Tat Thoughts III

My chest now...

Previously I made entries about Tat Thoughts, and Tat Thoughts II. A comment on why I choose totems as ink symbols. Tats and ink to me, mean that you are trying to express what you feel and are on the inside, in your spirit, with the people on the outside. All 10 tats that I have are an expression of something in my spirit, with people that happen to ask about why I got them, and why "that" symbol.

Rooster Head Ink

I mentioned in Tat Thoughts why I got the Rooster tat. That is my Chinese astrology sign, since I was born in 1969 (click HERE for more info on the Rooster). It describes me as a personality perfectly! The design was based on a drawing by Elektra Q-Tion, and then supported heavily by Christy at Blue Flame with the needle. Christy is an amazing tattoo artist, she agreed to come in on her day off because she loved the symbolism. I love her attention to detail, and embracing all of my ideas. Her attention to detail appeals to my sense of being a perfectionist, and her love of roosters and winged symbols is par none (if you play golf, you know what I am saying). I was honored that she was willing to come to work on me and to spend several hours tattooing me because of the symbol that I wanted.

American Goldfinch Ink

I followed it up a few months later by getting the American Goldfinch (also known as the Yellow Finch) because it is yet another of my animal totems. While in the process of getting an idea for my next animal totem, I did copy and paste a lot of info from the web. If any of this is your writing, let me know and I'll give you credit or delete it, depending on what you tell me to do.

When a Yellow Finch is spotted it is a sign that enthusiastic times are head with days full of bright, high energy. Finches fly, typically bobbing and weaving through the air. Watching a Finches free-form flight can fill you with a sense of freedom and happiness.

Native America Indians called the Finch the "bird of happiness." They thought the bright yellow color of this bird was a gift from the gods and would bring bright joy and freedom into their lives. They also thought the song of the Finch was the sound that announced the upcoming bounty of the spring season.

If a person has been concealing his or her creativity from the world, Finch may be the sign to start making their value more vocal and available to the public. The Finch song can lighten your heart and lead you on a bouncy path of creativity.

Finches are also sociable creatures, so a Finch Totem could be a signal to get more involved with social activities.

Black and yellow are the colors of the archangel Auriel. These colors in meditation and ritual are used to invoke that aspect of this being that oversees the activity of nature spirits--the fairies, elves, and devas.

The presence of goldfinches usually indicates an awakening to the activities of those beings that are normally relegated to the realm of fiction. Goldfinch can help you deepen your perceptions so that you can begin to see and experience the activities of the nature spirits yourself. This deepening of perceptions is reflected in the black cap--awakening to that which is normally hidden from view.

Goldfinches are usually permanent residents, and in those areas where they are found, you can also find the fairies and the elves. Goldfinches like border areas and young brush growth found at edges and borders. Edges and borders are intersections where there are natural doorways to that other realm of life.

Even their nesting habits reflects this link to the border areas, the 'Tween Places.' They build their nests in a fork or on an outer branch high in a tree. It is usually made of thistledown. Thistle has a long association with nature spirits and the healing aspects of animals. Blessed thistle was once used to invoke the god Pan. Thistle has been a symbol of endurance. It is through endurance and persistence that we can open to the Realm of Faerie once more. Goldfinches are birds that can help us connect with those nature spirits that can show us how to heal animals--wild and domestic.

Goldfinches are rarely silent. This in itself is a reminder that Nature is speaking to us constantly and that we should learn to listen and communicate with it from all levels. It reflects that the nature spirits are around us at all times.

In winter, the male loses its black cap, and the bright yellow turns to an olive yellow. This also reflects the connection of goldfinch to the world of the nature spirits. In the winter, they withdraw, working more within the earth, rather than in the outward expressions which are more evident in the spring and summer. It does not mean they are not there, but rather that they may not be as easily perceived.

The goldfinch also has an undulating (an up and down movement) flight pattern. This rhythm and pattern can be used in visualization to help loosen the subtle energies of the arua and facilitate leaving the body. The wave pattern also reflects the ability of a goldfinch to lead us to the inner and to the outer realms, from the human to the Faerie, from the physical to the spiritual.

Understanding the value of change, Ability to resolve family conflicts in a healthy manner, Creating balance in dealing with different peoples, Understanding the power of voice.

Roller Derby Valentine's Day

If you are looking for some roller derby related Valentines, click over to REM DESIGNS DeviantArt site and order some... I was working on this entry this morning, but she got hers done first, so I copied and pasted it below. Elektra Q-Tion's blog entries about roller derby can be found by clicking HERE or via a link in my list over to the right.

