Ramblings in Time and measure

On the one hand, it is great to see that I am doing a pretty good job of keeping my chisels nice and sharp.  On the other - it is amazing how much blood can come out of such a tiny little cut....

Summer, spring, summer, fall, spring, fall, fall, summer, spring, summer, spring, fall, summer, fall, summer, spring, with just a touch of winter.

and that was just Saturday...

Has anyone seen my job?  I seem to have misplaced the darn thing.  I know I had it on MOnday afternoon, around 3pm, in Redmond - but after getting home that night I am not quite sure where it has gotten to.

Ah well - if all else fails I guess I will have to get another one.  They seem to have some sort of shelf life anyways.

( )Gone on a blind date
() Donated Blood
(x) Had surgery
() Broken a bone
(x) Skipped school
(x ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
() Been to Mexico
() Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Hugged a homeless person
(x) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with Stingrays
( ) Been sailing
() Performed in public on a musical instrument
() Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Ran a marathon/or triathalon
() Sang Karaoke
() Volunteered at a soup kitchen
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch,
( ) Seen the Northern Lights
( ) Been Parasailing
() Been on TV
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x ) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) Fed an elephant
() Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Fired a gun
(x) Danced in the rain
() Been to the Opera
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Serenaded someone
( ) Seen a U.S.President in person
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
( ) Driven a race car
(x) Been to a National Museum
(x) Been to a Wax Museum
() Eaten caviar
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
() Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States (North to south)
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
(x ) Been sky diving
(x ) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Seen a falling star and made a wish
() Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
() Seen the Grand Canyon
() Seen the Statue of Liberty
(x) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
() Been on a cruise
(x) Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle
(x) Been horse back riding
() Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(x) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
() Truly believe in the power of prayer
(x) Been in a rain forest
(x) Seen whales in the ocean
() Been to Niagara Falls
(x ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Ridden on a camel
() Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
() Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(x) Been water-skiing
(x) Been snow-skiing
() Been to Westminster Abbey
() Been to the Louvre
() Been to the Taj Mahal
() Been to Rome, Italy
() Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Swam with sharks
() Been White Water Rafting
() Written a book or screen play
(x) Been in love
( ) Put a foot in the Oval office
( ) Hitchhiked
( ) Joined the Mile High Club
(x) Snorkeled
( ) Seen a person on fire
( ) Ridden a Segway

I was tlaking with someone at work this morning and they mentioned that they had gone to Fred Meyers in Bellevue and Redmond, Home Depot and Sears - all in an effort to find an A/C unit or a fan.  Nada, zilch, nothing whatsoever.  Not even any fans?  Sheesh.

What I find funny is here is this man who really wants a fan for his new house, and I get home and promptly start turning off all the fans I found on (hello - 4 fans on and no one home? silly)

I think that heat bothers me about as much as the next person, but I have always considered my ability to "put up with it" to be part of what makes me strong.  The whole - we don't need no fans, A/C, etc going on 24/ thing.   But really thinking about it - I wonder how much of that "attitude" is more about keeping people "distant" (by making myself "unique").

things that make you go hmmmmm....

This is in response to winneganfake's post on Tron: Legacy....

I was thinking this morning after playing with a "quiz" on Facebook that most of the apps on that site share a lot in common with your most common computer/internet virus.  Annoying, pervasive, somewhat invasive (questionable I suppose), and most do not really provide what they advertise. They also work their way through the Facebook community via your friends similar to how email/IM viruses work.

However, there is one exception to the comparison.  Facebook apps are at least pfront, and more polite, aout the process.  They actually ask who you would like to "infect", and you can almost always choose not to - to "skip" as it were.  I have found some where the skip link is hidden in some manner - but it is still there. 

If only all computer viruses could be so polite.

Have not taken any pictures yet - I suppose I should do that soon.  Anyways, I have started on my second guitar project; the first project being a chance to try out techniques.  For this one I am following existing plans of an 1868 small body acoustic guitar by C. Bruno (a guitar company started in 1834 in Macon, GA by Charles Bruno).  Since my interest is more towards historical guitars than modern ones, seemed like the next best choice for a project (that, and I had the plans).

So far I have...

• Bent the sides (walnut) and they are sitting in the mold waiting
• Cut out the back piece, and inlaid a strip of...inlay down the center
• Cut out and planed the soundboard (front)
  • Cut out the soundhole
  • Glued on all bracing
  • Carved half of the braces to remove weight and for tone
• Cut out and shaped strips of oak for the lining (still need to kerf strips to make them a little more flexible)

By end of htis week my goal is to have the bracing completed on botht he front and the back, and to have the kerfed linings attached to the sides.  This way I will be able to start assembling the body next week.

