Puttering in the Study

Hub book case - update

Finally had some time this morning to get Hub #003, the three shelf bookcase for the Marshall Chamber banquet auction a little closer to completion.  Last weekend I spent most of both days in the workshop, but it was mostly to get more pegboard up on the walls (one piece is shown in the background) and painted to match the pegboard over the work bench, which was put in when the house was built.  I just didn't anticipate needing quite so much hanging storage, but things changed when I developed this fetish for 24" furniture clamps. 

When I dry-fitted it two weeks ago the middle shelf was sitting too far back (the shelves should be half an inch back from the sides) and the bottom shelf was about a quarter inch too low.  When I took it apart I found the first problem was a slot cut half an inch further back than it should have been, so I cut that in the right place and cut new slots a quarter inch higher for the bottom shelf.  I then taped blocks to the shelves and backs to hold the pieces in place while I added the other side.  (I'd like to say they held everything neatly in place but the truth is that I had to start screaming for Jamie to come help because two hands was not enough to hold six pieces of wood upright while applying a seventh).

But we finally got the thing assembled, and clamped within an inch of its life, which let me turn to a new way of making the card holders for the sides.  For the two book racks I couldn't figure out a way to cut them from Hub shelving, so I bought some new 3/4" screen molding and used that, manually routing out the grrove for the card with a chisel.  But I didn't like the way the new wood took the stain, or the rounded edges on it, so the other night I figured out how I could use the table saw to cut these quarter-inch thick strips of wood with the 3/16" inch grooves without losing a finger, so I did that today.  I then used wood conditioner on the finished pieces before staining them.  The photo shows the screen molding I had been using next so the pieces cut today from a piece of Hub shelving, and fitted into the new label holder / bin pull template.  You can see how much darker and squarer the pieces are - much closer to the label holders on the original 1897 Hub bins.  Yes, that's the difference between a new piece of pine and a piece from old-growth lumber that's been aged 80-plus years up in the 111 side mezzanine, baking up there in the dry heat since Calvin Coolidge was president (where it was before 1928 I have no idea, but it's likely it was new at that time given where it was - this is not wood that I think came from the 1897 store, unlike the shelving).   

Speaking of which, I used the template for the first time today (shown in place)and it made accurately placing the holder and bin pull screws a piece of cake.  The piece now has its second coat of varnish drying, but I'll add a third (and maybe a fourth) tomorrow before adding the bin pulls.  This one needs to be a little shinier, I think. 

The 101 Dalmations - Dodie Smith; 101 Dalmations - Disney

One of my favorite books from 8th grade was a paperback copy of the original 1956 The 101 Dalmations book by Dodie Smith.  I liked it even better than the 1961 Disney movie  Just how much better I didn't realize till I watched the movie while reading the original book to the boys at night. 

We had just been to seen the musical in Dallas a few months back, so I started reading them the book at night, which got me interested in watching the movie.  I actually was really disappointed in the movie - it was a lot cruder (the animation) and truncated compared to the book, and was missing an entire section that included a little Scottie dog (which means that that was from a different Disney movie and I now have no clue at all which one that is).  Anyway, the boys liked the musical, and enjoyed having the book read - even if their dad did have a little case of the sniffles when Pongo and Perdita are at the Twilight Barking hearing news of their stolen puppies.  One day they'll understand.

Catholic Customs and Traditions: A Popular Guide - Greg Dues

Sunday morning I take the boys to Sunday school at 8:45 at my old elementary school, St. Joseph's, and then have an hour and almost half to kill before we load up and head for church.  Several weeks ago I started taking some of the books about the Church that Jamie got when we got married in an effort to remedy my really extraordinary lack of knowledge about my faith.  (It's kind of like that when you were educated immediately after Vatican II, I think - nobody was sure what was in and what was out, it seemed like.  Well that was out, of course, but I mean as far as the rest).

This was a really, really interesting book.  It went though everything from the church year, festivals, sacraments, sacramentals (never even heard that word before), saints, and so forth, and explained where they came from and why.  For many, many traditions there's a history that goes back to before the church itself, to pagan religious customs either in the Roman Empire or in the northern countries from which many of our traditions actually come from, and to how the early Church adopted and adapted the customs and traditions of the societies in which it evolved.

