Leonardo's Workshop

New York T Shirts Webstore

2010-11-23T22:08:00.001-06:00

I just opened a new site dedicated to New York t-shirts. We are adding new designs all of the time. We have designs for all of the five boroughs of New York City. We also have some pretty funny Niagara Falls shirts. Check it out at: New York t shirts.

How to Fix an Apple Mighty Mouse that won't Scroll

2009-12-31T18:39:00.002-06:00

I love my iMac, but lately, the Mighty Mouse scroll wheel has stopped working intermittently. It has been driving me CRAZY! Anyway, to fix this problem, unplug the mouse and roll its wheel relatively vigorously in all directions on a dry towel. I did this and it worked like a charm. If that doesn't work for some reason, you might try a TINY bit of water or alcohol on something and do the same. I would make sure it is COMPLETELY DRY before I plugged it back in though.

A Simple Electric Motor to Build with my 5 Year Old Son

2009-10-25T00:02:00.001-05:00

I was surfing the web today when I found this neat and simple electric motor design for a demonstration. My five year old son will love it!

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Simple-Electric-Motor

Think Pink

2009-06-20T14:17:00.001-05:00

This is a time of year when Breast Cancer Awareness takes off. We have plenty of t-shirts , mousepads , mugs and more available to show support .

Cancer sucks . The good thing is, we can beat it. Awareness and support will help to cure this awful disease .

Change We Can Believe In

2009-06-16T17:14:00.000-05:00

Here at HodgePodge Ink, we're all about change. Of course, our change might differ from yours.

We also care about the environment. We take it seriously. Seriously.

HPI News

2009-06-07T16:38:00.001-05:00

We've been hard at work over the last few months, so if you haven't been by in a while, be sure to check out all the new t-shirts, bumper stickers and mugs we have added.

We've added an extensive Twilight section for all you fanpires out there. We have Team Edward and Team Jacob shirts as well as other gifts.

Support our military by wearing any of these armed forces inspired designs and show your pride!

Don't forget to stock up for Independence Day. It's just around the corner, so bring on the fireworks!

New Twilight Designs

2009-01-17T20:05:00.001-06:00

For all of you fans of the movie "Twilight," check out our new designs at:

http://www.hodgepodgeink.com/store/tv/twilight-tshirts/twilight.cgi

A Free, Open-Source, TextPad Replacement!

2008-07-08T19:37:00.001-05:00

Read about what I found here!

www.hodgepodgeink.com

2008-07-01T19:14:00.002-05:00

Check out www.hodgepodgeink.com This is a site that features great graphic designs on t shirts, mugs, calendars, kid's clothing, and more.

The Ariel Atom - Near F1 Performance that Lots of People Can Afford

2008-06-12T21:48:00.002-05:00

Wow, I saw a show about this car that has near F1 performance called the Ariel Atom.

It is based on a Honda Civic engine. Awesome! Check it out!

www.freerice.com

2008-04-14T22:26:00.002-05:00

In case you haven't heard about this already,
http://www.freerice.com

is a website that quizzes you on vocabulary, and if you are correct, you can earn rice to be given away.

Pretty cool.

In Case You Missed It

2008-04-09T17:47:00.001-05:00

I hate to see waste in our government so I thought was interesting:

In Case You Missed It

"You have Senator Clinton who has roughly $200 million in earmarks. You have Senator Obama, about $97 million in earmarks. Senator McCain, zero. ... He has no earmarks and no money. And this is not atypical of Senator McCain. ... For years and years he has been trying to get rid of these projects. Back in 1998, there was the Vulcan monument in Alabama. $2 million for this project. He went to the floor of the Senate, he fought hard, he tried to get this removed from the appropriations bill. He received 12 votes to get rid of this funding. After he lost the vote, he got up and brushed himself off and moved on to the next project. So he has been fighting this tooth and nail for many years."

- David Williams commenting on the results of Citizens Against Government Waste's Annual "Pig Book" in Bloomberg's "Money And Politics," 4/2/08

Biology May Help Solve the Energy Crisis

2008-03-14T22:31:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to a speech by Craig Venter (the guy who sequenced the human genome first) about him probably being able to alter a simple organism to produce fuel from CO2 and sunlight:

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/227

I believe this technology will have massive ramifications on everything from future fuel to pharmaceuticals.

It is well worth the 30 minutes spent viewing this speech. Larry Page, co-founder of Google, is in the audience and asks a question.

Help save Windows XP!!!

