Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A project for 2009
found this online - "project 365 days"... taking one photo a day for one whole year to reflect the importance of each day lived. These people are doing it only until August 2008, but I want to start mine next year. Feel free to join me :) Would be wonderful to see days of all of us in different countries, lives, universes...
Monday, May 26, 2008
This is the bed that Jack built
We need a bed, we need it cheapish and I've done it before (check with Whitty on this one) in my student days, so on the 15th of May I started building our four poster bed - which is still not finished!
There will be six big bits of wood that make up the frame (it's all 120x120mm pine) and then four more that make up the posts, hopefully keeping us off the floor and four metal pipes at the top of the legs to stop them waving about.
Not having much of a work area the dining room table I made earlier has had to double as a workbench... it seems to be holding up well too which may be a good sign...
First step was making the frame, this needs to fit together nicely to resist horizontal twisting actions and give strength. The are called lap joints (I'm not actually using full or half lap but somewhere in between for reasons that will later become clear). These are made by making several cuts into the timber, then cutting out the bits at 90 degrees with a saw or a chisel:
Gluing and screwing the frame together helps with the strength factor as well. At least the cat thinks it's comfortable...
A dry run of the frame with the slats. I cheated with the slats and bought two 80x200cm pre made jobbies. The only problem was that our mattress is 160x220cm so to make up the other 20cm I made the lap joints so that they would stick up an amount equal to the thickness of the slats, read this was a pain in the donkey...
This is how the frame will join to the legs - eventually:
Working out which legs to put where, and the cut outs for the metal pipes to stop the whole thing swinging like it belongs in a sea shanty:
Sanding the posts and painting the metal pipes on the balcony - a lovely way to spend a Sunday:
Oh and while taking a break for the paint to dry there's a folding table for the balcony c/o one old kitchen cupboard and three spare slats from the bed...
Still to come is the rest of the sanding, all of the staining, varnishing and assembling. Not to mention hoping that it doesn't fall down...
There will be six big bits of wood that make up the frame (it's all 120x120mm pine) and then four more that make up the posts, hopefully keeping us off the floor and four metal pipes at the top of the legs to stop them waving about.
Not having much of a work area the dining room table I made earlier has had to double as a workbench... it seems to be holding up well too which may be a good sign...
First step was making the frame, this needs to fit together nicely to resist horizontal twisting actions and give strength. The are called lap joints (I'm not actually using full or half lap but somewhere in between for reasons that will later become clear). These are made by making several cuts into the timber, then cutting out the bits at 90 degrees with a saw or a chisel:
Gluing and screwing the frame together helps with the strength factor as well. At least the cat thinks it's comfortable...
A dry run of the frame with the slats. I cheated with the slats and bought two 80x200cm pre made jobbies. The only problem was that our mattress is 160x220cm so to make up the other 20cm I made the lap joints so that they would stick up an amount equal to the thickness of the slats, read this was a pain in the donkey...
This is how the frame will join to the legs - eventually:
Working out which legs to put where, and the cut outs for the metal pipes to stop the whole thing swinging like it belongs in a sea shanty:
Sanding the posts and painting the metal pipes on the balcony - a lovely way to spend a Sunday:
Oh and while taking a break for the paint to dry there's a folding table for the balcony c/o one old kitchen cupboard and three spare slats from the bed...
Still to come is the rest of the sanding, all of the staining, varnishing and assembling. Not to mention hoping that it doesn't fall down...
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Extra Extra!
... just an update on what's been happening in our Berlin-ian lives.
I started working again. My old job wanted me back and after about a month of going back and forward - first about whether they actually wanted to hire me again, and then the "price", we agreed and I started work last Thursday. I'll be working only 10 hrs a week to start with, broken up into two afternoons of 5 hrs. Perhaps more on the holidays, or next semester depending on my timetable. I'm actually happy about this - as it gives me a chance to keep up any "frontend" skills, and of course pocket money never hurt.
Jack is on bed duty at the moment - putting together (or more like actually building) our future bed. It's coming along really well and Unix loves lying on the big beams with his paws hanging on both sides. It might even be done this weekend and then we don't have to sleep with the mattress on the floor anymore.
