Wombats and cents

My new sewing machine

I grew up around sewing machines.  My first sewing machine, which I still have and use, was a 1976 Singer.  It is built like a rock (and weighs about as much as one), and 31 years later still compares favorably against most modern home sewing machines.  I've since added a serger (a.k.a. over-locker) to my toolkit, and have been fantasizing about a cover stitcher.  But yesterday, when I went with my mother to help her pick out a new sewing machine, I was utterly charmed by a little chain stitcher.

This post has moved.  Read the entire post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-new-sewing-machine.html

The digital eye sees things differently

I recently attended a party with my son's playgroup.  After the party, one of the mothers generously gave everyone CDs of the photos her husband had taken with his new digital SLR (dSLR).  As I sat there scanning through the hundreds of photos, it slowly dawned on me that I would not have been able to take the equivalent photos with my digital camera.

This post has moved.  Read the entire post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2006/04/digital-eye-sees-things-differently.html

The death of free to air?

As mentioned in a previous post, I gave up watching TV.  There was a caveat, that I would watch one or two of the best shows (where "best" is entirely subjective).  Well, the new season has rolled around and the TV is still off, but the VCR is working pretty hard.  I've got it recording the one or two best shows every week and now have eight weeks of them on tape with the intention of watching them when I feel like watching TV.  So far, I've watched one hour.

This post has been moved.  Read the entire post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2006/04/death-of-free-to-air.html

Your turn

I know that blogs are new to most of my readers, so now it's time to introduce comments.  Did you know you can add comments to my postings?  It's easy: just click on the "Permalink" link at the end of the post.  You will be taken to a page that contains the post, any existing comments, and a place to add your own comment.

Top five reasons to comment on this and other entries in Wombats and Cents:
1. You can share your opinion
2. You can create a dialog
3. You can let me know who's reading
4. You can let others know you're reading
5. You can tell me how the blog is going (verbose?  airy-fairy?  insightful?  boring?)

This post has been moved.  Read the entire post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2006/01/your-turn.html

Wireless neighborhood

My wireless network is on the fritz, which is pretty sad given how new it is (less than six months).  It had a rocky start, which was followed by a month or two of blissful constant connection, and has now degenerated into only good reception punctuated by frequent drop outs.

What's changed, you ask?  Got me.

This post has moved.  Read the entire post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2005/12/wireless-neighborhood.html

Is your dictionary missing something?

Half the time when I look up a word it's not so much because I want to know the meaning as where it came from.  As much as I like to know the etymology of a word, I'm too cheap to buy a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary and our many lesser dictionaries are missing this information for most words.  Of course, when I'm at my computer, I often use dictionary.com to look up words and it does not provide etymologies.

This post has moved.  Read the entire post at http://wombats-and-cents.blogspot.com/2005/11/is-your-dictionary-missing-something.html