and a squirrel update.
Seems that three days of spending a great deal of time outdoors has got my allergies up.
Gotta love that dizzy, tight chest feeling! Add in the weird very-aware-of-my-pulse thing that happens when the pollen gets to me.
WHEEEE!!!
But in better news, it appears that squirrels don't like hot sauce. I've doused both front and rear feeders and while I've seen them foraging around the fallen seed, they haven't been gorging at the feeder itself. The birds continue to come and they are now hunting a larger area of my property.
The hot sauce doesn't work so well for the normal suet. Seems the squirrels just scrape away the outside and eat away. I'm trying a hot pepper suet that my wife picked up on a lark. Hopefully that'll do the trick.
Oh yeah, I heard an owl the other day. I need to read up on if they prey on some of the birds I'm pulling and if they take the chipmunks and squirrels I'm seeing.
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Birdbath
After watching the birds go from feeder to hunting/feeding about my property I googled around for more ways to pull them in.
Seems that birdbaths are a big draw. But birdbaths are silly expensive. So... I googled around some more and found this and this.
We were unable to find a 18" saucer but the 16" we did find looks alright. Also we couldn't find deep saucers like those shown in the links but as I'm looking for this to be a birdbath and not just a fountain, I think it'll do.
I've ordered a solar fountain pump off of ebay and it should show this week.
In the meantime ---
Here are the components with spouts filed out with a round bastard file and the hole drilled in the 8" platter.
Per the directions I soaked the pots over an hour (ended being over 2). I did not have a bastard file on hand and tried a rasp bit in my drill. That didn't work, so off to the store again. I had assumed that the soaking would make the filing easier, but no. It is to cut down on chipping at the work site.
It didn't occur to me to put a work glove on my working hand until I worked up a good sized blister on my guiding/pressure finger.
heh
Assembled --
I wasn't keen on leaving them natural. For one thing the pots were different colors and for another... well, I wanted to play and got it in my head to try to make a lapis finish. After googling around a great deal I found this site.
I picked up the materials last night. I'm a little worried about the "water-based gloss varnish". Of the places I checked out I found no "water-based" varnish. I did find varnish for acrylic and for oil. So I made the first of my assumptions that the acrylic varnish is water-based. My second assumption is this: the directions for the faux lapis have a step where paint and varnish are mixed 1:1 .. well, the varnish indicates that is "should not be used as a medium". I'm going to cross my fingers and disregard that directive on the label.
Here is the base coat of gold spray paint --
The additional 4" pot is for a decorative plant that will sit on top of the overturned 4" saucer in the pump tower.
I had thought to apply 2-3 coats on one side before doing the other. I'm glad I didn't because I ran out of gold very shortly after doing the flip sides. Also, the paint can was incorrect about being able to handle the pieces right away. In moving the pots to my deck box I noticed that I'd smudged away the paint in areas when I flipped them to do the other side.
Ehh, I'm trying for a faux finish and natural rocks aren't perfect so I'm not gonna worry about it.
Sill I'm not touching them again for a couple hours to cut down on damage.
Next up, the aquamarine plus black wash. I was able to find that a "wash brush" was both a brush and a technique. But I have found no specifics as to what "aquamarine plus black" means. I'm gonna wing it.
-----------
Well, aquamarine plus black creates a nice denim color. Main problem I had was trying to figure how much paint I needed and I kept underestimating. As a result some wash is a bit different than others. But, at this point, I like the slight color differences.
On to the strips of color and fly specking ---
As can be seen in the big dish, the paint + varnish dries in well under 5 minutes. I came back to smooth the stripes in and they were all dry. Not the effect I originally wanted, but I think it'll be nice under water.
The thing that is really irritating me is that from what I read I did not need primer for terracotta. That is false.
False false false.
I had seen some flaking of the gold early on and thought it wasn't dry. Well, large bits peeled away when I picked up some of the pots. I'm hoping the sealant will stop all of that cause it is really ticking me off.
Next up -- the gold hash marks and gold fly specking.
I read that the acrylic would darken after drying but I didn't realize what it would look like. I'm happier with the large saucer now.
The gold paint that I used didn't blend out nicely with the round brush and for some reason made a significant amount of specks with the toothbrush. Not sure why it would make more than the other paint. I'm hoping its colors will calm down with drying.
Next up, putting a couple coats of UV resistant sealer on all of the pots.
Should have seen this coming. As I said, use a primer.
When putting down the first layer of sealer one pot fell into another and knocked a large paint chip away. When I picked it up to see how bad things were, the paint pulled away where my fingers were. I'm thinking I can touch up those areas. Not sure.
After letting it dry for a half hour, I came out to see if it was dry to the touch. Most of it was but there were a few wet areas (I had problems seeing where the sealant had coated the pot and ended up spraying much to much sealant on). Well, some paint stuck to me. Luckily it was in a hidden area. But based on how the pain is acting, anything that hits it will knock chips away.
I'm really not sure what to do. Strip the paint and start again? I just don't know.
I'm going to let the current coat sit to 8pm and then flip them to do the other side.
============
I put three coats of sealant on both sides and then put 3 coats on the parts that chipped away.
Then I mixed gold, aquamarine, black, and gloss varnish for touching up. After doing that I put on three more coats of sealant over the problem spots.
The issue now is that heat from the sun causes the paint to bubble around the chipped areas. It also makes all surfaces sticky enough to pull the paint off.
At this point I think it looks ok. The bubbles are in hidden areas. I'm not sure that I'm liking it because it's nice or because I'm almost done.
Heh.
I don't like what the flash did to that pic, but I don't have a stand up tripod. Ehh
I'll grow some short flowers in the top pot.
I had thought of gluing the tower parts together. But it is looking likely that I'll be doing piecemeal stripping/repainting over time. So no gluing.
Next step is to wait for the pump to come in. Then buy some tubing based on its outflow port's diameter. Lastly, some marine glue.
Seems that birdbaths are a big draw. But birdbaths are silly expensive. So... I googled around some more and found this and this.
We were unable to find a 18" saucer but the 16" we did find looks alright. Also we couldn't find deep saucers like those shown in the links but as I'm looking for this to be a birdbath and not just a fountain, I think it'll do.
I've ordered a solar fountain pump off of ebay and it should show this week.
In the meantime ---
Here are the components with spouts filed out with a round bastard file and the hole drilled in the 8" platter.
Per the directions I soaked the pots over an hour (ended being over 2). I did not have a bastard file on hand and tried a rasp bit in my drill. That didn't work, so off to the store again. I had assumed that the soaking would make the filing easier, but no. It is to cut down on chipping at the work site.
It didn't occur to me to put a work glove on my working hand until I worked up a good sized blister on my guiding/pressure finger.
heh
Assembled --
I wasn't keen on leaving them natural. For one thing the pots were different colors and for another... well, I wanted to play and got it in my head to try to make a lapis finish. After googling around a great deal I found this site.
I picked up the materials last night. I'm a little worried about the "water-based gloss varnish". Of the places I checked out I found no "water-based" varnish. I did find varnish for acrylic and for oil. So I made the first of my assumptions that the acrylic varnish is water-based. My second assumption is this: the directions for the faux lapis have a step where paint and varnish are mixed 1:1 .. well, the varnish indicates that is "should not be used as a medium". I'm going to cross my fingers and disregard that directive on the label.
Here is the base coat of gold spray paint --
The additional 4" pot is for a decorative plant that will sit on top of the overturned 4" saucer in the pump tower.
I had thought to apply 2-3 coats on one side before doing the other. I'm glad I didn't because I ran out of gold very shortly after doing the flip sides. Also, the paint can was incorrect about being able to handle the pieces right away. In moving the pots to my deck box I noticed that I'd smudged away the paint in areas when I flipped them to do the other side.
Ehh, I'm trying for a faux finish and natural rocks aren't perfect so I'm not gonna worry about it.
Sill I'm not touching them again for a couple hours to cut down on damage.
Next up, the aquamarine plus black wash. I was able to find that a "wash brush" was both a brush and a technique. But I have found no specifics as to what "aquamarine plus black" means. I'm gonna wing it.
-----------
Well, aquamarine plus black creates a nice denim color. Main problem I had was trying to figure how much paint I needed and I kept underestimating. As a result some wash is a bit different than others. But, at this point, I like the slight color differences.
