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- 2021 Archive -

MOST RECENT POSTS . . .

December 8, 2021 Sourdough Bread Recipe--Baking.   Here's is a simple sourdough bread  recipe and time schedule.  Click the Food  link in the left sidebar to view and to download a printable copy . . .

December 7, 2021 Remembering Pearl Harbor--December 7, 1941.  

December 5, 2021 First Winter Blast--Local Weather.  Last night's snowfall totaled about 10 inches.  That's enough to warrant the snowplows to clear the roads, and snow shovels, etc., for the driveway, sidewalk, and steps.

Tom

Updated:   12-08-2021, 12-07-2021, 12-05-2021.

November 29, 2021 Sourdough Bread--Baking.  Featuring a 2 lb. 6 oz. loaf.  Click the Food  link in the left sidebar to continue reading . . .

November 28, 2021 Scaling a Model--SketchUp.  This post explains another way to set up a simple bolt thread.  I started with a 48 foot diameter eventually scaled it down to a 1 inch diameter x 2 inch length of thread.  The reduction of size was 576 to 1. 

Click the SketchUp Projects link in the left sidebar to continue reading . . . 

November 25, 2021 Thanksgiving Day--U.S.A. 

November 17, 2021 Blender Images--Concluded.   Here's a link to the donut images rendered today and from recent posts:  Blender Images.  They can also be accessed by clicking Miscellaneous in the left sidebar.

Today's addition is a chocolate covered donut rendered by applying a few of the introductory steps in the YouTube tutorials I'd been following (see Blender posts below).  There is no icing layer nor sprinkles applied to this donut.

Two images rendered from different camera angles represent a donut having been dipped in tempered chocolate.  I'm not sure how that process is done when actually making donuts.

I have gone as far as possible with the tutorials on my computer.  The old computer has reached its limit where the monitor turns black and the computer freezes up.  Turning off the computer/power switch has been my only recourse.   If rendered as smaller images, added detail becomes lost or pixelated when enlarged later.

November 12, 2021 Our First Taste of  Winter--Photography.   We don't have to be reminded that Arizona wasn't in our travel plans this winter.

Way up in the north where palm trees don't grow
we now have a covering of fluffy white snow.

So we make the most of what there is to look forward to for the next 5 or 6 months.  Here's three images of some autumn lawn decorations in our yard.  After Thanksgiving, the usual Christmas lights, penguin, wreaths, lantern, and a few other wintery things will replace them.

November 11, 2021 To Honor Those Who Have Served--Veterans Day 2021.   

We have set aside this time to recognize those who have served in the military armed forces.  They have defended our country and made our lives possible.  Their patriotism and sacrifice will not be forgotten.   Today is Veterans Day.

November 9, 2021  Memory Issue Solved (For Now)--Overlooking the Obvious.   After yesterday's frustration with lack of memory, today, I simply closed the Google Browser that was running in the background during rendering a Blender image.  The rendering was slow going but the computer did not crash.  This step was a continuation of Blender Guru's Tutorials on YouTube (see Nov. 4 post).

Shown below are correctly rendered multi-colored Sprinkles atop the Donut.  Blender utilizes nodes in the Shader option to randomly apply color to the existing white sprinkles.   It's an advanced Blender feature that I would have never been able to figure out without step-by-step tutelage.

The second half of the tutorial (yet to be completed) involves randomly changing the size and shape of the sprinkles.   Hopefully, I'll get that to work before the computer runs out of gas.

November 4, 2021  YouTube Blender Beginner Tutorials-- Drawing a Photo-realistic Donut.  There are tons of excellent online tutorials at YouTube.  A popular series for the Blender community is hosted by the Blender Guru.  The videos I'm currently watching are a multi-part series beginning with Level 1 that consists of 7 parts and continues onward to Level 4.  I have currently completed tutorials through Part 1 of Level 2.  

Here is the YouTube link to Part 2 of Level 2 which I have only viewed but not followed along with my blender file open.  The upcoming tutorial involves Adding Multi-Colored Sprinkles to Your Donut.  Trust me, it is imperative to follow along, pausing and switching between the YouTube presentation and your personal file under construction.

Blender is highly procedural, complex with dozens of  shortcut/hot keys.  What makes things a bit more complicated for me is I'm using Version 2.93 of Blender.  The host is using Version 2.82 from a year or two ago.  It takes a bit more time to locate program options due to software updates.

Below are today's rendered images created following Part 1 of Level 4.  The next step involves using nodes to modify colors and shapes to for the white donut sprinkles added today.

Updated:   11-29-2021, 11-28-2021, 11-25-2021. 11-17-2021, 11-12-2021, 11-11-2021, 11-09-2021, 11-04-2021.

October 17, 2021  Rendering Images Update--SketchUp Make, Blender, and Gimp.  Here's my third rendered image using Blender.  I have posted before and after images, the related SketchUp File, the 3D Collada File, and the Blender file (requires Blender to open).  Gimp was used to edit background and for minor touchup on shadows.

Click the SketchUp Projects link in the left sidebar to read on . . .

October 16, 2021  Rendering Images--SketchUp Make, Blender, and Gimp.  Even before I began using the free version of SketchUp, I had dabbled with the animation features of Blender.  Back then, my computer and slow internet connection did not support YouTube videos.  Today, online tutorials from YouTube make Blender easier to learn.  The following is a brief description and a couple images I recently rendered with Blender.

Click the SketchUp Projects link in the left sidebar to read on . . .

October 12, 2021  Drawing Phillips Head Screws--SketchUp.  I have avoided drawing Phillips head screws in the past because they looked too complicated.  By taking a closer look at a few screws it wasn't too difficult to draw a suitable likeness--at least for illustrative purposes.  Technically, however,  today's models and rendered images don't match up with any Phillips screwdriver.

Click the SketchUp Projects link in the left sidebar to read on . . .

October 8, 2021  Access Restored to Digital Art, Miscellaneous, and Photography Sidebar Links--Webpage.    Much of my older content has been offline for quite some time due to the failure on my part to update security settings.  I identified the issue by opening this page using the Firefox web browser without logging into my Google account.  Clicking through the side bar links, it became apparent that something was wrong.

As I understand it, Google security upgrades were made to prevent exploitations and access to Google Drive account holder data (on my end) that was not meant to be shared.  After updating the web page links to embedded content mentioned above, user access has been restored.

Again, I apologize for these oversights.  Here's a similar access issue I discovered with my Food page a few months ago:

July 22, 2021 Access Restored to Tom's Food Archive 2019--2020. I apologize for an error made some time ago while transitioning to the New Google Sites webpage. I had overlooked setting permissions to allow viewers access to the archives linked at the top and bottom of this page.  I am continuing to look for other glitches that may have been inadvertently missed. Thank you for viewing.

October 7, 2021  Air Fry Spiral Cut Fries--Cooking.  More "Fair Food."  Spiral fries were made using the Spiral Cutter attachment for the electric Presto Tater Twister shown in the October 4 post.  I fashioned a spiral fry holder for the fry basket using a length of heavy stainless steel wire and covered it with inch-wide strips of aluminum foil.  The holder's purpose was to separate the potato spirals for better air circulation. . .  Read more and view images by clicking the Food link in the left sidebar.

October 4, 2021  Air Fry Curly Fries--Cooking.  Today I made some "Fair Food."  Instead of deep frying curly fries, I decided to air fry them.  Six small to medium russet potatoes were cut with a "Presto Tater Twister" (see below).  More about this recipe can be read by clicking the Food link in the left sidebar . . .

October 3, 2021  New Google Sites Text Color Options--Webpages.  Wow! How long have I been missing out on this feature.  Several months back, the only custom text color option that I used was what I had brought in when converting from Classic Google- to New Google Sites.  (So the Green text you see near the top and bottom of this page was a color choice from my former Classic site.)

Heading, Text, and Caption boxes in New Google Sites now give users color options by Clicking "A" whenever a box and text are selected while in the Edit mode (see image below).

O.K. here's what was going on.  At the time I migrated this website to New Google Sites (April 25, 2021) I was also watching New Google Sites tutorials on YouTube that were 2, 3, or 4 years old.  Apparently, Font colors were implemented December 1, 2020.  I just never looked for them.  It took a few months to stumble across the Text Color Option while looking for something else.  Anyway, They're Here, and expect to see more color in the future.

Lastly, everyone who uses New Google Sites should occasionally visit Sites Help -- Learn what's new in Google Sites.

October 2, 2021  Automotive Ignition Switch Woes--DIY.  Our 17 year old SUV was having difficulty starting last month.  Every time we turned the ignition switch it went "Click" and wouldn't start until it felt like it.

The remedy involved a roll of Duck Tape and a bottle of St. Joseph's Low Dose Aspirin.  Here's what I did . . .   Click More Odds and Ends in the left sidebar to see photos and continue reading.

October 1, 2021 Fall Arrival--Photography.   It's now evident that summer is over.  The nights are chilly and much of the vegetation is displaying beautiful fall colors.  It is nice that we have four distinct seasons where we're located--about 15 miles south of the Canadian border.   Seven photos taken today in our front and back yards appear below.  

The bird bath and feeders are popular places this time of the year.  The bird bath requires refilling several time a day.  The neighborhood birds and squirrels are fed a mixture of wild bird and squirrel food 3 times daily.

Each feeding requires about 12 oz. of bird food and 4 oz. squirrel food--approximately 16 lbs. for bird- and 5 lbs. for squirrel food per week.  When the weather turns cold, about double that amount will be needed.   Also, stale bread and outdated breakfast cereal never goes to waste.  

That's the price we pay to have birds, squirrels, and an occasional rabbit visit us.  It's well worth it.  Most importantly, the birds and other critters are getting enough to eat and and drink.

September 30, 2021 Three Blade Pocket Knife Drawing--Sketchup.  Click SketchUp Projects in left sidebar to view.

September 28, 2021 Two Inch PVC Pipe with Tapered Threads--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in left sidebar to view.

September 27, 2021 Tapered Pipe Thread--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 25, 2021 Thread Drawing Preference--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 23, 2021 Troublesome Alignments and Selection While Drawing Cone Spirals--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 22, 2021  Groups Vs Components--SketchUp.   Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 21, 2021  Comparison of Coarse and Fine Threads--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 19, 2021 Drawing Threads to Scale--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 18, 2021  Assorted Thread Styles--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 15, 2021  Drawing Chamfers for a Bolt, Continued--SketchUp.  Click SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar to view.

September 13, 2021  A New Page for SketchUp Projects--T. Bolton Digital Art.  My home page is filling up and is taking too long to load on your end as well as mine.  It's time to make use of another page to hold future SketchUp posts--SketchUp projects including rendered images or videos, links to the related SketchUp models I have created, and links to helpful resources found on the internet (YouTube or other websites, for example).

Beginning today, if there is a new post related to SketchUp, I will make a notation on this page with instructions to click on SketchUp Projects in the left sidebar. 

September 11, 2021 Chamfers--SketchUp.   Chamfers are angles and curved indentations that are common when using a variety of materials such as metal, wood, plastics, or concrete. Processes can include, for example, casting, molding, fabrication, wood/metal turning, and 3D printing.  Chamfering is not only used for decorative purposes.  Its more functional purpose is to add strength to critical areas under stress, tension, or torque.

