Saturday, July 19, 2008
ENGLISHRUSSIA
favorite new site thanks to adam of malarky fame:
ENGLISHRUSSIA
if you have time to kill, this is the place to kill it.
favorite new site thanks to adam of malarky fame:
ENGLISHRUSSIA
if you have time to kill, this is the place to kill it.
FIRST GLUE UP
some of you know i'm embarking into the world of woodworking so that i can build a few things (ok, ... many) for the house. in order to do so, it only makes sense to have a workbench to work upon. never one to do things the easy way, i took on a beast of a first project. if you wanna see the goal, click here
today i glued up the frame which consisted of not your traditional 4 pieces of wood, but instead a crafty 20 pieces if you can believe it. this had better be the most solid bench ever after having put this much effort in.
i've got my vise on the corner that is hidden from view. oh, and a word about what you're seeing...it is the base sitting atop the top of the bench...i'm not working on the thing upside down.
that's not even the beginning either. i still have a pile of perhaps 40 pieces that have to find their way into this thing before i call it done. progress none the less.
it must also be said that i'd be a liar if i said everything was totally square - it isn't ... but i'll make it work. that's the joy of woodworking. don't look too hard, you can't see any of the poor cuts in the image. when it is rainy and grey, a woodworking i will go...
so, who has tried their hand at that brain teaser i posted previously? anyone? e-mail me if you got it...i'm curious.
some of you know i'm embarking into the world of woodworking so that i can build a few things (ok, ... many) for the house. in order to do so, it only makes sense to have a workbench to work upon. never one to do things the easy way, i took on a beast of a first project. if you wanna see the goal, click here
today i glued up the frame which consisted of not your traditional 4 pieces of wood, but instead a crafty 20 pieces if you can believe it. this had better be the most solid bench ever after having put this much effort in.
i've got my vise on the corner that is hidden from view. oh, and a word about what you're seeing...it is the base sitting atop the top of the bench...i'm not working on the thing upside down.
that's not even the beginning either. i still have a pile of perhaps 40 pieces that have to find their way into this thing before i call it done. progress none the less.
it must also be said that i'd be a liar if i said everything was totally square - it isn't ... but i'll make it work. that's the joy of woodworking. don't look too hard, you can't see any of the poor cuts in the image. when it is rainy and grey, a woodworking i will go...
so, who has tried their hand at that brain teaser i posted previously? anyone? e-mail me if you got it...i'm curious.
PART OF THE 2%
alright, i'm throwing down a challenge to anyone who is reading. i found this brain teaser a while ago and wanted to give it a go ... it has taken me more than a year to actually sit down and follow through. been busy. usually frustration or impatience got the better of me and i walked away - still unknowing. not the other day though, as i was stuck at work and in between tasks so i had some time to kill.
original link where i found it:
http://www.coudal.com/thefish.php
This brainteaser, reportedly written by Einstein is difficult and Einstein said that 98% of the people in the world could not figure it out. Which percentage are you in?
There are five houses in a row in different colors. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The five owners drink a different drink, smoke a different brand of cigar and keep a different pet, one of which is a Walleye Pike.
The question is-- who owns the fish?
Hints:
1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The green house owner drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Malls keeps birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills.
8. The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk.
9. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
10. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the one who smokes Dunhills.
12. The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Princes.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.
There are no tricks, pure logic will get you the correct answer. And yes, there is enough information to arrive at the one and only correct answer.
If you get the correct answer, congratulations, you are one of the exclusive group of 121,348,731 people in the world who can.
no fair cheating either, unless you're that kind of person and can live with yourself. go googling for the answer only after you've done the work. for me, it helped to draw a picture and visualize everything. i scanned that and i will post it at a later time after some of you have had a chance to play with this.
it is a fun process and i encourage you to sit down for an hour or two and have a go. use that brain, enjoy.
alright, i'm throwing down a challenge to anyone who is reading. i found this brain teaser a while ago and wanted to give it a go ... it has taken me more than a year to actually sit down and follow through. been busy. usually frustration or impatience got the better of me and i walked away - still unknowing. not the other day though, as i was stuck at work and in between tasks so i had some time to kill.
original link where i found it:
http://www.coudal.com/thefish.php
This brainteaser, reportedly written by Einstein is difficult and Einstein said that 98% of the people in the world could not figure it out. Which percentage are you in?
