20260826 Having Fun with Crafty Amigo

The Problem 

  Some time ago, we realised we have an issue in the wet kitchen in the form of the Dish dryer. For those who are not familiar, it is basically a box with a lid where you keep your washed dishes and utensil until they dry off or when you need to use it again. Living in a humid country, it takes a longer time to dry them off. By then, you'd notice the pool of water at the bottom has become slimy and worse, apart from dead insects, there are mosquito larvae happily swimming in there.

 My Wife has asked me to come up with a solution, which is essentially to create a drainage hole at the bottom of the box. The fastest and easiest solution would be to purchase a new one that already has a drainage system. But since the Dryer is a gift from Family, we have to drill it to bi... er, treat it with loving care.

Our Dish Dryer looked similarly like this. Except there is no heater, the lower box is another colour, the placement for the utensil are in the opposite direction and so on.

 

The Open Loop...

 Yeah, I just learn about this today, where the meaning of the term, 'Open Loop' is quite different from an Engineering perspective where it is meant as a non-feedback system control system. But here, it is a term for unresolved task that forces you to use more of your thoughts. For example, I need to have some ice-cream, but the shop closes at 10pm, which is too late for me, because I could be fetching someone but they have not answered my messages which I need to confirm so that I can use the extra hour after dinner to finish some Projects and I then I would also need to take a look at the... as so on. It is quite taxing and at the end of the day, you're just mentally exhausted to the point of being too tired to think about anything.

 

 ... vs Overthinking

 Of course I can solve this with just buying a new Dryer, which has a nifty little drawer you can slide out and throw away the excess water. But would the Family member be offended if they realised we have changed the dryer? What if we forgot about the drainge and the small drawer overflows? How are we going to clean the whole thing to prevent molds and so on.

  So, that is one solution I am not going to entertain. Rather, I am going with another solution which is so mind-boggling and excessive; build our own Dish Dryer stand. The main reason is that the two solutions have one main obstacle which is the edge of the sink. The former's drawer needs to overcome the sink's bumpy edge during the sliding out. While the latter, I would have to build the stand so that it can hover that very same edge. 

 

 

Anyway, I found an online tool that lets you build anything possible with PVC pipes called CraftyAmigo. The site is sometimes slow and clunky but then, I realised that this is due to my Internet connection. If there was an offline App, I would be able to learn and construct this in less than 90 minutes or so. It takes quite a bit to learn but after a few minutes, you're on your way. The only issue was me trying to figure out how to rotate a part in another axis, which is not in their selections. But select another one that has more joints, the options are there. Weird.

 

Just for clarification, the app allows me to colour the various parts. One issue is, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get the view I wanted, which is to turn the model clockwise to face me.

Most of the PVC parts are available here in Malaysia except for that on the lower left, which looked like a 'Y' lying on its side.

In some parts, you can 'rotate' them by selecting which options or configurations and then, rotate them. Something which is not possible with a 3-point basic connector. But hey, at least I got the job done.

There is even a parts list for you so you know what to get and how many. For me, this is not important as I have yet to measure the actual Dish Dryers dimension.

One more thing, it can even export your design to a few 3D formats with .stl being one of them. However, You'd need to examine the model carefully as in my case, I could not get some points to 'snap' into other points.

20052016 It's mine!

Why Watermark your images?
Are you so afraid that no one knows your work and you need to put some text or symbol over the photos to remind everyone? Or are you so happy to share your images with everyone all over the World as you believe they won't use it in the wrong way.


In an uglier point of view, this is your claim to fame, right?

Sadly, in today's age of the Internet and more importantly, Social Media, you NEED to watermark your images. When you upload a very nice photo, everyone and anyone who likes it, will download it for reference, as wallpaper, etc. All of us has been there and done it. Daily.

Now in the era of Blogs, Social Media and Clickbaits, your images, will be used time and again, and no one knows whom it belongs to nor do they even care. Imagine how you feel when your friend sends you a nice image which is 'hot' amongst the Group you're in, not knowing it was yours. And imagine the amount of effort needed to convince your friend and the Group that it was yours.

