www.mdgunsafety.com

Apparently, Maryland has an online firearms safety training program for potential law enforcement recruits. I'm still going to take the in-person course, though.

Posted on October 28, 2008 10:36 PM | link to this entry

Plainview

Plainview, a full-screen web browser, with a tiny footprint. Helpful for designers like me. Very nice.

Posted on October 27, 2008 10:45 PM | link to this entry

Fix your Car's AC

The Saturn's vents are blowing warm air, which prompted this research: How to Fix Your Car's Air Conditioner. I had no idea it was possible to recharge R-134a myself.

Posted on June 9, 2008 11:06 AM | link to this entry

Misters and nozzles

Just so I don't lose the damn bookmark again, here's a store featuring misting systems, water sprinklers, & mist and irrigation supplies. I've ordered from this vendor before and had great service.

Posted on June 7, 2008 11:28 PM | link to this entry

XBMC Media Center

XBMC Turns Your Mac into the Ultimate Media Center. Hm, this looks really interesting...

Posted on May 12, 2008 4:37 PM | link to this entry

Securing A Wireless Network

The ABCs of securing your wireless network, from Ars Technica. An article written for people, not engineer robots, which I like.

Posted on April 30, 2008 6:10 PM | link to this entry

old-skool at the NYT

The NYT hand codes their website. I've seen lots of links to this recently, and everyone seems amazed. Why is this such a surprise?

Posted on April 30, 2008 10:29 AM | link to this entry

Mac Mini Media Centre

Mac Mini Media Centre (center) A nice howto on building a media center as opposed to buying an AppleTV. Good juicy info here.

Posted on April 29, 2008 1:04 PM | link to this entry

Milwaukee Sawzall

My dad lent me his Milwaukee sawzall for my demolition project, and I used it for the first time this evening. Like butter. I worked with a very skilled carpenter, and she swore by Milwaukee tools. I will be buying this brand from now on.

Posted on April 3, 2008 11:37 PM | link to this entry

emachineshop.com

Looking for replacement parts for my bass guitar, I found an online machine shop which offers a Windows-based drafting application and free quoting service. A friend tells me it's not cheap, but I'm going to at least get a quote.

Posted on March 6, 2008 9:22 AM | link to this entry

How to Write a Novel in Two Months.

How to write a novel in two months. Handy reference for a project that's been zinging around in my brain for years now.

Posted on January 16, 2008 1:25 PM | link to this entry

PVC Laptop Stand.

DIY PVC laptop Stand. I like this better than a $30 off-the-shelf unit, but my experience with PVC tells me this thing is going to be a bit wobbly.

Posted on January 5, 2008 11:09 AM | link to this entry

Using a Creative Commons License

I could have used this a couple of weeks ago: How to use a Creative Commons license, by one of the editors of BoingBoing, Cory Doctorow.

Posted on November 9, 2007 3:37 PM | link to this entry

This entry will be dead in a month

Gulp! DAMN. (1931 Ford Model A Coupe, with a bunch of good parts, in Baltimore.)

Posted on September 20, 2007 9:58 AM | link to this entry

Battery Overhaul.

Having fixed the screen on the Powerbook, I'm looking for other ways to save money and repair things. Here's a good place to start: Inside your notebook's battery, How to rebuild your laptop battery, replacing cells in a Pismo battery, and a link to replacement batteries for the $40 Powerbook 1400.

Posted on August 31, 2007 5:18 PM | link to this entry

The Learn List

The Learn List, a beginning compilation of tutorial resources for apps like Flash, Illustrator, CSS, etc.

Posted on July 9, 2007 12:51 AM | link to this entry

DIY underwater camcorder housing.

Here's a simple DIY underwater camcorder housing using a surplus ammo box and some high-grade marine sealant. Brilliant.

Posted on June 29, 2007 4:20 PM | link to this entry

Movable Type 4

I took a look at Movable Type 4 this afternoon, among other things, and poked around the documentation so far. It looks purty; let's see if the upgrade is easy, or if it's as nightmarish as the 3.15-3.2 point release was last year.

Posted on June 25, 2007 4:46 PM | link to this entry

Shakeup at JPG Magazine

There's a shakeup at JPG Magazine, which means the two founding editors have left. While I'm sad to see this happen, I'm sure they will go on to build another, better, more successful community somewhere else. This post also contains some fantastic business advice.

