SmithLX

I am done updating this...

2009-04-27T14:19:00.001-04:00

please use my new site

http://guitarlogistics.blogspot.com

Necks Necks Necks

2009-04-23T11:24:00.001-04:00

Back to building...

2009-04-18T19:08:00.001-04:00

This is going to be a Zebra Super RG. The Super RG is a cross between an RG and a Blackmachines style body... all right... ok so I took a copy of my RG template and flattened the bottom bout and fixed the lower horn... The piece of Ebony took out my bandsaw blade so I guess I have to move to carbide. I only got one fretboard out of a brand new (cheap) blade.

New necks for the new month

2009-04-13T09:59:00.002-04:00

I am building necks.... more necks and more necks. Trying to get all my templates together so I can really build these things without any guess work.

I bought the StewMac Fret Slotting Table Saw Blade but have not used it yet.

I installed my riser block on my bandsaw... however the grizzly kit arm that holds the guide is too big and now my guide arm is short... grrr

I am trying to build a fretboard radius jig but I have so little time to mess with things like this that I will probably end up doing stuff by hand a s I always have.

Latest Chunk

2009-03-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

12 degree headstock jig...

2009-03-09T16:38:00.001-04:00

I am going to try a shallower headstock angle (PRS style) and see how it goes. Here is my jig for the chop saw.

Busy making dust....

2009-03-09T16:30:00.002-04:00

New Neck in progress

2009-02-09T09:56:00.002-05:00

Recessed tuning keys

2009-02-09T09:55:00.002-05:00

M6 Updates

2009-02-01T21:50:00.008-05:00

RRV

2008-12-23T09:42:00.001-05:00

Had to keep this hidden....

2008-12-23T09:25:00.002-05:00

Since it is a Christmas Present.

BTW ... its red

2008-11-26T00:11:00.004-05:00

Very happy with the latest addition. I finally got around to replacing my beat RG470 body with an RG550. The original pickgaurd had to be heated and clamped straight. The paint had to be fixed were USPS dropped it and cracked the finish. I ended up using Zpoxy to rebuild the input jack area. It took a little work but here we go.

Change in direction....

2008-11-25T10:41:00.005-05:00

Originally this neck was going to be for an RG550 replica. I have now attained a real 91 Road Flare Red RG550 body, mated it to the 93 RG470 neck and parts and no longer need a replica. I just realized that I really liked the 93 Wizard neck from my RG470 but not the Wizard from the 87 RG570. I like necks that are flat and thin. I like the 1 11/16" nut and string spacing on the RG470 neck.

I love my 82 Destroyer. I disliked the 83 DT155 and am selling it on ebay. The 83 DT155 has a very Strat style neck with no neck angle, 25.5" scale, and small tall frets. The 82 has a Gibson style neck with a nice 3 degree neck angle and a 24.75" scale. I am not a fan of shorter scales.

Ok ranting over... SO what am I doing with my RG copy neck. I am going to build a Hybrid Destroyer.

25.5" scale, 2 Humbuckers, one volume push/pull and a 3 way switch.
Harmonica TOM style Bridge or a Gotoh 510 from Warmoth
Six inline headstock. Headstock is bigger than a modern RG yet smaller than the 82 Destroyer.
I think I am going to use Mahogany or Black Limba for the body. No exotic top though as I want a specific sound that you get from all Mahogany body.

The neck is half done. Still need to finish fretboard, fretting, and clean everything up.

The crazy joint was accomplished with several layers of Walnut veneer. I was trying to get the 5 piece Re-Issue RG wizard neck look and came up with an interesting experiment that turned out nice.

Starting on the RG replica

2008-10-26T14:57:00.003-04:00

Flame maple with Walnut stripes. I also threw in a walnut scarf joint spacer thing. I thought it would help with the volute.

More work on the marilyn replica

2008-10-26T14:48:00.004-04:00

Sides are on....

Body outline is cut out....

Waiting on finish

2008-10-26T14:23:00.002-04:00

Still have to block sand and buff this monster...

Black Stain Burst

2008-10-17T17:59:00.000-04:00

Filling fret ends

2008-10-13T11:13:00.002-04:00

Filled the fret ends with ebony dust and CA.

Recessed TOM

2008-10-13T11:08:00.002-04:00

Recessed TOM to compensate for the lack of neck angle on the guitar.

