Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
>
What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
Here are the pics of one of the catapults. I cranked one up a bit tonight & they will toss a 3/4" cube of oak 20' across the shop & hit the wall hard & high enough to bounce off a good 6'. Oh yeah! 
Anyone else use Lastpass.com? It's freaking awesome. The site/application is really secure (I've been told so by several people geekier than I am.) & it stores all your logins & passwords. It's free for all your PC's, $12/year if you have mobile device(s).If you install it on a device, it finds all the logins & passwords in all browsers & offers you the choice of removing all or whichever ones you want out of the browser.
- It installs itself & you can use it to login to any site easily or even use it as bookmarks for secure sites.
- Folders can be created such as Books, Home, Farm, etc..
- They're easy to edit, so I have several gmail accounts with a - after them.
- You can go to any computer, login to their site with your email & main password, too.
- Passwords sync up, too. I have 3 computers I usually use, but some sites have out of date passwords on them. No problem since they came in as duplicates & weren't categorized.
I didn't know I had so many sites I logged into! I found old logins that no longer worked, but still had passwords that I reuse for less secure sites. Then I logged in & had it generate secure passwords for all of them, so now only the master password is made by me & that's pretty secure.
This is now in my important papers (will, health & legal proxies) so that my kids know where to look in case I die to take care of my online accounts. They'll be able to cancel those that have credit card info in them, notify those in social sites, & generally do whatever needs to be done. Anyway, I'm a real fan.
Great job on the catapults, Jim!Thanks for the info on Lastpass. Personally, I don't have enough sites that I use passwords for to make it cost-effective, and I don't store any data on my hard drive to organize (it's all on a memory stick). But I could see how this might be a really useful tool for a lot of folks!
Jim wrote: "Anyone else use Lastpass.com? It's freaking awesome. The site/application is really secure (I've been told so by several people geekier than I am.) & it stores all your logins & passwords. It's fre..."Jim, I will tell my boys about Lastpass.com. Sounds amazing. Thank for telling us about it.
BTW, nice work on the catapult!
Werner, LastPass is free if you just use a PC, like I do. It only costs $12/year if you use it on a mobile device - not a problem in your case unless you're now a Pod person.;-)
Glad you all like the catapults. I made one more for the son of a friend here on GR. I didn't finish it, just cut out the pieces, so he'll have something more like a working kit model that he can finish up.
Thanks for the tip on LastPass, Jim! No, I'm not a Pod person. :-)Giving your friend's son the catapult as a kit he can assemble is a great idea! Most any kid will enjoy the project of putting it together himself, and he'll value the finished product more highly than he would something that was merely handed to him, too.
Whew! The Werner I knew doesn't have any mobile devices, so you had me worried there for a bit.;-)
I agree he'll value it more, but it's also a matter of time. It took me 2 hours to make it in its rough form. Finishing would likely have required about the same amount of time, but over about 4 or 5 days.
Sand & glue - let dry a day.
First coat of poly - let dry a day.
Sand, fit, 2d coat of poly - let dry a day.
Sometimes that goes on for 3 or 4 coats depending. If the fitting doesn't go well, that can mean resanding & additional spot coats. Some pieces fit fairly tightly together, but must come apart. Finish has thickness, so pieces often have to be tweaked.
Still, I'm not cruel. I screwed it together so it can be used until he gets around to finishing it. That should give him some play time before he gets down to business.
;-)
The rain & wind yesterday brought down 2 of the dead white elms. One landed on the fence. Worse, the ground is too mucky to drive anywhere close to that one. Do I let it sit a day or two until the ground freezes or not? Still fighting a cold, so I guess I'll see how energetic I feel tomorrow.
Jim, your health comes first. Hope you'll do the right thing.
PS-Jim, I saw this catapult in a MET Museum catalog and thought of you:http://store.metmuseum.org/building-s...
"Leonardo da Vinci Catapult"
"The catapult is a working re-creation of the fifteenth century catapult designed by Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452– 1519). The completed model makes functional desktop catapult, that is both fun to use, and inspirational to look at."
I looked at that when making the catapults, Joy. I didn't like any of the designs I found, though. Too wimpy. A Xmas toy isn't fun unless it can put someone's eye out.;-)
LOL, Jim. You're bad! Reminds me of the Christmas movie they play every year. :)
The one with the Red Ryder BB gun? Marg bought me one last year.;-)
Joy H. wrote: "Pretty neat, Jim!"Hope your Christmas is better than the "before." So have a good one!
