So don't ask me how'd my day go.....
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Remounting my leg vise. Had the pins in wrong, so the vise shifted around like a drunken sailor. It's a non-trivial thing to do. The vise itself weighs about 100lbs, so to pick it up off the mounting bolts, reattach the mounting bracket, and then re-lift/mount onto a work bench is pretty hard. But I did it, and now it's a solid, stable platform.
I also set up the electrolysis stuff for removing the rust off of a new (to me, it's actually an antique) anvil vise and also off of a cupola ladle. Tomorrow while I do lawn work, I'll be running them both so I can oil them tomorrow night. My shop is slowly coming together. For me at least, it's very exciting.....

Today I got my blacksmithing tongs and an antique anvil vise. I also cut the top off the metal bucket that I'll be using for the foundry. Now all I need is an anvil (should be showing up from ebay any time), refractory for the furnace, and molding sand for the foundry. Once I have that, I can start getting scrap metal to start working with. I have the forge, but the blower is clogged/jammed. Also need new leather strap to power the blower, but I might be able to fake with some type of high temp rubber belt.... We shall soon see....
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see more Fail Blog

see more Fail Blog

Customer wanted me to show them how to make their tv louder.... And according to them, it completely separate from turning the volume up. They clarified that statement twice....
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Got a leg vise last year that was pretty rusty. Didn't really work due to rust (wouldn't open/close due to rust) and I didn't have time to really work on removing the rust by sanding/chemical stripping(it weighs about 100#'s), so it sat in the garage getting more rusty. That's until I learned the wonders of electrolysis. Toss into container of water, electrify, and the rust just falls off over time. A little wire brush work and item is rust free.... Happy happy joy joy!!!!!
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Is just a test...
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probably going to be a bit longer before I do..... :-)

If I don't take this step now, I probably never will. For the first few people who respond to this, I'll write you a professional resume for free.  I need the practice, so here's your chance to get a professional resume done on the cheap. If you're interested, leave a message here and I'll contact you to give you more information.

Got a educational program to learn how to write professional grade resumes for people.  Haven't had the self motivation to get thru it completely.  I know that I can write a good resume, since every resume I ever wrote for myself got me hired usually within a few weeks of me placing it out in the world.  Used to get me independent contracts for IT work too.  And the couple of times I wrote a resume for friends, it got them an interview, so I know if I put my mind to it, I can write resumes that get people the interview.  Now if I can just focus on it to start it as a business, I'd be all set....

was a lot more tiring, but not as painful.  Since I was the only one at the private lesson, I got to spend the full 2 hours working with the instructor.  Learned a lot, and realizing that I have a lot to "unlearn" before I can really start learning how to use Systema to defend myself.   Still feel like I'm trying to fight Gumby tho....

  Took my first Systema class last Saturday.  If you've never taken or heard of Systema before, then there's no real point of reference to describe what the first class was like.  One of the things they do is test you for ability to take a punch while trying to relax.  It's a breathing/muscle control/reflex type thing.  Let me tell you, I used to get in fights as a kid all the time. Prided myself on how hard of a shot I could take to the stomach..... But this is the hardest I've ever been hit in my life.  Granted, if it was a real fight, I could have taken an even harder shot, but didn't want to this time.  To give you an idea how deep into the muscle tissue he hit, I didn't even show a bruise until Wednesday, 4 days after he hit me.  I normally don't bruise.  But this class gave me the aforementioned bruise on the stomach, and one on my left arm/shoulder area.
  Just so you don't think I'm complaining about the class, I also have to mention it's the most fun I've had in a long time.  This is a very realistic, easily transferable to the streets, honest martial art.  I was a little concerned that it wasn't realistic when I watched some of the video clips on youtube, but experiencing it first hand, I have to say at least at this point that everything you see in the videos (with the exception of the no touch knockdown/throw) is real.  They really can take those shots, those shots feel like getting hit with a brick, and they are that hard to hit.  My instructor started off with an exercise where he stood in the center, and myself, 2 people I brought with me, and his advanced student,  stood around and tried to hit him lightly (that being figurative.  Still sore from that exercise).  He stated he was letting us "sink in" the shots slightly so we could get used to hitting someone.  Then he said he wasn't going to let us "sink in" the punches.  It was weird. One minute we're making contact, the next it was like he put a layer of ice on himself and greased it.  Try as we might, every punch slid off him, only being slowed by friction from his clothes.  It was like he wasn't there anymore.  It was bizarre.  I've been in and around martial arts for years. Practice on a double ended bag for timing/precision. Am a green belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. Used to fight a lot as a kid, former Marine, etc...  Couldn't get a solid shot in if you paid me.  One of the other exercises was being in the center and defending/hitting the people trying to hit you.  He was blind swinging behind him and solidly connecting.  His precision was amazing.  With all that, I can't wait for my second class.
  So the moral of the story is, if you want something that's very street oriented self defense, you can't go wrong with Systema... Just be prepared to be sore for days afterwards...


For more info, the main Systema school in North America is in Canada.  Website is:  www.russianmartialart.com

where the lady boiled her computer in water for 10 min because she wanted to make sure it didn't have any virus issue. when it didn't work, she called us to find out if she should boil it longer.....

  But that was topped by the aforementioned call that I wrote about earlier... Think the only way I'll top this one is if farm animals are involved... :-)

  Not sure why this didn't post the first time.  Had a call from a guy that was filming a porn movie in another room. He had taken the phone away from his mouth and whispered that to some, but I thought I had heard them wrong. Towards the end of the call, however, I heard the actress playing her part in the background very vocally....

Got my wife's cell fixed and I got my blackberry storm.  'Nuff said... :)

Had a great Valentine's day too...

  My most favorite part of my week was I was finally able to track down a Systema instructor within 1 hr of my house.  He only charges $20 for a 2 hr private lesson.  That's an awesome price if you've ever taken private martial arts lessons before.  I also found a place that sells 6" diameter wooden fence posts that I can use to make a mook jong wooden dummy from.  Took me about 3 weeks to track a place down that had them.  Was afraid I was destine to have to use pvc pipe for it.  Still might make one out of pvc for practicing knife fighting and some mook jong dummy forms.  Also closing in on being able to get my blackberry storm.  Have to wait until feb 10 to get it so it falls on my billing cycle so I don't have to pay outrageous fees for getting it outside of cycle (i.e. have to pay the extra days outside of cycle on next bill, which usually means almost 2 months of payment).  I also got my wife interested in doing the editing of all the photos I'm taking/have taken so I can get caught up on the backlog and so we can start determining photos I can start selling on the web as posters. out of the several hundred I've taken, I'm hoping for at least 20 that I can put on the site and sell. That'd be awesome.

  On a sadder note, I found out today that one of the girls I was friends with at Time warner was dead.  One of the guys I work with used to work at twc also, and we were talking about when we used to work there and I mentioned that I missed the people I used to work with and I mentioned her, he told me she had died awhile ago.  Official story was it was from a gall bladder surgery.  The unofficial story was that she od'd.  She left behind a son.  It's pretty sad.  She was very emotionally unstable when I knew her (she was taking anti-depressants), so it's not a big shock if she did OD, but it's still sad.

  Anyway, when we're finally caught up on the backlog, I'll post some more pics, including the mook jong when I have it built.