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May 2018; 5 (3) ArticleOpen Access
Rituximab before and during pregnancy
A systematic review, and a case series in MS and NMOSD
Gitanjali Das, Vincent Damotte, Jeffrey M. Gelfand, Carolyn Bevan, Bruce A.C. Cree, Lynn Do, Ari J. Green, Stephen L. Hauser, Riley Bove
First published March 19, 2018, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000000453
Gitanjali Das
From the Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for the Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco.
Vincent Damotte
Jeffrey M. Gelfand
Carolyn Bevan
Bruce A.C. Cree
Lynn Do
Ari J. Green
Stephen L. Hauser
Riley Bove
Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm May 2018, 5 (3) e453; DOI: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000453
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Info & Disclosures
Objective To evaluate the safety of rituximab treatment before and during pregnancy in women with MS and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs) who may be at risk of relapses by performing a systematic literature review combined with a retrospective single-center case series.
Methods Studies were systematically identified in the PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE using the key terms "pregnancy" and "rituximab"; 22 articles were included for review (>17,000 screened). Then, patients with MS and NMOSD from 1 center (University of California, San Francisco) exposed to rituximab before conception were identified through medical record review.
Results Systematic review: We identified 102 pregnancies with rituximab use within 6 months of conception: 78 resulted in live births and 12 in spontaneous abortions. Of 54 live births with reported gestational age, 31 occurred at term (37 weeks+) and 2 before 32 weeks. When checked, B-cell counts were low in 39% of newborns and normalized within 6 months. Case series: we identified 11 pregnancies (1 ongoing) in 10 women (7 MS and 3 NMOSD) treated with rituximab within 6 months of conception. All completed pregnancies resulted in term live births of healthy newborns (1 lost to follow-up at term). No maternal relapses occurred before/during pregnancy; 1 occurred postpartum (NMOSD).
Conclusion No major safety signal was observed with rituximab use within 6 months of conception. Beyond the need for monitoring neonatal B cells, these observations support prospectively monitoring a larger patient cohort to determine whether rituximab may safely protect women with MS and NMOSD who are planning a pregnancy against relapses.
DMT=
disease-modifying therapy;
NMOSD=
neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder
Women are disproportionately affected by MS and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs), and management of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) before pregnancy represents an ongoing challenge for neurologists. No safety concerns have been identified with platform injectable DMTs,1,–,3 but discontinuation before pregnancy is typically recommended for the more potent oral and infusible DMTs. Therefore, many women may face a heightened risk of relapses during the period between DMT discontinuation and the potentially protective (in MS4,5 but not in NMOSD6,7) effects of pregnancy. This risk could be further magnified by recurrence of severe "rebound" MS disease activity after discontinuing natalizumab8,–,12 or fingolimod,13,–,16 and in fact these two DMTs appear associated with a higher risk of relapse during pregnancy in the new treatment era.
Rituximab, frequently used off-label for the treatment of MS and NMOSD,17,18 may offer distinct advantages for managing women at the time of conception. First, its biological effects (B-cell depletion) persist long after the drug is effectively eliminated (typically, 5 maximal half-lives3 each of 19–22 days or approximately 110 days19). These data suggest that women could attempt conception approximately 3.5 months after their last infusion without significant risk of fetal exposure to the monoclonal antibody, while conferring protection against MS flares throughout the pregnancy. In addition, should a woman unintentionally conceive before rituximab elimination, the risk of fetal exposure is low, as IgG1 subclass antibodies are not transferred across the placenta during the first trimester. Finally, transition to rituximab from natalizumab may confer protection against the risk of a rebound of disease activity associated with natalizumab withdrawal.20
To date, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in women with MS and NMOSD treated with rituximab are largely unreported.3,20 To bridge this gap, we performed a systematic review of the medical literature, combined with a retrospective single-center case series.
To summarize and analyze the existing literature on pregnancy outcomes in women treated with rituximab for any indication within 6 months of conception through delivery, we performed a systematic review.
Original research studies were identified from the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases. The search terms "pregnancy" and "rituximab" were used in combination to include all articles with the key words for all years (last updated July 3, 2017). Further hand searching of reference lists of obtained articles was performed.
This search yielded over 17,000 results; titles and abstracts were screened for relevance, and relevant manuscripts underwent subsequent review. Studies were excluded if they were not written in English, were reviews with no specific individual- or cohort-level data, or if mothers were exposed to rituximab more than 6 months before conception (list of citations available upon request). Twenty-two publications were included in the current review, with 102 mothers exposed to rituximab in the desired timeline (see Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram,21 figure).
Figure Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for systematic review
Data extraction and analysis
Data were extracted (G.D.) and checked (R.B.) for individual-level information relating to maternal and fetal outcomes. Most articles were case reports, a few were retrospective, and 1 was a meta-analysis of a database; none included control groups.
Retrospective single-center case series
Sample selection
To identify a cohort of women with MS or NMOSD treated with rituximab within 6 months of conception or during delivery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammation Center, we performed search of relevant medical records. Among 323 patients with CNS inflammatory disorders who treated with rituximab between August 2010 and July 2017, we identified 160 women who received rituximab infusions before the age of 50 years. Their medical records were manually reviewed to identify pregnancies occurring within 6 months of exposure to rituximab. We identified 10 women with at least 1 pregnancy occurring within the selected timeframe. These were cross-referenced with participating clinicians' individual caseloads.
Medical records were reviewed to record pregnancy outcomes (delivery or fetal loss), maternal MS or NMOSD disease activity during pregnancy and postpartum (relapses, symptoms, and medications), maternal pregnancy-related and other complications (e.g., preeclampsia), and neonatal outcomes (gestational age, delivery mode, and newborn health status).
Standard protocol approvals, registrations, and patient consents
The UCSF Committee of Human Research approved the study protocol for retrospective analysis of electronic medical record–derived MS data with no patient contact (Ref #13-11686).
We identified 102 women who became pregnant within 6 months of exposure to rituximab or who were treated with rituximab while pregnant. Of these 102 patients, 38 were described in case reports or small case series, and 64 were described in a meta-analysis22 (table 1). Medical indications for rituximab treatment included 2 cases with NMOSD, as well as lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis, and immune-mediated thrombocytopenic purpura, among others. Many mothers experienced successful medical management for their primary condition with rituximab.
