Diary of a disco ball

So my Sweet Girl wanted a disco ball.  We were having a soiree of sorts and she thought it would be a nice addition.  And, when she wants something, she gets it.

Off to the trusty interwebs whereupon I found a likely candidate.  A dual ball with multiple led lights that sequence. Could be mounted on the ceiling or wherever.  Under $40.  Target has it.  Right, off to Target.

Except they don't have it.  And there is apparently no one employed at the store that has a measurable amount of sense.  I was told variously that the disco ball would be in Electronics, Home Improvement and Toys...  All of them were wrong.  I got tired of the run around and called the store (while standing inside it).  Turns out, the item was at another store, the *wait for it* "SUPER TARGET".

So whatever, off to the other store and I called ahead and asked them to pull it for me.  Which they did.  And I acquired my "Solar powered Disco Ball" (insert sound of needle pulling off record)...

What?  Solar powered Disco ball?  Is this a joke?  I get it home and it's no joke.  It's actually solar powered.  Which is great except that:

1. People generally party at night
2. Night is generally lacking in sunlight
3. What, no batteries???

I cannot believe that someone would be stupid enough to think that a solar powered disco ball would cut it.  It won't.  So I grabbed a screw driver and with the help of Josh, modified it to accept battery power.

Here's the finished product.

Details on the surgery:

The solar cell output about 1v DC.  Give or take.  Apparently there isn't enough light to generate any appreciable power unless you're actually in a beam of sunlight.  Seriously.  Ambient light wasn't enough to turn on the electric motor.  Which if you pause to think about that, all these people that think that solar power is a way to get off the oil teat are smoking crack.  There's just no way you're going to generate enough power to replace the grid.  But I digress.

We started by removing the cover for the motor and snipping the wires leading from the electric cell.  I'm interested in gadgetry so I saved the solar cell.  We soldered new wires approx 2.5" and insulated the motor with electrical tape.

Cover goes back on and the gap at the top of the motor housing is the perfect size to accommodate a single AAA battery.  The AAA gives out 1.5v and that little battery spun the ball from about 6pm to 3am without a hiccup.

I want to add an on/off switch because we simply taped leads to the battery ends and that's pretty gettofabtabulous.  And I'm thinking that it might be kinda cool to use one of these old remote controls from cars and helicopters that are gathering dust.  Imagine, a remote control disco ball...  Gives me shivers.

The link for the horrid product in case you want to see what not to buy is here.

Man I love this girl

My Sweet Girl is a passionate person.  Meaning that in addition to caring a whole lot about lots of things, she yells when she sees stuff that she doesn't like! 

As well she is a pretty passionate person about life. 

Tonight she told me that she hates it when I trust people.  And I agree that I tend to trust people more than I probably should.  But it's awfully hard to be a jaded dick for me.

I'm just not wired that way.

Of course I'll bet you that history is littered with the corpses of those who shared that delusion.  So I try and be as perceptive as possible.  It's not easy sometimes.  But it's necessary.

I hope you have someone in your life as wonderful as my Sweet Girl.

Christmas 2010

We put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving day.  Which is a departure from my vigorous denial of all things "early Christmas".  But she was so cute and really really REALLY wanted the Christmas tree put up.

And really, when a Buddist begs you to put up your Christmas tree, how can a guy POSSIBLY resist?!?!?

I love that girl.

Today, Friday October 29th

Work all day.  Stress stress stress.  Take care of business.  Make the client happy.  There is no success without failure.
Come home to:

My girl
She makes me dinner
We sit at the table
And we talk
And laugh
The music plays
We dance
And laugh some more (I am a TERRIBLE dancer) (hahahaha)
Then we clean up
And we walk, hand in hand

And later, my sweet little dog, sniffs my foot and looks at me with love.  And tells me silently that he loves me and always will.

My life is filled with love.

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Girl

You.

That's the key.  Everyone is more interested in themselves than others.  This is a basic premise in sales, psychology, prostitution and (at the risk of redundancy) politics.

My Baby, the Princess, is having a birthday soon and while I'm busy planning to spoil her, love her and make her time special she goes and...

Gets me a gift.

A watch.  A Lucien Piccard.  Not because I need one, but because she wants to be freaking wonderful.

When I found her, I was not searching.
In her, I see the best that I can be.
In me, she knows that I am her rock.

God has a plan, you can fight it, or you can enjoy the ride.

Happy Birthday Princess Sexpot!

Songs

You don't look a day over fast cars and freedom

"Starin' at you takin' off your makeup

Wonderin' why you even put it on

I know you think you do,but baby you don't need it
Wish that you could see what I see when it's gone"

Rascal Flatts, from Feels Like Today

And I have a new favorite. Already in a daydream by the Freddy Jones band. It's the bumper music used on Hugh Hewitt and sometimes on Michael Medved's shows. Enjoy.