On to the strips of color and fly specking ---
As can be seen in the big dish, the paint + varnish dries in well under 5 minutes. I came back to smooth the stripes in and they were all dry. Not the effect I originally wanted, but I think it'll be nice under water.
The thing that is really irritating me is that from what I read I did not need primer for terracotta. That is false.
False false false.
I had seen some flaking of the gold early on and thought it wasn't dry. Well, large bits peeled away when I picked up some of the pots. I'm hoping the sealant will stop all of that cause it is really ticking me off.
Next up -- the gold hash marks and gold fly specking.
I read that the acrylic would darken after drying but I didn't realize what it would look like. I'm happier with the large saucer now.
The gold paint that I used didn't blend out nicely with the round brush and for some reason made a significant amount of specks with the toothbrush. Not sure why it would make more than the other paint. I'm hoping its colors will calm down with drying.
Next up, putting a couple coats of UV resistant sealer on all of the pots.
Should have seen this coming. As I said, use a primer.
When putting down the first layer of sealer one pot fell into another and knocked a large paint chip away. When I picked it up to see how bad things were, the paint pulled away where my fingers were. I'm thinking I can touch up those areas. Not sure.
After letting it dry for a half hour, I came out to see if it was dry to the touch. Most of it was but there were a few wet areas (I had problems seeing where the sealant had coated the pot and ended up spraying much to much sealant on). Well, some paint stuck to me. Luckily it was in a hidden area. But based on how the pain is acting, anything that hits it will knock chips away.
I'm really not sure what to do. Strip the paint and start again? I just don't know.
I'm going to let the current coat sit to 8pm and then flip them to do the other side.
============
I put three coats of sealant on both sides and then put 3 coats on the parts that chipped away.
Then I mixed gold, aquamarine, black, and gloss varnish for touching up. After doing that I put on three more coats of sealant over the problem spots.
The issue now is that heat from the sun causes the paint to bubble around the chipped areas. It also makes all surfaces sticky enough to pull the paint off.
At this point I think it looks ok. The bubbles are in hidden areas. I'm not sure that I'm liking it because it's nice or because I'm almost done.
Heh.
I don't like what the flash did to that pic, but I don't have a stand up tripod. Ehh
I'll grow some short flowers in the top pot.
I had thought of gluing the tower parts together. But it is looking likely that I'll be doing piecemeal stripping/repainting over time. So no gluing.
Next step is to wait for the pump to come in. Then buy some tubing based on its outflow port's diameter. Lastly, some marine glue.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
I hate squirrels
But my wife and daughter would hate me if I killed the blasted bushy-tailed rats.
We *HATES* them.
Yes, yes we do.
I'm working from home today and have been chasing off a bushy-tailed rat that figured out how to get to the bird feeder that I'm using to pull in some useful bug eating birds (NC has a ton of them).
Then I go out to check on my garden and find two corn and a melon dug up. Not eaten, just dug up. A bunch of my wife's carrots were dug up as well.
I hate them.
HATE HATE HATE HATE them.
With an unending passion I hate them.
We *HATES* them.
Yes, yes we do.
I'm working from home today and have been chasing off a bushy-tailed rat that figured out how to get to the bird feeder that I'm using to pull in some useful bug eating birds (NC has a ton of them).
Then I go out to check on my garden and find two corn and a melon dug up. Not eaten, just dug up. A bunch of my wife's carrots were dug up as well.
I hate them.
HATE HATE HATE HATE them.
With an unending passion I hate them.
Farmer Bear
As mentioned below I'm trying my hand at gardening. I'm doing this not only because I'm curious if I can, but for the past couple quarters I've been seeing signs that Carter era inflation is on its way. I suspect it will be seen everywhere by late summer to early fall.
The primary reason I moved to NC was to buy a house outright and to be fully out of debt. But that wasn't the only reason. By early 2005 I saw crazy things happening in the northern VA area. Huge numbers were attracted to the area by the then popped dot com salary bubble. So much so that my (one-way) just over an hour 60 mile commute grew to three hours. This drove the insane housing market in that area. The cost of living continued upwards at a remarkable rate regardless of the fact that six figure incomes were no longer common. Further, the county governments were implementing ever larger budgets based on property taxes.
I thought northern Virginia was nothing more than a ticking bomb. With the stories coming out these days of LA type gangs and squatters in foreclosed houses, I think I was right.
Well, soon after I got to NC my allergies went into overdrive and caused my mild sleep apnea to become very severe. The thing was that my symptoms were not clear and the docs thought it could be all sorts of horrible things. Long story short, my debt free status went away with mounting hospital bills for tests. Thankfully, that is in the past and I'm on my way to paying that all off.
So where does that put my household?
The plan is to get rid of the debt, lower expenses, and hunt for ways to pay the bills/taxes with something I can do at home.
The "something I can do at home" is slow going, but I'm not yet discouraged.... just frustrated.
Expenses are a different story. We're good about not falling for the current shiny thing and while we do indulge in a luxury now and again, they are a rare treat.
I'm eyeballing solar but for now only homeowner subsidies make it viable. Also, with energy costs going up, the tech involved will improve and the cost will drop. So jumping in now would be like my purchase of GDX... jumping in right before a pullback.
I've also thought out a system of three crawlspace dehumidifiers powered by a RV solar panel to harvest water. But water is still cheap here and the cost/benefit ratio isn't there yet.
That leaves food.
I ran across Mel Bartholomew's site Square Foot Gardening last month and picked up his latest book. I've set up a 4x4 for myself and a 3x3 for my wife and daughter. Currently I'm learning what deals with the partial/dappled sun in my back yard. Considering how freakishly cold it is this time of year, I'm not sure my findings will have much use in a normal year (some of my pole beans and small melons do not like the current cold snap).
Another thing my wife found was Angel Food Ministries. At first this struck me as something for very poor folks (like government cheese) and I didn't want to participate in something where I'd be taking away from folks in genuine need. But in reading over their site it looks like they operate by way of bulk purchases and volunteerism. Their base package is nicely priced but their meat add-on prices are very good. We're picking up a package very soon to determine if it is something we'd like to do.
The primary reason I moved to NC was to buy a house outright and to be fully out of debt. But that wasn't the only reason. By early 2005 I saw crazy things happening in the northern VA area. Huge numbers were attracted to the area by the then popped dot com salary bubble. So much so that my (one-way) just over an hour 60 mile commute grew to three hours. This drove the insane housing market in that area. The cost of living continued upwards at a remarkable rate regardless of the fact that six figure incomes were no longer common. Further, the county governments were implementing ever larger budgets based on property taxes.
I thought northern Virginia was nothing more than a ticking bomb. With the stories coming out these days of LA type gangs and squatters in foreclosed houses, I think I was right.
Well, soon after I got to NC my allergies went into overdrive and caused my mild sleep apnea to become very severe. The thing was that my symptoms were not clear and the docs thought it could be all sorts of horrible things. Long story short, my debt free status went away with mounting hospital bills for tests. Thankfully, that is in the past and I'm on my way to paying that all off.
So where does that put my household?
The plan is to get rid of the debt, lower expenses, and hunt for ways to pay the bills/taxes with something I can do at home.
The "something I can do at home" is slow going, but I'm not yet discouraged.... just frustrated.
Expenses are a different story. We're good about not falling for the current shiny thing and while we do indulge in a luxury now and again, they are a rare treat.
I'm eyeballing solar but for now only homeowner subsidies make it viable. Also, with energy costs going up, the tech involved will improve and the cost will drop. So jumping in now would be like my purchase of GDX... jumping in right before a pullback.
I've also thought out a system of three crawlspace dehumidifiers powered by a RV solar panel to harvest water. But water is still cheap here and the cost/benefit ratio isn't there yet.
That leaves food.
I ran across Mel Bartholomew's site Square Foot Gardening last month and picked up his latest book. I've set up a 4x4 for myself and a 3x3 for my wife and daughter. Currently I'm learning what deals with the partial/dappled sun in my back yard. Considering how freakishly cold it is this time of year, I'm not sure my findings will have much use in a normal year (some of my pole beans and small melons do not like the current cold snap).
Another thing my wife found was Angel Food Ministries. At first this struck me as something for very poor folks (like government cheese) and I didn't want to participate in something where I'd be taking away from folks in genuine need. But in reading over their site it looks like they operate by way of bulk purchases and volunteerism. Their base package is nicely priced but their meat add-on prices are very good. We're picking up a package very soon to determine if it is something we'd like to do.