On the weekend we got some flower pots (which sadly ended up being slightly too small for the hooks on our balcony, but they seem to hang in there anyway) and I planted parsley and onions in one, and flowers in another. We'll see what turns out. A while ago we were given a pot of daisies, and as expected they started to die off pretty much straight away. But alas - at some point I gave them a lot more water (at a point where I decided that they're good as dead anyway, and flooding them won't do any harm) and they sprung up again - in fact now there's this huge bush of daisies - very cool.
We were in London over the first of May holiday, and those of you on Facebook would've seen the larger sample of the photos, but here are some below. It was wonderful to see everyone and to celebrate Zoya's birthday. It was also amazing to see little Cat, who is now walking and talking about clocks and watches - very very cute... she says "tick tock" in this cutest voice. And we even got to spend some hours together babysitting while the parents were off at a show.
Silly messages and social advertising on the tube:
May Day demonstration on Trafalgar Square... strangely mainly consisting of Indians and punks:
Generic London photos:
Hanging out with the family:
Jack and I have been conscientious and actually using our membership going to the gym. At some point we should also get back into the climbing gym and climb some walls.
In other fairly scary news this morning which reminded me of Bowling for Columbine, there was a kid who brought a gun to school in Kreuzberg (one of the suburbs here)... there were more than 30 police on the scene and they managed to apprehend him - looks like no-one was hurt, thank God... but pretty scary anyway. Oh and the Berlin Philharmony was on fire last night. Weird morning.
Uni is pretty full-on at the moment, and I spent almost every single hour of the last couple of weekends just studying and reading psychology articles. Everything is very interesting, even statistics in a very perverted way... exams are certainly going to be a struggle. I have 5 this semester, all of which test knowledge not just from this semester, but from the previous one too... so for one year together... hence there's a LOT to learn. I hope I can pass everything and not have to stress about studying while in Melbourne.
Some pics and video of our fluffy friend below... he actually had to be taken for yet another jab yesterday for a second vaccination against Katzen Schnupfen (cat cold) and smth else... he needs this for when we give him to the "cat hotel" when we're away in Odessa next month, and then in Aussieland. Poor kitten - he doesn't really like going into his box and travelling on the metro... but getting a cold is also no fun!
I started working again. My old job wanted me back and after about a month of going back and forward - first about whether they actually wanted to hire me again, and then the "price", we agreed and I started work last Thursday. I'll be working only 10 hrs a week to start with, broken up into two afternoons of 5 hrs. Perhaps more on the holidays, or next semester depending on my timetable. I'm actually happy about this - as it gives me a chance to keep up any "frontend" skills, and of course pocket money never hurt.
Jack is on bed duty at the moment - putting together (or more like actually building) our future bed. It's coming along really well and Unix loves lying on the big beams with his paws hanging on both sides. It might even be done this weekend and then we don't have to sleep with the mattress on the floor anymore.
On the weekend we got some flower pots (which sadly ended up being slightly too small for the hooks on our balcony, but they seem to hang in there anyway) and I planted parsley and onions in one, and flowers in another. We'll see what turns out. A while ago we were given a pot of daisies, and as expected they started to die off pretty much straight away. But alas - at some point I gave them a lot more water (at a point where I decided that they're good as dead anyway, and flooding them won't do any harm) and they sprung up again - in fact now there's this huge bush of daisies - very cool.
We were in London over the first of May holiday, and those of you on Facebook would've seen the larger sample of the photos, but here are some below. It was wonderful to see everyone and to celebrate Zoya's birthday. It was also amazing to see little Cat, who is now walking and talking about clocks and watches - very very cute... she says "tick tock" in this cutest voice. And we even got to spend some hours together babysitting while the parents were off at a show.
Silly messages and social advertising on the tube:
May Day demonstration on Trafalgar Square... strangely mainly consisting of Indians and punks:
Generic London photos:
Hanging out with the family:
Jack and I have been conscientious and actually using our membership going to the gym. At some point we should also get back into the climbing gym and climb some walls.
In other fairly scary news this morning which reminded me of Bowling for Columbine, there was a kid who brought a gun to school in Kreuzberg (one of the suburbs here)... there were more than 30 police on the scene and they managed to apprehend him - looks like no-one was hurt, thank God... but pretty scary anyway. Oh and the Berlin Philharmony was on fire last night. Weird morning.
