Will get old family tools

Good Christmas at my parents' place: More than 20 people, including all my sibs and their kids, and the paternal aunts, uncles, cousins, and assorted partners.

My Computer-Uncle mentioned that he had a few old woodwrking handtools somewhere in storage, which belonged to my Great-Grandpa Aos (Norwegian; Ellis Island shortened from ''Tommeraas''), who was a finishing carpenter. A handplane or two, a mitre box, a breast drill [so-named because the butt end has a plate you hold against your chest for extra pressure).

Probably not of interest to his two sons, who also do woodworking but tend to use power tools. But my brother and I both tend towards hand tools, so this would be most excellent (to invoke Bill and Ted) to acquire. We'd both provide good homes for 'em.

Since my brother lives in town, whereas I live in another country, my uncle will hand them off to him, and my brother and I will equitably divide them.

Best gift for my Everett-Seattle Christmas: Probably a 12(?)-set of pliers!!! :)


Completely switching topics, I bought a Jughead digest for US$3.50(?) at the local grocery store a few days before Christmas, and today I bought an Archie digest for US$2.39. IIRC, can't find them in Aussie-land.


--GG

Woodworking workbench thought

Continuing to work on the baby gate for the top of my parents' stairs. Short-term, I've clamped a sheet of chipboard across the top. Un-elegant, but it seems to work. Comes up to the kidlets' armpits.

The biggest danger of baby gates is that the adult get lazy and step over them, rather than opening them. Thus, the adults trip and fall on their face, and/or down the stairs. Thus, I've designed the baby gate that my brother and I are building to be as easy to open and shut as possible.

Building it from available wood scraps, and with limited tools, to there are a **lot** of small and medium-sized pieces getting connected. Worked on it for part of this evening: have the bottom, and one side, done. Need to make the other side, and the gate itself (which will just be a single piece of plywood, I think). Brother went home to Seattle, so today's progress was just by me.

At my brother's suggestion, dry-assembling as I go with screws. Will do the final sanding and glueing once I'm sure the entire project fits. Fitting the pieces to the whole (and to the stairway), as the house isn't quite square or true.

I'm doing most of the actual working on the baby gate downstairs in the garage, with a number of overturned cardboard boxes to serve as tool- and parts-resting surfaces. More ergonomic than reaching down to the floor (i.e. keeping everything on the floor), and resting things on the bottoms of the boxes keeps things more ''clustered'', thus organized.

Been ''hanging'' the screwdrivers, the awl (for starting drill holes), and the eggbeater drill along the long slot along the center of Dad's folding sawhorse. The groove/slot along the length of that sawhorse keeps them from rolling onto the floor, and they're at a good working height for grabbing.

Some woodworking workbenches have a ''tool tray'' along the back -- usually about 4'' deep, 8'' wide, and the length of the workbench. Don't think i'll build one in (some people think they get messy, and just collect sawdust and shavings), but I **do** think I'll make some sort of ''tool groove'' that runs the length: something deep enough for a screwdriver or chisel handle, such that if I'm sliding around a piece, it'll pass over the handles of the tools I'm keeping in the groove. Would keep the desired size of tools for the project close by (as opposed to back in the rack, confusingly among the others), and keep them from rolling onto the floor. But not so big as to invite clutter.


--GG

A successful excursion

Helped my brother and the nice Japanese guy staying with my folks to hang the rest of the Christmas lights at my parents. Then went off to two hardware stores to look for orange plastic splitting wedges.

Found 'em at Greenshields, in north Everett (Washington). Four different sizes, even! About six bucks each for the 12'' long wedges (the longest size), and about four-fifty each for the 10'' ones. Bought three of the longest, and two of the next-longest. The nice guy that rang me up photocopies my Australian driver's license and didn't charge me sales tax, saving me a few bucks.

As an extra bonus, as the one fellow was writing up my invoice (they cater to contractors and such), I asked the other fellow if they sold nylon belt pouches, such as I wear. The guy said no, but that I could have the green multi-pocketed one that the previous occupant of his desk left seven or eight years ago. For free. Score!!! :)

After returning home, my brother and I continued to work on the baby gate for the top of my parents' stairs. Got about two-fifths finished. He and his familiy went back home to Seattle around 7pm tonight, so I'll finish it on my own tomorrow.