I think my favorite build thing to do is a 3 degree neck angle set deep in the body so that the strings are still close to the body. The thing I dislike most about my Gibson V is the cavernous expanse between the strings and the body at the TOM. However the neck angle is really comfortable. On my King V I fixed this with a 2.5 degree neck angle and recessed the neck deep into the body.

Winging it

2008-10-13T10:58:00.003-04:00

So I really haven't planned this guitar. I am just listening to music and working on it. The extreme thin profile coupled with spare parts approach to this build has prompted some interesting design decisions. No neck angle since the body was so shallow... (This might be my last guitar I build with no neck angle) and some strange jack placement. However I think the jack placement is going to work out well.

Cleaning tuners

2008-10-10T08:46:00.002-04:00

So I started cleaning the Ibanez smooth tuners II that belong to the black DT-155 I am restoring...
They are nasty. There is a film of gunk on everything associated with this guitar. Acetone and Naptha are my friends right now. It is hard to see in the pictures but these are really really toxically nasty.

After the bath and brass brush...

Notes on fret press

2008-10-09T09:20:00.003-04:00

Fret work is rough on the hands. I am usually sore the day after a fret job. I guess because I don't like to use pliers to fit the fret wire. I run it through my fret bender then shape by hand. I have found pliers kink the wire and make high spots.

Notes on Fret Pressing:

Make sure the fret is square before pressing it in. I wasn't able to use a hammer because is was 1:00 in the morning but I took extra time to make sure that I had everything square.

Make sure the curve of the fret matches the fret board exactly.
14" Radius on the fret board and the 12" radius insert will leave the middle of the fret sticking up if it is over bent. It happened on the first fret I pressed in. I ended up going back with a 16" radius insert and pressing the middle down.

Obviously if I had a 14" radius insert ($4.45 at StewMac) this might have been avoided but It will happen on compound radius fret boards also.

Support the neck. Either make a neck support or buy the one from StewMac. I also ended up needing some spacers to press the frets into the transition from the heal to the block part of the neck.

I learned 2 techniques when I worked as a Luthier. The hammer-in technique and the epoxy glue-in method. I am not a fan of the hammer in technique. I liked the glue-in technique but it was messy and unforgiving of poor fitting frets. The press in method is superior to all however it requires the fit of a glue-in and the technique from a hammer in (sort of...)

One other thing I am not a fan of is nipping fret ends with end cutters. I usually saw the fret ends off with a razor saw or a dremel. It is too easy to unseat a fret with a pair of end-nippers.

I will try a steeper fret end on this neck and see how it feels. I have always felt that 35 degrees was too lax but tradition has kept me from changing it. I am not doing hemispherical ends on this neck as it is too much work.

Headstock and Frets

2008-10-09T00:19:00.004-04:00

More work on the other guitar

2008-10-06T11:08:00.002-04:00

Made a template from plexiglass for the neck using my router table then trued it up on my delta jointer/planer (birthday present).

Then I cut the shape of the neck with the $25.00 router table.

A little spoke shave work and I have a roughed in neck.

And some more clean up with the Jointer

Neck work on the RRV

2008-10-06T11:03:00.002-04:00

Dressing the fretboard. Real Ebony is so hard to come by these days I was extra careful to only remove what was needed to fix the chipping from removing the old frets. I used CA to fix all the chips then sanded it smooth.

The headplate and drop-top for the body are matching flamed maple w/a walnut veneer. Gluing the headplate on was easy ... the drop-top was a nightmare.

Massive work on the RRV

2008-10-06T10:52:00.003-04:00

Todays progress

2008-09-27T18:27:00.001-04:00

RRV Top plans

2008-09-26T14:58:00.006-04:00

Looks like the tops are not quite big enough for a V. However I planed for this. My choices are to angle the pieces and cover the top completely. I doubt this is a good choice as it will waste a lot of usable pieces. I think the plan will be to add a set of Morado (Pau Ferro) strips to the middle of the guitar top and use the left overs for other projects including a matching head plate for the neck.

Flame Maple arrives

2008-09-26T14:07:00.004-04:00

Got the tops I ordered from North Ridge Hardwoods today. It was in great shape, no damage, for a reasonable price. Thanks Luke. The tops look really nice. I specifically asked or seconds because I am not going to use all of the wood. I got upgraded flame with defects that are small enough I can work around them. When I get a real important project I will use the Master Grade tops. I also ordered an archtop back and side set. I will be using it for headstock plates and neck lams.