Uni is pretty full-on at the moment, and I spent almost every single hour of the last couple of weekends just studying and reading psychology articles. Everything is very interesting, even statistics in a very perverted way... exams are certainly going to be a struggle. I have 5 this semester, all of which test knowledge not just from this semester, but from the previous one too... so for one year together... hence there's a LOT to learn. I hope I can pass everything and not have to stress about studying while in Melbourne.
Some pics and video of our fluffy friend below... he actually had to be taken for yet another jab yesterday for a second vaccination against Katzen Schnupfen (cat cold) and smth else... he needs this for when we give him to the "cat hotel" when we're away in Odessa next month, and then in Aussieland. Poor kitten - he doesn't really like going into his box and travelling on the metro... but getting a cold is also no fun!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A book on child development or soviet propaganda?
This post is mainly for our Russian readers, as a lot of it is simply untranslatable, but I'll give it a try anyway...
The first part concerns with one of the books that Dad gave me on one of my recent trips to Novosibirsk. At some point he basically donated his psychology books to me and this was one of them. It's a book on child development - or more, as I found out this week, a guide on how to bring up your child. As such it has a lot of valid (recently "empirically" proven) suggestions about what works - for example positive reinforcement as a method of learning. But at the same time it has certain bits that just made me laugh...
from the preface - "В борьбе этой (с бесчеловечностью) у нас ещё есть надёжный ориентир - наше мировоззрение, обращенное к Человеку, как высшей ценности. К человеку гармонически развитому - идеалу коммунистического будущего." (In the fight with this (inhumanity) we still have a reliable guide - our world view, inverted to the man as the highest value. To the man who is harmonically developed - to ideal of Communist future.)
the logic in this I just don't understand at all
(it talks about the fact that if your child stutters when talking, encourage them in moments when they're showing very little progress in talking better... and don't encourage them if they're actually improving, as that may be confusing for them???!)
"Не внушайте нереальное. Сказки нужны, и не только детям; но знание жизни ещё нужнее. .. Самые глубокие пессимисты происходят из детей, воспитанных чрезмерно оптимистически - осколки розовых очков, вонзаясь в глаза, делают мир чёрным." (Don't suggest the unreal. Fairy tales are necessary, and not only for children; but the knowledge of life is still more important. The deepest pessimists occur from the children, brought up excessively optimistically - the splinters of pink glasses, being stuck into the eyes, make the world black.)
This one talks about masturbation and what to do if you noticed your child choking the chicken. Basically it's actually saying that as such it is not harmful, but simply an indication of some sort of general unhappiness, or an inborn increased sexual drive. It is also a sign that the child is missing two most vital medications - joy and movement! :)
"Не подарки нужны ребёнку, не мороженое и не фигли-мигли с картинками - ему нужен ТЫ, отец, нужна ТЫ, мать, и не просто как биологически-юридическая единица, а душа твоя, в чистом виде. Твоя неразменная сущность, твоя изначальность, твоё с ним событие."
(It's not the gifts that the child needs, not ice cream and not 'silly stuff' with the pictures - it is YOU, father, YOU, mother, that are required and not simply as a biological- juridical unit, but your soul, in its pure form. Your unchangeable essence, your origin, your being.)
This made me realise some things about my Grandmother. She's really big on what she thinks are subtle hints... now I know that perhaps it actually was the fashion of the time. Some examples that are provided - when you know that your child did the dishes (but they haven't noticed that you know) to pick up a plate and say "Wow - this plate is so clean it's like a mirror" ... or "It's strange, today the air at home is so much better, and it seems we didn't even open the windows" (After you know your child dusted the flat and you're pretending not to notice).
Second part involves cut-outs from local Ruski newspaper ads...
This really reminded me of The Animal (movie with Rob Schneider) where he drinks badger milk to get more buff... apparently it's an old Russian remedy... not badger milk, but badger fat... yummy
This is an equivalent of Advanced Hair... I just like the title - "If the stupid hair is leaving a clever head"
This is an ad for a school that teaches you to enhance your astral potentials... some of the things that are taught include:
- opening up of different levels (!) of future prediction
- creating astral projections and "travels" into the Astral
- getting rid of negative influences, obsessions, ties to people, happenings - regardless of how long ago they were and building strong protection
This one is fortune teller Nelya... and I mean just looking at her made me smile :)
This ancient Tibetan medicine is supposed to help reduce your cholesterol levels... I'm not sure about that, but looking at the monks ... umm... they look somewhat too friendly towards one another.
and of course here are some personals...
