Monday, August 20, 2007

Nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey hey...

GOODBYE!
I remember doing that song at sporting events when someone would get ejected from the game. It looks like it might be a fitting song to be revived now that the Dog abuser Michael Vick has decided to switch his plea to "guilty."
I can't feel sorry for this guy in the least. He's got all that money, and the only thing he can think of to do on a daily basis is torture animals? I'm not a big animal rights activist- and I'm not going to harp on how cruel dog fighting is- I'm going to try to stick to the topic.


Vick signed a six- year $62 million dollar contract on May 9, 2001. That works out to over $10 million a year, and over $600 thousand a week. So what does a man do who has everything? Fight Dogs.
If I ever get to the point where I have done everything, and the only thing left is DOG FIGHTING just shoot me. I mean, the morning I wake up- and I realize that I have done everything BESIDES watching pit bulls repeatedly rape a female dog- I want you to come to my house and literally blow my head off.

I know I can't judge the man until I've walked a mile in his Nike Michael Vick Shoes, http://www.pickyourshoes.com/images/shoes/listing/zoom_vick_wht_blk.jpg but I just think, that with a little creativity, and a little time Michael Vick could have thought of something better to do with the $577/ hour he's been making for the last five years (counting spring training and practice)


Mr. Vick, backatcha

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Blacksmithing

I took a class with my dad this past weekend in blacksmithing, and it turned out to be quite the experience. Working with my hands again and learning something new was a very rewarding, sometimes challenging, but mostly fun experience.

It all started a few months back, when I was looking online at the curruculum at Howard Community College. I try to learn new things when I can, and I always enjoy the opportunity to increase the old knowledge base. There was a myriad of options for classes I could take-


1. business management type classes to help me climb the corporate ladder

2. engineering-related classes to help me one day legitimize my position, and trade level

3. requirement (filler) classes to inch me toward that ever-elusive degree.


It all seemed pretty 'ho-hum' the more I looked at it.

So I started doing the usual google searches for odd terms "trade schools" and "course study" and somehow stumbled upon the Carroll County Farm museum. They offer summer classes in old-school trades, and I saw the blacksmithing class and I knew I had to do it.

To add to the fun, Wayne recently moved up here from Florida, so I asked him (sort 0f at the last minute) if he wanted to take the class with me. So sure enough, he said yes, and we signed up. (For those of you who don't know me, I use "Wayne" and "Dad" interchangeably. It goes back to the days when I was 17 yrs old, and out on a jobsite with Dad, and too dumb and too proud to admit that I was working with my old man. You know I wanted to be my own man)

I had no idea what to expect. Would it be a bunch of time spent sitting in a classroom studying the history of metal work? would we have to start at the bronze age, go over the iron, and then at the end of the second day watch the guy make a fireplace poker?

To my surprise, after a short safety talk, and a brief introduction, each member of the class took positions forge-side, and before i knew it I had a 2 lb hammer in my hand and I was pounding on hot molten steel! Wayne and I are no strangers to a torch, and Dad has spent alot more time welding than I have, but surprisingly enough, we found ourselves joking around, giving the instructor a hard time, and learning (and I quote the syllabus directly)

"...the basics of blacksmithing from forge and fire control to hammer control. You will learn to forge a fish tail scroll, pig tail scroll, tab hook, drive hook, forge poker, water can handle, and other student selected projects as time permits."

Our instructors, Ray Neubauer, and Bob Nagle were great instructors, and through demonstration, hands-on instruction, and the occasional "corrective procedure" really helped us all feel like blacksmithing was something we could spend more time doing.
You can bet that when November comes around and its time for the intermediate class, I'll be signed up for what I know will be another great weekend. I'm also thinking about joining the guild but now the big question- where can i get my hands on one of those anvils?
I also got to spend a little time with Wayne- although I called him "Dad" most of the weekend, because the old pride just ain't what it used to be, and one of the guys thought we were brothers when we walked up- and I just couldn't have that!