Still thinking about that thirteen-dollar Japanese-style saw I saw at Hardwick's (in Seattle). May get it after all; not sure. Also thinking about one of the used smoothing planes (shorter than the jack planes, of which I have three). Don't have [a metal] one yet, haven't yet seen at flea markets, and they don't seem to come up on E-bay Australia. They were a reasonable price, as I recall.


--GG

Episode from a few days ago

From a few days ago:


TELEPHONE [loudly]: Riiiiing!!! Riiiing!!!

NAPPING BABY: [Stir, stir...]

WIFE: Ahhh!!! Rub her belly!!! RUB HER BELLY!!!


--GG

Dinner with friend; tool-bonding with brother

Last night (Monday), had dinner with ''The Artist Formerly Known as Jennifer'' -- a friend I haven't seen in, oh, fifteen(?) years. Went well: Still a nice lady, found a good guy to marry (kind, but with strength), and has a good kid.

This morning, my brother and I walked to Hardwick's, a slightly peculiar harware store in the University District in Seattle. I'd never noticed it before, back when I lived in the area (and before I got into woodworking tools), but they have a **lot** of great handtools -- ranging from expensive and botique-y, down to reasonably-priced. I almost picked up a US$13 Japanese handsaw like my brother has, but decided I wouldn't use it for a few months, anyhow: I'll catch it on the next visit. We also oohed and ahhed over the old-timey handtools stuck to the wall high up. Good brotherly bonding over tools.

Then we walked to Half-Price Books, where we each picked up a few used/surplus woodworking books to give to each other over the next birthday/Christmas.

Finally, we walked over to the Trading Musician (mentioned in a previous post), where I tested out, and bought, the blue, old-timey DOD chorus pedal. Sticker price US$49, offered $40 (and expecting a counter-offer), but took the offer of ''$49 including tax'' -- which was US$45, plus tax. O.k.

Also tried out an off-brand electric guitar with built in guitar effects. Had I not tried it out, I would've regretted not picking it up (it was very reasonably priced). But now that I've tried it, I know that the effects were, for the most part, weak or watery (and not in a good way). So I left it there, with no regrets. I'm a collector, but I want everything to be a ''user'' -- somthing that both works properly, and that isn't so precious that I'm afraid to use it.

Tonight, am staying at my parents' home -- along w/ my brother, his wife, and their kid; my sister; and a former Japanese exchange student, her husband (nice guy!), and their kid. All three kids (ours, theirs, theirs) are within two months of each other, so it's kinda funny to watch them interact. Kinda like guinea pigs, or slow hamsters.

Full house, and (so says The Lady) a little loud. But fun.


--GG

Day of guitars

This was a day of guitars. In the late afternoon, Linux King picked me up from my brother's place, and we stopped by The Trading Musician.



I've mentioned it before in my blog, as a spiffy, used-guitar, used-amp, used-synth, used-drum-and-cymbal store. Racks and racks of guitars, electric basses, and a whole cabinet of (used) effects pedals! A spiffy-keen range of products, and darned reasonable prices!



Sigh. I miss it.

Found a old DOD Chorus pedal that takes two 9V batteries (I have the distortion pedal counterpart) for fifty bucks U.S. -- gonna go back and take a closer look when I have more time.



(Note: Many thanks to the nice store manager that said Yes, I could take a few pix for my blog. If you're in Seattle [and you like musicial instruments -- they also have a few band/orchestra instruments, and folk instruments], check it out! http://www.tradingmusician.com/)

Then, Linux King and I went to the Experience Music Project (EMP). Usually twenty-seven bucks a person, but for some reason it was only twenty bucks. We later found out -- when the security guard came around and told us we only had ten minutes left (even though we hadn't visited the top floor yet) -- that the discount may've been due to their closing two hours early that night, due to some group renting the venue. Gar!!!

About what I expected the EMP to be. Worth seeing once if you're into music. (Got to see an original Devo yello jumpsuit and red-flowerpot ''Power Dome''!!!) But the display on the top floor were pitched a little low for someone who's actually in a band. (''Play a real electric guitar!!!'') Although they had a little display of f/x pedals stuck to the wall, to which I dragged Linux King over and proclaimed, ''I have that one... and that one... and...'' ;) Out of the sixty(?) displayed, I owned about a quarter of them. Not bad! :)

I would've taken more pix, but after shooting the ''tower o' guitars'' pix (below), I saw a sign saying ''Please, no photos or videotaping.'' I didn't delete my existing photos, but I stopped shooting.