The ad reads "Young and rich, without complexes, would like to meet a man 18-37 y.o. for friendship and sex, and later however it turns out. Can help monetarily."
"Married to a local german - housewife, would like to meet for sex with 'our' guy 18-47 y.o. for one or many times. Have a place!"
"Do you often want sex? Me too! Lets help each other! I have a car and meeting place."
cheers!
The first part concerns with one of the books that Dad gave me on one of my recent trips to Novosibirsk. At some point he basically donated his psychology books to me and this was one of them. It's a book on child development - or more, as I found out this week, a guide on how to bring up your child. As such it has a lot of valid (recently "empirically" proven) suggestions about what works - for example positive reinforcement as a method of learning. But at the same time it has certain bits that just made me laugh...
from the preface - "В борьбе этой (с бесчеловечностью) у нас ещё есть надёжный ориентир - наше мировоззрение, обращенное к Человеку, как высшей ценности. К человеку гармонически развитому - идеалу коммунистического будущего." (In the fight with this (inhumanity) we still have a reliable guide - our world view, inverted to the man as the highest value. To the man who is harmonically developed - to ideal of Communist future.)
the logic in this I just don't understand at all
(it talks about the fact that if your child stutters when talking, encourage them in moments when they're showing very little progress in talking better... and don't encourage them if they're actually improving, as that may be confusing for them???!)"Не внушайте нереальное. Сказки нужны, и не только детям; но знание жизни ещё нужнее. .. Самые глубокие пессимисты происходят из детей, воспитанных чрезмерно оптимистически - осколки розовых очков, вонзаясь в глаза, делают мир чёрным." (Don't suggest the unreal. Fairy tales are necessary, and not only for children; but the knowledge of life is still more important. The deepest pessimists occur from the children, brought up excessively optimistically - the splinters of pink glasses, being stuck into the eyes, make the world black.)
This one talks about masturbation and what to do if you noticed your child choking the chicken. Basically it's actually saying that as such it is not harmful, but simply an indication of some sort of general unhappiness, or an inborn increased sexual drive. It is also a sign that the child is missing two most vital medications - joy and movement! :)"Не подарки нужны ребёнку, не мороженое и не фигли-мигли с картинками - ему нужен ТЫ, отец, нужна ТЫ, мать, и не просто как биологически-юридическая единица, а душа твоя, в чистом виде. Твоя неразменная сущность, твоя изначальность, твоё с ним событие."
(It's not the gifts that the child needs, not ice cream and not 'silly stuff' with the pictures - it is YOU, father, YOU, mother, that are required and not simply as a biological- juridical unit, but your soul, in its pure form. Your unchangeable essence, your origin, your being.)
This made me realise some things about my Grandmother. She's really big on what she thinks are subtle hints... now I know that perhaps it actually was the fashion of the time. Some examples that are provided - when you know that your child did the dishes (but they haven't noticed that you know) to pick up a plate and say "Wow - this plate is so clean it's like a mirror" ... or "It's strange, today the air at home is so much better, and it seems we didn't even open the windows" (After you know your child dusted the flat and you're pretending not to notice).Second part involves cut-outs from local Ruski newspaper ads...
This really reminded me of The Animal (movie with Rob Schneider) where he drinks badger milk to get more buff... apparently it's an old Russian remedy... not badger milk, but badger fat... yummy
This is an equivalent of Advanced Hair... I just like the title - "If the stupid hair is leaving a clever head"
This is an ad for a school that teaches you to enhance your astral potentials... some of the things that are taught include:
- opening up of different levels (!) of future prediction
- creating astral projections and "travels" into the Astral
- getting rid of negative influences, obsessions, ties to people, happenings - regardless of how long ago they were and building strong protection
This one is fortune teller Nelya... and I mean just looking at her made me smile :)
This ancient Tibetan medicine is supposed to help reduce your cholesterol levels... I'm not sure about that, but looking at the monks ... umm... they look somewhat too friendly towards one another.
and of course here are some personals...The ad reads "Young and rich, without complexes, would like to meet a man 18-37 y.o. for friendship and sex, and later however it turns out. Can help monetarily."
"Married to a local german - housewife, would like to meet for sex with 'our' guy 18-47 y.o. for one or many times. Have a place!"
"Do you often want sex? Me too! Lets help each other! I have a car and meeting place."
cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)