I was finally feeling better this morning so I got Josh, Erin's BF, & we cleaned up the downed trees & fixed the fences. Marg & Erin had the horses ready, so I went riding. Ate lunch, took a nap & now feel like dreck. I think a few hours of work was too much. GO AWAY, COLD!!! I'm tired of you!
I once wrote a poem that actually was published and the first line was, "Oh, flu why don't you flee..." Does that describe your feeling, Jim?
Jim wrote: "I was finally feeling better this morning so I got Josh, Erin's BF, & we cleaned up the downed trees & fixed the fences. Marg & Erin had the horses ready, so I went riding. Ate lunch, took a nap & ..."Told ya so. :)
Feel better, Jim!
Nina wrote: "I once wrote a poem that actually was published and the first line was, "Oh, flu why don't you flee" ..."Good line, Nina!
You nailed it, Nina. Well, it seems I didn't do too much. I feel even better this morning & it's 41 out, so I'm really glad we got the job done yesterday while the ground was frozen. Once it warmed up yesterday, it was so slick & sloppy I never would have made it up & down the hill in my truck. As it was, riding was kind of interesting. We cantered a little & every time we'd hit a thin area in the grass, we skated.
Pics from today's festivities:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
Most are of us abusing the horses, as usual. Poor things. Chip does look funny with antlers on.
;-)
Great pictures, Jim! Thanks for sharing those.
Thanks, Werner. Isn't Chip cute in bells?;-)
He is indeed. :-) And with antlers, too!
Jim wrote: "Pics from today's festivities:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
Most are of us abusing the horses, as usual. Poor things. Chip..."A good time was had by all; including the horses.
Jim, thanks for the great pics! Those are some lucky animals! They have a lot of companions and owners who love them. The bells are a nice touch! Very Christmasy.Speedy has longer hair than the others. What breed is that?
Merry Christmas to all. Half our family is here. The other half will arrive later today.
Speedy is a Welsh pony, Joy. You're right. He's fuzzy.Our Internet is out at home & I HAVE to create a year end Inventory database for reconciliation by tomorrow morning. I was planning on working tomorrow, but the roads are supposed to be a mess, so I came into work today to get it done. The good news is, I shouldn't have to come back in to work until next year after this.
;-)
"That's what Chrismas is all abou," to quote Charlie Brown. To have a family with you on this special day. Lucky us.
Jim, I never knew there were "fuzzy" ponies. :)Hope you got all your work done at work!
Hope you get your Internet back at home.
Nina wrote: ""That's what Chrismas is all abou," to quote Charlie Brown. To have a family with you on this special day. Lucky us."For me, family time is the BEST time!
Internet came back yesterday afternoon & I believe all my work is done. I'll probably have to field some questions from work about the database this morning (although I shouldn't have to) but I can do that from the comfort of my shop.;-)
The truth about Santa by Red Green cracks me up. I guess my family does have one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHnVqP...
It depends on the breed of horse or pony, Joy. Breeds that need it can have lots of really long fur. Shetlands & Welsh are both quite furry. Our Thoroughbreds don't get as shaggy & need blankets.
Jim wrote: "It depends on the breed of horse or pony, Joy. Breeds that need it can have lots of really long fur. Shetlands & Welsh are both quite furry. Our Thoroughbreds don't get as shaggy & need blankets."I see. Thanks, Jim! I never realized this difference.
Jim wrote: "... The truth about Santa by Red Green cracks me up. I guess my family does have one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHnVqP... "LOL-Hilarious! e.g., "He chooses the hard way every time... door vs chimney... need I say more?" (lol)
I finally got around to watching the Red Green clip just now; that was cute! Thanks for the link, Jim.
My family seems to think Red Green & I could be brothers.;-)
I had never heard of Red Green before this. So I went to Wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_...
I see it's a Canadian comedy show.
"Reruns currently air on CBC Television, The Comedy Network, and various PBS stations."
I've watch Red Green on & off for years. I find about 1/3 of each show hilarious, 1/3 horribly stupid, & the rest just OK. Considering some of the 'fixes' I've come up with over the years, my family thinks the show is my biography. ;-)
Jim wrote: "I've watch Red Green on & off for years. I find about 1/3 of each show hilarious, 1/3 horribly stupid, & the rest just OK. Considering some of the 'fixes' I've come up with over the years, my fa..."What do you mean by "fixes", Jim?
