A year of new arrivals

I am writing this first blog of 2024 in a year when I am expecting a few achievements, as well as new arrivals. You will have seen my posts on ESG, Climate Change, Sustainability and Stewardship. Ill leave them to speak for themselves. Ill stick in this blog to my Droid (s), my puppy - no longer a puppy but... and my plants - changes afoot.

Droid (s)

I recently started back on the dome for my full size R2D2. I am at the stage of making and installing all the hinges and motors for most of the moving parts in the dome. It will take me a few weeks to do that, and then Ill be able to fit in the control boards to then be able to test the panels whilst attached to the dome. If that all goes to plan I will then be able to start work again on the program to make the panels do exactly what I want them to. Here is a picture of 5 of the panels and hinges with the glue drying before I then attach them to the dome later this week. Forget watching paint dry - watching glue dry is much better !

Once they are all attached and tested I then have a choice. I have four major jobs to move onto:

1) Assembling and testing the periscope. I have printed parts for this and bought the motors I need but this is going to be a big job and may be better done when the body is complete so that I can fit in on properly. Although I may be able to construct it without the body in place.

2) Build the body. I have printed all of the body and assembling that is a much bigger job than assembling the dome. Plus the body prints are all of varying quality so a lot of filling, sanding, priming etc etc to do. Also, for the body I need to be attaching various motors and hinges as I put it together. They can't all be put on after as they won't fit into place. Not like the dome where they could all be fitted after the dome was complete.

3) Upgrade my larger 3d Printer. I have a new motherboard (brain) for my larger printer and that will make the printing much quieter and smoother. I have in mind more upgrades for that printer once I finish R2.

4) Modify my smaller 3d printer. I need to move the frame of the printer back a few inches to maximise the print area after I modified the print head last year. This sounds easy but it need precision measuring and drilling so that, once complete , it is completely square. Otherwise it won't print properly and I will have all sorts of issues.

I need to do the upgrades before I start printing the legs. Each leg will be a significant print and assembly and I won't start them until the body and dome are complete. I have already sorted the electronics for the motors on the legs but as they take all of the weight of the dome, they are going to have to be perfect and solid prints.

Finally, in R2D2 land, I have just finished step 98 of the 100 step, half size R2 that is a magazine subscription from Disney. Each monthly package comes with 4 stages so only one package left for the final 2. The cover picture shows the progress so far, with the body and legs attached, the dome finished, and the front cover loosely on. I should get the final package in the next fortnight, then it is just getting the time to put it together.

Puppies

Lyla will be 4 in July - where has the time gone - and I am planning to breed her in late summer. That will mean pups at Christmas. We have identified a few potential studs and she is on a diet as if she is a little overweight that can cause problems at birth. We have checked our insurance and, as is usually the case, the first pregnancy is covered for any complications, but any further ones are not. It is worth checking though as some cover doesn't include pregnancy and if things go wrong it can be very expensive.

We also had an issue with her paws a couple of months ago. It turned out to be ok, but she wouldn't let the vet look at her paws. Also, she was extremely nervous at the vets, resulting in her shaking, and also being very aggressive to other dogs. So we have started taking her to confidence classes. They are 10 to 20 min visits to the vet where they get them used to being at the vet and then all the equipment etc. So in the end the visits to the vet for needles or examination become the minority visits and she will look forward to going. The confidence sessions are included in our monthly plan, the one we took out to cover needles and health check, so worth doing if anyone else has this issue. We have been twice so far and we can see the difference already.

This is how she likes to spend the time when I am on my laptop.

Plants

Finally, this year I need to make a choice regarding the greenhouse. First, I need to repair it properly. The wind has ripped off the panels time and time again and they won't stay on with clips at the side. So I am going to install an internal frame and attach them to that to, hopefully, stop them being blown off.

However, I also need to decide if I am going to keep the grapevine. It has been a good experiment, and produces good grapes. However, I have not yet found a use for a load of grapes. My wine was awful, grape juice isn't great in September and they are not seedless, so unless my family develop a taste for seeded grapes, they are not useful there. Also, they attracted a ridiculous amount of Wasps and Hornets at the end of last year, so the greenhouse was off limits for about 2 months. So I am currently minded to remove the grapevine.

I have successfully grown chilli peppers most years, and haven't needed to by any for ages. I also have struggled to buy certain herbs over the winter. So I am thinking of transforming it into a simpler peppers and herbs greenhouse, once repaired. That is a decision for early April.

I hope you have enjoyed a little peep into my life outside work and will provide another update when I have made further progress. As well as loads of updates when Lyla has her pups!

If anyone wants more frequent updates on the r2 build then I can add you to an new email group which will mirror a couple of Watsapp groups. That way I can keep your name anonymous when I send out the updates. Message me if you want to be added. Have a prosperous 2024 and I may see you at the 2024 PLSA Investment Conference in a couple of weeks.