All good things...

Yesterday I finished school. That’s it. I walked out of my last exam surprised to be still alive but stoked nonetheless. This marks the resumption of my regular blogging. To mark this I thought I might share some of the more memorable moments of the past 6 years of schooling.

It began in 2005, when I first walked through the gates at St Joseph’s College. Little did I know of the impact this place was to have on me. The first year involved proving my worth and impressing myself upon a group of 130 boys (which would grow to almost 200 by our final year) all hoping to do the same. This first year presented me with the first instance of what was on offer – this came in the form of a trip to Japan. I learnt Japanese for 5 of my 6 years at Joeys, and this allowed me to travel to Japan several times. I was lucky enough to visit cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Nagano, and the surrounding areas. I travelled back to Japan at the end of 2005, as well as in 2007.

In between trips to Japan I was fortunate enough to score myself 1st place in Japanese in both my first 2 years, as well as forging out my place in the sporting life of the college, competing in the ‘A’ grade for tennis in all 3 years of the first half of my high schooling, 2 of which were undefeated, championship winning teams.

Moving in to the senior half of my high school experience, I was lucky enough to be picked at this early stage to move into the senior elite opens tennis teams, usually reserved for the older, more experienced players. I would remain in this team for my final 3 years, and the mental and physical lessons that were learnt on the courts were invaluable. The photo of me on the right is me walking off the courts for the very last time back in April.

This involvement also allowed me to travel to Melbourne in January of the last 3 years, to train and play, as well as experience the Australian Open, which was always great to be a part of.

Last year I experienced what was probably one of the most amazing things I have done. I have a strong passion for football (soccer ), and I follow the English league to a great degree. As part of the development of the sport at my school (which is traditionally a rugby school), 30 boys were selected to tour the UK and Spain to play, train with and watch the very best. We trained at clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea, Charlton and Espanyol, watched various league matches and played several friendly games in Wales, England and Spain. I have previously posted about this trip so if you would like to, check that out.

Well there it is, and 6 years later I have left that world to pursue whatever comes next.

Wish me luck

Loads

You know you want to...

Hey guys,


As of today (Saturday the 30th) I am 3 days away from my last exam. I have done 7, with an engineering exam my last one on Tuesday afternoon. Pretty keen to get it done and put all that behind me. Yesterday was a killer with 2 exams, one of which I wrote for two hours on the general development of western historiography and the historiography of the crusades. Yeah well that was fun.


Just in preparing for my blog after I do finish, I was wondering what you guys thought I should do with this blog from here on in. Would you want me to continue what this blog was originally made for and discuss particular topics of interest? I can also continue (after a period of great neglect) my series on the foosball table? Similarly, I can also do some more personal stuff like travel experiences, and some of the 'interesting' things I have been able to do.


I also have an essay (for those of you who have seen the movie 'Valkyrie', or are aware who Colonel Stauffenberg was) that I wrote in argument of whether or not Stauffenberg could be considered an heroic figure for his actions in 1944. I know it may not interest some of you as it is an academic production, but if you are interested, let me know and I might see if I can post it up.


Anyway guys please leave a comment and let me know, I am vastly looking forward to coming back to this and any other personal interests that have been forgotten over the past 12 months.


Cheers guys,


Loads

Update and future of the blog

Hi everyone,


I know I am leaving it long and far between posts on this site, but I have been a little preoccupied as a fair few of you know with my major high school exams. As of today I am in fact halfway through those exams, so in just less than 2 weeks I will be out of there and ready to begin whatever comes next. So for those from the coffee shop, I will be back around then to haunt you with my presence once again, so thats whats happening with my contribution to the blogosphere.


Once I return, I will be back to complete my foosball table series, as well as the resumption of my normal discussion posts, and hopefully a few new bits and pieces here and there. As per usual suggestions are always appreciated so if you would like to see anything posted here let me know =].


Finally, I would like to leave you with another video from RSA's 'animate' series, about how educational paradigms are currently being changed. Enjoy, and let us know what you think.





