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4.8.08

Sarah Regrets the Burger.

After the rockstar roadtrip workshop yesterday, we all headed to Chicago’s famous Billy Goat Tavern for some dinner. My new pal, Sarah Anne Barlow, showed up a few minutes after we got there and it was so nice to see a familiar face! Sarah, not at all a fan of fast food, ordered a Billy Goat double burger – I warned her – but I think she just must have been mighty hungry. Too bad for her, later, as we walked back to her car (thanks for the ride) she confessed that she regretted it. The greasy nastiness of the Billy Goat burger is not for all. I was telling Matt about this as we were brushing our teeth this morning and he said “Man, I love that place, we used to eat there all the time after work.” Case and Point. Gulde will eat ANYTHING.

Filed in: Uncategorized

by Sally

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April 8, 2008 - 9:11 pm

Kristen - That’s such a funny story, Sal. Your pictures are amazing! Great work capturing the essence of the group. I almost feel like I was there!

April 15, 2008 - 10:00 pm

Sarah Barlow - HAHA!! omg!! Yeah…I should have for sure held out for Sushi…lol!

4.8.08

German Fine Tools Catalog

The Dick Fine Tools Catalog is pure joy.  I signed up for this free handtool catalog online, and didn’t know what I was getting.  When it arrived today, Francis chose it for her bedtime story, and we discovered the poetry of Steel.  Listen, as the catalog spreads the gospel of the sharp edge:

Hand sharpening provides you with insight into the inner life of the steel, its structure, quality and the forging process itself.  Your fingertips gauge the interaction between the stone and the steel and the sounds produced reveal whether the two are in harmony.  Patience and concentration are rewarded with cutting edges of unsurpassed sharpness.  Sharpening is a dance with perfection, a challenge for the senses, not to mention fun.

There is wisdom here; not just in helpful exposition (for example, the difference between Western and Japanese chisels), but in timeless prose on the nature of man and his tools.

Check out this amazing virtual version of the catalog.
Filed in: matt | workshop
4.6.08

Woodturning #5: Cherry Bowl

A couple months ago, a neighbor asked me if I wanted any wood from two trees cut from his father’s yard. He dropped off a very large oak log and a couple smaller cherry logs. There was enough cherry for four bowls. This was the fourth attempt, and the only one worth a damn — although, as you can see, it’s no good for cereal.

This bowl shows off one of my favorite things about woodturning. When my friend gave me the wood, there was no way to know it contained this interesting inclusion. When I cut into it this afternoon, I saw that a partial ring in the interior had rotted away. Even seeing that, I didn’t know exactly what this would end up looking like until I had removed a lot of wood.

Filed in: workshop

by Sally

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April 7, 2008 - 1:31 pm

The Olson Family - I like it…..hole and all. 🙂 Jen

4.2.08

Quiz Time

Just so that huge memento mori is not on top of our blog anymore, go take this quiz and post your results in the comments.
Filed in: Uncategorized

by Sally

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April 3, 2008 - 4:05 am

The Olson Family - John Paul got 47 !!! He's a biochem major. He was feeling BAD that he only got 47….What ever! He got more but we just couldn't get the exact spelling. Smart dude!

April 3, 2008 - 4:23 am

Michael - 20…and currently in a chemistry class, yikes.

April 3, 2008 - 3:23 pm

Matt - 34 here, and I'm surprised at the easy ones I missed (tin, cobalt) and the obscure ones I could recall(strontium, einsteinium).

April 4, 2008 - 7:04 pm

Jason Boyett - So, I started to do the periodic table but was distracted by the quiz to name all the teams in major league baseball.

I got them all, with 1:01 remaining. The AL Central just about stumped me, though.

April 5, 2008 - 2:44 am

katherine petillo - 27. did i really know these at some point?

3.31.08

Remember

178 days ago (or back when I had 178 more days to live than I do now), I talked about Kevin Kelly’s Countdown Clock application for igoogle. It’s a simple widget that displays — conveniently, on your browser homepage — the estimated number of days you have left.

This wristwatch is a stylish variation on the theme.

Filed in: matt