Merry Everyone!

The Saddle

And being back in it.

It's been a while since i have worked, but these 2 pieces are on the launch pad. At least one of them will be a Christmas gift. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no explosions!



-LB

Barns, cows, these are things a Jedi craves not.

8 hours, 3 ladders, 1 gallon of paint, and a sunburn later:



I realized, once again, that i'm not interested in the "Country". Everyone has a different opinion of what the country is, some call our home the sticks, but i believe that where my Dad lives is the real "country". Cows, flys, dirt, beer, pickup trucks. Nope, not for me. I'll do it now and again to make some scratch, and do my Dad a favor, but where we live now is the closest to the country i think i want to be. Cool barn though.

wee wee weeeeeeee

The Karate Kid, a great way to start the week.

Wax On, F*ck Off with Ralph Macchio from Ralph Macchio

7 years....

Well, yesterday was the year 7 mark here at my employer. I figured i would be gone 2 years ago! Nobody said anything, which is marginally sad. Meh. At least i got cookies at home : ).

Bike front: Sam Hillborne is complete (minus some tweaking), good looking bike. Now the question is, will it ride well? I can tell you this, be very careful about Honjo fenders + tire size, because it will kick your ass!

-LB

Summer of the bike (again)

"So take me away, i don't mind
But you better promise me, i'll be back in time
Gotta Get back in time
Gotta Get back in time
Get me back in time."

It's 1991.
I purchased this bad boy off of craigslist for $100, it's nearly pristine, no use, no scratches. The woman i bought it from was prepping for a Triathlon, but the bike was too small for her. I have no idea where she got it, but the thing does not even have wear on the crank arms! The only things that aren't original are the Saddle, and the tires. Tires=awesome, saddle=suck. Swing away merril.

Part 2:

Gen has me building her a Rivindell Sam Hillborne bike. We chose to go old school on this one, and build it ourselves. Should be done by tuesday, it's the cadillac of bikes.

Hell Yea!

Sadly, this makes total sense to me

douche-chill

It's been a busy couple of weeks, bikes, floors, work.

#1, we started a massive project to replace the flooring, baseboards, and paint our living/kitchen area in the house (Bathrooms to be included soon). I did not know what pure hell that would be, doing the flooring right took the entire Memorial Day weekend, Saturday morning, all the way to Monday night. It's still not done, as we need to find some appliances that go better with the decor, and do some more painting/cleaning up. The bathrooms, that will be another story, i'm hoping to lay down some new linoleum, GE will paint, and i will possibly re-cock (caulk for lamen) the tub's.

#2, we have sold all of our bikes (basically). GE sold her 3 Electra's, and purchased a Pashley Princess Cadillac bicycle machine. I sold my road bike, my SS road bike, and dismantled the cruiser style bike, and bought a Globe Haul 1. So somehow, someway, we are down to 3 bikes total...

-LB

Ha ha!

Best pic ever

-Of course, nobody will believe them!

The new smoking section.

Sign of the times...

Apparently it's "ON", here at my place of employment. 1 week ago my monkey put in his 2 weeks notice, and today a senior person put in their notice.. who's next? Banking=bad. But they are getting jobs elsewhere, and i think it's a "sign of the times", the exit has begun, will management notice?



enjoy.

-lb

Easter Sunday Part 2 peep show

Happy Easter!

-LB

Unnecessary Censorship

I did not realize that Jimmy Kimmel was doing this on his show, but i'm a fan now:

Why would anyone eat anything besides breakfast?

Ron Swanson:

On hard work: “I got my first job when I was 9. Worked at a sheet metal factory. In two weeks, I was running the floor. Child labor laws are ruining this country.”


Happy Monday.

-LB

Healthcare Reform.

A Brief American History

I have not seen this in a few years, almost forgot...

Nike

Saw this during the Olympics, one of the better Nike ads i have seen.



-LB

Done for free.

2010

Enough said.

-LB

Don't you wish things were like the old days?

Happy Monday.

-LB

Truth hurts.

Thursday.

-LB

Yarg

Yeah, i don't post much.

2009 was the year of the bicycle, and 2010 is shaping up to the the year of the bicycle also!

I have done 1 throwing session this year, so i need to step it up, and do some more this week, then possibly do a firing over the weekend. I'm just down because i have been at my job for nearly 7 years, and i have hated the last 2 at minimum, working for a bank sucks!

I have had what seems like 30 interviews since late 2009, and i guess it seems that way because a couple of them were 3+ interviews per job, with nothing coming of them. I had a super sweet one last Friday, they were asking the world, and offering up like 10% less than what i make now, demanding that this person come in at 7am, and be on call all the time. F-U! Meh.

Bike Roll:

LB: Diamondback Full susp mtn bike, Dawes single speed track bike, Bianchi milano parco. (Electra Townie 3i-Sold)

Gen(electra Gen): Electra Daisy, Electra Amsterdam, Electra Tocino 7D (newest one). Schwinn Suburban 1976-for sale.

