EPCgarage

Repairing A Chipped Windshield

2015-08-19T00:47:00.002-07:00

I had a chip in my windshield and was planning to pay a professional to get it fixed. I had a hard time getting time off from work to meet with a pro so I decided to do it myself.

I had done a repair years ago but that kit was not nearly as good as the ones I found recently. For example, this Rain-X kit that I picked up at Walmart.

This project was done on the fly so I didn't get a chance to take good pictures. For example, I did not take any pictures of everything that came with the kit. You can see the parts as I walk through the process though.

The Rain-X kit comes with a solution that hardens in the sun so make sure your windshield is cool and you are not in direct sunlight when starting this project.

The base has four suction cups that hold onto your glass. Make sure it is on nice and tight. The middle section is a screwed in "funnel". In this picture, I showed the base, the funnel section and the screw in "plunger".

Here is a closer look at the base.

Screw in the funnel section so that it sits flush and centered on the chip. It should be tight enough so that the Rain-X solution does not flow out.

You can see the chip in the picture below and how the base is centered over it.

Drip a few drops of the Rain-X solution into the funnel (instructions say 3-6 depending on the size of the chip). Take the plunger and screw it into the funnel section. This will force the solution into the chip.

After about 4-5 minutes release the pressure from the plunger. Take it off then screw it back in. This will pull the air out of the chip and solution then force the solution deep into the chip.

After you screw the plunger back in, check from the inside of the car to make sure the chip has been filled in and there is no air.

Remove the whole kit and drip a few more of the solution onto the chip. Put the attached clear strips over the chip and solution and move the car into the sunlight to harden.

After 5-10 minutes or when the solution has cured, remove the plastic strip and use the included razor blade to scrape off excess solution.

This is the finished product. The kit was pretty good. Much better than the one I used years ago. I am sure a professional would have done a better job but in a pinch, this can be a good substitute.

I wish I had taken a before picture but the chip is barely visible in the picture below.

Of course, make sure you read and understand the instruction when use the kit.

Changing Nissan Versa's Wipers

2015-05-04T11:52:00.002-07:00

Windshield wipers are an important and sometimes overlooked safety feature of a car. We needed to swap out the windshield wipers on a 2011 Nissan Versa and document it for anyone who might feel intimidated by it.

We used Rain-X brand blades. Sizes were 26 and 14. If you have a different car, go to www.rainx.com for specific the sizes. (On older cars, we sometimes upsized blades so that the wipers covered more of the windshield.)

The Nissan Versa uses "J-Hook" style arms to hold their wiper blades onto the arms.

If you have not changed wipers before, you might have assumed that the blades come off by pulling them straight out. In a hook style arm, you would push the blade back towards the arm so that you can clear the hook.

Most (if not all) wiper blades have a button or latch that holds the blade in place. If you look at the picture below, the focused area shows the button for these blades. Press that button and push the blade towards the wiper arm.

Installation is the opposite of the removal. A good idea with any type of project like this is to do one part at a time so if you get stuck, you can use the other (unfinished) part as reference. So if you do the passenger side wiper and you forgot how to replace it, go to the driver's side and use that as a reference.

Done...

It should be noted that there are two sizes of blades for this car. Another good tip is to measure the new part with the old part to make sure the sizes are correct.

2015 Maker Faire

2015-04-12T16:25:00.001-07:00

If you enjoy home built projects, live in (or plan to visit) Oahu, and would like to see other people's projects, come to the 2015 Maker Faire at Iolani School's Sullivan Center on May 9th from Noon to 5PM.

The coordinators of the Maker Faire would like to get a "headcount" prior to the event so sign up on their website if you plan to go. - http://makerfairehonolulu.com/

Recycled Card Press Out Model

2015-03-28T01:39:00.001-07:00

A friend gave me this fun little model that he picked up while travelling in the mainland.

It is a Japanese card press out model of a car made of recycled paper.

Here are all of the pieces. Complete with instructions.

