Really?

Where I come from

We call it a 'bell'

A place to post it all

Made a couple of corkboards. The wood is Sassafras. The cork....well, that came from a different hobby.

But they don't specify what purposes

Forks and knives however, are strictly single purpose devices.

Bad software

Knocked out a birdhouse from scrap cedar while I was waiting for other projects to dry.

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Article in CIO magazine talking about how end users are dissatisfied with the user interface of traditional enterprise applications. This has been something that has bothered me since the 90's. Enterprise software interfaces seem stuck in the 1980s. Not surprisingly people are pushing back after the widespread penetration of new modes of interface being led by SmartPhone and tablets.

Companies do not focus enough on the user experience. I think Google has a pretty good grasp on the concept. Their software is pretty easy to use, no matter what it is. Look at Picassa, Sketchup, Google Earth and all their web products. You can do the basics without a complex interface, but, if you dig, there is a lot more hidden away. Intuit has long been a leader in this with Quickbooks and Quicken. The story goes, they view good UI as a way of keeping customer service costs down. If you have to call them to figure out how to do something, that call just ate up all the profits they earned from you.

Mobile should not mean 'painful'

If you try to use Marriott's website via a smartphone Marriott has decided you can only use their mobile formatted site. It's quite annoying because something as simple as finding the information about a hotel's restaurant is impossible this way. They really need to allow people to view the regular site via their mobile phones.

And they need to get rid of the orange ginger soap in the Marriott brand hotels. 

I'm rich

Some sort of class action lawsuit against Ebay from years ago. The processor got a $2 fee for my $.13 check.

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I almost got creamed the other day while driving into Washington, DC. I was in the right lane and a dump truck was in the left lane. As we rounded a curve on the 11th street bridge a shovel came flying off the truck, bounced once on the road in front of me and fell to the side of the road...missing me by about 5 feet. It would have hurt if that shovel hit.

I tried contacting the company, Fort Myer Construction, but their 'contact us' email function doesn't work. Keep an eye out for Truck 5107.

Light 'em up

So, I replaced most of the lights in the kitchen with LED replacement kits from Home Depot. Then they raised the price, so I didn't finish. I found some by Sylvania at Lowes the other day and bought those to finish. They are a lot whiter in color (3000K).

But overall, happy with the LED replacement. Tons of light, no heat and less electrical usage.

Colorado whiskey

Creepy place

Cisco, Utah is a pretty creepy place. It looks abandoned and spoooky....then you notice the satellite dishes, and the post boxes...someone must live here.

Gallery.

Dirty trip

Went to Utah over the Thanksgiving break. Spent all the time in Arches National Park and Moab. Worked out well. Had some fun, saw some rocks, did some hiking.

Red Rock Bakery & Net Cafe was great for breakfast. Moab Coffee Roasters makes great espresso.

First Humidor

My first humidor. Spanish cedar box with Bubinga veneer and Wenge inlay. It was also my first go at veneering. I have a lot to learn. The lining is all free floating 3/16" cedar as well. That Spanish Cedar really smells nice.

Installing quadrant hinges is the hardest thing I've done so far in woodworking. I had to mortise out both sides for the stop slide to fit into. I could not figure out how to do it with a full sized router, hand held drill, etc. So, I cheated and used my Festool domino machine....5 mm bit was perfect. 

Thought of the Day - Cedar chest

Last weekend I finished an outdoor cedar chest for storing our patio cushions in.

Simple box, mortised joints. The main panel of each side floats in a mortise. I left the side slats as wide as each board would allow instead of cutting them all the same width...seemed like a better use of the cedar. Aromatic cedar is pretty nice to work with. Lots of knots though that can cause some issues.

I've left it unfinished.

Tooth hunting

Went sharktooth hunting on Sunday after helping load up a half a cord of firewood.

Pretty picked over and didn't find anything special but did find 2.4 ounces of teeth. I need to come up with some way to display all the teeth I have found.

Interesting Idea

 Well, that's a different idea. Not sure who it would benefit, but hey, depending on the savings I guess a lot of people would sign up for that.

No details on whether the resultant hospital visit would be covered under this program.

Kinda gross

Outside the cafeteria. 90 degrees and sunny...dead seabird picked over by the Gulls. 

Still fascinated

I continue to be fascinated by the process of taking a rough slab of wood and turning it into usable boards.  I milled up a bunch of Eastern Cedar for a storage chest for the patio. I still have a long way to go but I learned more about milling and got a chance to adjust my jointer/planer.

Plus I made tons of great smelling chips and sawdust.

   

Almost Done

Got the roof on the doghouse today. Also build the rooftop plant stands but they're not shown. I have to trim the doors and then I'm done.

Then we have to get the dogs to use it.

Interesting Stuff

So, got some pretty neat stuff to try, Sugru. It's a moldable silicon that hardens overnight. I used the first batch to fix a fraying Apple USB cord. It worked great for this and is better than what I have tried before, liquid electrical tape. 

However, I also used it to put some feet on a granite tile to use for sharpening...not 'non-skid'...so, don't use it for non-slip feet.

Not sure what else to do with it...and I have lots of it....and it has a limited shelf life.

Fruits of labor

Spent the weekend building a doghouse. Designed to handle both dogs. It's fulled framed and insulated and covered in Western Cedar. Didn't get to the roof so that will have to come later.  Just have the 3/4" plywood that will be the foundation for it sealed and ready to go.