Life has a funny way of getting in the way
I live yet!
Lowest bodyweight drop was to 285.5 last Sunday. I've been bouncing from that to 290 all week. If recent history is any guide, I should be breaching upper 270 around the middle of next month.
Juniper pollen laid me low earlier this year and Birch (I think.. possibly Maple) was giving me grief recently.
A very happy note, the allergy shots appear to be working. I've been on the maintenance dose for a little over a year now. I'm now able to get to yard work that would have left me gasping for breath within a half hour. I'm well pleased.
That and my experiment with square foot gardening has kept me from this blog and my stones. Granted, I'm now positive my wife is correct that I'm finding everything in my power to avoid the moonstone and rhodochrosite because it had been giving me such grief.
Currently I'm focusing on yard work that has been put off since late 2005 that *must* be tended.
Lowest bodyweight drop was to 285.5 last Sunday. I've been bouncing from that to 290 all week. If recent history is any guide, I should be breaching upper 270 around the middle of next month.
Juniper pollen laid me low earlier this year and Birch (I think.. possibly Maple) was giving me grief recently.
A very happy note, the allergy shots appear to be working. I've been on the maintenance dose for a little over a year now. I'm now able to get to yard work that would have left me gasping for breath within a half hour. I'm well pleased.
That and my experiment with square foot gardening has kept me from this blog and my stones. Granted, I'm now positive my wife is correct that I'm finding everything in my power to avoid the moonstone and rhodochrosite because it had been giving me such grief.
Currently I'm focusing on yard work that has been put off since late 2005 that *must* be tended.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
More questions than answers
There has been an insane cold bug floating around the area and it was my turn to catch it.
Yuk.
A curious thing showed itself regarding my diet. On increasing my calories quickly I found that I started to gain weight. So I stopped adding calories at 2600 and after a week I started losing weight again.
Then this cold hit and I changed my calorie intake to mainly soups. After a few days I dropped down to 294.
In the past I've had problems with carbs. Mainly from bloating. Maybe I need to find a way to bring in more meat somehow.
I'm hesitant on messing with something that controls my hunger so well. But when it causes 4-8 pounds of bloating over the week? That and I'm starting to develop heartburn. Back in the early 90s I ate way too many carbs and I developed acid reflux. When I cut out the carbs it went away. So I might not have a choice in the matter.
Yuk.
A curious thing showed itself regarding my diet. On increasing my calories quickly I found that I started to gain weight. So I stopped adding calories at 2600 and after a week I started losing weight again.
Then this cold hit and I changed my calorie intake to mainly soups. After a few days I dropped down to 294.
In the past I've had problems with carbs. Mainly from bloating. Maybe I need to find a way to bring in more meat somehow.
I'm hesitant on messing with something that controls my hunger so well. But when it causes 4-8 pounds of bloating over the week? That and I'm starting to develop heartburn. Back in the early 90s I ate way too many carbs and I developed acid reflux. When I cut out the carbs it went away. So I might not have a choice in the matter.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
GAH!
It would appear that I managed to buy my GDX right before a pullback:
Still, the longer term chart (4 box rev) is indicting that it'll be on its way up to 91.
More interesting to me is that GLD has started its pullback and should be headed to somewhere around 85:
I'm looking to buy at that point.
=====
3 box rev is now showing 79 as a possible bottom. 4 box rev won't update the price objective until it drops to around 87.
I tend to trust the 4 box rev more but the 3 day can give a better idea of short term movement.
I'm irritated that I jumped into GDX at the start of a pull back, but, ehh... all signs point to it going up over time.
Still, the longer term chart (4 box rev) is indicting that it'll be on its way up to 91.
More interesting to me is that GLD has started its pullback and should be headed to somewhere around 85:
I'm looking to buy at that point.
=====
3 box rev is now showing 79 as a possible bottom. 4 box rev won't update the price objective until it drops to around 87.
I tend to trust the 4 box rev more but the 3 day can give a better idea of short term movement.
I'm irritated that I jumped into GDX at the start of a pull back, but, ehh... all signs point to it going up over time.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
More thoughts on polish
I got around to working with the rhodochrosite again.
It seems that the non-diamond grits smooth more than scratch away.
Anyway, I tried different things with the four stones.
#1 stone - I took it through a 1200 grit polish. The scratches showed up again. So on rhodochrosite it isn't a matter of a grit inbetween 600 and 1200. It is that the 1200 cuts pretty deep into rhodochrosite.
#2 stone - From the tripoli polish I took it through a 14K grit polish. I started on the outside of the pad and that put in scratches. After moving near the center I was able to get rid of most of the scratches I put in and get near the tripoli polish.
#3 stone - From the tripoli polish I took it through a cerium oxide polish. This improved the tripoli polish a great deal. But the finish was just a wee bit hazy.
#4 stone I set aside to mull my options.
I'm starting to think that taking the stone down to a 14K grit polish and then over to the cerium oxide might be best. I say this because even if the diamond does put scratches in the stone, it prepares the surface to take a better polish.
What I'm wondering now is should I do a tripoli polish inbetween the 14K grit and the cerium oxide. That would definitely get rid of all scratches, but it might rough up the 14K grit's work. Perhaps I'll test that if the 14K grit to cerium oxide doesn't work.
========
AH HA!!
Scroll near the end of that and click through next in thread.
OK, so soft stone is issue #1 with regards to high gloss finish. The other is speed.
The two stones I ran through the cerium oxide were done on the outside of the wheel.
So... what now?
I've taken these stones to 14K twice and then up to a tripoli polish. One of the threads in the link above indicates that a 600 grit sanding is sufficient before a slow cerium oxide polish.
I think I'll next work all the stones through cerium oxide on the inside of the pad. The next three stones are larger rhodochrosite that I'll try taking down to 600 grit before moving to the polish.
I also poked around google images looking for some finished rhodochrosite being sold. I think I was expecting a better finish than the stone can give.
If these stones work out I think I'll have to hunt around to find out how to get rid of the final scratches in my moonstone. I suspect that a good run through with the cerium oxide might do the trick.
It seems that the non-diamond grits smooth more than scratch away.
Anyway, I tried different things with the four stones.
#1 stone - I took it through a 1200 grit polish. The scratches showed up again. So on rhodochrosite it isn't a matter of a grit inbetween 600 and 1200. It is that the 1200 cuts pretty deep into rhodochrosite.
#2 stone - From the tripoli polish I took it through a 14K grit polish. I started on the outside of the pad and that put in scratches. After moving near the center I was able to get rid of most of the scratches I put in and get near the tripoli polish.
#3 stone - From the tripoli polish I took it through a cerium oxide polish. This improved the tripoli polish a great deal. But the finish was just a wee bit hazy.
#4 stone I set aside to mull my options.
I'm starting to think that taking the stone down to a 14K grit polish and then over to the cerium oxide might be best. I say this because even if the diamond does put scratches in the stone, it prepares the surface to take a better polish.
What I'm wondering now is should I do a tripoli polish inbetween the 14K grit and the cerium oxide. That would definitely get rid of all scratches, but it might rough up the 14K grit's work. Perhaps I'll test that if the 14K grit to cerium oxide doesn't work.
========
AH HA!!
Scroll near the end of that and click through next in thread.
OK, so soft stone is issue #1 with regards to high gloss finish. The other is speed.
The two stones I ran through the cerium oxide were done on the outside of the wheel.
So... what now?
I've taken these stones to 14K twice and then up to a tripoli polish. One of the threads in the link above indicates that a 600 grit sanding is sufficient before a slow cerium oxide polish.
I think I'll next work all the stones through cerium oxide on the inside of the pad. The next three stones are larger rhodochrosite that I'll try taking down to 600 grit before moving to the polish.
I also poked around google images looking for some finished rhodochrosite being sold. I think I was expecting a better finish than the stone can give.
If these stones work out I think I'll have to hunt around to find out how to get rid of the final scratches in my moonstone. I suspect that a good run through with the cerium oxide might do the trick.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Crazy morning
Well I'm sure glad I waited until the morning to put in my trades.
I confirmed that IDU and IXP still looked bad. Then I looked at PCU again and decided to wait for a pullback before buying --
After mucking with the settings a bit (larger box size), I came up with this --
Not sure if that is a pullback or the makings of a reversal.