In today's post, chamfers are used to make starting a nut on a chamfered bolt easier; to provide strength to the head of a bolt where it meets the shaft and to the end of a thread closest the head.  Also shown are chamfers to take off the sharp corners of a hex bolt (round the sharp edges).  A similar chamfer can be added to the bottom of the head to prevent gouging the surface of a washer or other surface (not shown).  These are only general descriptions of chamfering.  They have many applications throughout the construction trades.

Below are three images showing four areas where chamfers have been applied.  Here is a link to the related downloadable SketchUp model (requires SketchUp to view):  Chamfered Bolts.

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September 10, 2021 Update:  Bolt with Eight Multiple Lead Threads--SketchUp.  If there were ever a need for 8 lead threads, here is what it might look like.  I designed the eight thread spiral using a three-foot radius (The four lead thread profile was drawn previously using a six-foot radius).

Proportionately that was 24'r/4 lead threads = 6' radius relative to the outer radius and length of 1 circle segment which is used for the initial thread profile height.  Today, 8 lead threads 24'r/8 lead threads = 3'r.  Other relationships for determining slope used in past posts were:  Single Thread, 24'r/1 thread = 24'r;  Double Thread 24/2 lead threads = 12'r; and Triple Thread 24/3 lead threads = 8'r for the purpose of using a magnified scale in SketchUp for these posts.

Other dimensions can be applied for the outer circle's diameter, but this method is simple to apply.  Twenty-four ft. is evenly divisible for drawing double, triple, quadruple, and also for eight multiple lead threads.  

Similarly, an outer line segment divided by 24 can be positioned vertically on any of the other radii to set the elevation/slope for any of the multiple lead threads drawn thus far.

Suggestions:

• It is important to use duplicated lengths and divisions (divide option) of line segments for accuracy.  

• Do not rely on SketchUp tape measure/ruler approximations, they will not work due to rounding.

• Temporary Guides created with with SketchUp's Protractor Tool will aid in drawing thread angles.

Every step for today's model was nearly the same except for the the lack of a chamfer where the upper end of the thread meets the shaft.  There didn't appear to be a way to smoothly transition between the ends of eight threads terminating at a steep angle with the cylindrical shaft.  See images below.

Here's the Link to the downloadable SketchUp model for the Multiple Lead Bolt with Eight Threads (requires SketchUp to open).

September 3, 2021 Multiple Lead Threads--SketchUp.   Here's another twist in thread design.  Instead of a single spiral extending upward to form a threaded bolt, it is possible to use more.  In today's examples I have created three models containing two, three, and four multiple lead threads.

Multiple lead threads are actually quite common.   Multiple Lead Threads on many plastic water bottles, for example, might have three lead threads.  The bottle cap requires 3 times fewer turns--Just a couple of twists and the cap can be removed or tightened.   There are also other advantages in using them--a better and more technical explanation of multiple lead threads can be found at the following link:  Cad cam Engineering WorldWide.

Today's SketchUp models can be downloaded by clicking here:  Multiple Lead Threaded Bolt 2 (2 Threads), Multiple Lead Threaded Bolt 3 (3 Threads),  Nut for Triple Lead Bolt (3 Threads), and Multiple Lead Threaded Bolt 4  (4 Threads).  The models require SketchUp to view.  They are very similar to others I have posted showing the progression of steps from start to finish.  The only difference is that today's thread profiles are divided into two, three, and four sections, respectively, with all three styles containing multiple 60 degree threads.  Single Lead Threads (1 Thread) have been discussed in many previous posts.

Notes for SketchUp Users:

The incline/slope of threads is based on 1/24 of a single segment of on the outer circumference used in the thread profiles.  The segment is rotated so that it is vertical and 1/24th of it is sliced off (divided) to form the elevation for slope on the 24 ft. radius circle.  It was then moved to the bolt's circumference which determines the elevation and slope of each segment as previously stated (See SketchUp Models linked above).

All bolt models began with a 24 ft. radius,.  Then the bolt radius was resized to 12 ft. for the double threaded bolt, 8 ft. for triple threaded bolt, and 6 ft. for the four-threaded bolt.  The incline is noticeably greater for the four-threaded bolt.  These dimensions are for illustrative purposes and for ease of use.

The Double Thread Multiple Lead Bolt Model contains two methods for configuring the Thread Profile. The images below show a single thread technique; however, the double thread profile shown in the SketchUp Model seems to be more straight forward and works equally well (See Bolt 2 Link above).

The Triple Thread Multiple Lead Bolt thread segment can be drawn with 3 threads or, Instead, just use the bottom 1/3 of the triple thread profile.  The single thread spiral can then be duplicated to make two more copies and then stacked the 3 as shown in the images below.

The SketchUp model for the Triple Thread Multiple Lead Bolt also shows detail on how to chamfer the ends of the thread. The upper chamfer nearest the bolt shaft was omitted from some of the other models.  More on chamfers will be presented in an upcoming post.

The last image in the series below is a diagram created with SketchUp that summarizes how I draw single thread and multiple lead threads using SketchUp.  The related SketchUp model that provides more details about initial setup (not shown in image) can be downloaded at this link (requires SketchUp to open):  Single and Multiple Lead Threads.

Updated:  09-30-2021, 09-28-2021, 09-27-2021, 09-25-2021, 09-23-2021, 09-22-2021, 09-21-2021, 09-19-2021, 09-18-2021, 09-15-2021, 09-13-2021, 09-11-2021, 09-10-2021, 09-03-2021.

August 31, 2021 Extrusion and Intersection--SketchUp.   The images below illustrate a profile of a man's head extruded through a sphere.  The profile was drawn with SketchUp using a series of arcs on a flat surface.  

The interior of the profile was pulled (extruded),  grouped. and placed inside a grouped sphere scaled to approximate the same size as the border of the profile.  After the extruded profile was inserted, the sphere and extruded profile were exploded and intersected.

The portion of the profile that protruded from the sphere was trimmed leaving only the profile's outline on the surface of the sphere.  Lastly, the interior of the profile remaining on the surface was removed (erased with Hidden Geometry checked) on both sides of the sphere in order to expose the hollow profile extending through the sphere.

August 23, 2021 Another Application for Spirals--SketchUp.   This post is a follow up to the August 2 Post below.  It illustrates another use for a spiral other than for fasteners.  The February 10 and 14, 2020 posts in the archive linked at the bottom of the page also show some other techniques used to accomplish about the same thing.

The February 10, 2020 archive post shows a custom thread created with a thread profile rather than by scaling as shown in Slides 33 and 34 in the August 2 slideshow below.

The February 14, 2020 post in the archive shows a slightly more stylish auger bit than today's examples below.  It has a better shape but the feed screw at the point wasn't as clearly defined as in today's.

Here are seven links to today's SketchUp models:  Auger Bit with Five Twists 18 MB, Auger Bit with Four Twists 3.3 MB, Auger Bit with Extra Wide Edge 3.4 MB,  Auger Bit--Larger Shaft 3.18 MB,  Auger Bit with Wide Edge 2.8 MB, Auger Bit with Elegant Spiral 15.6 MB  (similar to the February 14, 2020 Post); and Auger Bit 855 KB which demonstrates a more simplistic method.  The tapered screw points were copied from SketchUp models listed in the August 2 post.

August 20, 2021 Here Kitty Kitty--Photography.   Moose, Turkey Vultures, Deer, Pheasants, Magpies, Hawks, and Crows, are a few out-of-town guests we have had visit our back yard during the past several years.  Usually we expect to see in-town birds, neighborhood cotton tail rabbits, and squirrels throughout the year.

Recently, with a scarcity of water due to the drought, a raccoon caught our attention a few days ago around midnight.   It climbed the tree next to our bird feeder for a late night snack and then strolled over to a water dish next to the bird bath for a soothing drink.  We had noticed several days earlier that the bird feeder had been tipped over.  The raccoon apparently learned to stay away from the edge while eating to avoid a tumble.

August 17, 2021 Summer Drought--Cucumber Crop.   The potted vegetable plants featured in the July 27 post below have endured many hot and dry days.  Even though we water our dozen potted peas and cucumber plants, they have endured day after day of temperatures in the high 90's and triple digits.

In total, our peas yielded only enough pods for one small serving, if that.  The cucumber plants have begun to yellow.  There are still blossoms, but it is doubtful they will yield any more than the two tiny cukes shown below.

We were not anticipating a great harvest considering soil conditions, drainage, and plant growth above and below ground.  Gardening on any scale is an enjoyable activity that is worth the time and effort just to nurture and observe plant life.

August 5, 2021 Gif Animation--SketchUp and Gimp.   Here is an animated gif created with images rendered from a SketchUp model that I completed in 2018 (May 7, 2018 post in 2018 Archive linked a the bottom of this page).  Gimp's Lighting Filters, Layers, and Animation Options were applied.

In past years, Classic Google Sites only allowed a link to this gif image in Google Drive--it did not provide an option to insert the functioning gif animation.  Now, with the New Google Sites, displaying a gif animation is as simple as inserting an ordinary jpg image saved in Google Drive.

Many other scenes (still images) from the same SketchUp model can be viewed at Digital Art  by clicking the link in the Left Sidebar (Digital Art 2 >Subcategories 1950s).

August 2, 2021 SketchUp--Modeling from Scratch.   Using the basic SketchUp tool set may require more time and effort compared to using special-purpose extensions and applications.  It's similar to using antique hand tools for carpentry instead of a CNC machine--well, maybe not that extreme.

The PowerPoint presentation below contains images rendered from some of my favorite SketchUp review projects.  I'll occasionally repeat these with minor variations to prevent getting "rusty."  Each SketchUp model required about an hour to complete.  The tapered spiral screws projects (Slides 16, 18, 31 and 36) were more labor intensive, however.

Slide 39 illustrates the use of an extension that simplifies the thread and bolt making process.  The extension/app used here was downloaded for use with SketchUp 17.  After installation, it was accessible from the Tools menu.  The advantage of using this feature other than saving labor and time is the ability to select either Metric or SAE standard preset thread sizes.  Larger sizes require more time to process.

Here are links to recent SketchUp Models.  All 13 models are downloadable. They require SketchUp to view: 

1. Three Bolts (Slides 11, 12, and 13)

2. Three Convex Head Wood Screws (Slide 16) 

3. Three Flat Head Wood Screws (Slide 18) Flat Head Screws were formed using 12-segment circle.  Slide 32  (Link #10) was made with eight segments; Slide 38 (Link #12) was made with 72 Segments; and the rest were formed using 24-segment circles.

4. Three Bolts with 60 Degrees Thread Angle and Concentric Shoulders (Slide 19) 

5. Three Coarse Thread Screws (Slide 20)  

6. Three Coarse Thread Screws Version 2 (Slide 21)  Shows detailed steps from start to finish.

7. Bolts - Nuts - Washers - and Screws  (Slides 22--25)

8. Complex Thread Profile  23.6 MB (Slides 26--30)

9. Three Flat Head Tapered Screws (Slide 31)  Model shows detailed steps from start to finish.

10. Three Flat Head Tapered Screws Eight Segments (Slide 32)  Models shown in Link #3 and #10 are not practical other than to illustrate that it can be done.

