One contractor, recommending another for a job on our house: "You should give R. a call. He's gay, but he does good work."
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Like Clockwork
Anybody who has the slightest connection to the world of lutherie knows that every year, some engineer* in some corner of the world will discover the Secret of Stradivari--some odd treatment or technique that will allow any modern builder to replicate "the" sound** of the classic Cremonese instruments. It's like those of us who follow biology know that every year--at least, if the popular press is to be believed--some researcher will discover "the" cure for cancer. Really, if all the stories in the newspapers claiming that a cure for cancer is just around the corner were true, the dread disease would have been history long ago.
That last sentence should be in quotes--I lifted it verbatim from an article in this week's Economist that discusses a paper about why science journalism sucks with such regularity. The paper*** focuses on the ten journal articles about ADHD that garnered the most attention from the popular media, and what happens after the big splash. It concludes that the findings in each of the "top ten" are novel, generate testable hypotheses, and in eight out of ten cases, are unsupported by subsequent research. The paper refrains from slamming the media, but points out that the popular press is easily impressed by high-impact journals, top-tier universities, and seems unwilling to follow up and look for confirmation of splashy results.
The Economist cops to some blame for this state of affairs, but also apportions some blame to the scientists themselves, because the follow-up articles don't make it into the same high-impact journals. (Nobody mentions one of my least favorite things, the University Press Release, which is often horrible and swallowed whole by the media.) So, it admonishes itself, and then lets itself off the hook.
And, on the very same page, there is this article: "Magic Mushrooms--Violins constructed from infected wood sound like those of Stradivari," about how some engineer in Switzerland has discovered the Secret of Stradivari...
*I don't know why, but it's practically always an engineer
**a bogus goal in itself; for one thing, there is no unified sound of Cremona, or even of any single maker, and for another, one of the things that makes these fiddles so prized is their protean sound.
That last sentence should be in quotes--I lifted it verbatim from an article in this week's Economist that discusses a paper about why science journalism sucks with such regularity. The paper*** focuses on the ten journal articles about ADHD that garnered the most attention from the popular media, and what happens after the big splash. It concludes that the findings in each of the "top ten" are novel, generate testable hypotheses, and in eight out of ten cases, are unsupported by subsequent research. The paper refrains from slamming the media, but points out that the popular press is easily impressed by high-impact journals, top-tier universities, and seems unwilling to follow up and look for confirmation of splashy results.
The Economist cops to some blame for this state of affairs, but also apportions some blame to the scientists themselves, because the follow-up articles don't make it into the same high-impact journals. (Nobody mentions one of my least favorite things, the University Press Release, which is often horrible and swallowed whole by the media.) So, it admonishes itself, and then lets itself off the hook.
And, on the very same page, there is this article: "Magic Mushrooms--Violins constructed from infected wood sound like those of Stradivari," about how some engineer in Switzerland has discovered the Secret of Stradivari...
*I don't know why, but it's practically always an engineer
**a bogus goal in itself; for one thing, there is no unified sound of Cremona, or even of any single maker, and for another, one of the things that makes these fiddles so prized is their protean sound.
***
(2012)
Why Most Biomedical Findings Echoed by Newspapers Turn Out to be False: The Case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
PLoS ONE 7(9):
e44275.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044275. It's PLOS, so it's open access, and it's an amusing paper, so go read it.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday Tool
One of the first projects we started here was fencing. We purchased some wire cutters and fencing pliers (廉价 brand) for the first part of the job, and they worked OK for a bit, and then started falling apart. After removing the old fencing, we hired some pros to install new fencing. I asked them what tools to get, and the boss guy fetched out his pliers and said "these."
The fencing project is ongoing, and since then we've had a series of electricians come by. I've always asked them what tools they like, and they have recommended an odd kind of screwdriver and the same pliers.
I've spent the last two days working on fencing, making a quarantine enclosure for an incoming goat. The 廉价 brand pliers were dying, so I went to Milo's shop for new pliers. I told the guy there I was fencing, and he said "Huh. I did fences for fifteen years. This is what you need. I had one pair, lasted the entire time, it was pretty much all I used." Then he fetched down the same pair of pliers.
So, this week's tool has got to be the Klein Tools 9 inch high-leverage side cut pliers. Model D213-9NE.