Systematic review of 22 articles reporting maternal and fetal outcomes for 102 pregnancies characterized by maternal treatment with rituximab within 6 months of conception or during pregnancy
A total of 74 of the 102 pregnancies reported resulted in live births. In the 41 pregnancies from the case reports and case series, 1 fetal demise was reported at 21 weeks of gestation in a patient with a history of miscarriages23 and 1 stillbirth was reported at 27 weeks of gestation due to placental insufficiency.24 There was also 1 therapeutic abortion and 1 spontaneous abortion in a patient taking methotrexate until confirmation of pregnancy.24 In the larger meta-analysis of the global drug safety database investigating fetal outcomes in patients with rituximab exposure (64 pregnancies with 1 ongoing at the time of publication), 11 spontaneous abortions were reported, as well as 15 medical abortions.22 These mothers were often taking other medications, including methotrexate, an antifolate drug that is often used to treat ectopic pregnancies.
Newborns were delivered at term (37 weeks of gestational age or after) in 31 of the 54 live births, where gestational age was reported. None of the deliveries were severely preterm (less than 28 weeks of gestation, according to the World Health Organization guidelines), and 2 were born before 32 weeks. One mother on an rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone regimen for lymphoma underwent emergency cesarean section at 34 weeks due to fetal distress. The baby was born with a patent ductus arteriosus that was fixed the day after birth.25 Besides, the patent ductus arteriosus, the only other newborn physical abnormalities or medical conditions reported involved twins: one was born with a clubfoot and the other with erythema toxicum neonatorum. Both twins developed normally and did not have any complications.26
Neonatal B-cell depletion was found in 9 of the 23 pregnancies in which B-cell counts were measured and reported. None of these neonates experienced any infectious complications, and none were noted to experience any adverse reactions to vaccinations. All B-cell levels normalized within 6 months, some sooner.
We identified a total of 11 pregnancies from 10 patients who became pregnant within 6 months of rituximab exposure (table 2): 6 with MS and 3 with NMOSD, with pregnancy ongoing in 1 patient at the time of data collection. No patients received rituximab infusions while pregnant. No patients experienced relapses between rituximab treatment and conception.
Pregnancy and neonatal characteristics in 11 pregnancies characterized by maternal exposure to rituximab for treatment of demyelinating diseases within 6 months of conception: a single-center case series
Medical complications arose in 4 of the 10 completed pregnancies and included pregnancy-related (gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia with postpartum eclampsia) and disease-related (blurring of vision and lightheadedness at about 5 months of gestation and worsening spasticity; numbness in fingertips 2 weeks before delivery); neither of the disease-related complications was determined by the treating neurologist to represent a clinical relapse, and neither required additional medications or hospitalizations.
Of the 10 completed pregnancies, 9 resulted in term live births, with healthy children (status unknown for 1 as the mother moved out of the area and closer to familial supports for delivery). Most mothers breastfed for at least a few weeks before restarting treatment. One patient of the 8 with data for the full-year postpartum, who carried an NMOSD diagnosis, relapsed postpartum.
Rituximab, which seems to reduce relapse frequency in both MS and NMOSD, may offer significant advantages for women with MS and NMOSD who are planning a pregnancy and require ongoing DMT, given that its biological effect extends significantly beyond its pharmacokinetic half-life. Although individual variability exists in terms of the exact half-life of rituximab,27 or of any administered monoclonal antibody, an estimate of effective elimination would require 5 maximal half-lives3 each of 19–22 days or approximately 110 days.19 B-cell repletion occurs in most individuals within 8 months, but in the phase 2 study of rituximab, MS disease activity remained suppressed 1 year after a single course of treatment. However, not enough is known about pregnancy outcomes in women with MS and NMOSD who conceive after rituximab treatment to fully understand the risks and advantages of this approach.
In the current systematic review of pregnancy outcomes in women with a number of medical conditions treated with rituximab (some with severe diseases and using other concomitant medications), we calculated an overall reported rate of spontaneous abortions of 12%, and 41% of reported deliveries occurred before 37 weeks (2 before 32 weeks). Three malformations or medical conditions were reported among the 67 newborns (as a point of reference from the general population in the United States, the rate of major malformations at birth is 3%28). The primary adverse effect noted was a low neonatal B-cell count in 39% of the newborns evaluated that normalized within 6 months in all cases. Of interest, in 1 patient with NMOSD whose last treatment with 100 mg rituximab was 7 months before conception, a low B-cell percentage detected in fetal cord blood suggested that maternal rituximab treatment might influence fetal B-cell counts even after rituximab should have been completely eliminated from the maternal circulation.21
Limitations of this literature review include the retrospective nature and small size of the cases series and reports, potential under-reporting, and lack on information on potential confounders. For example, the coexisting use of glucocorticoids, antimetabolites, and other chemotherapy agents could potentially confound any causal role attributed to rituximab for these adverse events. Furthermore, there was little information on other possible confounding variables such as obstetrical or clinical disease histories, which could also influence the pregnancy course and outcome. Prospective evaluation of pregnancy outcomes, including case-control studies evaluating the rates of pregnancy loss or prematurity, as well as longer term information about children's immunologic trajectories, is required to overcome the current limitations and biases. Nonetheless, this review did not identify major concerns that would preclude treatment with rituximab within 6 months of conception in women with demyelinating diseases at risk of inflammatory activity when discontinuing other MS medications before conception.
Next, in our preliminary case series of 11 pregnancies in women with demyelinating diseases treated with rituximab within 6 months of conception, none of the patients experienced a relapse before conception or during pregnancy. Those with completed pregnancies did not experience major rebound activity after delivery; only 1 patient (NMOSD) experienced a postpartum relapse (up to 1/3 women with MS have been reported to relapse postpartum). Most of the treated patients breastfed for at least a few weeks before receiving another dose of rituximab. All children were reported to be healthy at birth and to remain healthy at follow-up.
Limitations from the current case series include the small sample size and possible bias if some pregnancies in women not receiving primary or obstetrical care in the same hospital system as our tertiary care center were not captured in the patient's medical record. However, given the complex medical decision making that typically happens at the time of conception and delivery in women with demyelinating diseases, it is likely that we identified most of the pregnancies within our rituximab-treated cohort. Furthermore, to date, regular B-cell monitoring in the mother during and after pregnancy and in the neonate has not been routinely performed in our clinic. As decreased neonatal B-cell counts were noted in the systematic review, this information would provide additional insights into the effect of rituximab intrapartum and postpartum and would allow optimization of the timing of rituximab treatment. Finally, there were no patients in our single-center case series who received rituximab during pregnancy, limiting discussion of possible effects of intrapartum maternal treatment and fetal exposure.