So, lot's of bikes, but always room for more, the question is, how many can we actually ride? Then, there's bike Envy. We went to a BV in another town, and man, they have like over 1k bikes, so many to love...

Well, back to work, it's Tuesday/Monday, and i have a meeting.

-LB

The END

Well, this is the end of "ott 9", what's next, nobody knows.

Things I'm very thankful for, My loving and beautiful wife, who stands by me no matter what, and continues to dream. My Dogs, who are endless retarded entertainment. My health, not bad, besides kicking the swine flu late this year. And a butt load of other stuff.

I truthfully (and nobody really believes me), thought i would not live to see 2010. There was a time when i threw myself at things like no other, and i should not have made it. I suppose i was forged out of something tougher than most, as i should be mush. But, i'm not, and it's almost 2010, 2 more years till the end!

2010, maybe a new Job? NER!

-LB

You ever dance with the devil by the pale moon lite?

I always ask that of all of my Prey.

I finally completed a firing this winter, 8 pieces, no explosions. I think this is only the 2nd time there have been no deaths.

Sometime early or mid week i'll do the glaze firing, as they are ready to go. It's been insanely cold, and snowing, so we will see how that goes.

Bike riding has been hindered by the ice and snow, but first sign of dry, i'm sure we will be out there full force.

The Job sucks, it's boring. I either need a new job, or an injection.

Oh yeah, the xmas tree is up, it stayed down last year, but the itch hit us, so it's up now, i feel fairly good about it, although i'm broke, and can't get anything for anyone!

-Viva la Monday.

*LB*

Weekly Gihad!

Monday is over. Pottery wheel still waiting. Maybe bike to work tomorrow? I have Wednesday off from work this week, it's because I'm a Veteran, and you are not.

word.

lb

Not dead, yet.

Well, i made it through the Pig Flu, but i'm still congested, and worn out... at the moment.

Today, i watched yet another individual get promoted. This is after my boss was fired on Friday. The most disturbing thing about his is that the CFO came down to "announce it".

Most of the time i think they are totally confused, both mentally and morally. I have sat here for 6+ years, and i have never had the feeling of being promoted, gathering people together to announce it, etc. I guess that's why i always justified a pay raise, because if I'm not promoted, and I'm not moving up, at least i can get the pay, right? Fuck, i don't know anymore, don't understand this place.

NER

-LB

Death Becomes Me

Day 5:

Wait, let me start over. I contracted the evil H1N1 Flu Virus this past Saturday, or maybe Friday. I know 100% where it came from, and i'm so happy about it.

Saturday: I though i was going to die, my head would not stop pounding, this lasted until 1/2 way through Sunday.

Sunday: That part finally broke, i actually felt "ok" for a couple of hours, then, worse!

Monday: Death Part II. I was very weak, could not do much, slept alot.

Tuesday: It broke, i finally became "snotty" late Tuesday.

Wednesday: I'm filled with the snot of the world! Hopefully i will feel even better tomorrow, as i have a big time job interview to go to, then a phone interview on Friday. I have not gone to work at all this week, and i May go tomorrow morning, just so i don't have to waste any more Vacation days.

Swine Flu Sucks, it's just really terrible when you have 5 consecutive days off of work, and you aren't doing something productive or fun.

shite..

-LB

The Crater, The Drive, The Rest....

It's been a week since the Crater in Oregon, 20 hours of driving, the remainder of last week, and will finding an apartment. Oh, and i built my new bike. NER.



Maybe i'll throw/fire some stuff this week?

-LB

What a week.

Well, it was Anniversary/Birthday week here at the homestead. 6th year, and it's been great, and i think it will only get better. For her birthday, i got gen the bike of the century, now named "stuart", boy it rides like a dream:



Really, really sweet bike, i think it has motivated me to get a cruiser this winter.

Wednesday, i had an interview for the USDA, we will see how it turns out, should know next week.

NOW, I'm at PDX, Portland, and waiting for my flight to Redmon, OR. I'm helping will move to Denver, so we are going to hang tomorrow, pack, and leave on Tuesday morn. Pics to follow if the internet allows me...

-LB

Cauliflower

Meh.

got some pots almost ready to go, etc.

I'm still waiting on my upgrade at work, it's turned into this game, and it's been pissing me off from inception. I've hashed it out so many times, i don't care to anymore. I think this is the end though, if i can't get a $$ upgrade, I'm on my way out, even if i do get it, I'll have to go in a few years, but at least i would know they are loyal (like me).

So for 6 years i have been passing by this god-forsaken dog track in Peoria (Deer Trail) that has been abandoned, i finally stopped to take pictures. I guess they are converting into a auto race track, but i can't find any history on it over the interwebmachine. Drives me crazy, i suppose my dog and i could go out there and race each other, i would win of course:



Wickid sweet!

