Hand-Cranked Assemblage in Progress

Not completely sure what this is.
Hand cranked time machine? I'm thinking I would like the holes in the main disk (a trivet) to change somehow as it spins. I want disks within disks within disks. All spinning at once. (!)

Stands over 17 inches or 43cm.

I'm off to play!

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement.

PS: Yes, I am back from my time travels, although a bit jet lagged. Didn't you see my post from 1820?

More Time

This weekend I have been playing around with time machines and gearing systems. My former 'static' assemblages are getting hardware updates.

Solar system charts and horoscope maps added to the found object assemblage.

With remote control of course!
Base contains gears for rotation.(both directions)
2x AA batteries

My table at the moment. (all a bit weird really)

Must be my weird period.

So here is a video.

Time Machine Video

Made this video this morning.

My Steam-electric punk time machine is operational.

Standing around 12 inches in height, this three-motor, independent-switched, geared and battery-powered time and space transformer plugs directly into your computer via usb port. This allows direct linkage to Google Earth and Sky for precise location placement. Portable power supply allows for usage in low or no-tech environments. Counters display leaving/destination times with transparent disks display passage of time form one time zone to next.

So, where do I want to go?
My first destination would have to be 1000 years in the future. Same location. (this machine is limited to the Milky Way galaxy and Magellan Clouds) Curious to see if the plants have taken over, and man is gone. Or are super jets landing at Sydney airport and future residents complaining to galactic council over the noise levels?

I shall let you know.

Love you all!

Cate's Dress

Cate Blanchett rocks. This is a cool dress. The mainstream media (moronic-lowest common denominator-blood sucking-propagators of..blah,blah,blah) had the hide to can this dress. Some people hate it. Fools! This dress rocks.

To me, this dress says that we can have all the wars and Twitter and Paris Hilton's but the people who know what true style is, who are leaders in their fields, who are beautiful people,(in the true sense of the word) who have taste, and are willing to push the envelope, are always right.
Instead of slamming her 'Shock red carpet disaster', we should be praising her for being a visionary.
This dress rocks. So does Cate.
There, I said it.

Just Stuff I Like to Make

One trivet ( I had no idea either)

Meccano vintage set,

junk metal,

gears, more metal,

May actually be something at some stage. Work continues.
This is the stuff I like to make. I don't even know what it is. Still, it makes me happy.

Time MachineTakes Off

I put the (almost) finishing touches on the Time Machine (kinetic assemblage) today.
Completed wiring it up and fired the beast up. Running off six batteries (rechargeable) with independent switches. One motor drives the 'planetarium' (for travel within Milky Way galaxy) at the back and the front 'energy converter'. Another switch fires up the counter (video player counter) and the lights. (damn,what happened to the lights?) The final gearing and motor is dedicated to the front time-locating instrument ( clear CD protectors with markings and stickers)
The whole thing is just junk, glue and paint.

I have spared you the sound of whirling gears and motors in the demo video. I will get some nice close up video and some sort of soundtrack in the next one.

Ingredients:
Scrap metal, plastics, wire, motors, gears, clock parts, watch parts, batteries and lights. Stands 30cm tall. (Without full galaxy map)

Next up is to reduce the battery packs. The front motor has a separate battery pack and remote control so I will probably wire everything up to there, while reducing the amount of switches. Still needs a few washes of colour to give it some age.

I'm starting to eye some junk metal and motors on my table as I write. Looks like its time to get my hands dirty again. I shall keep you posted.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comments.

Have a great week.

Time Machine Voyage. Back Soon.

I have been working on a little project this past month or so. The plan has been to create a time machine. Since I was a kid I have been fascinated with the idea of time travel. The idea of traveling to different periods in time or different parts of the universe

appealed to this suburban day dreamer.

Most of my other time machines have been straight up Steampunk style, but I wanted this one to be a bit different.

In building this one I was thinking that maybe the assembled parts would come from different periods in time. Kinda like a mash-up of styles from building and modifying components with available technology.

Here you can see the basic frame, made of plastics, spray painted black. The battery packs are visible. This has taken me hours to get to this stage. I have three motors and on L.E.D. all on separate switches.

Dusting of grey paint. I'm thinking of going 'metallic' at this stage.

I end up changing the central gearing system, changing it for another one that fits and adding the solar-system disk.

Then I just go all-out on the piece and the metal components replace plastic. It's starting to look a bit mixed period. This week I should focus on the wiring again and get the electronic side completed.

The main frame is built on plastic electronic kits. Attached are geared motors that drive the planetarium disk and time displays. The central section will house another geared disk. At the moment it takes 6 AA batteries, but eventually it will be solar powered from my 9V solar panel.

Aiming to get this finished this month. Then I can take some video of the whole thing in action before I disappear off to another time. Thinking about whipping down to Victorian England and then pop over to 2020 New York.

When I return I have this robotic dolls head to continue on with.

Thanks for stopping by and...
Enjoy your week!

Orchid Love

Brassia rex (those petals are 6 inches long!)

Oncidium Orchids

Ansillia Africana (from Africa and Madagascar and smelling like honey)

Dendrobiums

Native Australian Dendrobiums

The ever popular Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchids)

New to my collection: Cymbidiums with a genetic abnormality (only one flower effected)

Thought I may share with you one of my loves in my life: Orchids.
After growing orchids for several years now I now have decided, without a doubt, that these have to be the most glorious flowering plants on the planet. I am not alone. Many people are realising that these amazing plants are easy to care for (usually less is more is the rule of thumb) and they don't have to be expensive. (Although that Ansillia above cost more than most of my whole collection put together...ouch)

The excitement of watching the flowers develop over months, the joy of the flowers opening and the amazing smells that some orchids have is pure love. They are my babies. I protect them from the summer sun, give them winter sun, protect them from slugs (when flowering) and talk to them. (very important!)

There is over 22,000 species of orchids. (Over 500 species in NSW, Australia alone) This amount of species makes them the largest family of flowering plants. Of course, I want one of each, which is impossible in my urban Sydney backyard, but I can still dream. What I do have is a fine collection from all corners of the globe, (I like that expression) some of which are shown here.

For the price of a bunch of cut flowers you can have an amazing plant that will flower year after year. Some green thumb required. (If you don't have a green thumb, they are available by researching the plants you are interested in and apply that knowledge- simple really.)



Have a great week and
May your God (or serotonin) be with you.