The instructions... Basically the interlocking pieces are numbered. The pieces are put together in numerical order. You look for the two numbers that are the same and connect them together.

This bunny rabbit piece will eventually be a seat. Notice the numbers on the pieces.

The sides are up!

Floorpan in. Seats in. Wheels in.

And here is the completed car.

My First Gundam

2015-03-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

So for my first attempt at a Gundam model, I decided to try the RX-78-2 Master Grade. From what I read online, this was the first model kit created by Bandai in the Master Grade level.

Initially, I was thinking of doing a step by step walkthrough of building this model but I quickly saw that Gundam Models are more involved and complex than most automotive plastic models.

Also, the instructions are in nihonjin.

So I opened the box, turned past the introduction information which (since my Japanese reading skills are horrible) I assumed were specs and history about the Gundam mecha, and started building.

One thing I noticed right away was the thought it took to develop this model is amazing. Pretty much all the pieces have a purpose to them and they all have nice detail to them. There was no glue required with any of these pieces too.

After about one hour of work, this is what I had. I hadn't made any sort of plastic model in years so I had almost no tools. I used a pair of scissors and my trusty Leatherman Wingman multitool. Thats why some of the tabs are still showing.

About three hours later I had a body and a head. Notice the instructions behind the model. If you build these for the first time, note that the parts frames are all lettered and numbered. When you are building, the instructions will point to which frames you will need for each body part. It also tells you which part is needed per section (ie: A1 will mean stalk A, part number 1).

A few more hours of work and I had completed the Gundam's feet. notice the parts stalk at the top of the picture.

The completed model. The model came with multiple weapons as well.

The whole process took about 6-7 hours. If I had better tools, I am sure it would have come out better but it was more about the experience for me as this was my first attempt at a Gundam model. I was surprised at how good the articulation in the moving parts were. The detail is awesome as well. In the end, you have what looks like a store bought toy created in a manufacturing plant.

Normally I collect models and I do not open them. In fact, I'm staring at an ae86 Corolla model that I have not opened for years. I am glad I built this though.

Lego Star Wars - Ewok Village Edition

2015-01-19T00:46:00.000-08:00

Last year, I got the Lego Star Wars Ewok Edition. It was a generous gift from some of my close friends and it took me only 5 months to finally decide to build it. A friend and I took about 6 hours of building to get this done. This is more of a "what we built by following Lego's instructions" since there isn't much modifying that we had done.

The Ewok village came with almost 2000 pieces in 15 (or so) bags and documented in 3 (or 4?) instruction booklets.

First thing we did was put the packages in order.

Aaaaand the build begins. Here are the first three pieces that were built.

The far end is one of the speeder bikes that comes with the kit. The other two nearest to the camera are from previous sets that my friend "modified".

One of the cool pieces that is part of this set is this working catapult.

Wicket standing at the top of the first tree trunk that was built.

The first section that we completed. I am always amazed at how innovative Lego is when creating these sets.

This is the building of the floor of the ewok village. Notice the black round piece on the top of the supporting tree trunk. That allows you to spin the upper part of the tree when it is attached.

It is Luke Skywalker with the famous green lightsaber!! He claims he is a Jedi Knight now.

Luke modified his lightsaber and is causing trouble to the troopers below.

Getting closer to being finished! Check out Leia hanging out there.

Chewie, always thinking with his stomach, gets caught in one of the ewok's traps.

A trooper testing out the build quality on the bridge.

The completed set with the extra speeders thrown in for looks. Luke and Leia seem to be discussing something important. Maybe he is telling her that they are related and they shouldn't have kissed in the previous movies.

Lego ae86

2014-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a quick picture of a lego Hachiroku (1984-1987 Corolla) he made for my birthday.

Sorry - no Initial D tofu sticker.

Hello World - Visual Studios

2014-06-13T12:53:00.001-07:00

Quick post - Just did a quick Hello World! for VS.

