January « 2010 « Jim's Random Notes

Absorb this

By Jim, on January 25th, 2010%

Yesterday, a friend of mine trotted out that old urban legend about using WD-40 to ease the pain of arthritis. I tried to tell him it was a myth, but he didn’t believe me. His argument: fish oil is known to help relieve arthritis pain, and WD-40 contains fish oil. Oh, boy.

First, the manufacturer . . . → Read More: Absorb this

Rufus & Sadie

By Jim, on January 24th, 2010%

A lot of wood carvers have tried their hands at Rufus and Sadie from Harold Enlow’s book, Carving Figure Caricatures in the Ozark Style. This, perhaps, isn’t the best rendition ever, but I had fun with it. The little dog is from a piece of cedar.

. . . → Read More: Rufus & Sadie

Sanity(?) prevails

By Jim, on January 20th, 2010%

We should see some small measure of sanity emerge from the election of Republican Scott Brown to fill the vacant Senate seat left by the death of Senator Kennedy. I think it’s dangerous for any single party to control the White House and both houses of Congress. We only have to go back to the . . . → Read More: Sanity(?) prevails

It’s all a matter of perception

By Jim, on January 18th, 2010%

The story is told of a man who becomes convinced that he’s dead. At first, his family tries to logic: “Look, you’re walking and breathing and talking. You can’t possibly be dead!” Failing that, they referred him to a psychiatrist who tried the same line of reasoning, again to no avail. The man is eventually . . . → Read More: It’s all a matter of perception

Barry the Bear

By Jim, on January 14th, 2010%

This carving is my rendition of Mike Shipley’s “Barry the Bear” from his book Woodcarving the Country Bear & His Friends. I deviated from the pattern quite a bit on the details, but it’s pretty clear where the original idea came from.

Barry is about 4 inches tall. It was another project for my carving . . . → Read More: Barry the Bear

Christmas ornament swap

By Jim, on January 14th, 2010%

Last summer, I signed up to participate in the Christmas ornament swap organized by some members of the Woodcarving Illustrated message board. I ended up sending out 22 ornaments and getting 16 or 18 back. The other four went to people who were involved, but not participating. I didn’t get pictures of all the ornaments . . . → Read More: Christmas ornament swap

Behind closed doors

By Jim, on January 6th, 2010%

In a thinly reported move the other day, House and Senate Democratic leaders decided to “fast track” coming up with a compromise health care bill. Rather than forming the usual conference committee that includes members from both parties, the fast track approach will be held behind closed doors and include only the Democratic leadership from . . . → Read More: Behind closed doors

Jim's Random Notes