Dean Bull's Blog (9)

Sometimes good things just fall into your lap while you are simply minding your own business. It all started Friday morning, October 30, while I was just getting my work day started. I had just posted a rather mundane thing on Facebook about storing my bonsai trees for the winter. The phone rang. His name is Shawn Carroll, Prop Master for an upcoming movie called “A Year in Mooring” to be filmed near Traverse City in late November, early December. He had been at Garden Goods nursery in Traverse… Continue

p style="text-align: left;">

If you ever entered the Joslin Chevy Dealership in Traverse City, you saw a large antique wall clock hanging over the fireplace mantle. I was commisioned to repair the clock in 1984, and did so successfully. When the dealership changed hands, I was asked to move the clock… Continue

That jingle has been being used as long as I can recall, maybe since I moved here in 1975. It is just as annoying now as it was then, and it does not improve with age. I don't know anyone who looks forward to hearing it every summer. I have a solution! With all the musical talent in the area, SOMEONE has GOT to be able to write a new jingle that would better serve the fair. I propose a contest: Write and perform a theme song for the fair; post it here and let's do some online voting. I think it… Continue

Garlic 101Probably more than you ever wanted to know about garlic, but who knows? By Dean Bull Traverse City, Michigan Originally written in 2004 Updated and revised March 2009 My first garlic planting was in March of 2002. Many friends have asked questions about my g… Continue

Lake effect snow vs. Regular snow: In every winter weather forecast, you hear meteorologists talking about “Lake effect snow” and Regular or “System Snow”. But they never tell you how to tell the difference. Well this photograph speaks for itself, and will eliminate that uncertainty. Print it and post it where your friends can be impressed with your meteorological acumen. --Dean the photo is located in the photo albums http://community.mynorth.com/photo Continue

Ever notice how your windshield wipers get worse at doing their job? Clean your Windshield wipers! They are no longer wiping—they are smearing, right? A paper towel with rubbing alcohol is all you need. Rub it vigorously on the wiper blade. That’s it—they will perform like new blades. Repeat every few weeks as needed. --Dean Continue

After consulting with my good friend and computer-well-versed buddy Chris Holz, I have a much better handle on the sizes of data in my computer... If a byte is one square inch, it is roughly the size of a postage stamp That means that a kilo-byte is about the size of a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood--or drywall if you prefer. A mega byte is then about the size of a city lot, big enough to build a house on. A Giga-byte is then the size of sixty-eight football fields--each football field is about an acr… Continue

You may know about bonsai if you go to the NMC Bar-B-Que, in Traverse City. The local bonsai club has a display there every year since 1991--in the Dennos Museum. I am a founding memeber of the club. I recently wrote the following article. It will be published soon in the spring issue of the Journal of the American Bonsai Society. A photo of the tree is in my photos on this page. The link below may work if you copy and paste it to your browser--I am not computer-wise enough to know... Dean The… Continue

Moon Dials and how to read them. Very old grandfather clocks many times have moon dials, so they are not a new idea. Their purpose is to do for the time of the moon, what the hands do for the time of day—they keep track of it for you. Once set properly, you can look at your moon dial and know right away what the moon looks like, what time of day you will see it, and where to look for it in the sky. Here is an example. Visualize a pointer going right through the center of the moon’s face, point… Continue