1. Signed up online for Microsoft Visual Studios and downloaded the Visual Studios Express 2013 edition.
2. Installed the software - It had .Net dependencies so be prepared for possible extra stuff to install on your machine.
3. Created a new project and took all of the defaults.
4. Clicked Toolbox and dragged the button icon onto the Main Window.
5. Double clicked the button you just dragged into the Main Window and the Button_Click code comes up.
6. Typed the following text above the "End Sub" line:
MessageBox.Show("Hello World!")
7. Clicked Debug - Start Without Debugging.
8. The Main Window will appear - Clicked the button and a popup comes up telling me....

Hello World!

Changing Nissan Versa's Blinker

2014-06-03T01:09:00.000-07:00

Recently our Nissan Versa's blinker went out. You can tell that it goes out because when you select the blinker (ie: left turn signal) it will blink really fast. You can double check which is the bad light by arming or disarming the car to see which light does not go on (or selecting the blinker and looking at it from the outside).

As with any project, make sure you have a manual to make sure you are doing it properly and do your research. Keep in mind that we aren't professionals.

First things first... Open the hood. Pull the hood lever (second lever under the dash on the driver's side).

The hood prop is on the top of the hood when you lift it up.

There is a plastic piece blocking the blinker light.

It will be held down by a bunch of plastic clips. Carefully pry it off with a slim screwdriver. I think there were like 10 or so of them.

This is what the clip looks like when it is removed.

After removing the plastic piece look for the plug. To remove it turn it counter-clockwise.

This is the bad bulb. To remove the bulb, push it in and turn it. It is spring loaded so it will come out easily when you push/turn it correctly.

This is the replacement light. Replace it in the reverse order that you removed everything.

This was a pretty easy fix and its a good thing we didn't need to top off any of the blinker fluid as I hadn't picked any up prior to removing parts.

HELLO WORLD!! - Java

2014-04-30T14:08:00.001-07:00

I decided to do a Hello World blog whenever I want to learn or work on a programming language. These are notes for myself in case I lose interest and want to come back to a language. Today, I do Java!.

1. Download the latest Java JDK (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html?ssSourceSiteId=otnjp). At the time of this writing, it is Java 8.
2. Install.

I did this in Windows 7 so going forward, this will be Win7 notes.

3. Change the PATH - Open the Advanced System Settings - Environment Variables - PATH
4. Add the path of the Java.exe and/or Javac.exe to the Variable Name field. Don't forget the semicolon. (ie: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk.1.8.0_05\bin;) You might need to add (x86) to the end of "Program Files" if javac gives you a "not recognized as an internal or external command" error (ie: C:\Program Files(x86)\Java\jdk.1.8.0_05\bin;)
5. Open Notepad and type:

public class helloworld
{
public static void main(String[] arg)
{
System.out.println("Hello World!");
}
}

6. Save as helloworld.java
7. Type javac helloworld.java in the command prompt to compile.
8. If no errors you can check to see that helloworld.class is created.
9. Type java helloworld in the command prompt and you should get....

Hello World!

Shelling The Hawaiian "Escargot" - OPIHI

2014-03-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

Hawai'i has a lot of special foods that make the 808 state unique. Laulau... Poke... Poi... And one of the best... OPIHI...

There are many ways to shell an opihi. Some people use a butter knife, some people use a spoon... Most islanders like to do it the "natural way." Check out these instructions.

Step 1. Grab an empty shell.

Step 2. Using the empty shell, scrape the opihi out of the shell. Try to keep the edge of the empty shell as close to the bottom of the occupied shell as possible. There is a "sack" at the bottom of the opihi similar to escargot that might break if you aren't careful.

Step 3. Continue scooping until the whole opihi is out.

Step 4. Repeat until all shells are empty.

Step 5. Enjoy your opihi!

Some people will put the opihi "meat" back into the shell with some soy sauce, citrus, sugar, or other ingredients, put them on the grill and eat them after cooking for a little while. Cooked or raw, it is a very tasty treat.

