Webs’ Random Ideas

Not sure how to write out Homer’s drooling over food.

Anyway, we got half a cow and a whole pig. So Jonny gonna be eaten good for awhile.

BTW the freezer below is about 5ft high.

Below is what I say yesterday from lunch till a couple hours before I leave for the day. Hard to concentrate when looking at that!

On the “Lets Over-Hype the Shit out of Something to the Detrmint of Our Own Good” front comes the story of Google and Verizon working together on the issue of Net Neutrality. Someone awhile back must have leaked what was going on, a few journalists not knowing the whole situation took the story and ran with it. And as in every case where someone claims big brother or evil doer of Google, Google comes away on top as they should.

In case you have no idea what I am referring to read the NY Times article from last week on Google, Verizon, and Net Neutrality. I refuse to link to it because it really blows things out of proportions and that article deserves no more hits. If you are interested, it is from 08/04/2010, just search. After the bad press both companies have been getting they released some statements that didn’t make things look any better.

But now today we know what is going on. The two companies were worried about the Comcast court case that not only cleared Comcast of wrong doing (which is BS) but set precedent that the FCC is unable to enforce Net Neutrality. Enter Google and Verizon, from Google Public Policy Blog:

In October, our two companies issued a shared statement of principles on network neutrality. A few months later we submitted a joint filing to the FCC, and in an April joint op-ed our CEOs discussed their common interest in an open Internet. Since that time, we have listened to all sides of the debate, engaged in good faith with policy makers in multiple venues, and challenged each other to craft a balanced policy framework. We have been guided by the two main goals:

1. Users should choose what content, applications, or devices they use, since openness has been central to the explosive innovation that has made the Internet a transformative medium.

2. America must continue to encourage both investment and innovation to support the underlying broadband infrastructure; it is imperative for our global competitiveness.

Seems pretty reasonable to me. Read on to see each of the major items in the legislative framework for more info. Also there is a link to the framework so you can read about it yourself.

I am thinking I am not actually missing that much and Google and Verizon both want a free and open Internet. Maybe because Google knows it certainly benefits them because they don’t have to pay extra and Verizon knows it benefits them because their DSL infrastructure is weak and would lose out to other high speed carriers thus not giving them many options for charging people for tiered services. At least they wouldn’t have the leverage of a Comcast.

In the long run Net Neutrality benefits no one and I think both companies realize this. So their proposed legislation just makes sense. Next time something like this story leaks, how about we seek out information rather than hype and then make a determination if a company is evil or if the end of the world is near.

After all the blood, sweat, and damn near tears we have finished the bookcase! It looks great. We decided on the corner idea because I think a corner shelf is cool and so does my wife.

The home stretch was easy. But we screwed up a measurement for the cubbies, and had to improvise. The side pieces for the cubbies are supposed to be inside the top and bottom piece, but if you look closely they are on the outside. Not a huge deal, but it isn’t exact. Which is why this is called Bookcase 1.0. The screws on the side will be covered, so that shouldn’t be a big deal and we have touched everything up with stain.

The other thing we screwed up was our original cuts so we also had to go with smaller cubbies. They should be 30 inches long and ours are around 25. Again not a big deal, but I would have preferred the more room that would have gave us. Other than that I think I covered most of the lessons learned in the last post. Everything else went by quickly today.

So for not having a wood shop or anything close to that. For cutting boards with a miter saw that can only make just over 6″ cuts. For using the back of my truck to cut with the miter saw and for putting together the wood on a washer and dryer I have to say I am very pleased with the results. The next one should be better.

I wrote about the shelf my wife and I are building here and my good friend commented with a few questions. So I snapped a couple more pics below and thought I would provide some more info. Reader beware I am not an expert just someone that made an attempt to build a shelf.

So far painting and cutting by far took the longest of anything else. Also if we had the right tools the job would have been a TON easier. But it is still do able with a miter saw, drill, drill piece set, and clamps. The only thing I want to buy for the next one is one of those 90 degree tools that give you a true 90 degree corner. I searched and actually found a 90 degree pressure clamp that looks like it would be perfect! Have to scroll down a ways for it but it is there (or ctrl-f search for “Corner Pressure Clamp”).