Roller Derby VD

I was inspired to create some roller derby Valentines.  They are free to download at this site.  Please give me credit for them if you post them anywhere.

Couple skate

For the girls we love and hate.

For the penalty box peeps.

For your lady, refs.

Inside line blue

Inside line Red

Stinky Gear

Booty block

Cheatin' on your derby wife.

Cinder Blocks

I live in an apartment and have a limited budget to furnish it. Fortunately, I have several friends that are in the construction business, so I can get as many cinder blocks as I want. Besides, they are fairly inexpensive at Home Depot or Lowe's. But, I came across yet another homesteading blog, and felt that it was important to share.

While I don't want to make a complete sofa like the one shown at the right, I am going to make a single seating version on my patio for less than $15. I have the cinder blocks already, they've been stacking up in my garage. I never knew what I would possibly use them for, but this blog entry got my mind working. I'll pick up some throw pillows from a local thrift store to complete the build. The only different thing I might do is to sew a canvas cover for the cinder blocks. Yeah, another blog entry is going to be generated because of this...stay tuned...watch this space...and become a follower on the right...LOL.

And yet, the other blog entry got my mind going even more. Check it out, there are some GREAT ideas there for a raised garden bed, picnic tables, some attractive planting options, and what to do with what you have stored up.

Happy homesteading...

Car Wash

I was young once... and had dreams for a career. I wanted, in the 70s, to be a truck driver, an OTR guy. But I paid attention to the drivers, and I respect them deeply for what they do for us. I yield to them when I can, and flash them when they do the same for me.

The best advice that I've gotten from them, is to park my car outside in a rainstorm. This is actually the BEST car wash that you can ever experience. You don't have to expend any elbow grease, the rain does it for you. And, because rain is organic, you don't have to "buff" it to get the polish.

I've learned a lot from the truckers...and am just passing it forward...put your car out in the rain, and reap the benefits of it all...I triple dog dare you...

Tat Thoughts II

Last Friday I laid on a massage table/bed, being inked with an American Goldfinch (yeah, it is another of my animal totems).

I made the first 2 and 1/2 hours without too much fuss, but Christy at Blue Flame Tattoo managed to tap into the last of my nerves in the last 30 minutes, so I was pretty vocal. But, it was all good... and I survived my tenth tat. The red tones on the body of the goldfinch are blood, and they are clearing up each time I wash with Ivory...

She is also going to redo my dragonfly tats on my calves... but that is down the road...

I posted this, only to share it. For other info, please refer to my other blog entry, Tat Thoughts...

Science Fair Project - Jan 2012

Yes...unfortunately it is that "help your kid make the BEST science fair project ever." I survived this weekend working on the one with my son, and to attempt to make it easier for YOU, I'm sharing it. He had to "choose" what project he would attempt, and of course we went to the internet for some ideas. He made his "final choice" on Human Battery Power Science from this website. Don't scroll too much, if you want some ideas for yours, click on the link, and then go to the home page (okay, here is the HOME page of it).


The "point" of this one was listed as following (yeah, I copied and pasted it):

Purpose

To demonstrate that a human body can be used as a battery by producing an electrical current.

---

Additional information

Batteries are devices that store chemical energy and convert it to electrical energy. Consisting of one or more voltaic cells, batteries come in various sizes and forms and are integrated into most electronic and portable devices. 
___________________________________________________________________________________

We studied the Required Materials list, and had to figure out where to get them. We found the copper and aluminum plates at Hobby Lobby ($12 total); the  0-15VDC meter  and the pre-wired alligator clips at Radio Shack (meter was $13, clips were $7, a franchise store carries more than company stores). I had lumber/wood in the garage so it didn't "cost" anything, but if had to price it out, it would be about $4.00 total. We went to Home Depot to get the plate mounting screws (stainless steel to prevent oxidation) since I wanted the least "conductive" ones & was fresh out of them (cost $2, and I actually used a $2 bill to pay).


So, we built it according to the directions. And conducted some personal tests. Here are the results:


☺ When conducting the experiment as is listed on the website above, it will show the results you desire.
 ☺If you "alter" the experiment a little, you will discover some more.
I recommend the "wet hands" version because we all know that water conducts more electricity.
☺Don't paint or stain the wood, since those components add a "variable of conductivity" into the experiment. Bare wood doesn't, and makes it all easier for you as a parent.
☺Mount the panels with a 1/4" overhang on the wood to connect the clips to.
☺PRACTICE  the presentation several times. Your scientist-to-be needs to be comfortable with what they are showing and presenting. 
☺Start the presentation by clipping a 9 volt battery, to demonstrate that the meter works. When you get to the "hands-on" part, you will show that the electricity reading is less, but the audience knows that the meter works.


