Jenn.Tournesol

I’m falling apart officially. ‘Tis what happens to Senior Undergrads when graduation day looms so near.

Jen — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:01:00 +0000

I foresaw this happening, I just didn’t know when it would actually occur. Raskolnikov, Raskolnikov, Raskolnikov. He knew what he wanted to do and he did it, although not as cleanly as he hoped to, but he had an objective and a clear aspiration–nothing I would quite dream of achieving, yet he was a true goal-setter and goal-achiever.

So here I am. I will graduate from the University of Denver with a BFA in Electronic Media Arts Design, a name which is both a bothersome mouthful and a name which never fails to spark interest (and whether that stimulation is good or not is questionable). I have no web presence. And why do I have no prominent web presence? Well, that is because I don’t know how to have one. The time to create said presence has been squandered away reading Pride & Prejudice, Crime & Punishment and any other classic novel you can imagine whose title contains two nouns linked by an and. No, I am not an English major, though I swear sometimes I pretend to be one with how much I enjoy writing, critiquing writing and reading. Why didn’t I just see this when I was in high school? That I was destined to be a writer of some sort. I could have honed my skills by this point in time, but like I said, I have squandered 3 years so far pretending to be a graphic artist with false dreams of working on computers.

I cannot work on computers. It’s impossible. I’d rather be standing at 12,000 feet admiring the view of mountains. And that is why I should be a field scientist of some sort, a geologist or archaeologist…some ‘logist’. Also, as remarkably illogical as this statement may appear, I would rather be digging a hole for a tree or digging up black tarp trapped within the earth so that native plants can grow. Essentially, I mean, I yearn to be outside more than anything and the last thing I can fathom myself being perfectly content and satisfied with doing in my my life is sitting in front of a computer all day every day fussing with Adobe software programs and coding. For the love of Jasus, save my soul.

Why did I not decide to go into biology? There was a moment though, a very clear and rational moment I had this time last year actually, when I was minor searching. I hit upon the notion that I would be a brilliant molecular biology minor. So, I pursued it, but after one class of general genetics decided that it would get in the way of my actual degree work. General genetics is no breeze mind you and to take it for fun, like I was doing, is unfathomable in the science department. “What sort ‘a eejit takes Gen’ral Genetics for fan?” (I just read Angela’s Ashes and so my internal voice is now speaking to me in an Irish accent!). So, that is when my dream of being a scientist and artist ended. Certainly, I cannot go into any sort of science related field after only having studied biology and evolution through my own research and the help of Dawkins, Gould and Diamond. That will never fly, ever. And that is what kills me about this world. It’s ruthless. The competition will get you in the end. And presently, I am no match for the competition.

A defeatist. Is this the attitude of the defeated, of one who has surrendered to the difficulties of life? Hell yes. And I hate that I should harbor such emotions, but I will not deny them. They are too powerful.

Chef, Graphic/Web Designer, Fine Artist, Illustrator, Environmental Activist, Americorps!, Peacecorps!, teacher, professor, translator, permanent toiler in the non-profit world, freelance this-and-that, unstable jobs, craftswoman, writer, novelist, world traveler, biologist, geneticist (that dream is dead…maybe?), yoga instructor, mountain guide, bicycle guide.

There, that is essentially everything I enjoy doing wrapped up in the name of the profession it applies to. Which one? I need an answer. I cannot just enter the world without any achievable goal.

Know what? Maybe I have never had an achievable goal. I have always been about diversification, which has lead me to where I am today. Stuck in a rut. Diversify…hell no, I won’t go.

artist’s block

Jen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:04:55 +0000

I never thought that this would happen, but holy cow! My watercolor paper remains blank. It is sitting the corner, staring back at me in a threatening manner.

Oh man, I just want to MAKE!

I’m going to Illinois next week. Hopefully, being in that new and old environment will reinvigorate my creative juices.

the price list

Jen — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:42:29 +0000

This is a list of all the items I bought for this project, including the price, the mode of transportation and the location from which the item came.

mounting the motor

Jen — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:48:48 +0000

I spent all day on Friday trying to figure out how to mount the motor for the bike generator.

The first plan for mounting the motor. Unfortunately, I never really got to test it out because Aaron came along and gave me a new idea to try which seemed a lot more stable than what I was working on. Who knows, though, this may have worked.

This is Aaron's idea. It didn't work out well because the shaft began working itself into the wood. Therefore, the shaft would not turn. A good idea in the fact that it protects the shaft, but with Craig's help, we just could not get it to turn properly. Too bad. Tant pis.

