Friday night – Tesla's birthday

Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla.. one of the most amazing and strange inventors of all time.  Google recognized the date by putting a tesla coil in their banner !

I recognized the event by firing a Tesla coil in the sanctuary of an orthodox jewish synagogue … Which I suppose is a bit ironic since tesla was a bit of an antisemite.

I was there doing a show for the lubavitch kids summer camp. One uniqe thing that happened.. This kids fringe (tzitzis) on his prayer shawl (tallus) got into the action and stood u when I hooked him u to the vandegraaf generator.

My sort-of-cousing biully g accomanied me to the show.. then we went back to his house to look at all of the cool things that he’s built. He loves to build exoctic sundials. heck these out !. Heres one he built that tells the time to the minute by reflecting a ban dof ligt on a helical slider.

It was exact to the minute !

This one adjusts itself..

THis one is made of aint stone..

here’s a digital version !

This one rints poetry with sunlight ..

Bill and Deb’s house has a wonderful setting .. check out this view of the lake !

this one uses a comlex nomnagrah to get accurate times.. freind Homer etched the granite for this.

Bill even has a freind in the garden.. a life size  stature of uncle Albert..

I couldn’t resist either… he just looked so freindly !

Here’s another sundial.. this one lights a fire at noon

here’s another one.. though this one fires a cannon

and yet another !

And yet another.. this one tells world time by positioning your fingers shadow on a articular point.


Here’s Bill and Deb

Bill also collects old clocks and sliderules

and layer ayanoes.. This one is from 1920 and sounds great !

they also have a tun of music to play.

What an interesting visit … I’m really enjoying getting to know billy and his family better. I think we’re going to build some cool things together.. Right now.. I’m building u a huge sleep debt.. so.. time for sleep. More tomorrow. Nite all.. Nite Sam
-me

T-Mobile Mobile Makeover "Invisible"

Yikes, 1AM again.. and I’m still working. I seem to be busier than ever these last couple of weeks. It doesn’t make it feel much like summer. Diane, Gabe and Kristin decided to hike Camels hump today.. and I was working at home. About 2 Pm my head got so full of work that I colsed my laptop drove down to the mountain and ran most of the way up the trail .. I met them coming down less than a half mile from the summit. it was so nice  takign that mental and physical break in the middle of the day…  I got back in time for my two afternoon calls then we all went to see Transformers 2.. (very cool.. though I’m not sure I followed the plot)  It felt good taking those two mental health breaks..   I didn’t feel too guilty since.. a) I got in at 2AM last night form a work trip.. and b) here I am still working at 1AM. ..
   I do need to get some sleep tonight… .. .. Oh, I have one more thing to share. My good friend Tim just made a commercial with Catherine Zeta-Jones .. Here he is being goofily awkward.. He’s famous !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVvhMOBXbp8

OK.. That’s it for tonight… more tomorrow. Nite all. Nite Sam !
-me

ps. I just found some pictures that Discovery has released for The Colony.. Heres one they had of me.. check out that dirt !  It’s real !!!!

Wednesday night – I won !

It’s 2Am and I just got back home from a 6 hour drive home from NY. Believe it or not.. I love those drives.. Still.. I’m too tired to write much. One good thing I learned on the way home is that I was one of 6 first prize winners in the Instructables ‘Get the LED out’ contest. Thanks to all of you guys that got the vote out !..   Many.. I need ot sleep.. more tomorrow. Nite all.. nite Sam !
-me

Monday night – Necat Erol

2 weeks ago I was looking for old friends in Facebook I was specifically looking for friends from the time I lived in Vienna, Austria back in 1979-80. I couldn’t find any of my friends name, but I found a familiar last name.., Erol,  and reached out.. it turned out that the woman, Nani, was the daughter of one of my good friends.. and the granddaughter of my Houseparents. Sadly, I leaded that my Housefather, Necat, had just passed away a few weeks earleir at age 87.  Necat was a really great guy.. He was born in Turkey and moved to Austria in the 50s .. he met his wife when he was injured in a motorcycle accident.. she was a nurse.. he didn’t speak german.. and she didn’t speak turkish.. so they got to kow each uther in English.. Necat’s wife, Helga.. .. well.. I should not call her that.. in German you must always be polite even with good freinds.. to me she will always be ‘Frau Erol’  .. was my Hausfrau, mentor, gatekeepr, tutor and fairy godmother while I lived in Wien. I was very close to herr and Frau erol and their kids  but have been in pretty sparce contact over the past several years. Last time I saw them was for Frau Erol’s  was in Wien in 2006 when I showed up iunexpecdetly  to suprise Frau Erol at her 75th birthday party.   Today I called her to see how she was doing. Herr Erol had been in ill health for more than 3 years. At the end she needed to be with him all the time. Today she sounded really good. She was sad.. but also relaxed and rested. We talked about Necat.. and how his passing had effected her. we tlaked abotu her kids and grandkids..   We talked abotu her son Ale who passed away at age 3 and about Sam. We even talked about her  coming and visiting us. I don’t know if she’s ever been to the states.  It was so good reconnecting  .. with all the time I spend on airplanes and international phoencalls.. for soem reason I still feel funny abotu callign soemone overseas ‘just for fun’.. I’m really glad I did taday.. It made my day..
   Do yourself a favor, Call somebody up that haven’t talked to in years. it feels really good..   OK.. all for now.. Nite folks.. Nite Sam
-me

ps. Here’s where The Erols live in Wien (and wher eI lived in 1979-80)

We lived on Graf Starhembergasse, The cross street Kolschitsky Gasse was named for the Austrian general who snuck across the Turkish lines during the blockade of Wien in the 18th century to steel coffee.. That’s supposedly how coffee was introduced to the western world !  I taught at the Gymnasium (high school) 2 blocks up at Waltergasse.