The earliest known photo of Mark Twain shows the young printer's apprentice Samuel Clemens, right around his 15th birthday, holding printer's letters that spell his name, "SAM."
The youngest photo ever seen of Mark Twain
Pub signs: a virtual crawl through Oxfordshire
Web-surfing recently brought me to a trove of scholarly reviews of Oxfordshire pubs. Its index page alone is great for the lovely names it catalogues: the Penny Black, the Coach and Horses, the Five Bells, the Rose and Crown, the Lamb and Flag, the Jolly Postboys, the Catherine Wheel. (I'm quite the fan of pub... Continue Reading →
Extra ‘hands’ to help you install chair rail
When I went loopy and redid our two front rooms, I foolishly did all the chair rail part by myself. The real problem was trying to miter the joints with a cheap plastic miter box and a hand saw -- I thought going slowly would allow me more precision, but it didn't work like that. Precisely... Continue Reading →
The New Orleans Greys Flag
(Part of a series explaining the history behind my Texian Tees. Other entries: the De Zavala Flag; the Burnet Flag; the Gonzales Flag (Old Come and Take It); and the San Jacinto Flag. Click here to see and buy the shirts!) Ever since Alamo commander Buck Travis wrote, "I have answered the demand with a... Continue Reading →
Dear Cafepress: Jump off a cliff
I would love, somehow, to inform the two nice folks who just bought T-shirts from Cafepress carrying my design of the De Zavala flag that they paid Cafepress, respectively, TEN and THIRTEEN dollars more than if they had bought it from me. PLUS I got $6.30 in profit as opposed to $10 if they'd bought... Continue Reading →
The San Jacinto Flag
(Part of a series explaining the history behind my Texian Tees. Other entries: the De Zavala Flag; the Burnet Flag; the Gonzales Flag (Old Come and Take It); and the New Orleans Greys Flag. Click here to see and buy the shirts!) It's with sheer glee that I introduce my latest design. I've been working... Continue Reading →
What’s a British goddess like you doing on a Texas flag?
Compared to the stars, blocks of color and occasional cannon of other early Texas flags, the San Jacinto flag is a complex mass of symbolism. Here's a reproduction (which I have kinda brightened up) of the image at the center of the actual, refurbished flag, from Robert Maberry's 2001 book "Texas Flags": It's clear that... Continue Reading →
Make any size hole in leather, without an awl
Don't have an awl? Make any size hole in leather --to tighten a belt, raise a stirrup, etc. -- quickly with a drill bit. You don't even necessarily need a drill.
A friendly cover for your Hitchhiker’s Guide
Click here now to upload this important update to your Guide! Expanded capabilities: As you can see, the latest upgrades of the Guide include the ability to control nearby Nutri-Matic dispensers and several settings that allow it to work in tandem with your shipboard computer. Most importantly, the latest Guide relieves you of the need... Continue Reading →
Capitol visit for San Jacinto Day
UPDATE: Well, it's just as well my photo didn't come out -- it's a copy of the flag that's on display right now, as I learn is normal when the Lege is not in session. But I'm told the real flag is up at the Bullock museum. Revising my plans 🙂 --------- Actually, I went... Continue Reading →
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