Fishing Pole Mount For My Bike

 

 Sometimes, when I go fishing, I need to walk a couple of miles to the fishing hole. I don't want to carry my pole, tackle and chair for that distance. So instead, I can just load it all quickly onto my mountain bike and ride to my favorite spots. Hit the jump to see the build log.

My New Bicycle

 For a while now I have been wanting a touring bicycle. And after looking at several, I decided on the Novara Safari. Because this is the 2014 version instead of 2015, it was on sale for nearly half off! I had no idea retailers even did this with bicycles so if anyone is in the market for a new bike go with the year old one. I mean, if you can handle the shame of riding a year old bike. I wanted a touring bike because I'm planning to, at some point, go on a cross country bicycle tour. So I will need a comfortable bike that can handle full loads of gear...

Polymer Clay Trinkets

Did I ever mention I am one of those people that can never seem to take a decent picture or video with a phone? Vertical pics and videos everywhere. Anyway, here's an interesting project. as I was sitting at lunch one day I heard someone talking about mold making and I got to thinking. I don't know anything about that. And this got me thinking. There are so many methods of making out there in which I know very little about and have no experience trying. So through some research I came across polymer clay. Polymer clay is a material that takes a long time to dry out, becomes easier to shape the more you play with it, and can be safely fired and cured in the oven at 230 degrees Fahrenheit in about 30 minutes. I purchased the polymer clay and several colors of acrylic paint from hobby lobby on a Friday, and by Sunday I had all of these little trinkets. I had a ton of fun making these and painting them that it exploded an interest in several other upcoming projects in my future.

Hit the jump for more of my trinkets from the weekend.

WorkBench Evolution 2014

 Just like our Pokemon, our workbenches grow and evolve over time. Since the last time I updated with pics of my bench I had no shelves and much fewer tools. I have a new Weller soldering iron. I bought two used analogue Oscilloscopes, a function generator and parts bins full of components. Along with my new tools and parts, I added two shelves, a trash can, work light and an AC power strip. I'm sure I have missed some other additions so hit the Jump for more shots of my bench.

Spiral Bound Forrest Mims Books

For so long I have enjoyed the notebooks released by Forrest M. Mims III. The wealth of knowledge the books have offered for so long have been an invaluable asset to so many. Including me. These books are filled with tables, charts, and small circuits that can be tested, learned, and implemented into larger designs. Often, when I am building a project or watching TV, I have a reference book open. However there is a problem with most printed reference material. They are soft bound and will not stay open by them selves. Which is why I jumped with joy upon finding out that for less then $10 each I could have them spiral bound at Fedex or Office Max. (My girlfriend says not to trust Staples)
Hit the jump for some before and after pics.

Simon Frankenstein, or "The Project From Past Failures"

So awhile ago I started a Simon project. You know the one. Repeat the sequence of colors/sounds until you inevitably screw it up. I had a working version of this game on my bread board at one point but took it all apart and saved the code for later. I never got back to finishing this project until today. Like many of my projects this one also went to the top shelf of projects "I'll get to later." Well, unfortunately most of these projects never get finished after moving up there to collect dust. So I decided to take it down and build it with whatever I had laying about.  left over parts and parts from the other shelved projects were sacrificed to complete this abomination of a toy. I gave myself a 3 hour time limit on this project. Video after the jump of me showing off my incredible inability to remember the simplest of sequences.

The PirateCade

Well, I honestly don't know where to begin on this one. This project took way too long and caused me much headache. But in the end I now have myself a beautiful cabinet that may last my lifetime. I started this project In March 2014, 6 months ago, and just finished today. This project was originally my first Raspberry-Pi project. I used the RetroPie Project with the frontend Emulation Station and a Xin-Mo keyboard encoder. However, after all the issues I ran into along the way I ended up using a PC, AtomicFE frontend, and an Ultimarc Ipac. Just last night I scrapped the whole raspberry-pi aspect after one final SD card corruption killed the idea for me. Anyway, Hit the jump to see more pics and details of the project.