The Place For All Things Fran
Welcome to my daily update page!  What does this mean?   This is the place where I will post things of interest, stuff about  science, the purely entertaining, corsetry, my side projects both past and present, and any other thing that I feel like sharing.  Enjoy!

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May 21, 2013
 

May 14, 2013
The    Greatest     Music     Video    Ever.
Period!

May 13, 2013
Here is a new vlog where I show how to use the Polaroid 330 Land Camera.  I show how to load film, do some maintenance, focus, take a shot, and develop a photo with the 330.  I am also using Fuji FP-100C pack film. Read the original article about my flash upgrade for the Polaroid 330 here.  Enjoy!

May 12, 2013
Moms of the world - listen to Kid President:

May 10, 2013
Have you read the book?  You should!

May 9, 2013
A quick update vlog for May 9. 2013 about the new article on the Design and Engineering Page about the custom pistol grip I made for my HD video camera, which you can read here.  The Win8 Toshiba laptop is OUT and a used HP dual core laptop with WinXP Pro is IN. 

May 7, 2013
A new article on the Design and Engineering Blog -
Ergonomic pistol grip project for my HD video camera:

May 4, 2013
A cool video for Saturday:
The Matrix, as told by Mom!

May 3, 2013
Okay back to my messy shop fixing broken stuff - Here is my 80's vintage dehumidifier-turned-ice-maker that I decided to repair rather than throw out.  A messy job, but interesting enough to make a video about.  Welcome to my world of stuff that doesn't quite work right, made better.  After all, why throw it out when you can fix it?  Enjoy!

May 1, 2013
April showers bring May flowers, but what do Mayflowers bring?

A song for a rainy day:

April 30, 2013
My AMI R-88 200 Play Jukebox In Action!   No copyright infringement here, it just plays records, and so records are playing.....  And How!  Nothing but A sides, baby. 

I restored this jukebox in December 2000 for the original Frantone Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  People often ask me if it came with all the cool labels and records, to which I have to reply - Yes! When you purchase any jukebox it always comes fully loaded with all of your favorite songs.  NOT!

April 29, 2013
Discrete Life Circuit:

April 27, 2013
You wish you had this record. I know you do! 

April 25, 2013
Towel Head.

April 24, 2013
A perfectly ripe papaya!  A papaya turns banana yellow when fully ripened, and the skin gets very delicate and easy to cut.  Nothing is better than a perfect papaya!  Mmmmmm!

April 23, 2013
Asymmetrical patterns are very hard to make, and my customers definitely get their money's worth.  Lots of calculations and careful rendering are required for every corset....

April 22, 2013
A new topic on EEVBlog today - My First Calculator!  Here it is:

April 21, 2013
Home made silk screen art - 

Self Portrait

April 20, 2013
End The Filibuster!  Majority vote wins = definition of democracy.  Period.


April 18, 2013
Jack White's new toy (I met him once!) a Fully restored record booth at Third Man Records -


April 17, 2013
More sewing today!  Also getting things together for Maker Faire in San Mateo next month. I had to adjust my watch a couple days ago, it was running a little fast, so I had to move the regulator back a hair.  Here is the inside of my 1927 Illinois 17 jewel pocket watch - 
Ain't she purrdy??!!

April 16, 2013
Keeping it all in the family -
A new asymmetrically patterned daily wear summertime corset for my Mom!
Wow - we have virtually the same pattern!  Scoliosis runs in our family. 

April 15, 2013
Thanks to everyone who donated to Fran's Blog last week!  I am closing the gap needed fund a new dedicated computer for video editing. 
 

 Trust me....  I'm an engineer!

April 14, 2013

April 13, 2013
 Going back in time to 2003 - A picture of one of my work stations at the Frantone Factory in Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY.  State of the art all the way!  C-64 and light brite combo - plus a spare Donkey Kong arcade PCB on top of the monitor.  This desk is obviously where the serious work got done.

April 12, 2013
 Today on EEVBlog.... Your Favorite Electronic Toys of All Time? 
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/your-favorite-electronic-toys-of-all-time/

 

Also - I posted a new article today on the Science and Engineering Blog:
Upgrading the Polaroid 330 Land Camera 
http://www.frantone.com/designwritings/design_writings.html#upgrade

April 11, 2013
 Oh no! I've been outed on EEVBlog....   As a Centenarian! :-P
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/fran-looks-pretty-good-for-105/
Had you heard about me and Lee De Forest?

April 10, 2013
 I love my Land Camera.  There is still nothing in the world like a real one-of-a-kind photograph.

April 9, 2013
 I tried to demo one of my favorite toys - it is a battery powered Super 8 film loop viewer.  Light enters from the side to illuminate the movie so you hold it up to a light source, and the mechanism is very simple.  The film is advanced by a rotating sprocket that intermittently grabs in the sprocket holes to flip the film forward a frame.  It is very noisy, as you can tell - But fun!   I wish I had more film loop cartridges for it.

April 7, 2013
 Spring has sprung in Pennsylvania and I can't wait to get out on my bike again.  Meantime there are still some more stitches to stitch today..... but at least the windows are open! 

Missy wants to chase the squirrels.

April 6, 2013
 Thanks to everyone who has donated to the Science Blog - I will be making time to do another project post real soon.  For the time being I have been catching up on sewing and other Contour stuff.  I spent hours yesterday sharpening rotary blades - I really wish there was a better way than hand sharpening, but I have yet to find any other really effective way to hone a scalpel-sharp edge on a round blade.  When you sew every day, you spend a lot of time maintaining your equipment.  Which reminds me.... I have a bobbin assembly that needs oiling. 

April 3, 2013

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Fransworld Daily Updates Archive

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