Captain Jack

Captain Jack was found in the woods as a pup, hung up in some brush and probably would have become coyote food if I hadn't carried him a couple of miles out of the woods with me.  We nursed him back to health and planned to find a home for him, but we ended up keeping him.  Now he's a 90 pound baby who will climb up in your lap if you aren't paying attention.  He obviously has some German Shepherd in him and he has some smarts.

Captain Jack, like his owner, is not a tarheel fan.

Wildlife in the Woods

Recently, while working in the woods, I heard a strange noise coming from the direction of an old stump.  It sounded like scratching and digging and was coming from inside this six foot stump.

I am always curious and started to walk over and investigate, but I started wondering if there was a skunk digging around in there.  I had to clean up my dogs after one of their skunk encounters and I will never forget the odor.  It stayed on them for several weeks, even after the tomato juice and peroxide shampoo.  So I used the camera to light up the crack in the stump with the flash and see if I could tell more about what was inside.  This is what the camera revealed:

Hmmm... definitely not a skunk.  Having a pretty good idea about what might be in the stump, I decided to go for the video.  Of course, I was a little apprehensive about placing my hand over my head and into a stump where an animal with razor sharp claws and beak had easy access, but I took a chance anyway and captured this:

It took me two tries to capture a video of this barred owl trying to hide from me.  He never came out, even after I sat still and quiet behind his temporary refuge for 10 minutes.  Eventually, I had to move on.  The owl had endured the only creature likely to discover its hiding spot and won.

Surrounded by Idiots part 2

If you are employed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and tasked with keeping passengers safe on airplanes, which of the following should be stopped for enhanced screening (ie: strip searched):


Suspect A: the 9 year old

Suspect B: the 85 year old granny

 Suspect C: an actual muslim

 If you guessed A and B, then congratulations, not only are you an idiot, but you are well qualified to work for the TSA.  And yes, those are the individuals that the TSA will search, remove their clothes, and pat down.  Just ask the grandma, who was injured in the process.

At some point, Congress is going to have to step in and end the TSA, or at least instruct them to screen out actual terrorists instead of the elderly and children.  One of these days, a father will end the life of a TSA agent that tries to strip search his 6 year old child.  Put me on that jury and I will acquit him.

Wake up America; you voted in a communist and now we are beginning to creep towards dictatorship.

Loft Bed

Anything that I build myself is better in both design and materials than anything I can buy.  No particle board for me; and you can keep your bamboo, jatoba, ipe, sapele, and all that other tropical stuff.  Good old American hardwoods; oak, maple, cherry; are my materials of preference.  I prefer real joinery and construction techniques that you simply cannot find in furniture from Ashley, IKEA, or anything imported from China (which these days is just about everything).

The latest project I finished is a loft bed.  The retail prices for this bed were in the $1700 range.  I am in the $300 to 400 range for building it myself.  And that includes a lighting system for the desk.  I have looked at these beds in furniture stores and they are more flimsy than I am comfortable with. 

The legs are made out of plywood.  I glued up four pieces per leg and used a hand planer to shape it up.  I used a trick I have heard of but never tried; auto bondo to fill in gaps, cracks, and wood grain.  It made a perfectly smooth edge that is difficult to achieve with just sanding.

For the side rails, I tried using FAS dimension lumber, but it ended up twisting just enough that I was not satisfied with it.  Back to the plywood; I glued up my own framing stock by gluing two pieces together and using bondo to fill the edges.

The shelves are made with plywood and dado joinery and pine for the face and trim.  The desk is made from plywood and is bolted to the shelves so that it stands on its own.  For good measure, one of the shelves is attached to the 4 x 5 legs.  The desktop and large end-shelf were supposed to line up, but I forgot about that when I was building the shelf for the second time.  The first shelf was too tall, as were the legs.  Adjusting the height on the legs was easily accomplished with a circle saw.  For the shelf, it was a do-over.

The pieces separate so they can be put to other uses should the loft bed be no longer desired.  They will probably make good furniture for a college apartment some day.  The only thing I am not satisfied with is the white paint.  I cannot seem to apply paint without leaving brush marks.  I think it is a problem that can only be solved with a 20 gallon air compressor.  Most men’s problems can usually be solved with a power tool of some sort.

