Something a bit different from my trip to Timor Leste
Here is a picture from an East Timorese boy aged 7, the son of a friend of mine. The person in the drawing is me. Pretty good likeness I reckon. What do you think?
Dec
24
Author Archives: Mick
Dec
24
The Boneless Christmas Tree
For the last fifteen years, or so, we have had a live Christmas tree. It sits in the garden most of the time happily soaking up the sunshine in its little pot. Every year we bring it inside, decorate it for the festive season and stress it out for three to four weeks then return it to the comfort of the garden to recover and grow for the next 11 months.
Last year, it didn’t seem to recover as well as usual but eventually seemed to perk up. However, later in the year it suddenly died back and that was that. No more Christmas tree 🙁
As Christmas approached and I was in Timor Leste working, the family wondered what to do about Christmas decorations without a tree. A fake plastic tree was out of the question as was buying a chopped down tree, but buying another live tree was not considered an option either until I returned and we could choose one together. What to do? Then Terri had an inspiration! Let’s make one from Christmas decorations.
Rummaging through the Christmas decoration accumulated over the years, she found a number of Christmas streamers and tinsel strings etc. that she could drape from the the light fitting above the dining table. By strategically pinning the ends of the streamers on the table she created the basic Christmas tree shape using nothing but tinsel and streamers nor tree, no branches and no other support. Brilliant! 🙂
So there you have it, our boneless Christmas Tree, made from Christmas decorations. Thanks Terri 🙂
What do you think?
Dec
06
Greetings From the Land of the Crocodile
Well here I am back in Timor Leste doing another round of training related to Solar Power.
PV systems are really starting to take off here with the Government and many NGO’s rolling out systems at an increasing rate. The Government, in particular, has recognised the need for power systems like PV Solar to fill in the gaps in the national grid. This is important, as many people (around 20%) will never have reliable access to the national grid due to topology and geographic issues.
With the increase in installed systems there is an increased need for quality installers, effective handover and training to communities after installation, and an ongoing maintenance program, particularly for community based systems.
I am extremely fortunate to be able to play a part in this amazing development through my association with the ATA (Alternative Technology Association), Mercy Corps, local vocational training organisations such as CNEFP (National Centre for Training and Employment) in Tibar just outside Dili together with a number of Government staff responsible for the roll-out of technologies, including PV system in the districts.
Last week we held some training sessions with CNEFP and Government staff and followed up the training with a site visit to put in practice all that we had learned. It was a fabulous trip as the following photo gallery shows
.
The location is “Leodato” Aldeia (village)
“Leimia Sorin Balun” Suco (sub-sub-district)
“Hatulia” Sub-District
“Ermera” District
Lat, Lon: -8.855806,125.372275
IF you enter this into Google maps you will see exactly where the village is.
This is the precise location of the meals table in the guest house at the chapel shown in one of the images below 🙂
Nov
05
A Taste of Honey
Well, after all the madness with the Swarms over the last few weeks it was a relief to settle down and extract some honey this weekend. I collected four swarms and apparently missed two more over the last five weeks and managed to sell one to a friend of a friend. That leaves me with five to manage which is more than I had planned but it is still do-able. If it seems to be too much effort I can always combine a couple to reduce the total number.
Using a friend’s two frame extractor I extracted 14kg from 9 frames, I was expecting a bit more but quite a few frames were not yet full or had brood in them. But that’s OK I wasn’t after a huge yield and I’m not currently using queen excluders.
I like to get a hive done in one hit and then return the extracted frames (stickies) to the hive for cleanup and refilling. It also helps me to keep the frames in the same hive as much as possible to minimise the spread of disease. Because I only have a few hives to manage it’s pretty easy. With a lot more hives I imagine it would be more difficult to keep track of the frames and hives.
Of course, while doing all this, I have been listening to a lot of honey related music including this old favourite.
What’s your favourite track with the word Honey?
Oct
09
The Fall and Repair of the Trusty Sewing Machine
Earlier this year, while sewing the last of the sequins on my outfit (no, not really! I was actually making a bee veil 🙂 ) the sewing machine started to slow down and finally stopped even though the motor was still running.
I removed the end cover and discovered that the belt drive was spinning freely on the motor shaft. Where was the little grub screw that was supposed to hold it tight and in place? I lifted the sewing machine and shook it left and right, up and down, back and forth all to no avail. There was no sign of that little screw. It’s whereabouts is a mystery that shall remain unsolved.
I contacted the service centre, described the problem and asked for a replacement screw and they said they had never had that problem before and would have to find out how to order a replacement. I called them back a while later and they still had not found one but they said they would call me when they had it in stock. That was the last I heard from them.
I did a quick internet search and found a few possible replacements but put it aside as I had to travel for work. I finally got back to it after needing to repair a few items of clothing and remembering that the machine was out of action. I did another search and found a supplier of general screws and fasteners quite close. The only problem was that I wasn’t sure of the size of the screw. I thought there was an identical screw on a another drive that I could use as a sample but it was only a pin.
As I went through the catalogs, I realised that there were only a few standard sizes of screws and that I should be able to measure the screw hole in the shaft and find a matching screw. It turned out that it was a standard M3 screw with a fine machine thread. On a hunch I ferreted around in my hardware supply and found a screw that looked the right size.
My intention was to screw it into the shaft and, if it fit, I could take it into the supplier as a a sample of the diameter and thread size I needed. However, when I tried, not only did it fit perfectly but I realised that it might also be the right size to hold the belt-drive. Sure enough, I fitted the belt drive to the shaft and the screw was a perfect fit! I tested the sewing machine and it worked a treat.
As always, repairing something around the house not only gives me a great of satisfaction, it saves money and resources as well. In this particular case, repairing the sewing machine, which itself is used to repair and make things, is a double whammy!
It’s also an example of how little things can be so important and potentially difficult to replace. That little grub screw was hard to find and, if I had to buy one, I would probably have had to purchase a minimum quantity of 25. I am reminded of that poem about the horseshoe…
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
We certainly didn’t lose a kingdom but that little screw prevented all manner of sewing repairs and new items of clothing. I’m sure you can think of any number of examples around your home as well.
Now, where are those sequins?