Currently, to treat women with demyelinating diseases during pregnancy, glatiramer acetate can be used before, and even during, pregnancy; but some therapies commonly used in MS are relatively contraindicated.29 Fingolimod, dimethyl fumarate, and teriflunomide are small molecules that could cross the placenta and potentially cause birth defects. Natalizumab treatment during pregnancy may be associated with neonatal pancytopenia,30 and natalizumab treatment discontinuation can be associated with recurrence of severe MS disease activity.31 For example, in a retrospective study evaluating 22 pregnancies after discontinuation of natalizumab, recurrence of disease activity was noted in 95.5% of the cases, despite little to no activity in the year before natalizumab discontinuation.32 Disease activity seemed more limited when conception occurred shortly after or even before discontinuation of natalizumab, with recurrence of disease activity often occurring 4–6 months after discontinuation. To our knowledge, no data on daclizumab use during pregnancy are available in humans. Like rituximab, alemtuzumab has a pharmacodynamic effect that is far longer than its pharmacokinetic half-life and theoretically could be used in women with MS who are planning pregnancy. However, alemtuzumab-treated patients are at high risk for treatment-related, de novo thyroid and other autoimmune diseases. Because maternal autoantibodies can be transmitted across the placental barrier and thereby can cause disease in the fetus or newborn, treatment with alemtuzumab before pregnancy must be approached with caution. In March 2017, ocrelizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for both relapsing and progressive MS.33 Its average half-life is 26 days—possibly shortening the preconception therapeutic window relative to rituximab. In an initial report of 9 women whose embryo/fetus was considered "exposed" to ocrelizumab (i.e., here, infusion within 3 months of conception) during the MS clinical trials, pregnancy outcomes included 1 healthy term baby, 6 elective terminations, and 2 ongoing pregnancies.34 Therefore, an unmet need for effective treatments for women living with MS and NMOSD who are considering pregnancy remains.
While awaiting prospective pregnancy and postpartum monitoring, the current systematic review and case series provide some preliminary reassurance that rituximab may offer a window of time before conception during which inflammatory activity can be mitigated, without evidence of major adverse effects during pregnancy. Longer term follow-up and a larger sample size are needed to determine the safety of rituximab before and during pregnancy in women with MS and NMOSD, and independent studies will be required to assess the potential benefits and risks of other B-cell depleting agents such as ocrelizumab in this situation.
Study concept and design: G.D., J.M.G., B.A.C.C., and R.B. Statistical analysis and interpretation of data: G.D. and R.B. Acquisition of data and interpretation of results: G.D., V.D., L.D., and R.B. Manuscript drafting and revision: G.D., V.D., J.M.G., C.B., B.A.C.C., L.D., A.G., S.H., and R.B.
Study funding
This research was supported by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Transition Award (R.B.).
G. Das reports no disclosures. V. Damotte received a travel grant from the ECTRIMS and research support from the ARSEP Foundation. J.M. Gelfand served on the scientific advisory board of Genentech; received research support to UCSF from Genentech; his spouse served on a scientific advisory board of Eli Lilly; is viewpoints editor of JAMA Neurology; consulted for Zosano, Biohaven, and Eli Lilly; and received research support to UCSF from eNeura and Allergan. C. Bevan reports no disclosures. B.A.C. Cree served as an editor of Annals of Neurology; consulted for AbbVie, Biogen, EMD Serono, GeNeuro, Novartis, and Sanofi-Genzyme; and received research support from Acorda, Celgene, Hoffman-LaRoche, MedImmune, Novartis, and Teva. L. Do reports no disclosures. A. Green served on the scientific advisory board of MedImmune, Novartis, Inception 5 Biosciences, and Bionure; served on the editorial board of JAMA Neurology and Neurology; holds a patent for Remyelination molecules and pathways; consulted for Inception 5 Sciences; received research support from Novartis Pharma OCTIMS, Inception Sciences, the NINDS, the NIA, the National MS Society, the Sherak Foundation, and the Hilton Foundation; and served as an expert witness of Mylan Pharma vs Teva Pharma. S. Hauser served on the scientific advisory board of Symbiotix, Annexon, Bionure, and Molecular Stethoscope; serves on the board of trustees of Neurona; received travel funding and speaker honoraria from F. Hoffman La Roche; receives publishing royalties from the McGraw-Hill Education, provided writing support for F. Hoffman La Roche; received research support from the NIH, National MS Society, and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. R. Bove served on the scientific advisory board of Roche-Genentech, Sanofi-Genzyme, and Novartis; received gifts from the Sherak Foundation and Akili; has a patent pending for Selective estrogen receptor modulators and remyelination; and received research support from the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, National MS Society, and Hilton Foundation. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/NN.
Funding information and disclosures are provided at the end of the article. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/NN.
The Article Processing Charge was funded by the authors.
Accepted in final form February 9, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology
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Preferences and User Experiences of Wearable Devices in Epilepsy A Systematic Review and Mixed-Methods Synthesis
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Hi, I was just wondering how happy or pleased everyone is with their lathe purchase. I am in the market for a mini lathe and after about 20 hrs of research I have come to the conclusion that a sherline lathe is a good investment.
But before I purchase I wanted to get feedback from the community about their sherline lathes. Would you buy it again?? Any problems?? How is the warranty service?? Do you wish you had purchased a different size sherline?? Did you purchase one of their offered package deals??
After over 20 years on a Sherline lathe, I figure I can give an opinion.
If you can afford it, get the long bed lathe. You may not need the capacity often but when you do, it helps. Even with the extra length, you can lift this entire lathe with one hand and put on the shelf.
If I needed a small, precision lathe I would definitely buy it again. The motor is durable, strong enough for the lathe capacity, smooth, variable speed and gets up near 2800 true rpm. I am still on the same motor and it runs the same as when it was new.