Server Rails for a fence

2008-09-25T00:50:00.002-04:00

Yes those are whats left of some IBM rails for a disk shelf. It is stiffer than the aluminum model from Rockler...

I also would like to note that the router plate is left over 1/4" lexan. And the table itself is what is left of an old computer desk, mdf top, and lots of epoxy.

router table ... seemed like a good idea

2008-09-25T00:32:00.002-04:00

Cost saving measures always sound good until you do them. Building this router table was a chore and I wish I had just bought one.... oh well saved a lot of money.

Drum Sanding

2008-09-24T10:36:00.002-04:00

New Shop is coming along

2008-09-24T10:33:00.002-04:00

So I have tuned my radial arm saw, tuned up my table saw (it cut crooked), built a router table, built some jigs and started working.

YAV... yet another V

2008-09-24T10:30:00.002-04:00

Began work on a new V Randy Rhoads style... It is Paduck w/Maple Lam and will have a Flame maple top. Right now the plan is to pair it with a vintage Chandler Neck.

The screws have rusted

2008-09-10T16:14:00.002-04:00

So this is what I started with

So some of the pickup screws rusted away...

And now for something completely grotesque

2008-09-10T16:13:00.002-04:00

Starting on my 1983 Destroyer II restore

2008-09-10T14:53:00.002-04:00

This is going to be a hella bad project.... here is the first look.

Red Destroyers --- \m/ ----

2008-09-10T14:45:00.004-04:00

Finished up the 1982 Ibanez Destroyer II project. I was going for the Adrian Smith (ala: Killers) look.

I am alive .... and starting a PAYPAL TAX

2008-06-16T15:14:00.002-04:00

I am alive .... and starting a PAYPAL TAX. I am seriously considering a PAYPAL tax on items I sell on EBay. They charge .03 cents on the dollar for seller transactions. Just an FYI. Include a line in your auctions that states PAYPAL Available for a 3% sales charge.

Headstock plate or not???

2008-04-18T09:56:00.004-04:00

Not sure if I want a headstock plate or let it match the body.
Plain:

Morado, purpleheart, zebrano:

Clamps and done...

2008-04-18T09:44:00.005-04:00

After Clamp:

Clamp:

Clamp -- but not so tight... do not want to starve the joint.

Clamp:

Forgot the headstock wings are glued on....

2008-04-16T15:37:00.001-04:00

For now this will have a traditional Arrow Headstock (Gibson V).
Here are the wings glued on:

Neck is moving along

2008-04-16T15:28:00.008-04:00

Fretboard before slotting:

Neck mock up:

Slotted Fingerboard:

Headstock plate. I still need to cut out the side stripes and glue it together.

Nevermind the cut in the face of the board it is in the radius.
I am thinking 16" radius for this neck since right now it is going to be a 7 String.

Trussrod Installed...

2008-04-10T23:07:00.006-04:00

It fits tight. I should have leveled the neck blank first so after I finish leveling I will need to make it deeper.

The pencil marks the low spot... I used spray adhesive to glue sandpaper to my bench and am sanding it flat by hand.

Power tools are too brutal for truing. I did the hole for the trussrod by hand with a 5/16th bit and a rasp.

Progress

2008-04-09T01:33:00.003-04:00

Most of this was done with a #4 Stanley. I plan to use some power tools on it soon...

The 7 Starts now....

2008-04-08T00:24:00.003-04:00

I haven't decided on a body shape yet but I am working on the neck. For now it is going to be a 7 string. The neck is maple with zebrawood stringers.

Currently I am planning on using morado for the fret board and headstock overlay... however that could change. I had to do an Ibanez style scarf joint because of length issues. Since this is the first neck I have built in 15 years I figured I would conserve wood. Next time I am scarfing the headstock and capping and backstrapping it.

New Tools ...

2008-04-08T00:06:00.008-04:00

Family gatherings are for work. So for this gathering Dad finished the Fret Bender while I got pizza for the rest. Yes, it is bigger than a Stew Mac model and made completely out of aluminum.

We spent an hour finishing out the $28.95 grizzly arbor press with a hole and set screw to accommodate the new fret pressing cal.

I found a few minutes to grind and polish my new fret pullers, since I lost my original set a few years ago.

