Garden - Typical Haul
This is a shot what is a 'typical' weekly haul from the garden. It's been consistently this much every week for about the last five or six weeks. As you can imagine, I am drowning in produce - especially hot peppers. My freezer is full almost to overflowing with bags and bags of hot peppers. I need to decide what I am going to do with all of them. Going to pickle some, make some salsa with others, make a chile, and after that, I may have to get creative. Any ideas?
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 4, 2010 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
Lathe Project - Bowl
Here's another project I've been working on using the lathe - a small bowl. I actually started this project several weeks ago, but have been sidetracked by other projects in the meantime. So it isn't really any further along yet than you see here. All I've done so far is rough out the shape of the outside of the bowl. But what I like about these pictures is the before-and-after effect. You can see how much of the wood blank gets turned into shavings even from just this first step. It was fun to do, so far. But I can tell I've got a lot to learn. I kept getting 'catches' with my gouge. I don't know if that's because of my technique, or because my chisel was starting to get dull. I've sharpened all of my chisels since then. So once I start working on this bowl again, I'll have a better idea where the problem was.
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 17, 2010 02:37 PM | Comments (0)
Marble Machine
I haven't posted anything about it yet, but I think a lot of you have heard about it already, as Sean talks about it constantly. He and I have been building a modular marble machine based on plans from this site. It's taken a long time, and it still isn't finished - but it's definitely in a 'playable' state right now. Next time you're visiting, ask Sean if you can see it. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to oblige!
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 17, 2010 02:31 PM | Comments (0)
Lathe Project - Pens
I've been noodling around on the lathe at night over the last week, and here's what I've made. These are pretty fun to make. They're a good project for someone new to the lathe, because they are pretty easy to make, and I can take one from a raw blank to a finished pen in a single evening. Plus they're a good way to use up some small offcuts of figured wood that I can't really use for anything else.
Posted under Projects by Joel on July 31, 2010 11:58 AM | Comments (0)
First Try with the Lathe
Yesterday afternoon, I tried the lathe for the first time. Wasn't really trying to make anything specific - just following the book I've got, and tried practicing with several different chisels and techniques. When I was done, I sanded it and gave it to Carter to play with. Planning to try to make a pen next - might start on it tonight.
Posted under Projects by Joel on July 26, 2010 07:54 AM | Comments (0)
Workshop
Over the past several weeks, I've re-arranged, re-vamped, and cleaned up the workshop. I added mobile bases to everything, so I can reconfigure the shop for whatever activity I'm trying to perform, and then park all the tools tightly in the corner of the shop when I'm done, which leaves most of the garage free. Two weeks ago, I finally got my review at work, and my raise was retroactive, so I got a nice little unexpected bonus that I used to finally get the last three major tools my shop was missing - a planer, jointer, and lathe. Now I've got every big tool I should need for a long time. I finally got all my clamps collected together and hung in one place on the wall, which is a lot easier than the digging around through cardboard boxes and desk drawers that I was doing before. I also finally did some work on the router table. I bought the lift almost a year and a half ago, but didn't get around to starting to build the table until just recently. The only things left to finish it are to install the router in the lift, and a dust collection port, hook up the electrical safety switch, and assemble the mobile base. The other big thing I did this past weekend was to build a bench for the lathe. It's not quite finished - I still need to add a face frame and drawers for my chisels, chucks, and the like. But it's still useable right now. I built the top from three layers of 3/4" MDF, banded with hardwood and topped with laminate - so it's super-heavy and super-strong. I also added another 150 pounds of sand to the bottom of the bench (not shown - I did that right after I took this picture), to make sure the whole thing is rock-solid and vibration-free.
Posted under Projects by Joel on July 26, 2010 07:36 AM | Comments (0)
Status of the Garden, July 2010
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So, mixed - but better - results again this year, so far. This year I smartened up and starting fertilizing everything once a week, with excellent results. Here's the rundown: Bulb onions, garlic, cucumbers: bust - last year it was too much rain that killed them. This year, it was too little. Next year I will plant them closer to the house so I can reach them with the hose. Tomatoes: Success! We've eaten a few dozen of the cherry tomatoes already, and several of the larger tomatoes are only a few days from being picked. Hot Peppers: Unmitigated success! Growing several varities this year, to see what I like best - Jalapeno, Serrano, Pablo Ancho, Cayenne, Hot Banana, Thai, Anahiem, and Chili Red. I've already had to start pickling the jalapenos - they are growing way too fast for me to keep up with eating them, even when I give a bunch away. |
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Posted under Projects by Joel on July 26, 2010 07:20 AM | Comments (0)
Maple Syrup - Boil Down
I don't have any pictures yet of the finished syrup, but the past two Sundays in a row I've boiled down that week's sap into some delicious maple syrup. It's nice and sweet and maple-y, and it's got a background flavor that I would swear tastes just like vanilla. It turns out that the boiling down takes a long time. But all told we've managed to produce about 3 pints of syrup to date. If the weather keeps doing what it's doing, I'll probably get another 1.5 - 2 pints this weekend. If we end up with more that we can use, I think I might try making some maple sugar candy sometime soon.
