Sunday, April 14, 2013

I Confess!

I have to confess - after just over four months, I broke my new year's resolution. But, dear reader, I did so unwillingly and joylessly. I swear!

My rapid prototyping teacher, Cam, wrangled a deal with the local polytechnic, SAIT, to 3D print objects on their big fancy Fortus machine. I decided to make a pin, as rendered below, in copper finish.

Cam suggested that adding the pin hardware on the back would be a great use of real world application, so I researched double stem pinbacks and designed one. Then the TA, Stephanie, had an easier idea - add some pegs onto the back that would fit a pinback. I could attach the pinback by using a heat gun to melt the pegs. Just one problem...I could not find a pinback around the house. I looked through every inch of stash and had to face the awful truth. There really isn't any other place to buy craft supplies except maybe a dollar store or a Wal-Mart. It's been at least ten years since both Lewiscraft and Crafts Canada closed down; I miss both.

I made peace with the decision and bravely walked through those automtic double doors, inhaling the store's strange and long forgotten perfume (seriously, all the stores smell the same). I made a beeline for jewellery supplies, found the gold pinbacks, breezed through the scrapbooking supplies (just to see what was new) and headed for the checkout with just the pinbacks. I was gripped by anxiety; it seemed like everything was on sale! But I held firm and let out a sigh of relief when I stepped outside.

We should get our pieces back next Saturday - I can't wait!

Monday, April 1, 2013

A Different Kind of March Madness

It seems appropriate that my dad had a minor stroke during Heart and Stroke Month. The crazy thing is that he didn't know he even had one until about a week later. The five signs of stroke, as illustrated below are:
SK_STROKE-WARNING-SIGNS-SCREEN
Guess which one my dad had? Dizziness, which proved to be the least useful symptom for someone that often feels dizzy. He even drove himself to the walk in doctor a couple of days after and it went undetected then. A couple of days after that, he went to the emergency room and a CAT scan showed the stroke. Dad was up and chatting and acting very normal except for feeling a little tired. It took just about a whole month, but dad came home last week. It was so exhausting to go from devastated to optimistic in the span of five days, and it was a long trip to see him in the hospital. He needed a couple of weeks of therapy and the excellent staff at the Foothills hospital did a great job of looking after a grumpy old man :-) A side benefit is that dad couldn't smoke in the hospital, so fingers crossed that he can give up smoking for good!