Switching Jobs

January 7, 2019 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

I recently switched companies and positions. I harbor no animosity for my former company. I did not leave because I was offered more money (it is the same almost to the dollar), for a cooler title, out of anger at someone or something, or because I felt overwhelmed or stagnate. No, I left so that I can be part of a new team that has a goal of flying humans safely into space. In that transition, I left a publicly owned aerospace part manufacturer and all of the complexities that come with answering to metrics and investors for a position at a privately funded space exploration, design and manufacturing company. A company that is not currently motivated by profit, but purely by research, design, and exploration.

To tell the truth it is a little scary: I went from a company where I know everyone from the newest technician to the CEO by first name and they both knew me and what my I brought to the table. I have moved into a world that I only know a fraction of the people and tech, where I am the new guy, untested, untried, but I think that it will be worth any initial stumbles as it has been a decades long and multi-generational want.

My father was an aircraft nut! He was a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and eventually worked on the SR-79 Blackbird project when it was still classified. We went to airshows and aircraft exhibits galore. He knew some guys that flew with and maintained classic War Birds for the Confederate Air Force and we would spend Saturdays helping out here and there. Including a very memorable time where as a very skinny kid, I was tasked/voluntold to pull a bundle of wire in the confined space below the cockpit of what I believe was a Mitchell bomber. His love of flying things did not stop at the bounds of our atmosphere – living in Houston, I got dragged to the Johnson Space Center a couple times a year. He would spend hours there just looking and smiling. I didn’t get it then, but I sure do now! If my dad only knew…

I.AM.Stoked!!

I believe that the first decades of the 21^st century will be seen in a few hundred years as the dawn of the privatization of space. The precursor to mankind’s exploration of space beyond a single lifetime. I get to be, in some small way, a part of that history. I feel like the kid who inked the presses for Johannes Guttenberg as he was printing that first book on set type. I feel that at the pivotal moments of exploration in human history, the little people behind some of our greatest explorers (Magellan, Ericson, Hillary & Norgay, Lewis & Clark, Cook, Armstrong, et al…), went to their rest knowing that they helped achieve something greater than themselves.

Dean Kamen (the inventor of the Segway and holder of 1,000+ patents) once said that it was his belief that ‘…When we start to look at scientists and mathematicians the same way we look at actors and musicians, we will start to come together as a society and do great things…’ The private exploration of space is one of these great things. I am proud to be one of those little people and I am excited for the days ahead.

2019 News Year’s Resolutions:

January 1, 2019 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

A year ago, to the day, I said that I would do a bunch of stuff in 2018. Well, if you want to hear God Laugh, tell him your plans…

Life was sort of turn upside down this year with continuing hip issues, an unplanned knee surgery, a job change, house rebuild craziness. If you factor in my own laziness, stubbornness, and my A+ skill level of procrastination I did not get even half of my list ticked off. From that list of 50 Things, the items below are what I actually did get done:

Organize my chaos in the shop and basement. – Basement done!
Sell, donate, recycle, or throw away shit that I do not use.
Use my planner and notebooks as tools not as something that I “have” to use.
Take my desk at home back and make it a conducive writing space.
Fly my drones more
Finish my CJ-7 Jeep restoration
Sign up for a letterpress class at SVC Downtown
Take another blacksmithing class at The Pratt
Give some $$ to Heifer and MFS
Be involved in politics more: financially and with a time commitment
Finish the house remodel – even if I have to pay a contractor to do it (shudder…)
Make.More.Stuff!!
Ride my snowboard and skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA and on West Coast more
Take my wife on vacation

For 2019, I am going to keep it a little simpler:

Work really hard to stay healthy and avoid any more orthopedic surgery
Quit Twitter for good this time.
Get on my bike
Lose the extra weight
Be a great engineer
Make better and better YouTube videos.
Read more
Spend more time with Family
Worry about the house less
Finish and USE my shop to its fullest.
Be happier and remove negative folks and situations from my day to day.
Take some more classes
Make more friends
Be involved in my community
Buy and consume less
Simplify

Update on the Bee Hive in our yard

October 8, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

These are the weirdest bees…

The hive is in full south facing sun all day and protected from wind. They took 6 weeks to draw out the 2-3 new frames in a 10-frame super even with me feeding syrup and when I put the second super on in July not a single frame has been drawn out, even with two lower frames put up top. The frames have plastic foundation, so maybe they hate it. No burr comb either. Weird.They are super protective – not African-ized, but pretty damn mean. I wrote the keeper that I got the nuc from and he sent me a note in return saying that this is “normal behavior” for his survivor bees. It is not a lack of resources or the queen: she is a brood making machine with very few drone cells. They are just kind of mean.

After three months I should have 20 frames covered with drawn comb, pollen, brood, honey, the works. I didn’t think I would pull any honey from them this year and planned to get them strong for a spring split in 2019. The no honey thing was a correct estimation, but not just for me, there is very little honey or pollen in the hive – maybe a frame and a half a frame of capped honey the rest is currently uncapped and capped brood. Instead of 20+ drawn frames, I have 9.5. It is like they did not have enough pollen or nectar, which is no where near the case: They were all over the blackberries, our 40’ of lavender, flower garden, and 70+ sunflowers, so I know they had plenty of the flow this year. I am going to have to feed them with fondant over winter and am condensing the hive into a single super for winter.

The source of the original nuc doesn’t treat at all, so I am finding that they have a pretty high mite count with some wing deformation (DWV?). No AFB or chalk brood though. No robbing or ant issues. The aggression and the possible DWV may be linked and may be the issue with comb drawing and honey production.