Went instead with GDX --
I have held some aside to watch for pullbacks in GLD and PCU.
=============
Well isn't that nifty. Seems the StockChart charts that I linked in update. I was looking at what I thought was an old chart in my 3/16 post and wondering why I thought I'd enter PCU. Then I noticed that the data updated.
Interesting... can't really show old chart data, but can link to one ongoing chart. Perhaps on the link list to the right.
=============
Nifty. Seems I'll have to keep an eye on EFA and VAW as well.
I confirmed that IDU and IXP still looked bad. Then I looked at PCU again and decided to wait for a pullback before buying --
After mucking with the settings a bit (larger box size), I came up with this --
Not sure if that is a pullback or the makings of a reversal.
Went instead with GDX --
I have held some aside to watch for pullbacks in GLD and PCU.
=============
Well isn't that nifty. Seems the StockChart charts that I linked in update. I was looking at what I thought was an old chart in my 3/16 post and wondering why I thought I'd enter PCU. Then I noticed that the data updated.
Interesting... can't really show old chart data, but can link to one ongoing chart. Perhaps on the link list to the right.
=============
Nifty. Seems I'll have to keep an eye on EFA and VAW as well.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Rethinking tripoli
I can not find any diamond grit in a size between 600 and 1200.
However I have read that tripoli is comparable to 800-1200 diamond grit.
Some if not most of my problems are that the 1200 grit deals very slowly with the scratches from the 600 grit step.
I decided to take my rhodochrosite trough a tripoli polish. It appeared to remove the 600 grit scratches that I had been dealing with. It did dig deeper along mineral changes in the stone (white wavy bits) but not very bad. I'm interested in what the 1200 diamond grit will do with the stone now.
Something that I find maddening is that I'm now sure that if I was willing to drop the $1K - 2K for a proper cabbing setup I wouldn't be having this issue. I say this because I think that the expanding wheels on a full cabbing machine would take these scratches out in short order. Or to put it a different way - I'm not sure that I'm doing anything wrong, it is just that my equipment works the stone slowly.
It is a funny situation. Drop a couple grand and *know* I have equipment that can make better stones than I'm able but have no idea if I can make stones people will buy. Or, drop a couple hundred dollars that I'm willing to lose in order to test a possible income stream and constantly question if I can make a go of stones or if I'm just dealing with the limitations of my starting equipment.
However I have read that tripoli is comparable to 800-1200 diamond grit.
Some if not most of my problems are that the 1200 grit deals very slowly with the scratches from the 600 grit step.
I decided to take my rhodochrosite trough a tripoli polish. It appeared to remove the 600 grit scratches that I had been dealing with. It did dig deeper along mineral changes in the stone (white wavy bits) but not very bad. I'm interested in what the 1200 diamond grit will do with the stone now.
Something that I find maddening is that I'm now sure that if I was willing to drop the $1K - 2K for a proper cabbing setup I wouldn't be having this issue. I say this because I think that the expanding wheels on a full cabbing machine would take these scratches out in short order. Or to put it a different way - I'm not sure that I'm doing anything wrong, it is just that my equipment works the stone slowly.
It is a funny situation. Drop a couple grand and *know* I have equipment that can make better stones than I'm able but have no idea if I can make stones people will buy. Or, drop a couple hundred dollars that I'm willing to lose in order to test a possible income stream and constantly question if I can make a go of stones or if I'm just dealing with the limitations of my starting equipment.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Diet update
As of this morning I'm down to 299.
So down 29 pounds in around 3.5 weeks. This includes two birthday steak dinners (yes, my daughter takes after me).
One of my bosses went on a diet early 2000 which consisted of very low calorie intake for most of the day and eating like a hog for one meal. The catch was that the large meal had to be consumed within an hour. I didn't eat like a hog during those birthday meals but they were large and finished within an hour. Interesting data:
As of 3/6 my daily calorie intake has been at 2000. This morning I chose to up my calories by 200 and will now add 200 every Monday & Thursday until my current calorie target of 2800 is hit (or lower if I drop below 290 before 3/20.
I noticed the calorie increase today around 1pm when my cold symptoms disappeared.
I'm thinking that I should have started at 2000 calories as opposed to 1600.
It's funny. Seems I tossed myself out of the frying pan and into the fire with the start of my diet. But I find I'm sleeping better and that I'm not so easily out of breath.
All in all I'm pleased.
=======
Forgot to mention what I'm eating now.
Breakfast:
Divided up for 14 small meals every half hour from 10am-5pm:
Dinner:
Not sure if I should add Thursday's 200 calories to lunch or split it up between breakfast and dinner. The more I eat during the day, the less slow I feel. The less I eat in the morning the longer it takes for me to feel human. Small dinners are putting me to sleep within a half hour of finishing.
As of this moment I'm leaning towards upping my breakfast and dinner.
======
3/16 update --
I thought about what I said about dinner a bit more and now think the opposite is true. It is too many additional calories in comparison to what I took in during the day that puts me asleep.
So I'm planning to put the additional calories into breakfast and the snacks throughout the day
So down 29 pounds in around 3.5 weeks. This includes two birthday steak dinners (yes, my daughter takes after me).
One of my bosses went on a diet early 2000 which consisted of very low calorie intake for most of the day and eating like a hog for one meal. The catch was that the large meal had to be consumed within an hour. I didn't eat like a hog during those birthday meals but they were large and finished within an hour. Interesting data:
Day after first meal I gained a half pound and the day after that I dropped 3.5I should not have dropped my calories down to 1600. For the past week and a half I've been falling asleep soon after coming home. At the end of last week I noticed a slowdown in reaction times during driving. Nothing dangerous, but still noticeable. Also been dealing with light to moderate cold symptoms. I'm astounded at the hunger control of the fiber, fat, and chewing gum.
Day after second meal I gained 1.5 pounds and two days later I dropped 2.5
As of 3/6 my daily calorie intake has been at 2000. This morning I chose to up my calories by 200 and will now add 200 every Monday & Thursday until my current calorie target of 2800 is hit (or lower if I drop below 290 before 3/20.
I noticed the calorie increase today around 1pm when my cold symptoms disappeared.
I'm thinking that I should have started at 2000 calories as opposed to 1600.
It's funny. Seems I tossed myself out of the frying pan and into the fire with the start of my diet. But I find I'm sleeping better and that I'm not so easily out of breath.
All in all I'm pleased.
=======
Forgot to mention what I'm eating now.
Breakfast:
12 ounces yogurt: 210 calories
4 ounces muesli: 200 calories
dried fruit (around 11 pieces of apple, pear, and pineapple): 200 calories
Divided up for 14 small meals every half hour from 10am-5pm:
32 ounces V-8: 200 calories
3 ounces crackers: 360 calories
string cheese: 60 calories
apple: 50 calories
jerky: 100 calories
extra cheese/stuff: 100 calories
Dinner:
700 calories of meat and fiber carbs
Not sure if I should add Thursday's 200 calories to lunch or split it up between breakfast and dinner. The more I eat during the day, the less slow I feel. The less I eat in the morning the longer it takes for me to feel human. Small dinners are putting me to sleep within a half hour of finishing.
As of this moment I'm leaning towards upping my breakfast and dinner.
======
3/16 update --
I thought about what I said about dinner a bit more and now think the opposite is true. It is too many additional calories in comparison to what I took in during the day that puts me asleep.
So I'm planning to put the additional calories into breakfast and the snacks throughout the day
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Assessment
Things have been coming to a head in the health department.
I've mentioned a few times in the past how the weather was hurting me. Well, it had gotten to the point where any front moving through the area would leave me useless. It didn't need to rain where I was at for this to happen, just if the pressure dropped in the area.
To this was added the problem of me having gained around forty pounds in four months.
Full disclosure: I had to stop my calisthenics early last year. I was running out of air before I could work up a sweat. My allergist said I had "exercise induced asthma" and that I should do what I could and wait for the allergy shots to start working. Well, "doing what I could" amounted to keeping myself from becoming a complete invalid. Around October I was able to start my calisthenics again and I was to the point where I could work up a sweat before my lungs gave out. Around Dec. I found my lungs were giving out too soon again. I determined that this was due to my weight gain.