Posted under Projects by Joel on February 24, 2010 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
Maple Syrup - Tapping
Last fall, I decided that I would try to tap some of maple trees this year, and see if we can make some homemade maple syrup. Last week, I tapped the trees. Instead of the traditional splies-and-bucket approach, I'm trying something I saw others in the area do last year - covered 5-gallon buckets with polyethylene tubing. I tapped the trees on Wednesday and Thursday night, and when I checked yesterday afternoon there was already sap in a some of the buckets. Not a ton yet, but it's a start. And it's still pretty early in the season. If there is enough sap in the buckets when I check today, our first syrup-production experiment may take place this afternoon. The sap has to be boiled down into syrup within 7 days of collection, so I can't just let it accumulate all season. And the sap-to-finished-syrup ratio is about 40-to-1, so we may end up with about a thimble-full of syrup, but it will be fun anyway.
Posted under Projects by Joel on February 14, 2010 07:33 AM | Comments (0)
Another Paper Portrait
Another paper portrait - this one was a gift for my mom for her 50th birthday. It's from a photo of her, her brother, and her sister when they were all kids. Mom is the one on the right. This was by far the most complicated one I've done so far, and also the largest. It took a lot longer than the others, but it was a lot of fun to do.
Posted under Projects by Joel on February 11, 2010 08:42 PM | Comments (0)
Birthday T-shirts
I got a screenprinting kit for Christmas (thanks, Mom!), and tried it out by making t-shirts for Sean's birthday party. I got some clearance t-shirts at Wally's for only a couple of bucks apiece, and made some Mario-themed shirts for the kids' goodie-boxes. I forgot to take a picture of a finished shirt, but I'll do that soon. Here are a few pictures of the screen itself, that I used to print the shirts.
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 27, 2010 07:22 AM | Comments (0)
More Paper Portraits
Here are some more paper portraits that I did as Christmas presents. I was waiting until after the gifts had been opened before posting the pics, so as not to spoil any surprises. I also gave another pair to my sister, but I forgot to take a picture of them before I brought them to her place. As soon as I can get her to take a photo and send it to me, I'll post it.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 28, 2009 07:19 AM | Comments (0)
More High School Drawings
While looking for old yearbooks and such in my Mom's attic, I found some more old drawings from high school. I still have no idea what happened to the bulk of that stuff, but I scanned what I found for you all to see. These days, what I mostly draw are Mario-related characters on Sean's wall. But someday I'd like to start drawing more seriously again.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 17, 2009 07:27 AM | Comments (0)
Paper Portraits
I tried a new project over the long weekend - paper-cut portraits. It's basically just cut and layered paper. I had seen a tutorial on a great blog I read called DudeCraft. So I tried it with a couple of my favorite photos of the kids. I think they came out pretty good - I may try some more. I've been looking for a creative outlet that I can do at night on the weekends after Lori goes to bed. Something to get me away from the computer, but that doesn't make a lot of noise. I don't know how long this will stay interesting for me, but so far I find it very relaxing and enjoyable.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 1, 2009 10:21 AM | Comments (2)
Sean's Drawings: Home
Sean drew this a couple of days ago - it's him, next to the house. The house is complete with windows, chimney, and a front door (with a doorknob and deadbolt). So cute.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 1, 2009 07:25 AM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - Mommy
Sean finally drew a picture of Mommy. This is also the first one we've gotten him to pose with. I love his semi-evil grin.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 6, 2009 10:57 PM | Comments (0)
Carter's Blanket
On Sunday, I finished Carter's blanket. Just like Sean's, it is made from all of her old t-shirts. It came out good enough, I suppose, but not as good as Sean's. In order to make her's large enough to cover her (infant t-shirts are pretty small, even though I had a decent-sized pile), I had to use pieces of a polka-dotted purple sheet as 'filler' between the t-shirt tiles. But trying to sew jersey material to a cotton sheet was a huge pain the rumpus. All-in-all, though, I'm sure Carter loves it - and that's all that really matters.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 27, 2009 06:56 AM | Comments (0)
Dinosaurs!
Carter and I were out at Michael's (the store) last weekend, when I came across some of these wooden-bone dinosaur kits. Does anybody else remember doing these as a kid? A grabbed a stack to do with Sean - ther were about a dollar apiece, and I can't resist a deal like that. We made the Triceratops Sunday night, and had a blast. A brief aside about this picture, though: I think it's hilarious that when I asked him to smile for me, he technically did - but his eyes are still fixed on the computer screen. Heh.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 21, 2009 07:03 AM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - The Two of Us
This time Sean drew the two of us together. I'm the tall one, in case you couldn't guess. I love the grumpy look he drew on himself - he really captured reality with that one. Heh.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 18, 2009 06:44 AM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - Friendly Spider
Another drawing Sean did for me. He says that it is a "friendly spider". He excercised a little of his 'artistic license' with the leg count, I think. :)
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 16, 2009 06:51 AM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - Self-Portrait
Here is Sean's self-portrait. I love that the eyes are starting to get more sophisticated than just dots.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 14, 2009 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
Carving Pumpkins
A week or so ago, we carved a pair of Jack-o-Lanterns for the porch. The kids favorite part was pulling out all of the pumpkin guts. They don't often get a chance to get super-messy on purpose, so they really got a kick out of it. Lori and I helped them with some of the actual carving - although we let them do a lot of it. It's rained a fair bit this week though, so they're starting to grow some mold inside. We might have to toss them on the compost heap and carve some new ones before Halloween.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 9, 2009 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawing - Gargamel
Sean drew this sometime last week. Lori and the kids brought home a Smurf video from the library, and Sean really likes Gargamel. You can see that he even got the hair right, and he drew his body as a long rectangle because he wears that robe. And I think the arch shape around the top is supposed to be the stones that make up the arched entrance to Gargamel's tower/castle thing.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 3, 2009 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
T-Shirt Blanket
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I saw an idea on the Make Magazine blog, where someone made a quilt out of old t-shirts. By a happy circumstance, I had just noticed three big bags of the kids old clothes that we were planning to give to Goodwill. What you see here is the blanket I made for Sean (Carter's is up next). He asks me to put it on him every night at bedtime, and we talk about the shirts that were used to make it, and what he remembers about them. When I had first finished it, Carter and I were laying under it on his bed and he read us a goodnight story, as you can see to the right. |
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Posted under Projects by Joel on September 18, 2009 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
Breaking Garden News...
