I Built a Harvey Ellis Dresser and it Almost Killed Me

...04 catalog and drawings for Stickely’s magazine The Craftsman before his untimely demise. We needed a dresser for our bedroom and Kelly and I really wanted the Ellis model. Unfortunately, not many were made and when they show up at auction they go for around $8,000 to $10,000. So I decided to build one myself and now I know why they cost so much. In 1904 the dresser sold for the princely sum of $39, over $1,000 in today’s dollars. Stickley simplif...

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The American College of the Building Arts

...I was more invested in the idea of being a musician rather than the act of making music. And let’s not get into the plinky-plunky, modernist musical cat fight that passed for the musical curriculum at UCSD, where I did my graduate work. If I were to step into a time machine back to high school and ponder my next move I have no doubt that I’d ditch the University of California and head to Charleston, South Carolina to attend the American College of...

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Counterintelligence

...ing down on that cheese. Few things in nature are as deliberative as a cat making a call on jumping. The assault on our kitchen counters actually came in two parts, somewhat like finding an alternate route up Mt. Everest. The first step came two weeks ago when the cats figured out they could jump on the counter adjacent to the stove. From there they must have spotted the other counter and a week later made the dinner party assault on cheese summit...

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Computer Troubles II

...A big thanks to our web czar and book designer Roman of Yay Brigade for fixing last week’s WordPress problems. He did it just in time for me to jam my right index finger on a drawer thus making typing incredibly painful. Thus today’s short excusey blog post. Ouch. I’ll see you all in a few days....

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Make Your Own Landscape Lighting

...s in our pomegranate tree and wired them into the system which is set on a timer to turn on at sunset and go off a few hours later. I placed these lights to help illuminate the treacherous and irregular 1920s staircase leading up to the house. I also have a few pro style downlights along the stairs and another light hanging over the entrance arbor. The entrance arbor light was a 12 volt path light that I turned into a hanging light. In general I l...

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