Yep, this is Dahrien's page -- http://home.roadrunner.com/~cvigil/ -- purposely unfancy so it's fast to load. This page is just a place to put things I want to make available to folks through my meager web space; it isn't a showcase or resume, doesn't require the latest tech to accomplish my goals, and -- MOST importantly, and very intentionally -- shouldn't burden your computer, whatever its type or age! You're welcome.
So, are you still asking why I'm not loading the page with fancy A/V entertainments and complex layouts? Then get thee back to MyFace, kid. It's what you really want. And here's the answer in a new tab or window...
These were used during correspondence to illustrate things to the poeple I was talking with, so they might still leave you with questions. Especially the "mold burn" bitmap -- its text is definitely out of context alone, but it goes hand-in-hand with the "gasket" bitmap, so see that one first and it may make some more immediate sense. If you're left with any questions, feel free to contact me :) . By the way, all of the concepts shown in these are also available elsewhere on the web and books and periodicals. The "3-piece" bitmap surely just repeats what is readily available many other places -- nothing truly original there.
How the mold design thought process can go ...
... Assuming that your mold material is rigid, like stone or wood or cuttlefish bone (because rubber molds flex, they can let you do things in different ways) ...
Think about your desired object encased in a block of stone. Where would you have to cut the stone to free the object (trying to minimize the number of cuts)? Answering this question well can help you design a mold for the object of your choice and figure out how many pieces the mold will be. You'll have one more piece of mold than number of cuts, of course.
The button or pin exists essentially flatly (or "removably", if you will) in two planes, so a three-piece mold is sufficient (because you can bend the pin's tab through other planes *after* casting). The cuff link shape has to be done in more pieces, because it exists essentially in three planes. [Now actually, since it has an H cross-section, you *could* do it as two pieces IF AND ONLY IF the disks at the ends of the shank were smooth & flat -- with no protrusions, such as decorations -- so that they could be pulled out sideways out of their two halves.]
All rights remain Carlos Vigil's, c. 09/15/2009
click to download/open my quick & dirty recording (.wma file 140K)***"Money Is Not So Funny" c. 09/15/2009 by Carlos Vigil (SCA: Dahrien Cordell) I wear my little costume, beware the wrath of Kings. Laugh, ye toughs, if laugh ye must; but know then certain things. The coin I haul is valuable, town guards are wrothful fell, So let them hear not ringing bells -- lesser devils wait in Hell! Our patrons may hold cheaply our lives but not their coin. None interfere but recklessly with duty thus enjoined. The fool and I share clothing, yes, but also our King's ear. I stroll and may seem unaware, but cannot disappear. Bright my stripes and earth's hard fruits, stock heavy in my hands. Bounden for the church's croft, to help secure their lands. And when my charge is safely there, 'tis mine to go again To guild hall where we rest tonight: Moniers, trusted men. I wear my little costume, but know you certain things ...
This weekend just past (9/12/2009), the Moniers guild of Northshield presented our new King and Queen with coins. When Bart came forward to do so as their representative, he wore a funny-looking costume made up of bold diagonal stripes in black and gold with large bells hanging from hood, shoulders, and perhaps other places I did not see from my seat. He provided a letter which explained the costume, and His Royal Majesty caused the lette to be read aloud in the court. It said, in effect, that moniers (of some time and place) wore such costume specifically to draw attention to themselves for safety when they were on Guild business, especially when they transported metals and coin -- being brightly colored, they drew peoples' eyes, and being jingly, they drew peoples' ears, and so it was more difficult to accost or kidnap them and their burdens without being noticed. Their patrons were naturally interested in seeing that their wares should be delivered safely, and guards would deal ... "sternly", shall we say? ... with anyone who interfered with them. Mikey/Yehudah/His-Et-Cetera-ness wrote me this evening to request an altogether different sort of song, which I shall most probably provide. But this came to me first. I decided to provide the lyrics and a recording here, and so I have. I hope you enjoy my little song.
***kind of cool little note: When I get a message in my voice-mail at work, the system sends it as a sound file (.wma) to my work e-mail. That's how I recorded this song tonight!
click to download/open NoMoreSleepApneaBlues.zip ("No More Sleep Apnea Blues", sung (.wav), as a text file, and as sung by a chipmunk (.wav).)
These are Noteworthy Composer files containing sheet music and lyrics for an incomplete version of my answer to the Smiths' Challenge at Warriors and Warlords 2006. What's here is nice, and pretty, but I've got a couple more parts to finish creating and then enter into the files.
(At least as of the time I wrote this ...) You can get a 30-day evaluation copy of Noteworthy Composer at their web site; it's free to use during the evaluation period. It can save as MIDI files, but something wasn't right the first time I tried it, so *my* doing it is going to wait. When I've got a MIDI of it, I can put it on my phone. N.C. will also play the music, let you mute certain lines, thus playing only lines you want to hear at a given moment. I'm not able to read or write musical notation, but I got up to speed on using the program (for what I've done) pretty quickly. I like it.
There are two files here; the first contains all of the information in the 2nd, and then a bit. There might also be a note or two (literally) that have been changed in this first one; or maybe not; I don't recall with certainty.
All rights remain Carlos Vigil's, c. 07/2006
Smith-Arr1 (add 1 stagger).nwc ... contains staves for the song's four main lines (the ones written so far) as well as staves repeating the first line four times, adding another of the other lines at the start of each repetition.
Thanks to Eliane and Owen and Chandler and Flori and Ingus and Colin for helping me with my Smith's Song. Thanks for Kudrun "Ye Young Pilgrim" for turning to me to ask for words and music as soon as I sat down.
Maister Iago ab Adam of the Barony of Seagirt in Victoria, British Columbia, has written a humorous look at SCA peerages entitled Goldihat and the Three Peers. (The link is to the most readable copy I could quickly find on the net.)