Monthly Archives: October 2009

Getting started with wood carving – What to carve

Enough about knives, safety, and wood.  Let’s talk about what to carve.  If you’re new to wood carving, then you probably should start with simple projects so that you can get comfortable with holding the knife and using the basic … Continue reading

Posted in Carving | Comments Off

Two useful, one marginal

I recently had the need to delve into the world of JSON (Java Script Object Notation) to read some data from a particular Web site. For my purposes, the simple JSON reader provided by .NET worked just fine. The way … Continue reading

Posted in Computers | Comments Off

A box of peppers

Well, it seemed like a box.  When we lived in Scottsdale, Debra and I did a lot of our grocery shopping at Price Club (since purchased by Costco).  One day we needed crushed red peppers.  But you can’t get a … Continue reading

Posted in Odds 'n Ends | Comments Off

Karate Bear

This was a gift for a friend’s birthday.  It’s carved from a 3″ x 1″ x 1″ piece of basswood.  I hope to use this basic design (shape of the head and general proportion) for a number of different caricatures.  … Continue reading

Posted in Carving | Comments Off

Sniffing network traffic

My latest crawler modifications require me to scrape Web pages that host videos so that I can obtain metadata (title, description, date posted, etc.) that we place in our index.  Unfortunately, there’s no standard way for sites to present such … Continue reading

Posted in Computers, Internet, Programming | 1 Comment

Getting started with wood carving – Wood Part 1

The most commonly used carving wood in the U.S. is kiln dried basswood.  The wood is relatively soft, but hard enough to hold fine detail.  The softness and uniformity of the wood make it easier to carve than most other … Continue reading

Posted in Carving | Comments Off

Getting started with wood carving – Safety

Before I move on to wood and beginner projects, I should talk a little bit about safety. Unless you’re a chef or a surgeon, or have some other job that requires you to play with sharp implements, your carving knife … Continue reading

Posted in Carving | 2 Comments

Getting started with wood carving – The Knife

A good sharp knife is the only essential tool you need in order to get started with whittling or wood carving.  Well, you’ll also need a way to keep the knife sharp.  Other than that, everything else is optional.  Just … Continue reading

Posted in Carving | Comments Off

Tracking Hurricanes

We’ve had a relatively calm hurricane season this year.  According to the National Hurricane Center, we’ve had eight storms:  two hurricanes, five tropical storms, and one tropical depression.  That’s a far cry from the past eleven years in which the … Continue reading

Posted in Odds 'n Ends | Comments Off