HOUSEBOATSTUDIO NEWSLETTER
June 2009
In this issue:
- Mustache Challenge
- Critter Update
- Furniture Spotlight
- Tool Tips
- Client Shout Out
- Friday Links
This got ridiculous quickly. With no apologies, we proudly present the best of the best. Congratulations, winners. Bask in your mustached glory...
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So that's it. It's over now and we can all move on. Thanks for sharing your mustaches, and feel free to shave. Or, keep on growin' for next year's challenge: 2010 Beard vs. Mustache.
If you're on Facebook, you can see all the Mustache Challenge entries by on the official Mustache Challenge event page. We'll keep that gallery up for posterity.
Furniture Spotlight:
This Meeting Table Means Business
This huge 14 foot long conference table was custom designed for a marketing group in Atlanta to facilitate large meetings and function as a work surface as well.
The design is well thought out. Three structural piers serve as cable chases for low voltage power outlets and AV cables, which emerge on the tables surface in ports that have closable lids when not in use. The piers are made of solid wood and plywood to add warmth to the feel of the table. A tube-steel structural frame supporting the concrete top assures that the table is built like a tank.
The table was originally designed with a a top made of Orange Jello, but since the client was not a fan of that particular flavor, we went with Nate's other specialty: concrete. The top is poured in 3 pieces and the base and frame is modular, so the table can be transported with just two people. Convenient for picnics in the park!
Do you have a unique furniture need? Talk with us. More examples of Nate's custom-built designs can be found on our website: http://www.houseboatstudio.com/furniture/custom.html
Illustration project update:
Critters in Color
Tallahassee, FL - Nearing the end of a fantastic project, 38 out of 40 of Ben's colored critters have been officially approved by the State Parks division of the Florida DEP. They did not approve the Yellow-bellied Handle-barred Hummingbird nor the Porn-stached Southern Creeping Fern, but the remaining color critters can soon be found at a State Park near you.
Meanwhile, check out the updated HOUSEBOATSTUDIO Critter Project page, which now includes the color versions and a downloadable PDF's of the entire Critter collection.
www.houseboatstudio.com/illustration/~critters.html
Nate’s Tool Tips
By Nate W. Johnson: Furniture Builder, Genius
This month I was supposed to write about how to calibrate a calibrator. Hell if I could figure that one out. It’s a ridiculous question anyway. Ridiculous!
On a serious note, I would like to suggest that any tool you can’t fix, calibrate, or otherwise figure out, you should hang it on your shop wall to increase your status among other tool collectors.
I met Norm Abrams of This Old House fame once, and after talking shop for a while it was clear he had three planers in his shop as opposed to my two. I had to drop and do 20 pushups for him on the spot. And get him coffee for the rest of the week. Don’t let this happen to you.
Here are a few extra tips to boost your standing in the workshop social circles:
- Put stuff in dusty jars. That’s how old men do it, so it will make you look like you know what you’re doing. Stack jars alphabetically, even if you don't have labels.
- Hang up your wrenches over a poster of a picture of a bunch of wrenches. It may buy you enough time to escape before he figures out you’ve actually only got two wrenches.
- A broken pair of scissors can be made into two knives. That counts, Norm!
- Get a big cardboard box and write “old hammers” on it. Put it under something heavy so nobody will want to open it.
- Throw some kitchen cutlery in your screw driver drawer under the real screw drivers. If you get caught, laugh and yell to the other room: “Honey, were you using my screwdrivers again?” Even if you’re not married it works.
- For a big score, place a push-mower handle sticking out of a huge pile of sawdust. Then tell people: “that’s my new inverted pneumatic phase capacitor. As you can see I’ve been busy.” If you’ve got a tool he’s never heard of, its an automatic win.
And that’s how to calibrate a calibrator.
Next month: Top 5 Most Embarrassing Woodworking Moments Ever
HBS Client Shout Out:
Tishamingo Returns, with Mustaches
Tallahassee, FL - Long-time friends of HOUSEBOATSTUDIO, rock n' rollers Tishamingo are currently touring in support of their new mustaches. Set to be released to the public today in conjunction with the HBS Mustache Challenge, this collection of whisky whiskers is a must see.
The band will play a mustache tribute show at Potbelly's in Tallahassee tonight (Friday, June 26) then a funk-filled gig in Destin this Saturday (June 27) before heading to Europe to perform at a series of mustache festivals and concerts this summer.
Ciao bella mustachios, tishamingorinos!!
[ visit www.tishamingo.com for more news and dates ]
Friday Links
In case you haven't spent enough time goofing off by reading this newsletter, here are a few additional ways to take it to the Man...
- Breathe In Breathe Out - Greenpeace Hippie Propaganda at its best.
- TED: Demo of the 6th Sense - Makes the iPhone look like an antique already.
- Worst Looking Foosball Table Ever - Germans.
Interested in contributing to next month's random links? Have a comment or complaint?
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