Last month Jessica and I celebrated 10 years since we first started dating. I knew that Jessica would make a card and so I wanted to avoid buying one and make my own. With time running out I struck on the idea of using the Lego mini-figures that we have in or (very approximate) likeness.
You can see the picture that I attached to the card below, Samuel ‘helped’ me make the house in the background.
Jessica throws her cup in surprise
If some tech journalists are to be believed, it is only a matter of time before we all have 3D printers in our homes. I’m not convinced that there are many times when you need to print a simple object, but I recently thought of one. There is a 3D printer at work and I thought I’d give it a go.
I have a rear light that attaches to the seat post of my bike. Unfortunately the seat post is not vertical and so the light ends up pointing towards the ground. I’ve previously solved the problem by wedging bit of rubber under one edge of the light but I thought I might be able to 3D print a better solution.
The image below shows the software I used to design the object – I got the dimensions and angles from the bike specifications.
Describing the object ‘in code’
The software exported a 3D object fie that I then imported into the 3D printer software. The printer software translated the object into a set of movement instructions for the print head.
This software creates the printing instructions.
The printer starts to follow the instructions.
The printer gets to work.
The 3D printed object is very light but quite tough.
The finished item.
Here it is on the bike, ensuring the light is level.
A perfectly level rear light.
Samuel is a big fan of lego and I think he already has more Lego than I had as a child (before you take into account handed down Lego!). Yesterday Sam and Emily had some birthday money to spend so we took them to the Lego shop. Samuel picked out a treehouse set and Emily looked at the Lego Junior range as she is eager to start her collection. Emily chose a very pink Lego carry case that contains a number of starter bricks.
Whilst we were in the shop we decided to complete the mini-figure representation which can be seen on our mantelpiece or the image below. Sam and Emily were responsible for creating themselves and I have no idea why Sam picked a banana as his ‘accessory’.
A mini-family
The kids absorbed in their Lego.
I can’t believe that we are already in August – we’ve been having a hectic summer here and there are plenty of photos to share with you all… I just need to find half an hour somewhere to get them loaded up!
We had another July BBQ at Tea Towers and really enjoyed having so many good friends round to share it with us. Our garden is looking pretty good for a change so it was nice to show it off.
Party time
We’ve also just had some new neighbours move in this week. They are very busy tearing everything out of their home and redecorating it… which has made us feel very lazy. So today we finally had a go at re-seating some of the paving slabs on our front drive which has needed doing… oh since we moved in I think!
Here is Rich looking ready to get going with a rather worrying looking jack hammer type thing…
Rich is ready to go
Watch the video below and see if you can guess which song Emily is singing.
We are pretty sure it’s Emily’s rendition of “Let it go” from Frozen. I’m not sure why this has lodged itself in her head as she has only seen the film once…
Last week Jess and I were lucky enough to spend the day at Alton Towers trying out the roller coasters. My Mum and Dad were good enough to look after Emily all day… and they still live to tell the tale.
Whilst my parents were busy trying to resist Emily’s cheeky cuteness we managed to ride every roller coaster in the park (including the epic runaway mine-train – choo choo!). Pictures from our day of freedom below.
The Smiler – a 14 inversion roller coaster.
Still smiling after our second ride on The Smiler.
Jessica isn’t scared of Nemesis.
Aaarr! (There’s a pirate ride in the background)
Hansel and a messy Gretel
Jessica recently put all Sam’s Lego into a big box to see if he’d enjoy making something new. He’s already made some interesting contraptions but enthused by our trip to see The Lego Movie I thought I’d have a play too. See how we got on below.
Lego!
Master builders
My car complete with retro spaceman
Sam’s altogether more creative vehicle
We are all full of coughs and colds here at Tea Towers.
However it isn’t all bad as that means more time for lazy mornings and sofa cuddles 🙂
Hope you are all feeling better than we are…
Jessica and I went to see the second Hobbit film last night, we enjoyed the film but I was reminded of a couple of movie annoyances.
Number one – we sat through 15 minutes of adverts followed by 10 minutes of trailers before we got to see the film. It started me wondering whether it’d be possible to have a web service that could tell you the start time of the main feature. If anyone knows of such a service or a cinema chain that shares this information it’d be great to know.
Number two – re-makes. I’ve recommended the film “Starbuck” for a while as it was funny and charming. Whilst waiting at the cinema we saw the trailer for “Delivery Man” which is the same film without the need for subtitles and (judging by the trailer) none of the charm.
Perhaps I’m just getting old.