There is a hive of Italians right next to the new bees that was an early spring package. Same type of frames and two westerns of honey were taken off them, though am not happy with mite count and will definitely treat them as well over winter. I blame the new bees for the high mite count this year.

I think that I will see how the new hive does come spring with the Apivar, beetle treatment, and all-winter feeding. If they haven’t calmed down or if they show any sign of weakness, that hive will be getting a new certified Russian queen.

Any bee keepers out there have any thoughts or comments?

Fitting and refinishing a walking cane – the video

September 5, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

As a follow-up to the knee surgery recovery and how it is all going:

After 36 years or so, I finally fit, cut, and refinished my grandfather’s oak walking cane to my dimensions and need. I have used it every time I broke an ankle/leg or had hip/ankle/knee surgery – there have been a lot of all of those due to a misspent, but exciting, youth. It was never sized right for me though and I just made due, not wanting to cut his cane. The latest knee surgery/rebuild will require me to use a cane for an extended period of time (~4 months), so I finally decided to just get it done.

This fitting is not a shot in the dark or a “..I watched a video once…” sort of a thing. I have literally fit a 100+ canes for other people – I was a PT technician at one point during college – but for some reason never got around to taking care of my own. The fact that is was my grandfather’s makes it extra special for me.

Catching up and writing more

June 25, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

I have not been writing as much in the last few months as I should. I have lots of excuses:

House Remodel
Hectic Work Schedule
Jeep Rebuild
A focus on film making and growing my YouTube presence
Lawn and Garden care – seriously, this takes up a lot of my time.
Too much TV and interwebs…
Blah, Blah, Blah…

When you get to the base of it all though, the answer is that I have made time for all the other things that keep me sane/make me crazy except for writing. I am renewing my focus and will be posting more words to go along with all of the pictures and video.

Let’s start with an update of current stuff:

The Attic

We are so close to being done with the attic conversion. I have to put a couple of coats on the closet door and one on the stair railing and paint the 4 walls with a couple coats of the almond eggshell that my wife picked out. The new hardwood flooring is being delivered today and it will be installed on Friday. I will spend the weekend installing the stair treads and kickers/risers. The receptacles, switches and lights are the last serious items that will go in before I touch-up a little paint here & there and I will be done and can focus on the basement.

Basement

We are 75% there. All tiled laid, grout done and a functioning toilet!! I need to finish the trim install, hang two doors and then paint EVERYTHING! I am having a custom shower rod TIG welded together and will be building the double sink vanity. I have to tack together & paint the medicine cabinet door and mirror frames as well. After all is in, we will have a plumber come out for the sink install and shower hook up. I don’t plumb. I am afraid of flooding my house with water or sewage. I leave that job to the professionals.

Main Level Bath

The tube tile surround is being replaced in two weeks with 6” subway and small hex tile. The new bathroom mirror will be going in this week, and I have to have the exhaust fan switch rewired.

Jeep

I had a solid weekend working on the Jeep. The taillights are installed, the winch is re-wired, mirrors installed, windshield back on with new gasket and PLENTY on extra silicone. The upper KC spotlights are re-installed, and an issue with the front speakers if fixed. I still need to paint and install the spare tire rack, as well as the CB, megaphone speaker, 2^nd battery, air compressor, lower KC spot lights, passenger headlight, rub rails, whip antenna, headlight trim rings, and polish the rear tube bumper.

The current plan is to leave the top COMPLETELY off until fall when I re-install the soft top. I need to finish the Hi-Lift Jack rebuild project, have the speedometer serviced, and replace my tube pads as well before the cold winter wind blows.

Garage

The shop of me dreams is packed full of everyone else’s crap right now. It is all leaving by the last weekend in July if I have to put it all out on the road. I need to finish wiring in my 40K lumens of LED lighting, a 50AMP plug, a couple of 220/30amp plugs and have an electrician connect all into my service panel.

House Exterior

Downspout in back needs attention
A section of soffit need looking at and possibly repaired
I need to weld together the Juliet Balcony outside the dining room
Weld railing for rear steps
The new front windows need a little trim and paint
Dining room window needs trim and paint
The rear steps need to be painted
The chimney needs to be repointed before fall/winter
Basement railing needs to be installed
Both front railings need to be sanded and repainted.
External security alarm siren need to be installed
A tiny bit of concrete need to be pouted
Two security cameras need to be swapped out for the lower profile ones

The yard

Man, the front yard is good, a little weeding and bush trimming maybe. The back yard though… It is still a disaster, or at least ½ a disaster. I want to fill 3-4 gabion baskets with all the rocks left over from a previous owner’s attempt at pond-scaping and make benches around out fire pit. We will be adding a steel arbor from the garage to the patio this fall that I am welding up on-site. The patio table and chairs will get a proper sanding and oiling this weekend and we need/want an umbrella of it this year. I want to add a tool shed and additional firewood racks to the side yard. And finally, the small yard next to the garage is my makeshift apiary and I would like to make that both permanent and presentable with some additional hives, gravel and flower plants in narrow garden boxes.

Health

Stamps-With-Foot, my mom, and the kids are good. I am feeling all of my 40+ years lately though. My hip is still painful a full year after reconstruction. I may have torn the meniscus in my left knee, AND I have Fucking Tennis elbow from chopping firewood!! Not being able to run and bike, coupled with my love of cookies, has left me with a classic “Dad-bod” and even my fat pants are tight right now. Eating better now. Trying to get between 7 and 10K steps in a day, having the knee looked at, and working on the elbow. We are going to Hawaii in February and I need at least a 2-pac as there will be MANY shirtless days in and under the water, for my arm to feel better, and my knee and hip to be like 70%.

