The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey December 20, 2012

Knife Work

I suppose that means different things to different people. To me, in the context of this week, it means "repairs." The chef's knife handle was going to pieces: The cracking has been present for a while, but it started getting loose, which is a recipe for damaged knife-wielder, so it was time to fix the problem. It didn't take much effort to get apart, and it looks like there was a fair bit of rust and corrosion pushing things apart. One crack leads to this, eventually. The next step involves picking some new handle material, and preparing for reassembly: I…

Brian Bilbrey December 17, 2012

Wood working

I'm getting going on the new office project. Remember that? Anyway, today I went shopping at Exotic Lumber in Gaithersburg. Sadly, I don't have budget for any actual "exotic" lumber, so I got ten sheets of maple 3/4 ply, one sheet of cherry 3/4 ply, and three each of maple in 1/4 and 1/2 thickness. To get all this home, I rented a U-Haul truck for a few hours. I loaded it all into the garage, then set up for parting out the plywood. The configuration is easy. Lightly glue (I used a low-tack spray adhesive) some foam to a…

Brian Bilbrey December 16, 2012

A Week Off

I'm taking this week off of work. I'll still check email from time to time, but mostly I'm going to do some chores around here, organize a bit of woodworking, and get caught up on my reading. Wrapping up school: Late this week, the grade for the last course should drop. On the 30th, the degree should be conferred. Fun stuff, really. * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, 28, of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, died of combat related injuries suffered Dec. 8, while supporting operations near…

Brian Bilbrey December 12, 2012

And Done!

I turned in the final final, on the 33.3 year path from entering university in the Fall of 1979 to the end of this year. For the last five years, I've been taking courses at UMUC, filling in holes in my education, and taking lots of new, shiny, politically correct classes. I've had some real trolls for instructors, and some gems. This last one was much more in the latter category, but I have to note the 5-year winner of the category Best Instructor I've Had At UMUC: Charles Neimeyer, PhD. I have no idea how the Marine Corps Chief…

Brian Bilbrey December 9, 2012

Last Week

More like: The Last Week. I finished up all of this week's work yesterday, and did a big hunk of the final week's worth of schoolwork today. So close I can taste it, this school thing, it will be done. I also did a bit of cleaning here and there, and tidied up the woodshop. * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Denier, 26, of Mechanicville, New York, died Dec. 2, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Sgt. 1st Class. Darren M. Linde, 41, of Sidney,…