My old Army buddy from 8 million years ago is moving to the Denver "area", not sure how that's going to go. I guess it won't be terribly different from the last 10 years, since he will be about 30 miles away, and working at least 50 hours a week, he won't suffocate us. Gen got him the "Job", and a sweet one it is, so he OWES. She says she does not want anything, but that's crap, you have to take something! I'm thinking he has to kick down for Tile in the kitchen (installed by him), or jewelery for the MISSUS.

Almost meeting time. gotta go.

-LB

Small Firing

Completed my smallest firing this morning, and i think i had a Eureka moment, i think i need to do like 6 or less piece firings. These ones turned out well, the heat was perfect, and the glaze melted exactly the way i wanted. Maybe from now on i'll do only 4 piece glazes. Also, the brown clay really made the colors work better, it made Red's darker, and brown's look better... This pic is not great, but it show's alright.






-LB

Blowded up

Well, my Sunday firing turned out pretty bad. Only 3 out of 8 pieces made it, not sure why. Maybe i fired it too quick? Maybe this clay holds air bubbles? Anyhoo, the 3 that made it are nice pieces, I'll just have to Cherish them!

Yarg.

-LB

My 500th

Well, yesterday and the rest of the month are my Birthday. It was an excellent day, no drinking or crazyness, but some really good times.

Went to the Gym, Had breakfast out, went on a 9 mile Bike ride at Hall Ranch (busted my butt and got a flat, but great ride..) Saw the Movie UP with the 1st Lady (review here), and finished it off with a 900cal slice of choco cake, and a fine meal. Some cool gifts, music, needed clothing, camping stuff, and gift cards that are required to LIVE.

I have about 9 new pots that are ready for firing, mostly taller stuff i have been working on, so i think it's high time to fire them this weekend, and see what explodes...

-LB

You've seen it.

You've seen this, some broad applying eyeliner while driving, swerving around, random braking?

I'm not sure if it's illegal, but it should be, i watched her almost kill someone, and not even notice.

What gives? cars are TRANSPORTATION, not our personal Kitchen/bathroom/office/phone booth!

Maybe i should just run them off the road.



-LB

New Clay

First week with the New Brown/red Clay. Sweet stuff, it's smooth, centers well, and goes "Up". I have 3 pieces thus far, and I'm very pleased, much better than my white willow grog clay. The white is great for decorating, but the shapes and mold ability suck, so I'm rolling with the brown for now. I still need to make it out to my dad's to do a pit firing, soon.

Have to build up, or just give over a Desktop PC to one of Gen's friends, first computer project in a while, but it should be cool, I'll replace it with another i have.

-LB

Lakers win 99-86 Finals over.

Well, this is the 9th NBA Title i have witnessed for the Los Angles Lakers in my Lifetime. The first one i saw was when Magic Johnson was a skinny young guy, playing with Kareem, and this one is with Kobe. Will there be another? Dunno, but it sure is sweet to see it again. It helped that i was seriously following it this year..

-LB

The End?

Over the weekend we had 5 small twisters land in the area, and tear up an upscale mall east of Denver.

Here it hailed furiously for 5 mins. Tonight it freaked out, and hailed for about 20 mins, probably about quarter size. It looked like snow there was so much... what the heck is going on?

Larky

Bla Bla Bla. I appear to be in a constant state of tired this morning.. I manage to not throw 1 thing over the weekend (but accomplish other things).

I'm at work at the moment, and i just finished doing research on some old email, it took 12 hours total, and could have been taken down to 1 hour if management would pay for some software, but we are in tough times, so why not use slave labor?

Watched a couple of movies over the weekend.

Max Payne = Suck

-This is the worst, or second worst movie i have ever seen, absolutely no point, thank god i only rented it!

Wanted = Not bad

-This movie was pretty good, it had the attitude and humor of Fight Club, some simply ridiculous stunts that could never happen, and an enormous disregard for human life, so i think i would like to own this movie. Human life is soooo overrated.

Maybe I'll throw something tonight..

-LB

Back

Well, the traverse across the country ended for me late Sunday. Gen is still there, enjoying the weather, and some time off.

Gave away some Vessels (yes Vessels, since i don't use my pots for anything!), saw a really neat art/working/exhibit in downtown Paso Robles, really cool stuff. It motivated me to work more on my pottery. I have not yet, but i need to stop by the Ceramics place tomorrow, and get some more clay, and maybe more glaze that i like. I'm also planning on doing a Pit firing very soon, if the weather permits, maybe even this weekend.

It's been a stressful week at work already, an Audit team is here, and seemingly everything is broken.. The Auditors leave today, and take their bad attitudes with them.

Bleh

-LB

Meh

latest firing came out, before it, i blew up my largest piece, it was just not quite dry yet, so oh well. some turned out pretty well, some better. I really miss high fire!

potted plant pot?

working on a pot for plants for my MIL, its going well thus far, very heavy, but smooth, ill put a design on it later tonight, burnished it...



-LB

The rest..

Here's the rest of the previous story. So it turns out that my car did not need just an alignment! I took it to the Honda dealer, and there was a service bulletin recall (ones they don't tell you about), apparently my rear suspension arms were causing the tires to eat themselves.