Note: Opihi is usually found at the edge of the ocean where the waves crash into the rocks. Every year people get hurt or even die trying to collect them. If you ever see these on the rocks at the ocean, always remember ocean safety.

Honolulu Maker Faire

2014-03-11T13:42:00.001-07:00

Want to be a part of the Maker movement in Hawaii? This weekend is going to be Hawaii's first Maker Faire! If you have ever seen or read the magazine - MAKE, you should kind of know what the Faire will be about. It is a DIY meeting on steroids.

The Faire will be held at Iolani High School from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM HST.

If you need more information, visit http://makerfairehonolulu.com/ and get your tickets today!

Falling behind on the fun

2014-01-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

So I like models. The difficult thing is actually opening the box and building these things.

Picked up this ae86 coupe because I was missing my old car. Not planning to build this for a while.

Got this one from a friend. Its an R1. Probably won't build this one for a while either.

This one I won from a friend. We were competing who will end up higher placed in our Fantasy Football league. We call our little competition the Mecha Bowl. Whoever wins will get a Mecha model from the other one. The main rule is that whoever wins has to actually build his model so this one will be built. Maybe I'll post my progress here.

Quick post: Tying your shoelaces

2013-11-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, this one is going to be really quick but I wanted to share what may be one of the coolest sites I have seen in a while.

My friend and I recently bought a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors and we were lacing them up. We talked about the many ways we have (or have seen people) lace up their shoes so I decided to google shoe lacing.

That's where this site came up - Ian's Shoelace Site. In it, he covers hundreds of ways to lace up your "kicks". According to the site, there are 2 trillion ways to lace up shoes! And all this time, I have only been worried about over or under lacing...

Enjoy!

Raspberry Pi Project 1: Media PC

2013-08-25T01:47:00.002-07:00

So it seems the first thing people have been doing with their Raspberry Pi has been media center.

I decided to go with the Raspbmc (http://www.raspbmc.com) distribution for no other reason than when I googled information for the project, it was the first hit I saw. The installation is pretty well documented on the website and easy to follow. You will need an SD card to install the Raspbmc distribution on it. Specs of the card you need are on the Raspbmd website.

After about 5-10 minutes the installer was done!

Plugged the Raspberry Pi into my TV. After about 20-30 minutes, the Raspbmc system was installed, updated, and up and running.

Initial setup screen.

There are both iOS and Android remotes for XBMC. I loaded the "Official XBMC Remote" app.
To get it working, I had to activate the Raspbmc web server and input the information into the app but it worked pretty flawlessly after that.

Official XBMC Remote

That is basically it. My first Raspberry Pi project. Pretty easy, not much to it, and I expect to be moving on to my next Raspberry Pi project in a few months.

Side note:

Years ago, I tried building a EPIA-M Mini-ITX media center (http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/spearhead/mini-itx/) that ended up being more expensive. I put it in a wooden box, got it working, and never really used it. It was kind of expensive for what it was but it was a fun project.

Pebble Smartwatch

2013-06-03T19:59:00.001-07:00

So I got my Pebble Smartwatch from a friend recently and have been playing with it for a day or two.

I already threw away the box it shipped in but it was in a nice clean box... Nothing exceptional. It came with a usb charging cable that magnetically attaches to the left side of the watch. It came with a slight charge, but it needed to fully charge another couple of hours.

Overall, the watch feels nice, its not too heavy or light.

One of the various watch faces that come preinstalled on the watch. There aren't many apps yet available for the Pebble on the ios platform but it seems the community is pretty excited about the watch. You can download an SDK to create your own stuff too!

On the iPhone, you have to download the Pebble app from the appstore and turn on your Bluetooth connection on your phone to pair them together. Instructions were pretty straightforward. Load the app, pair the watch, and you are good to go.

If you just got you watch, you might need to update it.

You can add new watchfaces via the app. If you want to download new faces, you just need to download it to your phone and the app will allow you to load it onto your watch.

