27 - How to Pick the Next Project

How do we pick the next project? It's a balance between utility/usefulness and personal interest, as well as large and small projects to avoid burn out. Next years first project for Ward will be a vacuum former.

Ward reviews his favorite projects from this year- Skyrim shield, paver walkerway, Fallout table saw sled, and Dragon Priest daggers.

If you want a lot of projects, buy a house!

26 - Correlation: Car Detailing and Being a Maker

We explore the correlation between being a maker and detailing your car. If you're extremely thorough when detailing your car, chances are you'll be a good maker, though a maker is not the same as a DIY'er.
If you are a maker, you don't need us to tell you that.

25 - We're Going to Make a Music Video

Ward's current project is cleaning up his S10 to sell. It's only taken a year, and that's because he only started last month.
As soon as the truck is sold, Ward starts the plastic vacuum former project he started talking about years ago. It's finally here!

Eric has a friend with a band, Westerly Park, and we will be making them a music video soon. You will be hearing more about that.

Do you want an industrial style coffee table, for materials and miscellaneous costs Ward will make you one.

Ward completed NaNoWriMo and considers painting his blazer like the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. The prop Ward's been wanting to make is the Fallout 10mm. He's edging ever closer to starting it. He just has to finish all that other stuff.

24 - Video Contest and Ethical Dilemmas

Lots of project updates.

Eric's multiple Facebook accounts have been leading up to this moment. We are going to have a head to head video contest with the winner determined by Facebook comments. One subject, two videos. Ward's video versus Eric video coming soon. The subject is Eric getting chased by children. This leads to a mention of the Dogma 95 filming rules.

Eric's project vanity is making progress, and he has secured an alternate billboard location for making an additive piece of billboard art.

Ward went from unsure about completing NaNoWriMo, to thinking it's possible, and this week he's committed. Fifty-thousand words, here he comes.

Ward started building a Fallout-inspired crosscut table saw sled and was also an instructables.com finalist in the Halloween props contest for his Skyrim daggers.

Eric presents two moral/ethical/business dilemmas that touch upon some of the same concepts we argued in episode 10.

Top 3 things to buy after winning the lottery.

Bonus - Graffiti Video Breakdown

 We discuss the videos we made of our billboard graffiti project. We each made separate videos using the footage we shot. We discuss our thought process and how we made them.

Which one do you like more. Let us know in this head to head competition!

23 - We Graffiti a Billboard

We delve into our project where we add graffiti to a billboard. We even had permission in the form of a note. Why did someone let us do this? We walk through this process from sourcing the billboard to adding the paint.
Also neither this podcast nor this episode is sponsored by State Farm or any insurance agents involved or perceived to be involved with State Farm.
We don't have enough time to delve into our videos on this project in this episode, so look for a bonus episode soon.

Who's billboard video do you like better? Check the links and let us know!

We started this podcast discussing the pin it project, and it's still ongoing. Maybe next spring!

Nanowrimo is NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. Ward is committed to meeting the challenge. He describes his novel's premise, which is strangely similar to Ben Carson's book. This is Ward's third nanowrimo challenge.

Smooth-on shared a link to Ward's dagger build, and Ward emailed a movie blog site about writing for them. This leads to discussing Ward's movie reviews and improvements.

Ward doesn't need to do a custom Catan board game, but he really wants to. We brainstorm how to theme it.

Ward's next project will be a cross cut table saw sled.

22 - Costly Ton of Epic Fail

We talk about projects for November and beyond, but not before discussing a few movies- Stretch, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Impostor.

Ward is trying to catch up on projects from October and has a lot he wants to build and many videos to shoot. Chances are it won't get done, but you will like what's planned. No really, you will!

NaNoWriMo
Crosscut table saw sled
Plastic vacuum former
Vidoes

Eric has abandoned writing a stay-at-home dad tell-all book and Ward talks about prior novels he's written.

We rant on Daylight Saving Time. Eric for the grammar, Ward for the practice.

