| Sticky: Live Camera Feed | |||
| 11:59pm 31/12/2010 | |||
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| Sticky: Goals for Weight Loss | |||
| 11:58pm 31/12/2010 | |||
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Here are the goals I'd like to see happen before 6/30/2010: * Ride my bike again * Go to a water park * Fit into a Go-Kart * Sit indian style on the floor (more to come) |
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| Things I've Learned About My Body... | ||||
| 03:40pm 21/10/2009 | ||||
What I have learned so far is: - Portion everything, get an oz/gram scale. - Breakfast is for energy, lunch is for sustainability and dinner is for reliability. -- You eat to live, you don't live to eat. - Lunch is always 3 hours after breakfast, Dinner is always 6 hours after Lunch. - Two healthy snacks a day, between Lunch and Dinner and after Dinner (and before bed) is a way to keep your fullness. Usually an apple or banana but can be popcorn or even a salad. - You can still use a slow cooker and packaged items with a diet. There are some low calorie crock pot cookers that are great and low calorie. - The label may not say low calorie so check every Nutrition Label you can, you may find a low-calorie winner! - Exercise is damn hard when you take time off from it. Getting back to where you were because of a sickness or a body injury takes time and patience. This leads to a lot of frustration and aggravation. - Patience is key, things don't happen overnight. - Never strive for perfection. No one is perfect and we all slip up. If you slip up when being a perfectionist, it leads to doubts and sabotage with yourself, so aim for greatness instead. This is where the Anti-Jared and I disagree. - A piece of cake is not always a piece of cake. Some cakes can be 1,000 calories or some can be 300. Assume the worst until you know for sure. -- It is always best, if you must have dessert, to share 1/2 with a friend or loved one. - A person can definetly live on 1500-2000 calories. - "Everyone is different. No two people are not on fire. Awww." -- Strong Bad, Kids Book So that's what I have learned so far. What have you learned? Share what you have learned and we'll learn together. |
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accomplished| Quick Update... | ||||
| 11:46pm 20/10/2009 | ||||
So yes, things are finally starting to shape up as far as getting organized. It's nice. Now to finish the studio. :P Tomorrow morning I have that damned doctor's visit. I just want it over with. My left wrist is complaining a little but obviously it's been 3 weeks since the pain started, so whatever happened is mending. EDIT: After the results of the Monday appointment at today's appointment, he agrees it is my tendons and the only thing I can do is try light mobility to build the strength back up. He also said it's the Levaquin that caused this issue. So yay for me paying all this money for something I already knew. At least it's confirmed now. |
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mellow| The Last Few Weeks... | ||||
| 10:28pm 19/10/2009 | ||||
The last week of September I still was getting over the H1N1, it left me with very bad bronchitis. I finally went to Dr. Hudson where she put me on Levaquin, 10 days worth of this. She'd usually put me on Biaxin or the Z-Pack but I have had them both within the last year and she's afraid of me becomming immune. I cannot have any type of penicillin so we are trying other options. Well, the next Wednesday (a full week) I was able to get back to the gym and worked my butt off. That sets us to the 28th. The Monday after that, October 2nd, I started having sharp pains in my left wrist. They were so horrible that I couldn't press down on the heel of my hand at all. So chair lifts and push ups were now out of my regimen, honestly to my dismay. I let this pain grow and continue until the Friday before Columbus day; by this time my right arm was also feeling pains in the same spot when I would toss around in bed pushing on the heel of my right hand. It was real bad then, enough that I couldn't even focus on anything except the pain. The weekend was pretty bad, mostly me trying to relax and not use my arms much. I still cleaned and it still hurt, nothing more I could do. Sunday night I was watching TV, flipping through channels when I saw a news report about Levaquin and it causes tendon ruptures and tendon tears and the impending lawsuit on it. I was furious, I went and got the bottle of it to ensure that was the medication I had. This was the straw that broke the camel's back because I started freaking out about losing all mobility. I went to my doctor and she confirmed my fears and sent me to a specialist and to get a pair of spica splints. The following day I got my splints. I then saw the doctor on Friday (this last Friday). First I got X-Rays, which they had me do some posing of my hands. A few minutes later the specialist doctor started grilling me about my pain, which is his job; then he asked me if I was one of those "law suit patients that saw Tim Misny on TV". I almost broke down and cried at that point. I said all that I wanted was my mobility to return so I can volunteer again, I can bowl and go back to the gym. He sarcastically said "OK" like he