Fine and dandy right? Wrong, after letting me know that the warranty covers the repairs, i was told that i needed to pay for 50% of the tires ($170). My response to this was less than what they were expecting. I called the Honda America Office, the Dealer, and continued to bitch them out. 4 hours later, they replaced the tires for free. So now my car is like new, with the exception of some bumps and bruises from the robbery.

Firing this weekend, pictures to follow. At least 1 Bisque, and 1 Glaze. I also need to create a large pot for a plant, as the Beast requests...

-LB

Just another day.

Well, this week started quite badly.

Monday, Car broken into, Wallet stolen. I'm mildly retarded and left my wallet in the car when we went to the gym. The windshield and the side passenger window were smashed, and my wallet was taken. Dashboard was tore up a bit, and glass all over. SSC, DL, CC's, and a tiny little cash were taken.

All told, it turned out ok. Insurance paid out enough to fix the windows, and all the interior crap, but i'm going to pass on most of that stuff, and just let GEM have the rest to pay for School Tuition.

The even better news is, apparently my rear struts have gone bad at 17500 miles, i believe it to be a warranty issue, but we shall find out tomorrow.

Maybe i'll even do my massive firing this weekend, i have a little xtra $$$, so i can get some gas and blow the lid. Pics will follow i Imagine.

-LB

Oh Barf

Tuesday:

Put together a drafting table for the Missus last night. $77 at Hobby lobby with 40% off, looks decent, works better.

I'm working on glazing and doing some designs on my 10 pieces that i need to fire, and the other 5 that are ready for the final glaze firing. Bottom line is that i need some propane. probably 2 tanks to finish all of this stuff.

I set back and went slower on my latest sgraffito, and it looks better, i think that's the ticket, take her slow, more precise work will look better.

Is it spring yet?

-LB

Ball-Zach

Monday Monday. I need to try some new stuff on the wheel, what i've got now is all the same, Jars as far as the eye can see. I like them, but i need to branch out. Maybe a Jar with a Handle!

It's finally spring here, so the bike must come out, and now.

-Word

Pretty Simple really

ip route 10.2.11.5 255.255.255.255 10.27.253.233
ip route 10.2.11.6 255.255.255.255 10.27.253.233
ip route 10.2.11.8 255.255.255.255 10.27.253.233

Duh.

Damn Pranksters!

I would like to drop one of these on our AC controls in the office. It seems a bit extreme for a fire alarm though, the terms "smoke inhalation", "burned to death", and "chewed her own arm off" come to mind!

-lb

fresh firing

Did a fresh glaze fire last night, and i think i have learned a valuable lesson about my kiln, bottom shelf is the MONEY, everything comes out good on the bottom shelf, perfect. The top shelf is too exposed to flame, i need to get more stilts, and be able to cap it with 1 more shelf, that way it will guide the flame around it. It just get's a little to bubbly up there, and is less than "Nice". Only 6 pieces, i have 7 or 8 others that i didn't put in with them, because i just have not had the time with our New carpet project, and heading to California for this weekend....












-LB

Yarg

$450 later, and a whole weekend.. I've installed our new front door with window, and it makes a big difference inside the house. Pleased with that, but it still needs some adjustment..

-LB

The Latest

Got a front door over the weekend, plan on installing it as soon as we have paint. I have today off, as i work at a bank (yay).

I got some new "Underglaze", it's Chartreuse (green), and we will see how it turns out. Did a couple of pieces thus far, and I'll probably do at least 1-2 more. see below:

Word

End and beginning.

So i left my new job of 2 weeks today, to go back to my previous job. They wanted me back, and i wanted to go back.

The new job was not right, it was setup for a "Desktop Tech", when in reality, i'm a network Administrator. Also, this was a HUGE organization, so segmented it would make you PUKE. We had at least 5 meetings per week for various things, ranging from 1 hour to 2 hours. The real killer was this morning when i found out that their backups were outsourced, so if you needed to recover something, you had to pay and schedule it with the company that ran it. The Routers and firewalls were outsourced, apparently the Network Admin could not handle this in between his phone call sessions.

I guess that was the death of it right there, i knew everything the network admin did, but i could not tell him how to do it, or even help. My job was "Images" and desktops, plus supporting the local 75 users. Soo boring, and beneath what i CAN do.

Long story short, i'm back where i belong, with a more focused mission now. I'm glad about it. Although i would like some more $$$, we will work on that later.

Peace...

-LB

What the hell?

Got some new clay a few weeks ago, and threw with it for the first time today. 10X better than the super soft shit i was working with, it can be moved much higher, but it's the same color as the junk i've used. My next big challenge is making a large plant pot for my Mother in law. I'm thinking 15-25 pounds.

On the job front, it looks like there's a good chance i'm going back to my old job. I'll find our tomorrow if it's really going to happen, and i'll give more info on my non-seen blog then.