11. Fine Thread Tapered Wood Screws 12 MB (Slide 36) Written Instructions are included in model.

12. Fine Thread Metal Screws 72 Segments (Slide 37) Demonstrates another method for making spirals.

13. Three Metal Screws (Slide 38) Thread Diameter in Model is 12' with 24 segment circle-- Thread Angle, 60 Degrees.  Steps for drawing Thread Profile are also shown.

Updated:  08-31-2021, 08-23-2021, 08-20-2021, 08-17-2021, 08-05-22021, 08-02-2021.

July 27, 2021 Potted Plants--Gardening.   Lawn and garden maintenance can be time consuming and expensive.  Whether you live in a single family dwelling or condo with a landscaped yard containing trees, shrubs, flowers, and grass, you pay for it.

Personal pride, hobby, ability, ambition, free time, budget, and property upkeep befitting the community all factor into decision making/your needs.

With many trees and hedges, our property requires tree pruning and occasionally professional care from an arborist.  Invasive roots and tree removal, for example, are issues we cannot handle ourselves.  

A push mower meets the requirements for our small yard (approx. 7000 sq. ft.).  During this hot and dry summer, the lawn has become dormant and brown in spots.  No mowing required.  With water restrictions possible, turning on the sprinkler is out of the question.

We do have a need for watering our potted flowers and vegetables.  One pot of multi-colored petunias and two hanging pots of red waxed begonias are misted each evening and given a soaking.  Four pots of snap peas and five of cucumbers are given a drink once daily from a small hand-held sprinkling can.  The three flower pots brighten up our front deck while the nine pots of vegetables reside behind our patio in the back yard.

Our yard and foliage are definitely not an extravagance or overstatement, but along with a large lilac shade bush in the front yard, the extra vegetation gives our home a lived in look and feel.

July 24, 2021 Woodpeckers--Photography.   Woodpeckers will occasionally feed on ants in our backyard.  Today's visitors appear to be an adult with its nearly grown fledging.  I'm not sure which parent is responsible for feeding--or maybe it's both.

It looks like the youngster is  learning how to feed on its own but also enjoys an offering from its parent.  Here are four photos from about 20 taken showing their activity.

July 21, 2021 Fiber Optic Installation Completed--Technology.   The last phase of a year-long project to provide fiber optic cable for internet and phone is now complete.  Burying underground fiber optic cable and attaching the point of access to the exterior of our house were finished last year (See the July 22 and August 3, 2020 posts in the 2020 Archive linked at the bottom of this page).

Today, technicians from our phone company/internet service provider installed a fiber optic (media) converter in the basement and a new modem upstairs.  The entire operation required about an hour to complete (See photos below).

July 20, 2021  Tom's Summer Salad--Food.   I don't take credit for inventing this recipe.  Today's post is a spinoff of a recipe I learned by watching Paula Deen's television show a few years ago.  I didn't get all the ingredients written down, but what I got tasted mighty good.  I believe she called it Succotash.  Here's how I prepared it today . . . Click the Food link in the left side bar to continue reading.

July 19, 2021  Satellite Radio, Phone, WIfi, Bluetooth--Pairing Devices.  We splurged this year and subscribed to SiriusXM for the SUV's radio.  To make it more appealing, SIriusXM also provides connectivity with their cell phone and tablet app.  It is also possible to sign in to their website on the computer via Wifi.  Once Logged in, I created a shortcut to the login page on the desktop.  Make life easier by having the computer remember the password.

We can now use the app on a Samsung Galaxy Tablet and two Samsung Cell phones.  In addition, I created a shortcut to their website on the computer's desktop as mentioned earlier.  

Pairing.  I set up pairing on both phones and the tablet so they can connect to Bluetooth ear buds and to a small Bluetooth enabled stereo. Some smart TVs with compatible casting features and gaming devices can could also be connected. Our desktop computer does not have Bluetooth installed--everything is self contained.

With regard to the vehicle radio, phones, tablet, and computer, etc., only one device at a time can be logged in (when using the same login information on all devices).  On the computer a notification appears stating that you have logged in to somewhere else.  To resolve this for multiple listeners in different locations using separate devices, you'll need to purchase additional subscriptions/accounts.  That's o.k. for me.  I never drive with the radio on--too distracting.

Trouble Shooting.  The Google Play Store App would not install any Apps on our older Samsung cell phone.  After multiple queries using Google Search at the computer, the solution was eventually found.  It involved performing  a series of fixes until Google Play Store would work as it was supposed to.    In short, the current version of Google Play Store on the cell phone had to be uninstalled so that the phone would revert to its factory setting for that app.  Here's the Link for doing that:  Uninstall Google Play Store.  Issue fixed!

The sound quality in our SUV is excellent.  As expected, the ear buds, cell phones, and small stereo are a bit tinny by comparison.  Regardless of your music preference, the presentation of music by DJs and other content is worth the money.  It's like listening to your favorite radio station (a.k.a. channel) but without all the fast-talking advertisements.

July 15, 2021  Sourdough Bread--A New Approach.  Last year, many posts described my struggles and successes making sourdough bread (see 2020 Archives at the bottom of this page).  Several days prior to ending my six-month calorie counting endeavor last week, I added one cup of water to two cups of flour and began the process of making sourdough starter that is required for baking sourdough bread.  I had missed the involved process of baking sourdough bread, baguettes, bagels, and pretzels and was ready to resume with the understanding it would be done on a more limited basis to avoid belly bulge.

This year I'm trying Dakota Maid Unbleached All-purpose Flour instead of Bread Flour.   After seven days, the starter was active and ready to go.  Two loaves were baked this morning after following the normal routine for mixing, kneading, folding and allowing time for the dough to rise and proof that began yesterday evening.

I dispensed with the large Dutch Oven shown in last year's posts and used a smaller Pyrex bowl with a lid  (see image below).  It was necessary to make a few adjustments . . .  Continue reading this post by clicking the Food link in the left sidebar.

July 11, 2021  Calorie Counting--Six Month Summary.  After 6 months of jotting down every meal and snack, the results are evidenced by the numbers.  It was clear from the start that eating smaller meals was working.  After four months, my lowest weight was attained, but as luck would have it, I experienced a set back due to a foot ailment.  With one bad wheel, I was unable to transition to an exercise routine as I had wanted when spring arrived.  

During the last two months, my weight fluctuated a few pounds but nothing significant was regained because I stuck to counting calories.  During this period weight maintenance became a priority instead of weight loss.  Boosting the calories a few hundred more calories a week compensated for sporadically limping around the house the past 7 or 8 weeks. 

I am now discontinuing the daily spreadsheet update.  At this point, I don't need to keep a record of every mouthful of food eaten, but it will be absolutely necessary to set ground rules for portion control.  Basically, no "seconds" or "thirds" when snacking or at mealtime.  Abstaining from excessive consumption of sweets and sodas, etc. is a must.

Here are links to my completed Spread Sheet for weight loss and calorie counting.  It can be viewed as either a Word Document or PDF File.  

Below is an updated chart which shows the six month weight loss from January 10 through July 10.   Lastly, all calorie counting posts have been consolidated and can be viewed in chronological order beginning with January's post by clicking:  All Posts Word Document or All Posts PDF File.

July 10, 2021  Gimp Filters--Photography.  After a photo has been taken, Gimp can be used to create a more abstract version of the image.  The picture of petunias in a flower pot had Gimp's Oilify and Canvas artistic filters applied.

July 4, 2021  Celebrate July 4th!--Burn Ban.  Usually the days leading up to the 4th are pretty noisy in our town. Fireworks intensifies until the big explosions are set off on the evening of the Fourth.  Even with a few good soakings last week, drought conditions still exist in our area.

Most, but not all know about the risk of fire and the burn ban in effect.  Those who ignore or are unaware could be looking at hefty fines.  It's not like you can set off fireworks without telling people where you're at.

Not everyone is saddened by the restriction.  The in-town birds will be able to roost at their normal time.  Cats and dogs who are usually scared to death will remain at peace.  For me, the light show and booming will be missed, but the aftermath--the nauseating smell of sulfur and gun powder drifting through town--will not.

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July

July 2, 2021  Midi Connectivity--Technology.  I've always been fascinated with pianos.  We had one in our home when I was growing up but never made an effort to learn how to play it.

My first electronic keyboard was purchased at Davy B's Guitar City in the early 70s.  It was a Fender Contempo (organ) and had a selection of voices changed by flipping switches above the keys.  It predated midi and micro computers.  This was back in the day when rock bands like Three Dog Night frequently featured the organ . . . Continue reading this post by clicking the Video Music Files link in the left side bar.

July 1, 2021  Music Notation and MIDI--MuseScore Download.  One more freeware application was downloaded today.  I converted several of my old midi files to sheet music like I've been doing for the past few days using other recent downloads (see below).  Today's project didn't require any coding of notes or manual input except for song title and composer, etc.

Everything worked great, but I suspect errors in the appearance of each score was caused by the initial settings of my midi device when songs were recorded more than 10 years ago.   There's nothing spectacular about any of the midi or wav files.  The  songs were created to learn more about midi keyboards.  

I'm satisfied with the pdf files generated even with many technical errors on my part.  The Video Music Files webpage with images and links to midi, wav, and pdf files has been updated.  Click on the Video Music Files link in the left sidebar for further information. 

Updated:  07-27-2021, 07-24-2021, 07-22-2021, 07-21-2021, 07-20-2021, 07-19-2021, 07-15-2021, 07-11-2021, 07-10-2021, 07-04-2021, 07-02-2021, 07-01-2021

June 29, 2021  Music Notation and MIDI--LilyPond and Frescobaldi.  This morning while still in bed I tuned into YouTube on the T.V. and viewed about half of the LilyPond Tutorials.  Wow!  Of course, there was too much here to digest before breakfast but it was a good overview.

An hour later I went back to the computer opened Frescobaldi, and imported another old composition originally converted to midi in 2009.  Rather than fill up this web page, I put links, images, and additional comments on my Video Music Files page in the left side bar . . .

June 27, 2021  Music Notation and MIDI--Gimp Enhancement.  The last couple of days have been devoted to playing with Knoppix 9.1 and new software that was included with the distribution.  Among them was Denemo that includes the LilyPond music notation program.  The only thing I was able to accomplish was to connect my MIDI keyboard and play a few notes.  I had absolutely no idea what was going on.

After checking out a few tutorials on Denemo and the music notation engraver, LilyPond, I realized much more study and practice would be required.  If using LilyPond as a standalone application, all notational data is entered entirely by typing commands such as {a b c d e f g} that would print out the scale on a musical staff (see link below).  Denemo is a graphical interface that utilizes LilyPond's features and speeds up the process.  At first glance, it is too complex for an occasional dabbler such as myself.  Here are two YouTube links that I found helpful:  Creating a Muscial Score - Musically!  and  LilyPond Tutorial #1.

This morning, I also downloaded Denemo with LilyPond to Windows.  There is a Mac Os version as well.  During the Windows install, my security software alerted me to a suspect Trojan file and quarantined it.

Later in the day I watched LilyPond Tutorial #3 and immediately downloaded Frescobaldi 3.1.3 (Windows version), another freeware application that is used in conjunction with LilyPond.  The tutorial provided excellent instructions on how to download and configure it.  I also installed the standalone Window's version of LilyPond 2.22.1 required to engrave the music.  For now, I am printing to a PDF file.  If you like music, you might like doing this.