Other

Work is work, but I have really traveled at all this year and that is awesome! Still wish I was building cabinets for a living, covered in man-glitter, smiling but that will have to wait. I will be traveling to Arkansas this fall to see my daughter and her family. My son will be here in Seattle for a couple of weeks this summer. I hope to tour a couple of colleges with him. My wife and I have a couple of road trips planned and I want to get out on my bike, kayak, and skate board a little (don’t tell my wife or knee Dr. about the board…) I have started recording for a monthly Podcast. A friend conned me into it after a few years of asking. I am going to just sit and tell stories without naming names or implicating myself in any illegal activities that are not past the statute of limitations. As a reward for losing weight I will go ahead and finish out both of my tattooed arm sleeves and my wife and I are planning matching bee tattoos for our anniversary. I still have not bought a boat or a motorcycle, so she will keep me for a while longer

Jeep Re-Build Update Video

May 16, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

I got the Jeep back from paint months ago and it has been sitting on the lift in the garage – letting the paint cure as we have had work done at the house (Attic and Basement). I am not 100% happy with the paint, but that is another video. I have been collecting small cardboard boxes full of goodies since last October for the after-paint re-fit. That installation process has begun with the mounting of lights, fender flares, a new bumper, etc… I am giddy with anticipation to get it out in the Seattle summer sun.

This weekend was full. I really need to stop working on my days off.

May 14, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Welding Cart experienced a failed wheel/axle combo
I said dirty words and decided to replace rather then rebuild
Also decided to upgrade – just a little.
Sourced new cart and used a 20% off Coupon
Assembled new Harbor Freight/General Tools MIG welding cart
Recorded a video of whole experiebce for YouTube channel
Wired in a couple plugs and lights in the attic.
Worked on linocut of our dog Brodie and of a mountain scene print for two letterpress projects.
Wove a 9”+ pine needle coiled basket – because I can.
Made like 6 Instagram posts
Played Ukulele for a bit.
Recorded a couple of riffs and a drum track
Started building a podcast tool for website – slow going
Made a run to the city dump with a trailer load of building material/construction waste.
Mowed and edged yard.
Worked on the washing machine
called it names until it worked
Spent an hour looking for new Jeep parts that disappeared in the garage.
Said more dirty words – there is a theme here…
Found the parts
Installed front blinkers and driver’s side head light.
Completely failed at installing LED tail lights.
Threw a little fit.
Asked questions and then ranted on the Internet forums.
Packet the LEDs back up, returned them, and ordered replacements with regular bulbs.
Sat in yard and drank some Rose’
slept late (8:30) on Sunday morning
Cleaned backyard a little
Took Mom to lunch
Celebrated Mother’s Day
Took mom to nursery for flowers and yarn shop for some skeins of alpaca wool.
Installed new fender flairs on the Jeep.
Installed new Jeep bumper and re-installed winch
HUGE pain and took forever
Two band-Aids with consumed.
Wore good cloths while wrenching.
Wife caught me with grease on shorts
She made wet-cat noise and I got in trouble…
Organized and hauled out all of the recycling from house and garage.
Drank wine in the front yard.
Drank some more wine.
Binged watched season 2 of Westworld to catch up.

Attic Remodel: Week 6

May 4, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

This week, we went from bare studs to insulation to wiring to drywall with a dash of new windows thrown in for good measure. The HVAC split unit head vacuum & power lines were installed and we had a serious accident in the attic that occurred during that process.

Mid-week Update

March 28, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

So, this week has been crazy at work and at home. On the home-front, there were birthdays, shopping, it is Income Tax time, we have 3-4 guys showing up every morning at 7:00 with tools in hand to work in and on the attic.

My shop is full. I can’t even get to my table saw and my bench is stacked 5′ high with insulation. I need a little shop time to keep me sane or at least saner… So, I took a little me time and signed up for some classes for spring and early summer where I will get use other folks shops and build/make stuff:

Canoe Paddle Making
Claw and Ball Foot Carving
A 10-Week Letter Press Workshop
Woodcarving Figures
Spoon Carving
Block Printing
Industrial Sewing: canvas and leather

Spring Has Sprung – 2018

March 12, 2018 / Matt Talley / 2 Comments

With the official start of Spring – as determined by the fact that my wife was reading a book, enjoying the sunshine, and drinking wine in the yard – we had a busy weekend at La Maison Du Talley:

Moved all the power tools in the shop against the wall for temp storage duty
Ordered material for attic finish
Set up new iPhone (old one a brick!)
Checkout at Pratt to be able to independently use their fabrication shop.
Moved everyone else’s crap out of my basement and temporarily into the garage
Said dirty words about all the other people’s crap being stored in our home
Cleaned the basement completely out
Pruned the apple trees in the backyard
Restacked the firewood wood pile
Cleaned and prepped attic for floor installation
Published two YouTube videos
Set up new condenser microphone in home office/studio
Breakfast with my mom and wife
Went to the Moonshiners 36th Annual Jeep Swap Meet
Did not buy a new-to-me 1946 CJ-2A project Jeep
Stayed Married
Did not buy a motorcycle or boat at the swap meet
Stayed married – there is a theme…
DID buy an ARB on-board air compressor and a duel battery mount – and got a sweet deal!
Signed up for three classes at Pratt for this spring: Block printing, wood carving, and letterpress
Padded and protected the wood floor and built-ins in prep for attic finish
Cleaned the hot tub
Edged and mowed the front and back yard
Spread Weed&Feed on the back yard and parking strip
Re-seeded the front yard

President’s Day 2018

February 20, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

President’s Day is here and it is time to prune the fruit trees, roses, and lavender. Or at least that was my plan for yesterday. Instead, I spent WAY TOO MUCH time on Twitter – ranting about sensible gun laws and the current US administration. I also spent a couple of hours cleaning the house, washing dishes, working on 2 videos, walking the puppies, and working in the shop. So the entire day was not wasted on-line.