didn't believe me. He then he said "If you have anything then I think it's Carpal Tunnel". I need you to go get some tests done in Chardon. The nurses out front will schedule you and give you more information. Was there more conversation besides this? Yes. Did I get the impression he believed me? No. I begrudgingly went to the front office and they said that they needed to do further tests. She also stated I should take Monday off from work because I will not be able to return to work. I didn't understand why, I have had scans before, they aren't bad. She also gave me a follow-up time. Christina and I left and went on our merry way. I felt dejected, like I was making all of this pain up though my wrists still hurt. Even my ankle was bothering me in the back, I was concerned about that pain too. The ankle pain went away thank goodness. I did my volunteering thing at 2pm then went and took a nap until it was time for bowling. I bowled well but I could've been better. I pooched the second game but we ultimately won by seven points. My arms were killing me after bowling but it felt nice to accomplish something. The weekend came to a LOT of chores. Our garage is slowly getting in order and we bought a freezer. That made me feel good that we bought it without a credit card. We've been hurting for cash for so long that we have nearly a thousand on ANOTHER credit card and 750 on the Sam's Club Card. Not to mention nearly $12,000 in debt to Chase for credit card debt. Yes, we're completely in debt to our eyeballs. Christina and I are snowballing slowly to get the debt under control but it will take time. So back on track, Monday happened. I woke up from a quick sleep of seven hours. I got dressed and was ready to go. We left at 8:15am and got there 2 or 3 minutes til 9:30. It was a pain to find the office because they didn't put a door number on the door. Anyhow, I just wanted in and out. I saw MRI on the door so I figured I was gonna go in the "cone of silence". Then I heard EMG. I thought that was the one they put electrodes on your brain to look at activity. Still, no big. I was finally called in and Christina came with me. The doctor there was nice enough and told me a bit about what he was going to do. Probes on the arms and a little charge to see how the nerves react. What I thought and what was about to happen were WAY OFF. An EMG works by probes being placed on the arms and then a taser is placed on the arm in some location to be measured then a voltage from 5 volts to 100 volts is rendered. Just thinking back and remembering the pain from being tased over a dozen times sends me into shakes. It's not an experience for anyone to remember. I was telling the doctor 1/2 way through that they could use this as an effective form of torture. He laughed a little but the keffiyeh on his head made me decide I should've bit my tongue after the fact. When he finished zapping me that wasn't the end, it was only the 1/2 way point. He then gave me a few minutes to breathe and then unwrapped a needle that he had to put into four places in my muscle to check my electrical connectivity. I almost cried because the pain was unbearable. He then asked me to do things like make a fist or spread my fingers apart. The pain was constant while he asked me to do this. Then he removed the needle and blood trickled out, then he stuck it in a different spot. This seemed like it went on forever. He finally muttered to me when it was done that I don't have carpal tunnel and it could after all be my tendons from the Levaquin. I left there confused and angry, plus I was so shaken I slept in the car while we drove towards home again. I tried to go to sleep when I got home but I couldn't, the pain in my left arm was so intense and my body kept twitching oddly. So I got some work done and then went to the gym. It was therapeutic going to the gym again. I really missed it last week. So this is where I am now. On Wednesday I'll have the doctor tell me there is nothing wrong with me or admit there is something wrong with my tendons. It's not carpal tunnel. We know this already. Carpal tunnel doesn't just show up instantly one day when you're working on a bench or a ball. So I am quite pissed and hopefully justice will happen on Wednesday. |
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bitchy| Game Boy Sticker Idea... | ||||
| 03:42am 07/10/2009 | ||||
Now, there is also clear stickers at this size too. So if I did use the printer, I could put a clear label over it so it would stay. Though, I don't know if adhesives work well with thermal paper. I just took a Game Boy Printer print-out and put packaging tape over it. Let's see how it does. EDIT: Adhesives make the sticker fade. Bad idea for sure. So just a simple paper print out is better. Personally I am fine with the concept of bringing a printer and ink, though yes it does kill the concept of using the original tools and the retro feel. Again, my hesitation of using the Game Boy Printer paper. I just don't want to waste money on stickers that won't last very long. |
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| Recording Booth Photos | ||||
| 02:48am 07/10/2009 | ||||
 (The entrance, the recording booth is inside but the mixing table is immediately to the right. To the left is storage.)