Two bits of new garden news:1: My hot peppers appear to be very hot. This is good news. :) I plan to pickle a few jars worth tomorrow.
2: My oddly-round cucumbers turn out to be cantaloupes. The seed packet was apparently mislabeled. So now I'm just waiting for them to get large enough to eat. (Note to self: Under-ripe cantaloupe tastes just like cucumber.)
That is all. Carry on.
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 11, 2009 11:44 PM | Comments (0)
Status of the Garden
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So, mixed results from the garden so far this year. Here's the rundown: Bulb onions: bust - too much rain in June, they rotted in the ground. Will try again next year. Bunching onions: semi-success - doing awesome, but we don't eat that many. So they just sit out there, taunting me. Won't plant next year. Carrots: potential success - they are doing great, but growing slowly. Will plant again next year, in a sunnier spot. Garlic: bust - see bulb onions. Will try again this fall. Tomatoes: likely failure - Were doing incredible. Have started dying - might be bacterial wilt. Will try again. Cucumbers: guarded success - Doing great - except that they are perfectly round. Picked and ate one - delicious anyway. Will plant again. Hot Peppers: success - Growing well. Can't wait for harvest - hopefully no frost before then. Will plant again. |
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Posted under Projects by Joel on August 28, 2009 12:23 PM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - Alien
Sean drew this for me randomly the other day. He says it's an alien in a spaceship - and he didn't even need to tell me what it was, I could tell. I wish he would draw more. He really seems to have some talent there. I can't wait to see his artwork when he's older, if he decides to pursue it.
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 23, 2009 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
Fake Albums
The Make Magazine blog had an article recently about making up fake albums in a fun way. The gist of it is this (quoted straight from their site):
1. Go to Wikipedia and hit “random” and the first article you get is the name of your band.
2. Go to “Random Quotations”. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page will be the title of your new album.
3. Go to Flickr and click on “Explore the Last Seven Days”. The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Here's the one that I came up with when I tried it: The new album from Innocent Venus, titled "Sane Beyond a Reasonable Doubt". Eerily believable, isn't it?
Posted under Projects by Joel on April 24, 2009 06:55 AM | Comments (0)
HTPC Follow-Up
Well, it's been a few months since we started using the HTPC, and the verdict is in - we love it. It passed the wife-acceptance-test, which is the critical tipping point for any geeky husband to get one of his projects into the living room. It's funny though - we are using it differently than I had anticipated. Originally, I figured that the features we would use the most would be games (for me) and movies (for Lori). But it turns out that the feature that gets the heaviest workout is recording shows for the kids. We has actually turned out to be a lifesaver for our bedtime routine - I could only have watched the same dozen or so "goodnight shows" so much longer before I would have snapped. Now, we've increased the size of our library of kid's shows dramitically. But the feature that Lori and I are having the hardest time adjusting to is the fact that we can pause live TV. It must just be all those years on conditioning - we still wait for commercials if we need to get up for something. And on the very rare occasion that we do remember that we can pause, we both feel so high-tech and futuristic, even though any redneck with a TiVO has been doing this for a long time.Posted under Projects by Joel on December 9, 2008 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
Blueberry Jam
Two Saturdays ago, while Lori and Carter were out shopping, Sean and I made another attempt at blueberry jam. Sean had a great time, as you can see. And this batch turned out much better than the last one, which was rock-hard once it cooled.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 8, 2008 02:21 PM | Comments (0)
Scrollsaw Cart
I've been working on building some rolling carts for the workshop. The idea is to get all of my tools mobile, so that I can easily reconfigure the workshop for whatever project I am currently working on. Building all these carts will also give me a nice amount of storage space, as well - so maybe I won't have to rely so heavily on cabinets. They're cheap and flimsy, and I'd rather get rid of them if I can. And the best side effect of getting everything mobile will be that in the winter I should be able to roll the whole shop over to one side, and maybe have enough space to fit the van in the garage. That would sure make life easier for Lori and the kids.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 5, 2008 05:48 AM | Comments (0)
Band-Saw Box #2
Once upon a time, I built a band-saw jewelry box, and mentioned how I wanted to make more. That was almost three years ago. It turns out that I actually did make more - or at least one more. I went back and checked, but for some reason I never posted pics of this box after I had "finished" it. If I remember right, I was finishing it up (in Texas) right before I got the new job offer and we had to start getting ready to move. So here are a couple of seriously belated pictures of this box. And not to sound facetious, but I really do hope to make several more of these someday.
