Tiling Basics

I love DIY projects, especially if it involves remodeling my house or building some piece of furniture or useful object. Now that I have a few different projects under my belt and have gained some experience from them, I no longer feel as intimidated or afraid to take on another project. Before I do a new project, I spend a fair amount of time researching materials, techniques and tools online. That's what I love about the internet. You can find just about any information, example or instruction to help you with whatever you are trying to fix, work on or create.
Now, as I said earlier, I have done a few projects but the thing that I have done multiple times is laying ceramic tile. Laying ceramic tile sounds like it requires a lot of expertise and skill but as I did my first project, I was amazed at how simple it really is to do, if you take the time to plan out the project and invest in a few specialized tools. If you want to see the results of a tile project that I worked on for my in-laws, then read on.

Manufacturing Technology

This past Thursday and Friday, I attended IMTS 2010 in Chicago. IMTS stands for International Manufacturing Technology Show and it is a HUGE deal in the manufacturing world. I saw the latest and greatest in manufacturing equipment and cutting edge technology as it is applied to various processes within the industrial world. I realize that this probably does not excite too many of you but I'd like to invite you to read on and let me show you some of the cool stuff I saw!

Is that wood?!

Now that summer is coming to a close and the daytime highs are getting more reasonable, it's time for me to start a woodworking project! Now, I'm not one of those craftsmen that has a nice, air-conditioned and heated shop that exists on their property only for woodworking....at least, not yet! No, I do all of my work in the 'ol garage like many others do. At least though, I have recently done a fairly thorough garage cleaning and threw away.....yes, you read it right, threw away several items, sold a couple of large items on Craigslist and now have more room in my garage than I have had in a long time. Well.... it helps too that I now have a storage shed that my dad and I built over the summer. It is the new home for my riding mower and most of my lumber. I will talk about building my shed in another post but in this post, I'll begin sharing the process as I go through it to build my next wood project. What is it, you ask?!.....well, read on to find out.

My Fotographer Fanatic

I think I have created a monster! About a year ago, I decided to surprise my wife with a gift that she had been wanting for a long time..... a DSLR camera! Little did I realize that this was going to launch her into a hobby that had just been waiting for her to get into. Now, by no means am I complaining, on the contrary, I am very glad that she has found an interest in which she can submerge herself into and thoroughly enjoy. I know what you are thinking.... those cameras are expensive! Yes....the NEW ones are, but let me tell you about the sweet deal I got on this used one via Ebay.

Digital Drawbacks

It is amazing to me how, in my lifetime, the digital age (as known to the general public) was born and has evolved and grown to such a level that virtually everything we are associated with now has a digital connection. AWESOME, right?! Well maybe not so much. While there are many, many benefits and positive attributes to having "all things digital", there are those pesky negative attributes as well.