Posted on May 15, 2007 9:06 AM | link to this entry

101 Essential Freelancing Resources

101 Essential Freelancing Resources. Some of these are so-so, some are stupid, and some are very smart.

Posted on April 16, 2007 10:56 AM | link to this entry

How To Hollow Out A Book

How to make a hollowed out book safe. I actually did this back when I was in high school, although it wasn't as clean, and saved my tip money and extra cash in it. (via)

Posted on February 28, 2007 6:16 PM | link to this entry

Kodak DC3400 Legacy Support

This is a link to Kodak's legacy support page for the DC3400. At some point, I'd like to hook this up to an old iMac and set it up to take time-lapse photos with Boinx iStopmotion.

Posted on February 20, 2007 1:46 PM | link to this entry

Window Sash Pulleys

I stumbled on this old link about window sash balances, which are spring-loaded pulleys that replace counterweights so that the weight pocket can be filled and insulated for winter weather. Our windows are drafty, and I believe that once they are properly insulated we would save a ton of money in heating bills. Now, to weigh one of our windows and order...

Posted on February 14, 2007 12:55 AM | link to this entry

Housecleaning: Comments

Due to an unexplainable error, I wasn't getting email updates when comments were posted here. After cleaning up and rebuilding some templates, resetting some preferences, and turning off HTML in the comments, I'm hoping I can catch more of the spam before it shows up.

Also, I'm trying out the addition of dates over here on the left. But because IE/PC is a sucktastic piece of shit, it's not looking right there when it looks good everywhere else.

Posted on February 13, 2007 1:16 PM | link to this entry

GI Joe, In Space

This is possibly the coolest thing I've seen so far this year. A man takes a 60's vintage GI Joe astronaut and capsule, and shoots them into space. (well, almost.)

Posted on January 11, 2007 12:30 PM | link to this entry

MIT Open Courseware

MIT has been offering their courses online as open-source material for several years now. While I think this is fantastic, and that I'd love to go through these and learn about quantum physics, I doubt I will ever have the discipline or time management skills to do so.

Posted on January 10, 2007 10:31 AM | link to this entry

How To Solder.

A nice little article on how to solder. Wish I'd seen this before I fried the guts of my first Base Station.

Posted on January 2, 2007 11:53 PM | link to this entry

Solar iPod charger.

This is some cool McGuvyer shit. Build a solar powered iPod charger from simple parts in about 15 minutes. I'd try this in a second.

Posted on November 3, 2006 5:24 PM | link to this entry

Last.FM

To Do list for this week: A handy script to yank the RSS feed from an Audioscrobbler account and drop it in a MovableType blog. Also handy: Audioscrobbler's web services listing.

Posted on September 16, 2006 11:27 PM | link to this entry

Flash? Feh.

Wow, I forgot how much I dislike everything about the Flash interface. This blows.

Posted on September 14, 2006 6:43 PM | link to this entry

Mini Survival Kit

I'm paranoid, and I like to be prepared (We were kept out of Independence Hall this past weekend because of my Leatherman, something I carry with me everywhere), so this mini survival kit HOWTO is very, very interesting to me.

Posted on August 29, 2006 5:18 PM | link to this entry

Through The Viewfinder.

WOW. Kottke wrote aboout finding a Duoflex for sale this weekend and wanting to take photos through the viewfinder. This is a how-to for building the rig to make it happen. I'm gonna try this with the Rollei too.

Posted on August 13, 2006 11:13 AM | link to this entry

Set Up A Subversion Server

Gizmodo linked to a story about setting up your own Subversion server at home. I don't currently run version control software, but I'm considering it.

Posted on August 9, 2006 11:08 PM | link to this entry

Cell Tower Search

Here's a handy link to a Google Maps cell tower search for the U.S. It doesn't have helpful information like what kind of tower, or which carrier owns it, etc, but it's at least a start. It also explains why we get lousy coverage here in the C-ville. (via)

Posted on August 1, 2006 9:18 AM | link to this entry

DIY Screenprinting

DIY Screenprinting, via the MAKE:blog.

Posted on July 30, 2006 10:14 AM | link to this entry

Watts, Amps, and Ohms.

