geek – Page 53 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Master Closet Shelving

Posted on June 14, 2013 by geek

As part of Home Renovation Phase II, I stole space from the living room to create a walk-in master closet. The master bedroom had a small walk-in closet that led to the very small master bathroom. In Home Renovation Phase III, planned for sometime next year, I intend to create a nice size master bathroom using both the old master bathroom and closet. Thus, during Phase II, I created the new master closet. It is not spacious, but it is workable and has plenty of storage room for two people. It includes tall hangings, double hangings, shoe shelves, clothes shelves, and drawers. It is 124 inches long and 72 inches wide. That leaves the standard 24 inches for hanging areas on both walls and a 24-inch aisle. I bought the components from Closets To Go, and the color is Sunset Cherry. I really like the way it came out, but I would like to have a conversation with whoever wrote the assembly directions. Why is it so impossible for companies to actually check their assembly directions for accuracy? Also, there were a few issues that I solved using the engineer’s standby of fixing it by taking a hammer and banging the crap out of it.

With the master closet completed, Phase II of my home renovation is finally done 13 months after it was started. Yes, it took a long time, but I did much of the work myself.

newly created master closet

finished master closet

shoe shelves

clothes shelves

Cicada Attacks Teddy Roosevelt

Posted on June 9, 2013 by geek

At the National’s games, in the middle of the fourth inning, the Presidents race. Evidently, poor Teddy Roosevelt has only won few times. At today’s game against the Minnesota Twins, Teddy had an early lead, breaking far away from the rest of the pack. Then he got attacked by a giant 17 year cicada. Seriously, he did. Poor guy was left on the ground while the rest raced by him. Then George Washington won. I think George Washington won. At that point I was too confused by the fact that Teddy got attacked by a cicada. I thought cicadas were harmless but noisy insects. Evidently they can be vicious. On a side note, I am beginning to wonder if the President’s race might be fixed.

Run or Dye

Posted on June 8, 2013 by geek

I came. I ran. I dyed. [I did not die though.]

Today I ran in Run or Dye. It is the very definition of a fun run. After running two fun runs, I have come to the realization that I need some insane fun run clothes. I don’t know when tutus became a thing at fun runs, but many people were wearing them today and at the Turtle Trot. Some people are even more inventive. Most people wore some white because during and after the race, they throw dye on you, so the white really helps to show off the dye. On a side note, according the packets of dye, the dye is made of cornstarch, food dye, and flavoring. I unintentionally got some of the dye in my mouth, and I have to wonder if the flavoring is to make you NOT want to eat it, as opposed to for what flavoring is normally used. Also not that you want to know this, but probably like everyone, I inhaled some dye. I have being blowing out some extremely amusingly colored mucus.

I am not trying to be philosophical, but a common phrase people use goes something like “I don’t care if he is white, black, brown, purple, or green” or some variation of that. Generally it is used to indicate that the speaker or some program or whatever is not racially discriminatory. After the race, I was just observing all the people covered in varying degrees with all the bright dyes. It occurred to me that at that moment, for once there really was some purple and green people. Funny thing was, with many people, they really were pink, purple, green, or some other color. Some people were covered so thoroughly that it was really difficult to tell what their skin color was. I thought it was wonderful. It was just a bunch of happy, sweaty, insanely colored people having a marvelous time.

I have never seen this many fluorescent socks.

I have never seen so many fluorescent socks before.

Lined up, waiting to run. Look how clean everyone is. That will change.

The suspenders are holding up the hula skirt because how else are you going to keep a hula skirt on when you have no hips?

Tutus are now a thing at fun runs evidently.

I don’t know if they are actual medical professionals or if they just like to run in scrubs.

With a sailor’s hat, covered in dye

“I thought they said rum or dye”

Covered in dye and happy

Man in full body suit. I have no idea why.

I’m curious how the feathers stayed in while they ran

Some people really dressed for the occasion. The woman in the middle needs to up her game though. (It appeared to be a wedding dress.)

The dye party after the race with clouds of dye being thrown

The dye party after the race

Central Park in June

Posted on June 6, 2013 by geek

I love New York City’s Central Park. Then again, I suppose anyone who has ever been there loves it. I spent part of my recent trip to New York wandering around Central Park. Here are a few photos from my visit.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

The Lake

stone staircase

rock outcrop

metal bridge

ravine

rose

flame azalea

allium flower

Belvedere Castle

carved concrete column

My First Trip to Brooklyn

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geek

I’ve been to New York City numerous times, but for as many times as I’ve been, I’ve never ventured outside of Manhattan. My guess is I’m not the only tourist who has done this. On this past trip, I decided I need to explore a bit of Brooklyn, partially because I wanted to go to the New York Transit Museum. Brooklyn is huge, so I couldn’t see everything, but I walked around a bit of downtown, Brooklyn Heights, and DUMBO. Downtown Brooklyn has some nice office and municipal buildings and a nice little park.

