I caught this jay visiting my feeder in slow motion. It's so mesmerizing to watch my -- I mean, their brilliant azure wings in action~

I'm watching the jays right now

Or maybe, they're watching ME

Another project is underway.

I cut the panels out on the laser, bolted them to both sides of a hardboard disc, placed 608 bearings in the center, then inserted an m8 threaded rod through the bearings.

You spin me right round...

I got the threaded rod to move independently of the discs.

But, I ran into a problem. The discs kept falling off the bearings, or at best were very wobbly...

Adding another panel with a smaller opening kept the bearing in place. I also added another bearing so they're doubled up for more stability. It worked.

And now for the final test. It was a success! I can now wind up all the foam wrap I get in my crystal shipments into one huge spool.

A cheap cordless drill grips the threaded rod and spins it like an axle. Because the speed is relative to how much I squeeze the trigger, I get a good sense of control.

Once done. I can hang the axle rod and use it as a foam wrap dispenser. Perfect for safely wrapping up things before shipping them -- thus reusing the foam wrap to minimize landfill waste!

However, while winding up long ribbons of foam wrap, I ran into some... unexpected complications. Everything would get snagged and I would have to stop to undo the jam.

9 times out of ten, this is the culprit. I have yet to invent a contraption to prevent random feline attacks. I'll add that to my list. XD

A preview of what I got today~

Lady blue is starting to get more brave and come out of her house. Here she is looking for a food pellet. When she found it, she got real excited!

While still eating the first pellet, she found a second and held it in one of her claws to eat next!

I can't get over how vibrantly blue she is!

So many tiny blue crayfish bebbies!

I fed my crayfish just now! The first attempt missed. He got the second attempt! Success!