I bought the package, then added accessories over time. Back then, the package included the basics but I made an even more complete package and it was a mostly good decision. I highly recommend you buy Joe Martin's book, Tabletop Machining, and read it to see what these accessories do and to give you a better idea of what you need to get up and running. While it is a showcase for Sherline's stuff, it is well done and will teach you how their equipment is used.
The only design flaw on this lathe, at least in my experience, is the totally non-adjustable tailstock. To deal with this, Sherline sells an adjustable live center. This thing is a joke. You can spend an hour aligning things and get it to work but every time you put it back into the tailstock ram you will have to realign it. Better to make a good live center, index it to find the most accurate position and create witness marks so you can install it the same way every time. On the lathe itself, the tailstock is the one single thing I dislike.
To cut threads, you will need the screw cutting accessory package they sell - BUY IT! You will have to screw cut manually but it is capable of cutting Class 3 fits and I would not be without it.
Make, do not buy, a rear mounted parting tool post. The Sherline does not like to part from the front but it will part from the rear at very high speeds without a hitch. A P1-N blade is all you need to part anything on this lathe.
You will repeatedly hear guys tell you that you cannot make big parts on a small lathe but you can make small parts on a big lathe. In my opinion, this is naive. I have an 11" lathe as well but if I need to make a small, precision part it is far easier and faster to make it on my Sherline. It is, however, true that there is an upper limit to what a Sherline lathe can do but anything that fits on the lathe can be completed. I have worked on pieces up to 2" OD and 1-1/4" over the cross slide, without using the riser blocks. To put this in perspective, I only stepped up to a larger lathe about 4 years ago and in all that time I rarely felt limited by the Sherline lathe. Even with the larger lathe - an Austrian made Emco Super 11 CD, which ain't no slouch - I still pull the Sherline out if the part is small - it is that good, that precise.
This lathe can hold very tight tolerances; factory says about 0.003" but I know it can work into the low tenths with care. Don't think you're going to be taking big cuts but with the right tool you can easily take 0.050" deep cuts in mild steel. One nice thing is that the headstock swivels. Some might think this is a disadvantage but the Sherline headstock can be aligned precisely to the ways to produce extremely accurate cuts. Here, I'm talking about a taper-free skim cut down a 4" rod held just in the chuck. Oh, you can only get a 3/8" rod through the spindle so keep that in mind.
You will need to learn to grind HSS tools. Like all lathes, carbide tools work but not nearly as well as HSS. The lathe is too light and slow for carbide but with a properly ground HSS tool it can surpass some larger machines.
Sherline's customer service is said to be quite good. I don't know much about it - nothing I bought ever broke. Not all of their accessories are the best - that adjustable live center and their parting tool holders to name a few - but their stuff is well-made. I especially like their chucks. Don't forget that Sherline's philosophy is that anything they sell in the future will work on all their machines, which allows you to upgrade your lathe if necessary.
I also like the ER-32 chuck from Beall Tools. With good collets it will work really well on the Sherline lathe and allow you to work up close to the chuck on pieces up to 3/4" OD - very nice tool to own.
Sorry for running on and on about this lathe - those of us who know this machine also know what it can do - we get long-winded!
I have had a Sherline 4400 for about a year. It is my first lathe, so I can't really compare it to other machines. That said, I really like this machine. I can get tolerances of +/- .0005 without too much trouble.
You can get remarkably aggressive with your cuts without bogging down their little motor. It is a 90V DC continuously adjustable motor. Even at low speeds, it still has decent torque. And because it can go so slow it is very easy to use button dies in a tailstock holder to do threading under power. This is a real time saver.
As Mikey stated, the tailstock is not adjustable, so if you are doing precision turning on a thin part (1/8"or less) it can be a pain. However, I have not found the adjustable centers or chuck that hard to set up. It takes some time, but as long as you always put the tool into the tailstock ram in the same orientation you don't need to reset them.
I highly recommend the DRO option.
I also highly recommend the QCTP from A2Z CNC.
Their customer service has been great.
You are going to find that making tools to fit your Sherline machines is fairly cheap and simple, but you need a mill to do it for some tools. At some time in the future, look into a mill of some type. You don't need to go with a Sherline mill but if you do, you will find it just as capable as their lathes.
These are small machines; they will not do large, heavy pieces but for work within their envelopes they are very accurate.
Tom, build yourself a live center sometime. It will be far more accurate, more functional and simpler to use than anything Sherline makes. It would be wise to make the body of the arbor 1" longer than the MT to provide reach over the cross slide and it is a good idea to make an extended tip to accommodate small diameter work pieces. Such a project requires precision boring, turning accurate tapers and having more than a passing acquaintance with hardening and tempering so tackle it when/after you gain some experience. However, you will find this to be one of the most useful things on a Sherline lathe and it is worth the time to make it.
Other things to make are a rear-mounted parting tool post, a good scissors knurler, a T-rest with gravers and a really good boring tool holder for your QCTP. None of these things are hard to make but they will greatly improve your work or make it safer to do that work. In fact, they work so well that I'm in the process of making larger ones to fit my larger lathe to extend that lathe's capabilities.
Tom I guess before I could suggest answers to your question I would like to know what kind of work you will be doing now and in the near future.
Wow!! Thanks for your input. I am glad to see that my choice of sherline is a good decision. I will definitely be getting a longer option sherline and the DRO. Good call on the package options. I figured there would be better options in terms of tool holders and chucks, but its good that the package accessories are decent quality. Thanks for all the good information mikey. And I just bought the book on amazon.
Your replies definitely confirm my choice of NOT buying the HF 7x12. The option of buying it and taking it home the same day and machining something that night is very enticing, and sometimes I get a little impatient. But I am looking forward to getting my sherline in the mail!!
Again thanks for your wealth of knowledge. Information here is way more helpful then the reviews l have been reading.
I have the long bed Sherline lathe with DRO as well as the Sherline milling machine. I also have a couple of Boley watchmakers lathes. The cool thing is that I bought the WW collett adapter and can use my WW collets in to hold clock parts. I'm happy with the setup.
What kind of work do you plan on doing with this lathe? I know this is a hard question to answer but it is a critical one that has to do with the expected working envelope. Be sure the Sherline will meet your needs before you jump. I'm not concerned about how the lathe will perform; only if it will accommodate your expected projects. If you plan to make model engines or smaller scale stuff, then no problem. If you plan to make stuff to enable other hobbies or interests then you need to really look hard at how big a part you can make on this lathe.
