Category: SitRep

Ah, time for another one of these:

• Settling into a bike choice, it seems. 26″ wheels (because it’s what I have/know/love), hardtail, steel. Sticking with my initial thinking that all I really want is steel/rear disc brake/more tire clearance. Currently researching rear axle standards (9×135 vs 12×142)
• Working on the logo more, and once I finalize it, having some patches made. Not settled yet, but thinking currently about embroidered (compared to PVC or printed vinyl)
• The new car spreadsheet grows- I’ve opted to keep all my options open, and include everything relevant on the sheet, and I’ll narrow down from there. Anything with three rows of seats right now. I’ve got fields for MPG, cost/mile to operate, max hitch tongue weight, wheels driven, and desirable years/variants.
• Studio 3.0 organization is under way- slowly and surely things are finding homes, storage is being purchased/built, and workflow utopia lies ahead (surely!).

Hi all:

• Working on a new logo/video version of said logo. I’m not a designer nor animator, so… yeah. Slow.
• New bike frame. Early, early stages here. Currently have developed the ugliest spreadsheet in the world to manage the project. Was going to be a (mostly) entirely new bike, now looks more like a new frame with (mostly) existing parts. I’d thought I’d be into moving from my “dated” 26″ wheels to the new-school 27.5+”, but as it turns out I mostly want a rear disk brake and some fatter tire clearance. And wider handlebars, too. I’ll post up more info as I start narrowing things down.
• Sewing: I’ve got a pair of pants nearly full disassembled for patterning- but this is a road I’ve never really gone down before. Could take a while.
• A new shelf system going into the house to help accommodate the glut of books we own. It’ll be partner to the larger instal we did in our dining room/library here.

Trying to do these more often.

Currently:

• Wireless multi-monitor options
• Cars with third row seating
• Commonplace books (via Patrick Rhone)
• Sewing Trousers (this is wildly ambitious)
• Alternative PLEX hosting (via custom NAS?)
• Potential USB3 to DVI video outputs
• Sourcing better 100% wool felt sheets

Oh, summer, where have you gone?

Currently:

• Custom rack mounting rails (parts built, assembly needed)
• Hard disk storage & rack mounts
• Seam-sealing coated Codura 500d
• Human Epigenetic shifts
• Patterning hooded sweatshirts
• Shoe midsole foam sourcing (fiber-impregnated EPA foam?)
• Large scale re-positionable VESA monitor mounts (via 80/20 extrusion?)
• Backpack (NF-P-815) v2.0 (full post on this coming soon)
• Broadcast DVR via Plex & Internet enabled tuner (beta)

 

 

Currently:

• External GPU chassis options
• Highly efficient cd & dvd ripping program
  • multiple dvd drives
  • queued rips
• Better personal digital dashboard options
• Reconfiguration of my home studio office
• Better modular project storage
• Flat file storage & art archive
• Hand-wired Mechanical Keyboard firmware development
• Rack mounted hard drive storage

Things I’m up to (the real quick version):

• Mechanical Keyboard Proj #2 is wired- working on firmware now.
• My Chip and Dip from NTC finally came (needs to be flashed and whatnot)
• Fly Rod Tube proj is painted- needs mounts made next
• Working to source Grip Heads and 5/8″ pins for mounting monitors
• Shoe re-sole proj (v2) parts are ordered and on the way
• MTB #1 drivetrain (v3) parts are en-route (1×9 w/ a Narrow/Wide chainring)
• Mechanical Keyboard Proj #1 is shipped- should be here shortly (custom key caps are already here and waiting)
• Working on lighting options for the garage (led work strips?)
• Working on web-based dashboards for realtime updates
• Beginning to source frames for a massive art-hanging project

Here’s what’s going on:

