Step into the time machine

A routine trip to the store to collect a few Christmas presents for my nephews lead me to a time machine.

Time machine?  I know, a Star Wars X-wing fighter was not a time machine in the movies.  But for me

it was as close as a you can get. 1977, summer of, BOOM I was there, and all it took was a four dollar

Lego toy.  So, after purchasing some "yegos" as my youngest nephew refers to them, I slipped a small

toy into the cart for myself.  Fire up the time machine.  The day after my brother and I

saw Star Wars in 1977, I could not stop thinking about the dog fighting space ships.  Lucas Films 

had yet to become the marketing juggernaut that it is now, so I had to settle for a t-shirt and a poster.

If I wanted an X-wing fighter of my own I had to build it, out of Legos.

It was the ugliest multicolored X-wing ever but I had one.

I shot a time lapse of the assembly with a GoPro Hero2, the video is silent but I
would recommend humming the Star Wars theme as you watch.

Inside the new Dali Museum

Last Monday we finally found a quiet day to go see the new Dali museum.

When it first opened we cued up to have a look, but the crowds were too huge.

I blogged about it then, read here, and shot a timelapse of the exterior.

I do not like seeing museums in a crowd, Monday morning was perfect.

The new design is excellent, modest yet dramatic.  The new building is a piece of art.

We were happy to see that there were many new Dali paintings on display that I had not seen before, specifically some of his early oils from his teenage years.  The galleries are well laid out and it's nice to know that they are three stories up and can become sealed vaults if we get a category 5 hurricane.

No photography is allowed in the galleries, but don't forget your camera the new building is

worth a few snapshots. If you come to the Tampa area, make the short drive to St Petersburg

and check out the Dali it's worth it.

 

DIY - Refridgerator Photo Magnets

  

Need some help with a little Christmas gift stocking stuffer?

How about home-made refrigerator photo magnets?

Its cheap and fairly easy, a little stinky but the results are cool.

Find some wood scraps, the more interesting the better.

I used some slats from a broken pallet I found at work.

 

Be careful of old rusty nails.

Cut down to say 3 by 4 inches. Sand smooth.

Print out the most memorable photo you can find, say

three nephews and a niece all smiling at once.

Glue the photos to the wood squares and let dry.

 

Apply several coats of lacquer, I use Deft.

  Make sure you do this in a well ventilated area.

Let the lacquer dry until it is hard, do not touch.
  

 

Glue one or two magnets to the center of the piece and you are done.

It's a great little gift that will clutter you friends and relatives refridgerators

for years to come.  Of course, I come from the "you can never have enough refrigerator art"

school of thinking.  Like a spartan fridge?  Buy everyone fruitcake!