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 1, 2008 06:36 AM | Comments (0)
We Be Jammin'
Over the last couple of weekends, I've made batches of both strawberry and raspberry jam. Both are certified delicious! I think I will be making another batch of each so that we'll have some to give away at Christmas. Sean helped me with both batches. He loves to help me cook, and he gets so proud when Lori makes him a sandwich with the jam he made. We're planning to make some blueberry jam over the long Thanksgiving weekend. I hope it goes well this time. We tried blueberry jam a couple of weeks ago, but overcooked it. Once it had cooled in the jars, it was as hard as a rock.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 27, 2008 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
Batman's Roadtrip
This is the last of the things I found on those old backup CDs. When I took a roadtrip a few years ago, I took a Batman action figure along with me, figuring I could pose him in funny places, and put a "Batman's Roadtrip" section on my old website. I forgot to snag a picture of him in half the places I visited, but I did manage to get a few - as you can see below. In the first shot, Batman is expressing his ire at the rain that thwarted his planned hike. The second shot was taken at a lake in Arkansas whose name escapes me. The third shot is Batman just chilling at the hotel, and the final two shots were taken atop Mount Carrigain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 21, 2008 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
Happy Head Horde
Yet another discovery made while digging through old backup CDs. This was a little project I had started, but it never really got off of the ground. The plan was to start a webcomic using these action figures. I was going to take photos of them, and then add in speech bubbles and Batman-style action messages and put it all on the web. The good guys you see below were going to be called "The Happy Head Horde". The guy with the red fists was called "Atomic Willy", the guy in the brown trenchcoat was "Handsome Dan", and the bird guy didn't have a name yet. The aliens you see in the last photo were going to be one of their adversaries. They didn't have a name yet, but they were going to be a boy-band from outer space, as you can tell from their juvenile posturing.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 20, 2008 06:02 AM | Comments (0)
Rocket Cam
Another thing I found while digging through those backup CDs was this image. Back when I was working at CATSAT, a group of guys I worked with used to get together on weekends to launch model rockets. At one point, I took apart an old digital camera I had, and got a friend to help we work out a circuit for triggering the shutter automatically. I tried putting this camera in a rocket several times - I think I must have built a half-dozen rockets in the course of this experiment, and all of them crashed into the earth shortly after launch. But on one launch, I managed to get a single picture before the rocket's inevitable plunge to its dirt destiny. The resolution is low, but the pic is still pretty darn cool, isn't it?
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 19, 2008 06:56 AM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - Little Guy
Check out Sean's latest drawing. It's an evolution of the guy he used to draw a few months ago. But now he's got a lot more detail in his face, and he's gone from 4 simple limbs to legs complete with shoes and arms with hands. Amazing!
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 17, 2008 08:44 PM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawings - Truck and Caterpillar
More drawings from Sean. Check these out! A truck, and a caterpillar. The truck I know he learned from a guy who draws on T.V. But I have no idea where he learned to draw that caterpillar. I love when he surprises me like this, by drawing something that we didn't even know he knew how to draw. I can't wait to see what's next!
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 18, 2008 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawing - Submarine
Here is the latest of Sean's drawings - a submarine. He drew it for the first time yesterday, while we were at the hospital to visit Tracy, Mike, and Baby Olivia. It's funny - when he draws it, he also makes a point of saying that he is drawing "a submarine, with no face". I'm not sure what kind of submarines have faces, but I'm glad he's so specific.
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 9, 2008 07:22 PM | Comments (0)
Coffee Table - 3D Model
Andi has asked me to build her a coffee table once she moves into her own place. Here is a 3D model (again done with Google SketchUp) of one of the ideas I've been floating around in my head the last couple of weeks. I'm going to try to model the other ideas I've been considering over the next couple of weeks.
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 9, 2008 07:06 PM | Comments (0)
Medicine Cabinet - 3D Model
I've been wanting to play around with Google SketchUp, and making a 3D model of the medicine cabinet I plan to build served two purposes - it gave me a chance to play with the tool, and it also gave me a chance to see what the cabinet would look like. I must say, I like it on both counts! Google SketchUp is pretty neat, although I feel like I must have done a few things the hard way while making this model. Hopefully with experience, I'll figure out the easy way. And now that I've seen it in 3D, I'm liking this cabinet design better and better. Can't wait to start building!
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 3, 2008 10:35 PM | Comments (0)
Sean's Drawing - Tape Recorder
Here's another of Sean's drawings. He's trying to learn how to draw his tape recorder. I've included a photo of the recorder itself so you can see just how close he is. It blows my mind. His pediatrician said that at his age, kids are usually learning how to draw a circle and a line. Good for you, Seanyman!
