Blog Posts

  Mind, Body, Spirit. Strength, Flexibility, Endurance. Faith, Hope, Love. We like to think in threes. Sometimes we want our Mind, our Body, and our Spirit to be in balance; sometimes we just want to assert how something stands. As it happens, I had a bike wreck two weeks ago; right now, my Body is weaker

“Oyarsa”, by Robert L. Read An Oil Paint Wheel I probably should not have taken up oil painting; I have always admired art done with pen-and-ink, which produces very thin, precise lines. It is possible to make thin lines with oil paint, but it is difficult. One must either have a terribly steady hand with

Ferrofluid is a suspension of tiny iron nanoparticles in mineral oil that behaves like a moving liquid magnet when placed in a magnetic field. It can now be inexpensively purchased at magnet supply stores like Apex magnets. It has some fascinating and beautiful behavior. You can use it to make a liquid piston with no

Color is vivid. Throughout recorded history, it has been expensive to produce color compared to monochrome design. Writing systems, which have been constantly evolving since their invention initiated recorded history, have generally been monochrome. But now color is cheap or free, which raises questions: Is the next evolution in writing systems in the direction of

Lately there has been a lot of interest in soft robotics. These tend to use pneumatics or hydraulics in fluid-tight chambers which change shape based on pressure. 3D Printing Flexible Robotics It is not easy to 3D print with flexible air-tight material. I have done it by using Ninja Flex and then treating it heavily

Invention of the Lawn Mower Once upon a time, a bunch of Americans wanted to make their houses look like tiny versions of beautiful manors in England, where it rains a lot and sheep keep the grass short. But, they were unwilling to have sheep, because they would always get hit by the cars. So