Crystal collection

Have you ever been to a museum where they had a giant crystal the size of a wall? Have you ever wondered what kinds of minerals can fit inside your everyday home while being modest? This post will introduce you to mineral collecting as well as help you find new kinds of minerals you may not have known existed.

First off I recommend you find a type of mineral that you like, and start building your collection off from there. The reason for this is so that you have groupings of minerals, and not have a clutter of various colors that can detract the color quality of each mineral. At this point, you may be wondering why I have been using the term mineral rather then crystal. This guide will show you methods on collecting crystals, as well as some metals, and optical minerals, and polished minerals. Because of that, I will be using minerals to show that there are multiple things you can collect.

                                                                                                    Clockwise from purple, Amethyst,     

                                                                                                  Rutilated Quartz, Rose Quartz, Citrine, Quartz(Normal) , Smokey Quartz,

Crystal guide                                                                          

If you like crystals more then the other, then start out with a crystal that you like and start looking out for crystals at various bead shops, or hobby stores. I get most of my crystals at Von's Bead and Card shop in West Lafyette, but you can find some in various hobby and craft stores as decorations. There are two common ways you can go about your collection. You can pick crystals of a very similar color, or you can pick crystals of a similar structure. When I say similar structure, I am referring to the general makeup of the crystal, and picking crystals that vary only slightly from each other. For instance the image to the right are all variations of quartz that have an additional element added to the base make up.

Metal Guide                                                             

Top row Pyrite 

                                                                                   Left to right: Bismuth, Copper, Galena

While collecting metal might not seem the most prudent choice of mineral collecting, it is surprisingly as in depth as collecting crystals, and can be far more random in color quality. Metals, if cooled properly, can actually form crystals of their own and make intricate patterns that vary per metal. Bismuth when cooled properly will make very shiny rainbow colored material that varies in color. A more dangerous metal, but vibrant, would be Galena. Galena may sound foreign at first, but when you pick up a sample you may notice a familiarity with another very heavy toxic metal. Galena is a combination of oxygen and Lead, which gives it a a very nice blue shine to it, and is noticeable by its very dense nature. A picture of Galena, Bismuth, and Pyrite is to the right with Bismuth being the mineral on the bottom left and Galena on the bottom right. There is also a rounded ball of copper in the middle.

                                                      

Optical Guide                                                                                                 Calcite

You may be aware that several evil masterminds used crystals to power their lasers, but did you know there are many crystals that change appearance just by the angle of light? The most common crystal that does this would be Tiger's Eye, and on the picture to the right is a sample of Tigers eye (the brown and gold one) and other types such as Hawk and Bull's Eye. Another type that changes as you look at it would be Labradorite, which changes light very similarly to Tiger's Eye, but can change to every color of the rainbow rather then just one shade per variant. There are some crystals that change what you actually see, the most common being Calcite. It appears to create a double image in the crystal which is most clearly demonstrated by placing on a page of lettering. Another optical crystal type is called Florescent crystals. These crystals will glow under black light, and Phosphorus crystals will glow after being exposed to black light. Examples of these crystals are shown in the images below.

1. 

 Left image: Tigers Eye, Labradorite in corner

Right images: Mineral with Black light on then off                 

After seeing the various types, don't that you are limited by only these types. There are plenty of other minerals that you can collect, and each one has their own superficial beauty, after all everyone has their own tastes in how things should look. Also don't expect to find the best samples when you find a shop that sells crystals. Many times they shop will have one or two very good minerals, and then the rest would be mediocre. There are a lot of people who collect minerals, and the people that collect the most unique and larger ones will travel, and then those people will sell smaller minerals to those shops. This means that a lot of times those shops will be picked clean. Don't let that discourage you from starting your collection as many crystals that look amazing, were actually really inexpensive and fairly common to find. Most places that sell minerals will have a quartz, pyrite, and Tiger's Eye section set aside. So don't fret if you do not see any of the crystals above, as it takes more specialized shops to carry things like florescent and phosphorescent minerals.

Linux 101

Do you just use your computer for email, Facebook, and YouTube? Do you want learn how to install your operating system for free? Do you not want to pay for Microsoft office, or deal with the possibility of viruses popping up from every email? Do you mainly play flash, or java games? If you answered yes to any of these questions you might be surprised to know that Linux can solve all of these questions for you. Before you think that Linux can solve all your problems, there are a few things you should pay attention to first.