In the shop, I am building a Screen Printers Workbench for a local artist, Amy M. Douglas. She does some pretty amazing prints and oil/acrylic work. We are trading my time for art, so it is a win/win for both of us. Below are a couple of shots taken during the build and I will have a whole YouTube video about the build in a week or so.

I will spend an afternoon this coming weekend pruning, re-stacking firewood, and cleaning the yard – I see a dump run in my future.

3/4/2018 Update:

The bench is done and delivered.

Film Friday – An Update and a Little Ranting

February 9, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

A quick update about why I have not posted here on my blog or been on YouTube for a few weeks and how I have been spending my time: Roadtrippin’, some slight ranting, obscene gestures, naughty words, snowboarding, beer, some boats, a little 3D printing, and a sneak peak at the Jeep’s homecoming after 12 weeks in the body shop are all to follow.

YouTube Partnership Program Rule Change Rant

January 22, 2018 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

So, I am going to rant for just a bit, bear with me…

-Mounts Soapbox –

“Ahem… I set a goal to be a better filmmaker, content provider, and maker five months ago. Part of that goal was to reach the 10,000 view threshold to monetize my YouTube account. I did not plan to quit my J-O-B, or be internet famous, I just wanted to use it as a milestone for progress toward the goal and I nailed it on January 4^th! 10,000 views!! I was so stoked that I woke my wife up way too late one night to tell her. My account was under review for 2 weeks and I was finally officially monetized for two days – two WHOLE days – before BAM!! I was demonetized with a huge group of small and smaller content providers. Son of a…

While this was a while in coming, it looks like the process/decision was sped up when a guy with 15+ million subscribers named Logan Paul posted a video of a suicide victim. 1^st, what a fucking privileged asshat. WTF is wrong with people?! He should be forever ashamed, and spend a great deal of his YouTube revenue on suicide prevention and advocacy. What should’ve happened following the public and advertiser outrage was YouTube suspending or deleting his channel, but that dude generates SERIOUS ad revenue, so… What happened instead was that YouTube took him off the top-tier ad group and YouTube punished the SHIT out of the small folks by demonetizing channels with less than 4000 hours of watch-time AND less than1000 subscribers to ‘protect their core values’? Makes zero sense and this guy will continue to post and earn $$$ even at the lower tier.

OK, fine, fuck’em. I was not doing this for some mythical pot of gold. This setback is just going to make me dig deeper. I am 10% to the new threshold and I will keep slogging on. Keep making and doing. Post better and better content. This will make me leaner, stronger, bigger, better, more… A better speaker, better filmmaker, I will get lighting and sound for my videos dialed, have awesome content, and be a better person from it all. Success doesn’t teach half as much as adversity.

To all effected by the YouTube demonetization BS: Don’t quit! Keep slogging on. Keep making and doing. You too will be all the better for it. Send me your channel and I will follow you and help with the watch hour threshold. As I said, I had just hit the monetization before all of this and we will get there again. It will take some hard work but, we can all help each other out.”

– Dismount Soapbox –

2018 News Year’s Resolutions:

January 1, 2018 / Matt Talley / 3 Comments

A year ago, to the day, I said that I would do a bunch of stuff in 2017. I did OK, but not great. I could blame it on my old man hip, the surgery, or the recovery time, but mostly not getting stuff on the list done was all me. All my own laziness, stuborness, or my A+ skill level of procrastination. These are the promises I made to myself that I kept:

~~Take a pottery class~~
~~Take a Blacksmithing class at the Pratt~~
~~Read 1 book every 2 weeks – minimum~~
~~Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others~~
~~Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS~~
~~Make movies and post: Adventure, craftsmanship, and family.~~
~~Make Stuff!!~~
~~Ride my skateboard because I am not too old or too fat~~
~~Road trip in WA more~~
~~Take my wife on vacation~~
~~Plant a spring garden~~
~~Fix up the front and back yards~~

The following is what I am committing myself to do in 2018:

