with rebar. I wish I could say it was "rock solid" but I find the results a bit disappointing. The concrete is definitely not as solid as I expected it to be. I can make it 'ring' by thumping it with my hand and I suspect the fundamental is much closer to something that can be excited by (say) a slewing telescope than would be the case with a steel pier. Having lived with it about a year, if I could design it again, I would not use concrete again. At the time, concrete was economical and easy to obtain and work with so it made sense. In hindsight, I would try a bit harder to find a similar diameter steel pier, probably bolt-down rather than embedded so it could be removed and/or resized later.

My conclusion: a nice fat steel peer has to be the way to go.

Things I built with the packing crate from my HomeDome #1

When I received my HomeDome from Technical Innovations, I was left with a large packing crate made of 4x2 and plywood. It seemed too good to throw away so I spent ages pulling out all the nails and have been busy recycling most of the wood for various purposes. The first thing I used was some of the plywood, which I used to build the floor of my observatory. A couple of generous coats of wood preserver on the underside and the endges all sealed with PVA wood glue diluted with water and painted on. Here, you can see the hired help (aka. my Mum) applying the wood preservative.
And here's the finished product, being tested for strength [;)] by (left to right) my wife Grace, my Dad and my Mum.

Every journey begins with a single step

When I created this blog, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I'm still not. I have a plethora of new jargon to learn about: RSS, trackback, permalink. The light bulb is only just starting to turn on. But so many influential people are doing this, there must be something in it. I must be missing something. Businesses use the term 'viral marketing' whatever that means, so I started a business blog too. I'm sure I will find out what all this stuff means and the best way is just to start, to begin blogging myself before the wave passes me by. Apparently news agencies like this medium too, they like to get press releases using RSS feeds (OK I admit it, I already know what RSS means).

This is something a little alien to me. I have always been a slightly introverted and reflective person, if a little impulsive at times. I have plenty of opinions, which as my friends will know I am not afraid to express, but being the center of attention is a feeling that makes me uncomfortable. In a gathering of people, especially strangers, I always find it more interesting to listen than to talk. What do I have to say that people could possibly be interested in? One of the hazzards of knowing a lot of intellignet and interesting people ;-) So now, suddenly with this blog, I am in a position where I can say whatever I like and potentially millions of people will listen. It is an uncomfortable feeling, both because I'm not sure if I have anything interesting to say and because I am a little afraid that even if I write things, no-one wil read it. It is tempting to measure one's self by the statistics of hits, referrals, trackbacks, pings, comments and other such terms. However, I decided I am going to do this; I will step outside of my comfort zone and just do it, whether or not anyone reads it. I will assume I am the most interesting person in the world and everyone wants to know what I think. Here is a medium where I can have my say, uninterrupted and with absolutely no competition for 'air time'. Whether anyone reads it or not is really secondary. The act of creating this thing is an opportunity for reflection and a permanent record of my path through life. I have to condition myself not to worry about who is reading it. Maybe this will be good for me.

I actually did start blogging a few months ago using my Sharepoint server, but while the blog workspace does work OK, it seems to lack some of the important interconnectivity features of other blog servers. So I decided to start again, with a clean slate, using this new server by Telligent Systems. Like we sometimes do in software development, do something once then having learned lessons, throw it all away and start again, doing it much better the second time.

I've created blogs for some of my other family members, my mum (Ann) and my wife Grace. Whether they'll use them, only time will tell. I also have a company blog, for my IT business, TiGra Networks. Another experiment I started was a photo gallery for amateur astronomers.

The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

• John Ronald Reuel Tolkien