So I have found some projects online that I think a sherline could handle. Most of them are from youtuber Clickspring. I became obsessed with watching him work with brass and making a clock from scratch. Actually this is how I found about sherline. He uses one quite often in his videos. And my thought was if it is good enough for this experienced machinist, it must be a pretty damn good machine.
I plan on working a lot with brass and some aluminum.
My main goal is to make what are known as mods. Mods are battery holders for mechanical vaporizers. They are basiacally a metal tube that fits an 18650 lithium ion battery. The tube or mod is almost always 22mm exterior diameter. It's a standard size in the industry. And about 90mm long. About 1mm thickness of material. (Don't think I gave that dimension correctly) one end is open to the size of the battery and threaded inside to fit a button or trigger. The other end is closed with an about 7mm threaded hole.
Forgive me I am not sure how to put into words some areas of the thing I am trying to make, I am sure I will become well versed as my adventures in machining progress.
Also I am very interested in using the lathe as a mill. I haven't done to much research into this process but I have an understanding of the concept.
There are some custom robotics applications that I would like to use the lathe for in the future but I will attempt those projects when I have a better understanding of lathes and machining.
This is good example of what I will be attempting to make.
Quick backstory, most of the Mods were made in America with US materials, then Chinese factories started copying the designs and selling them for 70% cheaper. That is where the term 'clone' comes into play. Clones are basically knock offs. My mod is made in america, the real deal. I know I could just buy a clone and save a lot of money, but I like the idea of saying I made it. Just like how I enjoy telling people that I put a new clutch, water pump, and head gasket in my truck.
Okay, Mods are no problem for a Sherline lathe. The body will fit the steady rest so you can machine the ends. When you do, you can put a piece of thick paper between the ends of the steady rest fingers (or rollers if you choose to make ball bearing tips) and the work piece, clip the paper in place so it doesn't roll off, oil the work and you'll be able to turn the piece without marking it up. The brass end cap is simple to make once you get the hang of it. None of the tolerances on Mods are really tight so they will be a good way to get into using the lathe.
You might want to look into buying some 3M Scotchbrite finishing wheels for a small buffer - stainless steel likes to scratch, especially the Chinese variety. Foredom makes an ideal tool for this - a variable speed small parts bench buffer that works perfectly for this job.
I think the lathe will also be fine for most robotics projects as they tend to be small. You are going to need a mill if you get into it, though.
Good luck with your new lathe! Oh, remember that accessorizing the lathe will often cost as much or more than the lathe itself. Just wanted to let you know that this is a very slippery slope! Go slow, be sure of what you need and make what tooling you can to save costs.
Depending on your budget you may want to consider the Sherline Mill as well, rather than trying to mill on the lathe. A lot of the tooling will be interchangeable. I have the milling attachment for my Atlas 618 and it is a pain to go thru the set up and it is not nearly as versatile as a dedicated mill. However if budget is limiting it is better than a hacksaw and a file.
Mike, do you have some pics or drawings of some of the stuff you have made for your sherline's. I have the 4400 lathe and the 5400 mill, I do not have the DRO or anything, and I just upgraded the Mill to the 15inch column. A couple of the things I'm interested in is the rear mount cutoff and the knurler. I still have the original tool posts, and have though about the QCTP from A2z. Yes you can do nice things on the Sherline, in fact if you put get the Riser block, you can raise the head up for more clearance, but you need to also raise the tool post, and if needed the tailstock also. Like most things the Riser can also be used on the mill as well. Take a look at the Toms PM #7 steam engine build and you will also se some of what he has done with it, and how it looks. Sherline's customer service is good, I had some small problems and they have done all they could to make it right and then some. Pay close attention to how you mount it as it can cause it to be out of alignment, Just like the people say about leveling the big lathes, it will let the ways flex a bit and you will not be as accurate as you want it. I know I have seen something on here about that, and I know I had a problem when I was starting out with mine. The little thing seems to have more power than I thought it would, and is a lot of fun to work with.
This is 12L14 mild steel, 1-1/4 at the cut. I am making a groove. Note the extension of the blade - I was trying to see if I could get it to chatter but couldn't - check the finish in the groove. This was turned at 1200 rpm. I later parted this off about an inch from the chuck and it came right off, no problems.
Next is an exchangeable tip live center. This tool is made from 1144 Stressproof steel, with hardended/tempered O-1 steel tips. The finish is as it came off the lathe. I made this for two key reasons - accuracy and accessing smaller diameter work. It has zero run out with the standard tip and much less than 0.00025" with the extended tip. As you can see, access to small diameters is no longer a problem.
The next one is a boring bar holder. The standard holders with the set screws that mar or otherwise damage your boring bar are also the worst way to mount a bar - it will chatter more. This holder here holds a boring bar very solidly in a finely reamed, straight hole and I recommend you make one. If you do, be sure the length of the holder is 4 times the diameter of the biggest bar you plan to use in it. You can use sleeves for smaller diameter bars. This holder is made from 6061-T6 and can take a 3/8" carbide boring bar at full extension. Larger than that will be done on my bigger lathe. The third pic is a 0.010" deep roughing cut in 1144 steel using a 1/4" Circle Machine CCBI carbide bar. I have bored a hole over 4" deep with my 3/8" bar and it had a consistent diameter all the way down and a very fine finish. None of my bars chatter in this holder.
I highly recommend you make or buy a Graver Tool Rest and make up some gravers. This was built from an article by WR Smith, a fine gentleman and a legendary Horologist. He wrote this one up in Home Machinist but plans can be purchased directly from him in the form of a booklet. He has done several books and videos that I highly recommend for all Sherline owners. The videos can be rented from Smartflix. If you ever wondered how well tooled a Sherline lathe can be, watch his videos.
For those of you who are not familiar with gravers, these tools are used in much the same way that a wood turning tool is used. The tool rest adjusts for height, distance to the work and angle to the work. It allows you to cut balls, concave cuts, and almost any shape you can imagine and it will do it in almost any metal/material, including hardened steel. If you look at the pics of the live center above you will see that the edges of the tool and tips are gently eased with gravers; you wouldn't notice it if I didn't point it out but the tool feels good in your hand, with no sharp edges. Almost every piece that comes off my lathe has been kissed with a graver in some location and I would not be without this tool. You can work with gravers up near a spinning chuck but its a bit unnerving, which is why I also recommend an ER-32 chuck for this kind of stuff.