The old man brought a 14" band saw to live in my shop that needed help. The deck brace broke. It is now patched up and awaiting some new blades and a fence. I setup my new planar table for my drill press and tuned up the Wagner Safe-T-Planar. Nice piece it is.

I still need to finish sharpening my scrapers but overall I cheated Stew Mac out of a couple hundred dollars. Not bad.

Upclose

2008-02-20T14:49:00.009-05:00

Live King Live!

2008-02-20T14:40:00.009-05:00

King V is basically done. I have some minor things to fix like backplates, etc....

So how does it play? FAST. I was able to set the action so low it is uncomfortable. I had to raise it. The Jackson neck is WIDE and FLAT with a composite radius. I am really glad I used the JT580 tremolo instead of a standard Floyd as it matches up to the neck perfectly. The frets are BIG, makes the neck almost scalloped in feel. Without an amp the guitar is pretty loud and resonant. Not as loud as my Gibson V but much clearer in tone. Almost bell like. This thing rings like an D28 acoustic on the low E. It is on...
I think the maple top on the padauk is much brighter and tight sound than a maple on mahogany body.
The JB Seymour sounds like Dave Mustaine big time. It is articulate and resonant and sounds good tapped with the push/pull Volume knob. It is clear on the low end and growls like a demon when pushed yet backs off nicely when needed.

In general this sounds different than everything else I own... it is going to be a great addition to the arsenal.

Relic Beater

2008-02-08T01:18:00.000-05:00

Ultrasonics almost won. However tonight I sorted out the issues and they are working well. Set the action and adjusted the kahler out. Problem now is intonation. THis weekend I will move the bridge back 3/16". That will buy me some adjustment.... looks like I have owned it since the 80s.

2008-02-07T09:03:00.001-05:00

Beater Update:
I actually like the Relic paint job on it. I thought I wouldn't. Wired up all the electronics and did a full assembly last night.

The W. German made Ultrasonics are a no go.... I think they are toast. Anyone got a wiring diagram?

I will put the JS30 Jackson pickups in it for a while . . The Kahler has to come out and I need to look at the route for it. It seems to be rubbing or it really does not like the 11s I put on it. The neck is straight and plays pretty well. However the R3 Floyd nut is really high making it feel like the action is bad. I am not going to lower it though as I am planning a refret for the neck.

King V update:
I now have 3 coats of High Gloss Tung oil on it. I will let it cure until next week....

Grrr....

2008-02-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

Staining ebony to bring out the grain is a good idea on anything but ambrosia. It is a good thing this is just a practice build to get the skills back in order. It swallowed the Ebony stain and turned Black. Sanding back the black was a bad idea for this project. So I did my best to salvage it. Stained it vintage amber after I sanded it back... I am not worried though as this V was for me. I didn't use any of my highly figured wood on it.
Padauk is not my favorite wood to finish. It is nice to work and looks good stained dark.
Ok so this one is nearing completion. I have some other plans but they are simple also so it will be a while before building the real deals... neck-thru Maple/Wenge/Mahogany Vs.

Pictures soon...

I got tired of screwing with the Beater V so I just relic'd the black and white finish. It looks like I have owned it forever. I will put it back together when it finishes curing.

Filled... dark ... darker

2008-02-05T00:29:00.000-05:00

Filled the King V Grain with 20 year old dark grain filler. Made a powered stir stick out of a coat hanger and a battery drill. I helped the grain filler set with a heat gun... sanded the leftovers and stained it Ebony. I am going to sand it back tomorrow and see if we can get the grain to stand up. I am planning on hitting it with Vintage Amber after that. THen 2 or 3 coats of Formby's High Gloss Tung Oil.

Look at all that cardboard...

2008-02-05T00:17:00.000-05:00

Stripped the beater V with a Heat gun. Man that was fast. Took maybe 15 minutes. Sanded it clean and look at all the cardboard. I hit it with some CA to seal it after sanding. It got 2 coats of flat white and a coat of flat black and when it dries I will sand back the black and see what I have...

The Locking nut is fixed

2008-01-28T23:35:00.000-05:00

Man locking nuts get hot when you put them on the grinder. Rather than try to lower the nut seat on the neck I just ground the Locking Nut down using hte side of my grinder and finishing with my belt sander by hand.
When you get the open string action right it makes a world of difference.
King V is ready for sanding and finishing ...

