One more snowman

By Jim, on December 23rd, 2010%

I just had to do one more snowman. This piece is carved from pear wood and stands about 3-1/4 inches tall. The arms are random twigs from the yard and the pipe is carved from mesquite. The pipe is slightly too large for the snowman, but I’m not sure I could carve it any smaller. . . . → Read More: One more snowman

Comments are closed   Carving

Sycamore snowman

By Jim, on December 19th, 2010%

While sitting out on the porch today overseeing a batch of ranchero sauce cooking on the gas burner, I whittled this little snowman (about 3 inches tall) from a sycamore branch.

The nose is actually a dark spot in the wood, which just happened to be in a fortuitous spot. The eyes, mouth, and . . . → Read More: Sycamore snowman

Comments are closed   Carving

Snowman

By Jim, on December 16th, 2010%

I was doodling on a piece of maple over the weekend and ended up with a goofy snowman. The nose is the end of a toothpick. Goofy, sure, but it has a certain charm.

Comments are closed   Carving

How constant is a constant?

By Jim, on December 10th, 2010%

How constant are constants?

I got a rude surprise today when I discovered that constants in C# (.NET programs in general) are a little more constant than I thought. I know that sounds strange, but let me explain.

Here’s a C# class that defines two constants and a method that outputs those constants.

using System; . . . → Read More: How constant is a constant?

4 comments - (Comments are closed)   Programming

Pinecone earrings

By Jim, on December 10th, 2010%

This is a set of earrings I carved from basswood. They’re actually very light–lighter than most gold earrings. People like the pinecones, but they’re kind of tedious to carve.

Comments are closed   Carving

Pumpkin Patch

By Jim, on December 9th, 2010%

I started carving on this pumpkin patch back in October after I completed the third of my scarecrow figures. Then I got bogged down with other things, or perhaps I was afraid to put this thing together. If I didn’t try, then I couldn’t screw it up. I did make some mistakes, but nothing fatal.

. . . → Read More: Pumpkin Patch

Comments are closed   Carving

You can’t tell the difference

By Jim, on December 7th, 2010%

In a 2007 study, researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Stanford’s business school found that people enjoy more expensive wine more than cheaper wine–even if the two wines are the same. Article. If you think the wine is more expensive, you like it more.

A separate study showed that test subjects rated a . . . → Read More: You can’t tell the difference

Comments are closed   Odds 'n Ends

The confusing world of rifle caliber

By Jim, on December 3rd, 2010%

Debra and I went up north again over Thanksgiving, spending four days and nights at a ranch in Ranger, TX with our friends Mike and Kristi. Mike spent part of each day sitting in a deer blind with his rifle, hoping to get some fresh venison. One afternoon I was asking him about his rifle, . . . → Read More: The confusing world of rifle caliber

Comments are closed   Odds 'n Ends