You can buy a ready-made WR Smith tool rest from Sherline for about 5-6 times the cost to make one but it will get you up and running fast. The gravers are simply 1/8" or 3/16" square and round HSS tool bits. I recommend you only buy 1/8" bits; I almost never use the larger tools.
Finally, the knurling tool. This tool is patterned after one by Chris Heapy of the UK - search. It is made from mild steel, has 1/2" thick arms and is rigid as heck. It indexes on the edge of the cross slide and will not turn in use. It will make a full-pattern knurl in most common materials in a single pass and I haven't mis-tracked with this tool in over a decade. The arms have zero side play, yet move smoothly and easily to accommodate diameters up to about 2-1/8" OD.
Hope this gives you some ideas. If you ask me, the most important tools will be your turning tools. This is a small machine that can cut like a much bigger one with the right tool geometry. I recommend 3/8" square bits for this lathe, not 1/4"; the larger bits are far more rigid and will cut better for you.
Mike, Thanks for the information, You just gave me several new projects. I have had problems doing parting from the front, and it seems that the one you made takes care of that. do you ever use the riser block to raise the head up for bigger parts. IF so what kind of item do you use to raise the tool post and cutoff etc.
You're welcome, Ken. Once you experience a rear mounted parting tool you'll wonder what took you so long. I no longer worry about chatter when parting - in fact, I've never experienced chatter with this tool. The critical things are to get center height as close to dead on as you can and don't forget the ledge on the bottom of the post. Those two things will transform parting for you. Do not rely on Sherline's specs for center height - you have to measure your own lathe and get it dead on. Use a height gauge if you have it and then mill the bottom edge of the blade recess in the tool to that exact height.
When sharpening your parting tool, grind it square and with a 7 degree relief angle. That tool will cut easily and the edge will last for a very long time. When parting, introduce the tool lightly to the work and then slowly increase feed pressure. When you get it right the tool will cut freely with just slight resistance to your feed. Then just maintain that slight positive resistance or feel until the part falls off. Trust me; this is going to make you smile when you part a work piece.
I've only used risers once and found that while it works, it is a hassle to use. I had to fabricate a riser block for my QCTP that was fastened with screws to make a one-piece post. This results in a lever arm acting on the tool that requires lighter cuts or you get chatter. I did not like that but I got through the project successfully.
My solution to larger work pieces is a larger lathe.
The only design flaw on this lathe, at least in my experience, is the totally non-adjustable tailstock.
I too have been contemplating the Sherline lathe. Your series of posts here was quite helpful. Regarding the tailstock, have you seen the modification by Luiz Ally? He has a 5 part series on YouTube. His reason for making it adjustable was for wear but I can see how it would be of value from the start.
Hey Han, welcome to the HM Forum! And thank you for your kind words.
I remember Luiz's videos from some time ago - very cool guy. I chose not to go that route but cannot recall all of the reasons, though I remember having reservations. I took a really long look at my tailstock and found it was about 0.0008" out of horizontal alignment and a few tenths vertically. In a non-adjustable tailstock, that is a lot but considering the tolerances of mass production Sherline did fairly well. Remember that this wear is in a tailstock that was about 12+ years old at the time.
I found that I could rotate a live center to various positions radially and alter the runout, which told me that it might be possible to find one point where run out was minimal. I found it and I marked it. Then I made an exchangeable tip live center and rotated and tested it until I got the least run out and then marked the tailstock ram and the live center so I could install the live center the same way every time. It turns out that with my standard tip I get zero run out in any direction and what I guess to be about a fifth of a tenth of runout with the extended tip - maybe 0.00002. I say that because I had to interpolate readings but my tenths indicator needle barely moved off the zero with the extended tip. By rotating the center I was able to accommodate both vertical and horizontal runout to a degree that satisfied me and I never re-visited the issue.
I acknowledge that over time the tailstock will wear and things may change but if it does I will readdress it then.
I think it only fair to Sherline to mention that the tailstock, even on a stock machine, is not bad. It is no worse than most large lathes and certainly better than many. However, when you're working on a very small precision piece, even a little off seems like a lot so I fixed it.
Back when I bought my lathe I had no idea how good it was, or wasn't. Now I know that with a good operator behind it, it is an outstanding lathe for work within its envelope and worthy of your consideration, Hans.
The very first thing I did on my new sherline lathe was load a 3x3 inch 316 stainless steel bar in it and turn it down to 2.79 inches, it peeled the material off flawlessly. I also loaded a 1-1/4 x 14 inch bar of mystery steel that was at one point a industrial load bearing shaft, from my experience it was in all likelihood in excess of 1000lbs of load just to give you an idea of the kind of steel. It was turned between centers at close to the maximum rpm of the machine down to a 1 inch shaft with a difference in diameter end to end of 0.0008"
The machine is incredible for its size, you would be hard pressed to turn material of the same weight ratio to the machine on alot of larger machines.
I also highly recommend the cnc package especially if you intend on turning larger stock, as you can program it to arc in and out of the OD you are working on much like high speed milling. It's easier on the motor and produces faster material removal.


text:
<?php

namespace CarrooiTests\LabelsApp\Model\Facades;

use CarrooiTests\LabelsApp\Model\Entities\Article;
use Kdyby\Doctrine\EntityManager;
use Nette\Object;

/**
 *
 * @author David Kudera
 */
class Articles extends Object
{

	/** @var \Kdyby\Doctrine\EntityDao */
	private $dao;

	/**
	 * @param \Kdyby\Doctrine\EntityManager $em
	 */
	public function __construct(EntityManager $em)
	{
		$this->dao = $em->getRepository(Article::getClassName());
	}

	/**
	 * @return \CarrooiTests\LabelsApp\Model\Entities\Article
	 */
	public function create()
	{
		$article = new Article;

		$this->dao->getEntityManager()->persist($article)->flush();

		return $article;
	}

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Spider-Gwen Playlist You've Always Wanted
Ardo Omer March 20, 2015 March 19, 2015
We finally got our Spider-Gwen series and the first issue was fantastic! While reading it, I couldn't help but get a vibe that could only be explained as a rock and hip hop fusion. Urban angst with an arrogant bass. Of course, I decided to make you all the essential Spider-Gwen playlist for your reading enjoyment. You're welcome. This playlist was inspired by Gwen's emotional journey in Edge of The Spider-Verse #2 and Spider-Gwen #1. Both are available for purchase so…go and buy them both.
