Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[RED-DOG]

How much money have you really saved though? How much of your time was spent from start to finish and how much would that time cost you in real terms?

I knew someone once who decided to save money by building his own, relatively small, kitchen extension. This was so he didn't have to pay a builder £200/day. Now this friend of mine was a self employed computer engineer which meant if he didn't work he didn't get paid. He took 2 weeks off to complete a job that would have taken an experienced builder 5 days to complete. His time off cost him £3000. For an intelligent bloke he weren't half thick.

You have a point, bu it's not as if there is automatically something better I could be doing with my time.

For someone like me, who doesn't have a job as such, it's a case of a penny saved is a penny earned.

[RED-DOG]

have you seen the film the Martian?

i think you would really love it. great engineering and science core to the film. very very good entertainment too (survival and rescue etc etc)

I want to see it, Mrs Red not too sure.

No more info please, I'm scared to death of spoilers.

Saw this last night Rich, typical Ridley Scott offering. Enjoyed it. Thought Sean Bean was badly mis-cast and totally out of place though.

[TightEnd]

agree with that, hadn't thought about it but it was odd casting

Matt Damon is a great actor i think, proper hollywood action star

[bobAlike]

How much money have you really saved though? How much of your time was spent from start to finish and how much would that time cost you in real terms?

I knew someone once who decided to save money by building his own, relatively small, kitchen extension. This was so he didn't have to pay a builder £200/day. Now this friend of mine was a self employed computer engineer which meant if he didn't work he didn't get paid. He took 2 weeks off to complete a job that would have taken an experienced builder 5 days to complete. His time off cost him £3000. For an intelligent bloke he weren't half thick.

You have a point, bu it's not as if there is automatically something better I could be doing with my time.

For someone like me, who doesn't have a job as such, it's a case of a penny saved is a penny earned.

I suppose there is always that satisfying feeling of doing something yourself that you can't easily put a price on.

[Rod Paradise]

A quick update - the window is now soldered, so I could lift it off the workboard & put it on the lightbox:

Click to see full-size image.

Polishing, grouting, blacking the lead & trimming to go before fitting it in the window. I can see every mistake still, but overall I'm delighted with it.

It's looking very professional now Rodders. I can't see the mistakes, you will have to point them out.

Do you have ideas for your next project yet?

You can't see them in the pic, some messy solders, some of the glass only just in the groove of the lead instead of seated properly in. Thankfully the soldering & then blacking cover a multitude of sins....

I've a design for above my front door of an otter chasing a fish, also got plans of a couple of different panels for friends. Lastly I'm really tempted to try the tiffany technique for a lamp...

Click to see full-size image.

I know the artist online & he's offered to share the pattern, but it'll be a LOT of work.

[RED-DOG]

Go on Rod. You know you want to.

[RED-DOG]

It's no wonder people have no common sense. The need to think for themselves is being taken away by big brother.

The blokes from the forestry commission have been working in a remote part of Fosse Meadows. During the day they have a small fire going, we're talking like about two feet wide.

When they have finished for the day, they let the fire go out but before they can leave the ashes, they have to erect a barrier to prevent people from accessing them and getting dirty or hurting themselves.

[booder]

It's no wonder people have no common sense. The need to think for themselves is being taken away by big brother.

The blokes from the forestry commission have been working in a remote part of Fosse Meadows. During the day they have a small fire going, we're talking like about two feet wide.

When they have finished for the day, they let the fire go out but before they can leave the ashes, they have to erect a barrier to prevent people from accessing them and getting dirty or hurting themselves.

I wouldn't like to be a child growing up with all the ridiculous H & S Laws in present day Britain.

I feel privelidged to have had the childhood i had.

[Rod Paradise]

Go on Rod. You know you want to.

I really do!! Need to order a pattern form from the USA first. I was reading up on the technique & had to laugh that the Tiffany lamps are worth so much, when the company invented them as a way to use up scrap glass.

[RED-DOG]

When I was a little boy of about 7 or 8, I would usually go to work with my mam or my dad, but occasionally I would be left at home under the supervision of my Granny Annie, or as I knew her, my little Granny.

On this particular day there was no one in the camp except me and my little Granny. She was in the caravan doing some washing up or something, and I was outside, sitting by the camp-fire. Beside my chair there was one of those blue plastic Domestos bleach bottles. I picked it up and it was empty, but I noticed that the heat from the fire had made it soft and pliable. Intrigued I held it closer to the flames to see what would happen.

To my delight, the bottle became even softer, but became too hot to hold. I solved this problem by putting the bottle into an old cooking pan and holding that over the fire. At this moment, my little Granny saw what I was up to and banged on the window shouting "behave, you're going to hurt yourself."

Now my little Granny had a habit of being overly cautious, if you were  gesticulating with a jam butty in your hand she would shout "Be careful, you'll have someone's eye out with that". What's more she sometimes had a tendency to exaggerate my wrongdoing so that she could tell my parents what a tough day she'd had babysitting me, So I ignored her warning.

Eventually I managed to get the bottle so hot that it melted completely, leaving a very pleasing puddle of molten liquid plastic in my pan. I found a stick to dip into it and had a nice game of dripping blue plastic splodges on to everything. Eventually, and I suppose inevitably, I dripped some on myself. On my right wrist (I still have the scar) My God did it burn. Not only that, it stuck fast to me and wouldn't stop burning. I screamed fit to wake the dead and danced a fine jig up and down the lane.


My Granny's warning didn't help at all, but the lesson I learned that day (and the scar that came with it) lasted me a lifetime.

If kids are in mortal danger then you should do everything you can tp protect them, but if they are just in danger of hurting themselves a bit, let them get on with it.


 

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Go on Rod. You know you want to.

I really do!! Need to order a pattern form from the USA first. I was reading up on the technique & had to laugh that the Tiffany lamps are worth so much, when the company invented them as a way to use up scrap glass.

I love the idea of Making a Tiffany style lamp, unfortunately I don't have an artistic bone in my body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_lamp


Why has the one in your picture got a camera lens sticking out of it?

[bobAlike]

Go on Rod. You know you want to.

I really do!! Need to order a pattern form from the USA first. I was reading up on the technique & had to laugh that the Tiffany lamps are worth so much, when the company invented them as a way to use up scrap glass.

I love the idea of Making a Tiffany style lamp, unfortunately I don't have an artistic bone in my body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_lamp


Why has the one in your picture got a camera lens sticking out of it?

Please tell me you are not being serious?

[RED-DOG]

Go on Rod. You know you want to.

I really do!! Need to order a pattern form from the USA first. I was reading up on the technique & had to laugh that the Tiffany lamps are worth so much, when the company invented them as a way to use up scrap glass.

I love the idea of Making a Tiffany style lamp, unfortunately I don't have an artistic bone in my body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_lamp


Why has the one in your picture got a camera lens sticking out of it?

Please tell me you are not being serious?

What? It has.

[RED-DOG]

Click to see full-size image.

[Rod Paradise]

Go on Rod. You know you want to.

I really do!! Need to order a pattern form from the USA first. I was reading up on the technique & had to laugh that the Tiffany lamps are worth so much, when the company invented them as a way to use up scrap glass.

I love the idea of Making a Tiffany style lamp, unfortunately I don't have an artistic bone in my body.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_lamp


Why has the one in your picture got a camera lens sticking out of it?

Please tell me you are not being serious?

What? It has.

It's not that artistic - methodical is what's needed. The pattern & form you buy cut the glass accurately and it's doable - most artistic part is the glass selection.

As for the camera lens I'll leave this clue here...