As a music theory novice, I usually connect the MIDI keyboard to Window's Anvil Studio (free version).  By comparison it is much easier to set up and use.  After saving the song/mid file to the hard drive, sheet music was printed to png and pdf using Midi Sheet Music 2.6 (free version).  To print with Anvil Studio requires expending some cash for their printing application which I suspect does a more complete job including articulations and dynamics that were not included in today's image.

The image below was saved as a PNG and later converted to JPG in Gimp.  Canvas, Old Photo, and Weave filters were applied with Gimp.  Narrow weave settings were used to simulate sheet music silkscreened onto fabric (for artistic purposes only).  The color was obtained by colorizing the black & white original image and then adjusting the hue and color with a touch of green.  Here are the Gimp Weave Filter settings applied below:  Ribbon Width 2;  Ribbon Spacing 1; Shadow Darkness 15; Shadow Depth 20: Thread Length 200; Thread Density 20; and Thread Intensity 75.

Lastly, the song title and composer's name were edited with Gimp which replaced a default left aligned filename at the top.

LISTEN TO JANUARY GROOVE

June 25, 2021  Flash Knoppix 9.1.0--For Windows 10 USB Port.   If you live on Geek Street like I do, you might want to create a new Knoppix Linux Thumb Drive.  I reviewed version 8.2 in a post made several years ago, but there are now a few minor changes in the installation/set up.  Here are the links to that post dated October 20, 2018, however, some of the links to resources are possibly out of date for version 9.1.0  Knoppix 8.2 Installation Word Document  or Knoppix 8.2 Installation PDF File.  I used the Mozilla Firefox web browser in Windows to download the updated resource files (I'm not sure if that makes any difference).

Software links I used today:

Knoppix 9.1.0 -- Public Release  (free)  4.5 GB took about 2 hours to download on my 50 mb DSL connection.  (Netflix was also streaming.)

Universal USB Installer from uptodown.com  version 2.0.0.4  (free)  Smaller program with quick download and install.

Both files are downloaded to your hard drive.  The Knoppix file is in .iso format and is of no use without opening it with the Universal USB Installer app which needs to be installed on your hard drive--very easy--administrative rights required.  I used the FAT 32 specification when asked.  I selected the "Debian" platform for linux when asked since Flash Knoppix or Knoppix was not among the list of choices.  It worked before and it worked this time.

After the Universal USB installer app is installed, insert a thumb drive and follow the instructions carefully and proceed caution. Make sure your settings point to your Thumb Drive (not your hard disk drive).  And when asked if you want all your network settings removed answer NO.  When asked to set the partition size I chose the first option and set it to the max value which was about 29 GB on the 32 GB thumb drive being used.

Lastly, to make a persistent copy/Live-Mode (That is, you can save changes to the thumb drive.)  Put the newly created thumb drive in one USB port and preferably a 32 GB or larger empty thumb drive in another USB port.  Turn on the computer and let it boot Knoppix.  If there is a pause in the boot, type the word Knoppix at the flashing prompt and press enter. 

Once Knoppix Boots, click the lower left corner and select Knoppix from the pop up menu.  From the Knoppix options select Install Knoppix to flash disk.  After a momentary pause a message box ask where you want to install Knoppix.  Choose the r  (first on the list) Installation on removable (flash-) devices.  Click OK and continue.    When installation has finished, remove the original and restart the computer with the newest copy.

Save the original, it can be used to create duplicates if so desired or use it in its non-writable mode if you're moving from computer to computer, or are otherwise leery of modifying its content.  Linux is a departure from Windows 10.  Things can get screwed up very quickly if you begin experimenting.  Its good to keep a backup just in case.

Here's a view of the January, 2021 Distribution's Desktop after I've added a few of my short cuts.

Flash Knoppix 9.1 First Impression.

Downloads and installation went smoothly--no do overs.  (Do be careful.)

System improvements compared to Knoppix 8.2:  

• Internet connection detected automatically.  (Knoppix 8.2 did that too.)

• Office Libre installation of US English dictionary completed by following links provided in message boxes and making selections by clicking options.  Unnecessary to enter the terminal mode to type coded instructions.  

• GTKam App for USB camera interface located my camera, and in a click or two, the connection was established, 

• Installation of a Custom Theme at the top of Firefox browser worked on the first try.

• Copied all links to folder and frequently used apps to Desktop for easy access.

• File Manager opens to Home/Knoppix where I created folders for Downloads, My Documents and My Pictures.  The Desktop System folder was there by default.  Everything I need most often is in one place (easy to find if dozens of hidden files are kept hidden). Their shortcuts (links) were copied to the desktop for single-click access (see desktop screenshot above).

• Updated desktop wallpaper and screensavers are cool.

June 24, 2021  Internet Reflection--Digital Technology.   Looking back to the late 70's was the time I became addicted to the Micro Computer.  Everything about them was so mysterious and so exciting and fun.  One of my most memorable moments was when I located the power switch and turned on an Apple II computer for the very first time.  There have been many new computers since then and I still get the same rush.  Continue reading this post by clicking either link:  Internet Reflection--Word Document  or  Internet Reflection--PDF File.

June 23, 2021  Windows 10 Photo Editor--with SketchUp and Gimp Continued . . .   The image below on the left was rendered from the June 18 SketchUp model (see below).  A top view was used with the selected object set to a transparent green color to allow all lines (edges) to show through.

Next, a Gimp filter was used to map the image as a sphere.  After mapping, the  image was initially oval.  Its outer circumference was rescaled to a more circular shape (image on the right).  The inner area, however, remained oblong.

Here is the before and after version.  The SketchUp image on the left was used for sphere mapping.  The remaining examples on the right have Gimp Hue and Contrast adjustments.  Also, those with darker backgrounds have Windows Photo Editor filters applied.

June 22, 2021  Windows 10 Photo Editor--with SketchUp and Gimp.   I frequently edit image drawn in other applications with the Windows Photo editor to take advantage of several easy-to-use features.  The Light adjustment exposure feature is one of the most common adjustments made.  Photo straightening is another--much quicker than Gimp's rotate feature.  When it comes to cropping images--Gimp is far more flexible when making individual adjustments to all four sides independent of the other sides.  You may have noticed that the Windows Photo Editor Vignette option (darkened corners) shows up a lot on this website.

Here are two exported images from SketchUp with some editing done with both Windows Photo Editor and Gimp.  The related SketchUp File can be downloaded here:  Hex Bolt.skp  (requires SketchUp to open and view).  The bolts are viewed with Edges showing in the Parallel Projection Camera mode.

June 19, 2021  Our History and Our Heritage--Juneteenth.  As defined by the Google Chrome search phrase: "define Juneteenth."

   June·teenth
        /jo͞oːnˌtēːnTH,ˌjo͞onˈtēnTH,jo͞o:nˈtē:nTH/
noun

a holiday celebrated on 19 June to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US.  The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

Definition from Oxford Languages

June 18, 2021  Hue and Saturation--SketchUp and Gimp.  The image below was exported as a jpeg image from a recent SketchUp model to be used to illustrate Gimp's Hue and Saturation option.  The first image was the original style exported from SketchUp.  The five images that follow have varying degrees of Hue, Lightness, and Saturation applied.  A canvas filter and a brightness adjustment were also added.  Here is a link to today's SketchUp Model:  Concentric Spires.skp (For download only.  Requires SketchUp to view).

Lastly, here is another SketchUp exported image with edges showing.  It also has Assorted Styles > Brush Stroke and Canvas applied.  No Gimp color and brightness alterations have been applied.  Gimp was used only to insert the signature in the corner.

June 16, 2021  Air Freshener and Mosquito Repellant--DIY Recyclables.  What have we here?  Well, it looks like a bored old man found something to play with.

I taped together two empty plastic 3.5 oz. gelatin or pudding cups with the bottom cup filled with ground dried halo peels (I assume tangerine or orange peels would be about the same).  Since halos are small, it will require 6--8 peels to fill the bottom cup.  Use a blender grinder attachment to grind crumpled pieces of peel.  (Expect some discoloration inside your blender which may require more than a gentle rinse to clean.) 

Before taping, vent / shaker holes were punched in the top cup with an ice pick (see photos below).  Hopefully, when used as an air freshener it can be shaken (side to side) to circulate the ground peel each day to bring fresh granules to the top.  For outdoor use, holes also serve as a shaker for dispensing the finely ground peel.

This is an untested project.  I am uncertain about mold or spoilage inside the vented cups.  As with any organic material, it will not sustain indefinitely. Proceed with caution.

For use outdoors, my plan is to sprinkle some around the border of our patio near the grass line or beneath our lawn furniture, etc.  Since the drought in our area has continued, mosquitos have not been a problem.  In the past, I have tried commercially sold citrus candles to drive away outdoor pests.   After choking from the noxious fumes, the only one that was driven away was me.

Whether used as an air freshener indoors, or as an insect repellant outdoors, I make no claim that either will be effective.  In my opinion, the scent of ground halo peel is pleasant and it is a shame to simply throw the peels in the garbage.

June 15, 2021  Veggie Drinks Re-invented--Food and Nutrition.  Homemade veggie/blender drinks consumed immediately after they're made really gives a person a boost.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the last time I made one until today's.

Ten years ago, we invested in a Magic Bullet and a few years later, upgraded to a Nutri-Bullet.  Both were used primarily for making blender drinks--milk shakes, smoothies, and most frequently, veggie drinks.  They were also used from time to time for grinding grains, coffee, dried orange peel, flax seed, etc.

The Nutri-Bullet was also capable of crushing ice with a bit of water added, but I thought  that was asking too much of it to grind up large ice cubes.  Therefore, I usually wrapped them in a towel and gave them a few whacks with a hammer before putting ice in the blender.

Eventually, the preparation and cleanup was a hassle and blender drinks became a passing fade.  As I recall, during the time I included veggie drinks in my daily diet, my health and vitality improved.  For that reason, I'll once again add them as a low calorie and nutritious supplement.   Admittedly, the hassle still exists, but the benefits derived may be worth it.

Continue reading this post by Clicking the Food link in the Left Side Bar . . .

June 10, 2021  Old Typewriter--Sketchup and Gimp Update.  I Put the finishing touches on yesterday's SketchUp model.  Gimp was used to fade out the background by adjusting the contrast.  Color, lighting, and texture were changed by applying a variety of built-in filters.   Like the Model-T automobile of old, office equipment from that era came in a variety of colors--all black.  I couldn't resist adding some more color using Gimp.  Seven additional images were posted below.

Also, here is the link to the downloadable Underwood Typewriter.skp SketchUp model in its completed form (requires SketchUp to open).  Included in the model is a photo used for reference.  The model was not made from a measured drawing.  Many parts are out of proportion; other parts were modified as attention to detail became a rough estimate.  There are better photos available online, but I preferred to use one that I had taken of the typewriter in my home--the machine I used to learn how to type.

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June 9, 2021  Old Typewriter--Sketchup and Gimp.  The body, keyboard, and carriage of my old Underwood No. 5 were drawn today with SketchUp.  The internal parts in the open design typewriter from the early 1900s are yet to be added.  The most distinctive feature is the "bell" in the lower back left corner. 