Now if you don't mind, I'll be bobbing my head now.
1. Feelin' Myself by Nicki Minaj ft Beyonce
You were just bitten by a spider. The spider just gave you awesome powers. You're feeling pretty good about yourself. With Minaj laying down the rap lyrics and Queen B singing the chorus, I dare you not to feel on fleek in life.
2. Cherry Bomb by The Runaways
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJ3qWlRebg
3. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
You lose someone you love and people blame you. How do you deal as musician? You rock out to some great songs. Cherry Bomb is the more aggressive of the tunes so I think Gwen would start with that and maybe go into a Nirvana phase with the mellow/angsty part of her dealing with feelings. Both great for our drummer girl to work crap out.
4. Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi ft MGMT
Gwen has two sides to her: Gwen Stacey and Spider-Gwen Woman. While she's drumming her pain away as Gwen Stacey, she'll need something for when she's swinging around. Pursuit of Happiness has this dreamlike element to it and yes, it has pretty uplifting lyrics but I think being a superhero does make things a bit better for her since she does help people in the process. The feelings are still there but maybe not too much in the forefront when doing something bigger than yourself in that moment.
5. Numb Encore by Linkin Park ft Jay Z
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXWj3RngKUc
Personally, I think this is Gwen's song and the song that really embodies the book's overall vibe. Jay Z remixes Linkin Park's song, Numb, and it feels like a turning point for Gwen. Will she allow the city to define her or will she show them she can be a hero despite the labels they put on her that says otherwise? I love this song.
6. Breathe By Swollen Members ft Nelly Furtado
7. Radioactive remix by Imagine Dragons ft Kendrick Lamar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M99BxFDUeh8
8. Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J
9. Bad Reputation by Joan Jett
Breathe, Radioactive remix, Mama Said Knock You Out and Bad Reputation all play a role in Gwen just being Gwen. Breathe is just great. It sounds like the kind of song you'd have in Batman Beyond or Dark Angel and adds to the urban jungle vibe I get from the comic. I love the original Radioactive track because it feels very superhero-y. Throw in Kendrick Lamar's rap and he takes the song up a notch to epic proportions. Anyone who knows me knows that my go to rap track is LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out. Another reason why I have rap tracks on this playlist is that rap is the anthem for those who live on the fringes but it also has a swaggering arrogance evident since its birth. You need that to be quippy while punching the baddies. Of course, Joan Jett's Bad Reputation is a must for a hero that everyone sees as a villain. There comes a time when you're just going to have to push it aside.
10. Face It Tiger (The Mary Janes) by Married With Sea Monsters
You can't have a playlist without The Mary Janes' hit song Face It Tiger! The real life band, Married With Sea Monsters, made an actual song based on the one we get a glimpse of in the comic. It's great. I hope we get more of this as the series progresses.
Badertorial Marketnope: The Cover That Should Not Have Been
The Hidden Message of Saga, or, Why We Can't Help But Love It
3 thoughts on "The Spider-Gwen Playlist You've Always Wanted"
Hello! I've been following your blog for a long time
now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Porter Tx!
Christa Mae says:
Just built this playlist in Spotify. Gonna read my Spider Gwen #1 tonight while listening to it 🙂
Ardo Omer says:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Capone rides his trusty steed to chat with THE LONE RANGER director Gore Verbinski!!!
I have no problem saying that I'm an admirer of nearly all of the films of director Gore Verbinski, and hell, I'll even include THE MEXICAN in that list (but probably not his first feature, MOUSEHUNT, although I haven't seen that one in ages). Without relying on an identifiable visual style, Verbinski instead adapts to each new project and creates an atmosphere that suits the material, rather than cram the material into a set look.
His take on the Japanese horror film THE RING was an incredible achievement for many reason. First, he made "PG-13" less of a dirty word in American horror by keeping the scares coming without relying on heavy gore effects. Second, for better and worse, he set the stage for many J-horror remakes in the years that followed. Verbinski's between-blockbusters character study, THE WEATHER MAN, features one of my favorite dialed-back Nicolas Cage performances in a story of a man losing hold of his life. Many of you probably haven't seen it, and I'd strongly recommend remedying that.
Then we have the first three PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films, which made more money than you can count, and also finally made Johnny Depp a commodity--and not just a fan favorite--as an actor. Say what you will about the franchise now, but as busy and over-the-top as these first three films were, they were also highly amusing, made use of an army of great actors, and introduced a generation or two to the rousing good time that is the pirate movie.
All of that being said, I still think the animated desert adventure RANGO is my favorite film from Verbinski, due in large part a great screenplay by John Logan and Depp being in top voice-actor form as the title character. But it's the photo-realistic visuals of the film that absolutely floored me; the heat and grit of the environment absolutely radiated off the screen.
And now Depp and Verbinski have teamed up again for a new adventure, or more precisely, a new take on a 75-year-old adventure known as THE LONE RANGER, which features Armie Hammer as the Ranger and Depp as his Native American partner in peacekeeping, Tonto. As much as Depp and Verbinski have been pushing THE LONE RANGER as a take on the classic tales shown from Tonto's perspective, that's not entirely accurate. We certain get more of Tonto's history than we ever have before, but the real achievement with the film is illustrating what an equal partnership the two had and how the complemented each other's abilities.
Capone: Hi. I'm from Chicago, and I have very distinct memories of when you guys were shooting THE WEATHER MAN there. I ran into your shoot a few times, and I remember seeing all the fake snow all over the ground. That was kind of amusing seeing that in the summer.
Capone: So when you're dealing with characters like this, that are so deeply engrained in, not just pop culture, but the American mythology, are your instincts more to preserve the legacy and keep what made it popular in the first place? Or did you feel more like, "If we are going to do it, we should do something different. We should deconstruct it," because there is some of that here. What were your instincts regarding that?
