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- March 7, 2013
C2-04 Creating Entry Points
March 7, 2013Read moreYesterday I had started to define areas of overlapping interest between myself and the interests of the audience I think I have. Today, I try to whittle down those AOIs into something more actionable. (more…)
- March 7, 2013
PSA: New England Give Camp Applications for Non-Profits due by Mar 13
March 7, 2013Read moreAre you a New England Non-profit looking for some friendly tech, design, and marketing help from generous volunteers in a 3-day weekend blowout? Consider applying to New England Give Camp. The organizers arrange for the facilities and food to support a hundred volunteers with arcane technical and design skills for a three-day weekend, working on projects to benefit non-profit organizations from around New England. Last year it was at the Microsoft New England Research and Development (NERD) Center at 1 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and dozens of non-profits got help with new websites, improved website functions, and other things. You just have to commit to being there to participate in directing the effort with your team of volunteers. I attended last year and had a blast. Hopefully I’ll be going again this year, depending on when it is.
Non-Profit applications are due March 15! Here’s the application form. Volunteer applications will go out soon, I’m told. Follow @NEGiveCamp on Twitter for the latest developments.
- March 6, 2013
C2-03 Defining Overlapping Interests between Audience and Myself
March 6, 2013Read moreI’m actually getting to this really late…11PM! Here’s a writeup of this mornings reflection on marketing:
YESTERDAY, I got more specific about what people might want to see. In other words: what is their frame of mind? What do they desire? Do they want solutions? Patterns? To relate? Something to follow? Then, I started to get more specific about my values. To be clear, my “marketing month” IS NOT about changing my activities to meet other people’s desires, though this is a perfectly fine marketing approach. Instead, I want to create clear AREAS OF OVERLAPPING INTEREST between the audience that’s here and my values/activities. That is a meeting of interests.
- March 6, 2013
Linseed Oil and Beeswax
March 6, 2013Read more - March 5, 2013
Wood for Gun Stocks
March 5, 2013Read moreDiscovered this interesting bit of wisdom about the kind of wood that is good for a gun stock in Surplus Rifle Forum. It’s cool because it describes some hardwood characteristics AND what is desirable in a gun stock. Some of this knowledge might carry over into my index card docks. I have some Home Depot poplar that I’m using.
Excerpted from user tkb447’s reply:
Theoretically, ANY type of wood could be used for a gun stock. It is not a matter of whether is is possible….but only how suitable is the particular wood in question. Oak is not popular for gun stocks simply because, though it is hard enough….and a strong wood, grain variability is very great…wide vs. narrow growth rings, the thickness of the heart wood, checking and cracking problems as the wood dries, etc. etc. Walnut, Maple, and several others offer much more consistency in this regard….so they are considered more desirable for this purpose. Poplar is a close, straight-grained wood, but somewhat marginal as to it’s hardness (it is considered a hard wood, but just barely….it is also rather plain- looking). So, it has never been considered highly suitable for stockmaking. One of the other posters (Huffmanite), hit on a good compromise. Many woods which may not be suitable as solid pieces (for gun stocks)….may in fact perform much better when used for laminated stocks. Evidently, Poplar fits into this category. Birch is another example….it is very commonly used for laminated stocks….but not very suitable for solid wood stocks. The criteria for suitability of a good gun stock wood are as follows : how close and straight is the grain…..can the wood be dried to a consistent moisture content (and is the wood stable when dried)….is the wood subject to shrinkage/ checking/ curling/ cracking problems when dried or finished – this is largely a function of the grain consistency of the particular species….appearance (does the wood tend to have a nice figure, or is it plain and muddy- looking)….workability/ machining issues….tendency to “end split” or shatter when dropped….how the wood takes a stain and finish….how hard and ding- resistant is the surface….etc. etc. etc. Some woods are simply better than others, within the context of these criteria….it’s as simple as that.
