Skip to main content

3 projects and a weekend

One of the best ways to spend time with the little ones is doing something - rather - making something. This process is a very energizing process for all of us. We identify what we want to make, scout materials, make it, commit mistakes, patch up and finally we make something. We are seized with the energy and passion of getting to make something. A whirlwind of activity takes over the house and the floor is strewn with things - one might think we are in the process of reimagining the whole world. The entire process is just great fun and at some point, the outcome kind of becomes immaterial - the fun is in the journey. And thus it was that we started off this time too.

Project 1: Snow Globe
Project 2: Pinhold Camera
Project 3: Solar Cooker.

As you can see, our scale of ambition was unlimited - and not related to our capability at all.

Result wise, Project 1 was a success, if you leave out the fact that we did not account for the refractiveness of thick glass which led to some distorted views. There is also impending danger of the globe becoming a fungus settlement warned the biotech expert.
Project 2 was a success, if you leave out the fact that the pinhole camera required some amount of visual dexterity and extraordinary levels of IQ to figure out what it was showing. The camera is far away from winning any excellence award in pinhole cameras.
Project 3, well, I think we need 48 hour days to cook anything more than melt butter. Or we wait until the Sun becomes a white dwarf and the whole earth is cooking anyway.

But as far as journeys go, they were absolutely rocking. Paint, mess, paper, water, glitter and what not and a glorious weekend to look back at. What else does one want!

Yes, sometimes, someones measure of success may not be someone elses measure of success and rightly so. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Be Civil. Make nice!

Popular posts from this blog

The man who saved Pumpelsdrop

This was a story we had in college if I am not mistaken. Perhaps it was in school, but a delightful story it was. The story goes somewhat like this ( reproduced from here ), but the college version we had was slightly different from this.  I t was a dull, gloomy and a depressing morning in a town named Pumpelsdrop in northern England. The Great Depression had brought all the businesses to a standstill. The bored automobile dealer was spending time alone, as usual. But, this seems to be an unusual morning as an odd entity (customer) appeared on the horizon. A man in a bright suit walks up to the dealer and says, "I need to buy a Rolls Royce Phantom II. We have a business conference coming up and I need to impress my customers". Then proceeds to pay 10% of the deal with a single check for 2000 pounds. The rest he says will pay when he takes the delivery.   The auto dealer was stunned. He was delighted to hear that someone is holding a business conference of some kind and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Most Powerful Idea in the World

The above titled book by William Rosen (and I am still reading it) has set me thinking. As it goes through the industrial revolution (rather, the beginning of it) - it explores as to why the industrial revolution happened when it happened. Rather, how a lot of factors came to play in making it happen. For that alone this book is worth a read. It is worth reading how a 'dotcom' kind of ecosystem existed in England with the combination of tinkerers, rich patrons, correspondence and of course, the right kind of institutions. When one studies engineering, or even science, what we hear are the rock star stories. For instance, we know that Archimedes had a 'Eureka' moment. Likewise, in this book, I realized how a 'Eureka' moment helped James Watt resolve the problematic steam engine into a workable design. While it is very romantic to believe that discoveries happen accidentally, the fact remains that somebody like a James Watt (or others) slogged through many man...
Post a Comment
Read more

Narendra Modi, Presentation Skills

This is the latest speech by Narendra Modi which was delivered yesterday at the India Today Conclave. Much analysis has been carried out on this speech, but here is a different perspective. I have written about Presentation skills - and to me this is a video that touches upon almost all aspects of presentation skills. For someone who wants to learn public speaking, presentation skills this speech is a great example. It is well worth your time, if you want to see presentation skills in action (and the bonus of a great speech). The speech is largely in Hindi, though there are parts in English as well.  Mr. Modi uses a video at the start (which is missing here) - so the speech uses other media as well - surprising the audience - since politicians arent generally given to videos. That initial video has made the audience look forward to more. The speech is extempore - which can only happen when one knows the subject thoroughly. I personally don't know how much Mr. Modi practices...
1 comment
Read more