These Houses are For the Birds

"Avian Architecture / Building Birdhouses"
Building Collector (March 25, 2010)

"Spring is officially here and our thoughts turn to…outdoor flea markets in search of souvenir buildings! Well that, but spring also means blooming flowers and chirping birds.

"Those nesting birds with growing families have to live somewhere and we architectural aficionados would not let them live among mere sticks. Avian architecture can take two forms - outdoor bird houses and indoor bird cages..."


(from Building Collector, used w/o permission)

This is a short post. There's not much text, and three photos. Eight, if you count the 'panes' in each photo. On the other hand, there are links to several commercial pages - with pictures of remarkable birdhouses.

This isn't your ultimate birdhouse page: but the photos give you an idea of how many different ways there are to provide living space for birds, and visual fun for us.

Recycle Lint and Save Earth!

A few days ago, I admitted that I hadn't found much on the subject of what you can do with lint. Today, that changed:

"Ten uses for dryer lint
essortment (2002)

"Dryer lint is one of those things that we all have but none of us knows what to do with. It seems a shame to throw away those perfectly clean bits of fiber. Believe it or not there are actually many things you can do with dryer lint besides tossing it into the garbage can. When saving dryer lint it is best to keep it in a fireproof container such as glass or metal because dryer lint is very flammable...."

What follows is a short discussion of 10 uses for dryer lint:

1. Packing material
2. Making cloth
3. Nesting material for birds
4. Modeling clay substitute
5. Kindling
6. Compost
7. Craft projects
8. Mulch
   • Insulation for plants
9. Draft stopper
10. Making paper

There's a sentence or two about each use of lint, telling how to use the dryer lint: including a recipe for lint/flour/water 'modeling clay.' How well, or even whether, it would work is more than I know.

Still, looks like a pretty good article on making use of lint.

Or, if you're worked up about Earth Day (April 22, 2010: 40th anniversary), try this slogan on for size: Save Earth One Handful of Lint at a Time!

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Under-Appreciated Lint"
  Loonfoot Falls Chronicle-Gazette (April 16, 2010)
• "Why is Everybody Down on Lint?"
  (April 14, 2010)
• "Frail, Delicate Little Mother Nature?!"
  (December 20, 2009)

More:

• "Change, American Culture, Trilobites, Humanity's History, and the Big Picture"

Star Wars Stuff's All Over This Home

"Ultimate Star Wars Room Decor"
Home-Designing.com (August 23, 2009)

"It is not uncommon for people to have a few collectibles or action figures of their fantasy world idols. But is THIS for real? Don't say we didn’t warn you about this one. This ultimate star wars fan home by Cho Woong just overflows with collectibles and action figures from the Star Wars saga...."

That's almost all the text there is. The post is mostly approximately 16 (depends on how you count them) photos. Cho Woong's home isn't just cluttered with Star Wars junk. Many if not most of the pieces shown seemed to be good quality models - most of which I hadn't seen before. Some of the displays look like what museums put together if they've got someone who's good at interior design on the staff.

The coffee table with a model of the Millennium Falcon in it, A Darth Vader mural in the toilet: Yeah. Cho Woong is a Star Wars fan.

Impressive decor.

Huge Model Railroad: Diablo Valley Lines

"Giant Model Railroad Is an Analog SimCity"
Wired Raw File (June 30, 2009)

"Before SimCity — even before Dungeons and Dragons — back when 'computer' was a job title, people still found ways to vaporize countless hours of free time designing and maintaining private universes. In the analog world, such parallel realities were built with tweezers, glue and a spouse's permission to cover the basement with papier-mâché massifs and plywood plains...."

I had a model railroad layout when I was a boy, about a half-century back now: and much smaller than the 54 foot by 32 foot Diablo Valley Lines that the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society maintains.

This Wired article has a pretty good mix of text and photos: enough to give people who aren't familiar with model railroading an idea of what's involved, and those who have at least dabbled in the hobby a look at what a group of dedicated amateurs can achieve.