But the lack of activity was not the cause of my rapid weight gain from 11/07 to 2/08. No, that was caused by my own stupidity. See, I had taken to bringing some trail mix of the dried fruit variety to work to snack on and in Nov. I switched brands to one that had more sunflower seeds. I had no clue how many calories sunflower seeds packed. At the start of this month, on a whim I checked the label. 140 calories per serving with nine servings per bag. So I was taking in around 1200 extra calories a day.
The rapid weight gain was causing me problems with my sleep and things were shaping up to be a repeat of the health problems of 2006.
I've started two things to turn this around.
One is to change my style of nasal wash. Some background on that - at the start of my health issues in 2006 my wife suggested I start using a neti pot nasal wash as it had been recommended on websites she frequents. I tried it a few times, found it to be very unpleasant an stopped. After a few days my head was pounding. So I started again and had some small relief but stopped again thinking the relief was a coincidence. Again, after a few days my head was pounding. So it did help, just very little.
Fast forward to Dec of last year -- Instapundit posted the second item about nasal washing in about six months. Out of curiosity I checked out the NeilMed products. After about three days I determined that the NeilMed system was far superior to the neti pot style.
I found a few technique changes that helped a great deal. One I found in the NeilMed literature to the effect of snorting the remaining wash back up the nose after finishing one side. That was a horrendous experience. However within a day the worst of my ear complaints went away. The other technique was tilting my head over the sink so that my chin was almost touching my chest and that the top of my head was nearly pointing down. This causes the wash to run through the frontal sinuses.
Lastly, while hunting around for nasal wash recipes I found two items of note. One, don't use oil based ingredients in the wash. I came across an ENT site that indicated that oil in the nose can get into the lungs and that oil in the lungs can cause pneumonia. And two, I found a hydrogen peroxide recipe that cleared my head right up. In experimenting around I've found the following:
But now onto the problem with the rapid weight gain and its effects on my sleep. I decided I would not become the near invalid I was in 2006 and have started a diet.
In the past I found the following to be a good rule of thumb:
10 x bodyweight in calories - very slow and safe weight loss
12-13 x bodyweight in calories - maintains current bodyweight
15 x bodyweight in calories - very slow and safe weight gain with minimal fat gain
I decided my health was showing signs that something drastic was needed up front. So I started the following 1600 calorie diet:
I'm wholly surprised at how well the V8 and Kashi crackers throughout the day help with hunger pangs. At most they've been at the annoying but still easily controllable level. I've started to chew gum as well as I've read the act of chewing can curb hunger. I've found that it drops the hunger level down to a very manageable level.
Now this 1600 calorie diet is not maintainable. My intent in doing this is to drop as much as I can before my body fights to enter starvation mode (i.e. metabolism drops, mental focus degrades, etc). I'm trying to balance two sides as a very low calorie diet will force me to add calories sooner and will avoid entering the muscle cannibalization stage of starvation mode.
I started this diet on Feb 14 and lost 21 pounds the first week. I'm assuming that most of that is water. Based on how tired I am currently I will begin upping my calories this Thursday (2/28). I'm aiming at (bodyweight - 20) x 10 which will allow me to drop approximately 1-3 pounds a week. However, I may not just add the difference in calories to the 1600 I'm taking in now. No, I'll add 200 calories a week until I hit my target. I'm guessing that on Thursday my target will by 2800 calories and that it'll be six weeks before I can hit that. In those six weeks I'll most likely have lost more and I'll have to readjust.
My problems with focus are keeping me from my stones but I try to change that shortly.
I've mentioned a few times in the past how the weather was hurting me. Well, it had gotten to the point where any front moving through the area would leave me useless. It didn't need to rain where I was at for this to happen, just if the pressure dropped in the area.
To this was added the problem of me having gained around forty pounds in four months.
Full disclosure: I had to stop my calisthenics early last year. I was running out of air before I could work up a sweat. My allergist said I had "exercise induced asthma" and that I should do what I could and wait for the allergy shots to start working. Well, "doing what I could" amounted to keeping myself from becoming a complete invalid. Around October I was able to start my calisthenics again and I was to the point where I could work up a sweat before my lungs gave out. Around Dec. I found my lungs were giving out too soon again. I determined that this was due to my weight gain.
But the lack of activity was not the cause of my rapid weight gain from 11/07 to 2/08. No, that was caused by my own stupidity. See, I had taken to bringing some trail mix of the dried fruit variety to work to snack on and in Nov. I switched brands to one that had more sunflower seeds. I had no clue how many calories sunflower seeds packed. At the start of this month, on a whim I checked the label. 140 calories per serving with nine servings per bag. So I was taking in around 1200 extra calories a day.
The rapid weight gain was causing me problems with my sleep and things were shaping up to be a repeat of the health problems of 2006.
I've started two things to turn this around.
One is to change my style of nasal wash. Some background on that - at the start of my health issues in 2006 my wife suggested I start using a neti pot nasal wash as it had been recommended on websites she frequents. I tried it a few times, found it to be very unpleasant an stopped. After a few days my head was pounding. So I started again and had some small relief but stopped again thinking the relief was a coincidence. Again, after a few days my head was pounding. So it did help, just very little.
Fast forward to Dec of last year -- Instapundit posted the second item about nasal washing in about six months. Out of curiosity I checked out the NeilMed products. After about three days I determined that the NeilMed system was far superior to the neti pot style.
I found a few technique changes that helped a great deal. One I found in the NeilMed literature to the effect of snorting the remaining wash back up the nose after finishing one side. That was a horrendous experience. However within a day the worst of my ear complaints went away. The other technique was tilting my head over the sink so that my chin was almost touching my chest and that the top of my head was nearly pointing down. This causes the wash to run through the frontal sinuses.
Lastly, while hunting around for nasal wash recipes I found two items of note. One, don't use oil based ingredients in the wash. I came across an ENT site that indicated that oil in the nose can get into the lungs and that oil in the lungs can cause pneumonia. And two, I found a hydrogen peroxide recipe that cleared my head right up. In experimenting around I've found the following:
Baking Soda -- 1/4 - 1/2tsp per 8oz of water:Within a week of using the NeilMed and the new recipe I found that weather fronts just gave me a minor headache. I don't know how to explain this properly. I've not felt this good since 2004.
This is used to make the wash more comfortable by changing the acidity of the salt you'll be using.
Salt -- 1/2 - 1.5tsp per 8oz of water:
This is used to dry out the sinuses. I.E. too much and your sinuses will be uncomfortably dry and too little won't do much at all.
Hydrogen Peroxide (3%)-- 1/8 - 1/4tsp per 8oz of water:
I made the mistake of thinking that I should feel the hydrogen peroxide doing something (bubbling) in my head and upped the dose to 1/2tsp. I still felt nothing during the wash but by late afternoon my sinuses were very dry. With that in mind, I suggest adding this only when the salt and baking soda alone don't work. Even then, bear in mind that you won't know how effective it is for several hours after. So please keep the initial dose low.
But now onto the problem with the rapid weight gain and its effects on my sleep. I decided I would not become the near invalid I was in 2006 and have started a diet.
In the past I found the following to be a good rule of thumb:
10 x bodyweight in calories - very slow and safe weight loss
12-13 x bodyweight in calories - maintains current bodyweight
15 x bodyweight in calories - very slow and safe weight gain with minimal fat gain
I decided my health was showing signs that something drastic was needed up front. So I started the following 1600 calorie diet:
Breakfast: 1/2cup musli in 3/2cup sugar free yogurt. Approximately 500 calories.The all day crackers and V8 is based off of experiments I've done in the past. I found that fiber can help one feel physically full but that the feeling passes quickly. In one experiment involving very large salads every night I found that I could be physically full and yet still be very hungry. That is where the Kashi crackers come in. Besides having a good deal of fiber, they have a goodly amount of fat. Fat intake is what tells the brain to be quiet about hunger.
Dinner: Approximately 500 calories of lean meat, veggies, and whole grains.
From 10am - 5pm every half hour: 2-3 Kashi crackers or chips and 2oz of V8 low sodium juice. (low sodium V8 is very bland and I suggest adding some hot sauce of some sort)
I'm wholly surprised at how well the V8 and Kashi crackers throughout the day help with hunger pangs. At most they've been at the annoying but still easily controllable level. I've started to chew gum as well as I've read the act of chewing can curb hunger. I've found that it drops the hunger level down to a very manageable level.