We close with our top 3 most annoying grammatical errors

21 - Board of Games

Selling cakes can be illegal.
American Horror Story and haunted houses

The Human Condition movie trilogy. It's Band of Brothers quality and a comparable length, and Ward can't help but bring it up and compare it to a recent ten hour long trilogy, The Lord of the Rings.

Our main topic is board games, traditional, gateway, party, and advanced. We talk about our favorites, Settlers of Catan, Carcasonne, Ticket to Ride, Clue, and Pictionary.

Ward admits the fun of poker in high school was cheating. People rarely caught on.

Then Ward geeks out over the party game Mafia.

The top 3 is, of course, board games.

Bonus - Waiting for a Resin Cast to Dry

We've made the mold and we are now waiting for the resin cast dagger to dry. We talk about the project and then delve into teenage mutant ninja turtle lore, Harry Potter spirit animals, and a time travel renaissance fair.

After thirty minutes we pull the cast. The results are a very good pull, that needs a little bit of work. The resin is Smooth-on 325 resin tinted black. It came out with a frosted look on the surface which turned out to be water. We had washed the mold with water, and resin doesn't react well.

There were a few trapped air issues. Air channels were enlarged to release air.

The rubbery issue is due to the resin being a gel cure. While the instructions state you can remove from the mold in fifteen minutes, it takes a 24 hours for the cast to become rigid. Once it's rigid, it is very rigid.

The third cure came out really good after fixing the above issues. 

20 - Desire Fuels Energy

Project updates on Halloween and GIANT JENGA.

After that it's a journey of discover as Eric discovers Ward watches quite a few television shows. Eric had no idea. We talk a little Mad Men, Dr. Who, The Shield, 24, The Walking Dead, The Wire, The Blacklist, American Horror Story...

We also predict how The Walking Dead will finally end. You've heard it here first.

Our main topic is desire fuels energy. You make time for what you want to do. Period. If you desire to do it, you will get it done. 

Eric then delves into how much effort Ward puts into his wardrobe. 

We finish it out with our top 3 all time personal favorite Halloween costumes. 

Bonus - Halloween Costumes

A quick bonus episode recapping our costumes from Halloween
Ward was a Dragon Priest from Skyrim and Eric's kids were 'the greater good'.
We discuss our costumes be for next year.

19 - One & Done Short Story Read

We read two of Ward's short stories from 2011. No Money Down and Crazy Eights.
The verdict? His writing has gotten much better.

Related to the story, Ward talks about his time as a car salesman. That one time he made good money on a sale and a coworker that lasted almost one full day. Ward's first story is NOT good, but at least he got better.

Top 3 video game experiences 

18 - It's Vanity Not History

We talk about how to be offensive and how it's okay to profile middle aged white guys with freezers, but the real revelation is that Ward is looking to spend $200-$300 on two cars for a personal demolition derby. We are going to recreate Days of Thunder. And of course he wants to make a video of it with as many cameras as he can borrow.

Then we get into the main topic- motivation. How do you stay motivated to finish a project? How do you push yourself to do something you just can't seem to stick with? Remember when Ward was teaching himself how to play the keyboard? That lasted six days.
Don't all conversations about motivation delve into exercise? This one sure did!

And then... a dog interrupts the podcast. We say 'Hi' and then bid the dog adieu as we get back to the topic which is now exercise and diet.

Then we talk about how to stay on task with projects. Hard deadlines help. The problem is that solving the problem or project is the fun part, the rest is just after the fact.
Ward likes planning. He even modeled a cake in Sketchup. 

Eric is the Facebook renegade. It's just as exciting as it sounds.

Eric's friend wrote a book that is amazing, and NaNoWriMo starts in November. Ward urges you to try it. Writing a book is awesome. Ward's done it twice.

Bonus - Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

A quick bonus episode discussing the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer.

Who is Daisy Ridley's Rey related to? Who mentors John Boyega's Finn, a Storm trooper turned Jedi? I bet the movie will feature more of Oscar Isaac's Poe Damaron than the trailer.
We see Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and ostensibly Luke Skywalker (at least, we see his hand). What twists are in store for villain Kylo Ren!