2008-02-06T22:13:00.000-06:00

If you like Windows XP, then please sign this petition!

http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/

Trivia: Square feet in an acre

2008-01-19T15:15:00.000-06:00

Ever wondered how large an acre is? I have, it is an area of exactly 43,560 square feet. I hope to buy one or more someday. A square acre is 208.7 ft x 208.7 ft. If you want to find out the dimensions of other rectangles, just take 43,560 and divide by one of your side lengths. So if you know that one side is 100 ft, then the other would be 435.6 ft.

Michigan sees fewer gun deaths- with more permits

2008-01-07T19:15:00.000-06:00

From freep.com

January 6, 2008

By DAWSON BELL

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Six years after new rules made it much easier to get a license to carry concealed weapons, the number of Michiganders legally packing heat has increased more than six-fold.

But dire predictions about increased violence and bloodshed have largely gone unfulfilled, according to law enforcement officials and, to the extent they can be measured, crime statistics.

The incidence of violent crime in Michigan in the six years since the law went into effect has been, on average, below the rate of the previous six years. The overall incidence of death from firearms, including suicide and accidents, also has declined.

More than 155,000 Michiganders -- about one in every 65 -- are now authorized to carry loaded guns as they go about their everyday affairs, according to Michigan State Police records.

About 25,000 people had CCW permits in Michigan before the law changed in 2001.

"I think the general consensus out there from law enforcement is that things were not as bad as we expected," said Woodhaven Police Chief Michael Martin, cochair of the legislative committee for the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. "There are problems with gun violence. But ... I think we can breathe a sigh of relief that what we anticipated didn't happen."

John Lott, a visiting professor at the University of Maryland who has done extensive research on the role of firearms in American society, said the results in Michigan since the law changed don't surprise him.

Academic studies of concealed weapons laws that generally allow citizens to obtain permits have shown different results, Lott said. About two-thirds of the studies suggest the laws reduce crime; the rest show no net effect, he said.

But no peer-reviewed study has ever shown that crime increases when jurisdictions enact changes like those put in place by the Legislature and then-Gov. John Engler in 2000, Lott said.

In Michigan and elsewhere (liberal permitting is the rule in about 40 states), those who seek CCW permits, get training and pay licensing fees tend to be "the kind of people who don't break laws," Lott said.

Nationally, the rate of CCW permits being revoked is very low, he said. State Police reports in Michigan indicate that 2,178 permits have been revoked or suspended since 2001, slightly more than 1% of those issued.

Another State Police report found that 175 Michigan permit holders were convicted of a crime, most of them nonviolent, requiring revocation or suspension of their permits between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006.

But even if more armed citizens have not wreaked havoc, some critics of Michigan's law chafe at how it was passed: against stiff opposition in a lame duck legislative session and attached to an appropriation that nullified efforts at repeal by referendum.

Kenneth Levin, a West Bloomfield physician, was one of those critics. In a letter to the Free Press in July 2001, he referred to the "inevitable first victim of road or workplace rage as a result of this law."

Last month, Levin said he suspected "it probably hasn't turned out as bad as I thought. I don't think I was wrong, but my worst fears weren't realized."

But the manner in which the law was enacted was nevertheless "sneaky" and "undemocratic," Levin said.

Other opponents remain convinced that it has contributed to an ongoing epidemic of firearms-related death and destruction.

Shikha Hamilton of Grosse Pointe, president of the Michigan chapter of the anti-gun group Million Moms March, said she believes overall gun violence (including suicide and accidental shootings) is up in Michigan since 2001. Many incidents involving CCW permit holders have not been widely reported, she said.

The most publicized recent case came early in 2007, when a 40-year-old Macomb County woman fired from her vehicle toward the driver of a truck she claimed had cut her off on I-94. Bernadette Headd was convicted of assault and sentenced to two years in prison.

Hamilton said that even if gun violence has ebbed, it remains pervasive, tragic and unnecessary. At the least, a more liberal concealed weapons law means there are more guns in homes and cars and on the street, she said, and more potential for disaster.

Advocates for the law argue that there is nothing equivocal about the experience of the CCW permit holders who have warded off threats and, in a few instances, saved themselves from harm.

In September, a 36-year-old Troy man killed an armed 18-year-old assailant who, with three other suspects, attempted to steal his car outside Detroit Police headquarters.

Michelle Reurink, 40, a consultant in Lansing, got her CCW permit last year, not so much because she felt an imminent threat to her well-being, she said, but because she's a strong believer in the Constitution's Second Amendment -- the right to bear arms.

"The primary reason I got it is because I feel like I have the right to have it," she said.

Still, she doesn't often carry her gun during her daily routine, though she takes it when she and her husband go on their boat, she said.

Having the license and a handgun makes her feel more secure in her home (where no one needs a CCW license to have a gun), she said. She also feels more secure because of the required training, including self-defense lessons, she took as part of the license application.

