The Japan Page

In Tokyo, as everywhere else, advertising is important. Even when you own a VD clinic. Imagine the potential for TV commercials... Got V.D. ?

Location: Toshima Ward, Tokyo
OrigPubDate: 2001

Posted by John Seaman at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah yes, Japan, the land of astronomical real estate prices. This photo is of two separate "wedge" buildings.* Each of these buildings is about 15 feet wide. The white car parked inside is a small Suzuki econo-box (660cc engine). In fact, this car is so small it's not even road legal in North America!

Buildings this size can be found all over Tokyo. The soaring land prices of the 1980's bubble economy made this kind of structure even more common. There is perhaps 6 inches of space between the two buildings.

Location: Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo
OrigPubDate: 2001

Posted by John Seaman at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, an update! Decided to put a little more effort into my web page this year. Now features a dynamic banner rotator script and a few stylesheet tweaks. More improvements soon...

Now using the AUTOMATIC IMAGE ROTATOR, a PHP script that randomly chooses from a folder of images. Pretty slick...!

Copyright (c) 2002-2003 Dan P. Benjamin, Automatic, Ltd.
http://www.hiveware.com/imagerotator.php
http://www.automaticlabs.com/

Posted by John Seaman at 2:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, the bathroom remodel is coming along... here's the beginnings of a new vanity cabinet. Picked up the sink unit at Home Depot of course. Still needs a little work..

18" * 24"
3/4" maple ply
face frame and trim will be solid maple
doors will be 1/2" maple ply and solid maple trim
biscuit jointed construction

This is a dry fit, no glue yet...! Next up is the false bottom (bottom shelf).

Posted by John Seaman at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It finally arrived, a made to order Palmer Blazer. Due to a miscommunication I ended up with the nickel plated 45 grip, not the nickel highlighted 45 grip so it's going back for some more TLC. There's also an air leak in the low pressure automation system, but it will be back...!

Pictured with the Q-loader installed.

Close up of the Q-loader CMK (Custom Mounting Kit).

Posted by John Seaman at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those who've used the Q-loader system from AIC, it's a pretty slick system. The major problem with it is loading the Q-pods, the stock silo absolutely sucks. You pretty much need a second person to hold the silo and jiggle it around while you load the pods. You need one hand to hold the pod being loaded and another to turn the hand crank, so no hands left to shake the silo.

I've come up with an improvement I'll call the Q-silo, using a el-cheapo battery powered loader, an ammunition can and some wood.

Here's the parts list:

* 90* elbow, carabiner, some paint, glue, doublestick foam tape, mounting hardware, switch and such. Your mileage may vary.
* Surplus ammo can (5.56 MM, 1140 rounds, $9.00 at the local surplus shop).

* Extreme Rage Overdrive 9V loader. (190 round capacity, $29.95) . This is marketed as an "entry level" loader, that's a fairly accurate description. It works is all I can add.

The hopper is mounted to a piece of wood cut to fit inside the ammo can. There are supports inside the ammo can (not pictured) to hold the loader in place securely. I've extended the power switch out to the top for easy access and added dual 9V batteries in parallel. This should keep it running all weekend.

There's a hole in the bottom of the ammo can for the 90* elbow connecting the hopper to the Q-loader feed hose. The wood base just lifts the Q-silo up to allow the feeder hose to operate without being compressed.

The ammo box lid is detachable, I usually remove it when loading. The round plastic loading funnel is a recycled 3M electrical tape container. Like I said folks, it's a prototype! The power switch is located in the upper right side.

The good:

* It works!
* The loader is more than able to keep up with the pods when loading.

The bad:

* A better quality loader wouldn't require a manual power switch to be used every time pods are loaded. As is, I usually load my 5 pods at once, so this isn't such a big deal.

* The loader capacity is only 190 rounds. I originally tried packing more rounds in but found the weight caused the loader to jam. Thanks to the funnel and feeder hose, I can reload 2 pods before tossing in more rounds. The feeder funnel makes it fairly easy to pour them in right out of the bag.

* The carabiner holds the Q-loader base when the unit is being transported. I'll probably hot glue a mounting ring onto the Q-base to make attaching and removing easier in the field.

Improvements for the Q-silo v.1.0.2:

* Better quality loader
* Larger capacity

Final review 8/10. Hey, I made it so I can give it any review I like! That said, the stock silo gets a 1/10, so I'd call that a major improvement !!

I've had this out in the field only once so far (damn rain), but so far so good.

Posted by John Seaman at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)