Actually it was this book that explained to me why I ought to be reading things like this on Sunday morning instead of working office e-mails, which was the original plan.  I was reading the section about what Sunday being a day of rest meant, and it pointed out that you could do work, of course - just not work that would interfere with appreciating the significance of the religious activity that you are engaged in on Sundays (or something to that effect).  So perhaps, I suddenly realized, working office e-mails and to do list items for an hour immediately before church might not be a good choice.  So instead I read books like this hoping to learn more about my faith, and I have really enjoyed the change.  I'm in a more receptive frame of mind when I get to church, and I am reminded at an opportune time that the Lord would likely not approve of me beating my three sons to death during church because they won't behave.  Which is a reminder I need on a weekly basis, because every week we're edging right up to that line...

Super Crunchers - Ian Ayres

I try to keep a book unrelated to law at the office for reading when I'm having lunch on days when lunch really needs to be a break from work.  Lately I've been reading this book, which was recommended by a friend.

I found the infromation of what data crunchers can do fascinating, as well as the stories about the resistance in professional communities (teaching, medicine, law, etc.) to number crunchers telling us how we should do our work.  I learned statistical analysis while in graduate school in Austin, but this showed me some advances that we didn't know about (now over 20 years ago).  The interesting thing - which I think Ayres perhaps understandably understates - is that the initial design of the analysis requires a lot of time and is no better than the data selected for analysis.  In addition, many issues are not reproducible economically using data crunching because they're so small, so it's always a judgment call whether the answer the data gives you is applicable to a particular question.  For example, the data may tell you that person A is likely to do X.  But what if the data doesn't know that person X just broke their leg, or got a divorce, or get demoted at work?  Is the prediction accurate in that situation, and who even knows what factors are out there that may affect the analysis you do have.  In other words, data crunchers can give you an answer, but they may not know whether it's to the relevant question.

In any event, the book was very interesting.

Quatermass and the Pit

I picked up this 1968 Hammer film a few years back when I read it was one of the inspirations for John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness.  I think that's a terrific movie but I can't remember for sure because it scared me so bad I won't watch it again.  Just the music frightens me.  It's one of those I would have to watch on a very small screen in a well-lit room in the middle of the day.  It's just so well-executed that it gives you nightmares because it has such indelible images that at some level you can't quite convince yourself it's not real.

Well, not this one.  The first time I watched this we were on a trip and I had a hard time figuring out the ending on the small laptop screen.  Turns out it wasn't the screen - it makes no more sense on a TV.  But it is a neat little movie with a good idea behind it, although the alien creatures are so unbelievably bad it hurts.  Not a bad movie - a good one for sci-fi buffs.  It struck me as a really good idea that just ran out of money for an ending.  Carpenter figured one out, which is one reason why his is markedly better (in addition to the updated production values).

Pinewood Derby 2010

First (and only) year that all three boys had cars in competition, and it was a three trophy day.  Grayson was the only second-year Webelos competing, so he ended up with first by default, and Parker and Collin scored second and third place in their Tiger Cub den (which meant that they raced against each other multiple times, which was the proverbial hoot to watch - Tigger and Eeyore).  A good time was had by all, and all three will get to compete in district in two weeks.

Busy morning for dad getting ready, if you know what I mean, and dads, I know that you do.

Hub bookcase (#003) progress

The third piece of Hub furniture is taking shape this weekend.  I finished cutting the pieces , cut the biscuit holes (parts shown at left before staining), stained the parts, and dry-fitted the entire thing tonight, and decided that ... I need more clamps.

Two new details on the this piece.  First, because of the larger size biscuits alone won't be enough, so I installed a complete set of cleats under the bottom shelf (shown at right with the toe kicks being added), so that the bottom shelf can be screwed into the sides without any screws showing from the outside. 

Second, I applied wood conditioner to the wood before staining.  I've used that before when staining raw pine to try to get the color darker, but hadn't been able to find it when making the book racks (and they really didn't seem to need it).  As I think you can tell from the picture, the stain is a lot more even and darker, even on the older wood, with the stain.  I was really please with the result.

Just a couple of fit issues to iron out before gluing the thing up for good, but I need more clamps first, so it'll be a few days before I get the thing actually assembled and add the label holders.  I want to redo the template I'm using for that first anyway, so I'm not in a hurry.

It's Pinewood Derby time again...