Organize my chaos in the shop and basement.
Sell, donate, recycle, or throw away shit that I do not use.
Use my planner and notebooks as tools not as something that I “have” to use.
Eat my veggies. Seriously. Salads in my future.
Take my desk at home back and make it a conducive writing space.
Cut WAY back on sugar and carb intake!
Lose weight – back to 175! and put on 5-7lbs of muscle
Go to the gym 3-4 time a week – minimum.
Box more at the gym and at home
Write more: Blog posts, REAL letters, Thank you notes, fiction, and non-fiction
Take more great pictures
~~Fly my drones more~~
Take at least a 45 minute lunch at least 4 days a week at work
Show up to yoga at least once a week
Take another pottery class
Finish my CJ-7 Jeep restoration
Look into getting back into the judo dojo
Sign up and compete in the Gambler 500 car race
~~Sign up for a letterpress class at SVC Downtown~~
Take another blacksmithing class at The Pratt
Read 1 book every 2 weeks!
Learn how to play the mandolin and banjo better!
Play my uke, banjo, and guitar with others
Build a skin-on-frame canoe for two
Road and mountain bike
Take the puppies to Lincoln Park for a walk at least once a week
Ride the living shit out of my Single -Speed
Bike to work at least 5 times this year (12 miles each way)
Volunteer more at the Center for Wooden Boats
Pay off all credit cards
Go sailing in Puget Sound
Turn some amazing and useful stuff on my lathe
Give lots of $$ to Heifer and MFS
Make at least 1 movie a week for YouTube and post: Adventure and craftsmanship
Monetize my YouTube account and increase my presence and standing in that community
Lessen my Twitter and social media activity…
See my kids and grandchildren more
Be involved in politics more: financally and with a time commitment
Work on my Genealogy database and organize all my info.
Finish the house remodel – even if I have to pay a contractor to do it (…shudder…)
Finish the garage/shop/GROP build
Make.More.Stuff!!
Ride my snowboard and skateboard because I am not too old or too fat
Road trip in WA and on West Coast more
Have two hives of healthy, happy bees
Kayak lots!
See my friends more
Take my wife on vacation
Plant a spring garden and have a really bountiful fall harvest
Have an awesome Griswald-like Christmas light display!

I am printing this list out and pasting copies in my notebook, work planner, in the shop, at my desk at work, on the fridge, and in the basement above my warranty voiding workbench.

Christmas List 2017

November 29, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

I would really like for the fat elf in the red suit to grant me one little wish: For the adults in the room to take the reins of the American Political System. I would be good from there if that were my only gift for the rest of my Christmases. I already have a bunch of crap, so if you want to grab something, please first give to a worthy cause and send me a note about it:.

~~A donation to Heifer International: Bees~~ (I really like to give the gift of bees) Goats, Chickens, Llama, or the whole Ark… – My mom gave me some cash for the bees 🙂
A little cash to Doctors Without Borders/MSF
Go give blood and eat some free cookies
Money sent in for Diabetes Research

These are also fine ideas:

Some time in a Tattoo Artist’s chair
~~Metal Collar Stays~~ – Santa dropped these in my stalking
An Amazon Gift Card
A sweet pair of these work shoes (UK Men’s size 8 or 42 in Euro Size)
Book: Campaign Furniture by Chris Schwartz
~~Book: Bees of the World by Mitchner~~ – My wife is AWESOME!!
New razor blades
A gift card to Hardwick’s Hardware in Seattle
Two or three sets of Shoe Trees
Genetic genealogy testing from 23&Me
Starbucks Gift Card
~~Sweet new socks.~~ – My wife Came through!
Coupon for The Art of Shaving
A card from each of my kids
Sign up for the 1 or 2-Day Rally School Course at DirtFish
Amber 2ga. Plugs (bonus points if they have insect inclusions)
~~Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.~~ – My guys at work are awesome and got me a sampler pack
~~Porto (Cálem Vintage, Ramos Pinto, or a Taylor’s)~~. Again, my guys at work went all in and picked up a 10 year old Taylor’s that made me giddy with happiness.

Film Friday – The Garage Sidewalk Pour

October 27, 2017 / Matt Talley / 1 Comment

Below is a short film documenting all the steps taken in pouring a walkway between our existing patio and my garage/shop, as also discussed in less detail in a previous post. I MAY have overbuilt it… a little… maybe…

Labor Day Weekend – 2017

September 5, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

I was at home for Labor Day weekend this year and spend the time working on the house and yard. I dug up a cubic yard+ of dirt where the garage walkway will be and then built concrete forms, added rebar, and welded wire for a 20′ X 4′ sidewalk pour next week.

I also took a couple of hours to rebuild a 10′ section of fence on our south side. A 40′ (12.2m) tree had grown through it from the neighbor’s yard. He let me cut it down a couple of weeks ago and rebuilding the fence was required. Note: Stamps-With-Foot did not see me roped up, hanging in the harness, topping the tree, so I didn’t get in trouble for being a “stupid man” until later 🙂

Garage, lawn, and house work this weekend

August 8, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Worked in the basement a bit to make Stamps-With-Foot’s sewing room/project space usable.
Made two trips to the dump.
Built screw clamp holder.
Did a little Amazon shopping for a gift and a part that I needed.
Went shooting at the range – shot like a blind squirrel.
Cleaned pistol, muttering disappointment in self whole time.
Hip super-hurt all weekend.
Went to see Atomic Blond for date night. Great movie.
Bought two bookshelf cabinets for garage at Second Use – got a super good deal (hard to do these days at Second Use)
Picked up 2 cases of oil at discount from NAPA
Put down a little 1/4 round trim in dining room.
Washed Stamps-With-Foot’s car.
Filled the washer fluid.
Worked on a couple of films.
Cleaned lighting contacts on the trailer light harness.
Took a load of recycling to the dump.
Organized shop a little and hung the two cabinets.
My shop now has all the storage I will ever need – until I fill it all up 🙂
Consumed some rosé while sitting in sunshine in back yard.
Snuggled wife and puppies.
Installed my welding cabinet and filled it with helms, jacket, gloves, sticks, and welding tools.
Made a happy face.
Did not mow lawn…
Ran two lighting circuits and one 220VAC circuit in garage.
Need to install the 4 florescent lights.
One 220VAC circuit to run and all shop wiring will be complete!
Flew drone a bit to work out new firmware update.
Took a few macro photos with camera
Spent too long on Instagram and Twitter.
Ignored the grass some more.
Changed oil in my father-in-law’s truck.
Picked-up/was given wrong oil filter!
Said dirty words…
Made it to parts store 3 minutes before they closed for new filter.
41 more oil changes and the lift pays for itself!

