P Whitehouse

485: Segway

| wonko

…so I am a teacher, and I teach senior students:485SegwayTheChaps

I have, on occasions, joked about how cool it would be to own a Segway – my classes are physically far apart and getting between campuses takes time, hence the idea that a PTD (personal transport device) would be cool. I _never_ in my wildest dreams imagined my students would do anything about this pipe dream – let’s face it, we all say things in jest.485SegwayAmbush

It was an ambush, total surprise – I think I was the only one who knew nothing. It still gives me goosebumps thinking about it. I was teaching my year 11 class when the whole year 12 class arrived headed by Tom on a Segway. They had crowd-funded a second hand one as a end of year gift – wow, just wow!.485Segway

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473: Scaled Goldfish

| wonko

I am currently learning how to fold Satoshi Kamiya’s Ryu Jin 3.5.  As part of that fold, “waterbomb tesselation” scales are made and shaped. I need practice so I am looking for scaley applications of this technique.

I remember ages ago folding Davor Vinko’s catfish and seeing a video by Jo Nakashima on how to incorporate scales into the body, so I adapted Jo’s technique so I could ‘pop’ scales running in the correct direction. Continue reading →

464: Say it with Flowers

| wonko

In our previous house I had a rose garden – I planted and maintained 42 rose bushes, lovingly collected cow poo, mulched, pruned and relentlessly sprayed them to combat the Queensland climate’s unsuitability for growing them. I also was a member of the Queensland Rose Society so occasionally displayed blooms at shows and in competitions, gaining an appreciation of the ‘technical appreciation’ of a bloom’s structure, symmetry and form. Needless to say I love roses.

I have long been fascinated and frustrated by the modified Kawasaki Rose II in equal parts, it’s mathematics is mind-buggering and all the techniques I had been exploring contained so much pre-creasing that the resultant bloom is mashed and dented beyond recognition. This variation, designed by Naomiki Sato is quite the loveliest thing of this ilk on the planet at the moment in my opinion. Continue reading →

463: Going Crackers

| wonko

Contemplating buying Christmas Crackers, you gain a sense of waste and expense – they are hideously expensive and full of stuff no sane person would actually want:

…so I thought about folding some.

I am fond of a twist, and whilst exploring the maths of a hex  twist, I discovered a method for making a pentagon-based twist with rolled seam and nice turnovers that seems to do the job admirably and also naturally results from a square. Continue reading →

Hideo Komatsu’s Owl

| wonko

You find wisdom and counsel is the most unexpected of places, people can be wise beyond their years and offer you more support and encourage than they realise.

I was asked to fold an owl, simultaneously, for two completely different purposes. (1) A good mate wanted to give an Owl to someone who had helped him out with some well chosen words of wisdom. (2) During the World Origami Days event organised by MiniNeo, I was challenged to fold an Owl by Sebastien Limet. Continue reading →