Posted by Jerry on February 20th, 2008 — Posted in Travel, Writing
Think of a newspaper and look at the headlines – perhaps you have very little time in your day – a well-crafted headline can peke your curiosity and make you read further. It’s the same with blog titles. If you are writing a travel blog, you are less likely to read a post that declares : “My trip to Singapore”. But if instead your title was “Five top shops in Singapore” – wouldn’t you just quickly check out the list? People love lists. There are whole books of them.
Or what about a question? “Why are Tokyo’s drain covers so pretty?” Again you’d be reading that post pretty quickly – if only to disagree with the answer.
Lists and questions are just two of the techniques listed in BraveNewTraveler.com – check it out!
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on February 19th, 2008 — Posted in Journal
This is a great travel blog – instead of photos and brochure clips, this one is hand drawn – and with both a great sense of humour as well as some canny observations – You should see the trip to Singapore and Malaysia!
Blogshanks is one to remember!
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on February 12th, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Technology, Woodwork
While most teenagers are content to kick a footy, 16 year old Marco Facciola was in the woodshop fabricating a bicycle entirely from wood – no metal or rubber parts – just wood, good joinery and a bit of glue. Even the chain is made from hundreds of wooden components and it all works – even down to the free-wheeling ratchet so he wouldn’t have to pedal down hills. As part of his International Baccalaureate studies he had to complete a non-academic project. In this case he recalled stories his grandfather told him of how during the Second World War, rubber was short, so kids made wooden wheels fo rtheir bikes. Marco took this a stage (or two) further and built the entire bike.
It may not be the first (although the one pictured in Leonardo daVinci’s Notebooks appears to have been a forgery) but it is more sophisticated than most others in having a working wooden chain and freewheeling ratchet.
You can read more about this amazing bike in Lea Valley Tools as well as Gizmodo
and in newspapers, like the Montreal Gazette
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on February 10th, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Woodwork
Former US President Jimmy Carter has been known for his Presidency and his international diplomacy since leaving office. But not many people know that he is also a very skilled woodworker.
Each year he produces a special piece to auction for charity – Since his first auction in 1983 he has raised over US$10m.
I a short video he gives a rare glimpse into his workshop next to his house in Plains, Georgia, USA. It’s worth a look 🙂
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by Jerry on February 8th, 2008 — Posted in Journal, Music, Woodwork
First up, I’m still maintaining this one – but I thought i’d try an experiment with a single-topic blog – Four Strings – which will be about all things fiddle and violin and folk music. So the music posts you have enjoyed here will now be on the Four Strings blog.
The main thing I’m working on at the moment is a pochette – a travel fiddle – that I am making using traditional violin making techniques. So there’s also something there for the woodworker. My latest post there is about how to bend the sides – hence “Bend it like Antonio” (Stradivarius).
Let me know what you think of it. If it works well, I may set up a couple of other single-topic blogs so you can follow your favourite theme. Of course the eclectic ‘random notebook’ style of this one will continue as usual
Cheers
Jerry
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