Film Friday – Corner Cabinet Up-Cycle/Rebuild

June 22, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Way back in November of 2015, just after our return from living abroad for two years, I bought a set of hard used, little loved corner cabinets from a local salvage place. I have spent an hour and there installing, building trim, sanding, de-gunking, stripping old paint, priming, painting, and more painting. It has only taken 18 months, but they are now installed and look like they have been in our living room since the very first day.

Here is a slideshow/video tale of the steps taken in the project: What it was to what it became.

My Week in Review

June 18, 2017 / Matt Talley / 3 Comments

This past week has been a week of mish-mash happenings:

90-day Post-surgery hip appointment: Could have gone better.
Fruit tree pruning
I built a lid for the compost boxes
A rat didn’t like my lid and chewed through the side to get at the worms in the compost bin
I said dirty words
Mounted 7 up-cycled cabinets in the garage
Finished painting 80 liner feet of 1/4 round trim.
Sweep and cleaned GROP
Organized some stuff into new shelves and cabinets.
Finished painting the corner shelf doors – 5 total coats of fresh paint
Installed the hinges and hung the doors on wrong cabinets
Said dirty words
Re-hung doors on the correct cabinet.
Scratched paint
More dirty words
Touched up paint
Finished corner cabinet install
Did some Physical Therapy for my Old Man hip
Mowed and edged the yard
Read a book
Made a few Instagram and Twitter posts
Amazon sent me a new tool!
Flew drone one afternoon after J-O-B
Planted the boxwood shrubs
Bought garden starts at Nursery: tomatoes, corn, squash, zucchini, peppers,herbs, lettuce, etc…
50+ hours at my J-O-B, hustlin’ to keep us fed and the lights on
Watched about 2 hours of NetFlix
Gave away a bed in our home office
Had to delver it to new owner
Drank some French wine
Worked on cedar log garden table
Bought couch/guest bed for the office/TV room
Braved the gauntlet at IKEA – three hours to pick up a pre-ordered couch 🙁
IKEA gave me a $50 discount for the trouble
Had to source clear glass Victorian-style pull knobs for the corner cabinet doors
Spoke to both of my children for Father’s Day
Heart Happy
Planted summer garden
There was some coffee drinking and puppy snuggling
Took top off of Jeep for the first time in 1.5 years
Started Raining the second I took it out of the Garage
Made grumpy noises
Had coffee and listened to a bluegrass jam session at favorite coffee shop
Watched a movie
Was prolific on Twitter and Instagram
Murdered some dandelions
Rode around neighborhood on errands in topless Jeep when it stopped raining
Made happy noises
Sent some J-O-B e-mails from home
Started reading American Gods out loud with my awesome wife
Went to bed to start it all over again on Monday morning

A Year Later – The Garage is Finally Legal and Inspected

June 7, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Holy crap… I got notice from our former garage contractor that the city permit for the build was about to expire. WhAt tHe FUCK!?!? Apparently, he had never called for the final inspection. It just never ends with this guy and the inattention to detail.

After a flurry of calls and e-mails, the city inspector came out yesterday and looked at the framing, roof, gutters, paint, electrical final. He signed off thew garage as legal and conforming but, said that we should have not moved in and started the insulation and drywall until the final was signed and in hand. He was the guy that did the initial inspection and remembered us and the build, so I didn’t have to tear anything out. While I appreciate the contractor letting me know about the expiration, I would have preferred that the inspections were done a year ago when the structure was done.

Update:

The day after the Final Inspection was signed off, I got a notice that a Waste Diversion Report (WDR) needs to be submitted to Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) for all demolition projects as well as any new construction and alteration permits where the project value is $30,000 or greater. Normally this falls to the party that pulled the building permit, but as I did the demo myself it got forwarded to me. Links to the forms are below in case anyone in Seattle needs them.

SPU Waste Diversion Report Manual Form
Seattle WDR Letter 2016

Apparently, if you live in Seattle, our local utility company wants to make triple-extra sure you did not dump any building or demo waste inappropriately. I have the receipts from the equipment company and the hauling company, so there should be no issue.

Film Friday – Baidarka (Skin on frame Aleut kayak) build movie

March 31, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

With the hip related bed rest, I have had some time to catch up on some film-making and finally finished this little slideshow film documenting the entire process of a 9-day father/son traditional kayak build that I blogged about this past summer. The next build will be either a small motorboat or a wood-strip cedar canoe.

Let me know if you have any questions about the video.

Diagnosis: Getting Old is Better Than The Alternative.

March 30, 2017 / Matt Talley / 1 Comment

There are milestones in this life that makes each and every one of us feel the passage of time, the gravity of the age we have reached, and the cool creeping hand of the debt that we all must pay: Waking up to stiffness, uttering the phrase: “back in my day…”, the day your children grow taller than you, CHOOSING to eat your vegetables, your kids making adult decisions (or not), when your babies have babies, realizing that you own a t-shirt that this older than the lady who cuts what is left of your hair, etc. and so on…

I have been really feeling all of my 43 years lately, for various reasons, but mostly due to hip surgery. I have, to this point lived an X-Games sort of life: lots of road & trail running, cycling, skiing, snowboarding, rock-climbing, mountaineering, diving, kayaking, canoeing, parachuting, lifting, sailing, skateboarding, tumbling, boxing, surfing, and various other activities that have led to many broken bones, strains, ligament/tendon tears, and the like – I didn’t brag about being awesome at any of it , hence the myriad of injuries…

That abuse has caught up to me and I have had to have major hip surgery to repair both bone and soft tissue after trying intently to ignore mounting pain for a couple of years. The immediate prognosis after a mostly, but not completely successful surgery is three weeks down in bed, five weeks on crunches, six weeks in a RoboCop-esq hip brace/isolator, and six months before I will be allowed to return to “normal” activity.