Unlike what you can buy in a store, most of the hardware is hidden or designed out of this bed.  That made it more difficult to design and build, but overall, I am happy with how it looks.  The only thing I would change with some of the parts is to cut more weight out wherever possible.

Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out.  Now I've got to finish that plywood skeleton before the trick or treaters get here.

How to Spot Problem Legislation

Congress has a chronic legislation problem. They suffer from the belief that they are performing work or helping constituents when they are drafting legislation. Personally, I would like to see thousands of pages of legislation repealed. I think we should only have 300 pages of laws. That way, most people could read, understand, and therefore comply with the law. That being said, I put together a list that I believe can help everyone, including congress, identify bad legislation before it becomes law, and therefore improve the efforts from Washington DC.


Was it written by special interests or for special interests?
If the answer is “yes”, then it is probably bad legislation. Special interests rarely benefit the public at large, and most special interests groups would wither away were it not for the public teat that they so vigorously suck at to stay alive. Legislation funding special interests in any way should not become law.

Does it exempt certain groups of citizens?
ObamaCare is a great example of really bad legislation. It fails each one of the tests described in this list. But there is now a long list of states, unions, and groups of citizens that have been officially exempted from this law. Why? Laws should benefit all of the citizens, not just a few. If you have a law that will benefit 51 percent of our nation, then you need to start over.

Is congress exempted from the law?
I do not understand why people are not outraged when congress passes a turd of a law, and then exempts themselves from it. Congress has their own social security, health care, and retirement. They made special Cadillac programs for their exclusive benefit at the expense of Americans. It is unconstitutional, which means against the law since many Americans have trouble understanding what constitutional means.

Does it have a sunset provision?
A sunset provision means that congress was unable to do its job. They were afraid of the consequences of the law they passed. A good law does not need a sunset provision. If you know it needs to be re-evaluated down the road, then it is not a good law.

Does it have automatic annual budget increases?
Welcome to the corrupt and insane world of baseline budgeting. If your budget increases by 10 million and you only spend 5 million more than the previous year, you can claim to have cut 5 million out of your budget; even though you increased it!

Is it over 10 pages?
A copy of the US Constitution is only 10 pages. If the entire country could be outlined and managed with a 10 page document, why do we have laws today that are measured in thousands of pages? The answer: bad legislation. It is unreasonable to expect Americans to be familiar with thousands of pages of laws, and even our so-called representatives in congress are unable to read the bills before they pass them.

Is it an enumerated power in the US Constitution? Does it take power or oversight away from the states?
Good bye: Dept of Education, Dept of Labor, Dept of Housing and Urban Development, Dept of Health and Human Services, Dept of Energy, etc. These are just the bigger unconstitutional departments. The actual list of bureaus, offices, departments and agencies are several pages long. Abolishing them overnight would immediately end the current recession and begin to restore freedoms that have been stolen from Americans.

Did it originate as part of the “New Deal?”
The “New Deal”, just like Obama’s “Fundamental Transformation” of America is code word for imposing Communist/Marxist policies on Americans. Communism has starved or killed more people around the globe than all natural disasters or plagues combined. Beware of federal legislation that seizes control of, or legislates: education, health, labor, or the economy.

By now, you are thinking that most of the legislation of the last 70 years is unconstitutional, and you would be correct. The best way to save America and help Americans is not to pass more legislation. We need to demand that congress repeal legislation and remove government agencies. As for me, they want to call the Republican party the “Party of No.” As a Conservative, however, I’ll be the party of “HELL NO!”

Homemade Bread

Some years ago, we got a bread machine and a recipe book on how to make various breads. If you have never had homemade bread, go out today and by a bread machine; you will not regret it. You should also map out a 2 mile route close to your home and start jogging it each day so you can enjoy homemade bread and keep your current waist line.


We have made several different types of bread; Italian, sour dough, cinnamon, ciabatta, etc. But everyone’s favorite is known as potato bread. This recipe is nearly fool proof and often disappears right out of the oven, along with half a stick of butter.