Having the Pebble makes it much easier for me to weed out text messages and notifications that I was getting on my phone. Now I can keep my phone in my pocket while I get texts and email notifications on my watch.

I'm very excited to see what developers have in store for Pebble (or any smartwatches) users. Visit http://www.getpebble.com for more information.

2013-05-23T12:37:00.003-07:00

Homemade Flavored Mixed Nuts

So I was bored one night while eating some mixed nuts and I thought they tasted bland. I decided that I would try and add seasoning to it. I went to the cupboard and started mixing random seasoning that I thought would taste great together, mixed them with the nuts and tried tasting them. To my dismay, the flavoring didn't really stick to the food. This is what I did to try and correct that problem.

1. I put all the seasoning into a small pan. If I remember correctly, this was Italian seasoning, black pepper, garlic salt, and some habanero powdered seasoning from a vendor in Hilo.

2. I added some water and mixed the seasoning together, added the mixed nuts and let the water reduce while I stirred. I wanted to use vegetable oil, but I couldn't find any.

3. I then put the concoction in a oven safe pan and let it bake for about 10 minutes at about 300 degrees.

4. This is the finished product. I should've left it in the oven for about 5-10 more minutes but it was getting late and I was worried that I was going to burn it. Maybe next time I will use my air convection oven so that I can keep an eye on the mixed nuts while I watch TV.

The flavoring stuck to the mixed nuts and it now had taste. I didn't give it a full taste test as I was tired already and went to bed but I had a couple of pieces and it was much better than it was before this experiment. Next time, I will try using oil, or maybe butter!

Time to code!

2013-03-21T12:52:00.001-07:00

I have always liked technology. I remember when I was in Elementary school, I got to play with the Apple IIe computers and played a Lemonade Stand game. It was awesome.

When I was in the 6th or 7th grade, I took a class in Logo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language) and I was hooked. BTW - this was one of the best things I have ever done in my life and I suggest anyone with kids to enroll them in some sort of introductory programming or computing class.

My parents later got me a Commodore 64. There used to be books that you could buy that was filled with programs that you could type into the Commodore. I would type away and eventually run the programs. Some would work, some would fail.

I remember Radio Shack used to sell a Tandy computer that they displayed in front of their store. Whenever my parents took me to the mall, first thing I would do would be to write a simple infinite loop on the machine and run it. Later I would see if the employees at the store figured out how to stop my little script.

10 CLS

20 ? "Hello!!!!!"

30 GOTO 20

For some reason, I stopped playing with computers or technology for a while after that.

I am much older now and I have been getting the itch to program again. Did some research and looking at doing some Python programming to get my feet wet.

Here is the thing though -

I have always looked at programming as a structured thing. But if it is so structured, why aren't there a set of projects that all programmers do that test your ability to write in each type of language? We all know that the first thing you create is a "Hello World!" program but what is next? Game of Life? Connect Four? And what program would be the holy grail of programs that (if you reach that level) defines you as a master of that language?

Anyway, if I'm not embarrassed by my progress, I will post what I learn here.

I urge anyone who touches a computer to understand programming. Visit http://www.code.org for information about programming.

Won Ton Pizza

2013-02-20T11:18:00.002-08:00

I had some Won Ton wrappers in my refrigerator and I wanted to use them. Of course, I didn't want to make regular Won Ton.

So.... WON TON PIZZA it is!

First, I brought the Won Ton wrappers to room temperature. While I was waiting, I cooked some chicken and some smoked pork I had left over in my freezer and mixed them together.

After the wrappers were at room temperature they were placed on the grill.

I added cheese and my chicken/pork mixture that was made earlier.

It was then cooked at 350 for a few minutes in our trusty convection air oven. It was done when the wrapper was a golden brown.

(When I did my first batch, I placed foil on the grill but the bottom of the wrapper didn't cook well. So I took the foil off and it cooked more evently.)