My road running days are over – No more long slow distance days on the blacktop. I will be allowed the occasional trail run after 9 months or so. No more heavy packs hoisted on my back and carried into the wilderness (30# is OK), and no multi-day/multi-summit peak-bagging. I can cycle again, but downhill mountain biking and cyclocross are not suggested. I have had and will continue to have arthritis in that hip and I am guaranteed another 10-20 years of use, depending on how well I behave and listen to my Dr., before I will need a full hip replacement. Unawesome.

I start physical therapy in earnest next week and I will do exactly what I am told. I will have spent the remainder of this year slimming down some, working in and on my shop, taking lots of walks when I am cleared to do so, and then figure out when to spend my time activity wise. Right now, I am leaning toward kayaking, crag climbing, a little skate boarding (longboard – no vert), canoeing, easy snowboarding, camping, light hiking, and some road biking. Today though, I and just hobbling along inside the house (can’t drive yet) actually looking forward to going back to work next week.

Christmas Vacation 2016

January 5, 2017 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Christmas vacation this year was pretty good. I got great stuff Christmas morning, my mom stayed over Christmas Eve, and Stamps-With-Foot made a yummy Honey-baked ham for dinner on Christmas Day. I took the week between Christmas and New Year’s off from my J-O-B. The time was spent just hanging out with The Ruminator, finding a little adventure in the mountains, and getting some stuff done around the house and garage. My vacation this year looked like this:

Up at 6:00 Christmas morning and made coffee.
I got an XBox One and Battlefield 1 for I could play with my 40-year old adolescent friends online.
Got lots of other great stuff!
Worked a little in the basement on Boxing Day (the 26th).
My son, The Ruminator, flew in the day after Christmas.
Second Christmas morning with son on the 27th.
I put him to work that afternoon moving stuff in the garage and basement.
Pulled 4 circuits worth of wire in the garage.
Hung 3/4 of crown molding in the dining room.
Hired a carpenter to help with the finish of the crown molding and window install in dining room.
Hung pocket door and built last wall for bathroom downstairs with carpenter.
Installed structure in attic for chandelier installation.
Went to see Rogue One.
Loved it.
Snowboarding trip to Crystal Mountain in the Jeep.
The Ruminator rode really well
I am a fat old guy, but can still ride.
Owners rented the cabin we had reserved to someone else – insert grumpy face
Drove home.
Snuggled with wife.
Up early and drove to Snoqualmie for 2nd day of riding.
Glorious day in the mountains!
Watch a movie all together for New Year’s Eve.
Had family over on the 1st for long lunch.
Tried to edit snowboarding trip film.
Failed.
GoPro Studio sucks balls!
Serious online gaming session.
Brunch at Easy Street.
Got The Ruminator’s cracked iPhone glass fixed.
Picked up new kitchen floor tiles at Lowe’s special order desk.
Dinner with Nana.
Dropped off Ruminator at Airport.
Teared up in Jeep on the way to work.
Worked late first full day back to work in 2017 – an inauspicious start.

We Have LIGHTS!!!

October 21, 2016 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

HOLY Bejesus… I have Electricity in the F-Bomb Garage!! Only 4 months after permit pulled and 9 months after garage build began. I have lights that are not hooked up to an extension cord, the auto door openers work, there are five 110VAC plugs ready for power tools, and my lift is now working without the aid of a 220VAC extension cord running from the drier plug in the basement of the house.

I just had the bare minimum done to get the panel and transfer switch in place and have the city sign off on the garage. Now, that is not to say that all is well in the electrical department: I am still waiting for final permit sign off for the work already done, which is on hold. Apparently, my electrician screwed up the wire routing in the meter box and SCL cannot install a meter. Thankfully they are letting me keep the lights on until my current electrician can come back and address.

I am now prepping in all the other 110 plugs myself – at 4′ high, putting in 2 additional 220 plugs and a 50amp plug for my welder. There is no way I am going to pay an hourly fee to have romex run, holes drilled, staples put in, and plugs & switches wired in. Nope. I will be paying electrician that my company contracts for industrial work to sign off on my install and run the lines into the panel and install breakers – already arranged and the price isn’t too bad at all. While I can do this in my sleep, I am not licensed and my insurance would not pay a dime is something happened, regardless of fault.

Additionally, My J-O-B was getting rid of a huge organizer bin cabinet: 1/8″ steel, 72″X24″X84″ and 350+ lbs. There was no way I was going to watch that beast go to the recycling center, so I asked if I could have it. Yep, the facilities guy said “load it up” and btw “I have a pallet jack that is wonky if you want it…” Yes, please. Got them both home and the cabinet fits perfectly and will be amazing for climbing, boarding, camping gear organization – keeping all the shop dust and debris off of my gear and making it so I don’t have to dig for small parts ever again.

The pallet jack was low on hydraulic fluid. I filled it up, put a weighted pallet on it overnight and this morning I found the pallet still in the air and no fluid on the floor. Win-win.