The Tab settings were performed at the back of this typewriter and are similar to the margin stops and scale on the front.  Other main parts remaining to be drawn are various control levers, paper bail, and the ribbon assembly.

More detail will be added and rounding of the body will also be performed. On the initial images drawn today, a black background camouflages the missing interior parts.

 June 7, 2021  Wire Rimmed Glasses--Sketchup and Gimp.  Transparency, translucency, opacity, refraction, and shadows are elements of light and the absence of it that I don't fully understand.  SketchUp and Gimp were used again to practice a few techniques that have always been a challenge--namely, light and shadows.  I have linked the model used to create a pair of wire rim/wireframe glasses--like John Lennon's, Harry Potter's, or an old pair of my grandpa's:  Wire Rim Glasses.skp, (Downloadable only--requires the SketchUp application to open).

Below is a series of image variations created with Gimp.  The first and second images are renderings exported from today's SketchUp model.  Those that follow were altered using Gimp with color, cloning, smudging, and changes to paint brush and eraser opacity.  Artistic filters for canvas and directional lighting were also applied. 

June 4, 2021  Five Shots--Sketchup and Gimp.  The images below were rendered from a SketchUp model.  Two shot glasses in the foreground were painted with mirrors set to a 40% opacity.  The three other were painted with various percentages of yellow, gray, and green, respectively.  The table and wall coverings were selections from SketchUp's Materials/Textiles options.

The second image has the camera at a lower angle.  There is also a shadow feature cast upon the table top.  Notice the transparent shot glasses did not cast a shadow.   Opaque color levels less than 70 will not cast shadows.  In the past, I have cast a shadow for lighter, semi-transparent objects by first painting objects with a solid color and and saving them with a cast shadow.

Afterward, I would save another image with the opacity level restored without a shadow.   I would then use GIMP to apply the shadow onto the second image using an upper transparent layer and ligthen the shadow's intensity where the glass is thinnest to simulate transparency.  Here's a couple of links to jpeg images from a few years ago that illustrate this techniuqe:  Ship in a Bottle tcb 01-05-2014.jpg  and  Bottle of Bolts and Screws tcb 10-19-2016.jpg.

Here is the link to download today's SktechUp model:  Five Shots.skp.   The file requires SketchUp to open. 

Lastly, here are links to an update of the above post that I took off the home page because of overcrowding:

Five Shots--SketchUp and Gimp Update Word Document or Five Shots--SketchUp and Gimp Update PDF file.

June 3, 2021  Drawing an 18-Thread Tapered Screw with Smaller Radius--Sketchup.  Again, using yesterday's model as a guide, I tried to draw a slimmer version of yesterday's screw.  This time, I set it up with a 144:6 ratio  (144 ft. length to 6 ft. radius).  As before, there were a few snags that arose.  Those anomalies occur whenever you let go of an entity or a group in not quite the correct place.  Fortunately there were no major do overs.  The entire project including drawing a redesigned screw head required about 3 hours.

The parallel projection camera view from the top position came in handy once again for connecting the uppermost segment of the thread spiral with the top of the cone's surface.  Considering there are 432 segments in the spiral, it is necessary to be extremely careful whenever editing this group.

Here is the link for today's SketchUp model, Eighteen-Thread Small Diameter Tapered Screw.skp, which can be downloaded and viewed with SketchUp.

To conclude this series, we have to address the lingering question, "What do we do with a 144 ft. screw?"  Since it will most definitely need to be scaled down, it should be done proportionately from a top corner to an opposing bottom corner.  To make life somewhat easier, I do the scaling in two separate stages.

1.  Duplicate the grouped screw and scale it corner to corner until you can barely see it.  It will be very difficult to work with among the land of the giants standing nearby.  Therefore, copy it and open a new file without saving changes to the existing file.

2. Next, paste the screw into the new SketchUp document--The screw will most likely be about a half foot tall.  In the photo below, I had resized again and moved it to the blue vertical axis line with the full-scale SketchUp Guy in the background for reference.  My desired Screw Length is 1.5 inches.
   
   Scaling Method:   I created a box that is 1.5 inches from the base of the screw upward.  To finish, the top corner of the screw is scaled downward diagonally until the top surface of the screw is occupying the same surface as the box (the screw should be grouped).  Finally, erase the box and Save.  That's it.

June 2, 2021  Drawing an 18-Thread Tapered Screw--Sketchup.  Using yesterday's model as a guide, I tried once again making a longer screw.  This time, I expanded it to the ratio of 144:12  (144 ft. length x 12 ft. radius).  There were a few variations (quirks) that came up along the way, but it was possible to make adjustments.

One thing that was very important was to use the parallel projection camera view from the Top position while fine tuning the spiral line connection at the apex.  If not used, it is difficult to make the alignment and connection--I couldn't have finished without using these features.

Rather than redo drawing the screw heads, I opted to fabricate yesterday's onto today's threads.  Here is the link to today's SketchUp model showing every step.  Eighteen-Thread Tapered Screws.skp which can be downloaded and viewed with SketchUp.

Lastly, this SketchUp model does not represent the true shape of a wood screw--the main purpose is to illustrate how deformation using the scale tool can be applied to a cone.

June 1, 2021  Drawing a Longer Conical Thread--Sketchup.  The wood screw shown in the May 28 post was very tiny--perhaps meant to be used on a thin piece of paneling--3/8" thick, for example.  Today's SketchUp model was slightly more ambitious with a couple more threads.

After 3 failed attempts making a screw with the ratio of 12:72  (12 radius:72 length), I tried a 12:36 size with success.  It is interesting to note that just a couple more threads were much more labor intensive and required even more diligence on maintaining precision.  Trail and error was required to find the best way to insure accuracy.  To spread everything out the 12 and 36 were scaled in feet.

The following link for today's SketchUp model shows all the steps from start to finish:  Longer Tapered Screw.skp.  The model is for download only and requires SketchUp to open.   (Update . . . Here's another practice file showing  spiral and thread creation:  Spiral Review.skp.)

Updated:  06-29-2021, 06-27-2021,06-25-2021, 06-24-2021, 06-23-2021, 06-22-2021, 06-19-2021, 06-18-2021, 06-16-2021, 06-15-2021, 06-10-2021, 06-09-2021, 06-07-2021, 06-05-2021, 06-04-2021, 06-03-2021, 06-02-02-2021, 06-01-2021.

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May 31, 2021  Honoring those who died defending our Country and our Freedom.

May 31, 2021  Homemade Dandelion Wine.   Seventeen years ago to the day, I made use of an abundant crop of dandelions that sprung up in my back yard.  I bought 24 quart jars, 20 pounds of sugar, and a few other ingredients to begin what turned out to be a very tasty but time consuming project.

I'll now jump forward to this morning.  The dandelions are succulent just before Noon.  If it's warm, they will begin to close up by mid day.  Learning from experience, I wasn't going to make six gallons like I'd done in 2004 with five separate batches with blends of apricot, golden plump raisins, and plum (not very good).

My goal this year is to begin with one quart today, and over the next day or two prepare five more quarts depending on the dandelion supply.  For the first quart I plucked one pint of dandelion flowers.  After bringing them indoors, all the green parts had to be removed from the petals--which required about an hour to do.  The yield of petals was about 1 ounce or 30 grams.  Tomorrow I'll repeat plucking and cleaning another batch--I'll get an earlier start and try to double the harvest.

Here is a dandelion recipe online that is very similar to what I have used:  Make Your Own Dandelion Wine  at thespruceEats.com.

Below are a few photos showing some of the preliminary steps for today's winemaking.   To clarify:  The strained liquid was retained for the wine.  After the last drop of goodness was pressed through the filter, the dandelion petals were discarded.   There will be no further pictures any time soon.  I will be giving the wine a year or two to age.

May 28, 2021  Tapered Spiral Thread Revisited--SketchUp.   The March 8 post earlier this year provided details and a link to how a tiny wood screw was modeled using SketchUp.  At that time, I had applied the Weld Extension to the spiral line used to shape the thread.  Today, I have opted to simply group the line segments which formed the coil as I had done in the past.  The purpose of repeating this topic is basically a refresher and refinement of the multiple steps used in the project.

While not an especially Earth shattering example, it does require a high degree of precision from start to finish.  The application of the spiral to the cone, its duplication and rotation, and scaling (deformation) to form the threads can be tricky.  Here is a link to the downloadable SketchUp model for today's project  Wood Screw.skp which requires SketchUp to open.  Links to helpful online resources are provided in the March 8 post.  Below are a few outtakes from today's model. 

May 21, 2021  Granite Sphere Ley Lines--SketchUp and Gimp.   It was not my intention to draw an inscribed granite sphere today, but that is what I got.  SketchUp was used to create just the wire frame of a sphere similar to the sphere shown in the May 2 post below.  Next, I went to SketchUp's Assorted Styles (SketchUp 17) and tried various background and line treatments until I found something I liked:  PSO Cursive, created by Paul Stevenson Oles.   This style used an eye-catching glass and mirrors material named Translucent Resin Crush Gray.  After that, I exported the sphere and some of the background as a jpeg which became a 2-d image.

Gimp was then applied to restore its spherical appearance:  Filters > Map > Map Objects > Sphere (Gimp 2.8).  Next, the circle select tool was used to copy and paste it to a new layer with the gray background color used on this page.  Lastly, the image was cropped, resized, saved as a jpeg, and uploaded here.

May 19, 2021  Wok- and Air-Fry Dandelions--Cooking.   It seems like any time of the year, except when the ground is covered with snow, we have dandelions.  Spring usually has the best crop available for eating, that is, if you don't saturate your lawn with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers.   We've never applied chemicals for weed control, etc.--we deal with them the old fashioned way--either dig 'em up or mow 'em down.

Because of that, I will occasionally prepare a salad using some of the tender dandelion leaves.  Today was the first time I've tried cooking the tops, that is, the blossoms/flowers . . . Continue reading this post by clicking the Food link in the left side bar.

May 17, 2021  Homemade and Ready to Heat Food--Air Fry Update.   Our new air fryer has given us a change of pace over the past week and a half.  Besides breaded cauliflower and a couple batches of delicious French fries, we've air fried . . . continue reading by clicking the Food link in the left side bar.

May 15, 2021  Pasta Salads from a Box--Quick Tip.  If you serve pasta salad . . . continue reading by clicking the Food link in the left side bar.

May 13, 2021.  Sphere with Octagonal Extrusions--SketchUp and Gimp.    The the model created today follows a similar method for altering the surface of a sphere used in the May 5 SketchUp model earlier this month.

Three views were rendered for the images below using the parallel projection camera option in SketchUp.  The internal view cutout (image 3) was accomplished by moving nearer the front surface of the sphere until the focus was inside.

Here is a link to the model's SketchUp file:  Octagonal Extrusions (.skp file for download only--requires SketchUp to view).  Gimp was used to adjust the contrast, hue, and to add my signature to the rendered images shown below:

If you are wondering what the skp file for today's download looks like, here is a snippit of it.  Whenever I am practicing or creating a single object model, I duplicate each step and continue by working on the duplicate.  

I will go back to an earlier step in case of a catastrophic error without starting over from the beginning.  It is also recommended that you save or backup up frequently.  Using the Undo key has its limitations.  If you save to back up, the undo feature starts afresh.  Duplicating is not an efficient use of file space, but when finished, old duplicates can be deleted.  Over time, a complex sequence of steps may be forgotten.  Save a copy as a handy method for review.

