Well, our esteemed President Obama has done it again: he's offended a large segment of humanity. This time it again involved a head of state. When he went to Norway to accept his Nobel Peace Prize award, he "declined" to have lunch with the King of Norway. What's this? Are we at odds with Norway? Are their human rights policies not in line with ours, or maybe it's their nuclear material production efforts that we disagree with. Maybe it's because Norway has yet to voice outright hatred of all things American like so many of the the other country's whose heads of state President Obama HAS honored - by bowing to them, kissing their rings, APOLOGISING for going after the terrorists that have safe haven and even overt financial support from their contries?? Where is the consistency from the purportedly most powerful man in the world? Where is the common sense? Where is the political savvy? I don't believe that any of these exist within President Obama. Well, now he has fodder for his apology mill, so I guess that's something.
I guess that now that he has already cashed the check from the Nobel Foundation, it's safe for him to dis the Copenhagen meeting about global warming (hmm, didn't I recently hear something about all of the hype being just that - hype? and even falsified hype at that?). But, that conference was a joke from the outset. All of these "staunch supporters" of being green, had an issue even before the official conference started. They ran out of limosines! Go figure - all thes people who preach (to others) about reducing the carbon footprint, sharing a ride, etc. couldn't even follow their own supposed principles when going to discuss these very same principles by sharing a ride. Since they are each SO Important, they each had to have their own limo for transportation. (Huh, that's kind of like Al Gore flying around the country in his private jet to all of these "Inconvenient Truth" gatherings. Or his primary residence having a bigger carbon footprint than some third world coutries - but don't get me started on him.) I guess it's all the same as it's been for years now: you don't know who to believe, because they all have their own agenda.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
'Tis the Season
It's that time of year again: time to clean up the woodshop and get serious about making Christmas gifts. I love being able to spend time doing one of the things I really love - making gifts in my shop. I inherited a marvelous workshop full of tools from my father and now have the "technology" to make many more things than I used to. I used to have a band saw, router, table saw and a drill press. To that I've added a lathe, oscillating spindle sander, 12" disc sander, a scroll saw, a radial arm saw, a horizontal borer, a thickness planer, a jointer/planer, a dust-and-chip collector, a multitude of wooden toy parts, many plans (both 'store-bought' and those modified by my parents), and a wide selection of power sanders. And in the process, my original tools (band saw, router, table saw and drill press) were upgraded. My dad used to make some of the neatest toys I've ever seen - and he was a master at it. He took the time to make absolutely sure that all of his parts fit as they should, that they were sanded to perfection, and that they were finished in a manner that was safe for anyone to use or play with. Many times you'll see other toy vendors who sell toys made of pine: they're rough on both surfaces and edges, and being pine - prone to damage by merely standard play.
Dad worked almost exclusively with cherry (his favorite) or maple (a close second). He always told a customer that all of his toys had a limited lifetime warranty - he'd repair any toy returned to him - only limited to his lifetime. I've seen kids throw a toy my father made across the room, down the stairs, off the porch, what have you, and show virtually no damage. I've also seen some of the pine toys break because the kid rolled the toy across the floor! Sure cherry or maple is more expensive - about twice the cost of pine - but, when you compare that to the extended lifetime of the toy (probably 10 to fifteen times as long - at least), it's really a no-brainer. Dad had return customers from across the country and around the world - I know of at least some connection to Buckingham Palace for one of his "Large Trains".
So anyway I really treasure this time of year - not only do I really love making these things (I've been doing it for almost 40 years), but it also reminds me of my dad and the joy he got watching kids play with the toys he made. When it came to these toys, I think he was almost as much a kid as the kids who actually bought and played with the toys. For me, since I don't do the craft fair thing like he and Mom did, I get my joy from seeing the expression on the faces of the recipients of my efforts. Most times they are much more appreciative than the gift deserves. I'm not yet up to the standard of my father, and sometimes what I gift to others has some obvious (at least to me) flaws. I am improving with time, however, and I do more lathe work than Dad, I love the lathe - you can actually SEE the item taking shape as you work on it; turning is fairly easy to learn, but can take a long time to master.
One of the distinct advantages of this time of year comes as a result of the first step mentioned above: "time to clean up the woodshop". I do lots of DIY home improvement projects throughout the year and I tend to leave my tools in 'convenient' spots. Trouble is these spots are only convenient when you can remember where they are AND when they're in close proximity to where you're working. Since most of my Christmas-elf projects are located in the shop itself, and few, if any, of my year-round project are, most of the waylaid tools are NOT convenient for the seasonal projects. If I could just get myself to ALWAYS put my tools back, I'd be less likely to waste time looking for them when I need them. And with dozens of power tools, hundreds or maybe even thousands of hand tools, you can see where having things in unconventional places would get to be a challenge to find. I really enjoy finding most of my long lost tools again!
Well, anyway, to my whole audience of 2 or 3, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
Dad worked almost exclusively with cherry (his favorite) or maple (a close second). He always told a customer that all of his toys had a limited lifetime warranty - he'd repair any toy returned to him - only limited to his lifetime. I've seen kids throw a toy my father made across the room, down the stairs, off the porch, what have you, and show virtually no damage. I've also seen some of the pine toys break because the kid rolled the toy across the floor! Sure cherry or maple is more expensive - about twice the cost of pine - but, when you compare that to the extended lifetime of the toy (probably 10 to fifteen times as long - at least), it's really a no-brainer. Dad had return customers from across the country and around the world - I know of at least some connection to Buckingham Palace for one of his "Large Trains".