17 - Best Darn Bushhogger You've Ever Seen

You have to be the best or the worst to be successful. People want to see awful performances just for a laugh or the tragedy. Our discussion this episode is competition.

We discussed imitators and impersonators a couple of episodes ago. Ward has a new business venture. He also has a new VLOG. Find out where Ward gets music for the VLOG

The voice of Siri is following us on Twitter. Obviously we're legit. We get into trading follows on Twitter and the pain of being rejected on Instagram.

We discuss mowing lawns. We hate it, but it's not without benefits... maybe. Eric thinks mowing the yard is for dumb people, but he likes to zone out during the task and Ward likes to think. Ward has an anecdote to the dumb people mowing yards.
Doing something you don't like has benefits when you go out of your comfort zone, speak in public, or learn new skills... though maybe not mowing the yard.

Any successful podcaster had an audience BEFORE podcasting. The podcast is secondary. We want to succeed but learning how to podcast is part of the fun.

Half of all podcasts never make it past four episodes, in that respect, we've succeeded.

Competition. We want our podcast to be the best, but we know we're in a rigged game. Sports are easy to concede, we aren't making it to the NFL. Eric is surprised to learn that Ward's philosophy on sports, even in pickup games is, 'if you can't win, don't play.' Thus Ward doesn't play.
Why does everyone get a trophy?

Is a newspaper a viable way to promote our podcast? We debate it with anecdotal evidence, which leads to Eric selling burial plots through a newspaper to our thoughts on cremation versus burial to what do you do when someone close to you dies or you see someone who has done something amazing and you think, "What am I doing with my life?"

Eric tries to guess Ward's top three favorite bands.

16 - Dirty Jobs Done with Cheap Tools

We are back to tools. We got sidetracked in episode 15 with the story of Ward cutting through his fingers with a table saw.
Ward talks about his tools and how he built a Skyrim Dragon Priest dagger.
Is it worth it to buy cheap tools? No.

Eric doesn't buy cheap, but he doesn't buy end of the rainbow either, unless of course it's automotive tools. Eric likes Snap-on... a LOT. Eric asks the big question, why is there no Snap-on store?
What are our key tools? Ward's is the band saw. Eric's is everything Snap-on. This lead us to brand loyalty.
Guess what, are thoughts on County Clerk Kim Davis are finally airing.
We wrap up with our top 3 favorite actors.

15 - Shop Tools and Missing Fingers

Ward met an Ernest T. Bass imitator and is thinking of starting his own imitator business.
The 360 camera is neat, but what's the point?
Ward turned a simple battery smoke detector project into adding two additional hard wired light fixtures. Also, updates on the Skyrim dagger

Eric would take more photos and video, but he needs to go to Wal-mart.
Ward talks about his video editing program- Lightworks. They keep removing features from the free version, but he did buy it. What did Ward start with when he started doing videos? Answer - nothing!

Staying hands off with your children's projects. Which leads to, what else, Minecraft.

The main topic is tools and shops and where to spend your money, but the conversation quickly becomes the story of that time Ward cut off a finger on the table saw.
We wrap up with our top three gruesome injuries.

14 - Breaking Bad Meets Jesus Christ Superstar

Ward's newest projects are blogging, vlogging and podcasting. Eric has given up on trying to stay up to date.
Have you ever determined exactly why your phone is broken at your day job, only to not be believed by I.T.? Ward knows that feeling all too well.

Ward is learning to play just one song on the keyboard. We'll believe it when we see it!

Should Eric watch True Detective season 2? Ward's resounding answer is NO!

If you're not familiar with the Matthew McConaughey McConaissance, you need to listen. If you are familiar, it's time to refamiliarize yourself.

Interested in the new Christian movie War Room? We're not, and we're happy to explain why. That leads into some good old fashioned devil talk and classic Christian films like Jesus Christ Superstar, The Passion, and Breaking Bad.

We end with the top three most annoying office habits.

