Project: Luggage Tags
We needed luggage tags. Our suitcases and carry-ons all had a hodge-podge of miscellaneous shapes, styles, colors, from last-minute JetBlue paper tags to hand-written red duct tape. So I built these:
They're over-engineered. Hard plastic with day-glo paint and several layers of clear coat. The address inside is lacquered in place so it can't be easily removed. (If you have a change of address, just spray a clear coat over your new address.)
The rope holds the tags shut for your security. Even if one of the holes pulls loose (it wouldn't -- these tags can hold the whole weight of your suitcase without breaking) it's double-holed so the tag would stay with the bag.
High-visibility, so you can see your bags from a distance. And they don't look anything like anybody else's tags. Unless your flight includes a mad scientist who is transporting a stolen nuke.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work..." Remember that from the movie, "The Shining"?
When I'm not writing, I like to make weird things. The Darkness Device is a lamp. Our bedroom was dark. It needed light. So we needed a lamp. But I wanted it to look like a cold-war doomsday device.
I wanted it to look Cold War-ish. Like a doomsday machine.
It's amazing what you can find in your local Lowe's. I recommend Lowe's. Superior customer service. Wide variety. And experts in red vests.
"You sure this toggle switch is the right amperage and won't burn down my house?"
"Yes. It's OK."
"OK."
And it didn't burn down my house. Bonus.
The red military grade toggle switches really make it, don't they? $4 for a pack of four. eBay.
I made the cage out of stamped metal sheets. From Lowe's.
The vacuum tubes came out of an old radio someone threw away. It wasn't really dumpster-diving. More like dumpster-wading.
It's so cool when you draw something and then a month or two later, there it is in real-life.
Dad (the electrician) verified my wiring diagram. With some corrections.
This is the exact moment when the house didn't burn down.
Project: Aztec Skull
A long time ago I built this mosaic skull and a friend of ours asked for one. So rather than give her the exact same thing, I went with something more Indiana Jones-ish. Like you would find digging around beneath a stepped pyramid in the Yucatan:
A long time ago I built this mosaic skull and a friend of ours asked for one. So rather than give her the exact same thing, I went with something more Indiana Jones-ish. Like you would find digging around beneath a stepped pyramid in the Yucatan:
