today is my mother’s birthday. she was my gateway to the world of wood — and nature in general. she’s an avid gardener and she and my father built the home they’ve now (finally, well into their seventies) retired to, years before i was born. just to give you a… Read More »getting your curve on

from the earliest i can remember until i was perhaps twenty, i was constantly trying to convince people (usually people older than me) they needed computers in their lives. they often didn’t understand the purpose. what would it do for them they couldn’t do with typewriters or pens and pencils… Read More »you don’t need a computer

there is a traditional phrase in buddhist teaching that usually gets translated to english as “beginner’s mind” — an openness to new ideas and willingness to approach every moment as if it’s a new, unfamiliar experience and start there. this is both excellent advice for life and dramatically impractical —… Read More »let’s begin

you are living in evolutionary times. it might not feel like it and we’re not likely to sprout wings in our lifetimes but there is change all around us and it’s not just the climate or political attitudes. our languages are constantly evolving and we’re both the conduits and the… Read More »stop, drop and scroll

if there was an alternative title to be a bit more descriptive, it would be “so i’m building a project — what wood should i use?” — and the answer isn’t quite as simple and straightforward as we might like. but there are a few things to consider. let’s start… Read More »hard knocks and soft feels

i’ve recently written a couple of beginner guides to what you need to shift from armchair-consumer of internet-based woodworking-content to actually practicing the craft. you need a saw (well, probably a few), a small stable of planes (jack, jointer, smoother) and … well, there’s one other family of tools you… Read More »pare trees