Also, i saw "no country for old men" today on cable. Now i know alot of people thought it was good, but boy did it suck! It's like directors and writers try to write in so much subtlety, it kills the watchability (not sure if that's a word), but anyhoo, i really did not like it, i think it's right there with "Glitter" and "Jersey Girl", with the worst movies i have ever seen. As a matter of fact, it probably goes in that order, No country for Old Men would probably place 3rd in the all total crap movies of all time. Waste of 2.5 hours, i'll tell ya!

Hopefully tomorrow i'll wake up from the stupor i've been in, and i need to, one way or another. It's like i'm walking in a dream...

Till tomorrow.

-LB

Week 1 ends at the new job.

It was the Longest week ever, i have no idea how i survived starting a new job, and being dog sick all week. I'm not 100% sure where i fit in there yet, or what i'm doing, but i think it will be fine.

I have to throw some new stuff tonight or tomorrow, it's been like a month now, and i feel i'm losing my mind. I also can't shake the sick feeling, arg.

On top of that, i sold my Asus eee PC, and i'm going to sell the macbook i'm typing on now. I purchased a Dell Inspiron 1525, which i will install my custom cover on (got it off ebay, it was one of thoes one-off Mike Ming custom covers).

Word.

-lb

Ban the Bomb

Well, today was it, i ended my 5.5 year run at the Bank. There were good times, there were bad times, but it was time for me to move on.

Tomorrow i start my new job, it's going to be different, different kinds of people, and a different environment.. Banking > Construction, but i think the latter will suit me better.

Now i just need to get over this cold, and fucking throw something! My wheel is fixed, and i have thrown one very small squatty Vase, get with it man!

Until tomorrow...

-LB

weak snow...

so weak, it was cold, but the snow was weak... happy Sunday!

1/17/08 Firing

It came out alright. Some of the stuff on the top shelf bubbled a bit, but overall not too bad for my second complete firing. here's the pics: (just a sample)






-LB

Hump Day!

Well, it's been a busy and odd week already. I found out how much I'm worth to my employer, absolutely nothing! I put in my 2 week notice on Monday, and nobody cared. I also had to write my own job description, and in the end, they decided to attempt to hire a "lower level" position. Good times. Only 8 days left!

I finished apply glaze to my next batch last night, and i'm still waiting for my replacement wheel head from Creative Industries, hopefully it will show today, and in the next day or 2 i can get back to work on some stuff, and not lopsided this time!

Word.

-LB

Change, she's good...

Well, after 5.5 years, i have a new job. I'm going to get out of the banking business, and into Infrastructure construction (in the IT department), the job itself is actually a step back, but the pay is a wash, and there's alot of new opportunity for me.

We will see how it goes, i have to give 2 weeks where i am so that should be interesting, lot's of explaining to do, and lots of pain, i have been integral to the bank for all this time, and i don't think they are prepared for me to leave.

On the potter side, i'm going to glaze on sunday i think. The stuff looks good, and i have a couple of extra glaze colors now.

Jobs, pots... I think i need to do more on the pottery side.

-lb

The 5th, of the new year.

Here i is. Over the weekend, i completed the Bisque, i guess that's my 2nd successful Bisque firing ,and it went perfectly. The Scraffito pices came out perfect, and the plain ones did as well, no explosions...

By the end of the week i plan on doing the Glaze firing for this. I'm going to Clear Glaze the outside of the Sgraffito work, and put a color on the inside. The others will be pretty normal. I'm somewhat satisfied with the firing thus far, but we will see how the finished product comes out. I have pics, but i'm at work now, and don't have them WITH me.

Flame on...

-lb

where do i start?

Well, the Vacation was less than successful.

Here's where we start. Headed to Vegas on the 14th, arrived, good times, everything was smooth (except the cold weather and Rain + Losses). Then, on Tuesday evening we head to Paso Robles to Suprise Gen's Mother, and suprised she was. Fast forward to our departure about 24 hours later, we head down I-5 in California toward the Grapevine, and it's closed because of snow! So we need to cross over to Hwy 101, all crossing paths are closed, except the one we came across 2 hours before. We backtrack 2.5 hours past Mom-in-Law's house, head down the 101 toward LA (out of our way), in hopes that I-15 back thru to Vegas will be open by the, why not? We hit Rancho Cucomonga at about 4am, and i-15 was still Indefinitly closed! We wait, and listen to the radio until about 6am, and they are still not open, our flight is at 10am, they finally opened it (limited), at about 8:30am, but it was too late. So we reschedule our flight, extend the rental car, and close out our room at Balleys. We decided to suprise my mom in the "OC", and once again, suprised she was. At 12pm on Friday, we finally head out to Vegas, and it takes a bit longer than the normal 3-3.5 hours to get there, it takes 5! So it's 5pm, and we are trying to return the rental car in vegas, we didn't have time to get our stuff from the hotel (on the way via UPS right now), we forgot to fill up the rental car (another $40 cost), and we get to the Airport with about 45mins to spare, at wich point the automated machine tells us we have to wait in the long ass line! Dramatic to say the least. Well, we made the flight, which ended up being 40 mins late, and got home at like 11:30 on
Friday night.