So anyway I really treasure this time of year - not only do I really love making these things (I've been doing it for almost 40 years), but it also reminds me of my dad and the joy he got watching kids play with the toys he made. When it came to these toys, I think he was almost as much a kid as the kids who actually bought and played with the toys. For me, since I don't do the craft fair thing like he and Mom did, I get my joy from seeing the expression on the faces of the recipients of my efforts. Most times they are much more appreciative than the gift deserves. I'm not yet up to the standard of my father, and sometimes what I gift to others has some obvious (at least to me) flaws. I am improving with time, however, and I do more lathe work than Dad, I love the lathe - you can actually SEE the item taking shape as you work on it; turning is fairly easy to learn, but can take a long time to master.
One of the distinct advantages of this time of year comes as a result of the first step mentioned above: "time to clean up the woodshop". I do lots of DIY home improvement projects throughout the year and I tend to leave my tools in 'convenient' spots. Trouble is these spots are only convenient when you can remember where they are AND when they're in close proximity to where you're working. Since most of my Christmas-elf projects are located in the shop itself, and few, if any, of my year-round project are, most of the waylaid tools are NOT convenient for the seasonal projects. If I could just get myself to ALWAYS put my tools back, I'd be less likely to waste time looking for them when I need them. And with dozens of power tools, hundreds or maybe even thousands of hand tools, you can see where having things in unconventional places would get to be a challenge to find. I really enjoy finding most of my long lost tools again!
Well, anyway, to my whole audience of 2 or 3, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thanksgiving Weekend
Well, I had a very nice time with the inlaws this past weekend in Toledo, OH. My wife's family mostly lives there and we decided to go for a visit - we hadn't been there for a holiday in several years - it was time for a return trip. First off the drive there was quite surprisingly nice. Shorter than I expected - only 6½ hours door to door. The next pleasant surprise was the price of gas out that way. We filled up just inside the Ohio border for $2.44 a gallon as compared to $2.89 here at home. It was only $2.46 in Toledo on Wednesday through mid morning on Friday, then I guess the going price of crude jumped because the price went up to $2.60 a gallon in one swell foop! And they maintain in Toledo that they don't play games with their pricing! Really!
Anyway, on Friday Angie and I did partake in our annual tradition: Black Friday shopping. I have to say how impressed I am with the shoppers in the stores we visited. No pushing, trampling, bad language, short tempers like there had been every other year I've gone out. Not as many miraculous deals as were promised, though. A few good deals, but, mostly we enjoy the people watching. It was refreshing to see that people CAN behave themselves on Black Friday.
My father-in-law had a good weekend also. We were able to bring him to the house each day we were there and even got special permission to keep him out later than the rules usually allowed. He really perks up when Angie comes out for a visit. He loves the rest of his family, and treasures the time he can spend with them, but, since Angie can only come out infrequently, it obviously means a whole lot to him. It was good to see him in such good spirits for such an extended time. Truly something to be thankful for!
Watched Marley and Me while we were out there; very tough movie to see after having lost our dog this April. We'd had Zeke for almost 17 years! My son doesn't really remember life without Zeke. And Zeke was not a terror like Marley was - he was just a typical Labrador. He did chew on things while he was a puppy (did I mention that he considered himself a puppy for at least 2½ years?), but he was a very good dog all-in-all. That movie really brings home just how a dog looks at you even if you don't always dote on it. They worship you. Really tore me up at the end of the movie. My wife says she's not ready to watch it yet. We own it, but it still sets in its case, unopened. Talk about a tearjerker!
Anyway I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and had time to realize just how many things you have to truly be thankful for. If you can't think of any, post a comment, and I may be able to suggest some things!
Anyway, on Friday Angie and I did partake in our annual tradition: Black Friday shopping. I have to say how impressed I am with the shoppers in the stores we visited. No pushing, trampling, bad language, short tempers like there had been every other year I've gone out. Not as many miraculous deals as were promised, though. A few good deals, but, mostly we enjoy the people watching. It was refreshing to see that people CAN behave themselves on Black Friday.
My father-in-law had a good weekend also. We were able to bring him to the house each day we were there and even got special permission to keep him out later than the rules usually allowed. He really perks up when Angie comes out for a visit. He loves the rest of his family, and treasures the time he can spend with them, but, since Angie can only come out infrequently, it obviously means a whole lot to him. It was good to see him in such good spirits for such an extended time. Truly something to be thankful for!
Watched Marley and Me while we were out there; very tough movie to see after having lost our dog this April. We'd had Zeke for almost 17 years! My son doesn't really remember life without Zeke. And Zeke was not a terror like Marley was - he was just a typical Labrador. He did chew on things while he was a puppy (did I mention that he considered himself a puppy for at least 2½ years?), but he was a very good dog all-in-all. That movie really brings home just how a dog looks at you even if you don't always dote on it. They worship you. Really tore me up at the end of the movie. My wife says she's not ready to watch it yet. We own it, but it still sets in its case, unopened. Talk about a tearjerker!
Anyway I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and had time to realize just how many things you have to truly be thankful for. If you can't think of any, post a comment, and I may be able to suggest some things!
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