 (Looking in from the mixing table)  (Looking in from the doorway) I think I did pretty well. I just need to throw a microphone in there and I am ready to record. I really need to record some better liners and promos for StudioHits and this will give me the place to record them at. I also need to buy another mic that is better than the one I have currently for in there, I want a professional recording mic. Anyways, that should be all right now. I am pleased at my setup. I'll update more later. |
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| Mad Catz Camera Link Fix for XP | |||
| 05:27am 04/10/2009 | |||
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Here is the fix for XP, so no I don't need an old computer, just to tweak a lappy with a printer port. Christina's has one. :P http://obscure-gaming.blogspot.com/2 |
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| Game Boy Printer Paper Options | ||||
| 04:51am 04/10/2009 | ||||
http://www.ontimesupplies.com/Thermal_R Yes, they make paper and they are in OHIO! http://www.pmcompany.com/ - Literally a 30-minute drive, it's a pretty fantastic deal here. That'd easily save on shipping. That roll should fit in the Game Boy Printer nice and easy too. That makes me quite happy because that'd be good for bookmarks. Christina and I got some contact paper, so I just need to cut 2 inch strips, like 16" long, then trim the overage. This way I can fold longways. I also learned that the Game Boy Camera can let you change the line feed. You can choose a 3mm (1 line) feed, so maybe the 1.5" x 1" labels I found for barcodes may work after all. Those can be found at: http://www.scansmart.com/SATO/53S00 On a sad note, I got some quotes on white sticker paper that would fit in the Game Boy Printer. 1.5" continuous thermal label would be a minimum of 3 for $51.99 each ($155.97). Though if 72 rolls were purchased, it'd only be $448.56, a cost of $6.23 a roll. Another sad point is that this would be at a 456" continuous roll. It'd need to be rerolled. Right now Game Boy printer paper is going for $10 a 3-pack, some places are selling 6 packs for $20. I am wary on the quality if they are giving so much away like that. Now using the original model of 390cm per roll, say that is 150". That's 450" for $9.99. This other place is giving it away for $6.23 if you purchase in bulk. I hope this includes shipping. In summary, the Game Boy Printer isn't dead. There are ways to revive it. It just takes money and a dedicated group of people to continue to keep it going. |
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| Game Boy Printer Info | ||||
| 03:11pm 02/10/2009 | ||||
So yeah, I've been looking at trying to create more Gameboy Printer paper with various materials. Normal POS thermal paper works but there is no sticky back. There are rolls of 1.5" thermal labels that have a 1" sticker, meant for doing barcodes, that is $7. Now the sad part is that the Gameboy Printer doesn't have a reverse button, only a forward button. It'd be nice to be able to utilize that kind of sticker or some how tell the Game Boy printer to calibrate to a certain kind of sticker, but I think that's the Game Boy Camera's job. So, anyone want to hack a Game Boy Camera to tell it what kind of white space to leave above and below a picture? That'd save a lot of headache on my part. I am surprised why Nintendo didn't do that in the first place. |
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| Things... | ||||
| 01:40am 01/10/2009 | ||||
Today: - 388.4 lbs. - Fixed WNIR's blackout issue Yesterday: - Christina's (and Jessica's) birthday was yesterday. Took Christina to Melting Pot. Very yummy but food didn't agree with me on way home. - Christina got a parking ticker and it wasn't her fault, KSU parking services screwed up. - Got Christina a rose bouquet and a card. I got more Stetson. - Worked out, felt great, missed doing it so much. - Had lunch, chicken breast with salsa over a bed of romaine - Fixed request issue on StudioHits. - Built 4 new Net stations today and all had no problems. Was very pleased. - Conversation with work left me concerned about company's future. - Talk with merged company gave me hope for company's future. - Don't have enough money to pay mortgage. Worried about piling up bills. Tuesday: - Created "Music Guru" on StudioHits, these are the people who decide what is played on the station. - Did some code tweaking on the boards. There was more but I'm cloudy on it. Anyhow a lot has happened and today will be more busy. |