• Linux cannot run shock-wave programs
• Many PC games do not have Linux capability (this excludes flash, and java games)
• Viruses can happen on any system, but each Linux computer needs a custom virus, so its not 100% virus proof
• Most newer graphics cards are supported, but several graphics cards may need work before they will work. (the only time you will need graphic cards is mostly to play computer games
• You may have to use Google a lot to get things to work if you want to to something more complex
• Windows programs will not work on Linux, but many companies have a Linux version of what you are trying to download.
• USB wireless adapters are very difficult to get working with Linux

If you feel that the above things will not affect your computer using abilities, then you could use Linux. I would recommend using a laptop to initially try out Linux, as most laptops are fully built to work on every operating system without much extra work. If you want to use a desktop, you may run into problems with your internet unless you are using a cable connection rather then a wireless connection.

Getting Linux

If you type into Google "download Linux" you may get slightly confused as multiple Linux platforms are available. The easiest Linux flavor, operating system, and most widely used is currently Ubuntu. The reason Ubuntu is the most popular is because of the massive community that has been backing it, as well as troubleshooting all different problems for new users. To download Ubuntu, you need to go to this link here   -> Ubuntu Download. Select Ubuntu 12.04, as the other option is a build that is newer, and does not as as much troubleshooting behind it yet. If you have a six year old computer select 32 bit, otherwise choose 64 bit. Now the website will say that you can pay for Linux if you would like to contribute to the further development of the operating system, but you can always hit the not now option and start downloading for free. This download will take a while to work, so while it is downloading find a USB flash drive that you can store at least 4 GB of data on. If you don't have one then you can use a re-writable disk.

Flash Drive Install

While you are downloading your OS file, go to this website ->Linux USB creator and download the USB live creator program. What this does is allow you to put the file you download onto the flash drive of your choosing. Make sure that the flash drive you want to put Ubuntu on can be formatted, wiped of all data, because it will have to be formatted to be used to install Ubuntu. After downloading the creator, go ahead and install it. When it has finished, you should hopefully have your operation system fully downloaded, if not be patient and wait for it to finish. When you launch it, the program should look like this image to the right. Step one is asking what drive you want to make the Ubuntu launcher, select your flash drive and move to step 2. Click the ISO button, and select your downloaded Ubuntu Iso file. Skip step 3 and 4 unless you have been told otherwise by another user as these are advanced options. Click the lightning bolt to start it, then move on to the installation segment.

CD install

Right click on the file, and select open with Microsoft disc burner. Insert the re-writable disk, and start burning. When it has completed move on to the installation guide below.

Ubuntu Installation Guide

With either the CD or flash drive inserted into your computer, reboot the system. If you used the CD a prompt should say to press any key to boot from disk, if not or you used a flash drive you may need to go through the BIOS to allow the installation to start. To enter bios simply press F1 or F2 when the computer is booting. You will then get an image similar to this with other tabs next to it. Use the arrow keys to go to the boot section and use the change value keys to position either your cdrom/dvd player to first for CD installation, or Removable Disk to first for flash drive installation. After you have finished press F10, and it should give you the press any key prompt.

After getting through the BIOS, you should see a screen similar to this. You will want to select Install Ubuntu, or try Ubuntu to see if you will like the Operating system first. The second option will run Ubuntu off of the CD or the Flash drive, this will make the system run very slowly and may deter you from continuing to install. After you hit install the program will ask you how you want to install Ubuntu. Select "Install Ubuntu alongside them" if you want to have windows after you have installed Ubuntu. It will then prompt you to allocate the amount of space you will give Ubuntu. I recommend at least 30 GB, or 30000 MB as the program will say.  Ubuntu makes it fairly simple to install, and it will then ask you for a couple of details about the Operating system. The first text box will be your computer name which can be just about anything. As you type your name you will notice that the computer name box will also be filled out. You don't need to worry about this as it's just assigning your computers identity for the Operating system. Then you need to type a username that everyone will see, and then create a password. Hit continue and follow the rest of the steps in the installation process. When it has finished it will ask to reboot, and the installation CD or flash drive be removed from the computer. When you reboot a menu should pop up and you can select to boot either Windows, or Ubuntu. Select Ubuntu and type in your password. You now have a Linux operable machine. Ubuntu will come with several programs already that will speed up your installation of your system, but you should update your system before you decide to check out what they are. when on your desktop press ctr-alt-t. This will bring up a black box called terminal, this is basically the "run" program in Windows. Type "sudo apt-get update" and hit enter. You will be prompted to type your password, but when you type, the cursor will not move, so don't get freaked out. When you type your password and hit enter a whole bunch of text will fly by, it will occasionally verify to install something, hit the y key to continue. When it has finished, another program should pop up and tell you exactly how many updates you have. Hit yes, and let the updates install then restart your computer. Unlike Windows, the updates that Ubuntu has can be installed while doing other things on your system, and will be fully installed when you shut down your computer. After the updates are finished, you have a fully functional Ubuntu machine. If you want to install other programs open up the software center program and search by name for the program you want to install. Below is a list of the programs that Ubuntu will already come with, and a list you should install through the Software Center.

