Broken Links Access Methodology (BLAM)

Facebook is a wonderful place to find interesting sources of information and pictures. There are times though that you get disconnected links or problems with accessing the referenced web site. One such site that I came across recently dealt with Jess Bell Photography.

When I clicked on the listed link from Facebook, this is as far as I got.

Most people would be stopped at this point. By using a proxy I was able to access the site, but then experienced another issue when viewing the page. The actual pictures had broken links. 

At this point I was ready to go on to the next level. For programmers in HTML, I was aware that I could look for the links manually.  By looking at the source code of the page itself I was able to find the very links to the images.

 

Still using the proxy, I would go directly to the image without all the page code.  This is much cleaner and simpler.  The end result is this image.

To many, this would seem to be a complex and laborious process.  It actually only took me a few minutes to accomplish this. 

For many sites that I favor, I would collect images for future reference then print the page as a PDF.  The PDF would be later encoded to link to the image files.  The purpose of this is that many sites that I have accessed in the past either disappear or are no longer supported by the host provider.

I have many, many old bookmarks that no longer work and I started to save a representation of the sites in preparation of this. The other tool that I would use first on much older sites would be the WayBack machine.  This is a site that also collects a snapshot of the web page during that time frame.  I have been able re-visit old web sites this way, but again, over time these also seem to fade away to make room for current site archiving.  

Built my own Drafting Table

As I was saying in a previous post, I built my own drafting table, and can still do traditional drafting on it or sketching.

I also advanced my skill sets by taking Intermediate and Advanced AutoCAD and Intergraph MicroStation. This was added to the Computer Aided Drafting (CAD)/Computer Aided Machining (CAM) and Graphics Interactive Programming Language (GRIP) that I already had under my belt. Later, Unigraphics and Visio-Technical was acquired and used in several positions.

I trained earlier to be a draftsman and did Packaging, Circuit Board Design, Electrical, Electronic, Structural, PLAT, Piping, Drainage, Storage Tanks, Ventilation, Safety Devices, Space Studies, Equipment Placements, as well as drafted Mathematical, Scientific, Technical and Experimental results obtained from physics labs.

The charts, graphs and diagrams done for the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) Physics Departments involved the Geology, Mathematics, Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics, Meteorology, and Chemistry Departments.  The results of these charts, graphs and diagrams are found in the following publications: Physical Review Letters, Journal of Chemical Physics, Applied Physics Letters, Astrophysics Journal, Geophysics, and Mathematical Review.

Other drawings that I did as the 'Physics Department Draftsperson' was the design, construction and maintenance of the physics 'black' test boxes, control panels for ionic and molecular collision chambers , and diagraming and fabricating wiring harness to liquid hydrogen and non-terrestrail atmospheres experiments. More on these drawings will appear in the Sketches Page.

The blueprint on the table is of a working steam turbine that I designed to power a student built hovercraft. I was a junior at Redmond High School (RHS) in the Industrial Arts Department (IAD) when I did this. It was during the 1969 - 1970 time frame.

The drafting arm was obtained from a McDonnell Douglas Auction for a mere pittance. The wood is from scrap lumber in my garage.  The front has a wood hinge that will enable the top to tilt from 0 to 90 degrees.  This is farther than most drafting tables which usually tilt up to 45 degrees.	The self sealing surface I purchased from Artmart.  Under the drafting surface is space to store paper, drawings or supplies that I would need. I also have a lamp that is clamped to the top edge so that I can get even lighting.
A closer look at one of the pages of the steam turbine blueprints.  This was done way back in 1969 - 1970 time frame.  Gosh, over fifty years ago!	This is a closeup of the table support that makes the tilting possible. I was going to purchase a pair of locking slides but found that no one sells them. I studied one at artmart and made a few sketches. From this, I purchased supplies from my local hardware store and constructed my own.
Mr Erickson was my teacher in Redmond High School (RHS) Industrial Arts Department (IAD).  Here he is checking the design of the steam engine that I drew when I was a junior there.