Mark Cortis of Royal Oak, who conducts concealed weapons license training and sits on the Oakland County gun board, said he believes the benefits of an armed citizenry are evident in small ways almost every day, as permit holders deter trouble and live more confidently.

"The police just can't protect you," Cortis said. "If you have to call 911, it's probably already too late."

Folding@Home Passes 1 Petaflop Mark

2007-09-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

Folding@Home has recently passed the 1 petaflop mark of processing power thanks enlarge to the contributions from all of the PS3s out there folding.

Folding@Home Stats

If you have a computer that stays on all of the time, or a PS3, please consider letting Folding@Home use your idle CPU cycles. The disease you help cure, may be your own someday! :)

Excellent Reason to Buy a PS3!

2007-07-29T12:01:00.000-05:00

For those of you who may be like myself, someone who likes the technology of the gaming consoles better than playing the games themselves, I introduce the Folding at Home for the PS3. It is a great way to help justify having an expensive game console that is used very little, and who knows, you may be helping cure some dreadful disease!

Some Very Cool designs!!!

2007-02-19T22:04:00.001-06:00

http://www.cafepress.com/hodgepodgedsign

The Neatest Purses Ever!

2006-03-03T21:07:00.000-06:00

Need I say more?

http://slushbags.blogspot.com/

**Disclaimer: I am married to the creator of these great bags!

Quantum Physics "Double Slit" Experiment Explained Simply!

2006-02-27T23:14:00.000-06:00

Excellent video of the classic quantum physics "double slit" experiment explained by a cartoon.

via www.digg.com

Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

2006-02-26T22:14:00.000-06:00

A neat site with drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
http://visi.com/~reuteler/leonardo.html

via www.digg.com

AutoIt - Windows Automation Made Easy

2006-02-09T21:15:00.000-06:00

I found a really cool piece of donationware. It is AutoIt, and it looks really neat and easy to use. I have only played around with it a little, but it was awesome. I really haven't had a need for it just yet. I have had several things in the past I would have liked to have used this for though. I don't think it will read my Net Asset Value from OANDA's FXtrade java based platform though. I have yet to figure out how to do that. My goal with that project is to be able to have it sent to me remotely via various output devices such as LCDs mounted around the house or something similar. It can be done with OANDA's API, but it is way too expensive for me to afford.

FOREX trading in the end of 2005.

2005-12-29T19:36:00.000-06:00

Well I guess it is time for my obligatory monthly post. I haven't been doing a whole lot lately. I have been studing electronics and contemplating setting up my electronics workbench. And, I have been trading FOREX (foreign currency) actively again, and doing much better since completely changing my trading style / philosophy on November 22, 2005. Unfortunately, about that time I gave power of attorney to a paid FOREX trading service, and they have lost 20% in the larger of my 2 accounts in less than a month. I pulled the plug yesterday. In my smaller account I made 150% over about 20 trades during that same time frame. Now to see if I can do it myself with the larger account as I will be shifting the funds into one account managed by myself. If anyone is interested in FOREX, www.oanda.com is by far the best platform / company I have found to trade with.
I hope everyone has a great 2006!

Quantum Mechanics made relatively easy

2005-11-24T23:08:00.000-06:00

Here is a GREAT link to a series of videos from Cornell University of Nobel Prize winner Hans Bethe explaining Quantum Mechanics in relatively simple terms with little math. Very good!!!!

http://bethe.cornell.edu/index.html

www.digg.com

2005-11-18T23:40:00.000-06:00

A lot of people already know about this site, but I just found out about it. It is www.digg.com It is a site where people put interesting things collectively. It is mainly tech stuff, similar to www.slashdot.com

Spanish Pharmacy Label Program

2005-10-02T00:03:00.000-05:00

Currently, I am working on a VisualBasic.Net program that would convert English pharmacy labels to Spanish. I have been working on it for a few months now on and off. I am pushing to get version 0.5 done by the second week of November when my wife and I are going on a mission trip to Mexico. When done, I am considering making the software donationware, as I could not find anything like it available on the net. Here is a screenshot:

A little bit about me.

2005-09-25T12:05:00.000-05:00

I am the father of Hatchling (my son), and husband of Slushturtle (see her blog here). I am a Christian. I work as a pharmacist. Some of my interests include: Sailing (see photo), skiing, travel, mission trips, investing (stocks, real estate, & foreign currency exchange) computers, electronics, home automation, and too many other things to list!!

Welcome to my new blog!

2005-09-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hi! Welcome to my new blog! I will post here from time to time what I am currently working on. Now it is my Linux computer that is an automated back-up system for my Windows computer. I also let it use it's idle CPU time for http://folding.stanford.edu/, and to eventually run some sort of home automaiton/ security/ video monitoring system.