Here's a pretty good explanation of the difference between watts, amps, and ohms. (I wanted to see how much less energy LCD panels consumed vs. CRT monitors. It led me here.)

Posted on July 21, 2006 8:56 AM | link to this entry

MVA Replacement Title Info.

Online replacement title ordering via the MVA (sorry, Maryland only.) I can't find the title to the Scout anywhere, and if I'm going to sell it, I'll need one.

Posted on July 13, 2006 8:48 AM | link to this entry

Airhead BMW Teardown

This is the first in a series of illustrated teardown posts of a BMW R90 motorcycle. Being keenly interested in airheads and DIY projects, I'm keeping an eye on this until it's done.

Posted on July 7, 2006 3:34 PM | link to this entry

Harbor Freight

I don't know whty I didn't register this before, but there's a Harbor Freight not too far from here. Not that I'd recommend their tools to anyone, but some of the stuff could be useful...

Posted on July 6, 2006 4:05 PM | link to this entry

AJAX Diagramming Via The Web.

This is a web-based AJAX diagramming application. I don't know how it stacks up to VISIO yet, but it's worth a shot.

Posted on June 29, 2006 9:51 PM | link to this entry

Houseblog Update 6.27.06

I updated the houseblog yesterday with some basic details of the rain barrel project. In light of the record rainfall these past couple of days, it was right on time.

Posted on June 28, 2006 11:59 AM | link to this entry

Router Fun.

Router Fun.
This is almost enough to make me want to go and buy one of these routers.

Posted on June 7, 2006 2:07 PM | link to this entry

DIY Solar Power for $600.

DIY Solar Power for $600.
Still out of my price range, but getting much closer. I like the idea of being able to power a laptop all day with this. I'd love to upgrade to a larger system, 'cause we have 8 hours of Southern exposure and a good-sized roof to work with... (via)

Posted on April 19, 2006 8:56 AM | link to this entry

Cinema Genre Primers.

Cinema Genre Primers.
Primers on just about every different style of cinema out there. This is ammunition for several long weekends of screening. (via)

Posted on March 30, 2006 11:36 PM | link to this entry

Slate Roof Bible.

Slate Roof Bible.
This is another purchase for the future; I may wind up doing some slae work myself, but most likely I'll have a pro do it for us.

Posted on March 15, 2006 9:29 AM | link to this entry

Hot-Weather Outlet Plug.

Hot-Weather Outlet Plug.
Genius. Why hasn't this been developed before? (I'm a wannabe home automation geek, and have bought several components from Smarthome before.) (via)

Posted on March 10, 2006 9:11 AM | link to this entry

Tiki Fireplace.

Tiki Fireplace.
I'm so tempted to make this for our living room.

Posted on February 18, 2006 9:33 AM | link to this entry

Woodworking Tools.

Woodworking Tools.
This site has a ton of nice products, but the stuff we're looking at is the veneer.

Posted on February 8, 2006 3:08 PM | link to this entry

The Art of Copper.

The Art of Copper.
I don't read this comic, but this step-by-step tutorial is real nice. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. (and I want to try a Crow Quill pen again...)

Posted on January 26, 2006 11:16 PM | link to this entry

Flatbed Scanner Photography.

Flatbed Scanner Photography.
I have GOT to try this. We have a UMAX scanner sitting in the basement collecting dust...

Posted on January 19, 2006 10:15 AM | link to this entry

Canon Digital SLR breakdown chart

Canon Digital SLR breakdown chart
An excellent breakdown, for the day I buy Jen a pro digital SLR.

Posted on January 13, 2006 11:23 AM | link to this entry

Photo Stamps.

Photo Stamps.
Hm. This could be useful...

Posted on December 28, 2005 10:36 PM | link to this entry

Small Biz Patent Info

Small Biz Patent Info
Good information on the current rules.

Posted on August 24, 2005 11:26 AM | link to this entry

I Feel Your Pain.

I Feel Your Pain.
I've had this same kind of weekend before, minus the poopy diapers.

Posted on August 23, 2005 1:56 PM | link to this entry

Do It Yourself Nelson Clock.

Do It Yourself Nelson Clock.
This one involves a MIG welder—I intend to use wood and a drill press.

Posted on August 9, 2005 11:44 AM | link to this entry