F-Bomb Garage Build Update: Mid-September 2016

September 17, 2016 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Still no electricity… long sad story from the electrician: too much work, not enough people, confusion with the city, scheduling snafu… No show at all last week. I have watched an entire house, with a garage, be built and sold 3 streets away since my garage project started…

Fall is here and the rain is coming soon, so I spent an afternoon last week with the Airless Spray Rig and painted the garage doors, bollard post, and man-door Benjamin Moore Heritage red. The door & building trim will be bright white and will go on after work one day next week. Gutters go on after.

House Remodel Status September 2, 2016 – 7.5 months in

September 3, 2016 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Here is the house/garage re-build/build status for the 1st part of September.

The F-Bomb Garage has been painted – at least the outside walls. I need to paint the trim and doors next.
Repaired some major issues with the trim and siding on garage – real unhappy with my garage builder!
Front yard is still green, but need to clean and re-seed the back yard.
There oar only 2 rooms in the house that are complete and need no work at this point. Stamps-With-Foot could be happier with me right now…
The mounting brackets for the granite in the basement are done and I will install them this weekend.
Our washing machine went out… fuck. The bearings finally gave up the ghost. need to haul it out and put another in.
No garage power yet. Huge load of confusion between the City of Seattle and my electrician. Maybe worked out now, but we will see.
The yard is completely fenced in and the rear gate is installed. just a couple of tweaks and then power wash and polyurethane coat.
The living room corner cabinets are in place, but not painted or installed.
We have a small roof leak – motherfvcker!!! it is around the kitchen vent and from where the moss removal team got too eager with the power washer. I will go up there this weekend and seal it.
Got a huge bill from our plumber for work that they didn’t do before abandoning the job. wanted to scan my ass into the 3D printer and send them a copy. Called a lawyer instead. we have a plan forward.

The F-Bomb Garage completion is getting closer!

July 19, 2016 / Matt Talley / 2 Comments

I was out of town this past week on a work trip to merry ol’ England. I came home to a sweet surprise: I have a new 10,000lb two-post lift installed in the F-Bomb Garage. I got a decent deal on a . Went with the Rotary Revolution RPT10 because there is a local dealer, local support, I got a decent deal on the lift+install, and some experience that some friends and colleagues have had with this and other lifts.

We are getting closer to finally building some stuff inside/voiding warranties/modifying the jeep. My contractor had a foreman out last week to deal with the framing punch-list items: a couple of anchor bolts, some trim, loose siding, a funky corner, and I had him re-install my three windows with the proper flashing tape – I could see light in all the corners. A leaky window after I have stressed the importance of proper installation and showed them what I needed twice would throw me into fits. He also swapped the door trim, but not everything on the list got done and now there is more stuff that needs attention. I have the contractor stopping by to go over it all tonight. Very frustrating to spend this sort of cash and to deal with all the little things over and over.

The electrician is 3 weeks out – everyone is building and remodeling in Seattle and contractors are super swamped, so I am going to concentrate on the outside in the mean time: Paint and gutters as soon as the siding issues are dealt with.

Garage and House Build/Remodel Update – 6/14/16

June 14, 2016 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Garage:

My slab is cured and the densifyer has been applied. really happy with the results – a big thank you to Mr. Mark Flood!!
The ground around my garage slab is all level. I rented a Skid-Steer this past weekend and played in the dirt. Hauled 2 yards of excess over to the neighbors yard to fill some voids and I used the skid-steer to pull out 7 small stumps for her.
Got a call from the builder yesterday and the lumber will be onsite today, Framing starts Wednesday, and trusses are delivered on Friday.
Was asked to move the Honey-bucket so that the lumber would have enough room. Odd, request for my builder to make of the homeowner/customer, but I did it just so there would be no issues with the lumber delivery.
If schedule holds, windows and siding start next Wednesday, and we will be fully in the dry by next Friday.
It looks like I will be installing the windows as I am more particular than the builder about such things.
My son, The Ruminator, will be here for a few weeks and I will get him help me run wire in the garage shell.
My 2-post car lift will be installed by the end of the month

House:

We are finishing up the paint on the main level.
I need to start putting the 1/4 round trim back down.
Bathroom: there is tile work to finish and a mirror to be hung.
Basement remodel is stalled. We had the head manager for the plumbing company out on Saturday after we found even more problems with the work that was done and we have told them: “…in light of the previous and continuing issues, incomplete work, existing damage caused by your subcontractors that we will have to have repaired, and that the basement portion of our remodel has been brought a complete stop, my wife and I do not want a____________ employee, or anyone from a subsidiary company back in our home. We do not wish to continue dealing with _______.” We can’t really touch anything until they agree to this. If they do not, then we can’t do anything as the matter will have to be settled via remediation.

Garage Build Update 5/10/16

May 11, 2016 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

My slab gets poured next Tuesday. All clear from the City for electric trench and slab forms. There were a few issues that I saw last week that needed to be adjusted: There was a rebar oops in the car lift footings that was a serious new-guy error, but instead of calling my contractor to bitch, if just fixed it. Sometimes you are only as good as your worst employee… I picked some rebar and a couple boxes of chairs, looped ties, and put a 12″OC grid down of 1/2′ rebar 3″ from the dirt in the footing hole on Friday evening after work.

I also lifted the existing rebar over the footing holes up with chairs so that it would all be the same level as the welded wire. Hanging it from the wire would force the wire down to the top of the visqueen, negating the use of the material in a large area. I took the extra chairs I had and added them to the welded wire field. I understand that it gets stomped down when they pour and walk the pour, but the trick for me is to limit the amount that stays down. It was $90.00 worth of material and a couple hours of my time and we can work it out as we move forward with the build. The minor details in the grand scheme.

Driven Outside

Tag: update