One of the drawbacks to using a bread machine is that the mixing paddle gets baked into the bread and leaves a hole in the bottom when the bread is removed. One day I timed what the bread machine was doing and figured out how to make it by hand. So here is a fool proof recipe for bread and the steps to make it. I recommend that you make two loaves at the same time and give one to a friend. Enjoy!

Recipe for 1 ½ pound loaf

1 ¼ cups warm water
3 tbs butter melted
2 ½ tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbs potato flakes
3 cups bread flour
1 ½ tsp quick yeast

Mix everything together in the order listed, and then:

Knead for 5 minutes (min)
Rest for 5 min
Knead for 20 min
Rest for 30 min (keep dough slightly warm)
Knead for 2 min
Put bread in bread tin, lightly oiled with cooking spray
Allow to rise for 1 hour
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes

Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, remove from the tin, and lightly butter the entire loaf. Best eaten while it’s hot!

Camping

It's been warm, but I have managed to go camping anyway.  I much prefer cool nights where you actually need a sleeping bag, but just getting away from everyday normal is worth it.  North Carolina was our destination this time.  Here is a scene from the Blue Ridge Parkway:

I like just driving along the Parkway, and of couse stopping at every overlook, whether you can see anything or not.  I have yet to drive along the section that starts in Cherokee, near the Great Smokies.  I hope to make that journey this year, but once summer ends, schedules become pretty tight on the weekends.

While camping along the Parkway, we were lucky enough to have a Park Ranger host a program about skunks.  I really got into the program... as you can see below...

I learned that peroxide and soap will neutralize skunk odor in about a week.  I also learned that these guys will eat just about anything and are absolutely not afraid of anything.  Interesting and fun little creature!

On this same camping trip we made it to Mount Mitchell.  I will leave you with a photo from the summit.

Flown the coop

It is summer time and I have found myself too busy to take the time and write to the blog.  I really do not know how some people write daily, or even several times a day.  Summer means hiking, biking, camping, and canoeing.  I sit behind a computer enough at work as it is.

Time to catch up.  I never finished posting about the owls that nested in our back yard.  About a week or two after the first post, they flew from the nest.  Here is a picture of one of the babies on its first night out.

He was in a tree about 4 feet of the ground.  I walked up to it and stared him right in the eye while he stood stone still.  For the next few days, they lived in the woods just on the edge of my yard.  I learned to call like the mother owl and the babies always called back to me.  It made it easy to locate them.  Here is a picture of them sleeping during the day, about 20 feet up in the trees.

The baby is hiding behind the large branch.  The mother had three babies, of which two survived.  I found the one who didn't make it and could not find any thing broken about it.  I can only assume it fell from the nest and was injured internally.

We enjoyed watching them eat and hoot at night and I hope that we'll see them again next spring.

Owls in the Owl Box!

Several years ago, I built a screech owl box, using these plans (click here).  I installed it about 30 feet up in an ash tree.  Since then, I have seen squirrels examine it out of curiosity, but not much else.  Until this year.  This year, a pair of screech owls have decided to take up residence and they have a couple of babies. 

She feeds them each evening starting around 8:30 pm.  Her pattern is to fly to a nearby branch and call to them.  They squeal back, and then she flies up and feeds them bugs.  Apparently, she is quite skilled at catching them because she flies back to the nest about every minute.  Here she is in action; the best I could do considering it was after dark.

I also learned that owls make a warning sound when you get too close, a sharp snapping of the beak.  She has flown just overhead snapping her beak at me a couple of times while I have been taking pictures.  I read that owls will sometimes rap a human on the head if they get cranky enough and if a person gets too close.  We sit back a little farther now and use the binoculars to watch her feed.  It's a great show at sunset! 

Here are the babies making their sounds... you'll have to excuse the loud whistling at the end; it's me:

We enjoying watching them in the evenings.  I hope they will make it on their own and we'll get to hear them at night making their high pitched calls.  If I get any better pictures or video, I'll post it.