May 9, 2021.  Weight Maintenance--Week 18 of Calorie Counting.    Today marks the beginning of my 18th week of calorie counting.  After 17 weeks my body weight has declined by nearly 15% and it is time to switch from a calorie deficit strategy to body weight maintenance.

Recent blood work done after a visit with the doctor revealed an abnormality/deficiency indicative of what results from rapid weight loss.  During the time I've been counting calories (dieting), I lost about twice as much as I had expected (32 pounds instead of 10--15).

From this point onward, it's just hind sight to rationalize why this happened.  Here are possible reasons:

• Overestimating daily calorie consumption; in other words, inaccurate data on my end; overzealous.

• Underestimating daily level of physical activity--I had considered myself sedentary (sitting at the computer, etc.), but actually I participated in household chores, yard work, and occasionally took short walks, etc.  More calories were likely being burned which represented untallied calorie deficit.  Now that I think of it, there seems to be a difference between casual web surfing at the computer and engaging in more mentally challenging tasks such as computer programming, web page and graphic design, photo editing, data entry, or spreadsheet work, etc.   I believe the latter forms of activity that all require "sitting" burn calories at a faster rate and should not necessarily be considered sedentary.  Hour after hour of  staying on task on a computer project requires considerable physical as well as mental effort.  It doesn't build muscle but seems to leave a person drained after a long day's work.

• Existing or newly acquired medical conditions--to be determined by further testing.

Whatever the reasons, it's time to be satisfied with my current weight for now (see chart below).  I will immediately increase the daily calorie intake from 1,629 calories/day to 2,140.  With 2,140 Calories/day, my weight should remain constant provided I do light exercises 1--3 times weekly--based on "Calorie Counter" data for my age, gender, height, weight, and activity level.

In early June I will have a follow up blood test to see if my numbers have stabilized.  I'll spare you the details--everyone has their own well-being to think about.  Hopefully, these weight loss posts over the past several months have been enlightening.   In closing, I will repeat these words of advice:  Be very careful when dieting.

May 6, 2021.  Cooking with Hot Air--Food.    Air Poppers:  My first experience with using hot air for cooking was with a Presto air popper purchased over 20 years ago.  Depending on the type of popcorn, it would often scorch popped kernels because it would get stuck instead of blowing out the chute.  I had many years of service from it making low-calorie snacks.

Ten years later, we purchased another air popper--an Air Crazy by West Bend which we still use.  This was a new and improved air popper with a vibrating feature that kept the un-popped kernels rotating at the bottom of the popping chamber.  This eliminated the clogging and scorching problem that was common with our older air popper.  Virtually every kernel pops with the exception of a few un-popped kernels that blow out when some of the lively popped kernels push it out the chute and into the bowl.  Several shakes of the bowl after popping has finished makes un-popped kernels settle to the bottom.

With regard to popcorn that is best to use--I look for the cheapest store brand yellow popcorn in 2, 3, or 5 lb. bags.  It pops tender, light, and fluffy without many sharp hulls to contend with which, for me, is my beef with microwave popcorn.

Air Fryer:   Now that I'm calorie counting, I still have a craving for greasy food--not too much though.  Our newest kitchen acquisition is a 5.3 quart digital Power Air Fryer XL (as seen on TV).  In an effort to cut out some of the fats, this seemed to be the best route to go . . .  Continue reading this post by clicking the Food link in the left Side Bar.

May 5, 2021.  Transparent Sphere with Ground Shadow--SketchUp and Gimp.  The image below was rendered from a SketchUp model that uses the push/pull tool to form an overlay.  The outer surface that was "pushed" downward formed the transparent sphere instead of drawing it separately as in the images from May 2 and 3.

With this approach, no tubes were extruded as before (See May 2 and 3 posts).  The sphere's overlay consists of a trapezoidal framework that resembles three-sided square pipe.  This technique was much simpler to apply than using the tubular (follow me) extrusion method.  

By the way, the May 2 model would have looked similar had the duplication of circular tubes been done on the red and blue axes instead of several 45 degree offsets.  This sphere (below), however, has two visible axes instead of one where all tubes intersect at four poles.

Here is a link to the SketchUp model:  Sphere with Ground Shadow (.skp file for download only--requires SketchUp to view).   Gimp was used to adjust the Contrast, Hue, and to apply my signature.

May 3, 2021.  Transparent Spheres with Lattice Overlays--SketchUp and Gimp.  Today's images are a follow up on yesterday's SketchUp model.  Forming the lattice was more involved than duplicating the circular tubes applied yesterday.  No extensions (addons) were used in creating either of these SketchUp models.

With that said, there were minor flaws due to patchwork on adjoining lattice segments.  This carelessness was similar to yesterday's not-so-perfect duplication of intersecting tubes.  I need my eyes checked.

Here is a link to the SketchUp model:  Lattice Covered Spheres (.skp file for download only--requires SketchUp to view).   Gimp was used to adjust the Contrast, Hue, and to apply my signature.

May 2, 2021.  Transparent Sphere--SketchUp and Gimp.  The following images were rendered from a recently completed model containing a transparent sphere layered by intersecting tubes.

Here is a link to the SketchUp file:  Transparent Sphere (.skp file for download only--requires SketchUp to view).  Gimp was used to adjust the hue, brightness and to add my signature.

May 1, 2021.  May Day Festivities--Baskets.  Last night as we got home from errands, we found a surprise next to our front door.  The little kids from Buddies & Pals Daycare down the street had left a May Basket.  It was very kind that they were thinking of us.  Their excellent assortment of candy was delicious!  Thank you.

Updated:   05-31-2021, 05-28-2021, 05-21-2021, 05-19-2021, 05-17-2021, 05-15-2021, 05-13-2021, 05-09-2021, 05-06-2021, 05-05-2021, 05-03-2021, 05-02-2021, 05-01-2021.

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April 25, 2021.  Website Conversion is Complete--new Google Sites.  Transitioning to the new web page layout has gone smoothly thus far. I will gradually improve the overall appearance with a bit more experimentation and trial and error.   

Navigational Note:  If you're viewing this website on a web browser or mobile device -- tablet/cellphone, etc., that does not display the left sidebar, click/tap the triple horizontal lines (Show sidebar) in the top left corner next to T. Bolton Digital Art.  In my case, with current browser settings, web page settings using a desktop Windows 10 computer, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox browsers display the sidebar by default if the browser Zoom Percentage is set around 100% or slightly higher.  However, the browsers require the user to click Show side bar (triple lines) with higher zoom settings (150--175%, for example) depending on the monitor/screen width in use.  My cell phone and tablet both require tapping Show sidebar as mentioned earlier.

This website has a lot to browse in the sidebar links.   There are thousands of Images posted to the Digital Art and Photography sidebar links that will be enlarged in a separate window if clicked.  For quick browsing, Digital Art and Photography are arranged in scrollable windows while others have been grouped in folders within the scrollable windows. 

The Miscellaneous sidebar link contains a random collection of files I have accumulated over the years ranging from DIY projects to more artwork created with SketchUp, GIMP, PowerPoint, and PDF, etc.  Other material has been formatted with Word, and Excel .  The subject matter is too varied to try to list here.  You're welcome to browse at your leisure.

April 24, 2021  Website Closure and Rebirth--Google Sites.   The Classic Google Sites, upon which this website is built, is shutting down in a few months.  Today, I will begin the conversion process using the new Google Sites platform.  Hopefully, I will not have any significant downtime during the conversion.

I should be able to create links similar to those on the current site as well as to the older archives from years ago.   Personally, some of this information is a historical record of what I've been doing with my life for the past half century or more and is worthy of sharing .  I prefer not to have it disappear forever.

The New Google Sites version will be more streamlined.  For example, the photo enlargement option is no longer implemented.  It eliminates a lot of clicking by the website visitor.  Instead, the photos can easily be resized by the website manager while they are being edited/resized in wysiwyg fashion.  Pulling corner adjustment handles on inserted photos and new caption options are also straightforward.

I will try to apply a similar non-glare, off white on dark gray color scheme used in the Classic Google Sites which I believe is easier on the eyes.  Navigation to other pages will continue to be done with the left sidebar.

You'll know when the transformation occurs.  T. Bolton Digital Art will have a fresh new look!

April 21, 2021  DIY Projects--Repurposed Plastic.  Most households discard hundreds of plastic containers and bags every year.  Before doing so, I look for ways to reuse some of them.

I remember my mother crocheted, braided, and wove throw rugs from twisted bread sacks, and cloth remnants back in the late 1950's.  (Grocery bags were all paper in those days--I can't imagine how big here rugs may have been if she had plastic grocery bags to work with.)  I guess this is where I first learned about recycling before it was called recycling.

In recent years, I've  made shingles from the sides of plastic cat litter containers (see catio photo below).  Another project repurposed old blades from a electric fan and old vacuum cleaner parts for a windmill yard ornament.  Most recently, margarine tubs were converted into tilted cat dish holders.  Note that plastics of this type cannot withstand extended exposure to sunlight and the elements.  Expect to replace them in a year or two if used outdoors.

Here is a description of some of the craft projects I've undertaken involving recycled or repurposed materials.  Later in the post, you will find links to videos showing some of the windmills operation.

Catio Shingles.  Plastic shingles were fashioned from the sides of 20 lb. cat litter jugs  (2 shingles per jug.) and stapled to a sloped plywood roof.  After 3 years of use, they are now ready to be replaced.  If stapled securely, they are very wind resistant but did not stand up well during last summer's hail storm.  After two years, they were beginning to get brittle.  They were mostly protected by the overhang of the house roof, but those near the outer edge suffered damage and had to be replaced before winter.

The plastic sheathing, which I had purchased new, also failed after it became thin and brittle during its third year of service.  Fortunately, I had enough on hand to make repairs.  The plastic strips holding the sheathing were cut from strips of leftover cat litter jugs.  Masking tape was used to frame out the ventilation windows shown in the picture.  Before winter, the plastic flaps were lowered and re-taped.

Ornamental Windmill.  The windmill shown below was originally made with parts from a fan and vacuum cleaner beater bar and wand.  The worn out beater bar's 5/16" metal shaft and bearing were pressed into an old table fan plastic blade's hub.  The vacuum cleaner wand made of a hard resin or plastic was shortened and used for the vertical post that swivels as determined by wind direction.  It was slipped over a 1/2" diameter threaded rod containing greased circular plastic washers made from the same yellow plastic that act as vertical bearings inside the hollow wand/tube.  The vertical wand/tube rests on a flat lubricated metal washer that experiences no observable wear from its occasional slow turning as the wind changes direction.

By the time it was demolished in a recent wind storm, the blades had become faded and brittle.  They could not withstand 70+ mph winds.  Last month, pieces were scattered over the patio and lawn after a night of relentless pounding.  

Here are video links to four versions of the windmill: 

Proto-type 1:  Small Windmill   Installed in the summer of 2017.  Blade design didn't catch enough wind to rotate.   It is shown in the Backyard Moose Two video on YouTube which I posted a year later.  Also shown is how it was held in place by a blacksmith's vise.  (That was a Big Moose.)

Proto-type 2:   White Windmill 04-29-2018   Made from the rippled sides of two 20 lbs. cat litter containers.  It was put together quickly with masking tape and was not very durable--but it worked.

