The costume isn’t fooling anybody

By Jim, on October 28th, 2010%

When I was in military school, we were expected to wear our uniforms at all times when we weren’t in the barracks. We had the daily uniform, a uniform for working out (PT gear), dress uniforms, etc. The only time we weren’t in uniform was when taking a shower or sleeping. We even wore our . . . → Read More: The costume isn’t fooling anybody

One comment - (Comments are closed)   Uncategorized

Barney Frank is incompetent

By Jim, on October 16th, 2010%

At least, that’s what he wants us to believe. The Boston Globe reports that Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, finally admitted that he was late in seeing the developing mortgage crisis and that he was wrong about the financial viability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Now, being late to see . . . → Read More: Barney Frank is incompetent

Comments are closed   Odds 'n Ends

Scarecrow ornament

By Jim, on October 15th, 2010%

A recent issue of Woodcarving Illustrated magazine had a one-page article showing this miniature scarecrow ornament. It’s about 3.5 inches tall, carved from wood about 3/4 inch thick. I didn’t have any basswood of appropriate thickness, so I grabbed a board from an old pallet that I’d torn apart for scrap lumber. I have way . . . → Read More: Scarecrow ornament

Comments are closed   Carving

C# versus the data structure

By Jim, on October 10th, 2010%

Overall, I very much like the C# language, the .NET Framework, and the benefits of having my programs run in a virtual machine. But sometimes, all that gets in the way. I recently ran into an excellent example that illustrates how the execution environment can make things very difficult.

A skip list is a data . . . → Read More: C# versus the data structure

2 comments - (Comments are closed)   Programming

Outlaw Trail 100

By Jim, on October 10th, 2010%

The 23rd annual Outlaw Trail 100 bicycle tour started at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock at 8:00 AM yesterday. The temperature at the start was right at 60 degrees: a bit on the chilly side to ride without a vest or arm warmers, but I knew that it’d warm up pretty soon. It got . . . → Read More: Outlaw Trail 100

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Carving Whimsical Houses, Day 3

By Jim, on October 4th, 2010%

Today was the third and final day of the class taught by Rick Jensen. You might want to view Day 1 and Day 2 before continuing here.

I said yesterday that I had a lot of work left to complete this carving, and that I probably wouldn’t be able to finish it before the end . . . → Read More: Carving Whimsical Houses, Day 3

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Carving Whimsical Houses, Day 2

By Jim, on October 3rd, 2010%

You might want to check out Day 1 if you missed it.

Today was exciting and frustrating in approximately equal amounts. I’m excited because I can see my house taking shape, but frustrated because my carving skill is not up to the task of realizing my vision. This is especially true when it comes to . . . → Read More: Carving Whimsical Houses, Day 2

Comments are closed   Carving

Gnome home

By Jim, on October 3rd, 2010%

I carved this gnome home or whimsical house back in March from a piece of cottonwood bark that I “won” in a club raffle. I found some brief instructions online and set to work with only a vague idea of what I was doing. It was an interesting project and although I made quite a . . . → Read More: Gnome home

Comments are closed   Carving

Carving Whimsical Houses, Day 1

By Jim, on October 3rd, 2010%

My carving club, the Central Texas Woodcarvers Association, invited Rick Jensen to come teach a couple of classes locally. After carving my first whimsical house back in March, I jumped at the chance to take a class from one of the best cottonwood bark carvers around. Today was the first day of a three-day class.

. . . → Read More: Carving Whimsical Houses, Day 1

Comments are closed   Carving