I enjoyed going through the pages - I hope you do, too.

Hummingbirds: Rufous Hummingbirds in Oregon

"Rufous Hummingbird"
Birds Amoré (undated: copyright 2001-2007)


(from Birds Amoré, used w/o permission)

"Male Rufous Hummingbirds leave their wintering grounds in Central Mexico to arrive at our location in Waldport, Oregon, in February and March. During spring migration, they follow the Pacific coast. Some of these migrants will continue to head north so they can breed in Alaska...."

Yes: hummingbirds do perch now and again.

This page gives a pretty good general background on one sort of hummingbird - and hummingbirds in general. Along with some pretty good photos. Toward the bottom of the page is advice for attracting more hummingbirds, with links to pages about hummingbird-friendly plants for spring, summer and fall, and a (fairly) simple recipe for hummingbird nectar: it's the 1 unit sugar/4units water mix I use, with some fancy touches like boiling the water.

The author points out the bottom-line important point, whatever mix you use: keep the feeder clean. Hummingbirds don't like moldy food any more than we do.

Model Cities Look Great, But I Couldn't Live There

"Biggest Little Cities: Models for Urban Planning"
Wired (February 29, 2009)

"Michael Chesko is no architect. He's not a structural engineer or an urban planner either. But he just spent more than 2,000 hours constructing this highly detailed, nearly perfect scale model of midtown Manhattan. Chesko cut, sanded, and glued the mini metropolis—now on exhibit at the New York Skyscraper Museum—using only an X-Acto knife, a nail file, and a Dremel (and lots of balsa wood). But the 50-year-old software engineer was having fun; he's been building little cities since he was a kid.

"Model cities aren't just for show; they can have real utility. In 1957...."

There's a video (3:51), which may or may not load in your lifetime, and fifteen photos of model cities. As the article says, they're not just for show. Some are used for engineering studies. City planning is another use.

Cool photos, a video that still hasn't loaded, and background on scale models of cities: this is a pretty good resource.

That video still hasn't loaded: but the little 3/4 circle icon spins around very smoothly.

Imperial Star Destroyer, a Lego Kit

"Lego Imperial Star Destroyer (10030)"
Kazza the Blank One

"An Odyssey Begins

"I first saw a Lego Imperial Star Destroyer at the Power House Museum during the Star Wars Magic of Myth exhibition.

"Of course I immediately wanted one...."

A detailed account, copiously illustrated with photos, of how this enthusiast spent a worthwhile 12 hours building a Star Destroyer (Lego version) from a kit.

Looks like fun.

Homemade Gauss Gun

"Coil Gun version 1"
Projects (January 23, 2008)

"This my first build for my Gauss Gun project:
"I have wanted to do this for a long time but I never had any beefy SCR's or HV capacitors to complete the project."

This electromagnetic micro-cannon runs on house current, and pumps .187 joules of energy into a projectile.

Photos and description.

This looks like a moderately nerdy, and fun, project.

Roll-Your-Own Vacuum Tubes: the Video

"Make your own vacuum tubes?"

"Check out this absolutely mesmerizing (17 minute!) video of a French amateur radio operator who rolls his own vacuum tube triodes! I love the ease with which he performs these rather high-end skills (like glass forming), the gestural flourishes (like it's hand magic), and the Zelig-esque soundtrack."

"Star Wars" Lightsabers: Build Your Own

I understand that Luke Skywalker's lightsaber is on the shuttle Discovery as part of the 30th anniversary of "Star Wars."

The plan is for the famous prop to be left in space.

Meanwhile, "Lightsabers 2.0" discusses how to make an equally non-functional lightsaber, with a little background on how the original was put together.

Star Wars X-Wing to be Launched Next Week

Star Wars enthusiasts have built a Rocket-Powered 21-Foot Long X-Wing Model. They're going to try flying it a week from tomorrow: on October 10, 2007.

Model aviation buffs, amateur rocket hobbyists, and experimental aviation fans might be interested: The article has a modest amount of detail, and quite a few photos showing the construction process.