Testing finish

2008-01-28T21:04:00.000-05:00

In order to see what this puppy will look like with just tung oil I wet it with water and took some pics. I might stain it with vintage amber first....

First look at the electronics cover. I am seriously considering small magnets instead of screws...

Boredom creaps into the boring mind

2008-01-28T20:49:00.001-05:00

Strung the King V up to get a final fit before sanding and etc...

2 things. One I botched the angle of the trem claw screw and it sticks up 1/16" over the back. Looks like a job for the deadblow hammer.... but I will probably fill it and re-drill. The trem recess missed by an 1/8" on the upper side so I will clean that up too.

Overall I was amazed at how well the thing plays without a real setup yet. I wish I had recessed the neck into the top a little more.... to late now.

Next up RR V Project

2008-01-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

This is one massive hunk of 8/4 Ash. I bought the billet 20 years ago. It has been a body blank for around 12 years. Originally it was the replacement body for my RG470. However I have grown to like the RG and it is time to do something new with it. The cool thing is it is really going to make 2 guitars. One bolt on and one neck through. First up will be the bolt on. I am using these bolt on projects to refresh my skills as it has been a while since I built anything...

Links to the photos

2008-01-25T14:56:00.000-05:00

Moded Model 5 Project
The King V Project
Saving Jackson Project

Beater V

2008-01-25T09:17:00.000-05:00

I filled every hole in it with Bamboo skewers and epox/Padauk dust mix. Then I routed it for the Kahler. After the mock up I realized I am going to either lower the neck in the body or redusce the neck angle for the new bridge.... This looks ugly but when I strip it, sand it, seal it it will all be covered.

Gibson Faded V

2008-01-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

I bought it as research.... ha.

Model 5 to San Dimas

2008-01-25T01:04:00.000-05:00

I really hated the purple poly coated 1989 Model 5 Charvel for numerous reasons. One was because it was a Fort Worth USA and not a San Dimas. It had 2 pickups, an active boost, three knobs, a 5-way, twelve coats of poly, and it was heavy. So here is the results of a massive overhaul. I think I will refinish it all white soon.

Stripped all the paint and used Super Glue to refinish it. The poplar sides where very soft until I hardened them with the Super Glue. No need for a heavy finish now. It soaked into the wood so far I was able to shape some contours and still have solid Cyanoacrylate permeated wood.

Moved the input jack to a strap jack and re-contoured the back shedding weight as well as hard edges.

Filled the neck pickup with a maple block.

Simplified electronics with a coil tapped 1989 SH-6 Seymour D and a push-pull 500k volume knob and built an aluminum bracket to fasten the SH-6 directly to the body.

Mounted the volume knob in the input jack hole. Not a great idea cause it is hard to get to. I will fix this before I refinish it.

Saving Jackson Neck and tuners

2008-01-25T00:55:00.001-05:00

This is the neck after the rough coat of Cyanoacrylate Glue. I will sand it with 400 and maybe re-coat it. I filled all the tuner holes with dust and Cyanoacrylate. Since it is a beater and intended as a player I really don't care what it looks like.

I think V's are the most efficient builds

2008-01-25T00:49:00.001-05:00

V's that are cut right waste almost no wood. This is an example. I have enough of the wings left to build a second body. And you can cut the sides with a skill saw and angle aluminum guide...

The V Templates

2008-01-25T00:42:00.000-05:00

I bought a nice piece of acrylic from lowe's and a laminate trim bit. Yes I screwed it to the top of the V to make the copy. Used some sheetrock screws and a countersink bit. At the time I didn't plan on rebuilding the firewood V.

Terror Twins

2008-01-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

The terror twins... This is farther into the project.

King V Project Trem Routes

2008-01-25T00:27:00.000-05:00

Forstner this ... Yes I used the forstner to rough out my pockets...

But after some router work they look a little better...

Saving Jackson Kahler style

2008-01-25T00:06:00.000-05:00

Decided to put the cheap Jackson together as a beater. I have a slew of 80's parts that I am using. I am fogoing the stock TOM in favor of a vintage Kahler Flyer. I am not sure about the pickups yet. I have the original Jacksons, a set of JC80's w/20db boost out of my Model 5, or a strange set of German Ultrasonics I might use. The tuning keys are cheap allparts circa 1989. After stripping the neck and cleaning it up I lost a mm or so. It went from a 43mm to a 42mm nut. I am refinishing the neck with superglue /clapton style=""/. The hardboard top of the V will get the same Superglue treatment before paint. Wicking the hardboard with Cyanoacrylate makes it hard as a rock. I have used this technique on Basswood and Poplar guitars before finishing them because it is not as heavy as an epoxy or poly.