Here is the finished product. I was low on cheese so if I were to do it again, I would add a lot more cheese to it.

Papermodel websites

2013-02-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

So if you are bored, too lazy to go out and buy stuff for your new project, and have access to a computer/printer, I have a cool time killer for you... Papermodels.

The internet has allowed us to do more from our homes than before. Remember buying those papermodel books where you cut out pieces and glue or tape them together to make cool items? Now you can just download the pictures and go straight to work! No need to go to the store anymore.

1. Yamaha Paper Crafts - http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/entertainment/papercraft/
Probably one of my all time favorite papermodel websites is the Yamaha paper crafts website. This one has been around for a while and they have some really fun stuff. You can do animals, scenes, greeting cards, and motorcycles (of course). They are pretty well detailed.

2. Corolla AE86 - http://ginreimokei.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-109.html
One of the first papermodels I ever did was an ae86 model that I randomly found on the internet. There have been many iterations of these and this is just one of them.

3. Canon Creative Park - http://cp.c-ij.com/en/contents/1006/
Similar to the Yamaha site, this one features really nice papermodels with really good detail. Check it out and impress your friends.

4. Paper Robots - http://www.paperrobots1999.com/home.html
Awesome site for the papermodel fan and the robot fan. If you like stuff like transformers and you like paper cuts, the smell of glue, and impressing your friends with a model you made but someone else engineered, this is the site for you.

There are many many more sites out there that you can visit. There has been a few days where I would spend hours looking for the right model to do only to find out I had spent an hour or two just looking. By then, I didn't have time to actually build the model. Still, the detail and the work put into creating these are awesome!

Aftermarket Steering Wheel

2012-12-25T01:36:00.001-08:00

The original steering wheel on the USDM 1985 Toyota Corolla GTS is non-sporty. It is thin, flimsy feeling, and feels commuter. An easy mod is installing an aftermarket steering wheel.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the OEM steering wheel. You can google it though.

The things that I used to do the swap were: steering wheel, wheel adapter, and wheel spacer. In addition, I had to use an allen wrench (included with the spacer that I bought), a 19mm socket, various extensions, and a ratchet (or breaker bar).

I initially installed this wheel without a wheel spacer and it was way too close to the turn signal.

To remove the wheel I had to remove the horn cover (you can see it partially remove in the above picture). The OEM wheel also has a horn cover that you have to remove as well. Under the cover is the horn. I had to remove that as well. (I don't remember for sure, but I don't think there is a separate horn on the OEM wheel. I think its built into the horn cover.)

--Sorry I forgot to take pics of this part.
The wheel is held onto the steering rack with a 19mm nut. I used a breaker bar with one hand and I used my other hand to hold the wheel to remove the nut. The proper procedure to remove the wheel is to use a steering wheel puller. I don't have one so I just jiggled the wheel free.

These are the parts I used to make the swap.

Left is the wheel, center is the spacer, right is the adapter.

The adapter you use is specific to the wheel you use. Make sure you check before buying. I know Grant Steering Wheels are different from Personal/Nardi Wheel adapters.

I'm not 100% sure if all spacers are the same, but I noticed the one I bought had castings on one side of the spacer. I placed that side up (facing the wheel) when putting it together.

My wheel's horn had a metal ring that is placed in the adapter or spacer to tighten up the fit. You can see it protruding in this picture.

The wire sticking out of the adapter/spacer is the horn wire.

This is a picture showing the inside of the wheel adapter and the wire for the horn. On the back of the horn button is a male adapter for that wire. It is a pretty straightforward installation.

This is the wheel all put together. You use allen bolts to connect the wheel on top, spacer in the middle, and adapter at the bottom.

This is the wheel installed. Installation is the reverse of removing. Some hints. You will notice there are notches in the back of the wheel adapter that correspond to orientation that it is installed in the car. There are two raised bumps in the area of the steering shaft and a plastic piece as well. The plastic piece is associated with the turn signal. If the wheel is installed wrong, the turn signal might not work properly or the wheel might not be aligned properly. If that happens, just remove the wheel and reinstall.

