Lee.org

If you have a Kel Tec SU-16, you might love it except for one little detail… The takedown pin in the handle is so tight that you need a tool to insert or remove it. I found a great hack on what to do about this.

You can replace the takedown pin with a 1/4″ hitch pin from a hardware store. It works peachy keen. The pin stays in perfectly and is easy to remove by pulling on the attached ring. (Source)

Improv games from my Improv class at BATS with Rebecca Stockley

Once upon a time…
Every day…
But one day…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until Finally…
Ever since that time…
The moral of the story is…

what I’m working on now with the Flaming Lotus Girls
Serpent Mother

I helped build this last year with Zachary Coffin and Corbett Griffith
Colossus

What the Flaming Lotus Girls worked on last year
Angel of the Apocalypse

And the year before…
Hand of God

And the year before…
The Seven Sisters

After Adam Corola on 106.9 Free FM this morning at 10am there was a female talk show host. I’m almost positive that it’s the woman who wants a cookie in the Evolution Control Committee’s song!

It took me 10 minutes of listening before I could recall where I knew her voice from.

Last night at the Box Shop, I saw a blue shirt that made me think a bit. It read “Permabit” across the left breast. I thought, “That’s nice. I’ve heard of that company. They don’t exist anymore, do they? Now why exactly do I know that company? Hmm. I don’t know. Oh well, I’ll get back to helping to take photos…”

About an hour later, a guy in a blue shirt looked at me and said, “HEY! Lee! How are you?!”

[blank stare] “How do I know you?”

“It’s Geo!”

We talked for a while. Yes, he’s gotten the all the occational emails and phone messages I’ve sent over the last year. He’s just been too busy to get back to me. He looks TOTALLY different. Crazy chin scruff, weirdly sticking-up hair (he said he had been windboarding or something all day), and uber-cool shades.

The photo session went great. I’ll show you my pix shortly.

Netflix to offer free month as part of case
Posted May 2, 2006
A judge has approved a class-action settlement requiring Netflix Inc. to offer a free month of DVDs to 5.5 million current and former subscribers. The settlement resolves a case that prompted the online rental service to acknowledge it gives preferential treatment to its most profitable customers. The settlement, released Monday after being approved last Friday, had been delayed since March when a California state judge balked at lawyers’ payments contained in a settlement proposal. Netflix expects to begin sending out notices of the final settlement later this month. The company has estimated the total settlement costs at $8.95 million, but that figure assumes it will pay $2.5 million in attorney fees.

They are losing a suit because they gave preferential treatment to their more profitable customers? You’re kidding, right? That doesn’t smack of socialism, that is the definition of socialism.

What am I missing here?

(BTW, I’ll be receiving a free month of service as part of the settlement. Heck, that might get me to start using Netflix again… wait a minute…)

Weathermole: a Google maps and National Weather Service mashup.

Find the weather anywhere in the US with a single click.
Simple. Genius. One step closer to Google Grid (and if you haven’t heard of Google Grid before, you MUST check it out!!!)

I just listened to a podcast of Peter Diamandis speaking at Pop!Tech 2005. He’s the founder of the X Prize. He’s got these crazy ideas about how to foster innovation. Instead of throwing money at a problem, offer up a prize for the first one to achieve the goal and let the competitive spirit of people take its course. He says that the 10 million dollar X Prize for a reusable space ship leveraged many times as much capital, getting people to try and win the prize. It’s a crazy idea that’s not so crazy! Charles Lindburg flew the Spirit of St. Louis to win a $25,000 prize offered by Raymond Orteig…

I’m kind of thinking of going to the X Prize cup but it’s a bit of a distance from me… Anyone interested in going with me?

X-Prize Cup Calendar

Wednesday Flaming Lotus Girls meeting and work on Serpent
Thursday Improv Party at Mary’s… waay too much fun
Friday Forbidden Island in Alameda with Michael and Karin from Improv
Saturday woke up late (darned tropical drinks! It’s the umbrellas, I tell you!). worked at Box Shop, Fire Arts Expo at Monster Park
Sunday Improv class, hang with Harmony and Crism
–now– midway between Sunday and Monday
Monday chill I hope!
Tuesday photo shoot for Flaming Lotus Girl Calendar (!!!) What should I wear (or not??)
Wednesday FLG meeting and work on Serpent
Thursday Going out for Shameless Heather’s birthday
Friday Treesa’s Memorial Day party overnight in Boulder Creek
Saturday prep for my folks coming to visit! Chill with Andre from work?
Sunday last improv class :-(

Phew!

I’m going to be doing a bit of stainless steel welding shortly. I know that the fumes can be dangerous, mostly because of hexavalent chromium, but I’m having a hard time getting the following question answered:

Exactly what do I need to do to keep myself safe while welding stainless steel?

Update 4-12-09: Here is the answer.

We’ll be welding a lot in an only moderately well ventilated building. Running 2 MIG welders for maybe 3 hours a night for 90 days.

I’ve found some tremendously detailed documents but nothing that gives a reasonable guide to safety.

For example, this page reads:

OSHA does not believe that a specific requirement mandating use of HEPA filters for air purifying respirators used for protection from Cr(VI) is justified, and has not included such a requirement in the final rule. For air-purifying respirators, in addition to the option of providing a respirator equipped with a filter certified by NIOSH under 30 CFR Part 11 as a HEPA filter, the Respiratory Protection standard allows employers several alternatives. Under 1910.134 the employer may also provide either (1) An air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified for particulates by NIOSH under 42 CFR Part 84; or (2) an air-purifying respirator equipped with any filter certified for particulates by NIOSH where dealing with contaminants consisting primarily of particles with mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of at least 2 micrometers. OSHA believes these requirements are appropriate for protection from exposures to Cr(VI).

That’s well and good but the standard respirator rating systems don’t talk about 2 micrometer particles. An N95 mask filters 95% of 0.3 micron particles. First, is 95% enough? Second, how good is it at 0.2 micron particles? 94% or 20%???

That document mentions things like “The final rule establishes an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) exposure limit of 5 micrograms of Cr(VI) per cubic meter of air (5 [mu]g/m\3\)”. That’s fine but I have NO idea what kind of exposure rate I might get with welding stainless steel. Maybe a gentle breeze will completely protect me, or maybe it’ll kill every living thing in in a 2 mile radius.

I’ll continue my research but I’m bothered that my research is going so slowly. Where can I get answers?