Also had a room showing the history of the rock guitar, from acoustics thru electrics. Many, many rare and collectible guitars. Standing in this room, I realized that, no, I don't have too many guitars. ;)
Also learned that Frender's electric bass was not the first electrified bass guitar! That honor actually goes to a guy in Seattle: Paul Tutmark, 1936, Audiovox brand. Even has frets! However, Tutmark never mass-produced it; just sold it to some local bands. So, Fender's version definitely was the first ''mass-market'' version.






Maybe the coolest -- but also the saddest -- display was this huge ''whirpool''-shaped statue made of electric guitars and other instruments bolted to a steel frame.









Six hundred-plus guitars were sacrificed to this display -- completely ruining their functionality and taking them out of the market forever. Analagous to a very well-crafted mosaic of animal pelts, made from the fur of endangered species: artistic, yes -- but oh, what a waste!




None the less, a good guitar day. :)


--GG

Criminalizing the normals; my activities

Using my brother's computers. Unlike my parents' computer, it's a PC, not a Mac, so I can use ''cntrl'' keys instead of ''open-apple'' without causing myself problems. ;)

-------------

There's a perspective in Criminology called ''Conflict Theory.'' Part of it says that criminality is as much a function of what the laws are this year as it is the willful violation of them: If you make something illegal that a segment of the population routinely engages in, then you've created an instant class of criminals. For example, if abortion is illegal in some states, but not others, then people getting abortions are criminal, or not, depending on which side of the state line they're on.

Generally, there's two options for dealing with problematic behaviors: The powers-that-be can either make it illegal; or they can legalize it [thus providing an outlet], but channel and regulate it.

One example is prostitution: States where it's legal requried the prostitutes to have regular medical checkups, etc. -- so there's [hopefully] less disease transmission.

Another example is skateboarding: Making it illegal to skateboard in town squares and shopping mall parking lots is pretty futile. But building a skate park down the road, where the kids can skate instead, is (IMO) a fairly balanced solution.

The point of all this is that at both the Brisbane and Sea-Tac airports, people were parking along the shoulder of the road leading to the airports, waiting with their cell phones for their incoming people to call them for a pick-up. This was problematic to the authorities -- maybe it was a traffic hazard? -- so they two governments responded in different ways.

In Brisbane, it's just illegal. There's signs up along the highway to the airport, saying you'll get a fine if you park there waiting for your call from your incoming pasenger.

At Sea-Tac, there's a ''Designated Cell Phone Waiting Area'' reasonably close to the pick-up zone. It's sufficiently well-signed that I found it without any difficulty (despite it being at night), and there was a very efficient security guy directing traffic between the ''main'' waiting area and the temporary ''overflow'' area.

I like the Sea-Tac solution better.

-------------

I thought of the above as I was slogging through the traffic to pick up my brother and his family. Traffic leading up to the ''Arrivals'' section was heavy, so it took me a while to slog through. Except for them phoning me a few times to confirm that, yes, I was coming (traffic was at a standstill at times, so it indeed took me a while), it went without a hitch.

The Lady and I chatted w/ my brother and his wife, and shared with them some (by now, cold) tater-tots. Then the two ladies put the two youngsters to bed, while I stayed up somewhat late talking about handtools with my brother. :)


--GG

Are they ''developers''?

As part of my resistance to Orwell-speak (e.g. ''Peacekeeper'' missiles), I've taken to referring to ''developers'' as ''builders.''

''Developers'' means they take things and make them better -- they improve, they upgrade, the take something mediocre and evolve it.

Whereas, IMO, they just knock down trees (or, older buildings), and put up apartment buildings, strip malls, and housing estates. Which sometimes are needed -- but often are not.

By definition, they do build. But they do not necessarily develop.

Ayep.


--GG

Misc. activities

Last night (Friday) met up for a late dinner with The Linux King and The Tabulator. Today, we-all (i.e. me plus The Lady, The Bub) visited my maternal grandparents in Federal Way (just south of Seattle). The Bub was very charming, impressing her great-grandparents with her harmonica playing.

Got a phone call last night from my brother, who's in Chicago (we're apartment-sitting; same brother who built the cabinet). Said they're coming home early, due to his kid (same age as The Bub) being sick and crying from 3am-5am every morning. Picking them up at the airport at 9:45pm tonight.