GV: I think you have to reinvent. When I was a teenager or 11 years old, I would sneak in and see Sergio Leone and Peckinpah movies, so the Lone Ranger was on TV with reruns. It was kind of my parent's thing. It was kind of square, very "squaresville" with the "Hi Ho Silver," and this man and this code. I found him to be very two dimensional and never got a sense that he was struggling with and deeper issue, and those Leone and Peckinpah Westerns were very much post-modern Westerns, where the gunfighter found no place for him anymore in this world, because there's an automobile, and then don't know what the hell that is, and it's coming, and corruption along with it.
So that whole disillusionment of the gunfighter was powerful stuff, and it just seemed like the Lone Ranger was so old fashioned, 2-D. So, I think reinventing it was essential, and then as I did more research, I'm like, "Oh, there's stuff here that's actually really interesting to collide into." If you took Jimmy Stewart out of LIBERTY VALANCE and you threw him in THE WILD BUNCH or DUCK, YOU SUCKER! or one of these movies, he would feel completely weird and out of place. That's a great energy, to take him arriving on this train with this belief system and throw him into a world where it doesn't work, and he has to question that and struggle with it.
Capone: It's an interesting question, because the Lone Ranger was a pure hero. He had this code about not killing people and equal justice for everyone; even having Tonto as a sidekick was such a groundbreaking thing with the TV show and certainly the radio show. He was the guy that kids would look up to, as opposed to what you're talking about, which is "Oh, he's more like us. He's more troubled and broken like we are." How do you balance that shift?
GV: I just look at it from a different perspective, which is, I was fascinated immediately by the opportunity to have this Native American and this cop shackled together as their worlds collide around them, and have the laws of man and the laws of nature, and how do they reconcile? How do they fill each other's yin and yang?" So you have essentially a buddy movie, but told from Tonto's perspective and then suddenly the landscape becomes a character in the movie, and the train becomes this violation, this line where progress is the villain really, the inevitable thing. I think it's a very contemporary issue for us. We all jump on the train and we've got our iPods and our phones and recording devices and all of this stuff, but we never ask the question "At what cost?" To me, that's the narrative.
Capone: It is really about them getting thrust into a new world. The Indian chief even says something about being obsolete.
Capone: That's a hard thing to hear, especially where the story is set in a time where maybe that's wasn't the case, but they probably did think that was the case back then.
GV: Once you cast Johnny Depp and have him be Tonto, you can't have him be irrelevant or you've miscast the movie, and it's proportionally out of balance. Once you start trying to make him relevant, and certainly the idea of him telling the story. We've all heard the story of the Lone Ranger, but you've never heard it from the guy who was there. It's much more a sort of a LITTLE BIG MAN way in.
Capone: He looks like Little Big Man in those wraparound scenes.
GV: I think once you make him narrator, to solve all of these other problems and to balance the movie and make it a two hander, all of these wonderful opportunities present themselves You may move from absurdity or action to real reference for loss, and I think that's a nice opportunity when you're going out to make this. You're going to go set sail and you're going to endeavor to make this big summer movie; you might as well work a little harder and make it be about something.
GV: I think that's an executive's job; I just try to think about it from the standpoint of, you've got people gathered around a campfire and you're trying to tell a story and you're trying to tell a good story. Sure, I'd be great if it blows up again. The only intention is to get back to tinkering, because tinkering is what created the pirate thing to blow up. You have to return to the unknown and embrace that.
Capone: In terms of the pacing of the film, I know you tease it a little bit in the beginning, but did you always intend to save the William Tell Overture for the big action set piece at the end? Really, it's like an extended remix version of it.
GV: [laughs] That's funny because Hans [Zimmer, the film's composer] hates that piece of music.
GV: Yeah, he thinks [composer Gioachino] Rossini is a hack, but even before talking to Hans, I had designed that whole sequence based around the William Tell Overture. It's the most shop-worn piece of music ever. It's on Huggies commercials, so you don't want to break it out early, and we deconstructed it, and there are fragments of it that are used as themes in other places. It was really about trying to make it accrue at the end. And he was not comfortable wearing the mask throughout the movie, and that's who he is at the end.
Capone: You saved it for that moment where he begins to own the mask? That's the commitment to being the Lone Ranger.
GV: Yeah, that's his fate now.
Capone: That makes sense. Was there anything different this time around collaborating with [Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer]? Was there a different feel to it than with the PIRATES films?
GV: It was much more in collaboration with [screenwriter] Justin Haythe on this one. [Original screenwriters and PIRATES screenwriters] Ted [Elliott] and Terry [Rossio], we talked about this briefly in 1996, and I had my version and they had their version. They were the ones who initially brought it to Bruckheimer and said, "We want to make THE LONE RANGER," and I was the one saying, "We should get Johnny to play Tonto." They had a different view and out of respect it was like, "Fine, do your thing. I'm going to do something else," and I went off to do RANGO. Then in 2010, Johnny came back and showed me this picture of him dressed up as Tonto and was like, "I love this character. We have no story, but I love this character." I said I would only do it if it was the way that I originally said, which was tell it from Tonto's perspective and not have werewolves or whatever it was going to be in those other drafts.
Capone: I was going to ask you about those werewolves.
GV: [laughs] So I just started from scratch with Justin. So Justin and I worked for 18 months on this draft, based on the image that Johnny had put forth of Tonto with a bird on his head. I was like, "Oh, we have to have the backstory with the boy Tonto and the village and the bird. How do we make it all a narrative?" So Justin was key as a partner in terms of the creation of this thing.
Capone: Alright, it was great to meet you. Thank you so much.
GV: My pleasure. Thanks, Steve.


I was out until 4 and up at 6 to catch a 10 hour Bus back into Chile. I was exhausted, but the ride was - as I've come to expect and you're probably tired of hearing - gorgeous. Patrick and I arrived in San Pedro with a head start - Frank had found us a hostel and a pair of British roommates that were fast friends. The five of us had an awesome time wandering the mellow streets of San Pedro, exploring the surrounding desert, and being too loud in our shared dorm. It's a good thing we got along so well, because I didn't make any friends by destroying people at the hostel's ping pong table.
The other highlights: Sandboarding - a ton of fun, but very different from snowboarding, and it gave me a new appreciation for chairlifts. Salt Lakes - beautiful, and surprisingly entertaining; floating in water with seven times the salinity of the ocean feels funny. Star Gazing - We got a bit unlucky with some clouds and bright moonlight, but we had a memorable astronomy lesson and some breathtaking telescopic views of saturn, the jewel box, and omega centauri.