Turns out, I'm very low on propane, and obviously the man at the propane shop has gone home to eat mince pies.

How will I get through the festive season without melting anything ?

Cogs!
Steam!
Melies!
Automata!
Gratuitous Frenchness!
Christopher Lee!

What's not to like ? Apart from a slightly mawkish family-friendly plot, which is best ignored.

Click to view

I have misplaced a hammer. Specifically, an iron-headed carver's dummy. Bah.

I have discovered a new thing ( Read more... )

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Repeat after me, one million times:

! is not bitwise NOT. ! is not bitwise NOT. ! is not bitwise NOT.

This has been a public service message from the Bit Twiddler's Association. Thank you for your time.

If you're in Bristol and feeling feckless this afternoon, you might want to come by 100 Stoke's Croft ( Read more... )

This was an experiment to see if I could take a 3D print from a Makerbot (thanks, Mike!), in ABS, and treat it as a master for lost-wax casting.

The answer would seem to be yes (though my casting technique is still a bit rubbish, and needs work) :


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In today's lesson, we learn that silver/copper, 50/50, comes out looking remarkably similar to tin/copper, 10/90.

In this way, an expensive metal can be used to simulate the appearance of a cheap one. Ho hum.