My father-in-law just had a birthday. For his 60th, the family celebrated by hanging out with 50 or so of his friends. He is one of those people that I hope I can be when I’m 60. He is an Ironman triathlete and plans to do the Coeur d’Alene Ironman again this coming June, 2009.
Ironman was the theme of his party. As a gift, I decided to make him the swim, bike, and run symbols out of steel. I have access to a Plasma Cam. It is basically a CNC machine to cut out shapes from metal. I ordered some sheet metal and started developing graphics. My mother in law had some ideas and sent me some graphics which I worked over to work for the plasma cam. Then I cut them out, ground them for 4-5 hours, and finished them. I am relatively pleased with the final product. Pictures are in my Projects section of this website.
This project was fun because I got to use my graphic skills to produce something tactile and not just something that will be seen on some website somewhere. This project also inspired Senior Management and I with regard to the jPod.
So…here is the newest design element: A sheet metal cutout (which I need to develop the graphics for yet) that will rest on the top of the counter in the galley area. Then we will finish it with a self leveling bar resin like the one found at Environmental Technology INC.
The design will reflect the Great Northwest. Evergreen trees, mountains, & the jPod in the foreground. I can’t wait to see this completed.
In unrelated, but increasingly common news, I cooked some more food in the dutch oven last weekend (pictures below). This time around, I made Chicken Angelico (based on a recipe from the Texas Treasury of Dutch Oven Cooking). Some friends stopped by and helped me with a gluten-free cracked earth chocolate cake. This recipe is based on a recipie from the food network (watch it here). Both of these were amazing eating and repeatable recipes.