I used it hard all day today, and it works great. Still keen and strong, no sign of failing. If only the same could be said for me. I'm a wreck.
The fencing project is ongoing, and since then we've had a series of electricians come by. I've always asked them what tools they like, and they have recommended an odd kind of screwdriver and the same pliers.
I've spent the last two days working on fencing, making a quarantine enclosure for an incoming goat. The 廉价 brand pliers were dying, so I went to Milo's shop for new pliers. I told the guy there I was fencing, and he said "Huh. I did fences for fifteen years. This is what you need. I had one pair, lasted the entire time, it was pretty much all I used." Then he fetched down the same pair of pliers.
So, this week's tool has got to be the Klein Tools 9 inch high-leverage side cut pliers. Model D213-9NE.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Overcoming carpenter's block
I am tardy with my updates on the addition. At the time of the last update, it had two walls but no roof.
Now, it's got all the walls, roof, windows, weather seal, and rough-ins for electricity, plumbing, and heat. Here's an extremely truncated review of what's been going on on the outside:
A lot of work. I didn't do much of it--framing a structure and roofing are things I'm content to leave to the pros, who did their work with (mostly) competence and efficiency*. I (and brothers M and H) can take credit for the wrapping job. The exterior of the addition has been in this state for a month or so--been very busy with the interior and with other projects.
However, winter is coming, and rain with it, so it's imperative to get the exterior of the addition finished. Today I started sawing wood for the window trim on the addition. It should not be that big a deal. After all, I have been whacking and hacking and pounding and sawing at the house for months now. However, I've been putting it off. All that pounding and sawing has been either demolition (fun!) or invisible--structural stuff, or in the attic or basement. Now, I'm working on a very visible feature of the house, and I've been in the thrall of carpenter's block--kind of like putting off cutting the f-holes on a violin.
I'm trying to recreate the look (and carpentry) of the original window frames on the rest of the house, and it's a bit of a challenge. New vinyl windows are attached to the sub-siding on the outside of the wall, so they protrude from the wall. However, the old windows (and the windows we replaced them with) sit within the wall. Recreating the look of the existing windows without having them bug out takes some fussing, and I spent a day making a "rough draft" of the window design out of scrap wood and some reclaimed siding:
This looks OK, and got the structural seal of approval from the contractor, so I went and purchased a truck-full of cedar and spent today turning a lot of it into sawdust, and the remainder into frames. Having overcome my block, I'm going to spend at least another day cutting some of the more fiddly bits. Hopefully, next week we'll see some nicely framed windows, and I can get to putting up the siding.
Also, hopefully, it won't rain.
*There's always something. The four windows on the end were originally misplaced, and there have been a variety of other futzy things. You just don't want to be away when the contractors are at work--and truthfully, they want you there too. It's like having an editor, it guarantees the end product will be better.
However, winter is coming, and rain with it, so it's imperative to get the exterior of the addition finished. Today I started sawing wood for the window trim on the addition. It should not be that big a deal. After all, I have been whacking and hacking and pounding and sawing at the house for months now. However, I've been putting it off. All that pounding and sawing has been either demolition (fun!) or invisible--structural stuff, or in the attic or basement. Now, I'm working on a very visible feature of the house, and I've been in the thrall of carpenter's block--kind of like putting off cutting the f-holes on a violin.
I'm trying to recreate the look (and carpentry) of the original window frames on the rest of the house, and it's a bit of a challenge. New vinyl windows are attached to the sub-siding on the outside of the wall, so they protrude from the wall. However, the old windows (and the windows we replaced them with) sit within the wall. Recreating the look of the existing windows without having them bug out takes some fussing, and I spent a day making a "rough draft" of the window design out of scrap wood and some reclaimed siding:
This looks OK, and got the structural seal of approval from the contractor, so I went and purchased a truck-full of cedar and spent today turning a lot of it into sawdust, and the remainder into frames. Having overcome my block, I'm going to spend at least another day cutting some of the more fiddly bits. Hopefully, next week we'll see some nicely framed windows, and I can get to putting up the siding.
Also, hopefully, it won't rain.