Gonna throw some stuff tonight, and do a Bisque this weekend, probably late sat, or early Sunday.

Xmas was good and Quiet.

-LB

Slow

So i have not thrown anything in about 1 week. I plan to do something tonight hopefully, i guess it's just as well, since i don't really have much money right now to replenish my propane, to fire. I'll try to build up some stuff in the next few days before we leave for Vegas, so when i come back i can get a good set going for the new year.

-LB

Friday for the Ices

Well, it snowed like crazy all day yesterday, and cleared today, but now it's under 10 degrees, it's Frigid!

I'm starting to realize that there are some really impressive individuals doing the pot out there. This guy Pottery at Jingdezhen, China has done some really impressive stuff, and is only 20! I'm 33.5 and i could not throw one half-assed centered pot in the time he could fill a room with quality pieces! Speaking of, i think my Wheel head is a bit warped, and it's frustrating me, i'm not sure what to do. Maybe i can replace the Head only, or maybe i can make one? All i know is it's pissing me off.

I started doing Scraffito style with my pots, i did one that's pretty cool, and have 2 more waiting for the slip treatment. There's one on the wheel now that i forgot to trim this morning, so i suppose it will be a loss, MEH, it's a lopsided mofo anyways...

-LB

nanna

Junk

Sooo, did a firing over thanksgiving, it was successful, but not super awesome. Some ok stuff, and something that didn't really fire. Here they be:

A victim of my own work

I attempted to start my Bisque last night, and it blew up 3 pieces, at which point i pulled the plug until Sunday.

It was a combination of Wet pieces, and 1 with an air bubble, but boy did they explode. The wet ones shattered everywhere, and the one with the Air bubble blew out the side and bottom.

I know better, but i didn't listen to myself. The reality is, i need to take great care when prepping, and i need to wait at lest 3 days from the time i create, to the bisque to allow from sufficient dry time.

Meh

Almost there

I'm a few days away from Bisque #2 in my hodgepodge kiln. I think i have everything i need for success now, i've got the right Glaze, i know how to get the kiln to the proper cone temp, and i even have a more suitible clay (FOR THE NEXT BATCH). I think after this round, i'm going to attempt a PIT firing at my dad's place, i may actually save 4-5 pieces just for that purpose. So maybe if i create 4-5 more in the next few days, i can get them in the bisque. Word...



On another note, i have "special ordered" a Vinyl flooring called Allure from Home Depot, it's a light Bamboo, and I'm going to do the whole 500sq feet of our kitchen/living space in the house, it's a really cool product, it looks and feels just like wood, but it's totally waterproof, and durable, and 1/3rd the cost of wood. If it works out well, I'll do the entire upstairs of the house, and trash the dog-pee carpet!

couple more pieces

I'll throw a couple more pieces for my next firing here this weekend, and see how it goes, i have a couple of shapes that i really like, and some other stuff that i don't. I'm still trying to find my stuff again, but i don't think I'm too far off. I will probably put a little more effort into the last couple of pieces i do this time, and see where it goes.

-LB

Lull

I'm in a bit of a ceramic lull at the moment. I need to produce about 10 items (8-10), to fill the kiln for the next Bisque, i suppose i could do more, and just not finish in one firing. Probably something like 3 larger pieces, and 7 small, if i were to get some new, larger stilts, i could fit one more shelf in the kiln, and place some smaller stuff also.

Now that i have the issues with Cone's, Glaze, and temp figured out, it should be ok. The kiln can reach CONE 06 (not 6), without any issue, and i can probably Bisque at 04-06, and then low fire Glaze at 06.

My next task is to call, or drive by this propane place. They re-fill tanks instead of exchanging them, so I'm hoping that it will be cheaper. It's costing me $18-21 dollars to exchange a tank, and it's taking 75% of 1 tank to do either firing. So what happens is i take in a 3/4 empty tank to get exchanged, and waste the excess fuel, plus pay a bit more.

I need to find my Style again. Right now i'm throwing various objects, but i find i don't really have a "voice". I want to throw more "robust" style bowls and such, i have found some inspiration from the website of Legendary potter Otto Heino, although i don't want to spend too much time there, for fear my stuff will end up looking just like his (his are great, but i want to be unique).

Meh.

What a dumb ass

So there i wuz, firing away with my custom kiln, thinking that it JUST WASN'T GETTING HOT ENOUGH. I was wrong, 4 of the 5 bottles of Glaze i purchased were Cone 5/6, not cone 05! Major difference! Cone 5= 2300 degrees. Cone 05 is about 1800 degrees. Shit bricks man! I could not figure out why my 06 cone would bend, but the Glaze would not flux.....

It's because I'm a retard.

But at least i voted Blue.

-LB

Mother *&%$#er

Well, i re-ran my Firing for 2 hours, with the FLU 70% closed, and it got hotter, so i had to go this morning and pickup another propane take, and try this again. I'm hoping that restricting the FLU will cause more of the heat to stay in the kiln, and out of the air.

