A comfortable place for the Dowling family to hang out and associate on the web.

Spraying water proof stain

My dad made a set of patio furniture for me, which is in need of a waterproof stain before I put it out on the patio. I finished the bench with a brush, but I wasn't happy with it. So I tried out my HVLP sprayer on one of the chairs.


New Tires!

I finally bought new tires for my motorcycle, replacing the original Dunlop's that came with the bike with a new pair of Metzler tires. Before I go on, if you're not a biker you won't appreciate how excited bikers get about a new pair of tires. I'll try to keep this relevant to non-bikers, but be warned that you might want to bail out now.


Hand cutting dovetails

A couple years back I took an interest in hand cutting dovetails, and I found this great video on the Fine Woodworking website about how to do it. It made the layout pretty simple to follow.

Until recently I hadn't actually done anything about hand cutting dovetails. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that a) I needed to be out of the house and b) it was time to try cutting dovetails. I don't have a picture of my project handy, but it turned out not to be too bad.


Why I wear a full-face helmet

Why I wear a full-face helmet

Guys like to talk about freedom, not feeling restrained, the thrill of the wind in their face. Me, I like to think that it's better to get startled by a big bug hitting your face shield than to have to pull over because you just took a gigantic bug in the eye. Which is what would have happened if I hadn't been wearing a full face helmet. This did make me laugh though, because my view of the ride home was through brilliantly colored bug guts.


Spring Tool Cleanup

Last night I discovered that saws are a lot like cars: sitting unused for extended periods does not improve them. My tools have sat idle since last fall, when I finished construction on my shed, mostly because this winter has been too cold to reasonably go outside and work in the garage.


Wanted - Cat Burglar

I convinced Elena to do a little modeling for me, and we had some fun with the pictures. You can download her wanted poster below.


On having a motorcycle

MagnaMy Motorcycle Now that I've had the motorcycle for a few months I have a little more perspective on it. It's turned out to be really fantastic. There is still something a bit scary about being on a motorcycle, but at this point it's a good kind of scared. It's an exhilaration, a bit of an adrenaline rush.

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

President: Now Available in Black It's a happy day for me. Less so for my right-leaning wife and step son. This is something I've been waiting for since I was a kid: when a black man really could be elected president. To be sure, it took a perfect storm of circumstances. The Republican party needed to discredit itself with the public, and the candidate had to be somebody extraordinary.

Pumpkin with sharp teeth

Pumpkin with sharp teeth

This pumpkin seems to be smiling, but there are an aweful lot of sharp teeth in there.


Cleavered Pumpkin

Cleavered Pumpkin

As you can see, my pumpkin has been on the wrong end of a dispute with a butcher.


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