13 - Movies: Top, Bad, Ja Rule, and Rosie O'Donnell

We discuss Ward's all time top ten movies and nine honorable mentions. Much to Eric's chagrin, it includes two Colin Farrell movies, prompting him to ask, couldn't you have included Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington?

We coin the term 'pop movie'.

Eric's guilty pleasure movies include My Big Fat Greek Wedding, You've Got Mail, and Devil Wears Prada, while Ward likes The Fast and the Furious.

We talk about sports movies, and the two minutes of NASCAR racing Ward has ever watched was when Dale Earnhardt crashed. Is Ward Mr. Glass?

Eric has not one, but two favorite Rosie O'Donnell films. Make your own conclusions from that.
Let us know your top 3 favorite books, we tell you ours!

12 - VLOG about Craiglist but Don't Eat the Food

 
Ward is now a vlogger. We discuss this, other vloggers, and the food fans send in.

Eric has discovered Craiglist, just a few years late. Which leads us to ebay and Ward's stories of selling things online.

Eric's back from vacation, having traveled to the mid-west and back. His best story is not Mt. Rushmore or all of the parks and rivers, but when the kayaks went flying off his roof.

The Pin It project is still ongoing, but Ward's Skyrim shields are done. Coincidentally, Ward once played Skyrim for 24 hours straight.
Despite not knowing how to play the piano/keyboard, Ward is learning to play one Yann Tiersen song through youtube. We look at Ward's latest project, a dagger for his Halloween costume.

Follow Eric's potential VLOGs- about helping Ward VLOG, selling a motorcycle on Craigslist, or putting a stereo in the mini-van.

10 - Ownership in a Digital World and Dank Memes

In the lost episode we tackle ownership in the digital world. While Ward likens digital work to objects in the physical, Eric will give away digital work at will so you can become rich... just be sure to credit him in the CD liner notes.

If you didn't come up with it, you can't use it. Someone else owns the rights to it which means you can't sell it.

Also, Eric has the definitive pronunciation of memes, and if you didn't know, no one wants to see pictures of your children.

We get into a preview of a future episode, tools we use in our shops. Eric is more automotive, while Ward is woodworking and hobby.

11 - Why Our Friendship Didn't End

Eleven episodes is a milestone. We are going to talk about firsts, from jobs, to high school, projects, first meeting each other, and clashing over a project.
Gangs of New York was the spark that began Ward's love for movies, and Kids showed Eric that movies can be more than Indiana Jones and James Bond.

Also, Ward really wants to make videos, including a bug out bag video, a 'static man' horror, and a Shell gas station commercial.
Ward needs more work for some inexplicable reason and suggests a banner on our social media sites that he updates and adds to as we accumulate followers.
If only there was more time for DVD commentary. It's the something that Netflix really needs!

And floppy drives, who remembers those? Changing diapers? We've got something for everyone in this episode.

09 - Short Story Time: Warriors and Drivers

Ward faces his fear that his short stories aren't good. Before that we talk about a movie that took fourteen years for the creator to make and a composer than spent thirty-five years on his symphony.

With that said Eric and Ward have written a feature length script and it is Ward's dream to make that script a movie. The primer for that feature just might be the Django Unchained parody they've written.

08 - Improv in the Classroom

We wanted to try our hand at improv. We had a lot of fun and hope to try it again.

07 - Making Good Youtube Videos

We can't believe Youtube is ten years old. I had just posted to youtube a time lapse video of my playhouse set build which leads us to discuss how to make a good Youtube video. So many how to videos are boring. How do you fix that? Inspired by the last episode, we're going to make a good bug out bag video.
We wrap up with movie reviews. We can't help but talk about Mad Max: Fury Road again as well the documentary I Know that Voice which covers voice actors in various cartoons. This turns into a conversation on recognizing quality as a kid. Can children recognize quality? Eric is unwilling to commit, but Ward decides he did, even though he didn't understand the concept.
We conclude with top three actresses where Eric determines the name of his book will be So You like Girls with Boy Hair and You Carry a Purse.