Now this 1600 calorie diet is not maintainable. My intent in doing this is to drop as much as I can before my body fights to enter starvation mode (i.e. metabolism drops, mental focus degrades, etc). I'm trying to balance two sides as a very low calorie diet will force me to add calories sooner and will avoid entering the muscle cannibalization stage of starvation mode.
I started this diet on Feb 14 and lost 21 pounds the first week. I'm assuming that most of that is water. Based on how tired I am currently I will begin upping my calories this Thursday (2/28). I'm aiming at (bodyweight - 20) x 10 which will allow me to drop approximately 1-3 pounds a week. However, I may not just add the difference in calories to the 1600 I'm taking in now. No, I'll add 200 calories a week until I hit my target. I'm guessing that on Thursday my target will by 2800 calories and that it'll be six weeks before I can hit that. In those six weeks I'll most likely have lost more and I'll have to readjust.
My problems with focus are keeping me from my stones but I try to change that shortly.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Rhodochrosite
The moonstone is getting me down. I've decided that I'll try to sell the 16x8mm, 13x10mm, 16x9mm, and 14x12mm as is. Assuming there aren't major problems with the polish. I'll repolish the last four moonstones next week. I should be getting my scale in next week and I'll start putting them up on ebay.
In the meantime I'm going to change materials in an effort to get out of my funk.
Here is one of my parcels of rhodochrosite shown wet -
I'm going to flatten the bottoms and mark out the template. As rhodochrosite is soft (3.5 - 4 Moh's scale) I'll not get close to the line with the 100grit wheel. I'm not sure if I'll form the dome on the 220grit wheel or try to do a rough in on the 100grit.
==================
The 100grit wheel was very fast on this stone. I didn't attempt the dome on that wheel. Nothing bad happened but I'm not going to use the 100grit wheel on my other rhodocrosite parcel.
The 220grit wheel was very fast as well. I was on the edge of my seat while putting in the shallow 45 degree bottom edge.
The stone in the upper left had some gouges into the dome that I couldn't work around. I ended up cutting that stone very thin. You can see the bottom of a gouge in the picture. My daughter will enjoy that stone.
In the meantime I'm going to change materials in an effort to get out of my funk.
Here is one of my parcels of rhodochrosite shown wet -
I'm going to flatten the bottoms and mark out the template. As rhodochrosite is soft (3.5 - 4 Moh's scale) I'll not get close to the line with the 100grit wheel. I'm not sure if I'll form the dome on the 220grit wheel or try to do a rough in on the 100grit.
==================
The 100grit wheel was very fast on this stone. I didn't attempt the dome on that wheel. Nothing bad happened but I'm not going to use the 100grit wheel on my other rhodocrosite parcel.
The 220grit wheel was very fast as well. I was on the edge of my seat while putting in the shallow 45 degree bottom edge.
The stone in the upper left had some gouges into the dome that I couldn't work around. I ended up cutting that stone very thin. You can see the bottom of a gouge in the picture. My daughter will enjoy that stone.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Moonstone: 13x10mm and 15x9mm
I find it amazing what a strong light and close-ups of less than an inch will reveal .
I am now positive that I need a polishing step in between the 600 and 1200 grits. I'm also near positive that I'll not be working with moonstone again. The amount of labor involved in orienting and polishing is not made up in the return. Terapeak indicates that my rhodochrosite will give the same return and there is no need to orient it for cabs (unless there is some interesting pattern).
Something else I found interesting was that the 1200 grit did leave scratches that I could barely see without aid. The 14K grit left creases more than scratches. I worked these two stones until I saw no scratches/creases with my 10x loupe under a strong lamp. Yet, creases still show up in the photos.
13x10mm --
15x9mm --
This stone was very disappointing. With the loupe I noticed several fissures that touched the surface. I expected these to affect the price somewhat but continued on regardless. Then a chunk from the bezel broke away during polishing.
Ah well.
I'm going to try a few pics of the 13x10 from farther away to see if the creases show up. Both stones have a mirror polish and no scratches can be seen with the unaided eye on the 13x10. So I think it fair to try to get a pic that shows off the blue without showing the creases.
On the next couple of stones I will polish on the 14k until nothing shows up in the loupe and then polish some more in an effort to get rid of the creases.
========
These two were taken from about four inches away.
The bright direct light shows the effects of the creases. I suspect that I missed them in the loupe during polishing.
I really need to do something about my sinuses. My detail work (here and at my paying job) is suffering.
======================================
Seems my ego is at play.
Things generally come easy for me. When they don't I begin to think that I shouldn't bother because I may not be able to do it at all.
I spoke with my wife about this last night and she said maybe the moonstone is unforgiving. On one hand I wanted to agree with her (of course! it couldn't be my skills or abilities that were in question) on the other hand I know my pride gets the better of me quite often.
So I pondered it a bit more.
Last year I read many articles by lapidaries and it was clear that they had their preferences in materials. I chalked that up to them being able to turn out better work in certain materials than others. But what if their preferences were based off of what they had a miserable time working with? I think that is possible.
Also, this moonstone is very near transparent. That means that any flaw is displayed clearly. It is possible that I should just stay away from any material that is near transparent until I've become much more skilled.
I've been approaching this as if all materials are interchangeable. With the only difference being how much the end product sells for. Clearly that is false.
Perhaps I can, as I have, narrow down the materials that I intend to cut and try to sell. But I should also assess the amount of labor involved in the cutting.
Moonstone is near transparent, tends to have fissures that can not be ground away, and can have chunks fall away. Terapeak indicates that the better stones sell in the $8-30 with a 54% sell through.
Keeping in mind that I picked up the moonstone before I found Terapeak (and from that I've decided better starting materials would be rhodochrosite, jasper, pietersite, and boulder opal) I'd have to say moonstone is a bad option unless you are setting your own stones (or you have 3rd world labor and vast quantities of cheap rough moonstone at your disposal).
I am now positive that I need a polishing step in between the 600 and 1200 grits. I'm also near positive that I'll not be working with moonstone again. The amount of labor involved in orienting and polishing is not made up in the return. Terapeak indicates that my rhodochrosite will give the same return and there is no need to orient it for cabs (unless there is some interesting pattern).
Something else I found interesting was that the 1200 grit did leave scratches that I could barely see without aid. The 14K grit left creases more than scratches. I worked these two stones until I saw no scratches/creases with my 10x loupe under a strong lamp. Yet, creases still show up in the photos.
13x10mm --
15x9mm --
This stone was very disappointing. With the loupe I noticed several fissures that touched the surface. I expected these to affect the price somewhat but continued on regardless. Then a chunk from the bezel broke away during polishing.
Ah well.
I'm going to try a few pics of the 13x10 from farther away to see if the creases show up. Both stones have a mirror polish and no scratches can be seen with the unaided eye on the 13x10. So I think it fair to try to get a pic that shows off the blue without showing the creases.
On the next couple of stones I will polish on the 14k until nothing shows up in the loupe and then polish some more in an effort to get rid of the creases.
========
These two were taken from about four inches away.
The bright direct light shows the effects of the creases. I suspect that I missed them in the loupe during polishing.
I really need to do something about my sinuses. My detail work (here and at my paying job) is suffering.
======================================
Seems my ego is at play.
Things generally come easy for me. When they don't I begin to think that I shouldn't bother because I may not be able to do it at all.
I spoke with my wife about this last night and she said maybe the moonstone is unforgiving. On one hand I wanted to agree with her (of course! it couldn't be my skills or abilities that were in question) on the other hand I know my pride gets the better of me quite often.
So I pondered it a bit more.
Last year I read many articles by lapidaries and it was clear that they had their preferences in materials. I chalked that up to them being able to turn out better work in certain materials than others. But what if their preferences were based off of what they had a miserable time working with? I think that is possible.
Also, this moonstone is very near transparent. That means that any flaw is displayed clearly. It is possible that I should just stay away from any material that is near transparent until I've become much more skilled.
I've been approaching this as if all materials are interchangeable. With the only difference being how much the end product sells for. Clearly that is false.
Perhaps I can, as I have, narrow down the materials that I intend to cut and try to sell. But I should also assess the amount of labor involved in the cutting.
Moonstone is near transparent, tends to have fissures that can not be ground away, and can have chunks fall away. Terapeak indicates that the better stones sell in the $8-30 with a 54% sell through.