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 3, 2008 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
High School Drawings
When we moving from Texas back to New Hampshire, I found an old portfolio from high school, and it had a handful of drawings in it. I know I used to draw almost every day back then, so I have no idea what happened to the bulk of that stuff. But these few were still floating around. So I scanned them for you all to see. Apparently, I was really into drawing hands and eyes at the time. Sometimes when I see some of my old sketches, it makes me wish I still had time to draw now. But it looks like Sean is turning into our little artist, so maybe I can live vicariously through him. :)
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 31, 2008 11:25 PM | Comments (1)
Woodworking - Medicine Cabinet
Getting ready to start a new project. Both our upstairs and downstairs bathrooms are in need of new medicine cabinets. The type the previous owners left behind are the bargain-basement particle board type, and they are falling apart. I think that I am going to work on this project in parallel with finishing the work on building my router table. I'm hoping to learn some new techniques on this project - inset frame-and-panel cabinet doors, and I also plan to try and veneer the panels using some fancy burl veneer I picked up in a veneer lot on Ebay a few years ago (and haven't touched since). Below is my concept drawing for the piece - I am going to try and document the project on our blog as I go.
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 29, 2008 08:25 PM | Comments (0)
Sunflower
Sean is continuing to amaze us with his knack for drawing, lately. Here is one he drew a few nights ago. When I asked him what it was, he told me "a sunflower, with a sun shining on it." Amazing, eh?
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 27, 2008 08:25 PM | Comments (0)
Fish
Sean has started drawing something new lately - a fish. He saw someone on "Yo Gabba Gabba" draw it, and now he draws it by himself all the time. He really loves to draw. I can't wait to see what he draws next. He's always asking me to draw things for him, and he seems much more interested in the process than in the final result. He stares at my hand as I draw, and then erases it almost as soon as I'm done and asked me to draw something else.
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 9, 2008 09:13 AM | Comments (0)
An Animated Short - Man Falling Down
Last night I was sitting next to Sean on the couch at wind-down time, and he was drawing on his "doodle board", as he calls it. Check these out - he's starting to draw actual recognizable things that are more complex than just shapes. These happy faces are complete with eyes, mouths, and legs! Plus, even though it was just a coincidence, the sequence (shown in the same order they were drawn), looks like frames of an animation of someone falling down, doesn't it? (You can click on the individual frames to see larger versions.)
Posted under Projects by Joel on July 20, 2008 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
HTPC - Features
I've recently started putting together an HTPC to go along with our new LCD TV. It's only about half-finished, but people have been asking me lots of questions about it. So I thought I'd put together a post that explains a little about it, so I'd have some explanation and pictures to share with those who ask. Basically, an HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) is a PC that is connected to your TV, that runs user-interface software that allow you access to a comprehensive set of features. To find out more about it and to see some pictures of it in action, hit the "read more" link below (I didn't want to clutter up the front page of our blog with all the pics).
This case contains a motherboard with lots of onboard features (including 5.1 audio, ethernet, video, FireWire, and others), a dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and a Hauppauge TV tuner card (which allows the PC to receive cable). For media storage, I've got four 500GB hard drives in there, for a whopping 2TB of storage. For software, it's running Windows Vista Home Premium, which includes the latest version of Media Center, on which the whole user-interface is based. The whole thing can be controlled by a Windows-compatible remote control, and if I need to do any admin tasks on the box I've got it set up with remote desktop - so I can log into the box from my laptop, and do everything I need to do without hooking up a keyboard and mouse, or even interrupting whatever Lori is watching.
One other feature that I am planning to explore within the next week or two is the "tasks" menu option. This is sort of a catch-all, and you can add anything that is a Windows program to this list. So far I've put Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and arcade emulators on there, so we can play old video games from the couch with a wireless controller. But I'm also thinking of adding some more modern computer games as well. I'll start by adding games, but once I buy a wireless keyboard and mouse, I suppose pretty much anything is fair game - a web browser, email reader, etc., will work just as easily.
So there you have it - our HTPC. I'm planning to add a lot of neat stuff to it in the coming weeks, but I'd say it's pretty nifty already. We've only been using it a few weeks, but I don't see how we could ever go back to "normal" TV again.
Posted under Projects by Joel on June 27, 2008 05:08 PM | Comments (2)
Calendar - November & December
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 13, 2007 06:08 AM | Comments (0)
Calendar - September & October
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 6, 2007 07:13 AM | Comments (0)
Calendar - July & August
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 5, 2007 07:21 AM | Comments (0)
Calendar - May & June
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 4, 2007 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
Calendar - March & April
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 2, 2007 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
Christmas Calendars
For Christmas, Lori and I made calendars for a few people. But we put a lot of work into them, and I wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to see what we put together. So I'm planning to post two months worth each day for the next six days. These first two were the images for January and February. Enjoy!
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 1, 2007 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
Philco 40-180
I finished the Philco 40-180 a couple of days ago, and we finally brought it in to the living room. I didn't end up using the original controls for anything though - they are just for show. This was for two reasons. First, the original mechanisms were very rusty and worn, and did not really operate smoothly anymore. Second, all of the knobs and buttons are right at eye level for Sean, and he finds them irresistable. So instead, it is wired to our CD player, and we listen to music through it. It both sounds and looks great! (By the way, the curtains are down right now to be washed - it's not normally so bright in that corner.)
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 31, 2006 04:16 PM | Comments (1)
Philco 40-180
I've got the Philco 40-180 refinished, with the decals applied. Today I started recovering the grill plate with the reproduction grill cloth I ordered, and also started taking apart the speakers that will be mounted in the radio. I'm hoping to start assembling the mp3 player kit this weekend, but I'm a bit nervous - this will be the first time I've ever done any precision soldering on anything more complicated than perfboard. Wish me luck!