This is the mounting plan which finally did work. It is really incredible what will and what won't work. I still believe it is always good to go in with a plan, but I have also learned through this process that my initial plan will probably not always work. In fact, it is pure luck if your first idea runs well and works properly.

the tape loop

Jen — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:10:06 +0000

So, I’m working on another tape loop. It is a little unclear precisely why the first tape loop didn’t work. I thought it was the rubber cement I used on the wheels that turn the tape. But no, that’s absolutely essential for friction. I removed it, and plastic on plastic meant the tape did not budge at all. So, what I’m thinking now is that the tape loop is too large and I should cut it down by the tiniest amount. There’s not enough tension to pull the tape. That’s the hypothesis. Unfortunately, I left my tape in the boom box, which is currently locked in the sculpture room for Memorial Day weekend. Oh well. I’ll have to experiment on another $0.99 tape I got from ARC.

The map of the trip I took on my bike to get to the ARC on Broadway for Half-Off Saturdays (I am clearly a fan!). Also, what a tape loop looks like on the inside. I think this diagram I've drawn up is much better than the one included in the instructions I used when learning how to make tape loops.

bike turning wheel?

Jen — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:59:07 +0000

So, it’s probably in the wiring, but the motor is turning the wheel of my bike. When I was pedaling, my boyfriend was looking at the meter on the boombox and told me that I was a third of the way towards turning on the boombox. I don’t think I could’ve pedaled any harder. I was already at that point when riding called ‘bouncing’ which isn’t the greatest feeling. How can I go faster in order to power the boombox? Craig said it’s all about diodes. That was what my original plan consisted of–actually working with a more complicated electrical circuit–but I ditched that for this more simplified version. It’s not working like I would like it to, which means it’s time to re-examine the diode circuit with the inclusio of resistors, capacitors and whatever else I can throw onto a board. This is really the difficult part, more so than mounting te motor, but probably not as much as finding the right parts.

Here’s a link to a video on vimeo of the motor turning the rear wheel.

the bike setup

Jen — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:45:43 +0000

The end product...it's a start.

Nylon string as a replacement for a tough, stiff v-belt. It worked--how incredible!

This circle I drilled into the back of this 2x4 was actually part of a different plan, but turned out to be so useful in this final plan for the motor mount.

___________________

I plan to also make a grid of all of the items I purchased, how much each item cost, and the method through which I acquired the object. Stay tuned.

Funny Names: Fistell’s and Caboose

Jen — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:13:45 +0000

Funny names, but great places that helped immensely during my search for parts. I must say that the staff of both places is extremely helpful and friendly which made the trips worthwhile, since I ended up walking out of both places without quite the electronic devices I was looking for. Yet, at Fistell’s I did find an amazing boombox for $9.00, which is the one I am using in my final project for this iteration for May 27. From Caboose, I almost bought a $60.00 12 volt DC motor, but just couldn’t surrender to the purchase until I looked around for other options. That is precisely what I did, and that’s when I called Colpar Hobbies. Jim, who answered the phone, told me they had the right motor for $30.00, which was a much more reasonable price for my pocketbook.

A map of the route I took to get to Fistell's and then to Caboose via bicycle. One of the complications which arises from riding a bike to many places when it's also necessary to pick up supplies is having enough room in a pack or on the bike to cart all of the stuff around.

Here is the link for Fistell’s Electronics downtown on 10th and Bannock.

And here is a link to the site for Caboose Hobbies on Broadway.

At Fistell’s, the owner was very helpful in teaching me more about DC motors. He took a look at my 12 volt DC motor, and then told me in a concerned tone of voice that my motor simply wouldn’t work. Apparently, it’s a ‘gear-reduction motor’ meaning the ease of turning is impossible. He then hobbled over to one of the aisles full of supplies and came back to the counter with a 3 volt DC motor. He wanted me to observe how easily the shaft turned on that motor. Then, he got an LED, stuck it in the motor, turned the shaft and the light turned on. However, when I asked him about a 12 volt motor, he said he only had motors around 3 volts, which does me no good.

Colpar Hobbies and the new motor

Jen — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:58:00 +0000

A map of my first trip to Colpar Hobbies via bike to purchase the new motor after going to Fistell's to be told the motor I currently had would not turn.

Here is the link to the website for Colpar Hobbies.

As for a review on how helpful their staff is and how plentiful their stock is, I must say it’s a great place to go for science projects involving electronics. The staff is knowledgeable about what they specialize in at Colpar and certainly none of them hesitate to help out customers in need of solving a project dilemma.

receipts for my project

Jen — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:50:22 +0000