Blue Windmill 10-14-2018  Video made shortly after blue windmill was installed in 2018.  It hung in there for almost 3 years.

Yellow Windmill 04-21-2021  Recent installation.  It's slightly large diameter blades work good but are a bit flimsy.

After the windstorm damage, a replacement hub (see image below) was cut from a 4" long piece of 2 x 4.  A center hole was drilled for the shaft and bearing salvaged from the old assembly.  Blades were patterned from one of the blue blades still left intact.  They were cut from the sides of two 30 pound yellow cat litter pails.  (One of downsides of living with our cats is the expense of buying cat litter every week--virtually ton's of it over the past 15 years.)

The pitch and the curve of the individual blades were set by bending and twisting each of them over a hot burner on our electric kitchen stove.  Also, 3 slots were cut at an angle into the hub to accept each blade.  Blades were secured with nails, screws, and caulking.  The bearing and shaft were then driven into the hub and blade assembly.  The hub bearing was lubricated with heavy grease and sealed in the back with a plastic washer that can be moved whenever more lubrication is required.  Lastly, the wooden hub was covered with a coat of caulking to protect it from the elements.

One more thing.  The tail fin that protrudes from the back of the windmill is mounted on the other end of the horizontal metal shaft that runs through the top of the vertical post.  It is made of the bottoms of 10 aluminum soda pop cans and snugged up with electrician's tape on both ends.  Tape is also used to secure the horizontal shaft (which does not rotate) to the vertical post.  The entire upper portion is fastened between two 2 x 4" that are held in place with a blacksmith's vise (not shown in photos).

Tilted Cat Dish Holder.  Simon, the elder statesman of our extended cat family, likes his dish of tuna in water with juice on the side.  To make life simpler for all of us, I've cut a wedge out of the front and sides of a large margarine tub, Scotch-taped it, and cut a hole in the top that will accept our stainless steel cat dishes.  

To keep it from tipping, I put 8 oz. of crushed rock in a baggie and placed it inside the container.  I also used double stick tape on the bottom to attach two strips of rubber shelf liner that prevent slippage. 

The tilted dish keeps the juice at the bottom.  He prefers to drink the juice first.  Thus far, I have made three tilted cat dish holders with plans to make a few more as needed.

April 19, 2021  Lens Applications--GIMP.   Gimp's photo editing software lens and distort features can be used in many innovative ways.  In this example, a rather plain photo (April 17 below) was given another life as the focal point of Planet Stir Fry.  A circular portion of the plate was copied and pasted into a transparent layer to form the planet.  A black background layer consisting of RGB noise and sparkles created stars, etc.

A couple of other procedures were performed to make the planet appear spherical--Apply Lens, and Lens Distort.  The planet's hue was selectively adjusted on the green areas of the bare plate to turn it blue.

April 18, 2021  Weight Loss--Body Fat.  I have proven to myself that weight loss can become a reality.  Below is a chart showing my recent progress.  The reason for posting this is to let others know that it's worth devoting some time to maintain and improve one's health.

At this point, I am gearing up (mind set adjustment) to become more physically active by allocating time for walking and exercise.  Before I begin, I am planning a sensible strategy that involves avoiding injury or death.  I have also visited the following link to see what needs to be done regarding getting back into shape.

The Body Fat Calculator at Calculator.net, is a good resource for determining long-term goals regarding dieting, weight loss (or gain) and fitness.  By juggling the numbers, you can input your current weight and measurements and adjust them in such a way to see what it takes to become a trimmer (or less trim) you.

At my age, it is doubtful that I will regain the muscle mass I once had.  It would be nice to firm up the gut and gain more strength and stamina.  A weekly walking and exercise routine along with calorie counting will hopefully eliminate some of the flab and build muscle tissue.  For a more detailed and long-winded version of this post click Here for a PDF file  or  Here for a Word document.

April 17, 2021  Homemade Stir Fry--Portion Control Required.   This is the first time we've eaten Chinese-style chicken stir fry this year.  As it turned out, the calorie count wasn't too excessive.

For me, it was getting near the end of the week and calorie counting indicated I had a few extra calories to work with.  With reasonably sized portions, the entire meal was 634 calories including a 40 Cal. Hi-C juice box.  The breakdown of calories was as follows . . .  Click the Food Link in the left sidebar to continue reading. 

April 15, 2021  Migratory Birds--Photography.   The past 3 or 4 day saw a return to winter with temperatures in the 20's -- 30's and some rain followed by 8 inches of snow.   Our back yard bird feeding area was a hot spot for several hundred blackbirds that sought refuge in the tall trees while waiting their turn to feed.

We tripled the amount of bird seed normally sprinkled on the ground in order to accommodate our unexpected guests.  Blackbirds had also filled the trees in the surrounding block.  It sounded like they were enjoying themselves as they perched in the trees for most of the day . . .  An addendum to this part of today's post can be read by following the More Odds and Ends link in the left sidebar. 

Among the many blackbirds were our winter residents--the squirrels, doves, blue jays, and sparrows.  A  lone Varied Thrush--or maybe I just spotted one, was also here for the afternoon.  At first, I thought it was a robin until I viewed it from the side. The thrush is a bit stubbier and plumper than a robin.  It also has multi-colored wings.  Most notable, are orangish streaks behind its eyes and a dark feathered area separating its throat and breast.  The pictures below were taken while it was overcast and snowing.  These two were the best of ten taken.

Here's a related link to a video filmed in October of 2015:  Blackbirds on the Move.  At the time, the blackbirds were heading south and stopped for a while to bid us farewell.  Some poked around in abandoned nests in the evergreens as if to say, "We'll be back next spring."  In our area, the blackbirds nest in our backyard in early spring where there are tall trees, water, food, and relative safety.  By mid summer most will have raised their young and moved into nearby fields of ripening wheat, corn, and sunflowers, etc.  They form large flocks and remain there until harvest has finished--usually coinciding with their southerly migration to a warmer climate. The bulk of them have left by late October.

April 13, 2021  Tom's Homemade Pork and Beans--Low Calorie Food.   Two weeks ago, March 31, I shared information on preparing a small pork roast.  Last night, I thawed the other uncooked half and brined it exactly as I had explained.  After having an excellent roast pork dinner with leftovers for supper today, there was still 3 ounces remaining--just enough to flavor a kettle of beans for tomorrow.  To continue reading this post, click the Food link in the left sidebar . . .

April 11, 2021  Image Projection--SketchUp.  Another feature of SketchUp that can be applied to a model is image projection.  Imported images or textures can be projected onto either flat or curved surfaces.  The paint bucket and eye dropper are used for this procedure.

To project an imported image onto another object, It is first necessary to explode the imported image.  Use the alt-eyedropper keystroke combination to sample the selected imported image and then use the paint bucket (without holding the alt key) to apply it.  Size adjustment or scaling of the photo was a trial and error process for me.  As you can see, it was done rather crudely

The image below illustrates a couple of techniques used to project the floral image onto the crockery and tumbler (water glass).

1. The visible flowers and leaves on the dish were painted with the image shown at the right.  The lid is a squished/scaled duplicate of the dish with a handle applied and grouped separately.

2. The streaks on the tumbler were created by first rotating the imported picture 90 degrees, or flat, and selecting it with the alt-eyedropper.  The circle forming the top of the tumbler was painted with this orientation.  The streaks were formed by pulling (extruding) the circle downward with the push/pull tool.  The bottom of the tumbler was scaled smaller to create its gradual taper.

Here's another SketchUp example . . .

April 6, 2021  Sphere with Spikes--SketchUp and GIMP.   Today's post, featuring spheres, does not use scaling to create surface distortions as those images shown yesterday (see below).  Instead, four-sided pyramids were duplicated and rotated to create an outer sphere of spikes.

After all of the spikes had been duplicated and rotated vertically and horizontally forming the spherical shape, another, slightly smaller smooth-surfaced sphere was inserted into it.  The inner sphere's size was then scaled (adjusted) to expose the desired depth of the spikes.

The SketchUp model for this project can be downloaded here (requires SketchUp to view):  Spheres with Spikes.

The final step was to make the interior globe slightly oblong by rescaling its north and south poles.  This caused the spikes to become progressively shallow as they moved away from the equator.  Perspective accounts for some of spike size change; however, by making the interior sphere oblong, spikes nearer the two poles become less exposed and prevents overlapping (compare the before and after view in the first image).

The second image is a snippet from today's SketchUp model. The interior sphere (globe) has been selected and set for scaling.   Pulling the green handle (top center handle) upward slightly stretches the interior globe that covers more of the spikes the nearer they get to the North pole.  This step should be repeated for the South pole as well.  (Both poles can be scaled at once using the Ctrl/Option sequence to scale vertically from the center.  I recommend using this feature here only if the interior sphere has been perfectly centered inside the spikes.)

By the way, there are 4,096 spikes on each sphere--64 rows/columns (depending on which way they are viewed) with each containing 64 four-sided pyramids.

April 5, 2021  Sphere Indentation--SketchUp and GIMP.   Two lengthy, multi-step procedures were used today to create indented spheres using SketchUp.  GIMP was also used to enhance the exported SketchUp images (see below).

For the first image below, I used similar GIMP background techniques that were applied to the Easter Bunny image shown in the April 4 post.  There was a slight difference, though.  The Easter Bunny was a transparency that I downloaded from a free clip art website last year.  After opening it with GIMP, I created a background layer of gradient-blue with a texture.

The difference, today, was the exported image from my SketchUp model was a jpeg file.  I copied the circular portion (the indented sphere) using GIMP and pasted it to a newly created transparent layer.  Next, a blue clothified texture replaced the original image and was used for the background.  I also applied a shadow, added my signature, and exported the combined layers as a jpeg image with 30% image quality to conserve web space.

The related GIMP xcf file can be downloaded here:  Sphere Indentation xcf.  It shows the separate layers and how they were arranged.

Here is the link to my related SketchUp model used today to design the sphere (download only):  Sphere Indentation.  You'll need SketchUp to open this file.  The models show a long sequence of steps of what was done.  The model for the first image involved intersection and reshaping of the sphere similar to that discussed in the March 8, 2021 post below.  The difference, today, is the techniques are being applied to a sphere instead of a cone.  The second model shows another technique to scale the sphere that produced a much different indention.

After the initial indentation was preformed on the spheres using rescaling, they were duplicated 2 times. Each duplicate was rotated 90 degrees to achieve the initial indentation on their surfaces.  Each was grouped, merged,  and aligned occupying a common center point.   Each was oriented on either their blue, red, or green axes, respectively.

The pattern was revealed after deleting the 6 end caps.  Additionally, to make the design more interesting for the first model, I duplicated and rotated two more spheres 45 degrees on their red and green axes, and merged them with the others.

The image below was exported from another SketchUp model.  As mentioned earlier, the model for this image applies a slightly different technique for scaling.  The duplication and rotation of spheres were similar, however.  The image below shows that only two duplicate spheres--one for the red and one for the green axes rotation--were applied to the original blue (vertical) axis position.  That is, three axes were used for three-dimensional imagery.

Here is the link to the downloadable SketchUp model:  Sphere Indentation II.  GIMP was only used for minor touch up and to add my signature to this masterpiece.

