The work-table in the garage

My blog friends already know that since for a job i am a software engineer, which is a conceptual activity, in my free time i like instead to be involved with manual abilities, to take care of concrete things that can be touched, handled, modeled. Besides my passion for gardening and its satisfaction for the production of genuine fruits and vegetables (actually the merit for this should be given to Mother Nature that pretty much does all of the job), i like to deal with little works for the house. One essential tool for doing this activity is a work-table. Not having one, and not even having the space to put it (once i put the car in the garage, there is not much space left over) i thought to build one by myself. A tip-top one. ;-) Obviously it would have been very helpful to have a work-table to get through this enterprise, but if i had had one i wouldn't have started it at all, so i had to manage without. The idea was to spend the less money that i could, and to give a second life to some unused material i had around, in particular two wooden boards for house-building, sized about 50cm by 200cm [20" by 79"], those ones that are used for the scaffolds or to model the reinforced concrete (that were left over by the masons of the house building yard), and a couple of plywood foils i could get from the company i work for, that were used for the packaging of some products and were so destined to the garbage bin.

The CAD project of the table (seen from the bottom)

As a first thing i made the project on the pc with a CAD software, using the standard measure for the height (90cm [35"]) and other dimensions compatible with the material i had. The operation was for me quite easy because that CAD is the same software i use at work. I cut the right size the boards and i worked them with the vibrating sander (to remove little pieces of cement, the waterproof paint and to make them the smoothest i could). I removed the structure of the packaging from the plywoods, i cut them the right size and sandblasted them too. Then i glued with vinyl paste the two boards, side by side, to the two plywoods, one on the top and the other on the bottom. In order to let the glue do its job, i left it for one week all well-pressed with some bricks on the top. I wanted to use also some nails or screws to attach the plywoods to the boards better but it didn't look necessary at all, the glue was enough.

Left: sanding the boards; right: preparing the plywoods

At a bricolage shop i bought some rough ledges (the cheapest), that i cut the right size and sanded too.

The ledges, cut and sanded.

I joined with some angular metal straps (and some other vinyl paste) the ledges to build the structures of the legs. Then i painted everything with some waxed impregnating water paint, to protect and make the surfaces stronger. The fixed parts of the legs, after being hinged to the mobile ones, they have been attached to the wall with some nog-screws.

Left: all the parts ready to be put together; right: the legs fixed to the wall

Finally i attached to the structure the top plane, screwing it to the fixed parts of the legs with hinges.

Here the final result. Left: the table open, right: closed

I liked this work a lot. It came out exactly how i wanted, and even better looking than how it's supposed to be (at the end it's only a work table for the garage!). I enjoyed the work very much and i am satisfied so much that i am almost planning to build some furniture for the house (which we need very much)... I wonder if my wife agrees :-) It was very cheap: 24 euros for the ledges to make the legs, 15 euros for the paint, 10 euros for the glue, about 15 euros for the metal straps, the hinges, the screws and other necessities (total 64 euros).

Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba, Pata pata

Somebody very... mmmh... "important", over here in Italy, as for example Berlusconi, could describe her, as an obituary, for example as a woman that distinguishes for her wonderful suntan, as it's obvious it is, after all, since she came from a "happy country" where they use to spend their time as lazies, collecting coconuts and singing and dancing on the beach around the fire. Infact it looks like it's scientifically prooved that men and women of "suntanned race" have in their blood the sense of rithm!

I prefer to remember Miriam Makeba as the mother of struggle against Apartheid, born in 1932 ub South Africa and dead yesterday, in Italy, symbolically singing against Mafia and racism.

The song in this video, "Pata pata", is very popular also in Hawai'i islands, at the other side of the world, because a local band made a very popular cover. Sometimes music arrives where other languages have problems to. I wonder if Miriam succeeded in make Berlusconi dance on her songs too!

Yes, we are different! / 2

Yes
We are different!
We are not racist!
Free minds against racismo
Subscribe you too

The initiative that i told you about in my previous post is spreading out very quickly. Some newspapers are already taking it in consideration (only two, to tell the truth, among which one is a local newspaper and the other is L'Unit&agreve; - a national one - but only at page 35 of yesterday edition, in a tiny tiny article, but it's already a beginning).