King V project Neck Pocket

2008-01-24T23:56:00.000-05:00

Routing neck pockets at a 3 degree angle... I used a bastard file under my template for the angle. I am recessing the bridge so I want the neck close to the top of the body...

Saving Jackson

2008-01-24T23:32:00.000-05:00

The other V I picked up was painted with car paint and green.... And the second Jackson neck I scored for cheap had been bolted, glued, and painted into some monstrosity to look like a neck through. I bought the wasted remains and cleaned it up. The King V turned out to be some unknown wood with a hardboard top and back. I could re-top it with the back of a poster frame... I bought it as a template anyway.

The humanity...

King V project

2008-01-24T23:27:00.000-05:00

Ok pictures of the V after some work. I am posting this all at once so timeline is shot. It took roughly 2 weeks at Christmas to get here...

King V projects underway...

2008-01-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

So I got a JS30 King V Body from ebay.... the plan was to build a King V and to use the JS30 as a template. So after getting the wood together, buying some parts, and a spare Jackson neck or two I ended up with some interesting prospects.

Basically I will have a King V made from Padauck, Wormy Ambrosia Maple with Mild Flame, Purple Heartwood, and my enemy Cocobolo. I am highly allergic to Morado and Cocobolo dust. Sucks. Never was when I was younger... now my nose swells shut and drains for days after exposure. I can't even sweep my shop without dust protection.

Here is the padauk body blank. You have to love the motorcycle tie downs...

Guitars are what I am up to lately...

2007-12-28T08:33:00.000-05:00

Recently wrote some remote control stuff in python and I am going to start C++ class shortly. However my main focus has been on building guitars lately.
So I might post some stuff I have been working on shortly.

In light of current madness I offer this solution

2007-07-26T14:30:00.001-04:00

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+compile+a+2.6+linux+kernel&btnG=Search

They have lost there mind...

2007-07-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

Read this and be amazed...

http://www.nuxified.org/article/fork_a_kernel_kill_an_os_and_revolutionize_the_desktop

This is complete __madness__. Fork the kernel? Why? Can you not write a .config file? Can you not simply remove the stuff you do not need and recompile?
Maybe someone should make desktop specific builds of the kernel with desktop specific patches and such...
CK did this. Someone else just needs to pick up his branch of patches. You should not fork the kernel. You should get in and Patch it upstream and allow us to build what we need for our local machines. If you can't build your own kernel then use a distro that is desktop specific...
You people are crazy thinking about Forking the kernel. We would lose with developers splitting off and working on one side or another. United we stand.
However Linux is open source GPL so you download the code and start hacking. When you get your desktop kernel you submit the patches like any other good little hacker...

2006-11-11T21:49:00.000-05:00

Oracle are using GPL Cudgel

So Oracle couldn't buy Red Hat so they decide to pirate the free candy. This is one of those "are you sure this is the best way to handle it" things. Yes it is legal. But Oracle has the man power to create a new Enterprise Linux Distro and support it. Yet Red Hat continues to take the GPL cudgel to the head.

2006-11-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

NWN for the people

Play NWN 1 on Linux for the people. Use Skype or gizmoproject to talk

2006-11-06T21:43:00.000-05:00

Boycott NWN 2

No Linux support? Don't buy it. Don't play it until there is. We have all gone and bought the Diamond pack of NWN 1 and are playing it on Linux boxes...

2006-07-17T10:06:00.000-04:00

Perl is no longer relevant

Perl is no longer relevant... profound but true

2006-07-13T20:43:00.000-04:00

return of the ...

so I now return to blogging

2006-01-27T08:15:00.000-05:00

projects temp home

http://smithlx.net

2006-01-24T21:50:00.000-05:00

moving smithlx.org to a new server

so smithlx.org is down. I am in the process of moving it over...

I hate the domain transfer thing... to much like work. Moving websites to new servers is a pain.