• Mini Keyboard project #1 is underway. I’ve de-soldered the original keyboard, cut down the switch mounting plate, and remounted the switches. It’s pretty small- 40 keys or so- and the diodes, wire, and Teensy 2.0 to run it should be at my house when I get home today. So: wiring, then case mounting/building, then programming the AVR, then it’s a keyboard.
• Micro keyboard #1 is also underway- I’ve got the key layout template finalized, and now I just need to cut the acrylic plate. Then it’s time to build an enclosure and source switches and caps. And then build the rest, I suppose.
• Basement Shelves v1.0 is done, and I’m slowly making some auxiliary record storage (mostly for the 10″ and 7″ records). Always more to go there.
• Working on a better web-based dashboard setup for displaying relevant information on screens. That’ll likely mean running a lightweight web server on some hardware in the house (and having that compile and format the data) and then using low-weight hardware to drive the displays with that data. Baby steps.
• Garage storage is at the top of the list right now- new rack shelving needs brought in, a bunch of older junk needs to go out, and bikes need to get hung on walls. There’s just no other way.
• Material storage remains a challenge in the garage, too. I’ve got a stack of supplies out there, and I need better ways to manage that. Given the headroom I’ve got, vertical seems to be the move, but I’ll still have to give it some thought.
• My re-tailoring of a jacket is taking a while, as I’m trying to figure out if I can/need/should undo the existing seams, or just cut them out and redo from there. Dunno. Yet.
• I’ve got a pair of shoes that need re-soling, and I need to source a decent sole for them. They’ve got smooth rubber on the bottom now, but I want to put a pow-profile lugged sole on instead. Sourcing is a problem.
• I can feel Backpack v2.0 coming- I’m working up the steam to put in the cloth order and get going on it. Honestly, I need to decide on a color. v1.0 is black, but I’ve been rattling around doing something else. The design is vaguely military-esq, and I don’t want this thing to scream MALL NINJA, so I think I want to stay away from Coyote Brown or OD Green or whatever. Definitely no camo- no other patterns either.
• Working on more/new content for here. Always.
• Newsletter is up to #65. Subscribe in the sidebar.

More to come.

Lots of balls in the air right now, as it were.

• Custom re-work of a NOS Desert Storm-era fishtail parka. Re-fitting the entire coat, as it was designed as an over-over-coat, and that’s not my intended use.
• Backpack V2.0 needs attention. Fabric choices, paints (yes, paints), hardware, etc all to be picked- but progress!
• Roof top fly rod tube- for transporting multiple fly fishing rods. Finalized hardware today, started amassing parts and paints for the build. Not a complicated thing, but the paint job is non-trivial. Pictures will follow.
• Just finished a small “impossible artifact”- it’s a ceramic set of “brass” knuckles made as if NASA during the Apollo era might have spec’d such a thing. Sort-of. They were a fidgety thing to make- air drying clay is fickle, and free-handing a red worm NASA logo as an embossed thing into the clay? Yeah. Again: pics to follow.
• Custom macro keypad (as mentioned in the previous post). I’ve got the key layout done, the keyplate bought (but not cut…), and I’m making progress on the enclosure. Some hardware sourced, some decisions still to be made.
• New camera storage unit is built- needs some tidying of wires and whatnot, but it’s holding all the cameras and looking good.
• Project Xserve is complete- it’s up and running 10.11.4 with no problems, it’s got a new video card and a USB 3.0 card (with a separate controller for each port), and tons of storage. Odds and ends to come, I’m sure, but for now: done.
• My 1970’s KLH speaker overhaul drags on- turns out making wooden ring spacers is tricky. I’ve not given up yet, though.

Annnnddd that’s it for now. Plenty of other things, but those can all wait until next time.

Oh man, I’m in deep.

My (most) current obsession is monochrome everything. Here’s the run-down of how that’s manifested (thus far):

• My iPhone’s home button has been set to toggle the entire phone into greyscale mode with a triple press.
• I’ve installed Lenka on my phone- it’s a camera app that only does B&W photos. I know you can apply a B&W filter, or that you can set the stock camera app to B&W mode, but you can’t make the camera stay in that mode, and applying the filter after-the-fact robs you of a B&W viewfinder.
• I’ve spent a mildly embarrassing amount of time researching B&W only digital cameras. Yes, there are (a few), but they’re wildly expensive (Leica) or super-specialty (custom conversion).
• I’ve got my analog film processing gear all located and ready- I’m likely due for some new fixer, but we’re nearly ready to develop the growing backlog of film I’ve shot.
• [edit] I’ve also just swapped the display on this computer to greyscale, too. Lovely.