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tired| Sticky: Akron All-Star Deaf Club/Bowling League | |||
| 08:00pm 30/09/2009 | |||
| Due to Paypal's TOS, this has been removed. | |||
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| StudioHits Variety, too much? | |||
| 11:39pm 27/09/2009 | |||
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I have posted about this before but I stand before the playlist now and I just hear way too much variety. How can I justify going from Kiss to Air Supply? There is a LOT of music on StudioHits that honestly shouldn't mix. Am I wrong in thinking this? I've thought about this before, having a gray line and creating a second station that falls on the other side of this line. For example I am listening to Madonna now. Some of her music could trascend both a normal Hits station, but that Hits station could play Lynyrd Skynyrd. Obviously a smart program director would not let both of them play back to back but I have worse examples on my station like Hall and Oates and Air Supply. Those are definetly too soft for a rock variety station. So, the question for anyone reading this, should I split the station into two different varieties? A station that is devoted to pure rock and another station that is a lite station that will play groups that don't have a lot of hard rocking songs like Billy Joel, Elton John, Air Supply, etc etc? The way that I see it is like going to a restaurant like BW3 or Wing Warehouse and they give you a chart of sauces. It goes from mild to hot. I do have some music that mixes between the mediums, but honestly a lot of it doesn't mix really well and has its own taste. I think what I need to do is sit around with a bunch of friends for a weekend or two and go through every bit of music that I have and label it based on their ears. I am having an issue with my ears and if I can trust myself to separate the music properly. My ears are like... Is that too soft, is that too hard? I don't know anymore! :P |
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| Facebook Killed the Live Journal Star | ||||
| 06:10pm 26/09/2009 | ||||
I was a fan of uJournal, paid for a lifetime membership (which lasted 6 months) then moved to Live Journal and I have been here ever since. I like the idea of no-nonsense simple blogging without flash. Lately Facebook has been taking my friends and family one by one with the things I hate about the blogging community, especially the concept that you have to be watching every minute you're awake since it's more than a blog. I also dislike Twitter for this reason. The whole idea of the vlog, or now blog, is to conceptualize or just show progress. Now today's society is forced to scale their ideas down to 160 letters or the use of buzzwords. I detest it. I hate the idea that to read about that friend on Facebook you have to be a member. I am happy of my 6 years of history on LJ and I don't want to start somewhere new at another community. I don't even want to go to a community, I like being my own island on my LJ; I just can't stand the latest barrage of LJ posts of "a lot has been happening, read my Facebook". I won't stop posting on LJ, I just now will stop going to my "friend" page since it doesn't change anymore. Another death of a great Internet concept. Someone should start a death clock for Live Journal. |
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| Last Few Days... | |||
| 10:25am 22/09/2009 | |||
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While I'm waiting in the doctor's office for the doctor I figured I'd update everyone on what is going on. 1. All of my Game Boy printer sticker paper is shot. It doesn't take a good thermal transfer anymore, which means it's now just tape. I know this by getting a generic receipt paper, cutting it to size and putting it in the printer. It still prints well so I will be investing in more sticker paper.for Ohayocon. 2. The last few days I have been trying to get the Mad Catz picture capture software to work in Windows XP without luck. Finally I decided I'd need an older computer. My luck is that I do have an older laptop that does the trick, it's a 100mhz with 8mb of RAM in Windows 95. I laugh at its simplicity but it does the trick when it boots up. I just need to find my PCMCIA network card for it and I can use it at Ohayocon to print Gameboy Camera pictures if necessary. 3. Been sick, still coughing up things. Which means going to the gym is impossible because as soon as I start working out I cough up a lung. That's why I'm waiting. And here she is now. |
