Resident Evil T-Virus Canister
Here's one of the movie prop replicas I used to make. I thought I'd post some details for anyone who wants to make them for themselves. Below are links to pdf's of drawings I have made up that show all the dimensions needed to make a T-Virus canister..
The aluminum end caps were bought out from a local machine shop. All the acrylic tubing was purchased from TAP Plastics. The outer tubing was a simple cut-to-length using a chop saw. The double helix was formed by applying heat to the tubing using a heat gun and wrapping it around a 5/8 inch dowel. The helix was then cut to length using a dremel. One end of the helix is clamped shut by applying heat and squeezing shut with needle nose pliers.
The colors for the liquid is just food coloring and distilled water. For an added effect you can substitute food coloring with UV fluorescent dye!
Since the inside diameter of the helix tubing is too small to pour liquid in from the top, we have to fill it from the bottom up. In order to do this I used a syringe with a long piece of small plastic tubing attached to it. I filled up the syringe with liquid and inserted the small plastic tube all the way to the bottom of the helix. As I started filling the helix with liquid I would pull the small tubing out at the same time. Once filled I would heat up the open end and clamp it shut with the pliers.
Once you have your coils with with liquid filled and clamped off, you're ready to start assembling everything. I glue the end caps on using 5 minute two part epoxy purchased from any Lowe's or Home Depot. The epoxy has a yellow tint to it, but when it cures it turns clear. Mix and pour the epoxy into one of the aluminum end caps. Insert the outer tubing and the two helix's and let the epoxy cure. Once cured do the same with the other end cap and then you're finished and ready to display your epic awesomeness!
Merch
I thought I'd kick off 2012 by getting back into selling a few of my creations online. I notice a lot of youtubers use spreadshirt.com as their swag selling site of choice. I've also been bouncing around the idea of doing more youtube videos, but we'll see. In the meantime, take a gander at a couple of designs I've uploaded so far...
Ron Paul Ahead of the Curve
Google insights shows some very interesting results when comparing searches for Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. Looks to me like Ron Paul is getting a lot more attention than the media claims him to be getting. Click here for the full google insights stats page.
Poster Printing
SolidWorks CSWP Certification
I totally forget about posting stuff like this on my website as I spend more time on google+. A few weeks back I passed the SolidWorks Professional Certification Exam. Why? I wanted to do it for myself just for the challenge, I suppose. Plus, it looks good on a resume.
New Job
This week will be my last week working at Peridot Corp. Having been with them for seven years it feels a little weird to be leaving. In spite of this I do have to consider my career growth. My new job will be working as a Quality Engineer, so this is definitely a step up not only salary wise, but career wise as well. I'm sad to have to go, but at the same time excited about changing things up a bit!
Cheers!
Flare Ups
Sometimes flare ups are very fast acting, like yesterday. I was fine until after lunch. After that I spent the whole night barfing everything back up. I hate flare ups. They come at the most inopportune times, too! I wonder if stress plays a factor in it as well. I'm also wondering if this diet is going to work for me at all. The first two weeks I felt amazing. Now all it seems to do for me is keep extra weight off me. I need to figure out a better solution.
Lentil Soup
I found a good recipe for lentil soup that is very tasty and fits within the SCD guidlines! Super simple to make!
