One of the New York "finger lakes"?

 

And it is all for me

 

One of the New York "finger lakes"?

You guys are pretty good. It's Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, NY.

 

And it is all for me

Thanks for that. It's funny--I've been really craving sushi lately, yet I've never had it before. I never liked the idea of eating raw fish (I've always had a sensitive stomach when it comes to raw meat--can't even have burgers or steaks any less done than medium-well). I told myself I would never eat sushi, but just about a month ago, out of nowhere, I started craving it. Still trying to find a good source here in my neck of the woods. A coworker of mine brought some with him to work and it turned out to be spoiled, so it turned me off to the place he bought his. I suppose I'll give it a try when I find a good shop, though.

 

I'm back in my home town of Thetford, Vermont for the Christmas and Holiday season. Been able to enjoy some of the gorgeous views again. You really get to miss them when you live in the city for a while. Thought I'd post a few, just to share with you all.
This is a spot just down the road from me, on the Connecticut River. It's a campground-resort, great place to stay if you want to spend a weekend here:



--Matt

I was born and raised 1/2 mile from the Conneticut river in Chicopee MA, and in the '60's I used to hunt Vermont just north of White River Junction.
Left in '78 to move to TN.

 

Thanks for that. It's funny--I've been really craving sushi lately, yet I've never had it before. I never liked the idea of eating raw fish (I've always had a sensitive stomach when it comes to raw meat--can't even have burgers or steaks any less done than medium-well). I told myself I would never eat sushi, but just about a month ago, out of nowhere, I started craving it. Still trying to find a good source here in my neck of the woods. A coworker of mine brought some with him to work and it turned out to be spoiled, so it turned me off to the place he bought his. I suppose I'll give it a try when I find a good shop, though.

My GF and I started eating sushi a few years ago. Straight out of the blue, we both *had* to try it. Where I live, there are 2 restaurants that is only serving sushi. We've tried both, but one of them is slightly better.

 

Yesterday EESTEC organized a small manufacturing contest at my university school. No beforehand specifications. I joined with two other friend in a group.

When it started we were told that we had to build a USB fan out of:

• 1x toilet paper carton roll
• 2x CD disks
• 1x 5V DC motor
• 1x bottle cork
• 1x candle (ressau type)

Available tools where:

• Pair of scissors
• Super glue
• Lighter
• Whatever was on our lab benches

We built it in about an hour; We won and were given a 4GB USB drive each, but that's not the point.


In total at about 10 teams of 3-5 members participated. Mostly students from smaller years (I 'm running on the 6th now).


I was amazed that some teams didn't manage to build the fan.


Most teams didn't have a laptop with them to test their rigs, so many of them came to my pal's and asked if they could use its port. He asked "Did you test for short circuits?" Not wanting to blow his USB port. He got a glare full of question in return. "Did you check if those two power wires touch with each other?" He insisted. "Oh! Yeah, sure, they don't!". "How do you know?". "I can see them!". Sigh...


And the final blow came at the end of the contest. Most teams left their benches in a mess of wires and broken CD shards, expecting someone else to clean up after them.


I remember that I couldn't tell the power wires in a USB cable when I was 19, but I was greatly disappointed yesterday by my colleagues.

 

Yesterday EESTEC organized a small manufacturing contest at my university school. No beforehand specifications. I joined with two other friend in a group.

When it started we were told that we had to build a USB fan out of:

• 1x toilet paper carton roll
• 2x CD disks
• 1x 5V DC motor
• 1x bottle cork
• 1x candle (ressau type)

Available tools where:

• Pair of scissors
• Super glue
• Lighter
• Whatever was on our lab benches

We built it in about an hour; We won and were given a 4GB USB drive each, but that's not the point.


In total at about 10 teams of 3-5 members participated. Mostly students from smaller years (I 'm running on the 6th now).


I was amazed that some teams didn't manage to build the fan.


Most teams didn't have a laptop with them to test their rigs, so many of them came to my pal's and asked if they could use its port. He asked "Did you test for short circuits?" Not wanting to blow his USB port. He got a glare full of question in return. "Did you check if those two power wires touch with each other?" He insisted. "Oh! Yeah, sure, they don't!". "How do you know?". "I can see them!". Sigh...


And the final blow came at the end of the contest. Most teams left their benches in a mess of wires and broken CD shards, expecting someone else to clean up after them.


I remember that I couldn't tell the power wires in a USB cable when I was 19, but I was greatly disappointed yesterday by my colleagues.

I love it, Geo!

Very clever!

 

Next project would be to get the candle to power the fan.

 

If you all have a Bonefish grill, try the Ahi Tuna Sushimi. Mmmmmm..

 

I've always loved the idea of "MacGyvering" things. Not long ago I repaired a hole in the wall with a toilet paper tube, staples, and a thin layer of spackle. Used a flap from a cardboard box to smooth it out, painted it by mixing a couple of sample cans of Behr paint to match the color. Spent a total of about $4 on a repair that would normally cost $50-$75. That's only one example of the many things I've thrown together

 

Next project would be to get the candle to power the fan.

I don't know what the candle is for. Doesn't the USB power the motor which turns the blade? And I assume the wine cork is just filler.

 

The cork is there to act as an adapter between the DC motor shaft and the CD disk.

We were told to use as many materials as possible. When we asked about the candle, we were told "You 're definitely going to need it". We kinda used it when we lit it to bend the fan wings instead of using a lighter, but, yeah, it's totally out of place.
We like to say that the whole contraption doubles as an emergency light too.

 

The cork is there to act as an adapter between the DC motor shaft and the CD disk.

We were told to use as many materials as possible. When we asked about the candle, we were told "You 're definitely going to need it". We kinda used it when we lit it to bend the fan wings instead of using a lighter, but, yeah, it's totally out of place.
We like to say that the whole contraption doubles as an emergency light too.

It's a mini-heater

 

We thought about using the candle as an option for heating. However:
If you put the candle in front or behind the fan it would blow out
If you put it under the fan, the heat was negligible
so in the end we scratched the idea.

 

My Grandpa would have responded, about the candle, "That's for people like you to ask questions about"

 

 

This is where we went with my family yesterday: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Plastiras

It's a man-made lake with a hydroelectric plant on it's lower dam.

There aren't almost any lakes in Greece and the "lake culture" is practically non-existent.

Here are some more photos from the Greek Wikipedia article:

There was snow on its shores when we went yesterday.

P.S. For some reason the first image doesn't want to reach the final post. Here's the link: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Озеро_Пластира.JPG/800px-Озеро_Пластира.JPG

 

Here's a few photos from Fuerteventura, where I was about a week ago:

 

Well it looks like I'm going to be pummeled by a nor'easter tonight and tomorrow. Think I heard 14-20 inches of snow overnight. Luckily I don't have to go anywhere!

I'll take some pics after the storm.