I usually run into some character and interesting stories in my travels but yesterday I hit 2 for 2. Both places I had been there to fix the computer before quite a while ago.
My first stop the guy is an artist and has a beautiful house and property. Out back is a huge art studio. He is into Encaustic Wax art. Basically, this is creating paintings or objects using pigmented beeswax. The practice began centuries ago in Egypt and around 100-300 CE (before the Christian era). Romans would use beeswax to waterproof the hulls of thier ships and later found they could paint fancy designs on them using pigments. The art died out until 10 years ago but is making a comeback because technology has made it easier to contol the heat of the wax.
Some university in Maine is asking him to come speak at a conference on the subject because he is recognised as the world authority on the subject. His art proves it.
His latest thing is to create pictures that have an ethnic type look on first appearance. Many of his new pictures look to me like indian art. Of course the component of his art are used tea bags, and use coffee filters, old coffee grounds, and electronic components like resisters and capacitors.
He also made an Executive toy. I think most of you have seen the rack of balls on wires that hang down off a rod that when the outside ball is swung and hits the adjacent ball...the one one the far end pops out. This toy, instead of balls has tips of missiles hanging down supported by small Loisville slugger bats with a flat map of the earth underneath on the base.
My second stop for the day I didn't change the part just showed him how to do what he was trying to do where Dell couldn't help him. Nothing was really wrong with the computer.
What made this stop interesting was I noticed a HUGE elk rack over his fireplace and commented on it. Turns out it was from a 900 pound elk he bagged in Idaho. He was showing me the pictures and I recognised one of the guys in the photo. He was the fire chief of Boulder Creek down in the Santa Cruz area. Turns out that this guy sold insurance to all the districts in the area for years and was also a BC Volunteer Fireman, We obviously knew alot of the same people since I was a fireman in Scotts Valley at the same time.
Small World!