We did the sanding/painting/staining out of order. We did it before cutting first because of ease of the whole process for us. We found that having it already painted really wasn’t a huge deal, but I would recommend cutting first and painting second. We used MDF so there really wasn’t anything to sand. But it is probably a good idea if you have the time and patience to do that. Instead of staining and painting I just picked up a colored stain and used it. We applied two coats after letting each coat dry about half a day. Your humidity, temp, and such will vary here.

The right tools is the best thing to have for any project of this type. Some things I would have for certain would be my list of tools above in the second paragraph. To make the cutting easier, get the lumber at home depot or local wood shop and ask them to make your cuts for you if you don’t have the tools. If you are going to make cuts yourself, get a table saw and some stands to hold the wood as you cut. Also a second person to help hold the boards as you cut is a good idea. I’m planning on buying these tools for my next wood project and I’m pretty sure I can get it all sub $3-400. Which for continued use from such projects aint bad.

One more tip, whenever cutting, never cut on top of the measured line. Make sure your cutters at the wood shop and Home Depot and such do this too (I have seen many not pay attention to this). The blade of any saw will take off from your cut. So you always need to cut on the outside of your measurement. If I measure 12 inches from the right side of the wood, then I cut to the left of the measured line with the edge of the blade on the outside edge of the measured line and opposite for measuring from the left.

Below are some pictures of the method I used to attach the shelves to the sides so that I could drill, glue, and screw. The glue I applied each shelf after drilling, then lined up the shelf, then pushed against side board, and then clamped in place. I put the clamp on the top without a piece of scrap underneath it, I know that is a huge no no but the MDF was fine and held up okay because I didn’t over tighten.

I used two pieces of cut 2×4 in between the shelf pieces so that one could steady against the other. Be careful about how much pressure you apply when pushing against each shelf because with the 2×4 that pressure gets sent down the line. I had one 2×4 at the bottom and another one raised up. This is important because you want the shelf to be straight up and down and not leaning one way or the other. If there was just one at the bottom it would be easy for it to lean to the right (when looking down at it) without you noticing.

That’s all for now, I will report back later.

Update: We are in the process of building this shelf. I just wanted to capture progress. Another post will go out once we have finished.

My wife and I decided we need some shelf space since we have a tiny kitchen and a lot of room in the dining room. I remembered seeing a cool design on a blog called Knock off Wood, the design called Puzzle Bookcase. If you have time to kill there are tons of really cool ideas on there.

We are really close to being done, just some more drilling, screwing, and then the finishing touches. Below is the current status…

Just picked up my new running shoes, but won’t get to run with them till tomorrow . But I will report back with my findings. So far they rock better than anything else! Except barefoot, can’t beat that.

Don’t tell me that local fresh food isn’t feasible or even wanted by people. We just really haven’t thought about it much.

The picture shows one of three main isles and is the smaller one. Granted I snapped this in Lincoln Park Chicago where these are more popular, but still there is a want for this kind of food.

From the one, the only, the man… Stephen Colbert

Well apparently I’m a HUGE gamer as I just bought $2100 worth of games on iTunes. Ugh… Or someone else did with my account. So after calling Apple, Paypal, and local bank I think things are going to be sorted out. Apple is supposed to call me back, they haven’t yet, to reimburse funds. Paypal said everything is refundable 100%, but things went through to the bank. While not the best scenario we lucked out with having funds in savings. And the funds are already on their way from Paypal. Paypal rocks and they acted very swiftly! I’m glad I use them for online purchases when possible.

The bank couldn’t really do anything but issue a new card. They said we would have to get reimbursement from someone else. Meanwhile I’m sure they have no problem charging us overdraft fees if it got to that point.

So if this happens to you follow similar protocol to be safe. Then change your password and remove funding source(s) from iTunes account. Just sucks that Apple is dragging their heels. Especially since this is completely their fault. I haven’t used my iTunes account in over a year and my iPod is safe in my possession. So my account must have got hacked.