Days that make it all worth it

Sometimes, my job is just awesome. I know most of you might consider this a nightmare, but spending 3 days making up these panels and contactors is like eating 3 meals of just dessert.










And yes, I know where every single wire goes and what it is for.

Greatest drill bits EVER!

Normally, we have to get pretty pissed about something in order to blog about it, right? I'm attempting to turn the tide and actually blog about something positive (besides the generic NyQuil - sweet, sweet, non-congested angel of sleep!). I picked up 4 of these drill bits on Amazon a couple weeks ago when I was in a shopping frenzy:
http://www.amazon.com/WoodOwl-03807-Tri-Cut-18-Inch-Chipper/dp/B0009OAJMQ
http://www.amazon.com/WoodOwl-03809-Tri-Cut-18-Inch-Chipper/dp/B0009OAJNA
http://www.amazon.com/WoodOwl-03707-Tri-Cut-8-Inch-Chipper/dp/B0009OAJHQ
http://www.amazon.com/WoodOwl-03709-Tri-Cut-4-Inch-Chipper/dp/B0009OAJIA


The only drawback I can find for these bits is the utter necessity to wear gloves and eye protection. If they encounter a nail, they will not bind or kill the end of your bit. They will shower you with molten bits of nail as they plow on through. No more filing the tip of the auger bit trying to get a few more holes out of it.

I'll update if/when one of these bits actually dies. They also self-feed like a mother@#*%^! The 7-1/2" lengths are great for the cordless drill. It's a little more awkward and sharp to carry around in your bags than a regular paddle bit, but I used to buy 5/8" paddle bits in bulk before this! They also work awesome in the Hole Hawg/right angle corded drill. I didn't see them in 7/8" diameters, but I've been doing fine with the 3/4", and they have 1" and bigger, too.

There are some other WoodOwl tri-blade bits that are non-nail-eating, but leave clean holes. I haven't tried them yet, and have no need. The ones I bought will leave some sparring at the front and backs of the holes, but the hole itself is pristine and I don't have to knock out a big chip of wood on the backside before I pull wire like I do with the traditional ship auger bits.

New found music love

I used to have "lifetime upgrades" and a yearly subscription to MusicMatch Jukebox and MusicMatch radio. I used it not only for the Jukebox, but for all of my online radio listening. It was a great product, but slowly became stagnant after being bought out by Yahoo! Music. I didn't care for that too much. I didn't like the deletion of some of their best features and having every aspect of my actions tightly woven into all of Yahoo's crapware.

So, for a couple of years I have suffered along using Winamp and (gasp!) Windows Media Player, but that really hasn't filled the custom-content internet radio gap left behind by MusicMatch's once glorious service. A few months ago, however, my boss tipped me onto Pandora Radio. I checked it out briefly and then forgot about it. Several weeks later one of my other lovely internet timekillers, Stumbleupon, dropped me there again. Now I'm in love again. I have customized a few stations for different moods, and you're welcome to check them out. Here's my profile: http://www.pandora.com/people/randy306

Not only is it a free service, but my favorite Firefox add-on, Adblock Plus (along with the Filterset. G updater), blocks out all of the annoying ads that fund the site beautifully. Yeah, I almost feel a little guilty, but I'm throwing them all some free advertising right here, so it balances out I guess.