23 MAY 2019 (11:36 UTC-07 Tango 06) 02 Khordad 1398/18 Ramadan 1440/19 Ji-Si 4717
Photos by me (AAron B. Hutchins)
In a nearly abandoned rail car repair shop, a father and son team are trying to combine machining techniques and artistry to create almost bulletproof family photos, and maybe a local artists’ gallery next to their machine shop.
Forgotten in the rafters
The rail car shop is located at the south end of the old town area of Pocatello, Idaho. It used to be run by Alpha Pacific Incorporated (not to be confused with the Chinese company ALPHA PACIFIC ENGINEERING & CONTRACTING, now operating out of California), now a shadow of itself called Alpha Engineers Incorporated (almost killed off by the fateful decision of city and county officials to refuse Union Pacific’s request to make Pocatello its Pacific Northwest depot).
Boiler from Illinois
There’s a lot of forgotten railroad history in the building.
Coal Bunker
This is what happens when you “Go West, young man!”
Gone skiing…no more
But that’s not what I want to write about.
Chiron FZ 08 W
The good old (relatively) German made vertical CNC (computer numerical control) machine, Chiron FZ 08 W.
Explaining how the Chiron works to a willing audience…did you catch all that?
Eric V. Erickson, and his son Andrew, are using it to replicate photos and even smart phone selfie pics onto aluminum, plexiglas, anything non-fibrous.
Some ol’ dude hicktown singer, now immortalized in aluminum
At this angle you can see the engraving better
Here’s how thick (or thin) the aluminum plate is
If you prefer, you can get cool lighting affects etching your selfie into ‘plastic’. Unfortunately it’s not ‘bulletproof’ and can get scratched up if you’re not careful with it.
With white light behind it…
…or you can be leftist liberal hip with the rainbow lighting…oooo!
The plastic has a more interesting 3D effect
But there’s a magical thing you can do with the aluminum plate, automotive grease and a glass plate!
That’s not an old timey photo of Tesla (no, not the car, the ancient electromagnetic genius), it’s an etched aluminum plate covered in grease, then a glass plate is placed over it, sandwiching the grease between the two and turning it into an almost bulletproof photo! There are other ways to color affect the aluminum, like anodizing (and maybe powder coating?), but it’ll drive up the price. Oh yeah, expect to pay around $150 for a basic engraving (more for anything extra like anodizing), so it’s only for memorializing those special family moments. I forgot to measure the examples, I think the aluminum country singer was like 5×6 inches, and the plastic selfie was maybe 9×12?
Wait, what about the art gallery? There are a couple of areas they hope to make available for local artists to display their works, one in the small foyer….
…and a larger area up the stares.
Don’t disturb Cello Cat
For much more accurate (but you might also get more confused, because these guys speak only ‘Technical’) info call Erickson Design and Machine at (928) 299-9723, or email at [email protected].
United States and German taxpayers unknowingly hosted the Program on Cyber Security Studies from December 4 to 20.
Civil Air Patrol cadets, at Offutt Air Force Base, are inspired to take part in the National Cyber Patriot Competition, an event designed to inspire students toward careers in cyber-security, or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers.
At Fort Bliss, U.S. Army personnel try out experimental man-portable electronic warfare/cyber electromagnetic equipment.
U.S. Marines and Seamen volunteer to make food for people at the Akshaya Patra, Unlimited Food for Children Centralized Kitchen in Visakhapatnam, India.
California politicians serve food to Army and Marines personnel guarding the border with Mexico.
At Anderson Air Force Base personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, British empire’s Royal Australian Air Force and silly-vilians packed 143 bundles of food, clothing and medical supplies, to be airdropped to 56 Micronesian islands throughout the Pacific.
Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Logistics Squadron, delivers a meal to a disabled resident, as part of meal-on-wheels program Kalihi.
Volunteers of America North Louisiana serve gumbo to homeless veterans during a Christmas party at the Safe Haven shelter in Shreveport.
At Barnes Air National Guard Base, the 104th Fighter Wing collect cash and food donations for local charities.
118th Wing, Tennessee Air National Guard, assemble food-boxes at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, for school children who might not get anything to eat on days school is closed because of bad weather (implying that many kids in Tennessee rely on school lunch programs to get fed).
Because The Golden State is having problems with people going hungry, the U.S. Marines conducted a 9 mile Hike for the Hungry, transporting more than 8-thousand-6-hundred pounds of non-perishable food items in their rucks!
Bring a turkey to work day? That’s what Airmen stationed at Peterson Air Force Base did, donating turkeys for a food drive to help people in southern Colorado.
Salvation Army Disaster Responders hand out bottled water and prepared food to disaster survivors in Blountstown, Florida, at a FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center following Hurricane Michael.
Volunteers with Servant Heart Disaster Relief, prepare Low Country Boil for the Apalachicola Seafood Festival to help panhandle residents gain some normalcy after Hurricane Michael.
The 3rd Battalion, 81st Armored Regiment, held a food drive for the Battle Buddy Resource Center at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Guam National Guard joined with Regular military forces, and FEMA, to deliver food, and other forms of help, to Super Typhoon Yutu ravaged Saipan.
Idaho Air National Guardsman, Technical Sergeant Mario A. Pile, doesn’t just cook-up food for fellow Guard personnel during drill weekends, he’s also the program manager for the Idaho Youth Ranch Hays House, a homeless shelter for teenagers.
U.S. Sailors help sort food at the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana as part of Shreveport/Bossier City Navy Week.
Fort Hood Soldiers volunteer to collect and separate food during the Central Texas Food for Families food drive, the one-day drive collected more than 2 million pounds of food for 20 food banks in 9 counties!
Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Sparks presents concepts for becoming better leaders to the Wyoming National Guard. Sparks currently works full-time for Central Arkansas Water, and previously worked for Tyson Foods.
B-52H Stratofortress deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, lands on the flight line in support of U.S. Strategic Command’s Bomber Task Force (BTF) in Europe at RAF Fairford, British empire England, 14MAR2019.
B-52 from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, sits on the flightline at Andersen AFB, Guam, 15JAN2019.
External fuel tank art.
B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 96th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, sits on the flightline after arriving for exercise Lightning Focus at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Darwin, British empire Australia, 29NOV2018.
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 02JUN2016.
112 Oregon Air National Guardsmen from the 142nd Fighter Wing deploying to the United States African Command (AfriCom), the United States Central Command (CentCom) and other international destinations.