There are five houses in a row in different colors. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. The five owners drink a different drink, smoke a different brand of cigar and keep a different pet, one of which is a Walleye Pike.
The question is-- who owns the fish?
Hints:
1. The Brit lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is on the left of the white house.
5. The green house owner drinks coffee.
6. The person who smokes Pall Malls keeps birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills.
8. The man living in the house right in the center drinks milk.
9. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
10. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
11. The man who keeps horses lives next to the one who smokes Dunhills.
12. The owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
13. The German smokes Princes.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.
There are no tricks, pure logic will get you the correct answer. And yes, there is enough information to arrive at the one and only correct answer.
If you get the correct answer, congratulations, you are one of the exclusive group of 121,348,731 people in the world who can.
no fair cheating either, unless you're that kind of person and can live with yourself. go googling for the answer only after you've done the work. for me, it helped to draw a picture and visualize everything. i scanned that and i will post it at a later time after some of you have had a chance to play with this.
it is a fun process and i encourage you to sit down for an hour or two and have a go. use that brain, enjoy.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I ORDERED AND ATE FISH !!
had a "first" a week or two back while out to dinner with some friends. while reading the menu, it appeared that the best thing for my tastebuds was the fish. the other items were really fancy schmancy or came with something like mushrooms (which i dislike even more than fish).
so, to my surprise, i did the unthinkable and actually ordered the fish. it was grouper if i'm not mistaken, the kind that has ZERO fishy taste. and i MEAN zero too. believe me, i was looking for it too because it has been the cornerstone of my argument for all these years...that and the joke about me not liking fish because i pee in the ocean. i jest - that is just silly. anyways, i'd order it and eat it again in a second.
oddly enough, while walking down cuba street afterwards, i felt all grown up - like i had suddenly matured in the time it took to eat one wedge of fish. it was a weird feeling that i can still recall. i remember saying it to the friends i was with too.
aside from the fish story, other items of interest find me enrolling in an intermediate Spanish class which is being taught by my friend Jess (who is going to appear in a film toward the end of the year with Germaine from "Flight of the Conchords" - look it up, i'm being lazy. i'll throw up a post when the film comes out because i don't know the name of it as yet).
additionally, just today i found out that a co-worker's brother was selected as part of the European Team for this new MTV reality show that appears to be ramping up. here are some links to the thing:
http://www.mtvengineroom.com
http://blog.mtvengineroom.com/
as i understand it, there are four people per team and the winning team stands to take home a cool 400 thousand dollars. if any of you watch TV out there, keep me posted...it sounds interesting.
and a link to Matthew's site - i still need to check that out actually.
stay tuned for the next post where i share with you info that proves (or at least thats what Einstein says) that i am part of the more intelligent 2% of the population.
hope you're all well ... well, except for you.
had a "first" a week or two back while out to dinner with some friends. while reading the menu, it appeared that the best thing for my tastebuds was the fish. the other items were really fancy schmancy or came with something like mushrooms (which i dislike even more than fish).
so, to my surprise, i did the unthinkable and actually ordered the fish. it was grouper if i'm not mistaken, the kind that has ZERO fishy taste. and i MEAN zero too. believe me, i was looking for it too because it has been the cornerstone of my argument for all these years...that and the joke about me not liking fish because i pee in the ocean. i jest - that is just silly. anyways, i'd order it and eat it again in a second.
oddly enough, while walking down cuba street afterwards, i felt all grown up - like i had suddenly matured in the time it took to eat one wedge of fish. it was a weird feeling that i can still recall. i remember saying it to the friends i was with too.
aside from the fish story, other items of interest find me enrolling in an intermediate Spanish class which is being taught by my friend Jess (who is going to appear in a film toward the end of the year with Germaine from "Flight of the Conchords" - look it up, i'm being lazy. i'll throw up a post when the film comes out because i don't know the name of it as yet).
additionally, just today i found out that a co-worker's brother was selected as part of the European Team for this new MTV reality show that appears to be ramping up. here are some links to the thing:
http://www.mtvengineroom.com
http://blog.mtvengineroom.com/
as i understand it, there are four people per team and the winning team stands to take home a cool 400 thousand dollars. if any of you watch TV out there, keep me posted...it sounds interesting.
and a link to Matthew's site - i still need to check that out actually.
stay tuned for the next post where i share with you info that proves (or at least thats what Einstein says) that i am part of the more intelligent 2% of the population.