Here's the one Piece that actually Fluxed in the 2 firings, it looks kinda funny, not enough Glaze on it, etc...



-LB

The day after

Well, candy-day in America is over, now all we have left is Election night. I have a re-Firing to look forward to. So the kiln fired last night, 5 hours, but i did something wrong, only 1 of any of the 6 pieces in the kiln Fluxed at all, and it was a larger Vase at the top.

I think, THINK, that i need to dampen the flu on the kiln, to get it to hold on to some of the heat it's pushing out of the lid hole. I hope that's the issue, because it's just not getting a high enough temp to fuse the Glaze on the pottery, not even close (probably 1-200 degrees off), what trips me out is that the 1 piece fluxed a little bit, looks kinda funny. It must have trapped heat in the position it was at in the kiln, and when i blocked the flu last night, it trapped enough in that pocket to reach CLOSE, to Cone 06.

Meh, i'll try again today with the remainder of my Propane, see how hot i can get it, and then get the tank refilled.

I was way silly thinking it would work on the first shot! Hell, it might take 10 shots!

Happy Nov 1st.

-lb

Happy Halloween?

Well, as i prepare for my Glaze firing tonight, i found out today that i have been Cleanly back stabbed at my day job. A since uncreated position was filled, one that i had requested to have a shot at (considering my experience), as it turns out, the whole time behind my back they have been planning to have someone else take those duties, in a newly created position, that will also server as my supervisor.

What really pisses me off is, i have been dedicated to this place for 5 years, i have worked hard, and protected it. This fat ass came in, worked here for 2 years, and they are promoting (with $$$), and giving him the small sliver of hope i had for moving upward in my career, and in this organization.

This sparks the end of my journey here, I'm not 100% looking for a new job, i think even if it pays the same as i make right now. I really thought they gave a shit, but in the end Bankers always look out for their own, and I'm not one of them.

Here's to good glazing on Halloween!

-LB

Glaze it like the sun

Well, I'm going to finish applying Glaze to my first successful Bisque pieces tonight. I'll probably fire it Halloween night, since we have to be home anyways. By no means will this be my best work ever, but it's truly my first independent work, from start to finish. Standby for actual fired work, it's been 16 years since i last saw that!

On a side note, i have been walking every day at lunch lately, i find that it's very pleasant, and gives me time to reflect, or just stop thinking about driving, answering the phone, etc.

It came to me today, that we have to vote Obama in, no matter what you think, it's the RIGHT way to go, the right attitude, etc. It just feels like he is normal, an actual intelligent person, with a family, who is real, and not a Character created by the times. 5 more days and we will find out.

-LB

Glaze Glaze Glaze

I went by Mile High Ceramics today, and picked up 5 different glazes. We will see how they turn out, they are pretty trick, high end glazes. Back when i was in school, we always had powdered glaze, and had to mix it ourselves. This stuff is pre-bottled, and pricey!

Viva Tuesday!

-LB

Bisque=success!

Looks like the Bisque went well, nothing exploded,and the total firing took 7 hours, then i let it cool overnight. Propane works well, although my tank is very close to being too small, and causing a freeze...

New setup

Ok, so i got this electric Kiln about 2 months ago, and i decided due to Electricity rates, that i would convert it propane. Tommorow will be the first run.. Hopefully i'm lucky.

-LB

Transition

This post is to mark a transition of this blog, to a more Pottery-centric blog. There are literally millions of them out there, some GREAT artists, some not so great. My only hope is to land somewhere in the middle. I shall never claim to be like the great ones. I don't have the education, nor the training, but what i do have is a unique perspective.

Present moment: I'm waiting on a Propane conversion for an old Kiln that i bought, and I'm planning on doing some more work this week, at least 3 more pieces to hone my skills (which are sucking from 10+ years away from the craft).

More shall come when i begin setup and such.

-LB

Old, but perfect SNL sign of the times!

Sweet

As i inch closer to moving out of the country... MY MOMENT of Zen.. : )

Political pic week

This sums up alot.

Time, She flys...

Ok, so my misson to get Gen a Different Mountain bike frame is nearly complete.  I aquired a 2005 Santa Cruz Chameleon frame, in excellent candy red conditon.  This was spurred by the fact that she recently rode my Gangreen Chameleon.  As it turns out, her 17.5 Inch felt was too big.  I had ideas of getting a complete bike in the 15 inch range, but it didn't quite work out, and if i could, i really wanted to get the SAME frame i have.  As luck would have it, i picked up this nice one.  I should have it this week, so we will see how it turns out, the plan is to have it rolling this weekend, since there's only a few more good weeks of weather before the cold/possible snow.

My intention will be to post pics.

word

-LB

There i Wuz

Another week has passed. I need to get my dad's help to get my Kiln running (maybe this weekend, or early next week), I'm lazy as all hell.