2006-01-22T18:19:00.000-05:00

more gentoo goodness

http://smithlx.org/_dwnld/emerge_gnome.sh

This is just a script for installing GNOME ~x86 on a box without the whole ACCEPT_KEYWORDS Stuff.. It adds the entries you need to your /etc/portage/packages.keywords

And some humor for my uBuntu running adversaries... debian thieves

Patch for Ubuntu

USE="-ubuntu -hippie -tree -hugger"

CompTIA Linux+ was harder than I thought

2006-01-21T00:41:00.000-05:00

Ok so I have spent alot of time with Linux. I started in 1996 with early RedHat. By 1999 I was using all the time. By 2001 I had forsaken all others for Linux only environment. I work with Linux all day. My last 3 jobs have been all about Linux. Yet that new Linux+ XK0002 almost got me. It was like a history lesson and proof that in Linux there are always more than one way to do something.
When is the last time I used a distro with LILO? maybe Mandrake 7 or Redhat Seawolf... Every Modern distro uses grub yet out of 98 questions it did not come up once. 5 LILO questions. Telnet ??? It isn't even in some new distros. 2 questions. inetd. I thought that got put out to pasture. 2 questions.. The test took me about 45 minutes to complete. I took it at New Horizons and accept for the Secretaries chattering in the area next to the testing cubes it wasn't bad. The thing runs on a Windows Box!!! How evil is that.
If you plan on taking it study. I only studied for 6 hours thinking I could rely on my experience. I made it. It was tough. I passed. I am free. But if I had it to do again I would study more.

2006-01-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

.xinitrc .....

vi .xinitrc

exec /usr/bin/enlightenment-0.17

enjoy!

2006-01-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

hmmm this is why stuff doesn't work

De Morgans Law

2006-01-10T14:28:00.000-05:00

starting on some gentoo scripts ....

use at own risk gentoo emerge scripts for stable boX3n

If you are running ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" do not use...

http://smithlx.org/_dwnld/emerge_kde.sh

http://smithlx.org/_dwnld/emerge_e17.sh

Shelton ____ disregard ubuntu is not supported

2006-01-09T21:43:00.000-05:00

Troll hate troll hate

I intend to annoy and am breaking the law by offensive blogging...linkme

2005-11-22T19:43:00.000-05:00

uClibc and Gentoo

This how-to is all you need for installing a really small gentoo to a usb key. WFM YMMV...

2005-11-04T21:24:00.000-05:00

Blog this....

Man sometimes you forget you got one of these blog things

2005-10-03T21:49:00.000-04:00

OpenSolaris what am I doing....

Again not sure... I installed it on my second workstation along side Windows 2K (its for school man... I will probably do my homework in wine anyway) OpenSolaris as a desktop is interesting to say the least. They basically hacked the crap out of Gnome called it Java Desktop System and ...Oh wait you thought I was going to use CDE. Come on... wtf is wrong with you. I install a bunch of stuff from Blastwave.org but I gotta tell you that this thing is a beast. I feel like Linux circa 1999 w/ RH7.2. Stable as all get-out but I have to config everything by hand. Open < Free and Sun meant no wheels, no steering wheels, and no gas. I know someone with a Sun Workstation that is do in so I will wait until I see what a PAY version is like before passing judgment. Is it me or is McNeally weasel-like?

"Steve stood up and said he was giving Mr. McNeally $700 million..." -- LJ

Gentoo ---> Fedora Core 4 what am I doing....

2005-10-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

So I am moving my main workstation from beloved Gentoo to Fedora Core 4. Why? I am not sure. I have a need to get in touch with my Red Hat skills again and grok my RPM KungFoo to its fullness. RPM skill is something that is hard fought. Gentoo is still on the laptop though as it is too slow to run something as behemoth as FC4.
Yum and Apt are the only way to go in this sit...so here is the
"for i in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*;do cat $i;done"
rpm http://apt.sw.be/ fedora/4/en/i386 dag
rpm-src http://apt.sw.be/ fedora/4/en/i386 dag
rpm http://ayo.freshrpms.net/ fedora/linux/4/i386 core extras updates freshrpms
rpm http://rpm.livna.org/ fedora/4/i386 lvn
rpm-src http://rpm.livna.org/ fedora/4/i386 lvn
rpm http://rpm.greysector.net/apt/ fc4 stable testing
rpm http://dr17.saaf.co.uk/ fedora/4/en/i386 e17
rpm http://apt.sw.be/ dries/fedora/fc4/i386 dries
rpm-src http://apt.sw.be/ dries/fedora/fc4/i386 dries

2005-10-02T08:17:00.000-04:00

This comes from gnome-blogger.... a great app

Thanks to Seth Nickell for a killer app ...

