Strength Of The Small

Memories: A Childhood Friendship

By JM PerezSeptember 5, 20122 min read805 views

Today I feel warm and joyful inside. I feel the same way I remember feeling as a child: free of worries and content.

While growing up, I was blessed to have a Father (I still am) whose career took him all over the country. We never stayed longer than a year and a half on a set location. I had the opportunity to travel and make friends even though it only lasted for a little while. As we observe, learn and become aware of our surroundings; we connect and advertently share bonds free of prejudice at such a tender age. Those are the individuals we tend to remember for the rest of our lives.

It was only in 1990 that we finally settled down in Yaoundé, Nouvelle Route Bastos.
Not too long after we moved into our home, a family moved across from us. An unconditional bond was formed and friendship was born right from the get-go between one of the kids and me. Stéphane instantly became my best friend and confidant. He was the handsome, awesome, loving and friendly guy from across our house, who would bug and nag at every opportunity he had. We spent countless hours after school talking about parties, sweet nothings and sometimes current events. That’s how we enjoyed spending our time instead of doing homework and preparing for the next school day.
He was a huge source of compassion. I cherish and hold those memories close to my heart. Those were joyful times, when life was so simple. Those were some of the best days of my life.

Stephane & Family — *Stéphane & his beautiful Family.*

Though we last saw each other fifteen years ago; I never stopped searching for him and asking around. For some reasons no one had the time nor the will to track him down including those I spoke to, who knew his whereabouts. It made me wonder if perhaps only fate could reunite us once again, as it was the case twenty-one years ago? I can’t help but wonder.

This morning I was blessed to reconnect with him. When I logged into my Facebook account my eyes immediately spotted his name. I knew then, without a doubt, that he was the one since we both shared a childhood friend. I jumped with joy as my heart leapt with excitement and gratitude.

It was so good talking to you, dear friend. Thank you for still being a part of my life; it thrills me beyond belief. I am looking forward to new beginnings.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” – Romans 8:28 (KJV)

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By JM Perez

Weather Nature High Desert

Red Sun on a Dark Sky

By EPEngineerSeptember 2, 20121 min read588 views

While working on my garage, out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a plume of smoke over the mountains. It was not big in size but dark on its intensity. As the hours passed the smoke plume got thicker and wider and darker. It was quite a sight to behold since its not every day that something like this happens. The picture here was taken in the evening and it’s quite a sight.

Due to the intensity, I wondered about the origin of the fire. It seemed to me that the fire was towards Irwindale, CA/Pasadena, CA mountains. The radio made no mention of the fire nor the location as the hours passed on this day. Having witnessed some fires up close I can surely say that it looked like a very fast moving fire. And so, The cycle of life continues with the rebirth of the hills.

By night time, my wife decided to check the Yellow Moon out and capture it on film. Isn’t it so close and yet so far? Isn’t it lovely?

What a beautiful sight and night.

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By EPEngineer

Robots Repurposing Upcycling & Recycling DIY: Projects

DIY: Robot Creation

By EPEngineerAugust 27, 20122 min read966 views

Ever since I was a little boy I have had a fascination with the electro-mechanical from steam works to electronics and to robotics. I am always thinking of new things to make/build.

OG (Original) ‘Bot

This was the first creation that was spawned by this parts which stood out from the rest. You can look at thousands of parts and at times, they come together to form a unique figure. This was the first creation that screamed to come out of my brain and materialize into what you see before you. All the parts were scavenged from scraps and drilled together to form this Bot. It has a 9Volt battery to power the lights and a toggle switch to turn it ON and OFF.

Electro Tester

This Bot was built to help me do my work faster and more efficiently. It has a connection and switches to run 110Volts to test leads and also a 24Volt transformer to test leads. My testing required to verify that 24 Volts where present on the output of the units, so I wired the eyes to function on 24 Volts. So, if the unit output was good, then the eyes would light up. If not, then they would stay off. When working with power you need to have fuses to protect your equipment and this bot has one fuse per line. This Bot was not only my most useful creation, but also the most requested by my co-workers.

Impact Bug

After coming across this a couple of Impact Sprinklers I noticed the top section looked like the top read area of a bug and so, the Impact Bug was born. This Bug is powered by a 3Volt battery attached to a toggle switch to power the eyes. This became a great gift idea for co-workers who were moving along after their contracts where up.

Music ‘Bot

The evolution of the OG ‘Bot after about 8 different variations in style. This ‘Bot was a present for a co-workers birthday and it went to a good home.

Robot Hand

This hand/arm was built for a Science Fair project for a co-worker. He wanted to build a hand that could grip an empty soda can and lift it. After some deliberation and some research on the internet, the Robot Hand was born. Each finger can move independently from the others or all together by pulling on all 5 wires at once. The springs for finger joints help the fingers to straighten up while the double string on the thumb allowed up to not only pick an empty can, but also a full can of soda and hold it while all 5 wires where being pulled on.