*There's always something. The four windows on the end were originally misplaced, and there have been a variety of other futzy things. You just don't want to be away when the contractors are at work--and truthfully, they want you there too. It's like having an editor, it guarantees the end product will be better.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Wednesday Words/Numbers
Q: What do you have to add to the following numbers to make them equal?
a) 1433
b) 5113
c) 1391
d) 2765
e) 5773
e) 37
A:
a) AH
b) Kali Yuga
c) Solar Hijri
d) ab urbe condita
e) l'b'reshit ha-olam
f) DK
a) 1433
b) 5113
c) 1391
d) 2765
e) 5773
e) 37
A:
a) AH
b) Kali Yuga
c) Solar Hijri
d) ab urbe condita
e) l'b'reshit ha-olam
f) DK
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Fossils from the walls
It's been too long since there's been an update on the house. This is not because there hasn't been any news, but because too much has been happening and I haven't had the chance to pause and write about it.
I have to admit, as I have been poking about every nook and cranny of this old house, that I have entertained hopes of finding some buried treasure or precious memento. Thus far, I have been mostly disappointed. No treasure. We have found a few things that are interesting, though.
Part of the work of making our addition has been to break the wall between the back bedroom, the space underneath the stairway, and a room that used to be a bathroom but was more recently a laundry room. Some of this space will be incorporated into a new, sorta-ADA-compliant bathroom off the bedroom; the space under the stairway will be used for a linen cupboard in the bathroom.
The space under the stairway--a natural place for secreting treasure or a time capsule--yielded nothing except an empty nail box:
I just love the "Phone 121". It was 1936, so a three-digit phone number isn't too surprising; at the time, Roseburg had a few thousand souls. I can find some references to Coen Lumber into the 1940's. The 1940 census contains this entry:
Amusingly, according to some newspaper clippings on Google, Frank Coen (perhaps Richard's brother?) and another Coen Lumber worker opened the shop in Eugene where we've purchased all of our lighting.
The top bit of the stairway (right above the broom handle in the first photo) yielded something a little more interesting. There's this:
"July 11-36". (The house was built in 1936.)
And this (I've inverted it, so it can be read):
"Critser & Matlack". The builders, I'm guessing--though the current contractors had never heard of them, and I can't find any references. The 1940 census yielded this:
but I can't find any Matlacks (my search was not exhaustive--I just looked at pages for Roseburg, not Glide or the surrounding areas, and I could easily have missed it if it were there). Ancestry.com mentions a Jacob Rife Matlack who died here in 1958, but nothing more that I don't have to register for.
Anyway, here's a toast to Richard Coen, Fred Critser, and (Jacob) Matlack, and their excellent materials and handiwork. May we do their work proud, and may it stand 76 years more in good health and prosperity!
I have to admit, as I have been poking about every nook and cranny of this old house, that I have entertained hopes of finding some buried treasure or precious memento. Thus far, I have been mostly disappointed. No treasure. We have found a few things that are interesting, though.
Part of the work of making our addition has been to break the wall between the back bedroom, the space underneath the stairway, and a room that used to be a bathroom but was more recently a laundry room. Some of this space will be incorporated into a new, sorta-ADA-compliant bathroom off the bedroom; the space under the stairway will be used for a linen cupboard in the bathroom.
The space under the stairway--a natural place for secreting treasure or a time capsule--yielded nothing except an empty nail box:
I just love the "Phone 121". It was 1936, so a three-digit phone number isn't too surprising; at the time, Roseburg had a few thousand souls. I can find some references to Coen Lumber into the 1940's. The 1940 census contains this entry:
Amusingly, according to some newspaper clippings on Google, Frank Coen (perhaps Richard's brother?) and another Coen Lumber worker opened the shop in Eugene where we've purchased all of our lighting.
The top bit of the stairway (right above the broom handle in the first photo) yielded something a little more interesting. There's this:
"July 11-36". (The house was built in 1936.)
And this (I've inverted it, so it can be read):
"Critser & Matlack". The builders, I'm guessing--though the current contractors had never heard of them, and I can't find any references. The 1940 census yielded this:
but I can't find any Matlacks (my search was not exhaustive--I just looked at pages for Roseburg, not Glide or the surrounding areas, and I could easily have missed it if it were there). Ancestry.com mentions a Jacob Rife Matlack who died here in 1958, but nothing more that I don't have to register for.
Anyway, here's a toast to Richard Coen, Fred Critser, and (Jacob) Matlack, and their excellent materials and handiwork. May we do their work proud, and may it stand 76 years more in good health and prosperity!
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