The new desktop ... who will step up?

2005-09-16T22:06:00.000-04:00

The desktop needs an overhall. Who will step up? GNOME? KDE? The answer is probably none of the above. The Beta's of the above show great advances in technology. Havoc Pennington has some great stuff but, I need some inovation. I read a blog post about using the corners of the desktop to control it. Decent idea. I am eagerly awaiting stable code from e-17 -- they are close -- . http://www.enlightenment.org/
I think the current product shows great potential. Thanks rasterman and crew...

Virus classes are on!

2005-09-10T17:47:00.000-04:00

Dr. John Aycock is the professor that teaches the infamous "Computer Viruses and Malware" at the University of Calgary. He was gracious enough to answer a quick email interview about the class.

> Does U of C still offer the virus writing class?

Hi, . Yes, we do. In fact, next year it'll be getting a "real"
calendar entry.

> Did you have students create new viruses or just reverse engineer existing
> ones?

As a CIS student, you can appreciate that as soon as you change a single
bit in a virus, you'd have a new virus from a technical point of view.
Students do write their own viruses as well as anti-virus software.

> Did the backlash from the internet community deter you in any way?

I have a pretty thick skin :-)

> Would you like to see the course taught at other colleges?

*If* appropriate safeguards are taken, then I think it could be
beneficial. We've tried a couple of decades with it not being
taught; maybe it's time for a change.

> What is the main programming language you teach for virus writing?

It doesn't really matter, since you can write viruses in lots of
languages. Ideally a language (or languages) the students know
that can be used easily for low-level system programming.

I would like to thank Dr. Aycock for taking time to answer my questions.
I hope my college offers a similar course in the future. I myself have no intention of ever writing a virus but I do enjoy event driven programming and I believe that virus code may give a new outlook on methods of execution.

Python Statistics.... Reinventing the wheel

2005-08-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

So I was working on using python to do my stats homework... I know I should just spend the time doing the homework but. OCD! __must___write___prog__to___do___menial___tasks___

>>> def doHomework(mylist):
>>> '''realize this a fictional function'''
>>> newlist = fixList(mylist)
>>> caffinate = getCoffee(cup, nocoffee=False)
>>> calc = getCalc(location, readman=False)
>>> understand = groK(data)
>>> myrange = findRange(data)
>>> classwidth = float(myrange)/float(classes)+.5
>>> classwidth = round(classwidth)
>>> stddev = math.sqrt(variance)
>>> coeffvar = stddev/mean
>>> if will2do < willNot2Do:
>>> f = open('homework','w')
>>> f.write(answers)
>>> f.close()
>>> return newlist
+.5 thanks dave

wheel invented here
http://salstat.sourceforge.net/index.php?index
good stuff
http://www.r-project.org/index.html

http://www.stat.umn.edu/macanova/macanova.home.html

http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/pspp.html

My own soapbox in the Sahara

2005-08-27T23:02:00.000-04:00

This is soooo pointless. Or is it?

I feel better.

OpenSuSE ... bout time!

2005-08-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

So Novell finally did the right thing. I never thought SuSE gave back as much as they should. Not that I did not respect everything the SuSE developers did/do, just that I thought that they well could have been less secretive. I am really glad we can use the very polished SuSE for free now.

So if you did care... what do you think about.

2005-08-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

Open Source Software... can it really change the world? Has it already? I am not sure I really agree with everything that goes on but I know that I really like having the flexibility to use whatever I want and modify it if I need to. Before I started using GNU/Linux I really would have to struggle with proprietary software. I liked Photoshop and Illustrator on the Mac. I could not afford a decent Mac. It was not until I switched to GIMP and later SodiPodi/Inkscape that I gained freedom. I really enjoy having out of the box support for Python, Perl, and C/C++. Having a compiler already installed is a pure joy. I am not sure I could function without Firefox, Gaim, Thunderbird, and Python. Good thing I can install whatever I need with a simple emerge whatever. Thanks Gentoo, Fedora, Slackware, and Debian.