As promised, nothing special. This is my fiftieth article, and rather than some zany post, political rant, or discussion of one of my obsessions, (running for example,) just a quick update of my family and my life, semi-newsletterish. Crazy huh? Almost like an online biographical log or something........plus I'm tired of seeing my last rant at the top of the page. First of all, I rented out my house in San Angelo, Tx. It was bought at a time when I was supposed to be getting out a month ag...

The title just says it all, doesn't it? My dad is a major motivator behind my exercise obsession. When he got out of the navy during vietnam (he was drafted army, but joined the navy before his ship date so he wouldn't get his ass shot off in the jungle) he weighed about 180, and gained weight, eventually up to about 300, with gusts varying between 280 and 320. Or as the saying goes, he's been digging his grave with a fork and spoon for the last 30 years or so. A year or so back, he was in...

Apart from my wife for the first time in a couple of years. She had to go to Arkansas because her grandfather was dying. (passed this morning 4 a.m.ish.) Just me, the computer, and three evil cats. Lonely, bored, don't like it much. Oh well, there's always another 40 rounds of KoL........ Joy, I miss you. nbs

As promised, here's some photos of my first firing of the furnace. I even melted down some aluminum using an old mug for a crucible.......the mug didn't survive, but it was a nice test of whether or not this thing would work. Here's a picture of my popcorn tin furnace when I first fired it up. It's using charcoal for fuel, and yes, that's a hairdryer on the end as a blower for fast oxidation (turning it into a damned blast furnace once I'd fired it slow to make sure the walls wouldn't blow...