Progress of sorts

Man, my projects eat me alive.

So I'm working on power carving a wooden skull, and managed to completely burn out my black and decker rotary tool (think off brand dremel).  I still have a dremel, but I'm afraid that the tool isn't up for the task to I bought a more heavy duty rotary tool rated at 1/4 horsepower and bought a few different wood rasp tool tips to work on the details.  I was also having a hard time visualizing how the jaw connects so I bought a model skull.  All of that should be arriving today or tomorrow.  I'm not super sure of when I'm going to get back into that project, but the parts are here.

I 've been working on making a false bottom for my mash tun using the base of an old keg.  I burnt through the only cut off wheel I had on hand so I had to get some more, and didn't have a spanner wrench (I've been using the ghetto pliers method of unscrewing the nut) so I got a spanner wrench and a flap wheel to smooth the whole business down when I'm done shaping it.  I'm reasonably sure I may end up back at that hardware shop to help with my stand off's or at the very least a handle for the thing.  I'm also going to need a carbide bit for all the holes I'm going to drill in this damn thing.  The cut lines are mostly marked, but I need to decide on a design for legs to hold it off the bottom of the mash tun.  I'm reasonably confident that I'm only about 4 hours from done on this project, now I just need 4 hours to work on it.

I'm also working on a CNC machine.  I've come to the conclusion that since I don't have a functioning mill or cnc to do the work on I'm going to outsource the fabrication of my motor to drive shaft couplers so I need to get out the calipers and design the part so I can get it ordered.

What about you, what things are you doing to waste your free time?

Sudoku Puzzle training

I'm a sudoku player and was finding that my ability was stretched too thin on the Thursday and Friday puzzles so I sought out something to help me learn the strategies a little bit online.  Enter Sudoku wiki.

You have to pay close attention to what it changes, but the strategies of Naked pairs/Triplets and pointing pairs seems to have the most mileage for solving puzzles that you fell the need to guess.  Prior to finding this tool I would review my work against the answers in the next days paper and found that the correct number for a space was often one I wasn't considering for that space, (ie it was a number that could have been in 4 or 5 spaces so I didn't write it down).  In a sense I was finding that I was building myself a box that prevented me from ever getting the correct answer.  If you have any interest, but struggle with the harder puzzles this is a pretty good (though spartan) tool for learning some different strategies.

Juicer

I have a lot of general purpose cooking crap in my life and I don't use all of it all of the time, so when the occasion comes to use a somewhat overlooked kitchen utensil it gives me time to reflect on it's general utility.  I made a cabbage salad that had a citrus dressing so I needed to use my old fashioned juicer.  That SOB doesn't fit over the top of anything, so I ended up juicing into a bowl.  The whole thing was a mess, and left me pissed off so seeing this little thing fleet like insult to injury.  Gizmodo shared a little juice that fits into the top of a water bottle.  It may not be the best way to gather your citrus, but after not having anything that would fit my damn juicer it would be a huge improvement.

Paperback book co-op site

I hadn't really ever considered it, but frequently I don't really buy a book to own it, I buy the book to read it once and lend to friends or family from that point on. Normally I don't re-read too many books and as a result I have sold books to Half-Price books before simply because I had no need of them, and didn't want to throw them out. Paperback Swap offers an alternative to sell or pitch, it lets you trade them for other books in the network. I can see how this would be useful for people that purchase a few books a year, but also want to have access to more without having to rely on the library.

I am going to sign up for the site, and working on finding some of the reference books that I have some interest in. As it gets closer to the birth of my Daughter I am interestingly focused on art projects and home improvement. I have 3 specific art projects for the nursery, and a few improvement items for the house to complete. I think a resource on stone working, and basic carpentry are what I need right now.

Brilliant knife block

*via Yankodesigns.com

In the last several years I have taken to cooking, and find it a rather enjoyable pass time. Since I have really started to take cooking seriously I have noticed that so much of the cooking process really revolves around prep work, (odd given this is the first job you get when you start working at as a cook) and that your prep skills determine the texture of the food as much as the ingredients themselves. Particularly important to this process is knife skill, and there is absolutely no substitute for a damn sharp knife. Most people buy knifes in sets with a big and bulky block to hold them, I recently received a 7" Shun Sontoku that is the main knife I use for prep, but I do not have a block to keep it in. A product like this where the knife comes in a Modular block would be the perfect thing for your kitchen nerd.