GeeksOK.com » troycoon

iTouch

troycoon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:09:40 +0000

I love my new iTouch. It is an awsome new toy. There are sweet apps and connectivity. I love it so much I think I will get an IPhone as soon as I am eligible for an upgrade on my cellphone contract.

Fulgerites

troycoon — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:05:11 +0000

Here is a picture of a fulgerite that a firefighter friend of mine gave me. He says that he got them from a call he responded to for a downed power line. I have been thinking of ways to make these for years, just like in the movie Sweet Home Alabama.

The AMAZING Amazon-Kindle2

troycoon — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:48:53 +0000

I just received my Amazon Kindle2 and I already love it. In the week leading up to the much anticipated arrival I searched for cool tips and tricks . I was not disappointed. In addition to being the best book reader I have ever seen (better then my palm pilot) the kindle sports a wireless network that while slow lets you browse anywhere on the web, oh and did I mention it’s FREE. The Kindle2 also has an excellent battery life (less when the wireless is on) and the ability to send documents to it via e-mail. In addition to all of this sweetness Kindle2 can read not only the books on Amazon but text files and any Mobipocket book. This ability expands the number of books available into hundreds of thousands maybe even millions. Overall the kindle is a great purchase and addition to any geeks ToyChest

Another Tounge Drum

troycoon — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:37:39 +0000

Just wanted to share a picture on another one of the tongue drum that I built. It turned out pretty good and it sounds pretty good. I am planning on changing the tongue layout next time, whenever I have a chance to sit down and make the CNC code that is.

Dulcimers and Tennessee Music Boxes

troycoon — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:29:39 +0000

While I don’t blog near as much as I would like, I’m not just sitting around. I have been somewhat busy (obsessed) lately with instrument making, especially dulcimers. I have been doing copious amounts of research and applying it directly in the shop. My first instrument was the strum stick that I wrote about in a previous post, it incidentally is in the process of being reworked and improved. Here are a couple of pictures of my first dulcimer. Well it is really a modified Tennessee Music Box. I found a great set of plans at the Everything Dulcimer Website The sides and fret board are made of maple and the top and bottom are oak. This dulcimer has a 24 inch string length and only three strings, it is ultimately intended for a child. It can be played either on a table or on a lap. It is very heavy and durable, just what a kid will need. I did not use any screws or nails, all the joints are glued. The two tone finish was my wife’s idea and I really like the way it turned out. I have gone on to make two more like this with four strings and slightly different dimensions. I am still experimenting and building up to my masterpiece. As soon as I get the shop band saw up and running I will be build much lighter and more traditional models with bent sides. I would like to mention and give thanks to the Dulciaddict He has been kind enough to share his plans and I have seen that he is very active on different forums helping aspiring dulcimer builders.

Latest Projects, Tongue Drums and Stick Dulcimers

troycoon — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Here are some pictures of some of my latest projects. I hope to have my stick dulcimer ready for the Oklahoma City Traditional Music Meeting this Saterday.

Stack of Tongue Drums for the school

Making a Cut

Computer controlling the CNC machine.

Stick dulcimer getting a polyurethane coat.

Picture of where I will glue the fret board.

Ubuntu at last on the EEE 1000

troycoon — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:01:32 +0000

It has been some time since I have had a functioning ubuntu laptop. I had an EEE 701 with ubuntu on it but I traded up to the 1000. I duel booted Xandros and WinXp for awhile, but now at last I have ubuntu.

I loaded the latest Ibex release and the array.org kernal, then I installed the eee control center and added CPU frequency scaling to the toolbar. This was a painless install and now I am so freaking happy. The performance is awesome and I have not run into any problems yet, and I’m getting about 6hrs of battery life. Not bad considering the lack of undervolting. If you want the complete step by step just drop me a line, but I think the information you need can be found on the array.org site.

Been Awhile

troycoon — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:49:24 +0000

I know it has been awhile since I last blogged but with the school year going I have been a very busy boy. Besides driving the bus, starting an afterschool program and spoonsoring a robotics team I have been busy building a prototype Tongue Drum and researching Dulcimers. The good news is the robotics team placed 8 out of 18 and took the award for creative design also, my prototype Tongue Drum was an unparrelled success. I will be posting pictures of the drum as well as instructions soon so don’t give up on me yet.

Wanted: Organic Farmer

troycoon — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 05:24:01 +0000

It this time of greening and saving the environment I have come up with a plan. I want to hire an organic farmer to grow local, in season vegetables for our family. I can’t afford to hire a farmer alone so what I want to do is get a group of people from the surrounding area and we could all pitch in and hire an organic farmer. Now I’m not saying that I want the farmer to do all the work. I want to form a cooperative group that is led by the farmer, each person in the group would spend some time working and learning how to grow organically. By forming a group of people we could give encouragement to those who need it and gain motivation from others in the group. What we need in American agriculture is a complete culture change. I think one of the best ways to accomplish that would be with structured support from a farmer and from those that are in the group.

Eating from a local source is undeniably good for the environment and a way to reduce the stress on the planet. As a teacher for the past 10 years I have observed many students that don’t know anything about where their food comes from or the processes that it must go through in order to make it to their plates. We have become disconnected from our food and consequentially the planet. In order to be effective at achieving sustainability we must take ownership of our lives and reconnect with the planet and each other.

Buying Books

troycoon — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:29:06 +0000

I have over the years become more and more disappointed in books stores in general, now this is not really the fault of the bookstore. My tastes have become very specific and books stores generally cater to what is popular, so I rarely find much in the way of reading materials at the store and I resort to making most of my purchases online. About three days ago I had the opportunity to go to a Hastings book store located in a fairly large college town and was pleasantly surprised by the selection of books available. I was even more surprised to see that many of the books were used. It was GREAT, not only was the selection vastly improved but the books were being recycled. I was able to find two books to bring home at a very fair used price. I am very glad to see a company changing into a greener way of doing business and will be happy to do more business with them in the future.