Honor

I don't know where to credit this photo... it is found all over the net.  But it reminds me that actions always speak louder than words. And while I'm at it, kudos to the men and women in uniform.  Where ever there is a dirtbag that needs tossed overboard, or a nation that needs a chance to be rebuilt, the US is there to try and make it happen.  Our soldiers are buried all around the world for their efforts to bring freedom to the people. God bless the USA!

Times Square, New York at night

I had an opportunity this week to travel to New York city for a couple of days and take in the sights and sounds.  We had a gruelling schedule of landmarks and activities to try and take in while taking a bite out of the big apple.  I have to admit that I missed the culture and buzz when I returned to my quite home in the mountains.  Of course, culture and buzz have quite the premium these days, so I am thankful that the company I work for covered the costs.

We took in the subway, rode a taxi with a driver hell bent on qualifying for the Daytona 500, and saw the New York skyline from the Staten Island ferry.  Of course we took in some Broadway shows, explored international cuisine, and managed to do some shopping as well.  We also took a stroll through Central Park, which I have never done before.  I managed to literally walk into Sigourney Weaver, but that's a story for another time.  Overall, I give New York a thumbs up as a vacation destination if you've never visited before.  Just do your homework and find a hotel you can afford near a subway station.

I'll leave you with this video of Times Square at around 11 pm at night.  You can't really tell it's night unless you look between the skyscrapers!

Blue Ridge Mountains

These are the Blue Ridge Mountains as seen from I-26 in North Carolina.  A photo from the front seat of the pickup hardly does it justice, but it was too scenic to pass up.  I never get tired of seeing these mountains.  This morning they are dressed in the heavy clouds of an approaching spring rain.

Measure twice, cut once

Sooner or later, every woodworker who blogs posts their lamentations over some project that went south due to a mistake made while holding a measuring tape.  This is that post for me, although I have to admit that on more than one occasion I have had to re-cut a piece of plywood.  I figure with my tools and a pencil, the best that I can do is 1/64 inch accuracy.  If something is 1/32 inch off, I can usually see it with my eye.  So imagine my surprise when I made shelves that were 1/16 of an inch too wide. 

That doesn’t sound like much, but this bookshelf has to fit inside the 3 by 4 inch legs of the headboard of a loft bed.  The legs are joined with a mortise and tenon joint and it is not going to move 1/16 of an inch.  So I had the joy of removing that much material from the side of my bookshelf.

I decided the punishment for the crime would be to use a hand planer to correct the situation.  That decision has the added bonus of sharpening my planer after running it through the glue used to hold plywood together.  Anyway, by the time I could go rent a power planer and take it back, I could finish the job by hand.  Smoothing, filling, and repainting my small mistake will set me back about three hours, plus an hour to sharpen my planer.

No real need to worry about the moral of the story here.  In the end, I am still making chips and dust and doing something that I enjoy.  Although doing something twice does tarnish the joy a little bit, it still beats spending time at work by a good margin.  I have to admit that sharpening a planer is not much of a punishment either.  Since I need to touch this one up, I might as well sharpen the others while I have my water stones out.

Third Day

Third Day is one of my favorite bands.  They lean a lot towards southern rock and their lead singer sounds like Travis Tritt. I got to see them in concert, along with 10^th Avenue North and Trevor Morgan.  If you get a chance to see them on tour, the tickets are worth it.  The concert was nearly 3 hours and Third Day played for over an hour and a half.  The crowd stayed on its feet for much of the event and I left with sore hands from so much clapping.

Christian music has finally gone main stream, and bands like Third Day and 10th Avenue North are the ones who helped put it there.  Maybe you are lucky enough to live where there are contemporary christian radio stations. Almost a given if you live in the south; another reason for southerners to count your blessings!

Trevor Morgan starts things off right!

10th Avenue North was the next to take the stage.

Third Day rocks the house and never looks back!

You can log onto Third Day's website here and listen to streaming audio of the actual concert.  Just click on the boom box on the right.  It changes periodically.  I'll leave you with a video someone posted on youtube of one of their latest songs: Gone!

