I picked up a cute little hutch for a dollar at a craft store, and kept picturing it done up with milk paint and beadboard. But wooden dollhouse-scale beadboard or siding -- adorable though it is -- comes in big expensive sheets (plastic is cheaper), and is thick enough that it would really reduce the... Continue Reading →
Since starting this blog for myself, I've been surprised by how powerful it is simply to have a place where I save pretty photos, link to things I like or pat myself on the back for projects I've done well. Add the benefits of focusing on positive news to the power of actually writing something... Continue Reading →
Private games were held, probably for emperors, at a personal Colosseum found inside a "gigantic imperial palace" near the present-day Fiumicino airport, which serves Rome. The London Times has pictures. Accounts say it's lavishly built with luxury materials and seats 2,000. Clearly, the forerunner of the modern home theater. Who needs plasma when you can... Continue Reading →
Pretty interesting. Facebook announced today that it tracks the aggregate mood of the country, based on the negative or positive words that millions of Facebookers use in their updates. The blog where I first read of it, ReadWriteWeb, does some interesting probing into possible ramifications of this and of the data that Facebook is NOT... Continue Reading →
Classical history geek that I am, I went this afternoon to the “24 Hour Roman Construction Project,” an art event in which participants build a replica of Rome in a day. Starting at midnight with the two huts of Romulus and Remus, volunteers make structures, well, more or less to scale. Events, speakers and music... Continue Reading →
When I made roses from Sculpey III polymer clay for my rose and semiprecious stone earrings, the fine edges crumbled as I was assembling the earrings. Roses made from Fimo clay, though, stood up to abuse -- and by abuse I mean my cats knocking them off the counter and chasing them around on a... Continue Reading →
Further solidifying my title as "Workaround Sue" – Just copy one of these and paste it into your tweet. Here you go: ♥ ♡ ♪ ☺ ☹ ☮ ★ ❦ Quick 'n dirty. Even better, here's a long list with tons of symbols. A sampling: ♘ € ☯ ☂ ☀ ☛ ✓... Continue Reading →
Of course the travel guide says it's incredibly hot (2000C) on the day side and super-cold (-200C) on the night side, but it's still the first rocky planet confirmed outside our own solar system. The planet, CoRoT-7b, orbits the star CoRoT-7 in the Monoceros, or Unicorn, constellation. The names all get more sensible when you... Continue Reading →
For my buddies on the City-O-Clay polymer clay listing: Here's how I made my DIY "cookie" cutters. (These are intended for cutting shapes in polymer clay; no representation of their food safety is made 🙂 ) Materials: Piece of tin roof flashing, about 49 cents at hardware store Tools: Tin snips, file, pliers (little jewelry... Continue Reading →
Must remember to go out between sunset and moonrise (11:15) to see the Perseid shower. The best time is actually 3-5 a.m., but I devoutly hope I'll be asleep by then!
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