We'll continue to stay at their place, though. We've moved our stuff from their bedroom to the living room, and we'll sleep on the futon. Works out well, as we'll get to hang out for a few days more than we would've.

--GG

Something geekishly festive

E-mailed from Old Roomate:


Title: HOWTO make a PC out of gingerbread
Link: http://www.boingboing.net/2005/12/13/howto_make_a_pc_out_.html

Cory Doctorow:
This Swedish website has step-by-step photo-illustrated instructions
for building a detailed, accurate model of a PC mobo out of
gingerbread, gumdrops, and the like. It's amazingly detailed --
separate gingerbread RAM, heat-sink, etc, all lovingly assembled on a
gingerbreadboard.

Applied dork-ism

The Lady woke up this morning, definitely with a cold. The Bub, we suspected yesterday she had a cold, and she does indeed: full-snot nose, coughing, the works.

I, however, am fine.

On the way here, on the long (14 hr.) flight across the Pacific, for a lot of it I wore swim goggle and a disposable sanding mask with a wetted hankie inside. It embarassed my wife a bit, 'cause I looked like a dork.

But, I attribute my non-sickness to it: They kept my eyes and throat juicy. (''Normal'' humidity is around 30%-50%, IIRC. I took a hygrometer (sp?) on a plane, once, and it was down to 12%. Yeow!!!

A tip to all airplane travellers: Applied dork-ism is o.k.

Better a dork today than a cold tomorrow.


--TWAB

P.S. The Lady had a nap this morning, and is a lot better, now.

Back in the U.S.[S.R.?]

''All the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had a dreadful flight...''

Actually, the flight was pretty good. I'm typing this from my parents' iMac (awkward to use another operating system! And to think my first home computer was a Mac Classic...).

Twenty-four hours travel time from there to here -- and with a 1.3-year old kid. Brisbane to Auckland (New Zealand) to Los Angeles to Sea-Tac (Seattle).

Only real eventful bits: (1) Took the stroller to the gate and checked it there. SUPPOSED to meet us at the gate in Auckland when we got off, but it wasn't. We inquired, and were told that it was SUPPOSED to actually go to Los Angeles and we'd pick it up there with the rest of our luggage (so we could go through Customs, then re-check our luggage). A little dubious, as the last time we flew (in June, although different airline) the customer service person also phoned down to the baggage carosel, to verify that that stroller had indeed been forwarded -- and it hadn't, so they grabbed it and shoved it on ahead. This time, the person didn't verify...

...Such that when we got in to L.A., no stroller. Wasted time standing in line at the ''lost luggage'' counter, only to be told that we should wait 'til Sea-Tac before filing a claim, just to be sure. So, got expidited thru Customs and security and managed to get to the L.A.-->Seattle flight just as they had started to board. (Carried the kid the whole way, since no stroller -- and she's gettin' to be a big sack of potatoes!) No stroller in Seattle, either. So, they'll deliver it to us if they find it; if not, I presume they'll pay us off. It's only a $30 stroller (intentionally bought a cheap one, just for travelling) -- but we bought it to **have** and **use**, didn't we? ;)

(2) The other bit of excitement is that coming down into L.A., and also into Seattle, The Bub's ears didn't de-pressurize properly so she had an earache. Too young to be told to swallow, and she wouldn't take her drink, so she just cried. And she cried so much she started coughing -- and she coughed so much that she threw up. Which made her cry more. But the vomiting must've equalized her ear pressure, because she was fine after that.


Weird to be back in ''winter'' climes -- such as it is, here. Frost on the ground this morning. Cold when I took out the garbage later this morning. Coldest I've experienced outdoors in three(?) years.

Also, getting up in the middle of the night to use the toilet: DANG, the doorknobs are low. I kept scrabbling around in the dark, searching for the doorknobs at Aussie-height (for me, bicep height), until I thought to look for them lower (for me, hip-height).

Oh: And everyone's driving on the weird side. All all the people on the radio talk funny.


Still, good to be back. :)


--GG

Belt usefulnes

A certain amount of vindication for hauling around such a range of deviced on my belt.

Yesterday, in church, my wife noticed that one of the stones in her engagement ring seemed to be missing. I borrowed the ring to take a look -- and whipped out a magnifying glass from one of my pouches. Her brother also had a look through the magnifying glass.

Funny thing is, no one made mention of the fact that I happened to have a magnifying glass **on** me. Guess it must just be expected.