Fixes meaning jury-rigged parts or solutions, Joy. Often such a fix starts with duct taping pieces together, but coat hangers or whatever is handy are also used. For instance, we had a lamp shade we really liked, but it wouldn't fit on the lamp we liked, so I made it work by making a bulb clamp out of a coat hanger. No one noticed it for 15 years. That may say more about the state of my house than anything, though.;-)
Jim wrote: "Fixes meaning jury-rigged parts or solutions, Joy. Often such a fix starts with duct taping pieces together, but coat hangers or whatever is handy are also used. For instance, we had a lamp shade..."I see, Jim. It's probably fun to be able to do that kind of fixing. Actually, we find hangers very useful for different things, especially when we need a wire hook for something, e.g. hanging plants, etc.
For the porch, we have 'S' hooks to hang the plants lower down. They're made from 2 horse shoes welded together at their ends. Baling twine is another item you'll find in quick fixes around here.
Jim wrote: "For the porch, we have 'S' hooks to hang the plants lower down. They're made from 2 horse shoes welded together at their ends. Baling twine is another item you'll find in quick fixes around here."Fancy "S" hooks! :) I like that idea, Jim!
Happy New Year, everyone!(I'm still trying to recuperate from Christmas. LOL)
Tonight we're going to the New Year's performance (one of Laura Roth's shows) at the Wood Theater downtown . That's always fun.
http://www.woodtheater.org/events/?ev...
Then we'll come home and watch the ball come down in NYC while drinking our customary New Year's Manhattans and enjoying some snacks.
I wish all of my friends a Happy and Healthy is my wish for all my Goodread frinds and I should add Happy Reading. A New Year's eve I remember clearly was sixty five years ago and when we came out of Midnight Mass at Gesu church in Milwaukee and hailed a cab to take us to our apartment my husband got a violent case of hiccups and we never convinced the driver we'd actually been to Mass. He was still chuckling when we got out of his cab.
Nina wrote: "I wish all of my friends a Happy and Healthy is my wish for all my Goodread frinds and I should add Happy Reading. A New Year's eve I remember clearly was sixty five years ago and when we came out ..."LOL! Great story, Nina! Midnight Mass indeed! LOL
Happy New Year!
We just watched the ball come down in NYC.
I guess you are an hour or two behind us. :)
Today I found a piece of our dining room chair on the floor. Evidently the wood is drying out and the wood is coming out of its notches. Any advice on how to make the notches hold?Below is a pic of the chair when it was at my MIL's house back in 1999. Two of the middle vertical struts on the back of the chair have broken away because the horizontal strut at the top of the back of the chair has pulled away from the main vertical side support at the joint.
I pushed the joint back into place, but I know it won't hold its place under stress.
Two of the vertical struts have actually split and will have to be glued together. But the problem is how to make the main joint hold.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1420...
What's the best way to fix the chair. Anybody know?
It was made by Cushman Furniture:
http://northbennington.org/cushman/cu...
http://www.cushmancolonialfurniture.com/
Joy, Can you believe we have another coincedence; our dining room set is Cushman. I don't know anyone else in our area that has that furniture. My husband after reading your message says to use wood glue and that will fix the problem. Good luck.
Nina wrote: "Joy, Can you believe we have another coincedence; our dining room set is Cushman. I don't know anyone else in our area that has that furniture. My husband after reading your message says to use woo..."Nina, that IS a coincidence! Are your chairs the same as the one in the photo?
Thanks for the advice about the wood glue. I had heard something about making the wood swell so the joints would lock tight. I wonder which method is best.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Educated (other topics)Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
Moby-Dick or, The Whale (other topics)
The Count of Monte Cristo (other topics)
War and Peace (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Tara Westover (other topics)Ann Howard Creel (other topics)
Ann Howard Creel (other topics)
C.W. Gortner (other topics)
C.W. Gortner (other topics)
More...
The kids won't be here to celebrate until the weekend.
So we're going out to eat at the Queensbury Hotel and will enjoy the "Festival of Trees". We did it last year. It w..."What a festive occasion..Thanks for sharing.