Monthly Archives: December 2017

the human clock has been around for 16+ years, and there is a picture for EVERY minute of the day and night, submitted by humans from all over the world! to read more about it just click here. i had it up on my laptop yesterday, and got excited when i saw someone from warrensburg, mo! years ago i was on an earlier version of the human clock every night at 7:00. i was holding a JOE COOL skateboard upside down and obscuring everything except the last three letters. “OOL” flipped upside down looks like 700 or 7:00.

we watched a christmas story with the frierdichs and janouscheks again last night! when we first started the tradition 11 years ago, there were just five of us (mike, connie, christy, jenny, and me) now there are 8! baby kaitlyn’s head isn’t normally that big, josh was taking a panorama shot with his phone, and she widened out. wish i could say the same thing about my fat neck.

last night homer’s hosted SIP & SHOP, an event where local vendors have booths to show handmade crafts. chloé had a cool jewelry display on the performance stage. she’s been making jewelry for awhile now, and recently finished a college course to study it further. the last time i saw her creative flair she was a teenager making wigs for her dogs. she has come a long way.

the current artist at homer’s has painted figures from all corners of the pop world: prince, einstein, tiger woods, and kenny rogers. i just saw the painting of the man who wrote songs like coward of the county and the gambler– but this is the song that i thought would sound cool if the painting could come to life every time an attractive woman stopped to admire it… sort of like that bass that sings take me to the river when someone pushes a button.

years ago someone showed me how to record vocal and instrument tracks right on my computer. i went through a prolific phase where any idea that popped in my head would usually turn into a song. here’s one that i did during that period:
MONSTER IN THE MIST
he walked like a cat outside the window
he always took his time
at the end of the day
when the sun went down
he was still walkin’
head in the clouds
dreamin’ about
motel neon
desert phone booths
some scratchy records
old arcades…

sometimes he sees it
like a monster in the mist
he knows it’s only real to him
a clap of thunder
and his clothes are getting wet
he knows it’s only real to him

and here’s a track that joshua fairman and i recorded sunday after eating jack in the box tacos & hanging out at the arcade.

here’s the truck i bought last week. it’s rear wheel drive, 5-speed manual, and there’s a hand crank to roll the windows down. i picked up the maroon shell friday afternoon. a guy up in gladstone was giving it away.

i hosted my first workshop in the makerspace last thursday. 5 people came. i was hoping for 6. they all played the simon game on the makey makey, and later i talked to a couple of them about my teeter totter project & communication goals. this thursday i will host another workshop in which i show people how to 3D print a teeter totter & laser cut cartoon heads. we’ll also talk about the importance of communication, and then i’ll give away at least 3 teeter totters & six heads.

a few nights ago barb & john, our neighbors, invited us over for dinner. it was good timing because we didn’t know what we were going to eat. barb made a delicious vegetable stew. later they were showing us the room where they keep exotic frogs in a terrarium, and jenny asked if she could hold one. i was really surprised when it didn’t jump off, john said “yeah, they’re pretty chill.”they told us that it’s really cool at night when they make those frog sounds. it must be like summer in their house all year round.

he’s not a juggler, but he looks like he’s done this before. wilson helped me gather infant mannequins last thursday after a CPR class. i always tell students, “please don’t grab the babies by the head, because they WILL come off– and then you’ll have nightmares, and i’ll get yelled at.” but someone almost always does it anyway. this guy rose to the challenge like a superhero to make sure none of the heads came off that night. thank you wilson.

3 workshops are coming to the JoCo Makerspace this december!
Giant Multiplayer Simon game – Dec. 7 @ 4pm
“You said it, I heard it, is that what you said?”
Come talk and play with Maker in Residence Dave Cedillo (hey that’s me!) we’ll chat about communication, conversation and collaboration from active listening, and learn how to turn almost anything into video game controllers with Makey Makey and make video games with Scratch.
Laser-cut teeter-totter – Dec. 14 @ 4 pm
“Up and down, back and forth, to and fro, stop and go”
Bring your best friend, your grown-up or your child and learn to make laser-cut and 3D-printed objects. You’ll learn how to build and customize your own teeter-totter tool to resolve differences, and better understand each other!
Speed-sketching phone game – Dec 21 @ 4pm
“We are not mind readers, we can be honest”
Come find out how well you can express yourself and listen to others using walkie talkies in a game of telephone and speed-sketching through the whole library!
***special thanks to Thomas Maillioux for his help producing these workshops!