The UA school of art recently hosted a talk at the Akron Art Museum for a “paperologist”  – someone who was a professional origami artist. Jim offered to go with me and we met up with one of his friends there.  

The speaker talked about how he got started (IT, but frustrated by not creating anything tangible) and how he learned as kid and came back to it.  

It was there that we diverged a bit.  He works with single gigantic sheets of paper and built complicated geometric models.  I, on the other hand, prefer to build hundreds of modules and use them as building blocks.  (I suspect my LEGO background is a factor.)

There was a slide show and he had some models to fold and unfold for us to see – and there are a couple of that I want to try.

Afterwards, one of the professors at UA that hosted the event insisted that I meet the speaker – even going so far as to push some of the students out of the way.  🙂 We talked for a couple of minutes and I gave him a modular diamond I had folded during the talk.

I don’t know many folders, but it was kinda cool to meet a new one.  Even in the short time we talked, we shared a feel for the paper and being able to see the next folds in our heads.  And when I gave him the module, his hands immediately began to turn it over and over, exploring the dimensions and angles.

He gets it.

————————-

One of the outside faucets on my house had started to leak and no amount of “umph” would turn it all the way off.   Jim helped me find the shut-off valve in the basement and then I began to study the problem and acquire the tools.

Once ready, I got all set up and started working with two pipe wrenches and as much force as I could muster.

And that was not enough.

I managed to not get in over my head where there was any kind of leak, but no real progress.  With the water off to that faucet there wasn’t a hurry, so I waited until Jim had a little time and we tackled it again.

With the two of us each wielding a wrench, some WD-40, and a careful application of torque and we had the old faucet loose from the main pipe.  Well, there was some swearing involved, but that’s almost a given with me.

A little pipe tape and the new faucet was in place.  And then, I turned the water on. No leaks, no problems – just the sweet flow of liquid success.

—————————

This past weekend, my folks and my sister and her family came up for a visit and a bike ride.  I had gotten my bike out and ridden it around the block a couple of time – after I had re-inflated the tires from almost 0 – but I wasn’t really ready for the trip.

We met up on Saturday morning, then hit the trail.  The weather was much cooler than last year at this time and the distance wasn’t as far.  Which is good, because last year’s trip nearly killed me.  We had lunch at the trailhead, then took the train back to our cars.

Next up, a couple quick hikes to a waterfall and then an overlook.  The waterfall was pretty cool and the view from the overlook was impressive.  I went right up to the edge with that one. Well, I called it “right by the edge” – most people would have called it “about 10 feet back”.  

After the hike, we went back to their hotel and hung out for a bit before Jim joined us for dinner.  And then after dinner, a swim in the hotel pool. I got to swim with my nieces – they are both starting to learn – and they were amazed at how long I can hold my breath.  Uncle is pretty cool, right?

Eventually, the chlorine and very noisy other guests got to me and I called it a night. It was a good visit and I’m glad I got to see everyone.  

Oh, and I got a great selfie with my nieces. 🙂