I don't know how to compute the number of people that subscribe to this idea, but i have the impression that it is a very big number. Not that i really like to participate to huge numbers, but in this case it's obvious the advantage of joining the voices of a lot of people.

To give an idea i insert here an uncomplete list of the links to the posts of some blogger dedicated to this subject. If i miss somebody i apologize. Please put as a comment the link and i promise i will insert it.

• 2+2=5
• 31 canzoni
• Antologia di un paese degradato
• Arimondi
• Autrefois
• Back on the corner
• Carta straccia
• Dario's blog
• Detti e RiDetti
• Cronache Cittadine
• Come il pane a colazione
• Fake glasses
• Il cammino
• Il Russo
• Il testamento di un buffone
• Libertà di essere liberi
• Madison fallen
• Maria Rubini
• Miss Kappa
• Non pianeta, ma Stella
• Nothing is real
• Occhioclinico
• Schiavi o liberi
• Siltal... storia di un buco
• Stafinendo
• Un mare dentro

Yes, we are different!

The Idiot

The first Afro-American President of the United States has been elected.
Yesterday Berlusconi, unfortunately the Italian Prime Minister, during an official journey at Moscow was asked in a press conference what he thinks about Obama. The idiot answer was "He is young, handsome and suntanned".

This statement is racist, but not only. This statement is absolutely disrespectful of the role of the United States and their President. Moreover, the tone of gratuitous derision is drastically amplified by the official character of the situation, that would have demanded a totally different code of conduct.

The deplorable behavior of Berlusconi, as one can imagine, immediately turned around the world, and the Italian People, that some way he arrogates the right to represent, has to suffer the shame.
Not at all intentioned to apologize for the unpopular quip, he laid it on thicker defining his own words "a compliment".
Today an American journalist in a press conference asked him if it wouldn't be the case to apologize with Obama, and the arrogant and angry answer by Berlusconi was "Please... please! You should apologize with Italy instead!", offending once again.

Well, i don't believe that this man could ever arrogate himself the right to represent me and many other Italians in front of the rest of the world. It can also be elected democratically, but his own behavior discharges him, atleast morally.

And for this reason i subscribe with pleasure the initiative thought by the blog friend Silvano and born in this discussion at Il Russo's blog, which goal is to diffuse to some international media a message of dissociation from the "compliments" of Berlusconi.

A blog had been created in order to organize the practical details of the initiative, and to collect subscription at this address:

http://yeswearedifferentit.blogspot.com

Yes, Berlusconi is an Idiot.
I am different.

Barack Hussein Obama

Barack Hussein Obama

I wanted not to blog about the election of the president of the United States, but... i am not exempt from the enthusiasm that is overwhelming everybody.
My American friends for sure would be surprised noticing how much interest we have, on this side of the ocean, about the election of the American Presitent.
I believe that the citizens of the United States are more involved by a possible change about the big subjects of the internal politics, education, health care, public safety, on which i don't dwell upon, admitting my ignorance about them.

For us, instead, these elections deal about the role of the United States as the dominators of the world.

Nevertheless i believe that the President of the United Stats is not the one that really has the power. World economy is an interest much bigger than American democracy, and it's exactly this interest that determines the world order.
This raises to me doubts about Obama, as a possible renewer of the world politics. If there will eventually be a significant social change worldwide, it will be due by the achievement of an interest of the big multinational companies. And about this i fear that the will of the President doesn't have a big influence.
Even less the one of the electors.

Anyway, i like Obama. More than McCain. Infinitely more than Bush. I like Obama because he's black, and i hope that this feature of his will give a shake to all the consciousness of the world, especially over here in Italy, agains any type of racism. I like Obama because he has the image of a pacifit and environmentalist, although i believe that about these themes the image doesn't match with the real programs. I like Obama because of his human face, that doesn't work to hide his tears behind a plastic smile. In conclusion, i like Obama not because for a trust in a real change, but because he reflects a hope in a change that comes from the deep of the consciousness of the common man. A change towards a more imparcial, more peaceful, more environmentalist, more human society.

A change, in a society like ours, can happen only if it comes from the "high" of who handles the levers of the world capitalism. But a line on the sand that shows the direction of a change towards a more moral world order could be drawn only by the consciousness of the common man. And the image of Obama is a reflection of it.