Whee!

Well, today I put my hand plane to work, and after some mistakes here and there, finally got the wood for new soundboard all planed down and nice looking.  Took 1/4" of spruce down to 1/8".  I really need to get some scrapers though, for some of the finish type work of smoothing the wood down.  The razor blade I ended up using started to get really hot - not to mention causing fingers to cramp up a bit.

Not a lot of fun, especially in the heat.  And this was just spruce!  What's it going to be like when I have to do something like mahagony.  You know, like when I make the neck for this guitar :)

Hey all - I just finished putting together a little test on okcupid.com - so if you are at all interested in what your SCA Combat Archetype is - give it a whirl! :)

The SCA Combat Archetype Test at HelloQuizzy

I have been working on an idea for a comic strip over the past few months, and have a couple dozen story "arcs" outlined, and the first few strips completely written out (and drawn with stick figures!!)

However, in order to take this any further I really need an artist to work with to bring everything to life, so to speak.

Interested? What, you perhaps want more info?

OK - Here is a little bit of info about main characters and first couple of strips..
( Read more... )

Wingless rocket ships, and something more.
The general architectural designs remained the same.

It could have been a mine manager's office.
There was an expression of relief on his face.

Thank you, thank you - I am here all week.

Does anyone remember HomeGrocer.com?  This concept of ordering groceries over the internet and having them delivered was certainly interesting - and the company seemed to be doing very well.  However, after they sold to ...whoever they sold to, that company crapped out.

Having groceries delivered is one thing, and for some people it would work great.  But it does not seem like the best solution for the greater Seattle area where it seems like more people are working all day, and someone may not be home to be there for delivery.  I was thinking tonight about a variation on the theme though.

Imagine you are at work all day, and you need to stop at the grocery store.  But it has been a long day at the office and you really just want to get home. 

How about going online, placing an "order" for the groceries that you need (perhaps even pay right then), and instead of the items being delivered you instead pick them up at a "drive thru" on the way home. easy to select what you want and pay, no long lines to deal with (theoretically), not to mention not having to walk through a grocery store with 2 kids fighting with each other and wanting something from every shelf they walk past....

It seems that "we" have such a fascination with the drive thru concept that this would just be a logical extension of what already exists out there.  I mean, there are drive thru banks, coffee, strippers (ok, I am referring to places like Cowgirls), dry cleaners, pharmacist, zoos (NW Trek, etc), liquor stores, wedding chapels (Vegas, of course), movies (drive in)....

Oh - and I think there are some drive thru restaurants here and there as well.


Anyways

Just to share - the image behind the cut is a mold for ukelele I am working on right now (it's sideways - sorry, was lazy).

Currently the sides have been bent and are clamped to inside of mold for shaping, etc - next step is to trim excess of top and bottom, glue in the neck and heel blocks and add reinforcement...

( There is an image here )

So - after making my first guitar AND violin (still need to post pics!), I have come to the realization that I really need some more tools.  Go figure.  But in this case some of htese are almost required. 

So I need to find some way to make or buy the following (in order of importance):

• Bandsaw
• Drill Press
• Planer (looks spelled wrong like that)
• Bending iron (for bending the sides, natch)
• Small handheld router (I have a plunge router - but need something smaller for trimming edges of back and front after everything is glued together - and for creating the channel for binding)

Anyone got a bandsaw?  :)

Y'all have dave_over  to thank for this...

Nobody refused to check Pamels's breasts so far
Tasting Katie Perry's delicious booty, want some?
Tell me, what's this?
Get downstairs, visitor!

The world is indeed a small place....after all.

Hey look - I DO remember how to post on this thing after all!

I am trying to get rid of a BUNCH of stuff - basically all of the remaining inventory from Compass (wmasupply.com), some random stuff that never made it into inventory (samples, projects, etc), and really whatever else I can find. :) Most of it is orientated towards the "medieval" (in some cases emphasis will be placed on "ish"), and will be slowly adding more stuff over the next few weeks.

Cheers!

Does anyone have an extra "pavillion", or something, that I could use as a merchant "booth"?

When I got into the office this morning I started up my computer, turned off the monitor and lights, closed the door - and proceeded to take an hour long nap in my bean bag chair.  It seems like I am always tired, but has been especially prevalent the past few days.  However, during this little time of rest, I finally acknowledged something to myself...

I am totally un-prepared for this weekend.  

I have really been playing this down at home (not like that is really fooling anyone), as I did not want to once yet again "validate"  how much of a loser I am, and that I cannot get anything done, etc....

So - just taking a little time this morning to sit in the impact of all that.  Not to beat myself up or anything, but just to really be with it.