06 - Bug Out Bag and Man Purse

Ward debates on whether he should Mad Max-ify his car, and then provides updates on the sidewalk, picnic table, terrariums, and a playset.

Ward unpacks his bug out bag and Eric describes his every day carry bag. Do you need an emergency bag? Definitely. Even if you just pack water, food, and a change of clothes. Ward's supplies include water, food, clothing, shelter, heat source, first aid, hygiene, tools light, communication, and travel.
Figure out why you need a bag and how to determine what you need in the bag.

05 - Am I an Artist and Travel Time

What is an artist? How do you know if what you create is good? Can you trust feedback? Even then, confidence in the work falters, that's why it's difficult to share written work.
Ward talks about the NaNoWriMo contest- writing a novel in thirty days. Ward's done it twice.
Ward extols the great prose of Cormac McCarthy and concedes that Dan Brown has great ideas.
Is wanting to travel a natural instinct or a nurtured desire? Can you teach someone to like traveling? Ward recounts an afternoon in New York and Eric has New York stories as a kid and where he's traveled as an adult. He considers himself a want-to-be Italian and would move to Italy in an instant if he won the lottery.
If you want baseball Hall of Fame baseball player Steve Garvey's autograph, perhaps you should throw a glove at him.
The top three this week, which cities do you want to see?
Ward's picks are Cooperstown, NY, Italy, and Hong Kong, China. Eric's picks are Sydney, Australia, Tokyo, Japan, and New York

04 - Movie Trilogies and Ghost Traps

We open the podcast discussing the rumored Fallout 4 release and a new spoof video involving the kid sized basketballs. Have you ever read Shel Silverstein?
My sidewalk project is nearly complete and I've already started building a kit picnic table.While I could add glow in the dark power, I probably won't due to cost. I made a Ghost trap last year that we talk about in relation to 3d printing and prop making.
We discuss the collaborative works of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright known as the Cornetto trilogy. These are very detailed movies with layers of jokes that are easy to miss upon the first watch. This transitions into a discussion on Sly Stallone and his films. Are sequels ever better than the original?
The episode closes with our top three Tom Hanks movies

03 - Radio Drama and The Magic of Bojangles

We're still talking about our Pin It project. Why don't pedestrians know how to cross the street and why doesn't Bojangles deliver? We discuss Richard Linklater and his film Boyhood. The conversation leads to Birdman, to Michael Keaton, Bill Nighy and the IMDB Top 250 list.

Once we produced and directed an extremely small Christmas play (very tiny). We showcase our first radio drama, and close out the podcast with out top five Ethan Hawke movies.

02 - Peter Jackson Dream Chaser

We talk about Eric's facebook page creating binge and updates to the Pin It project, before we review our short film Smiling Jack Always Laughs Last. We talk about creating this short film and provide many behind the scenes details.
We also touch upon making films in the horror genre, using our children in short films, and a video project where we each directed our own film from one script (Eric never finished his video).
Coming soon will be a radio drama performance, continuing what Ward had hoped would be a web based serial - Abe Zanarkand.  Unfortunately web series are only effective if you regularly produce and post videos.
What's our plan for a guest host? We don't know, but we do want to interview creative people. We wrap it up with movie reviews, wondering how Peter Jackson got the reigns to Lord of the Rings and determining that people just don't want good movies.

01 - Is This the Center of your Town?

In our first episode we discuss our first community art project which is related to google map, videos we've made, and movies we've watched.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Fridays on the Fly blog. We will start posting podcast episodes bi-weekly. We just recorded the first episode. Subscribe to the blog so you don't miss anything.

Our podcast will show what two creative guys with  a limited budget can accomplish. We discuss various projects, including short films and writing projects. We've filmed a number of short films, many of which can be seen on youtube. One of the first projects we discuss will be community art, asking "What is the center of your town?"

We want to showcase creativity, and not only our own. We want to interview creative people and gain insight to how projects happen.

Bear with us. We've never done a podcast, and that is the allure. We will learn, get better, and most importantly, we will have fun. Thanks for reading!