Keeping in mind that I picked up the moonstone before I found Terapeak (and from that I've decided better starting materials would be rhodochrosite, jasper, pietersite, and boulder opal) I'd have to say moonstone is a bad option unless you are setting your own stones (or you have 3rd world labor and vast quantities of cheap rough moonstone at your disposal).
Monday, February 04, 2008
ETF fun
Current state of my individual and IRA funds.
Individual --
ADM ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO (just added)
IDU UTILITIES INDX (ISHARES DJ-US) 16.15% gain
IXP ISHARES S&P GLBL TELECOMM SE 26.59% gain
IYE ENERGY INDX (ISHARES DJ-US) 36.92% gain
VAW VANGUARD MATERIALS ETF 25.25% gain
Sold IXG and ICF on 11/26 as they were huge losers and bought ADM.
12/31/07 -- 26.18% gain... would have been better without IXG and ICF.
IRA --
AGG LEHMAN AGG BOND FUND ISHARES -0.91% loss
EFA EURO-ASIA INDX (MSCI-ISHARES) 24.38% gain
IWD RUSSELL 1000 VALUE (ISHARES) 10% gain
IWF RUSSELL 1000 GROWTH (ISHARES) 14.92% gain
TIP LEH US TREAS INF FD (ISHARES) 2.06% gain
12/31/07 -- 12.86% gain... but will be hurt this year and probably next.
I've sold all but EFA which I'll bring up to 20% of holding in the IRA.
I'll buy IDU, IXP, IYE, and VAW in equal amounts.
=========================
Some additional info:
EFA (avg of the past 5 yrs: 19.93%)--
3/8/02 - 2/5/08 79.77%
1/5/07 - 12/28/07 7.88%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 23.2%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 11.26%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 20.89%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 36.45%
ADM (avg of the past 5 yrs: 29.57%)--
4/15/83 - 2/5/08 1245.43%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 45.28%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 22.69%
1/7/05 - 12/16/05 12.33%
1/9/04 - 12/31/04 47.55%
1/10/03 - 12/19/03 20%
IDU (avg of the past 5yrs: 16.51%)--
6/30/00 - 2/5/08 39.27%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 13.95%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 17.54%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 11.3%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 20.08%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 19.71%
IXP (avg of the past 5 yrs: 17.2%)--
3/8/02 - 2/5/08 53.18%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 22.3%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 30.11%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 -9.03%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 20.23%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 22.39%
IYE (avg of the past 5 yrs: 28.4%)--
6/23/00 - 2/5/08 129.11%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 34.48%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 18.76%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 33.37%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 31.28%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 24.09%
VAW (avg of the past 4 yrs: 16.2%)--
2/6/04 - 2/5/08 66.62%
1/5/07 - 12/28/07 25.73%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 17.63%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 1.78%
2/4/04 - 12/31/04 19.65%
Individual --
ADM ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO (just added)
IDU UTILITIES INDX (ISHARES DJ-US) 16.15% gain
IXP ISHARES S&P GLBL TELECOMM SE 26.59% gain
IYE ENERGY INDX (ISHARES DJ-US) 36.92% gain
VAW VANGUARD MATERIALS ETF 25.25% gain
Sold IXG and ICF on 11/26 as they were huge losers and bought ADM.
12/31/07 -- 26.18% gain... would have been better without IXG and ICF.
IRA --
AGG LEHMAN AGG BOND FUND ISHARES -0.91% loss
EFA EURO-ASIA INDX (MSCI-ISHARES) 24.38% gain
IWD RUSSELL 1000 VALUE (ISHARES) 10% gain
IWF RUSSELL 1000 GROWTH (ISHARES) 14.92% gain
TIP LEH US TREAS INF FD (ISHARES) 2.06% gain
12/31/07 -- 12.86% gain... but will be hurt this year and probably next.
I've sold all but EFA which I'll bring up to 20% of holding in the IRA.
I'll buy IDU, IXP, IYE, and VAW in equal amounts.
=========================
Some additional info:
EFA (avg of the past 5 yrs: 19.93%)--
3/8/02 - 2/5/08 79.77%
1/5/07 - 12/28/07 7.88%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 23.2%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 11.26%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 20.89%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 36.45%
ADM (avg of the past 5 yrs: 29.57%)--
4/15/83 - 2/5/08 1245.43%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 45.28%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 22.69%
1/7/05 - 12/16/05 12.33%
1/9/04 - 12/31/04 47.55%
1/10/03 - 12/19/03 20%
IDU (avg of the past 5yrs: 16.51%)--
6/30/00 - 2/5/08 39.27%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 13.95%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 17.54%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 11.3%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 20.08%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 19.71%
IXP (avg of the past 5 yrs: 17.2%)--
3/8/02 - 2/5/08 53.18%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 22.3%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 30.11%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 -9.03%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 20.23%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 22.39%
IYE (avg of the past 5 yrs: 28.4%)--
6/23/00 - 2/5/08 129.11%
1/5/07 - 12/31/07 34.48%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 18.76%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 33.37%
1/2/04 - 12/31/04 31.28%
1/3/03 - 12/26/03 24.09%
VAW (avg of the past 4 yrs: 16.2%)--
2/6/04 - 2/5/08 66.62%
1/5/07 - 12/28/07 25.73%
1/6/06 - 12/29/06 17.63%
1/7/05 - 12/30/05 1.78%
2/4/04 - 12/31/04 19.65%
Monday, January 28, 2008
The ongoing saga of the moonstones
A few updates.
I got the velvet and here's an example with my 40watt lamp in close-
I attempted a few pics with two lamps on the stone but multiple lights killed the blue flash. It was strange. I could see the blue but the camera didn't pick it up.
So I picked up a lamp and some 75watt bulbs.
Here's an example with the lamp in close --
And one in the photobox (sorry about the blurring) -
The photobox pic needs a much stronger lamp.
At this point I checked out terapeak and confirmed the main three price groups.
For the past 30days:
All of the above pics are of the same stone.
My current issue is that I need to repolish all of them.
As I said, when my head gets bad, detail work suffers. I noticed scratches on all of the stones in my pics. They really show up in bright light and magnification.
But such polishing is something I know I can do. So things aren't so bad... just moving much slower than I'd like.
=========
Ok, my head is feeling a bit better.
Going to do a few before pics and then repolish.
16x8mm can be seen above.
13x10mm --
15x9mm --
16x9mm --
14x12mm --
===============
First attempted to repolish on the 14K grit. Based on how slow it went I decided to try going back to the 600 grit.
The 600 grit gives a matte polish and the 1200 grit gives the beginning of the mirror polish. That matte polish hides scratches that the loupe doesn't show (or that I couldn't see). I'm thinking I should have only gone back to the 1200 grit. In working the stones tonight I'm starting to think I need a 800-900 grit step because the 600 to 1200 grit just moves too slow.
I got the velvet and here's an example with my 40watt lamp in close-
I attempted a few pics with two lamps on the stone but multiple lights killed the blue flash. It was strange. I could see the blue but the camera didn't pick it up.
So I picked up a lamp and some 75watt bulbs.
Here's an example with the lamp in close --
And one in the photobox (sorry about the blurring) -
The photobox pic needs a much stronger lamp.
At this point I checked out terapeak and confirmed the main three price groups.
For the past 30days:
- $0.01-1.99 -- generally no flash and near solid color
- $2-5.00 -- a great deal of silk and some flash
- $5-203.99 -- strong blue with the top prices going for clarity and size
All of the above pics are of the same stone.
My current issue is that I need to repolish all of them.
As I said, when my head gets bad, detail work suffers. I noticed scratches on all of the stones in my pics. They really show up in bright light and magnification.
But such polishing is something I know I can do. So things aren't so bad... just moving much slower than I'd like.
=========
Ok, my head is feeling a bit better.
Going to do a few before pics and then repolish.
16x8mm can be seen above.
13x10mm --
15x9mm --
16x9mm --
14x12mm --
===============
First attempted to repolish on the 14K grit. Based on how slow it went I decided to try going back to the 600 grit.
The 600 grit gives a matte polish and the 1200 grit gives the beginning of the mirror polish. That matte polish hides scratches that the loupe doesn't show (or that I couldn't see). I'm thinking I should have only gone back to the 1200 grit. In working the stones tonight I'm starting to think I need a 800-900 grit step because the 600 to 1200 grit just moves too slow.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Might stop watching the forex markets
I've been trying to figure out a way to trade forex over a week to month time frame. Some trades come out spectacular... and the losses are just as huge.