             April 4, 2021  Happy Easter.

April 3, 2021  Twelve Week Update--Weight Loss Chart.   Nearly three months have passed since I began counting calories.  Everything is quite routine now and has proved to be beneficial in many ways.  The chart below shows the weight loss doesn't occur at an even pace.  Even though I adhered to weekly calorie consumption and weight loss strategies, my bathroom scale did not always indicate weight loss on weigh-in days.  Here's is the link to the Calorie Counter website I am using as a guide.

As weight began to drop, it was necessary to decrease the allotted daily calorie intake based on the most current scale reading.  The method I have been following doesn't decrease the total daily calorie allotment by much.  For example, the most recent scale reading was 198 pounds, which was 2 pounds less than the previous week's scale reading.  Based on my sex, weight, age, height, activity level, and a target weight loss of one-half pound per week, it meant that I needed to reduce from 1696 calories per day to 1685.  That difference amounts to only a nibble or two less food each day--a very easy sacrifice to make.  

I have seldom exceeded daily total calories and have been careful not to underestimate portion sizes and total calories consumed.  I don't want to start fudging the numbers.  There's nothing to be gained by doing that except for a few pounds. The following Excel Bar Chart with Trend Line graphs my weight change over a twelve-week time span.

April 2, 2021  Homemade Thick Crust Pizza--Sodium Levels.   Since I'm cooking for myself for a few days before Easter, last night's evening meal consisted of a generous portion of homemade thick crust Pepperoni Pizza (1/4 of a 14-inch pizza, 683 Calories).  In recent months, I have considered this to be a large meal, but it was still within my current daily 1685 Calories/day limit.  What was concerning, however, was the . . . .  Continue reading the rest of this post by clicking the Food Link in the left sidebar.

Updated:  04-25-2021, 04-24-2021, 04-21-2021, 04-19-2021, 04-18-2021, 04-17-2021, 04-15-2021, 04-13-2021, 04-11-2021, 04-06-2021, 04-05-2021, 04-04-2021, 04-03-2021, 04-02-2021.

March 31, 2021  Brined Pork Roast--Easter Treat.  Easter Sunday is just a few days away.  Rather than spending the holiday in the kitchen preparing the Easter Meal, It was decided we would enjoy the traditional meal early.  Since calorie counting is now a way of life for me, I scaled down the roast size to 16 oz.  We had purchased a 2 lb. boneless pork roast and cut it into 16 oz. sections, freezing half for later. Last night, I prepared a 2 cup half-strength brine solution and soaked the small roast overnight. . . .  Read more about how to brine and prepare a one pound pork roast with gravy by clicking the Food link in the left sidebar.

March 26, 2021  Section Plane Animation--SketchUp.  Another type of animation can be created with SketchUp using Section Plane and Section Cut tools.  Along with Scenes, they can produce interesting cross section views of objects that can be animated.  Still images can also be captured as well by exporting visible Section Cuts as pics at any point you choose.

Click the following links to view exported video clips of section plane animations in the Perspective Camera View.mp4 and in the Parallel Projection Camera View.mp4. For both examples, the camera is in a fixed position at the top and viewing downward.

Their related SketchUp models can be downloaded here:   Perspective View.skp and Parallel Projection View.skp.  (Reminder, you'll need SketchUp to view SketchUp model downloads.)

March 24, 2021  Drag Racing 2021--SketchUp Animation and Movie Maker.  The first race of the season ended with a disqualification.  A rookie driver (green car) red lighted at the start.  The Yellow car driver got to take home the trophy.  You can watch the video replay by Clicking Here.

Today's SketchUp models were used to create 3 exported mp4 files.  The first features the race track's Staging Area.  Click Here to view the short video. A  separate SketchUp Model was set up for each part to avoid confusion.  The second and third mp4 files represent the Start and Finish included in today's first video that is linked in paragraph One above.

I think it's much easier to divide the work into three separate video clips and then splice them with Movie Maker.  Transitions between scenes and better timing adjustments can be made using Movie Maker's features (or some other video editor's).

Links for downloading today's SketchUp models showing selected scenes for each video (SketchUp required to view):

Staging.skp 

Start.skp

Finish.skp

Here's some information about today's SketchUp Model's design.  At least half of my time was planning and determining my limitations on what I could get to work.  In addition to camera panning scenes and having the cars move down the track, I thought it would be nice if the Christmas Tree lights would light up in sequence.  I'm not an expert on this sport, but what is shown will give you an idea of how a sanctioned Drag Race starts.  Also, as you may have already noticed, I'm no animation expert either--especially when applying SketchUp.

• • The Layers and Instances and Scenes for the animation required a substantial amount of planning and forethought.   For example, there were instances set up for the yellow and green race cars that were applied to a new scene every time one or both cars moved.  To keep the project small, I limited the number of  layers, instances of cars, and scenes to a bare minimum.  Obviously, the project would have been more dynamic with more instances and scenes.

  • Besides car animation, the Christmas Tree (see image above) was illuminated with 16 staging bulbs (1-8 dimmed and 1-8 bright).  After assigning a Layer and Scene to each, the dimmed bulbs were put in position on the tree.  Next, the 8 dimmed bulbs were rescaled slightly smaller than the dimmed bulbs and slipped inside each dimmed bulb.  As the animation played, each scene with staging bulbs began with dimmed bulbs in this instance name sequence:   (left bulb 1--right bulb 3; left bulb 2--right bulb 4. Row 2: left bulb 5--right bulb 7; and left bulb 6--right bulb 8.  When it was a staging-bulb scene's turn to play, it was hidden to expose its corresponding bright bulb that had been positioned inside of it.

  • The larger LED lamps consisted of 10 dimmed and 10 bright lamps.  Six were Amber, Two were Green and Two were Red (x2).  They were sequenced left amber 1 and right amber 2 for row one, left amber 3 and right amber 4 for row two, and left amber 5 and right amber 6 for row 3.  One set was labeled bright, and the other dim.  Similarly the two Green lamps and two Red lamps were similarly sequenced with dim and bright instances.

  • By the way, bright amber are Warning Lights, bright green means Go, and Red light(s) turn bright only if one or both of the drivers start too quickly--that is, before the bright green illuminates, resulting in a false start and disqualification of one or both of the drivers--and referred to as red lighting.  In the accompanying video linked above, red lighting occurred at the 23 second mark where the left driver (Green Dragster) started before the green light was activated.  This outcome was a contrived event included in my design for illustrative purposes--there was no underlying formula for making this happen automatically.  It did include setting a hidden group (Red lamp) and a hidden component (Green car) in the same scene.

The last thing to do was add some dragster sound effects.  I downloaded an Mp3 audio file at Partners In Rhyme. Using Movie Maker, its duration was edited as needed by copying, splitting, and pasting specific sound clips to sync with the video.

March 22, 2021  Christmas Tree Animation--SketchUp.  Before the drag racing begins, it was necessary to test the Christmas Tree to see if it would light up.  Click Here to view a short unedited clip.

March 21, 2021  Sunday at the Races--SketchUp.   Prepare for another season at the drag races.  The dragstrip has been resurfaced and the dragsters are more powerful than ever.  Animations and videos will be coming soon.  Below is a sneak peak.  In this scene, the Dragsters, Christmas Tree with center barrier, light bulbs, and a man. were edited 3-D Warehouse Components from SketchUp.  Later I'll be downloading suitable 3-D drivers for the cars (that's race car drivers).

For a review of last year's action, refer to the March 7, 2020 post in the 2020 Archive at the top of this page; or Click Here to view one of last year's Drag Racing videos.

March 20, 2021  Low Calorie Lunch--Weight Loss.  Now that Spring is just around the corner, vegetables and sub sandwiches become more appealing.  In the cold winter months, hot meals are comfort food that keeps the body warm and satisfies the appetite.  Here's a simple garden salad that I prepare with almost any fresh vegetables on hand.

We rely totally on supermarket produce.  Farmer's markets and vegetable gardens don't exist in northern climates during this time of the year.  With that said, we are fortunate to have a a wide variety of fruits and vegetables shipped in throughout the year.  The refrigerator life of produce has improved in recent years with better handling and global distribution systems.

The salad above is ready to eat in just a few minutes.   It contains several veggies topped with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a splash or two of Italian dressing.  I counted this salad as160 calories and along with a 7" sub, or half of that, provided a healthy and nutritious meal containing less than 600 calories.  With a small juice drink or a glass of milk, the calorie count is still within most dietary limits.  Of course, if you burn a lot of calories throughout the day, you'll probably need to bulk up on the quantity.

YouTube.  The following update has three variable speed settings edited in Movie Maker.  It shows more clearly how the minute and hour hands rotate in relation to each other.

The speed settings are 4x, 2x, and 1x, respectively, for three spliced 12-hour segments.  This video's duration is 49 seconds.  Click the image below to view it on my YouTube Channel.

March 18, 2021  Pocket Watch is Finished--SketchUp and Movie Maker.  The remaining scenes have been added to the SketchUp model used to animate a pocket watch.  After 49 scenes (representing 12 hours on the pocket watch face) the animation was exported to a mp4 video file. The mp4 file was then input twice into Movie Maker to represent a full day.  Click Here for Pocket Watch Animation v2 mp4 video.  Click Here to Download the related SketchUp Model (SketchUp is required to view).

While in Movie Maker, the mp4  files had to be spliced seamlessly at 12 O'clock Noon. To do this, Scene 49 of the first mp4 file was edited out.  Otherwise, there would have been a hesitation at that point.

Below is an image showing how the minute and hour hands were set.  The minute and hour hands were initially grouped separately with the vertical axis included with the hour hand.   The vertical axis made rotational alignment (setting the time) easier.

After each hand was set to the desired time, they were duplicated.  The first pair were kept as a starting point for the next scene's 15 minute increment that is rotate clockwise 90 degrees for the minute hand (1/4 hour on the dial) and 7.5 degrees for the hour hand (1/4 hour on the dial).  The other pair of hands with updated time settings were exploded, regrouped, and named according to its time--for example, 11:00 (used Entity Info).  The group was also assigned to the appropriate layer for the newly added scene.  Refer to the SketchUp model for further details.

Finally, the old pair of hands were hidden inside the watch and overlaid with the new pair.  The current scene was updated before moving on to the next.  Each of the 49 scenes required 15-20 steps.  By the time I was finished everything was much easier.  It was a struggle at first, but techniques were improved along the way.

March 15, 2021  Animated Pocket Watch--Work in Progress.   I now see why I hadn't tackled this project before.  All that I have been able to finish today was 1 rotation to see if Layers, Groups, and Scenes setup would work.  My conclusion was, "sort of."  At the rate I'm going, it would probably take several more days with 55  Layers,  Groups (instances), and Scenes remaining for 12 hours.  By using Movie Maker, I should be able to splice 2 clips together to complete a 24-hour day animation.

The related SketchUp model can be Downloaded Here.  The video exported from SketchUp can be viewed by Clicking Here (about 5 seconds).

Since I picked apart my old pocket watch model, I had to innovate a bit to gain access to the minute and hour sweep hands.  The wireframe face style (see below) came in handy for hiding and inserting the hands as needed while working on the scenes and layers.  The overlaying watch crystal blocked direct access to the hands and neither temporarily hiding, cutting, or moving it was a viable solution.