At work it's reached the stage of ''You wouldn't happen to have a ________ someone on that belt, would you?''

And much of the time, I do.


--GG

Jingle Bells, modified

Forgot to blog about this until now. Two or three weeks ago, while out at a local shopping mall, overheard some kids doing the "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" version of "Jingle Bells." Impressive that it's so international.

Was it popularized by some t.v. show or movie? Or carried across by some American kid who moved to the U.S. (or some Australian kid with an American cousin)?

Intersting.


--GG

Bummed over green laptop

Dang.

Saw a newspaper clipping about a $100 laptop that is being developed. Hand-cranked for electricity, so it can work in regions with unreliable power. And -- a green casing! Yeah!!!

Looked it up on the web, via the supplied URL (http://laptop.media.mit.edu/), to see how to go about ordering one. See photos beow.

(Photos from http://laptop.media.mit.edu/laptop-images.html)



Glamor shot:


In use (note the small size, as indicated by the size of the kid's hands):


Folded:

Wi-fi equipped, loads o' USB ports. 500MHz, 1GB HD, 1 megapixel display. Can't store large amounts of data, but can do typing, e-mail, and basic web-browsing. Keyboard looks a little small, but I could always jack a full-sized keyboard into one of the many USB ports.

And: It runs Linux! ;) (They didn't say which distro; could be a custom one?)

But -- they won't be available for public sale. Instead, they'll be distributed directly to schoolkids in non-industrialized countries, through their schools.

Dang. International impoverished kids get all the breaks... :(


But, persevering, I did e-mail them and express my interest in buying two, should they become available. And I suggested that they do offer them for sale publicly -- perhaps under a scheme of ''buy two, send one to a poor kid.'' In other words, spend $200 [still a bargain!], keep one for yourself, they send the other one to a poor kid.


--GG

Misguided bumper sticker

Sometimes I'm just a big curmudgeon -- or a little too literal.



I took this photo about a week ago, here on campus. I've seen it before, both here and in Seattle. Because it's not the clearest photo, I'll transcribe it: ''Happiness is a journey, not a destination.''

Sorry, but I disagree. Sure, happiness can be a journey, a process. (So can ''good health,'' for that matter.) But it is also an aim, an ultimate goal, a... destination.

Now, if it had said ''Happiness is a journey, not just a destination'' -- well, no problems there.

And, yes: I'm the sort of person that will actually spend small portions of his precious time on disagreeing with a bumper sticker. I just have a strong editor's trait, I suppose. I also circle typos in newspapers and magazines, and pencil in their corrections.

That' s me. Ayep! :)


BTW: Used to have the letters ''E A D G'' on the rear bumper of my Honda Civic. (House letters; cheaper than personalized license plates.) Any guesses as to what it meant?


--GG

Wood-working brother

My brother in Seattle just sent me an e-mail w/ attached pics of a cabinet he's making using [mostly] hand tools and misc. scraps of wood. The photo to the left is the cabinet, sitting on top of his mostly-completed workbench (again, using scraps, and mostly hand tools).

One of the first things I'll do WIFMD (When I Finish My Dissert) is get one of the two workbenches that my wife's uncle Jack (lives next door) has offered me. One of them used to belong to one her great-grandfathers, who was supposedly a boat-builder. Simple (no drawers, just a sturdy wooden table), but somefamilyhistory. Will have it up on plywood, under a $20 portablegazebo, in the backyard. But can't work too late in the evening, dueto mozzies...

--GG

Two Aussie car things

Two Aussie car things from Saturday. I taught my first class of the Summer semester on Saturday, and because I'm so wretched at remembering names, I have the tradition of handing out crayons so people can write their names in big, bold letters, and then taking ''mug shots'' of each student. (I line 'em up three across, up against the wall, holding their signs at chest-level.) Then I make flashcards and try to memorize names.

Because of this, I happened to have my digital camera, so I took these two shot of cars on campus.


The first one is of an antenna of a truck. Lost the original, so the owner twisted a coathanger into the shape of Australia. I particularly liked the fact that she/he had remembered to include Tasmania (the southern-most, island state), which often gets overlooked in Aussie-shaped trinkets and tourist trash.


The second one is an old-timey car -- I think it was a Holden [an Aussie brand]. In the same way that The Lady's family drives old Rover sedans, my family was raised on Studebakers -- so, to me, this is what a ''proper'' car is supposed to look like.