I'm coming to the conclusion that forex is geared for day trading. At least for the small investor. The only way that I see long term trades working is with carry trades. And that does not look like it is for the small player.
I'm not sure if it is my ongoing headaches that are making it hard for me to see how to work forex, but at this point I'm going to stop following it and go back to watching/trading ETFs.
Considering that there are monetary, gold, and silver ETFs now I think I should be good.
I'm coming to the conclusion that forex is geared for day trading. At least for the small investor. The only way that I see long term trades working is with carry trades. And that does not look like it is for the small player.
I'm not sure if it is my ongoing headaches that are making it hard for me to see how to work forex, but at this point I'm going to stop following it and go back to watching/trading ETFs.
Considering that there are monetary, gold, and silver ETFs now I think I should be good.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Started on the good moonstone
As I mentioned in the update to the last forex post the weather has been hurting me. I've been trying to muddle through.
I won two auctions for some rhodochrosite that I'll be cutting soon.
In the meantime I cut the good moonstone I bought a while ago.
Because my head has been fogged for several weeks now I managed to forget to take pictures of each step.
Needless to say, moonstone is a bit of a pain. On first viewing it looked like I had a number of large stones in the parcel. However, to orient to the very nice blue flash, many stones had to be cut smaller. Around half were of a size that I went forward with. The rest would end up being very small. If the larger stones do well I'll cut and sell the small ones in a parcel.
I'll put up some pics of the finished moonstone in a bit.
===========================================
Well this is annoying. My lighting is much too weak. I couldn't get pics of the standout stones as the flash washed them out.
I managed a pic of them all here -
I'm feeling pretty lucky that I picked up as much blue flash as I did as I oriented for head on viewing.
Here is an example of the flash washout. It was much worse with the single stones.
I need a few strong lamps.
===========================================
Downloaded the manuals for my wife's camera and tried a few more things.
Still think I need to get the strong lamps. But the moonstone is tough on black (which shows the blue flash best). Any strong light makes the stones glow white and washes out the blue.
=\
I very much like how the polish came out. You can clearly see the inside of my photo box reflected in the stones. I polished down to 14K diamond grit.
===========================================
At my wife's suggestion I hunted around ebay for user groups and guides on photography focused on jewelry. I found a list of guides by a "camerajim" and tried a few of the things he pointed out.
I'm well pleased.
This was done outside of my photobox with only one lamp. I need to tinker a bit more but I think I may have a few ebay ready photos real soon.
Might also try the pic under water as that reduces glare as well.
===========================================
Yet another update -
Head is hurting near 2006 levels. Makes me leery of trying anything requiring attention.
Very concerning. Not at the point where I feel the need to go round to all the docs, but pretty close.
Think the temps recently going from 17 degrees to 80 in a few days time is what is causing the problem. It isn't much fun to have a built in barometer in one's head. No, not fun at all. Would rather be able to predict the weather with my knee.
Anyhow, in comparing my moonstone with what is out on terapeak it looks like they might go for far more than the $10-20 that I first thought. Considering my low feedback (30) it probably won't but it is still a possibility.
With that in mind, my wife suggested that the black foam I'm using could turn away the high ticket item buyers. She is going to pick up some matte black velvet and a tripod for me.
She is far kinder to me than I deserve.
That leaves my rhodochrosite. I may mark it out this week but my head's condition makes me a bit scared to cut it as it is such a soft rock.
Thing is I have no idea when the weather (pressure/temps) will settle out and come February, the juniper pollen will be in the air. So, right now, I may be better off than I will be in a month.
Just don't know.
=\
I won two auctions for some rhodochrosite that I'll be cutting soon.
In the meantime I cut the good moonstone I bought a while ago.
Because my head has been fogged for several weeks now I managed to forget to take pictures of each step.
Needless to say, moonstone is a bit of a pain. On first viewing it looked like I had a number of large stones in the parcel. However, to orient to the very nice blue flash, many stones had to be cut smaller. Around half were of a size that I went forward with. The rest would end up being very small. If the larger stones do well I'll cut and sell the small ones in a parcel.
I'll put up some pics of the finished moonstone in a bit.
===========================================
Well this is annoying. My lighting is much too weak. I couldn't get pics of the standout stones as the flash washed them out.
I managed a pic of them all here -
I'm feeling pretty lucky that I picked up as much blue flash as I did as I oriented for head on viewing.
Here is an example of the flash washout. It was much worse with the single stones.
I need a few strong lamps.
===========================================
Downloaded the manuals for my wife's camera and tried a few more things.
Still think I need to get the strong lamps. But the moonstone is tough on black (which shows the blue flash best). Any strong light makes the stones glow white and washes out the blue.
=\
I very much like how the polish came out. You can clearly see the inside of my photo box reflected in the stones. I polished down to 14K diamond grit.
===========================================
At my wife's suggestion I hunted around ebay for user groups and guides on photography focused on jewelry. I found a list of guides by a "camerajim" and tried a few of the things he pointed out.
I'm well pleased.
This was done outside of my photobox with only one lamp. I need to tinker a bit more but I think I may have a few ebay ready photos real soon.
Might also try the pic under water as that reduces glare as well.
===========================================
Yet another update -
Head is hurting near 2006 levels. Makes me leery of trying anything requiring attention.
Very concerning. Not at the point where I feel the need to go round to all the docs, but pretty close.
Think the temps recently going from 17 degrees to 80 in a few days time is what is causing the problem. It isn't much fun to have a built in barometer in one's head. No, not fun at all. Would rather be able to predict the weather with my knee.
Anyhow, in comparing my moonstone with what is out on terapeak it looks like they might go for far more than the $10-20 that I first thought. Considering my low feedback (30) it probably won't but it is still a possibility.
With that in mind, my wife suggested that the black foam I'm using could turn away the high ticket item buyers. She is going to pick up some matte black velvet and a tripod for me.
She is far kinder to me than I deserve.
That leaves my rhodochrosite. I may mark it out this week but my head's condition makes me a bit scared to cut it as it is such a soft rock.
Thing is I have no idea when the weather (pressure/temps) will settle out and come February, the juniper pollen will be in the air. So, right now, I may be better off than I will be in a month.
Just don't know.
=\
Saturday, December 29, 2007
More thoughts on starting materials
Thought about what I'd start with some more.
Ruby rough is kinda spendy and good jade rough is hard to find.
I thought again on the price range I should start with. I wanted to keep it low at first because my ebay feedback is low but good. When such is the case and I have no brick-and-mortar to back me I can not risk high price items on ebay. The item will sell much lower than it should because potential buyers will move on past because they don't trust me.
But I think I aimed too low. I picked $10-20 and I think I can safely look in the $10-40 range.
That opens the door for new materials.
So, using both ebay searches and terapeak research on what sells as a cab and what has decently priced rough, I've decided to look at pietersite, jasper (ocean and any with good "pictures"), rhodochrosite (shows up in ebay as rhodocrosite quite often), and boulder opal.
I've mentioned in the past that I was spooked by the amount of jasper and agate sold as fancy cabs. Well I'm not positive, but, I think I may have been wrong. The fancy cabs do well but so do the plain ovals and rounds if they have good pictures/patterns.
I'm also doing research into making silver chains as they go well in that price range.
Ruby rough is kinda spendy and good jade rough is hard to find.
I thought again on the price range I should start with. I wanted to keep it low at first because my ebay feedback is low but good. When such is the case and I have no brick-and-mortar to back me I can not risk high price items on ebay. The item will sell much lower than it should because potential buyers will move on past because they don't trust me.
But I think I aimed too low. I picked $10-20 and I think I can safely look in the $10-40 range.
That opens the door for new materials.
So, using both ebay searches and terapeak research on what sells as a cab and what has decently priced rough, I've decided to look at pietersite, jasper (ocean and any with good "pictures"), rhodochrosite (shows up in ebay as rhodocrosite quite often), and boulder opal.
I've mentioned in the past that I was spooked by the amount of jasper and agate sold as fancy cabs. Well I'm not positive, but, I think I may have been wrong. The fancy cabs do well but so do the plain ovals and rounds if they have good pictures/patterns.
I'm also doing research into making silver chains as they go well in that price range.
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