Ties - A Dying Tradition

While they aren't as popular today as they used to be, I still feel that every man needs to know how to tie a tie. Face it, a man should wear a tie to a wedding, funeral, science fair, interview, and just because you should "dress for the job you want, not the one that you have." I was honored to learn it from my grandfather and recently had to pass that knowledge on to someone "in the next generation." LOL... yeah, that was an experience that I'll always have in my mind.

It wasn't until recently that I learned the "name" of the knot my grandfather taught me, as this website explains. It was the "Half Windsor Knot." Because of the Tie-a-Tie website, I've learned how many other ways that I can make my silk tie look good. But, I am now going to share with you a video that explains how to do it.

Yeah, I have to comment on my opinions about ties.  A key one is to AVOID the clip-on ones. Just take a little time to learn something in life, don't just take the path of least resistance.  This will serve you more later in life. I learned to tie a bow tie for my prom instead of just clipping it on. Some events in your life will always be in your mind if you PERSONALIZE them. Make them a memory, not just an action. I've also written a blog entry about How to Travel and Store A Tie.

Anyway... refer to the links above about ties, join me as a member, and check out the Art of Manliness link to the right as a reference about how to impress your date...

Tat Thoughts II

Last Friday I laid on a massage table/bed, being inked with an American Goldfinch (yeah, it is another of my animal totems).

I made the first 2 and 1/2 hours without too much fuss, but Christy at Blue Flame Tattoo managed to tap into the last of my nerves in the last 30 minutes, so I was pretty vocal. But, it was all good... and I survived my tenth tat. The red tones on the body of the goldfinch are blood, and they are clearing up each time I wash with Ivory...

She is also going to redo my dragonfly tats on my calves... but that is down the road...

I posted this, only to share it. For other info, please refer to my other blog entry, Tat Thoughts...

WiFi Redo

Before

I was catching up on my RSS feeds and came across this entry (Hidden Wireless Repeater) and it got my mind going...

While it was more than I "need" since I don't use a repeater, I do have a wireless connection to the iNet, but it was "bothering" me about how I had it situated on my end table. SO, I decided to give my living room an update by combining a working radio and my wireless connection point into one. Economy of scale, so to speak.

After

I took the screws out from the back of the radio (that I got from the dumpster), and because of all of the spare room, was able to place the wireless router into the body of the radio. Because it had a wood body, the signal was not diminished at all for my MacBook or my HP Tablet (thank you JJ McHugh for that). I cut a bit of the back of the radio so the power cable and the network cable would fit for the router, but it has helped me consolidate some things together, and make my living room more "visitor friendly."

DIY Colored Fireplace Pinecones

Most people like to sit by the fire to watch the flames dance. I remember doing that when I was young, and my grandfather managed to AWE & SHOCK me when he threw in a pinecone, it burned true yellow, and then he threw in another one and it burned yellow-green!!! Being intrigued, I asked where he got them. He made them, and then he spent two days teaching me how he did it. Recently I thought about it, so I decided see what other suggestions were out there.

Plow & Hearth

They are for sale in stores and online. Plow & Hearth has them for $40 for a 5 lbs. bag, Amazon has them for $20 for a 2.5 lbs. bag, and a lot of craft stores have them too. But in living near a lot of county park trails, and remembering what I was taught, I sought more information about making them myself, to not spend so much money. By walking Dozer in the woods and taking a bag with me, I collect as many pinecones as I can carry for free. I just need to have the right things in the pantry to add the color.

While I remembered that my grandfather used table salt for the yellow and Borax for the yellow green, a little more research shared some other household things that will create more colors. The best site I found (About.com/Chemistry) had a great table. I edited it a little to only include things you can get at a local store, which I summarized from Make-Stuff.com.

Color	Chemical	Where Found
Red	Strontium Chloride or  Strontium Nitrate	Found with aquarium supplies in pet stores
Orange	Calcium Chloride	Rock salt, to melt ice on roads & driveways.
Yellow	Sodium Chloride	Table salt
Yellowish Green	Borax	Look in laundry detergent section.
Green	Copper Sulfate	Look for it in swimming pool supplies
Purple	Potassium Chloride	Is a salt substitute & found in the spice section
White	Magnesium Sulfate	Epsom Salts

Now your question is "what do I have to DO to make them?" Like all of the other recipes that I've posted, I will give you the ingredients, instructions, and tips. I found the best site to share with you, Birds & Blooms. I copied & pasted their info below, but check out their site too.

Prep Your Pinecones: (If you use plain pinecones purchased at a craft store, skip this step.) If you’ve gathered pinecones from the great outdoors, bake them in a 200 F oven for 1 hour to remove bugs and open up closed cones. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil first, as sap will drain from the cones. Allow them to cool.

