This Space For Rent

I forget what I was gonna write about, so check out this very cool steampunk keyboard mod. How cool is that?

I'm currently reading A Treasury of Southern Folklore: Stories, Ballads, Traditions, and Folkways of the People of the South, by B. A. Botkin. It quite a wieldy tome, running to 700-some pages. I'm giving it a rest today, and taking up another "withdrawn" title. This one is a World War II action story by John Clagett, titled Typhoon 1944. It's pretty good for a teen book. It was published in 1970, so the author is showing some awareness of the racial discrimination in the services back in WWII. the author drops the N-word, I guess to emphasize one charactor's prejudice, but the "hero" is bothered by it, and I think is going to call the guy on it. This volume is on 190 pages, so I should finish it soon. I've a pile of other "weeded" title to read, too. The Treasury may have to wait.

Pie

Every time someone mentions rhubarb to me, I salivate. It's truly disgusting. I LOVE rhubarb pie, and you can't really get just plain rhubarb. It's always that wierd strawberry-rhubarb combination. Which is all right, in its place. But IT'S NOT THE SAME!!

It's all about the tartness.

Here's a link to a blog entry at Pie Day Friday showing how to make pie crust, and a rhubarb pie recipe, with some lovely pictures.

Sadly, the picture I use at work for a desktop picture (Not the rolled tacos machine, the OTHER one), Lurid Rhubarb, can no longer be found on the web. Use your imagination. Picture my surgery. The first one.

Lucky Day

Today is Thomas Jefferson's birthday. Also, Al Green, Ricky "Rick" Schroder, and Caroline Rhea. Among others...

A piece of chocolate cake!

And an Oreo cake from D.Z. Akins!

Do not be afraid to click on the images to visit my zooomr page and see the even yummier big images!

First, the news:

Burglar gets away by driving against traffic (scroll down)

Performance Bicycle in La Mesa is burglarized. Ebay soon to be flooded with cheap junk bicycle parts! Just kidding, I do all my shopping there. It's my forte'!!

I was going to link to a very cute photo in today's Onion Tribunal, but the lame SignOnSanDiego site doesn't seem to have it. It was cute. A doggy in a front pannier on a bicycle.

Why would anyone cate what television shows I'm currently watching this month? I don't know but here they are:

Simpsons
California's Gold
Desperate Housewives
House
The New Adventures Of Old Christine
Two And Half Men
Monk
How I Met Your Mother
King Of Queens
Are You Being Served
As Time Goes By
Keeping Up Appearances
Waiting For God
My Name Is Earl
The Office
Scrubs

Stopped watching: Grey's Anatomy

And I had bran flakes for breakfast...

Fat Saturday

I am finding that Triscuit, in all its assorted, sordid, flavors, is extremely addictive. I am particularly fond of chedder. Uuummmm, cheeessseee...

I like to let them melt in my mouth!

Sodium? Carbohydrates?

Pif paf!

Is It Saturday Yet?

Walked up to the library and the train store. Purchased some MORE instant super glue, as the last bottle had solidified, as it will.

Glued the smoke stack on the station. I had Gooed the lights on before (with Walthers Goo), but super glued them again, just to be sure.

Almost glued my fingers together, AGAIN!

Another pic, and bigger ones, at my zooomr page. Just click on the image!

Stuck it on the layout in place of the OTHER Fallberg station, for the photo. Looks right at home!

How come I haven't ballasted that piece of track yet?

Working On The Railroad

Been working on the train station all afternoon.

There are three more pics at zooomr, and they're BIG! Well, BIGish...
Just click the image...

That roof is printed paper, it looks pretty good. It certainly is easier than trying to weather the old Sydam corrogated metal roofing!

I got a little heavy-handed with the epoxy and used it to glue the windows in. Bad idea, too much epoxy. The excess oozed out and so the window glass doens't sit quite flat in some of the windows.

I still can't get more variation in the stone color. When I hit the structure with a blast of Flat Clear to seal the colors it kind of blended together... I'm going to try to touch up some of the rocks with an acrylic wash.

I still have the smokestack and lights to attach.

I'm not even sure what I'm going to DO with this station, I've alreay got one! I guess I'll have to start another layout..

Thursday

Did my 39th radiation treatment today, the last one. They gave me a nice "diploma". I have to go back in a month and see if it "took". I don't know what I will do with all my free time...

Went over to Michael's to get a shadowbox. They are 40% off, woot! I wandered around and looked at stuff. For some reason I wish I was in elementary school so I could make a California mission model out of the supplies they have. I'm not even interested in missions, what's up with that?

You probably aren't interested much in guns, but I like guns. I like stuff that is utilitarian and mechanical, like motorcycles, knives, guns. I don't HAVE any of those (Well, I have a knife) . but I like them. Even though a friend was accidently killed by her son with a gun, in a tragic handgun accident a few years ago. Anyway, the Bike Riding Donut Guy has this story (scroll down to "How Not To Clean A Gun" buried in one of his posts. He says it's from another site, but I can't find it to give credit. I thought it was pretty funny. And instructive.

A Rose By Any Other...

OK, inquiring minds have asked about the flower press.

We will get to that.

First of all, I must admit that, due to my incompetence, I was only able to press one flower, my lapel rose. All the other roses spoiled. My fault. I accept total blame in this matter.

Please remember you can clicky on the images to zip to my zooomr page and view the images in larger sizes. The last two images are especially better, bigger.

Here's the press, all its flower-crushing glory:

The wingnuts hold the whole thing together nicely, with tension being infinitely adjustable.


Let us observe the various layers inside:

Plywood for crushing flatness, cardboard for cushioning, blotting paper to soak up the juices.


Let's open it up:

It certainly is flat!


Let us take a closer look at the crushed flower:

Yes, I would said it is totally crushed flat!


Here is an interesting shot using that flash setting I always use by misteak:

Psychedelica!!

And here is pretty much what we end up with:

Not too bad, I'm thinking! I've heard roses are hard to press. I believe it!

Now I need a shadow box to mount it in, with a bit of the bride's veil.