Magazine Cabinet Hack

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One nice thing about having a piece of inexpensive furniture, is that you don’t mind ‘hacking’ it for a secondary use.

As an example, I have a magazine side table next to my bed.

I needed to place my dreaming device The Dream Trainer directly next to the bed, for ease of use at night. However, I did not want it to be visible during the day.

I decided to see if I could cut an opening behind the top magazine rack and hinge it, so that it could be opened and closed.

First, I removed the top rack and cut the opening out.

I attached hinges to the rack, and a latch mechanism. You can see The Dream Trainer positioned inside.

I cut a hole in the side for power switch access and to route the power cord.

With the rack up, it still looks the same and can be used to hold magazines.

With the rack down, I have access to The Dream Trainer controls and attachments.

This hack is a ‘dream come true.’

Sea Lions

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Shortly after college, I was fortunate to be part of a research project studying hearing thresholds in California Sea Lions.

The California sea lion can hear both above and below water, with hearing in water to be in the range of 250 Hz to 40 KHz. Comparatively, a human’s range of hearing (in air) is in the range of 20 Hz to 20 KHz.

So, their hearing is excellent in water. This is true for most marine mammals, and why under sea noise pollution is such a destructive element, both in physiology and behavior.

Sea lions can dive to depths of up to 900 feet, and hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.

Here is a female sea lion, Bibi, at the university’s ecological research station.

A little social behavior going on at a local zoo.

This is actually a picture of a picture, taken at the Naval Undersea Museum in Washington.

A rock formation in Southern Cali, but I see a profile of a sea lion.

Working with sea lions was a wonderful experience I hope to always remember!