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 24, 2006 05:47 PM | Comments (1)
Philco 39-17T
I'm also refinishing a smaller, tabletop Philco radio. I'm planning to refit this one with some modern speakers, and discretely hide a jack on the backside that I can plug an audio device (my Ipod, specifically) into. I've already stripped the finish, repaired, and refinished this one, but I don't have any current pictures yet. Here are the 'before' pictures, though.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 22, 2006 10:06 AM | Comments (0)
Philco 40-180
I've got the Philco 40-180 stripped of finish and gutted. I've repaired a few sections that were damaged, and steamed out what dents I could. Unfortunately, steaming out the dents didn't go as well as I had hoped, because the majority of them weren't 'fresh' enough to be steamed out. But now everything is ready for a fresh coat of lacquer. In actuality, I've already started recoating it with lacquer, but I started with a Vandyke Brown toning lacquer, and I think it might be too dark. So I may have to strip it again and start over. Stripping it a second time will go much faster though, as the finish has not fully cured and doesn't have any of the accumulated grime ground into it that the original finish had.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 22, 2006 09:59 AM | Comments (0)
Philco 40-180
My latest project. I'm restoring an old Philco console radio that I won on Ebay. I've always loved the look of 40's era console radios, and loved the idea of the family gathering around the radio each night to listen to serials, sports, and news from around the world. I've decided to restore the wooden cabinet of an old radio, and put a computer inside so we can use it to play back our collection of music, old-time radio adventure and sci-fi stories, and audiobooks. The cabinet I won is in rough shape, but is structurally sound - so it's a great candidate for restoration. The old tube radio inside is no longer functional. I'll start by stripping the finish, repairing the dents and scratches, and gutting the old electronics. I'm planning to post pictures here of the project as it progresses. These first shots are the "before" pics.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 29, 2006 09:57 PM | Comments (2)
Hong Kong Shuffle
I recently bought some super-bright blue LEDs on eBay, in an attempt to get some brighter LEDs for my PWM lighting project without breaking the bank. When the package arrived, it was covered in Hong Kong stamps. When I had purchased them, I guess I just didn't notice where they were coming from. Not that it would have made any difference - but it was a cool surprise to get this envelope and to realize that it had come to me from halfway around the world. I took a couple of pictures of the envelope to share with everyone.
Posted under Projects by Joel on May 7, 2006 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
LED PWM Lighting Module
Finally got my box from Mouser, and started building up a prototype lighting module for this project. You can see a picture of the module in the first photo. It's basically 12 super-bright LEDs (4 red, 4 green, 4 blue) arranged in a circle, with a ULN2003A, ballast resistors, and a six-pin header for connecting to the main board. I'm not planning to show you the bottom, as it was my first real soldering attempt and it ain't pretty. :) I still have to write some code to allow me to communicate with this thing via RS-232 so I can change the color settings on the fly - so I haven't really tested its color range at all. But I am finding that the colors don't blend particularly well (although it's hard to tell, because the only color I've tried so far is 'white' - i.e., all LEDs on at full intensity). I've seen other projects on the web that do this kind of blending, and most of them don't seem to be having this problem. I'm not sure, but I suspect it may be because these particular LEDs have a pretty narrow viewing angle, so the light doesn't really spread out much, which is limiting the blending. Hmmm.... will have to do some experimenting soon. The last picture is with all LEDs at full intensity, but it's a little misleading. The colors don't actually blend as well as it looks like in the photo.
Posted under Projects by Joel on April 16, 2006 09:41 AM | Comments (0)
AVR Project - LEDs and PWM
I've been super-busy at work lately, and haven't had much time for personal projects. But I have managed to spend a tiny bit of time here and there working with that AVR development board. I've got it controlling 8 super-bright LEDs (4 green, 4 red). The code I've written uses PWM (pulse width modulation) to control the intensity of the LEDs. I'm going to use this method to try some interesting projects using color-blending from red, green, and blue LEDs. I'm pretty much stuck right now though - I am waiting for an order from Mouser to get here. By the way, for you other folks using AVRs - where are you getting them from, and which AVR are you using? I'm having trouble finding anywhere that I can still get the 2313 that is on this development board. Do they make them anymore?
Posted under Projects by Joel on March 25, 2006 03:13 PM | Comments (2)
Atmel AVR Microcontroller
I just got an Atmel AVR microcontroller development board in the mail, and have started playing around with it. Hobbyists use these for all kinds of things - from robotics, to data acquisition devices, to lighting modules, etc. Just Google "AVR projects", and you will see what I mean. I've been interested in learning about using microcontrollers for quite a while (ever since Dirk starting building a robot with them in 2001), but for some reason I just haven't buckled down and -tried- them yet. Last night I managed to write code and wire up a circuit to light a single LED. This would be the equivalent of a "Hello World" program in another programming language. It's a humble beginning, but I've already got ideas for lots of cool projects I can build with this thing!
Posted under Projects by Joel on March 12, 2006 08:50 AM | Comments (3)
Band-Saw Box #1
This is the first (of hopefully several) band-saw boxes that I've made. I really like the organic nature of these boxes, and they give me a chance to use some of the sculptural experience I got in high school. I can't wait to get started on another of these! The box is made of curly maple, and the finish is two coats of boiled linseed oil and 1 coat of paste wax.
