clay

All web development requires a good working knowledge of HTML. CSS is a practical helper and quite a time saver when developing or editing a website. You don't need CSS to build good webpages but if you don't use it on a project you will be kicking yourself later. Javascript is essential to modern webpages. You need to learn this language to have interactive websites. Nobody pays for websites that aren't interactive anymore. Javascript code is run in the web browser on the client side. PHP is a server side language - it's not processed in your browser. It's not a part of a webpage but it's the best way for a webpage to interact with a webserver. If you need to run complex, secure or repetitive tasks on a webpage PHP is much more effective, universal and quick than depending on a users web browser to run the code. PHP is often where the magic happens. If you want to succeed in web work you need some magic. HTML 5 is just HTML with a few more commands added. HTML 5 is not new nor is it a replacement for earlier versions of HTML. HTML 5 depends on javascript and CSS to work. HTML 5 is a function of the user's browser. Some web browsers can run some HTML 5 features well, others not so much. HTML 5 really isn't any different than the earlier HTML versions with the exception of the addition of local storage to the web browser and the ability to display and manipulate SVG data. Local storage is a good thing for web developers but it creates a security hole for the end users. For the most part local storage has not caught on with developers because it doesn't always work as expected in different web browsers. XHTML is a joke from the past. It was an early effort to merge XML and HTML into one language. For the most part it has been abandoned except in some old microsoft programs. There are many variants that have been proposed through the years but basic HTML, CSS and Javascript along with improvements in web browsers have made XHTML irrelevant.

For a knife that has just been dulled that's all it takes. I too use diamond. I usually resharpen my knives in less than two minutes each. You don't need to polish a blade for cutting most materials. When I sharpen for show I take the finish to .5 micron but anything more than 1000 grit for a working knife is usually overkill. The Shun knives do sharpen well. Although they are stainless steel with high chrome content they sharpen without the micro chipping common in stainless. They are probably one of the easiest stainless knives I've ever sharpened, better even than Zwilling. To put a new edge on a knife by hand with natural stone can take hours depending on what metal and how much material needs to be removed to achieve your intended angle. Using a 1000 grit stone to reprofile a knife could take days if the inclusive angle is low or the blade is thick.

A 1000 grit stone is too smooth to reshape a knife edge. Try starting with a 200 or 400 grit stone. When you have created a sharp edge with the lower grits you can move on to the 1000 grit stone for refining and finishing. You need to make sure each side is apexed before you move on to the next higher stone grit. If there is no burr the knife edge has not been apexed and it will never be sharp until you apex (get a burr) on both sides along the whole length of the blade. When you first begin to learn to reshape and apex a knife edge by hand expect to spend several hours getting your edge truly sharp. You have the right idea - practice (a lot) on cheap knives when you are learning. It's quite likely you will learn to ruin an edge before you will learn to create a truly sharp edge. Practice, patience and cheap thrift store knives are your friends. The payoff is once you learn to properly sharpen a knife it's like riding a bike, you will have a new skill for life. It will also get a lot faster. hint - Never try to make your stones cut faster by applying more pressure. Your stone can not cut any faster with a heavy stroke than with a light stroke but heavy pressure can damage the stone and your knife.

What a great day! Welcome back Andy. You have been missed.

As Land Matters does every new mining year we are offering for download our annual mining claims flow diagrams and written explanations of the annual BLM mining claim filing requirements. These filing aids have helped many claim owners wade through the BLM filing requirements. These popular PDF handouts are updated for the upcoming 2021 mining year (beginning September 1, 2020). Feel free to share and post these wherever you wish as long as you don't modify them and keep them intact with their copyright notices. Reminder The federal filing deadline this year for all mining claims is Monday August 31, 2020. Download the Free 2020 Annual Federal Mining Claims Filing Requirements

We had FootPrints claims updates in progress in August. Unfortunately my partner passed away unexpectedly before we finished and I've been too overwhelmed with the additional work load to finish the updates yet. I've got another business and I've taken over Leigh's workload at LandMatters as well as the FootPrints service and updates. I hope to have the time to begin updates again before the fall season. I wish I could give you something more definite but I'm still trying to set a workable schedule. You can always send me an email through the FootPrints and check if there is an update available for your particular FootPrint. Barry

And a Merry Christmas to Each and All

For miners. 😃

I saw the same thing Dennis. 3 placer claims and six lode claims filed at the BLM in that section - no sign of a RRPC claim at the BLM. No sign of an RRPC claim at the County Recorder's either. The most recent claim in that section is the B&G recorded in 2015. The club claims there are the Superstition Mountain Treasure Hunters. I've seen some good gold come off those claims. What claim does RRPC say they have there?

