project

Banjo Case

Leave a comment







I picked up a Deering Goodtime banjo over the summer, it’s a very affordable instrument but the $250 hardshell case was a deal breaker. I was able to re-task a les paul case with a destroyed liner I had purchased a few years ago. I created a paper template and used shop scraps to block out interior support.

The next step will be to pad the supports and add a fabric covering.
project

Leather Carving 101

Leave a comment
I never got the chance to carve my initials into a key fob blank in some heavily serifed county font at summer camp, i suppose its finally catching up with me. I got a basic tool kit from Tandy leather. This is the start of a chain wallet, I decided to sketch my own nautical theme as the oak leaf scroll was a little generic. Looking back a 50’s rocket ship would have looked great curled in a tentacle.









flotsam

Silence of the Maps

Leave a comment




I have several poster sized prints that I had scanned earlier this week, one was a 1960s map of the US that i found at a flea market. I like the colors and the general patina of a 50 year old document. Bizarre coincidence, I was watching Silence of the Lambs on Netflix and what does Jody Foster creep by before the lights go out in Buffalo Bills basement? THE EXACT SAME MAP!

recipe

Beet Salad

Leave a comment


Beet Salad
 
Print
I love beets
Author:
Ingredients
  • 4 medium beets - scrubbed, trimmed and cut in half
  • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby salad greens
  • ½ cup frozen orange juice concentrate
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 ounces goat cheese
Instructions
  1. Place beets into a saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut in to cubes.
  2. While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make the dressing.
  4. Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates, divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.

research

Garden Notes

Leave a comment

Once again I missed starting my garden. Here’s relivant info for next year

Columbus Ohio is zone 5B
Expected last frost free date is March 30 – April 30
Back up starting seeds according to the table below:
Vegetable # Weeks Flowers # weeks Herbs # Weeks
Artichoke 10-12 Ageratum 6-8 Basil 6-8
Broccoli 5-7 Alyssum 8-12 Catnip 8-12
Brussels Sprouts 5-7 Batchelor Button 4-6 Chamomile 8-12
Cabbage 5-7 Calendula 6-8 Chervil 6-8
Cantaloupe 3-4 Coleus 12-14 Chives 12-14
Cauliflower 5-7 Dahlia 4-6 Coriander 6-8
Celery 7-12 Daisy 6-8 Dill 6-8
Chinese Cabbage 5-7 Fuchsia 18-20 Feverfew 8-12
Collards 5-7 Godetia 4-6 Lemon Balm 6-8
Cucumbers 3-4 Impatiens 12-14 Mint 12-14
Eggplant 6-8 Lobelia 12-14 Oregano 12-14
Kale 4-6 Marigold 5-6 Parsley 12-14
Leeks 10-12 Nasturtium 4-6 Sage 6-8
Lettuce 5-7 Nemesia 6-8 Savory 6-8
Okra 2-4 Pansy 12-14 Thyme 8-12
Onion 10-12 Petunia 8-12
Pepper 8-10 Poppy 12-14
Pumpkin 2-4 Snapdragon 8-12
Spinach 6-8 Sweet Pea 8-12
Squash 3-4 Zinnia 5-6
Swiss Chard 6-8
Tomato 6-8
Watermelon 5-7
food

Summer is Here!

Leave a comment

In the final stages of wrapping up my lab for the year. Looking forward to a summer break.

Thinking more about food than gear right now, here are a couple recipes that went over well.

Turkey Burger:
1.25 lbs 85/15 ground turkey
1 large portabela cap (fins removed) diced
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs worshtishire sauce
1 egg
Italian breadcrumbs to firm up (1/2 – 3/4 cup?)

mix, form patties, refrigerate 1/2 hour before grilling

Blue Cauliflower

1 large head Cauliflower
1/3 cup grated parm
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup evo mayo
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
salt / pepper to taste

Boil cauliflower drain and lightly mash with s/p parm and most of crumbs.
place in baking dish top with blue and crumbs bake 350 for 45 min. Broil to toast crumbs if needed.

ga120

The GA-120 rocks again!

Leave a comment
A friend from forever ago working at Abell Audio took my ailing amp to his bench and diagnosed and repaired a dead fet, voltage regulator, and had an amazing stroke of luck found an fairly unique replacement reverb tank in stock! AMAZING! Chris asked the question “so what are you going to do with this thing?”, a great question. I’ve been really happy playing the baby will head and 2×12 cab. To this point I was just happy knowing that I had saved a unique piece of audio gear from the dump. I set up the amp in the living room (a bit of a treat, the room has a great tone, and my wife usually banishes audio gear to my office or workshop) I had my tele and acoustic set out to leave for practice the next day, the tele sounded fantastic clean with bridge pu, i really like the eq function to tone back the tele honk just a bit. I usually plug my acoustic di to pa but since the ga sounded so great clean I tried the acoustic and was blown away, it sounds awesome.

GA lineup from the 1979 Roland Catalog