Bed Cover

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but I’ll bet that thriftiness can give necessity a run for its money.   Not that I am a cheapskate, but sometimes I have to solve my own problems when there are no other ready-made solutions.

I needed a bed cover for my pickup, but I couldn’t find anything on the market that would work.  I wanted to keep my toolbox, create lockable storage, and be able to stack items on top of the bed cover.  And I thought it would be great if I could keep this project under $100. 

My pickup comes with a cargo system in the bed.  After a little thought, I came up with angle iron brackets held in place with threaded 1 inch blocks. 

I used ¾ inch plywood and painted it black to match the trim on the rest of the truck.  I also designed the brackets to mount the cover below the top of the bed.  I do not like how bed covers go over the bed, even though that is probably the only way to make them water proof.  In general, you cannot tie objects down on top of the fiberglass or plastic bed covers without damaging them.  Using painted plywood, I simply repaint as needed when bicycles and coolers scuff it up. 

 I used eyebolts to attach the plywood, which allows me to tie things down to the bed cover, such as coolers, luggage, or kayaks.  The tailgate locks, so I can lock things out of site in the bed.  I was unable to make it water tight, but a few $10 totes allow me to carry luggage and other items without fear of rain.  I also use the totes without the bed cover in place.

 As long as the load is evenly distributed, it will hold 400 pounds.  I have jumped on it (180 pounds) without breaking the brackets or plywood.  I built this 3 years ago now and it has more than lived up to my expectations.  The only improvement I could make to this design would be to hinge it so that I can lift the end.

I'll leave you with a picture of the pickup in serious "vacation mode." Believe it or not, tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and firewood are stuffed under the bed cover!

Sarah Palin

If you want a litmus test for intelligence and independent thinking in America, look no further than how people react to Sarah Palin. Those with a liberal bent continue to scream her stupidity so loud, that even those who would otherwise be reasonable are starting to echo the same sentiments. But have you really stopped to think about how dopey it is to claim that Sarah Palin is dumb?

The Katie Couric interview is the original source of the claim that Sarah is dumb. Could she have answered the questions better? Maybe, but for all of you convinced that this woman is dumb, stop and think for a moment: can you go on live national television, one on one with someone who hates you and hates what you stand for, and answer questions regarding foreign policy? Before you answer that, think about the current debacle with President Obama and Egypt and how poorly that has been handled by the entire administration. Foreign policy is too much for one person to handle and neither Obama nor Bush did any better in the court of public opinion. Actually, I don’t recall Obama being asked questions that were as difficult as those that Sarah Palin had to face.

Her governorship has also been attacked. The key strategy seems to be to attack the state itself as small and meaningless, and unimportant in context with the rest of the states. Anyone that really believes this, I challenge you: go pick out any state in the union, and YOU become the governor. Let’s see you stand out, run a successful campaign, and actually win the election. Most of you couldn’t win a seat on your homeowners association or the local school board, much less that of governor.

Sarah resigned as governor, and she has taken flak for that as well. Her family was under attack from a hateful media. Her office was being attacked by every sleazy trick that lawyers could think of, costing the office of governor money and time that taxpayers foot the bill for. One reporter actually bought a house nearby so he could photograph and assault the family paparazzi style. In the end, she felt it was better for her family and her state to resign, and we can second guess that decision all we want, but we can’t say she was stupid for her decision. At worst, we could call it wrong.

Lastly, for those of you who still think she is not a smart woman, she commands $50,000 dollars to speak in public venues. Her book “Going Rogue” sold over 2 million copies – in hardback. Nearly 70 percent of the candidates that she campaigned for won in 2010. She has her own television show that promotes lifestyles in her state. She is considered a potential presidential candidate for 2012. Do you have any of these qualifications on your resume? I didn’t think so.

What Governor Palin does do well is stand on moral convictions, something that seems to be getting as rare as gold. You can debate her qualifications for office and disagree with her personal convictions, but simply calling her stupid is childish at best. Those who resort to name calling have either lost the debate or know they cannot win the public sentiment. Those of you intent to jump on the latest political bandwagon would be wise to stop being stupid and think for yourself for a change.