The new mining year is approaching fast. Claim owners need to have their BLM mining claims case files updated by August 30 this year. If you are paying the maintenance fee you will need to pony up $165 per lode, millsite or tunnel site claim and $165 per every 20 acres of placer claim you intend to hold. If you are claiming the small miners waiver you need to submit a BLM "MAINTENANCE FEE WAIVER CERTIFICATION" form 3830-2 by August 30. There is no fee for submitting the form but you will be obligated to pay $15 per claim and submit a copy of your recorded affidavit of labor or notice of intent to hold by December 30th. Make sure your 3830-2 has an expiration date of January 31st, 2020 or your claims will be declared abandoned - this is the only OMB approved information collection form and the BLM is a stickler about the expiration dates. Sound complicated? Download the free MinerDiggins Annual Mining Claims flowchart from Land Matters and it will be as easy as following the lines. 👍

The BLM just raised mining claim location fees to $40. They also raised the annual maintenance fees to $165. That $165 applies to every 20 acres on a placer claim. These new fees take effect on September 1, 2019 at 12:01 a.m. If you have already paid your maintenance fees for the upcoming mining year you will still need to pony up the extra $10 per claim/20 acres. The BLM is saying they will send you a notice if you owe more than you have already paid. If they don't you still need to pay so I wouldn't be waiting around for that letter in the mail, just be prepared to pay up before September 1. This will give you an idea of how much the annual base maintenance fees per claim/size will be now. 0-20 acre placer millsite, tunnel site or lode claim = $165 20-40 acre placer claim = $330 40-60 acre placer claim = $495 60-80 acre placer claim = $660 80-100 acre placer claim = $825 100-120 acre placer claim = $990 120-140 acre placer claim = $1155 140-160 acre placer claim = $1320 If you have 10 or fewer claims you may be eligible for the small miner's waiver. The fees are the same for the annual small miner filing $15 per claim no matter what size it is as long as you complete $100 worth of work on each claim. You can read the notice announcing these new fees in today's Federal Register.

Land Matters has begun a new section on their website for new projects in development. The most recent new project is Forest Ownership. This new map tracks Forest Boundaries as well as both surface and subsurface (mineral) ownership on the National Forest System. "Forest Ownership" may sound funny since the common assumption is that all National Forest lands are created equal and are owned by the federal government. Unfortunately it's not really that simple. Land status within the forests varies greatly depending on several factors. We hope by developing this map set individual areas of the forests can be better understood by those who live near, use and research the United States forest reserves. These maps should help you understand why some areas of forest are off limits, why you see houses and farms within a National Forest and who owns the mineral rights in any particular area of a forest. In particular visitors to the eastern states forests can discover why they don't have the free use rights western forest users do. This map is going to be an eye opener for those who believe that all National Forests are the same. Many of the eastern forests are not owned or controlled by the federal government. Often when the U.S. has purchased some rights to surface use the minerals and timber are still owned in whole or in part by private individuals or corporations. When you go to the New Projects Page be sure and click on the "Forest Ownership" tab in the center of the page and read the background I've written for these new map layers. That background can really help you understand what you are seeing on these maps. The purpose of introducing these new projects while they are still in development is to get user feedback. You can have a direct influence on how these maps are developed and used as well as helping Land Matters define which projects should receive priority in their development. Please leave any comments you may have and if a particular project seems worthwhile consider supporting that project to help it along. Here is the link to the New Projects Page. Just click on the "Forest Ownership" tab then choose the Forest Ownership map link on the right to open the new project map in a new tab.

That's sad. Cindy ran a good operation and was really prospector friendly. The Sierra Vista will be missed.

It's that time again. The August 31 deadline to make your required annual mining claims filings is only a month away. As she does every year Ruby has compiled general guidelines and a graphic flow chart to help claim owners understand their annual obligations. If you are confused about the process or just want a refresher review these could help make the process clearer. These are a free download. Feel free to share, distribute or print these out as long as you retain the attribution. General Guidelines Flow Chart Whatever you do don't be late. You will lose your claim if your filings aren't on time. Feel free to ask questions.

Congrats Rob. Nice find. You finally broke into the 10 ounce club!