The great ottoman project of 2002 was finally wrapped up this weekend. The woods used were: birch for the paneling, ash for the legs, and redwood for the trim around the side. It was built with storage capacity too. Which you can see in this photo. The fabric, which is some “Waverly” knock-off, I think works very nicely. Next up for the midnight woodworker are some storage cubbies and after that the big summer project! A barbecue center, featuring double old school built-in hibachis. Peep the styles. I got the design out of this sweet 70’s book: “Easy-to-Make Outdoor Furniture”. Contact me if you’d like the the schematics.

Random note: The song “Getting Stronger Everyday” by Chicago, is one powerful anthem. Incredible production. It begins with a huge funk beat with drums that jump off the track, some really dirty guitar, and some preachin’. The song ends in some banging four-on-the-floor craziness that makes you not sure you should be listening to the song in the car. I really miss how drums used to be recorded. All this heavy stuff on the radio today, albeit some of it good, has a watered down sameness when it comes to the sound of the drum. Everything is gated, compressed and sampled, mixed into a low-end stew and lacking a ton of energy.

Free music swapping over the internet is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m ready for software that allows artists to release the individual raw unmixed tracks of a song or an album of which I can then download and mix to my desired audio listening tastes. I’d pay for that.