first test fit of the bottom plane of the frame. this little guy is the neighbor kid, Eddie,
who is in first grade. he thought this was the coolest erector toy set ever and could
not wait to start putting it together.

see?! he's loving it! he's quite good at putting nuts and bolts together.
(please don't accuse me of child labor. he was the one bugging me to
finish making all the parts so we could put the whole thing together!)

such concentration and determination!

the next weekend I finished all the parts except for the 3 column support pieces
and their braces. so of course Eddie said we HAD to test fit all the new parts.

I was really liking the way everything was coming together.

good thing Eddie was around to tighten down all those nuts all the way on the
"inside" of the frame.

hey, it holds it self together and feels quite sturdy.

it's not that heavy either.
(note: don't try to spin around too quickly when holding onto one of these things.)

the first stress test of the basically complete (it's still missing the columns) space frame.
test load = 1 small brown dog.
test is a success!

ok, I tested it too. very important: note my feet are at the nodes or joints of the
structure. if I was to stand in the middle of the bars they most certainly would
have bent. that's how space frames work-- light weight pieces that form a very
strong structure, but only when loaded properly.

I was wrapping up for the day when along came a toad.

he was after the crickets that were attracted by the garage lighting. there's one hiding
under that pipe!

I watched him eat about 10 crickets, and then he just chilled by the side of the garage
for a long time. he didn't seem to care at all that I was right there working away.

enough for today. I got a start on the column supports but it's getting cold and late.

it's 9pm and the toad is still chilling next to the garage wall. I guess if you're a toad
and eat 10 crickets that you need to have a bit of a rest.