Concrete Counter Tops

Kirsten and I have been talking about what can we do in our house, specifically our kitchen, to spruce it up without spending to much money. One idea that has surfaced is doing concrete countertops. I am curious to try it and the cost would be minimal. Best of all if we don't like it, then in a couple years when we have the cash, we do something else. I think of it as the poor man's marble.

Sooo, anybody with any experience? Want some? Here's a link to get you started:

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/author/dcn/conccounter-a.html

Air Horn in 5 minutes

Here is a link to how to make an air horn in 5 minutes with a ballon, straw and film canister.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/352175/how_to_free_air_horn/

Webster's Online Dictionary

Wow, this is an amazing resource. Go to http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/dog and hover your mouse over the "Index" icon on the right-hand edge of the page. Check out the translations, for example. Oooo, I love a good language resource!

New Commute Vehicle

Well as you can see I finally bought a moto-bike. :) Sorry Tina you took to long with a price on your beamer. So this is it!

I got a brand new 2007 Piaggio Typhoon Scooter. Yep I go 60km all out lol. But It also saved me about $20 in gas the first week. (This is just to and back from work). It also gives Brenda a vehicle for the summer when the Terrors are not in school and she needs to farm them out some where to keep her sanity. At least that was the story I was using as a major selling point to get the bike.

It has been a week of commuting now and I've changed the route to work so I'm only on roads where possible that the speed limit is 60km/h. With the changes I have only added about 5min to my trip. I drive less kms but I stop and start more. Brenda also has a car during the week. Not to mention with gas at $1.10 a liter I fill about 2 times a week at about $4 a tank and I get about 100km per tank. My gas tank is just over a gallon. So I guess I get about 70-80 mpg. Did I mention that Brenda has a car during the week?

Bike specs:
Type: Single cylinder, two-stroke
Displacement: 49cc
Bore & Stroke: 1.57in X 1.54in (40.0mm X 39.3mm)
Fuel : Unleaded
Induction: Reed valve in crankcase
Lubrication: Separate with automatic mixer
Ignition: Electronic by capacitive discharge (CDI)
Start: Electric
Cooling: Air with forced ventilation
Transmission: Automatic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)
Clutch: Automatic centrifuge type

Sketchup Challenge Entry

I made two objects (obvious shapes). I drew a line to aid in lining things up. I grouped the pipe to aid in selecting. I moved the "keyslot" shape into position and pulled it through the pipe.

With the objects intersected as shown in the above image, select one object and "intersect with model" Do the same for the other object.

Delete the excess material. This takes very little time and is as precise as need be.