hope you're all well ... well, except for you.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
SNUG FIT
so i got this crazy contraption with wacky instructions that were sorta cryptic. after absorbing the info, playing with the contraption for a short while and letting the experience sit with me for a few days i went back for round two. SUCCESS! the first time...
what you're looking at is a dovetail joint - a joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery. if there is something worth doing, it is worth doing with style. this was part of my testing of the process before i actually do the work on the drawers i've got planned for this workbench.
so i got this crazy contraption with wacky instructions that were sorta cryptic. after absorbing the info, playing with the contraption for a short while and letting the experience sit with me for a few days i went back for round two. SUCCESS! the first time...
what you're looking at is a dovetail joint - a joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery. if there is something worth doing, it is worth doing with style. this was part of my testing of the process before i actually do the work on the drawers i've got planned for this workbench.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
© THAT HOT STUFF - 2008
i made hot sauce last night with miss sara velasquez and it turned out pretty crappy i might add. i take all the blame. not hot at all and a bit on the sweet side. i pureed the personality out of it too which sucked.
well, i rectified that today. the first thing i did when i got up was go hunting for habaneros down in new town. 4 locations later i had secured what must have been the last 5 habanero chilies in the whole of wellington. found them in an indian food wholesaler of all places - slowly rotting in a tiny box in the back. good thing i'm not the kind of guy who takes the advice of others...if i had been i'd have been turned away at the counter empty handed and left with a wasted batch of crappy hot sauce.
all told, i got about a bottle of what i'll consider a mild habanero hot sauce. i even ate it on my breakfast burritos earlier and it worked out quite well. could be much hotter but all in all, i'm pretty proud of myself. i had this notion of wanting to make hot sauce about 6 months ago but it got shelved because i was too busy.
that all changed when my web developer, adam, told me he made a bottle of hot sauce (which i consequently purchased from him). not one to be outdone, i decided it was time to try my hand at the process. it is surprisingly easy. i think i'll keep refining the recipe until i come up with one i really like. as it is, i came fairly close to mimicking mike and dianes "ring of fire". if i can nail that, i will be one happy camper because acquiring bottles of that down here is an outright hassle at times. thank you to each and every one of you who have brought it back or shipped it down. i can not thank you enough.
sara asked me last night what i'd name my hot sauce if it ever evolved to that level. i didn't have a good answer last night but thinking about it just now, i thought "That Hot Stuff" would be a fun name. hey, can you pass me some of "That Hot Stuff" please? thank you.
it has been a busy, windy, freezing weekend and i'm beat. oh yeah, bozo the clown died the other day and THAT SUCKED.
i made hot sauce last night with miss sara velasquez and it turned out pretty crappy i might add. i take all the blame. not hot at all and a bit on the sweet side. i pureed the personality out of it too which sucked.
well, i rectified that today. the first thing i did when i got up was go hunting for habaneros down in new town. 4 locations later i had secured what must have been the last 5 habanero chilies in the whole of wellington. found them in an indian food wholesaler of all places - slowly rotting in a tiny box in the back. good thing i'm not the kind of guy who takes the advice of others...if i had been i'd have been turned away at the counter empty handed and left with a wasted batch of crappy hot sauce.
all told, i got about a bottle of what i'll consider a mild habanero hot sauce. i even ate it on my breakfast burritos earlier and it worked out quite well. could be much hotter but all in all, i'm pretty proud of myself. i had this notion of wanting to make hot sauce about 6 months ago but it got shelved because i was too busy.
that all changed when my web developer, adam, told me he made a bottle of hot sauce (which i consequently purchased from him). not one to be outdone, i decided it was time to try my hand at the process. it is surprisingly easy. i think i'll keep refining the recipe until i come up with one i really like. as it is, i came fairly close to mimicking mike and dianes "ring of fire". if i can nail that, i will be one happy camper because acquiring bottles of that down here is an outright hassle at times. thank you to each and every one of you who have brought it back or shipped it down. i can not thank you enough.
sara asked me last night what i'd name my hot sauce if it ever evolved to that level. i didn't have a good answer last night but thinking about it just now, i thought "That Hot Stuff" would be a fun name. hey, can you pass me some of "That Hot Stuff" please? thank you.
it has been a busy, windy, freezing weekend and i'm beat. oh yeah, bozo the clown died the other day and THAT SUCKED.