Super-Powered Goggles

I broke down and made some goggles! Ones that actually improve my vision, by accident (see below). We had a night for goggling at the AHA! Shop. Would that I had brought my camera... these are all progress shots from later.

The backing piece is thick ruddy suede, part of a large cache I procured from the Scrap Box a while back. On the left (right eye), we have half a silver-plated napkin ring, with a piece of stainless steel plate soldered in, plus a ring bearing, surrounded by excess solder. On the right, some more steel plate riveted on, with pinholes drilled in... surmounted by a clip-on jeweler's loupe. In the forehead is a brass grommet / third eye aperture. (This project was excellent practice with pop rivets and grommets, both of which are a lot of fun. No wonder I've never gotten good at sewing.)

The left-side pinholes have the curious property of augmenting my vision. My sight isn't terrible, but I can't wear glasses with the goggles. But the pinholes' small apertures restrict the angles at which light can enter the eye, making things clearer. I spent a lot of yesterday comparing eyes; they're usually pretty identical in ability, but with these on I can read things with my left that are blurry through my right, even when I squint. Once I noticed the effect, I remembered reading about pinhole glasses some years ago, but had completely forgotten that until now. Serendipitous!

Originally, both eyes were to be halves of this napkin ring. It came from Antelope Antiques, where the shopkeeper started polishing off the tarnish despite my protestations... but it still looks lovely. I hacksawed it in half (on an angle for face-fittage), cut it to shape with some metal plate snips, then smoothed the edges with a metal rasp.

The left eye was going to be covered with more steel, like so... but I couldn't get it to attach properly, so the plate went on instead. The right-eye napkin ring is attached by tabs of the suede backing.

I bent the stems on my loupe so the lenses sit in front of my left eye when it's clamped to the side strap. Enjoyable!

Interlude I: Noam Tries to Lick the Plasma Light Bulb

Interlude II: Nate's Sweet Goggles

Sleepy Nate used brass and rubber plumbing gaskets, set in tan suede. His goggles have a dust mask that can be detached from the right side, to hang out of the way when not in use. (Picture by Noam)

Back to the main feature...
I used a couple of electrical clamps on each side, which not only looks awesome but also provides some adjustability. Attaching these to the strap proved to be the main stumbling block, and the reason why I stalled for a week before finishing them for the Hands-On Museum Local Tech Event last night. (AHA! and 826michigan shared a booth, thanks to sponsorship from Tom Root... more info about our project later.)

The holes in the clamps were too small to push rivets through, and I couldn't find a working drill for many a tiresome day. Once one was located, that and a triangular metal file made the job rather easy (although the rivets barely made it through the whole thickness of leather and metal).

Copper pop rivets installed!

Plate side, minus the loupe (which I do think adds a lot).

I also added some decorative rivets and a mended tear on the right side. Can't have my battle goggles looking shiny-new.

Goggle pics from the Local Tech Event... these were taken with my near-IR webcam and run through Quartz Composer. Further details to come...

Happy happy

I love this picture :D
We were stationed across from Current Motor Co., represented at the event by John Harding, who gave an awesome presentation at Ignite 3 in March. I wandered over and saw the sweet "inverted" motor (ring of magnets on the outside, coils on the inside) that drives their wheels. That's their motorcycle on the left. Mmmm pretty.

Stay tuned for Rotary Ruminations (Sorta) and Robo-Vision!

Musics

So...
Steeleye Span.
Marvelous British folk-rock group, to which my sibling Andy introduced me rather a few years back. A couple of months ago, I saw they were coming to the Ark, and decided that this was necessary. The concert was on Wednesday, and it was all that I could have hoped for. They played a lot of new stuff, and then their first encore song was my first Steeleye experience, "All Around My Hat". Sing-along-age was had. And then they played "Hard Times of Old England". And all was right. Also, David and I got a free copy of their "Bloody Men" CD!

This ties in with my recent joy: writing steampunk folk songs. I'm not sure where the idea came from, but I certainly haven't seen anyone else doing them. Anyway, these are the first songs I've ever written that sounded decent, and the excellent Jess and I recorded some today in the studio up on North Campus. The time constraint means I can't scrap 12 takes running -- good for my sanity, not so great for quality (the vocals are rather dodgy) -- but eh. Free studio space! :)
I have two done, and they are called "I'm Not Sorry" and "Firefly Waltz". One is about zeppelins and betrayal. The other is about betrayal and robots. I do want to do cleaner versions, and hope to add some mandolin soon; I just haven't got a mando part worked out yet. Plus, that requires either multiple sessions or bringing both guitar and mandolin up on the bus. Bleh.

So, yes... forays into musicality. Besides the hour spent fixing machinery, and the lack of water, most excellent. And I am going to branch out genre-wise. It is exciting.

Magnetic fingers!

It sounds pretty awesome to have a sixth sense, for electromagnetism (à la this Wired article on rare-earth magnetic implants). But I'm not so keen on the surgery, stuff breaking down inside me, and possible infection aspects of the process. Plus, the "non-removable" part seems a tad impractical. And then, last night, David (my most marvelous S.O.) reminded me that he'd once brought me some broken neodymium ring magnets.

...Experiment time!

I happen to have a decent collection of different types of wire, for 2D twisted-wire drawings (I got into this when making things for a holography project) and jewelry-grade maille rings. During a couple of short house meetings, I came up with three of these:


Each is made from a single piece of brass wire and a magnet (I think the brass/nickel combo gives it a touch of steampunk aesthetic). They're probably not quite as sensitive as the implants, as they're not right against the skin, but they certainly work. The magnets are very strong, and I'll definitely keep playing with this concept. More pictures to come, including detail shots of all three, plus whatever else I come up with.

Thoughts and observations:
• It works best when the magnet is loose in its holder (though still secured against possible escape). This allows it to oscillate freely, which I can feel via the wires.
• Smaller pieces seem to work better, probably for the same reason - free oscillation within a cage-style attachment, while larger pieces suggest a wrapped fixture, as above. Due to these factors, plus the fact that many feedback wires attach magnet to finger, the first fingertip I made (left in the picture) is the most sensitive.
• I'm going to try making earrings, though these will probably be ear cuffs in the same wire-wrapped style, rather than with magnets sandwiching the ear. I do not wish to have my flesh squeezed. But I have a tendency to lose ear cuffs (part of why I make, rather than buy, them), so I'd have to make these extra-secure.
• I am a total sucker for jewelry that does stuff. These are a bit impractical for everyday wear, but the cuffs will definitely be making an appearance. :)