Gum USB Drive

I've done it again. An old USB drive of mine has been turned into a pack of gum!
This took a little less effort than the Lego USB dive I made last month but it took a little more concentrating to finish. I started off with a pack of Winterfresh and cut it where I wanted it to open.
The individually wrapped gum was also cut at the same spot so I could use the metalic wrappers on the inside. I used construction paper and double sided foam tape for padding and to keep the blue gum look. Not exactly the same color but it worked.

You can see above that the cap has a couple of "sticks of gum" extending out. This allows the cap to fit into the frame for the USB drive.

Beginning, Middle or End?

Hooray! The Summer Solstice has arrived and (officially) that means the start of summer for most of the Northern Hemisphere. I only say most because that’s where everyone tends to live. For those who live closer to the North Pole, the Summer Solstice holds another meaning; winter is coming.

It’s true and you can’t avoid it. In another three months or so we will start feeling the cooler temperatures and finding early morning frost on the ground. Does this depress you? Probably but for some it is exciting and only means a change of toys.

The kayak will be put away in exchange for a snowboard; shorts and swimming trunks for pants and long johns; treaded bike tires for studs. The rotation of the seasonal storage won’t happen for another couple of months but it is already on the minds of some.

I just hope I don’t forget where I put all my stuff.

Waiting on Parts

I did my best to keep the following off my blog but it has reached the point of being ridiculous.

On March 15 I was in a car accident. I was a couple of blocks from my house when it happened. I was crossing through an intersection and was hit by a gal who missed the yield sign. My right side rear panel was damaged along with the bumper and right rear tire. Nobody was injured and the damage was assumed minor.

The next day I took the car into the shop to get an estimate. Roughly $3000 of damage and they would have it done by the June 6; about what I expected. My insurance deductible is set, like most, at $500 I would have to pay out of pocket but since it was not my fault the other driver’s insurance usually would cover it. However, after my insurance company did their investigation, they found out the other driver was not insured. This is only the start of the problems.

Because of the lack of insurance by the other driver, my insurance company cuts the deductible in half so I don’t get screwed by having to pay it. I was glad about this and figured I could get the $250 from the girl who hit me. I finally got a hold of her after several phone calls and many messages. She was less than friendly about the situation. She claimed to have insurance with the same company as mine and I should talk to them. Currently, they are still looking into the matter.

As for my car: It’s still in the shop today. Why? “Waiting on parts.” I called on June 6 and was told that my car wouldn’t be ready because the parts they needed were not shipped when they were suppose to be shipped. I was OK with this since I usually bike to work. I figured I would have to wait another week or so. A week rolls around and still no word. So I give the shop a call again and still they are waiting on parts.

Now I’m a little nervous because I had a big weekend coming up that was planned out months ago; drive down Friday, a wedding on Saturday, spending Sunday with my dad for Father’s Day and finally driving back on Monday. The other reason I wanted my car for this trip was the cargo space. My dad is lending me space at his house to store some of my larger boxes of stuff. I really didn’t want to rent a car because I knew I would need the same amount of cargo space to move my stuff which means renting something larger and pricier. The shop said my car may be done before my trip but I reserved the rental anyways.

And I needed it. I called the shop the morning I was to head out and they said it was not ready but should be done on Monday. I had a good weekend but returning the rental on Tuesday morning at $430 put a nice thorn in my side. Oh and my car was not done on Monday.

On Thursday (today) I received a call from my roommate telling me that the shop called. They were finishing up with the alignment and discovered something else wrong and had to order another part. It has been over a month now and no car. I still have plans for the 4^th of July and I’m hoping it will be done by than.

I may have just cursed myself by saying that.

Simple.

The post prior to this describes a headache. The problem with a Navbar that I tried to fix many different ways with script and html and java and other methods. I even tried to change the color of the div but that didn't work.
The solution came when I put the background image into the table that holds the images. That simplified everything. With the zipper background in the table I was able to close the gap by placing another background image into the main page (34px height if you need to do the same). I now get to keep the Navbar and still have the layout I like.