Bottom line, by using an analog meter (NOT digital) impacts observers more, and I learned that the human body can generate an electric charge of about .5 volt DC charge....

WYSIWYG & HTML

Computers and the internet have certainly changed in the last few decades. I reference my experiences with computers on my entry of Computers, but in trying to get my DIY Colored Fireplace Pinecone entry done, it brought something to my attention about blogging.

Image via Wikipedia

Writing a blog entry is a lot easier now than it was in the past, due to the "interface" that you use to compose it. Most blog servers have been kind enough to develop their sites so we can use WYSIWYG interaction to give life to the thoughts and feelings that we have, and I thank them for that. But, occasionally I want to make my entry look a certain way, and there aren't easy ways to use a button or simple "right click" to make that happen. Fortunately, they let a writer use an HTML editing way to make it happen, kind of like a DIY tab.

What prompted this blog entry is that I wanted to put a table on the pinecone entry as a better way to share information in a concise way, but my interface didn't have an "insert table" button to make it happen. I had to switch from the WYSIWYG tab over to the HTML tab, and manually code the information to make it happen using a combination of the '< table >' codes. While my first emotional inclination was to swear ferociously at the blog host for NOT having that option, it struck me that I should be happy that I've still stayed in touch with things to know "how" to make something happen that I desire, and then be able to achieve it.

Fortunately I paid attention to life in the late 70s to get involved with computers. And was inspired to be a writer, later in my life during the 80s. I knew the internet would be a way to touch the world as it evolved. I composed my first website in the late 80s by coding HTML in Windows 1.0 Notepad by typing HTML code and uploading it via a Prodigy account and the telephone. Now, I can use a wireless account on my MacBook INSTANTLY. Progress is a good thing. But knowing the base foundation back story helps.

Bottom line, I recommend that people learn a little HTML code to help them achieve their goals.

Computers

Computers have come a LONG way in the last 40 years. I started playing with computers back in the late 70s. My first experiences were on a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III/IV. That was when we had to use 5.25" floppy disks (and yes, they actually WERE floppy). I learned how to draw the flowchart of the programs I wrote and how to use an hole-punch to use both sides of the disks. I still have my disk carrying case with the old disks in them. Hmm... I wonder if they still work...

I was working as an apprentice to a master carpenter and saved my money to buy my first personal computer. I got a TI 99/4A even though a lot of my friends were going with the Commodore 64. I remember that I had to also purchase a small 13" black and white TV to use as a monitor and used an old Sears & Roebuck cassette tape recorder to store my data on. I actually think I still have that tucked away somewhere and all of the cassettes too. But, I don't have the TI99/4A anymore. It was chucked into the dumpster when I had to move, and didn't feel like carting it with me.

I went to college and actually minored in "computer technology" for a while. So, I lived through the 8086, 8088 and 80286 generations. And all of the chip mutations in between. I coded in PASCAL, COBOL, BASIC, and on the UNIX system. I drank a LOT of coffee back in those days. I relished when a meal consisted of a set of Pop-Tarts and a Jolt with a set of Vivarin in it. I miss Jolt...

Anyway... I spent nearly 20 years with a corporation working on an a PC system, and stuck in Windows. I still have the Windows 3.11 installation disks and several versions of DOS. I've suffered through all of the permutations that they've had, threw my last Toshiba against the wall and stomped on it in the driveway, and got a Mac. I'll never go back to PC.

I got to experience the Apple, the Apple II, the Apple IIc, and the Apple IIe... But they weren't "approved" at the company I was with. I currently own and use an Apple MacBook Pro, and will NEVER go back to PC.

Artful Decorations

I am single and live in an apartment but am no longer a teenager, so I no longer use heavy metal band posters to adorn my walls. I am also blessed in life to have a very close friend that is an art & graphic designer. Her site is REM Designs (yeah, click on it, I triple dog dare you). She has a lot of prints available, does commissions, writes her own blog, and is an awesome, amazing person... just drop her an email or message, and she'll work with you to get you what your soul and eyes desire. Her prints are available in various sizes, and she has a LOT more on her site. The most striking series is her drawing of the zodiac signs. I use her art for Cancer as my avatar icon on Facebook.

I've used the following images from her website as prints to be the inspiration, color, decorations, and art in my apartment.