Materials:

• Large bucket
• Tongs or slotted spoon
• Flame colorant – choose one of the following from above, depending on the color flame you prefer

The Process:

• Pour 1/2 gallon of hot water into the bucket.
• Add 1 cup of the colorant of your choice, and stir until dissolved.
• Add pinecones to the mix. Be sure to add only as many as can be completely covered by the solution. Soak for 8 hours or overnight.
• Remove the pinecones and set on newspapers to dry completely – at least 3 days.

It enthralls the kids, and gives you romantic people something to watch, but I do have some tips.

      ✔ Do NOT use in a gas fueled fireplace, especially an enclosed one
      ✔ Do NOT use on a fire or BBQ where you will be cooking
      ✔ Do NOT keep the chemicals in touch with the kids
      ✔ Burn only one color at one time, mixing the chemistry changes
           things dramatically

But, when kicking back in front of the fireplace, fire bowl, or even campfire, it can help enhance the experience that everyone can enjoy...burn on...

Artful Decorations

I am single and live in an apartment but am no longer a teenager, so I no longer use heavy metal band posters to adorn my walls. I am also blessed in life to have a very close friend that is an art & graphic designer. Her site is REM Designs (yeah, click on it, I triple dog dare you). She has a lot of prints available, does commissions, writes her own blog, and is an awesome, amazing person... just drop her an email or message, and she'll work with you to get you what your soul and eyes desire. Her prints are available in various sizes, and she has a LOT more on her site. The most striking series is her drawing of the zodiac signs. I use her art for Cancer as my avatar icon on Facebook.

I've used the following images from her website as prints to be the inspiration, color, decorations, and art in my apartment.

Homemade Firebowl

Need to add some "ambiance" to your patio table? Well...I had been thinking about it and did a little searching for it, from a "DIY" stance since that is more of who I am.

I came across this blog post, and just had to share it: Rock Bowl w/ Flames.

What I like about it, is that you can make your own bowls very easily. When getting the Quickset concrete, you'll have enough to make a couple of these. And, using your "imagination," you can try some other things to enhance them.

Of course, you can always hand paint some designs on the outside, but they also do make some special dyes that you can add to the concrete to give it that special "feeling" without much more work.

Another thought that I had, was how I could cut down on even having to spend "that" much time to make the project.

I have several small clay pots that are simply cluttering up my garage. So, maybe I'll just try to figure out how to fill the bottom space in the pot, insert the gel packs, and surround them with rocks I collect when I'm hiking in the woods.

Bear in mind, that the gel packs that you get to use as the flame, may vary in COLOR based on what they are intended for. Play around with a few brands to vary the color of the flame, and to enhance the mood it is designed for.

I'll post again if I ever get my truly home made versions fired up...

Tat Thoughts

Recently, a friend's father said he thought people with tattoos were from the wrong side of the tracks. That made me want to check some information and think about it myself. Simple web searching at this website [link] shows that:

Thirty-six percent of those ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40, have at least one tattoo, in 2006...

TATTOO FACTS & STATISTICS

If you are interested in scanning a brief history of tattoos, go to this website [link]. To share just a summary of it, it explains why my friend's father said what he said. But, there is a lot that he doesn't know.

Before the recent explosion of tattoo popularity in Western society, many people assumed that tattoos were reserved for the lower-class and societal outcasts like prostitutes, bikers, and ex-cons. They probably don’t realize that, at the turn of the century, tattoos were actually favored by royalty and the elite. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, tattoos could be found on the likes of Queen Victoria’s grandsons (Prince George and Prince Albert), on Winston Churchill (AND his mother!), on President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and on the members of the wealthy Vanderbilt family.

Rooster Ink

I currently have 9 tats and plan on getting more. The last ink I got was the Rooster head shown to the right. I went with the Rooster because it is my Chinese astrology symbol. It is on my chest.

My other ink include diamonds on my palms, my roller derby number on my forearms, dragonflies on the back of my calves, the Green Lantern logo on my outer right leg, and a tribal shamrock on my arm. That was my first one.

Other plans I have are for a Phoenix and an Eastern dragon as large back pieces, several to cover my legs, and eventually even my entire chest, belly, and have arm sleeves.

I already have another tattoo appointment set up, in about a month by Christy at Blue Flame Tattoo, and it is going to be a male American Goldfinch on the other side of my chest.

All of my tats have symbolic meanings to me, as do most tats that people have gotten. A great resource for discovering more about the "meanings," check out this website The Vanishing Tattoo. Especially the Tattoo Museum link at the bottom of that page. To discover YOUR own symbolic sign, I recommend this website, What's Your Sign.