-GG

GG and a famous band

A potentially interesting short story(?) about me and the drummer from 10,000 Maniacs. Left in the ''comments'' section of someone else's blog (which is a well-written blog).

--GG

We have turkeys

Just got back to work: left around 4pm, because I need to stay late and work on a report to a client, but we don’t have the statistical software at home. (Actually, I do -- somewhere -- on CD-ROM, but I can’t seem to find it. A problem with moving countries, then swapping bedroom and home office: stuff gets misplaced.) Since we only have one car, it made more sense for both of us to go home, then I drive back by myself. This way, The Bub can go to bed and not be disturbed, and I can stay (mostly!) as late as I need to.

So, it’s about six p.m., I’ve parked the car - - and I see a turkey walking along. I think they’re called ‘’scrub turkeys.’’ Scrawny little fellas - - like the wild turkeys in North America, before selective breeding kicked in.

No pigeons. But we have turkeys.


--GG

More musical longings

For immigration purposes, had to go to the local police station to get fingerprinted: to upgrade from ''Partner Visa'' to ''Permanent Resident,'' need to get an F.B.I. background check to show I'm not a baddie (or at least, not a wanted or convicted baddie).

Cost a fee of AU$21.80 for the fingerprints. Across the street from the ATM was a pawn shop. Nipped in while The Lady got some cash.

Had been in that one a few times before, and they typcially have a pretty bland, limited selection of guitars: only 8-10, and all fake Strats and ''heavy metal''-style guitars. But this time, two took my fancy: one was a single-pickup electric bass with a swirly (homemade?) paint job; the other was a '70s-'80s-ish electric guitar, burgandy, with an unusual body shape, pickups, and switch configuration. IIRC the bass was AU$160 and the guitar was AU$200 -- asking price (I'd negotatiate!). But I could have the prices reversed.

Again, not good timing relative to the budget. But, will come back in a month or so, see if one or both of them are still there. And use their lack of movement as further leverage on my bargaining.


Also, thanks to the afore-mentioned e-mail discussing effects pedals, I've tossed down a few low-ball bids on e-bay. We'll see if any come up; if they do, one of my family can give them to me for Christmas. ;)


--GG

Leetle lizard

As I came in to the kitchen this morning to prep The Bub’s morning bottle, a little lizard skittered across the floor and dove under the shelving unit. Some sort of skink, maybe.

To someone from Seattle, rather exotic: In Seattle we have the occassional spider, but no house lizards.


--GG

Missing my music eqpt

Earlier today, replied to an e-mail asking about guitar effects pedals. After I hit ''send'', I realized how much I miss using my effects pedals and other music gear. F/X pedals are like ''lenses'' for sound: just like you can shine a light through different colored lenses, you can play your guitar through different pedals.

I also miss my synths: no room to set them up. This lack of room was driven home as I flicked through the local weekly classifieds and saw a Roland Juno-106 for sale, right here in town. These things are hard to come by here in Brisbane -- and this one seemed reasonably priced (asking AU$495; would negotiate down) and came with a hard case. Plus, hopefully it runs on Aussie voltage, not U.S. The photo is an example, which I got off e-bay. Note that it's an ''old school'' synth, in that it uses faders and knobs, rather than changing the parameters through push-buttons.

Partly 'cause we don't have five hundred bucks lying around at the moment (although this is a pretty good price, 'round these parts), but mostly because I wouldn't have anywhere to put it, I'll have to pass.

Idea for wave-file doorbell

Please see my comments to Old Roommate's blog entry for some thoughts on a relatively inexpensive ''wave-file doorbell''. :)

--GG

GG's desk

I'm sure that a person's computer desktop says a lot about a person. Here's mine.

Win98 (I'm sure a person's OS also says something about a person!). Clearly, I like desktop shortcuts.

Phots is of an e-bay guitar (transparent green plastic!!!) that I didn't win, and have somewhat regretted ever since.

This is an hourglass that we picked up at an antique shop, then put in ''the box'' and was given to me for my birthday last year. When I'm sitting at my desk typing, I sometimes flip it over and (with occassional glances) watch the top half drain. Used to be on the fireplace mantel.


--GG

I'm a horse!!!

A few weeks ago I added two new pouches, for a total of three additional zipper pulls. Now when I walk down the hall at work, I sound like a freakin’ Clydesdale! : )


--GG


(Photo taken from July 3, 2005 entry of http://melinhead.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_melinhead_archive.html