The distance between the wheel and the turn signal is more comfortable now. The driving position feels better as well.

I would recommend reading your installation or car's manual prior to installing your wheel. Different cars might have different procedures. Even different steering wheels will be different (ie: OEM, Aftermarket, airbag wheels, etc).

Enjoy your aftermarket steering wheel!

Homemade Pedialyte

2012-04-23T23:29:00.008-07:00

I recently heard from a friend that a good way to rehydrate yourself is via Pedialyte. I bought a bottle at the store and liked the taste but the price was a little high for something that I wanted to add regularly to my diet.

I did some research and I found a really great site that had a couple of recipes for homemade pedialyte (http://www.ourlittlemonkeys.net/2010/01/26/homemade-pedialyte/).

I gathered the bits to make the solution.

Water, baking soda, sugar, salt, and flavoring.

I doubled up the recipe from http://www.ourlittlemonkeys.net.

I used 8 cups of water and added 1 Tsp Baking soda.

I then added 6 Tbsp Sugar.

Next I added 1 Tsp of Salt.

I mixed it and refrigerated it.

And here is the finished product!

I did read that drinking Pedialyte might be a little extreme and it should be done in moderation so I am trying to watch for any weird reactions. The taste isn't what I expected as the Pedialyte I bought in the store was more tasty. It could be the flavoring packet that I had used though.

Paperwhite Flowers (edit 1/13/2011)

2011-11-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a short project. But hopefully it will be a productive one.

We recently bought a Paperwhite Narcissus kit. It comes with almost everything you need to grow flowers such as a pot, soil, and flower bulbs.

The kit comes with potting material. It is dehydrated so you gotta put it in water. We placed the dehydrated material in the provided pot and put some water in the pot. After a few seconds, we had a pot of potting material.

We took one of the flower bulbs and placed it in a separate container, filled it with the potting material and added a little bit of water to it.

The rest of the bulbs, we placed in the provided pot, covered it with the potting soil, added a little bit of water and placed it on our balcony. Hopefully we will have some flowers to post here in a few weeks!

12/19/2011 - Yay! It is growing!

1/13/2012 - A little late but a week or so after the previous update, we got full on flowers!

And these are about a week after that.

Pancake Cupcakes

2011-09-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

I recently went to the supermarket and I saw pancakes sitting nearby the cupcake area. I immediately thought... "I wonder why no one makes pancake cupcakes?"

So I bought the pancake mix and brought it home.

I mixed the pancake batter according to the instructions on the box. I added about a cup of maple syrup to the mix and started making bacon.

I then fried the bacon up.

I added the bacon to the pancake batter.

Next, I put the batter into cupcake cups.

I baked the cupcakes for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Here is the finished product. I was hoping it would look more like pancakes. The first bite I took wasn't "pancakey" enough so I put maple syrup over the top of the cupcake.

You can see the bacon at the bottom of the cupcake. It didn't taste enough like pancakes for me. I think next time, I am gonna make a thicker batter and add a bunch more syrup.

When I do this again, I am planning to add the bacon after about a minute of baking. (The bacon settled to the bottom of the cupcake.) Also, a little bit of maple syrup will be added at the same time as the bacon. Will let you know how the next incarnation of pancake cupcakes comes out.

Building my Droid Army

2011-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Not really a project, more of a, "what I do in my spare time..." type of thing.

I am trying to build a Droid army. Want to create a battle scene on my desk at work. I wish Lego would sell their Droids as a pack of 5 or so.

Maybe I should change it to a Clone army instead. I think Lego sells those as packs., but I have been lucky that my friend gave me some of his droids. Here is my Droid army.

This is the first set of Droids I had. A group this small would be no match for even a Padawan.

This group of Droids though, this might be able to hold back a Jedi... Especially the gangster droid in the front with his sideways blaster.