A friend sent me some info on Boat living, kinda interesting. I bought my Kiln from them, and they had left the "mainland" to live on a boat in Hawaii. It's pretty cool, i'm not sure i could handle it, but it's a neat idea.

http://www.koolinamarina.com/slips.htm

http://www.livingaboard.com/

Right now i'm focusing on getting some more $$$ out of my current employer, or looking elsewhere. I had an opportunity for an interview at a school, but i turned it down. It just ended up being a bit too far away, and it paid almost exactly the same as what i make now. Plus, the guy seemed kinda weird in a "Churchy" sort of way, and that does not suit this Devil.

Also, on my Lunch break today, i watched Cloverfield for the first time. I found it interesting, but to tell you the truth, i was more interested in the ARG leading up to the release of the movie. The movie was good, but it only contained the "event", and no real detail, and anybody who knows me i LOVE the details of a story.

Well, that's all for now.

Peace!

-LB

Bla Bla Bla

Yeah, so what.

I'm apparently obsessed with the Olympics this year, I swear, I'm watching like 3 hours of it per day. I'm not all HOO-RA "USA" or anything, i guess I'm just into the competition?

My arm is no longer gigantic from the tattoo, so i feels better now.

I need to bike more. Rode the bike to work today, and it's great, sweaty, but great...

All for now.

-LB

Hell and a Handbasket

Well, the horrible deed of inking my arm is done. It looks awesome, but what a price! My arm was like a balloon all week! it's about 98% deflated now, but i was really scared for a while. At this point, it's just sore, as if i had been working out.

I think the main cause was being tattooed directly over my elbow joint on both sides. Boy was it not happy!

more later,

LB

Oh Barf

Geese, what a last couple of weeks. I've been half-sick forever, i've been looking for a pottery kiln, and i'm half-tatooed.

Work has kinda sucked with Audit stuff going on, and becoming more bored with the place after 5 years.

There's an outside possibilty i may convince them to promote me to a Internet Security Officer, which i would hope would carry more $$$ and new things to learn. We shall see, but i fear that the end is near if they do not. 5 years was just the beginning in my dad's era, but 5 years at one place is like forever for me!

Forever for me to POOP on!

-LB

For me to poop on!

Well, my birthday/Vacation week passed. I was sick all damn week!

On the plus side, i'm now officially a Ceramic potter again, thanks to my lovely wife, and my mom. She bought me a full on Wheel (can center 100lbs of clay), and my mom got me a Gift cert for a local Ceramics shop, now all i have to do is find an old Kiln! I also got a Bike stand, i've wanted one of these for a few years now, and will allow me to work on our bikes very easily. yay.

G will be headed to scholl next month, and it's been long due. Fine arts will meet it's mach starting Aug 11, 2008. I think it's going to be excellent, we will be strapped financially for a while, but for the RIGHT reasons. Here's to fine art!

Standby while a put my assless chaps back on, and chill. more later.

8 million years later

I post to the Blog again....

Well, Gen and i are in the process of Renting out our existing house, and purchasing another in the local town. This is a brave experiment, and it may turn out good.

we were never in "LOVE" with the house we live in currently, it was more of a "we need to buy a house" thing back in 2003, and the market turned around and bit us in the Arse. I like our house, in general, but i don't like the layout, nor the neighborhood. We are about 8 miles away from the town, and we have come to the conclusion that we want to be in the middle of things, so that we can get to restaurants, ride our bikes to work, etc..

Then comes the alter battle, the one where we don't want to make a mistake in the Home we purchase, it's become such a point of contention that it could cause us to miss out, do nothing, or go insane.

The one we are putting an offer on now, is really cool. 1930's bungalow, corner lot, nice yard, little garage. Just super charming. The other we have, or "Had" interest in, is a 1950's home, a bit further away from the center of things, it's slightly bigger, but feels DARK, and a little odd. We have struggled so badly with the idea that we need more space, as compared to the charm, and fun of the older house, it's just brutal.

I think something that always brings me back to the 30's place is the fact that the current owner is a local Artist, headed back to Boston this summer. Gen is a budding artist, of many different Genre, so i kinda felt like it was "in the stars". Also, this person creates pottery, which i was heavily into about 10-15 years ago, and i still love it, doing it or not. Maybe I'll remind her of the Artistic link in this place, to make her feel better tonight.. : )

I intend to post much more often now, and stop being a loser!

-LB

Where does one start?

Well, it's been a while since i've posted, and much has transpired. Miss Gen and i are now about 85% out of debt (unsecured debt), which is incredible! I didn't think it would be in the next 10 years, but we are going to make it!

For commuting purposes, i acquired a super-fabulous 1992 Ford Festiva. It's turned out to be far more of a Basket case/project. I'm honestly not sure if i'll keep it, or just sell it. I find the "festiva" community online fascinating, but my current experiences are not all that "funtiva" ha, ha..

Finally, we just finished watching the Super Bowl, it's was less entertaining than i thought, and the Giants Won, so it was even less for me (more for Gen though).

Now, i need to not be sick anymore, i'm stuck with some sort of Throat/tonsil thing going on, where some times during the day i feel ok, and sometimes i don't. UG.

-LB