Managed it, but the hard way

I had long since given up on ever obtaining decent results for one of my samples. However, when my advisor read the part of my thesis which described the manner in which I wasn't getting results, he suggested I try one last technique. So the past couple of days I've been working on that (when not working on job applications). Wednesday I determined that the technique does, in fact, give me a decent estimate for the temperature and pressure at which the garnet cores formed. Thursday I started working on trying various paths to see which, if any, lead to the rim composition. This morning I found one, worked everything through, went to write up the results, but first read over what I'd written before. That's when I realized that I'd been using the wrong rim composition. Oops. Back to the drawing board, do it all again, with the correct target numbers this time. After several more hours of work, I've finally got a decent match for the rim which gives an estimate for the temperature and pressure. However, it is now after midnight and I'm sleepy, so the writing-up will have to wait till tomorrow.

Managed it, but the hard way

I had long since given up on ever obtaining decent results for one of my samples. However, when my advisor read the part of my thesis which described the manner in which I wasn't getting results, he suggested I try one last technique. So the past couple of days I've been working on that (when not working on job applications). Wednesday I determined that the technique does, in fact, give me a decent estimate for the temperature and pressure at which the garnet cores formed. Thursday I started working on trying various paths to see which, if any, lead to the rim composition. This morning I found one, worked everything through, went to write up the results, but first read over what I'd written before. That's when I realized that I'd been using the wrong rim composition. Oops. Back to the drawing board, do it all again, with the correct target numbers this time. After several more hours of work, I've finally got a decent match for the rim which gives an estimate for the temperature and pressure. However, it is now after midnight and I'm sleepy, so the writing-up will have to wait till tomorrow.

photos of things I've made or are in progress

Many years ago my beloved Step-father, who was a fantastic wood turner, made me a set of beautiful ( Sassafras salt and pepper mills )

Alas, due to an ill-timed sudden gust of gravity, one of them broke. Not being one to waste perfectly good wood, I set it aside for use in potential projects. A couple of years ago I converted one quadrant of it into a wooden spoon with Pictish style carving ( decorating the handle. )

Some months back I started another spoon out of another quadrant, but, alas, during the coarse of the initial shaping I managed to break the bowl of the spoon off of the handle. Rather than throwing out the broken bits, I set them aside, convinced that they would yet be useful.

Yesterday I noticed that my tall apprentice had left his belt sander set up under the carport.

Today, when trying to smooth out the wax in the wax tablet I keep by the computer upon which to jot down notes that I wish accessible when the computer is off (or, when the computer is off, jot down notes of things I wish to remember to enter into the computer when next it is on) I realized that I need a proper stylus for the tablet. When I made this tablet, sometime last year or so, I didn't bother making a stylus for it, since the pen I use with my computer drawing tablet is perfectly functional for scribing in wax. However, it doesn't have a flat end with which to smooth out the wax--the rounded bit on the end will smudge out the old writing, but leaves grooves behind. Suddenly I remembered the broken bit of spoon handle, upon which I hadn't started carving any sort of establishment. Thirty minutes later, the belt sander turned off (I want one of those things!), and a final fine sanding and oiling later I now have a tool with which it is *easy* to smooth out the wax in the tablet, and with which I can also write on the tablet. The carving on the back of the tablet is patterned after a panel on a Carolingian chest we found photos of. ( tablet, stylus, and decorated back of the tablet )

And, finally, photos of an ( odd project in progress )

photos of things I've made or are in progress

Many years ago my beloved Step-father, who was a fantastic wood turner, made me a set of beautiful ( Sassafras salt and pepper mills )

Alas, due to an ill-timed sudden gust of gravity, one of them broke. Not being one to waste perfectly good wood, I set it aside for use in potential projects. A couple of years ago I converted one quadrant of it into a wooden spoon with Pictish style carving ( decorating the handle. )

Some months back I started another spoon out of another quadrant, but, alas, during the coarse of the initial shaping I managed to break the bowl of the spoon off of the handle. Rather than throwing out the broken bits, I set them aside, convinced that they would yet be useful.

Yesterday I noticed that my tall apprentice had left his belt sander set up under the carport.

Today, when trying to smooth out the wax in the wax tablet I keep by the computer upon which to jot down notes that I wish accessible when the computer is off (or, when the computer is off, jot down notes of things I wish to remember to enter into the computer when next it is on) I realized that I need a proper stylus for the tablet. When I made this tablet, sometime last year or so, I didn't bother making a stylus for it, since the pen I use with my computer drawing tablet is perfectly functional for scribing in wax. However, it doesn't have a flat end with which to smooth out the wax--the rounded bit on the end will smudge out the old writing, but leaves grooves behind. Suddenly I remembered the broken bit of spoon handle, upon which I hadn't started carving any sort of establishment. Thirty minutes later, the belt sander turned off (I want one of those things!), and a final fine sanding and oiling later I now have a tool with which it is *easy* to smooth out the wax in the tablet, and with which I can also write on the tablet. The carving on the back of the tablet is patterned after a panel on a Carolingian chest we found photos of. ( tablet, stylus, and decorated back of the tablet )

And, finally, photos of an ( odd project in progress )

the day just slipped by

I woke up reasonably early this morning, and was motivated to work. Started out my day reading my 1000 words of geology-related literature, and did a couple of minor uni related tasks, and it was somehow afternoon already, so I decided to take a break. Checked in with baronsnorri to see if he wanted to go for a walk, but since he's on night shift for work these days, it was still too early for him to get up, so I had some lunch, made the stylus (see earlier post), did the vacuuming, swept the kitchen floor, and a few other useful tasks. By that point baronsnorri was awake, so we went for a stroll to the waterfall, and one the way back got to discussing the property to which he's moving in a couple of weeks (owned by the beloved of madryn_1960). I expressed an interest in seeing it sometime soon, and he suggested that we go "now". ( so we did )

I very much enjoyed heading out there. However, all of these distractions did mean a rather late start to my working (uni) day. I did write up yesterday's results (160 new words, after deleting the no-longer-needed stuff about the manner in which the calculations didn't work) and did some additional calculations for the one, final, sample for which I hadn't had good results. This technique looks to have taken care of that problem, but once again, it is pretty much midnight, so I'll put of writing it up till the morrow...

the day just slipped by

I woke up reasonably early this morning, and was motivated to work. Started out my day reading my 1000 words of geology-related literature, and did a couple of minor uni related tasks, and it was somehow afternoon already, so I decided to take a break. Checked in with baronsnorri to see if he wanted to go for a walk, but since he's on night shift for work these days, it was still too early for him to get up, so I had some lunch, made the stylus (see earlier post), did the vacuuming, swept the kitchen floor, and a few other useful tasks. By that point baronsnorri was awake, so we went for a stroll to the waterfall, and one the way back got to discussing the property to which he's moving in a couple of weeks (owned by the beloved of madryn_1960). I expressed an interest in seeing it sometime soon, and he suggested that we go "now". ( so we did )

I very much enjoyed heading out there. However, all of these distractions did mean a rather late start to my working (uni) day. I did write up yesterday's results (160 new words, after deleting the no-longer-needed stuff about the manner in which the calculations didn't work) and did some additional calculations for the one, final, sample for which I hadn't had good results. This technique looks to have taken care of that problem, but once again, it is pretty much midnight, so I'll put of writing it up till the morrow...