Programs Ubuntu comes with

• Mozilla Firefox
• Libre Office (Microsoft Word Programs)
• A more functional Video player

Programs you should install through software center

• Adobe Flash Player
• Iced Tea (this is what will allow java to work in Firefox)

Programs to download through the internet

• Ubuntu Tweak (this program will allow you to customize the Ubuntu layout far easier and faster then the default manner)

Candy Art

    Have you ever seen a mosaic of skittles and wondered how they do it? Well I'm going to explain how some people will do it in such a way that even someone that has never done an artistic project can make it look fantastic. First off you will need to find an image of a character that you want to make out of candy. I would recommend picking a character with only one or two colors for the first time so it's easy to make. For the first example we will use this image of Kirby.

Now you are probably wondering where to start with this project. The first thing you need to do is figure out what colors you are going to use for each part of the picture. Then the next question would be, where do I get the colors? Well the picture below will show the easiest colors to get quickly, and in large amounts.

Now to make it really easy to place skittles, I recommend printing of a diagram where you will be placing the skittles. When you have the image you want to do, open it up in any paint program. Then using the fill tool, make every part of the image white. This is to save ink, because you will need to print at a fairly large scale as mentioned below. Leave the borders and any other area that you would like to match colors up to. When you feel you have whited out all the areas you think it would be necessary, look at the print preview tab of your software. For an image to be easy to place skittles, you need to make it large enough so that a single skittle will fit on a borderline. If the image has very little borders or lines close together, you can print it off at a 3x3 page area and get away with it. This is another reason why the image you choose should be simple, because you might get overwhelmed by the size you need to print it off as. The Kirby image was done at a 3x4 page size because the dimensions would only show on a 2x2 printing, so it had to be enlarged for better detailing.

After you have printed off the image, you need to cut off the white strips off the edges, then tape the image together. I recommend using packaging tape because you will use a lot of it. Make sure every corner, and edges has a piece of tape on it so the paper does not start to curl upwards and move any pieces of candy you have already placed. After the image is all taped together similarly to the image to the left, begin placing your selected skittles, or M&M's. I recommend starting around details first, in this case the eyes, then filling in the rest of the image. This makes it easier to adjust the skittles than if you had filled in the rest first and need to remove a skittle that is completely encompassed by other skittles.

While doing the image, it is important to look at the whole picture and make sure the shades that you selected work for the color you want it to represent. For instance, we used both of the pink M&M's from the Valentine's day candy for the outline, and shading. If you don't want to wait until February to make this image, you can always go to a party city, and get specific color M&M's, though you won't necessarily need the black M&M's because if you look at the easy to obtain colors, the brown M&M is very close to black, and you can simply buy a large bag of M&M's and sort them out for a lot less money. When you think you have finished the details, and it looks fairly good. Take a picture and look at it through the smaller screen. Because it is smaller, you will notice it looks a lot closer to the image you started from. You will also notice small details that can be fixed before you are fully finished. After you can't see anymore problems take a final picture.

Now that you have a finished picture, and you send it to your friends saying how amazing this looks. What do you do with the skittles and M&M's? Well you can either eat them, or save them for another possible image. If you want to save them, simply get some zip lock containers and sort the skittles into each container. I would recommend investing in an airtight container as it could draw bugs if left out on its own.

Some Tips to Consider

• Always have skittles or M&M's out you can eat
• Never eat older M&M's
• If you want to munch on a skittle, eat a red or pink one, they are in every pack
• Have a friend help you, speeds it up and gives you something to talk about
• Never cool the skittles, or work with sweaty hands
• Don't leave the candy near the sun as it will fade the colors
• Always sort out the candy when you are done
• Try to find vectors of the image you want to do (a vector is an image that can be enlarged without distortion, thus making it good for printing at different sizes)
• Each skittle bag has a unique shade of green, so keep those sorted out per pack
• Try to do all images during the day for better ambient light

Some Inspirational Images

Sources
Original Kirby image taken from here ->http://chaodam.deviantart.com/art/Vector-Kirby-35423071
Skittle Images taken from here ->http://grudgeholder.deviantart.com/