With Collin and Parker now in Tiger Cubs, I have three boys needing help with their cars this year! We cut out car bodies yesterday in the workshop.  Each of the boys has a taped off "garage" area and drew up plans for their car and gave me instructions on how the car body was to be shaped.  We got the cars primed and painted today and they're ready for detailing.  The wheels and axles and weight are another issue entirely...

New Travel Bag for Christmas

I have posted before ad nauseam about the different bags and briefcases I have accumulated for work and travel, and here's another.  Yeah, it's a man purse - let's just get that out of the way up front.  Watch Indiana Jones sometimes and you'll notice he carries one too.  So does Mr. Spock - in the 23rd century they call it a tricorder, but I'm pretty sure he keeps tissues and lip balm in it.  Hey - I've been married 13 years and have three kids - I'll trade my masculinity for a useful piece of luggage any day of the week. (Especially if it has butter-soft leather, but that's probably telling you too much...)

This Russell Men's Travel Bag was a Christmas present from Jamie and the boys.  I have become a big fan of my Territory Ahead Guy Stuff Travel Bag knapsack, and carry it anytime we travel - it holds phone, camera, books - even the netbook if we needed it.  But it is a big casual, and sometimes I have wanted something nicer (and with a handle) for plane trips (it didn't have a handle when I bought it - the photo indicates they have added that now.  Wonder if I could send it back for an upgrade?)

It is definitely less flexible than the TA bag - it holds its shape rigidly and getting large objects in and out of the main compartment is difficult (slim books need only apply).  Also, the outer compartments are similar less flexible - the thing is a lot more like a briefcase than a bag, and the corners will no doubt wear if you try to cram it too full.  But for what I use it for - bag with headphones and book to keep in the seat with me on plane trips, and small bag to carry reading materials while waiting on boys at Sunday School, it works well, and I like getting to carry it.  I still use the TA bag for when I need to really stuff stuff in (especially on vacations with Jamie or at ballgames), or when the bag is going to get knocked around, but this makes a nice dressier knapsack, and allows me to stow (or not even take) a briefcase in a lot of situations, without looking like I'm backpacking. 

Watchmen - book (Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons) and DVD (Zack Snyder)

Someone got me the DVD several months ago and I finally got around to watching it.  The first two hours anyway, and the thing would just not end.  I was also horrified at the blood and gore (I got far enough for the sex part too - wasn't too horrified with that, except for the music) because I thought this was a comic book movie - thank God Grayson didn't watch it with me.  It was weeks later before I finally finished it and I was so mystified why this thing made so little sense (all I could think of that "this is "The Incredibles" - that's all it is) that I watched the various documentaries about it.  I thought that there has to be some reason why this movie got made - because it is visually stunning, the acting is great, and people are obviously taking it real seriously.

Then I got it.  They mentioned that the original 1986 graphic novel was named one of TIME's All-time 100 novels (see here) - the only graphic novel included (and that was the year from Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) and I got interested.  So I got the graphic novel, and I was just blown away by it. The thing that got to me was that each chapter included not just traditional comic book/graphic novel graphics, but excerpts from source material - a book by the original Nite owl, newspaper accounts, and so forth that gave a back story and verisimilitude to what was happening in the panels.  The story takes place in an alternate universe where superheroes fight crime, and Nixon gets elected to five terms, which I someone didn't quite manage to get when watching the movie the first time - the opening credits begin with the original crime fighters in the 1940's and end up in the 1980's, setting the stage for what happens next.  All I could think of is "well, this is like 'The Incredibles'".  But after reading the book I got what the big themes were and why things were happening and could enjoy the amazing artistry that went into the movie itself, as well as the immense respect for the book.  Many, many scenes come straight out out of the book, and in fact the movie is for the most part a straight telling of the graphic novel.  It is long - I've only watched the director's cut - but it's a real feast for the eyes when you know what it is telling you, and you can appreciate the director's decisions and how much respect he pays to the book.  (The actors are great, by the way - simply great).  The one disappointment is that the DVD's director commentary feature (which includes a lot of extras) is problematic - you can't simply turn it on and go to a chapter, so I've only been able to watch about half of it.

Anyway, under no circumstances let a kid watch the movie.  Or a young kid read the graphic novel for that matter, but for an adult, this is a real treat.  Although, again, I would highly recommend reading the book first.