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| Rock Band: Beatles | ||||
| 01:12pm 21/09/2009 | ||||
At Sam's Club here is what it is priced for: Beatles Rock Band Limited Edition Set: $224.67 - This includes: Game, Höfner Bass controller, The Beatles branded Rock Band Drums, Microphone & Microphone Stand Rickenbacher Guitar: $78.66 Duo-Jet Guitar: $78.66 Now here is another thought. I have a Rock Band 1 drum set, a wireless guitar and a wired guitar and a microphone (of course the USB adapter) for the Xbox 360... I heard the Guitar Hero 2 guitars are MUCH better in quality. So I may go that route for sure, but what about the drum set? Is it really that much different? I saw this drum set and drooled: Ion Rock Band 2 Premium Drum Set - Xbox 360: $248.84 Now how hot is that? This drum set can be used professionally if you buy a "brain" for it. I really would like to do that then I can do drum beats without having to schlep a drum set down here. I am sure it can be patched directly into the mixer. Anyhow, enough of me geeking on music stuff. I am going to finish work then go get Guitar Hero 5 so I can get Van Halen in December for free. |
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| Penny Drop: Plinko | ||||
| 04:27am 20/09/2009 | ||||
( Cutting for Pictures ) I even took some video so I could see how it moved and behaved: 091909-pennydrop.3gp Personally I think a black cabinet would be fine for this and then have the Plinko board in back. It's not terribly big. I think next time I will be taking my professional camera and a measuring tape. However, I can deduce many general things about the cabinet with just the pictures here. The only question I am fussing with right now is... Pennies or Nickels? Nickels to me are closer to the size of tokens and I'd rather see a bunch of shiny nickels than pennies. However the name from England has been a penny drop or penny falls because they'd use a penny. Also tokens are usually yellow so it's easier to see. A bunch of shiny pennies would look nice in the machine. Ooh the decisions. :P EDIT: Here is a nice coin selector idea for the cabinet that could be done out of simple metal or wood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlBGyxNbd |
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| 1/4 Of The Journey... | ||||
| 11:56pm 14/09/2009 | ||||
Last time I weighed this much was at the first apartment Christina and I had, 925 Stein Court. We bought a Weight Watcher's scale from Bed, Bath and Beyond that went up to 385lbs it claimed. It really went up to 390lbs. This was at least 3 years ago, which makes me feel good that I remember when the last time I was at a certain weight. I couldn't remember when I reached 400lbs, but I do remember when I was 390. Sad, but now I have goals that I remember from previously. Anyhow, it was odd when I got on that scale, I expected to be at 400lbs again because I have been eating completely off menu due to being sick. Worked just the opposite. Well, being sick can really use up the calories. All my muscles are sore and every day I am tired from the workout my body got. Anyhow, I really need to get some stuff done, so I am going to attempt to do some work without coughing my brains out. |
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| Observations from Two Audio Engineers | ||||
| 03:04pm 14/09/2009 | ||||
