GeeksOK.com

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

Victory Garden

michael.stahlman — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:12:19 +0000

The hard labor has begun for preparing a bountiful garden. By following detailed information gathered from many different sources, hopefully this garden will be very successful. Today, we tilled the garden for the third time to ensure it is easy enough to work with and began to weed because the ground was covered in grass and weeds. Because “pet” manure is not good for a garden or compost pile, we also have fenced the garden away from the dogs. Finally, the area for storage of final compost was prepared today by digging out an area 3 inches deep and layering it with limbs.

Some of the techniques planned for this garden are: Companion Planting, Composting, Natural Pest Control, and Pattern Planting. These are some topics that will be uncovered and discussed in later posts. Here are most of the items that will be planted in this garden:

Bell Pepper
Carrot
Cucumber
Green Beans
Lettuce
Onions (White, Red, & Green)
Potatoes
Radish
Spinach
Squash
Tomatoes
Brussel Sprouts

Some of the herbs planted that will also make good companions to the above-mentioned items are: Basil, Chervil, Chive, Dill, Fennel, Garlic, Kale, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Savory.

Greetings From the Fringe!

mike.wayland — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:36:11 +0000

Yesterday I dropped by Shoe Tree Trading Post in Stroud and picked up a new bullet mold. I purchased a new Lee 2 cavity 230 grain 45 mold, and today I broke it in. Casting for about 2 hours total, including getting stuff out, produced about 250 nice bullets. So far, Lee molds have been good to me. They cast great once you get the hang of them and are inexpensive. I can make back the $25 investment in the molds in about 2 hours, considering ammo runs about $35/50 rds.

I have 100 cases primed ‘n waiting for powder and bullets right now. Can’t have brass just sitting around, ya know.

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.