Wood

I like to think that I'm a pretty handy guy around the house. I have a respectable workbench in the basement (and garage) filled with tools. I've built a few projects in my time, including one or two semi-major projects (fences, large shelving, etc.)... but I've got nothing on Marc Spagnuolo, The Wood Whisperer himself.

I have no idea if I'd ever get around to building some of these projects, but like most shows on HGTV, I could sit here in front of my computer and watch his videos all day long. His video about making the hallowe'en bowls (see above) was what I watched first and, if it wasn't for my lunch hour only being so long, I'd have just kept watching everything else on the site.

There is a lot on the site that I still haven't looked at -- a 'guild membership' to help fund the site, a number of reviews and articles, etc. -- but it's all well put together. The video's have a great tone about them, with just the right amount of humour, safety advice and project guidance. I felt like there was enough information in the clip that I could have done the project myself, from raw pieces of wood to the final finish, which I don't always think is the case on other sites.

So, even if you don't plan on dusting off the ol' drill and rushing off to Rona or Home Depot for materials, check out these videos.

» Found at: The Wood Whisperer

Hybrid

A really quick post for a Friday afternoon...

I've always wanted a Gibson Firebird V guitar... something about them just looks so bad-ass. I've seen Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) playing them before, which adds to their bad-ass credibility, IMO.

I've also recently thought that getting a mandolin to play would be pretty cool. Fun for hanging out in the backyard and/or noodling about on around the house and such. But that's probably the influence of Old Man Luedecke and the Elliott BROOD rubbing off on me... which is awesome, 'cause these guys are making some great music.

So, since I'll never likely be able to afford a real Firebird V axe, why not combine these to 'wants' into one awesome hybrid? Enter the Epiphone Mandobird VIII!  (No idea if I'd really want this, or if I'd rather have a mandolin that looks more like 'it should', but when I found this today I just had to post about it!)

» Found at: Epiphone's website

Tiles

This can get filed under the 'awesome' category. Have you ever wanted a texture to place under (or over) another layer in Photoshop to add depth or realism?  Ever wanted a background for a webpage that you could tile easily? Ever wanted a solution like this for the low-low price of FREE? Now you have it: tileabl.es

I stumbled on this site via Cameron Moll's quick link-list he'd posted last week, prior to his leaving for a conference, so many thanks to him for this. To be honest, I haven't even opened up these .zip files yet for a closer look, but according to the site:

This pack consists of 20 [type of texture or pattern featured] textures at various detail levels. Included in the download is your .PAT patterns file which can be imported into Photoshop. You also get the layered .PSD file so you can edit each pattern to your liking. Grab your copy today!

That's pretty cool in my books. Not only do you get the textures, but also the source files? Very nice touch. There are currently five 'sets' available: lines, paper, rust, fabric and wood ... and, to be honest, I can't think of what they'll release next! But, in the meantime, if you need some great looking, seemless textures for a project, maybe this is the site for you.

» Found at: Tileabl.es

Carnival

These are some really impressive images from a photographer named *brynne. She (and a friend) went through the abandoned Six Flags park in New Orleans last year, four years after Hurricane Katrina passed through the region. 80% of the park was demolished; only one ride was considered salvageable.

I was impressed to see that she has a number of other sets like this -- abandoned buildings -- as well, until I read her profile, which says, in part:

If I controlled the world, it would be cloudy every day at 67 degrees and I would be allowed in every abandoned building on the planet. I'm an aspiring stormchaser, urban explorer and future horror fiction novelist. I love to read, learn about new things and I am very well known as a trance music fanatic.

The post-processing on the images is quite good; be sure to check-out the silhouetted images of the park at the end of this set as well.  [Found via daringfireball.net]

» Flickr: “Six Flags New Orleans 228” – uploaded by *brynne

Notepad

Notepad++ is an advanced, tabbed, text-editor that I have been using for a number of years now. It's always really impressed me and I don't think I've ever been left wanting for features (except for a Print Preview option; I don't need it often, but I do wish they'd add it in). What it does have is: more syntax highlighting options than I've ever seen; super-quick load time; easy-to-use, uncluttered work environment; macro capibility, etc.

The small team that puts together this product have just last week released a new version of the program (v5.8.3) and had over the summer opened a new website as well (previously, it was hosted as part of the SourceForge empire I believe).

If you're looking to do some hand-coded (x)HTML/CSS work, plan some SQL scripts, write some C# code or whatever, consider this program. It's 100% free ("as in 'free beer' or 'free speech'" according to the website) and gets my stamp of approval.

» Found at: notepad-plus-plus.org