Posted under Projects by Joel on February 25, 2006 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
Morris Chair Almost Finished!
The Morris chair I've told some of you about - and posted pictures of here - is nearly finished! Today I made the seat cushion for it. All that's left to do is make a back cushion. We are currently substituting one of our couch cushions for the back cushion, because we couldn't wait to try it out. The chair is made of solid black walnut. The finish is 3 coats of boiled linseed oil and 3 coats of water-based satin polyurethane.
Posted under Projects by Joel on February 12, 2006 01:57 PM | Comments (0)
Make Just About Anything
Want to know how to make just about anything? Twenty years ago, you'd head to the library and hope for the best - maybe they would have a book on the subject, maybe not. Today, you pop on the web and you've got instructions at your fingertips in seconds. The only problem is that you've got to know what you want to know in order to search for it. What if you're like me, and are always looking for some project, but don't know what it will be and are looking for ideas? That's where two of my absolute favorite websites come in. The Make Blog over at Make Magazine, and the user-submitted project instructions on Instructables. Both are chuck full of cool ideas. I check them daily!Posted under Projects by Joel on February 3, 2006 11:33 PM | Comments (0)
Kerplunk Radio - Episode 4
I give you episode 4 of Kerplunk Radio! This episode features an independent artist by the name of Jonathon Coulton. His stuff is incredibly catchy, and the lyrics are very quirky. He's got a definite "They Might be Giants" influence. Word-of-warning, though: he does drop the F-bomb in one of the songs. Right-click the "download mp3" button and choose "save-as" to save the show to your computer before listening. Jonathan Coulton's web page can be found at http://www.jonathancoulton.com/. The following songs are featured on this episode of Kerplunk Radio:
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1. Baby Got Back |
4. DNA |
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| 2. Mandelbrot Set |
6. A Laptop Like You |
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3. Skullcrusher Mountain |
Posted under Projects by Joel on January 29, 2006 08:10 AM | Comments (0)
Recent Woodworking Projects
I'm finally getting back into woodworking, after a long hiatus. The last time I built anything was before Sean was born. So, by popular request (well, maybe only Dad's request), here are some pictures of projects that I've been working on.This first pair of picures are of a toybox I've been making for Sean. It's made of pine, and only needs a couple coats of poly and some hinges before we can put it into use. It's my own design, simple as it is. It came out much bigger than I had pictured it in my mind, but that just means more room for toys!
Posted under Projects by Joel on December 24, 2005 08:43 PM | Comments (1)
Kite #9 - Double Delta-Conyne
Kite #9 has been finished for a while, bit I have had no luck getting it to fly until this morning. This kite is a double delta-conyne, which is basically 2 triangular cells with delta wings on them. This is the first kite I've tried to make with a 'fancier' design. The wings are made of different colored stripes - black, blue, green. yellow, and white. I had to use the Trefoil Dragon's tail to get this one stable in the air, but once it was up there it flew very well. This kite is about 7-8 feet wide and about 3 feet tall.
Posted under Projects by Joel on November 5, 2005 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
Kite #8 - Trefoil Dragon
Kite #7 is finished, but I can't put pictures up yet. It is a gift, and I don't want the recipient to see it here before they see it in person.Kite #8 is a Trefoil Dragon kite. The kite itself is pretty nondescript, but the thing that makes it interesting is it's 40-foot tail. Still pictures don't do it justice. This tail looks amazing as it undulates in the wind. Very mesmerizing. The Trefoil Dragon is the blue kite in these pictures. The black kite in the pictures is the Genki from a previous post. Lately, I have been having trouble getting that one to fly, and had wondered if a tail would help. So I tried the Dragon's tail on it as an experiment. It performed MUCH better with a tail, so I will have to make one for it as well.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 23, 2005 06:52 PM | Comments (0)
Camera Tossing
I came across something really cool on the Web during my lunch break today. It's called "camera tossing". Basically, you aim your camera at some source of light, shut off the flash, hit the shutter, and toss your camera in the air. What it captures can be unpredictable, but you will usually get something pretty interesting. Below are a few that I tried when I got home today after I had read about it. If you want to see some pretty cool pics of this kind of stuff, here is the link to the camera toss flickr group.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 14, 2005 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
Kite #6 - Dopero
My latest kite is a 3/4-size Dopero. This kite is especially designed to fly in the lightest of barely-there winds. I tried it for the first time today, and it flew great! I included some photos to give you an idea of the scale of this kite. It is huge! It is about 7 feet tall, and a little over 9 feet wide. Even in the very light wind we had this morning, I had a hard time reeling this kite back in. All that sail makes this kite pull really strong. It also seems to be really steady in the sky - so as soon as I can convince Lori to join me on an outing, I am going to try and take some aerial photos using this one.
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 2, 2005 04:42 PM | Comments (0)
Kerplunk Radio - Episode 3
I give you episode 3 of Kerplunk Radio! This episode is all acoustic, and all pop - which means it full to the gills with catchy lyrics and melodies that you won't be able to get out of your heads for days! The bands featured in this episode are all indies. Right-click the "download mp3" button and choose "save-as" to save the show to your computer before listening. Here are the artists on this show (all of these artists can be found on garageband.com);
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1. Michael Dowling - Swivel Chair |
5. Augean Stables - Citronella |
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| 2. Abigail Lapell - Dress Rehearsal |
6. AKIVA - Babylon |
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3. Robert Wade - Monkey Cymbals |
7. Jacob Zachary - End of You |
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4. Megan Melara - Back Home |
8. Matt Lambiase - Better |
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9. Michael Burgess - Apple Seeds |
Posted under Projects by Joel on October 1, 2005 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
Sean in the News - Good & Bad
Sean has been in the news again, for better or worse....