Ha. So now you're starting to put small itty bitty logos, web addresses and names at the corners of your images and if you're good, on a background of varying shades. Why? Its so that because if someone wants to remove your logo and place theirs over it, it's noticeable.

That's image theft and its rampant like the air we breathe.

But let's take it a step further. From a Business point of view. Sure the watermarks are obnoxious, insulting and even destroys the image. But it is a necessity to prove that the image was yours. And so, little cute logos at the corners are useless for those stubborn plagiarists. You have to put that semi-transparent watermark in the middle of your image. Heaven forbid! No!

OK, let's imagine that you drove a hundred miles and camped three nights on a mountain before you got the image. Then you spent hours selecting and editing that perfect image. Two days later after you uploaded it, you heard someone paid thousands for that image from a site you hardly even heard of, and a week later, it was all over the Net.

Yeah.

So, the Watermarked image not only protects you but also, tells the interested parties where to legally get the original image from. You think established newspapers and other advertising companies are always honest? Think of it as free advertising. Anyone who downloaded your image, can only view it and know who's its from. They can't replace their logos as its everywhere and will destroy the image.

Think of it as signing your Art and also saying "it's mine!". OK, think of it as a Branding exercise too. For your Business. Really. No use crying over spilled milk later.

And how big or beautiful or hidden your watermark, I leave it to your imagination. Afterall, its your Art and Effort.

I'm not famous yet, and also depending on my mood, here is a watermarked image of the last project I was working on before going overseas to Kuching for work. Yeah, this is from my FB Page, PIscean Works.

Open Spaces

While I was at the customer's place, I happen to pick up some magazine which highlighted some designs on houses. What caught my eye was the way the stairs were designed. It looked nice and gives the impression that this place is very big. Actually, for me, I would like a big studio-type of house where everything is on one single floor, from the garage to the lounge to the kitchen etc. Only the bedroom would need the stairs and are suspended by wires..........

Imagine if you just drive into here and the stairs leads
you to the bedroom/hobby room.

Pentel Ergonomic Winggrip 0.5mm Pencil

In less than 10 days, this arrived on my desk. There is a long story behind it but let's just say, both of us blamed the postal office of either country and he is Gentleman enough to include another pencil for me since I am kind enough to trust him and make another purchase on eBay.

But nowadays, I have to take into consideration that out of 10 purchases, only one might not make it here due to it being missing en route. I could make it a point to have it registered and so on but most of my purchases are less than the postage itself.

Anyway, I have seen this pencil years ago before and I did not take much heed until recently when I lost my RM9.50 Pentel FlexFit II 0.5mm mechanical pencil. I took it badly because this was the first time I ever bought a mechanical pencil that was more than RM4.00 and two, because it quickly became my favourite as it was very comfortable to hold.

I chose white because it looked very nice compared to
black. But other websites now have it in orange, blue
and so on as they are limited editions.

Although the silver parts convinces you that its made
of metal, its not. But it does look futuristic, though.

And here is the Wing part from the namesake Winggrip.
You just flip it out like so. And see the white square at
the top near the wing's pivot point? Its the mechanism
for you to adjust the height of the wing so that it fits
comfortably in your hand and the revolving barrel
also makes it easier to obtain a more comfy grip.

Normally, when you hold a pen, you will mostly
grip it like this. After writing for quite awhile,
your hands will start to feel tired.

But thanks to Professor Noro of Ergoseating
this design, allows you to write effortlessly.
But when it comes to sketching, it takes some
getting used to as I need to make the pencil
move up and down, which is hampered by the
wing. On writing, its OK. Just that I have never
written so many words in one sitting since my
schooling days. So, it feels ackward.

Ideas

OK, there is something wrong with me. I have to finish Peter's Phaser anytime soon and I am nowhere near. I am not even at the starting line. And so, while eating a huge Whopper at Burger King's, my train of though derailed and flew off into space. And so, this is what happened to Peter's Phaser. The ideas, I mean.

Ok, the rear is so cool. With the windows there, they can
see the back quite clearly.

Good, good, I like the front shape. It looks tough and with
the cabin at the top, the driver is very protected (not in this
van, la). I suppose the wheels can be bigger.