Brooklyn Borough Hall

Cadman Plaza Park

Then I walked to the Brooklyn Promenade, which is just a lovely elevated park-like walk area with spectacular views of Upper New York Bay, downtown Manhattan, and the East River.

Brooklyn Promenade

view of downtown Manhattan from Brooklyn Promenade

view of Statue of Liberty from Brooklyn Promenade

view of East River from Brooklyn Promenade

Then I walked to the area around the Brooklyn Bridge tower.

Underneath the Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan Bridge as seen from Brooklyn Bridge Park

I then walked to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). It has a nice waterfront area as well as some neat shops. Also, it has hipsters.

Manhattan Bridge Arch

Finally I walked around Brooklyn Heights. It is a lovely area with classic tree lined streets of row houses.

Brooklyn Heights

Those are the highlights of my first trip to Brooklyn. There is still more to explore. I shall return someday.

Central Park Turtle Who Loves Being Photographed

Posted on June 2, 2013 by geek

Wandering through Central Park yesterday, I encountered this turtle. He was in the grass right off of the Turtle Pond within a foot of the fencing to protect either the grass or wildlife or both. He totally wanted his photo taken. He just sat there while people walked by and would helpfully turn his head a bit so that everyone could get his best side. Really though he was so cute, he had no worst side. Then when he had had his paparazzi fix, he walked slowly back to the water, knowledgable that at least one photographer (me) would post his photos in a blog post and at least two photographers (my sister and me) would post his photo to Twitter. Life is good when you are a turtle in Central Park.

My questions for the Internet are: Can anyone identify for me what type of turtle this is? And what is that thing beneath his mouth that kind of looks like a tongue?

Update: I’ve had a suggestion that it is red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), which appears to be correct based on photos and NYC Central Park’s website. Still not sure what the thing below his mouth is.

NY Transit Museum

Posted on June 2, 2013 by geek

As should be completely obvious from the name of this site, I am in fact a geek. Specifically, I am a geek about about all things science and engineering. I visited the New York Transit Museum on my most recent trip to New York City, and I loved it. I can see how if you are not a geek or into mass transit, you might not enjoy it. The museum is housed, quite fittingly, in an abandoned subway station in Brooklyn.

The museum starts with exhibits on how the subway tunnels were built. It does a really good job of portraying the amazing work and hardships the workers endured and how they had to fight for the pay they deserved. We now have modern tools, tunnel boring machines, and much stricter safety standards. They for the most part had picks, wood, concrete, and brute strength. It has some exhibits of the tools used including surveying tools. I took surveying in college, so I went into geek mode when I saw the below exhibit. I used a transit in surveying, but it was a more modern one. [Modern surveying is done with a theodolite, but you have to learn the basics first with a chain, transit, and plumb.] Next to the transit in the photo is a linked chain. It is labeled as a surveying chain. Personally, I think they should label it more properly and specifically as Gunter’s chain, which by the way is 66 feet long, and the tool by which much of United States and other countries were originally surveyed. I had never actually seen a Gunter’s chain before, so I enjoyed seeing one. In surveying I learn to throw a chain and survey with a “modern” chain, which is a steel tape type chain.

It has exhibits on how the subways are powered, including information on electricity generation and transmission.

It has a history of mass transit in New York City, including the various forms of mass transit starting with horses. It also has exhibits on buses, and when I was there, it had a special exhibit on the past Miss Subways, which I had no idea had been a thing. They used to have a beauty pageant for everything I guess. As it is housed in an old subway station, on the old station platform, they have several old subway trains from the first models up to modern ones. You can walk through them, which is kind of neat.

Also within the subway platform is, what I think they called, a subway switching tower. It was the control area to watch and regulate where the trains were.

Finally upstairs, they have some exhibits that I am fairly sure you just have to be a geek to love. They have an exhibit of old turnstiles.

Perhaps my favorite, is an exhibit of various subway coin slugs that people have used to try to avoid paying the fare. Some were quite inventive. Some were just hilarious.

That was my visit to the New York Transit Museum. If you love mass transit, or you are a geek, go check it out when in New York.

All Is Fare in Love & Brooklyn

Posted on June 1, 2013 by geek

I saw this building in Brooklyn on the corner of Boerum Place and Livingston. I have no idea what this building’s painting has to do with a Hero Shop, but I rather like it. Is it a path in love or a subway line?

New York’s Highline Park in Bloom

Posted on May 31, 2013 by geek

Last January I visited New York’s Highline Park for the first time. I thought the park was wonderful even in winter when all the plants are dormant. On my next trip to New York, I had to go back. The park is even more beautiful in summer when all the plants are green and flowers are blooming. It is a wonderful oasis above the busy Manhattan streets. Below are a few photos from my most recent trip.