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 11, 2005 06:32 PM | Comments (0)
Kerplunk Radio - Episode 2
I give you episode 2 of Kerplunk Radio! This episode is all ska, so bust out your zoot suit and dance like a fool! The bands featured in this episode are all indies. Right-click the "download mp3" button and choose "save-as" to save the show to your computer before listening. Here are the artists on this show (all of these artists can be found on garageband.com);
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1. Starpool - It's Alright |
5. No Torso - Fatal Fraud |
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| 2. The Clintons - Fan of the Bean |
6. Endive - Unoriginal |
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3. Uptown Creepers - Sometimes |
7. The Naked Citizens - Da Lingo |
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4. Elbowdrop - 4 Hour Cold Shower |
8. The Ninjas - Robot Pirates |
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 5, 2005 07:17 PM | Comments (0)
Kite #5 - Genki
My newest kite is a half-size Genki. Genkis are a high-aspect ratio kite, and fly really well in light winds. I built this one as a test, because I've got an idea for a kite of my own design that would use the Genki design as a leaping-off point. I tried it both with and without a drogue tail. I think I may have built the tail a little undersized for this kite though, as it didn't really change the flight angle at all. This kite is about 6 feet wide and 2 feet tall. The kite I am planning will probably be at least twice as big!
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 4, 2005 05:52 PM | Comments (0)
Kite #4 - Rokkaku
This was my second attempt to get this kite to fly. The first time I had to really struggle to keep it in the air, and it gave me a lot of grief. This time I was more careful setting it up and getting the bridle lines and tow point adjusted correctly, and it flew beautifully. But egads - those Roks can pull! I'm going to need to upgrade to a stronger flying line. Several times a gust caught the kite, and I could hear the line humming as it got near it's breaking point. If I can learn to set this kite up reliably, this will probably be the kite most capable of lifting a camera for some aerial photos. My camera rig is almost finished, and I hope to try it out for the first time this weekend. I'm very excited to see how it goes! By the way - it's tough to get a sense of scale in these pictures, but this is actually a pretty big kite. It is about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Traditionally - in Japan - these kites are built 8 feet tall!
Posted under Projects by Joel on September 1, 2005 09:22 PM | Comments (0)
Busted!
We've been trying to keep this quiet, but somebody leaked the photos from Sean's drunk-tricycling arrest back in June. Oh, the shame!
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 28, 2005 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
Building Blocks
I just finished making these building blocks. They are made from Northeastern Hard Maple, and are colored with water-based dyes, and finished with a water-based finish - so they are totally kid-safe. I made matching sets for Sean and Ryan. I hope they like them!
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 24, 2005 06:47 PM | Comments (0)
Kite #3 - Delta Box Trial Flight
Here's my third attempt at building a kite stable enough to loft a camera rig. I think this one is a winner. It practically leapt out of my hand when I launched it, and it rose quickly and smoothly. This one seems really stable. I'll have to start building my camera rig soon. I've also got plans to build a few more kites - they are turning out to be really fun to build! Once again, Sean was a little cutie. Look at him sitting up! He's growing up so quick!
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 20, 2005 09:03 PM | Comments (0)
Sean the Superstar!
How do you know when you are finally famous? When you're in the tabloids, that's how! The press has latched on to Sean, for better or worse...
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 17, 2005 07:41 PM | Comments (0)
Kerplunk Radio - Episode 1
Hey all! Give a listen to episode 1 of Kerplunk Radio! I'm planning to throw together a 20-30 minute podcast of independent music once every 2-4 weeks. Each show will have a theme - this episode's theme is music for kids. I'm hoping to use this as a way to share some great indie music I'm listening to with my friends and family. Let me know what you guys think! Right-click the "download mp3" button and choose "save-as" to save the show to your computer before listening. Here are the artists on this first show;
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Bob Brown - Santa Bring Me a Dinosaur |
Bill Crosby - Sleeping in the Car | |
| Brian Waite Band - Bongo Baby | Buck Howdy - Skidaddle | |
| Erin Lee & Marci - Grampa and Me | Katherine Dines - Goosebumps | |
| Rick Scott - Biggest Ears |
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 10, 2005 08:44 PM | Comments (0)
Go Fly a Kite!
I've subscribed to a something called "Make", which is basically a quarterly magazine full of do-it-yourself geek projects. From building robots, to hacking portable electronic devices, to making potato guns. The first issue had an article on something called "Kite Aerial Photography", which involves using a kite to lift a camera rig to take pictures from the air. This is right up my alley! A couple of years ago, I tried to do a similar thing with model rockets. So I bought a book about kite building, and tried to build a couple. The first one failed miserably - never got off the ground. The second flew beautifully. It's not quite stable enough to loft a camera rig, but it gives me some confidence that the next one will be much better. Sean was looking especially cute that day - less like a baby and more like a little boy!
Posted under Projects by Joel on August 5, 2005 07:45 PM | Comments (0)