Today i love the American People for having the courage to choose for that change.

Mount Tesoro

Mr. Bentley

view along the path

There it goes another weekend as a single guy (R. went for a period to her homeland). Saturday it was a cloudy day, and i used it to make some shopping and some works in the house, which maybe i will tell you about in another post. Ah, and i also planned some other works for the day after.
Yesterday morning i woke up early enough and, as a first thing, i looked out of the window. It was still a little dark, but i could see the sky completely clear, in the crisp air. I decided for a change of program, and all of the sudden i called a family meeting.
"Pack mates, did you see what a beautiful day? What about a hike up to the mountains?" - Mr. Bentley started jumping enthusiastically left and right, and with his baritone voice: "Oh yes, Fajah..." (Mr. Bentley and Maddie call me "Fajah" because... Well, let's not start with digressions... maybe i will tell you about this story another time). "Oh yes, Fajah, let's go hiking, you and me, and leave home the stupid girls. We are boys and we always gotta stick together. Then we could also stop for a beer someplace..." (Mr. Bentley is a little male-chauvinist, actually...) Maddie instead doesn't take me seriously, and, irritatedly swinging her eyes goes: "You are really dumb, Mr. Bentley, Fajah is not serious... Majah is not here, and everybody knows you stupid boys give up soon for laziness and you stay all day with your butts on the couch and a beer can in your hands watching the soccer match." (Majah, obviously, is R.).

Maddie at the peak of the mountain

So i took the floor to clarify. "No, no, i am very serious" i reassured Maddie, who begun to wag her tail: "Fo... fo... for really?!?" "For really!" I tell her, and then, to Mr. Bentley: "we ALL go to make a hike... as for the beer, maybe we can speak about it later". Mr. Bentley, a little deluded, but still excited for the hike: "Mmmmh... mmmmh... stupid girls... okay, Fajah"

So, i decide to give up with the home works, backpack on my shoulders, full water bottle, hiking boots, hiking sticks, GPS and photo camera (Mr. Bentley and Maddie, who go much lighter, always look to me with curiosity in this preparatory stage), and go, for a short excursion, just ten minutes by car from home.

Olginate and Garlate lakes
(bulges of the Como lake, at south of Lecco)

With R. and Maddie (Mr. Bentley was not born yet!) i already made this excursion in a snowy day, following then for a much longer distance on a path that, from south, approaches the southern slope of mount Resegone. This time, with the pack, we were happy with the ascent till the little chapel at the top of Mount Tesoro. In my memory the path was longer, maybe the snow did make it much more difficult.
Walking in the snow is really very nice, and it gives a strong sense of silence and peace. In the fall, instead, colors are really touching, from deep green to yellow and red of the leaves, to the brown of the undergrowth, in contrast to the limpid blue of the sky. This path, following the ridge, has views both on the Adda river valley of Lecco, on one side, and Orobie Alps of Bergamo on the other.

It is impossible get lost. The car can be parked in a little lot next to the hairpin bend (shown on the map). The path to take is well marked with arrows to "Monte Tesoro". After a couple of hundreds yards there is a fork on a mule path. This is the only tricky point (in fact we took the wrong way, ending up at a private property). A left must be taken, but just after the fork there is the start point of the path, a little hidden, towards right. The path is partially in the woods, partially on the rocks, til a first peak, where there is the stick for a flag, then it goes down for few feet and then up again till a higher peak with the little chapel of the Alpine soldiers, the war memorial, a little cemetery and a little heliport for the alpine aids. Time for some photos and back at once by the same way.
At noon we were already back home, and in the afternoon i also managed to make all the works i planned. Efficient eh?

other views of the path

• Total time: 1:42 (about half an hour of walk uphill and twenty minutes downhill plus the rest break)
• Covered distance: 3.94km [2.45mi] (round trip)
• Difference of level: 115m [377feet] (214m [702feet] uphill, 99m [325feet] downhill)
• Altitude: from 1301m [4268feet] to 1416m [4646feet]

GPS track
A: parking at the hairpin bend; B: peack of Mount Tesoro; C: Olginate lake; D: Garlate lake

One year

10/10/2007