SOS is getting a ‘record handle error’ and I have no idea how to fix that. I have tried several things. Can you please look into it and correct? Record handle error means sound card. That's immediate. If it can't record from the sound card then it won't work. I immediately log into the box and get a person in notepad: Person: iSH i*cut* logged in here? Me: This is Chris Haslage from Spacial, the guys who work on SOS. Person: This is Josh, the IT guy they use here. Josh: If you want to call me, my cell is *cut* Me: Well, I have the H1N1 flu, so if you want to hear a raspy couging voice I can call, but I think this method may work a little better. :P Though with the Swine Flu I dunno if it can be transmitted over phone line YET :P Josh: Verizon is advanced, but that might be a stretch. ;-) Me: Too true. So yes, Record handling is a Sound card issue. So it sounds like this morning the sound card didn't initalize correctly. Did you find the issue? Josh: I just uninstalled the ASI card and installed a Soundblaster. That was the simplest fix. Me: You're a good man Charlie Josh :P Hehe. Well yes, that was the issue and I am surprised *cut* didn't gather that from the omnious "Record handling" error. Josh: I figured that. *cut* didn't seem to Me: Yeah, no bigs, I caught on immediately, that's why I'm paid the marginal big bucks. :P Josh: yeah, me too. *cut* never seemed to offer much help, other than saying it was our problem and not theirs. Me: See why I pressed Enter after I hit the end? ;) Bad for coding, good for saving me 2 clicks for word wrap. :P Anyways, *cut* is a good company and all but they are not tech saavy, that's why I got the email at 7am this morning. I don't come in until 10 and didn't get the email until I checked at 11. Josh: Well hopefully this will improve the reliability of the system and get the OM here off my ass and off the Chief Engineer (who is NOT a computer guy at all) Me: Someone kicked me off of VNC. Josh: Bastards! Me: Yeah, this should solve any record errors that you're having. I keep telling stations to stick to shelf hardware for easy configurability but they claim the high priced stuff sounds better but really... You're only streaming 128k. :P Josh: I told Gene the same thing. They aren't listening on high end HiFi systems, they are listening on cheap ass $10 computer speakers. Soundblasters are the way to go... And the onboard crap on this motherboard is a NIGHTMARE!! Me: My system is a higher-end AIWA and my sound card is an Echo Gina, but I listen to 128k stations that use normal consumer audio cards and they sound better than FM. They even sound better than XM. So if you're going for that niche you're beating your competition. It's like a proverbial pissing contest with stations that I never understood. Josh: I'm right there with you. For on-air applications, I can see the $1000 ASI cardd, but this is the internet. A consumer card is fine. Me: I am a bit more liberal in the fact that even 5 years ago I could understand that everything needed to be high-end quality cards because the quality on user-grade wasn't there. Now even stations using a $100 Creative card for their FM second tier feed, like a news or a programming feed (not primary) is quite suitable. Now of course you still have your limiters and your AGC afterwards in the chain, but the limitations of FM and the highs and lows, today's sound cards far supass what these big boys can offer 5 years ago. Josh: I agree. Anyway, I'm getting off here. My email is *cut*. If there is ever another issue that you need someone here (or in it via LogMeIn) let me know. I don't know how many stations follow my blog but let's be realistic, if you are looking to better the quality of your sound the get better quality music and automation software than spending $1000 on a sound card. A $1000 will only sound better because it cost you $1000 dollars. I can make a station sound just as good or better at 128K AAC in SAM Broadcaster than what you can do with just a $1000 sound card. |
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| Ohayocon Donkey Kong Building | |||
| 02:02am 09/09/2009 | |||
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Ohayocon is only a few months away so I spent a few moments designing the NIC cube building for Special Needs: _ =1 .|_|. =4 <- Donkey Kong and Princess Go Here _|_|_|_ =7 <- LED Sign will go between these rows |_| |_| =6 |_| |_| =6 Backs= 7 Sides= 24 Total= 31 Cubes Will need: - Zip Ties - Tie cutter - Donkey Kong - LED Sign - Counter Weights or wire to keep from tipping forward - A lot of connectors - 60 Inch Table - 4 Wooden Dowels - Dremel |
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chriskewl |
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