Cheers,


Loads

Some food for thought

The RSA (Royal Society for Arts) over in the Uk has developed this series of interesting animates based on their work in various fields (economics, arts, society, anthropology etc.). Theres quite a few on youtube, but these ones I found particularly interesting:


The Empathic Civilization:




The Secret Powers of Time:




If you have a spare 10 minutes, check them out. The provide some really interesting and thought provoking models, all assisted by some pretty impressive visual cues.


Enjoy,


Loads

The Foosball Table Pt 3

I know it has been a while, but finally some sort of observable progress has been made on the table.


Since the last post, I have scrapped the idea of laminating an MDF sheet for the playing surface, but instead am using a melamine particle board, which does not require laminating, and is far cheaper.


I have painted the playing surface with the lines as needed. This post will cover this process.


Firstly I tested the spray enamel on a number of test pieces to minimise run of the paint under the grain of the surface. I then taped the surface of the field. The width of all lines is 6mm, and I am avoiding having curved lines as this is a difficult process requiring far more time than what is needed.






I then simply sprayed a few thin coats over the required areas, as shown:




I then very nervously removed the paper and tape to reveal if what I had done was enough to ensure that the lines were accurate, straight, and the edges were tidy. I was pleasantly surprised:




Next I move to putting together the 5 box pieces with the game parts, then manufacturing the goal box housings, and finally the legs and inlaid glass top.


Once again, I shall see you next time.


Peace, Loads

RIP the 96

Hey guys, just a few quick things to talk about. First of all, I have just reached 96 followers.


Most of you may not be aware of the significance of this number, however for those of you who follow English football to any degree, you may be aware of what I am talking about. On the 15th of April 1989, 96 Liverpool fans were killed at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield. The entering fans bottlenecked at the gates, causing the stadium (that lacked seating) to become severely overcrowded. Those who had entered, and were at the front of the spectator pen, were crushed by the constant flow on unknowing fans being allowed entry behind them.


What made the situation worse, was the blatant mis-reporting that was conducted by the newspaper "the sun" later on. The publication laid blame upon the fans, rather that those responsible for the correct allocation of tickets and entry. As a result, the "Justice" campaign was ignited, in order to restore parity. The following "Taylor Inquiry" found the police to be at fault, hence granting solidity to the ensuing (and still current) boycott of "the sun".


I happened to be over in Liverpool on the 20th anniversary of the disaster, and the day we trained at Liverpool's academy, was the day of the memorial service. This is a photo of me in front of the "Shankly Gates", covered in flowers and both Liverpool and Everton jerseys in remembrance.


RIP THE 96........................

In other news, I have to apologize for not posting in 3 whole weeks. As I may have indicated, this year is a shocking one to undertake commitments such as blogging, as I am rather preoccupied with exams etc being in my final year of school.


As a result, i may be a little short of posts in the next few weeks as well, so if you could all be as patient as possible, I will greatly appreciate it.


Thanks guys =]

The Foosball Table Pt 2

Ok so an update of my progress on my foosball coffee table. For those of you unaware, I am designing and building a foosball coffee table. It is essentially a foosball table, with a glass top to accomodate drinks/food/remotes etc. If you haven't already, check out my first post on this topic, which should be there if you scroll down a bit.


So since my last post, it appears limited progress has been made to the table physically. Work has been done to cut out each of the goalmouths, as displayed below:




The goalmouths are 76 by 206 millimetres, with rounded top corners of radius 20mm (for all you currently used to imperial measurements, I frankly do not care =])


To cut the cavities, a simple electric jigsaw was used to cut the basic shape, with scoring (using a stanley knife) along the perimeter to reduce chipping of the wood.


Next was the process of measuring and boring the holes on either side of the table, to house the rods for the game. This is particularly important as accuracy is key. If measurements/cuts are off by the slightest, the game will be affected somewhat.


This is a picture of what the mechanism looks like currently:





Next I will need to work out the leg structure, of which I shall develop a computer model in the next few days. I will include that model in my next post. I will also be laminating the playing surface, and further investigating the idea of having lights built into the sides of the table.

If you have any more suggestions, I will be happy to listen to them, the feedback I received on the last post was wonderful, so thanks for that.

Cheers, Loads