SitRep

Spring and all that.

  • It’s time to start working on building out the fencing for the backyard. That means renting a machine to drill big fenceposts into the corners, cementing those corners in, and then setting a ton of t-posts and stretching fence. Also building at least three gates. This is a lot of work.
  • We’re expanding the veggie portion of the garden with two new 4×8′ beds. Lots of new flower plantings elsewhere, too, as well as 20-odd planting bags for blue potatoes.
  • The new front-yard border is being wildly expanded. Lots of pollinator-friendly plants and color going in.
  • We got a new electric ride-on mower last year (to replace a very, very dead gas mower), and while it’s better in every single way, it’s… huge. The deck is 54″ wide, and that means it’s difficult to get into anywhere tight- like the orchard. I’m hoping when the yard fence is done, the orchard fencing can come out, and that’ll make it easier to keep things tidy in there.
  • God the studio/office needs an overhaul. Storage, books, gear, and a rack all really need to happen, and it’s high-time I got the circular saw out again.
  • I have, apparently, a new bike incoming. It was a bit of a surprise, and I’ve never owned one like it before- it’s a full suspension mtb. And while those have existed for a long time, I’ve never owned one. It’ll be interesting to see how it folds into my quiver of bikes.

SitRep

Is it Spring yet? No? Sorta?

  • I’ve started work on the garden/yard for the year- pruning the pear tree heavily, setting some spring bulbs in the ground, and cleaning up the crab apple tree and others.
  • I’m almost done with the planning of the new garden enclosure- I’m moving the fence and gate(s) to enclose the orchard area, too, and I’m using the opportunity to create some structure around a patio for outdoor cooking and whatnot.
  • The new camera rig is together. Some old parts (a Canon EOS M at the heart of the thing, with some very old Konica lenses in use), some new parts (a cage and nato-railed handle, modern HDMI out, and a solid-mounted tripod plate), and it’s a pretty cohesive thing to use. I’m just starting to shoot new videos.
  • I finally cleaned the gunk out of the pots on my NAD receiver, and what-do-you-know it sounds nicer.
  • I found an old set of instructions for a DIY low-budget pizza oven, which seems like a good place to start to see if we’d use such a thing enough to justify a larger and more costly solution.

SitRep

Here’s where things stand:

  • School vacation was last week, and so most of my time was put towards cleaning and providing stimulation for the littles. Historic tours, athletic outings, elaborate dinners, etc.
  • Finished a couple of novels (currently trying to burn through the Slow Horse books). Working on Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act.
  • One of those go-back-to-go-forward sort of times- lots of resetting the house to make it ready for the next push forward. Studio rack, art finally getting hung, more book storage, etc etc etc.
  • Starting to bring in Spring supplies- gardening pots, clothing, travel supplies.
  • Building out a camera rig to get back to shooting video again.
  • Investigating a bike rack for my car.

Update and Sitrep

Let’s see where things stand.

We did our first big trip with the family out west this summer to the Tetons, Dinosaur National Monument, and Yellowstone. I was initially worried about crowds at Yellowstone, but our trip was excellent. A totally, unmitigated success.

There are several new projects at work to stand up- two new Master’s programs, several smaller grants & stand alones, and a slightly higher degree of support for some existing programs (some instructor turn over and whatnot).

Bike projects about- I’m starting the long-term prep for a potential go at the D2R2 ride in August 2020. I’m currently considering the 100k option (which, like all the routes, is mostly unpaved, unmarked, and very hilly). The full-banana is a 180k option, but there’s an ungodly amount of climbing, and I’d rather start somewhat more conservatively on a first attempt. Anyway, that means the gravel bike (which has so far been mostly assembled as a proof-of-concept) will need to be brought up to full-spec. Drivetrain changes are sorted, but fenders, brakes, and rider fit need some ongoing refinement.

I’ve made some progress with the studio- though not as much as I’d like. Summer was, predictably, super busy, and there weren’t as many opportunities to invest large blocks of time as I might have hoped. Still- a bunch of stuff put into storage, some better organization, and I’ve opened up a good amount of floor space. I’m pleased it’s a much more efficient space to create in- that’s a major priority for me- but I think the next phase will further improve it’s function (and aesthetics)

I’ve been teaching myself to braze. Joining metal together is a powerful skill- it allows you to build things that mostly aren’t possible any other way, and brazing is (I think) the lowest cost entry into that world. I’ve brazed aluminum before, but that’s a much lower temperature (and much less strong) process, so I really wanted to get into brass brazing steel. It’s super fun, and I still have loads to learn, but it’s rewarding and maybe even useful.

Updates

I’ve updated the layout of this site- I’ve made the home page of the site static, and I’ve moved the Blog portion to the left side menu.

I’ve been updating my status blog for three months now, every day. Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll continue to do that.

I’m itching for a couple of larger building projects for the studio. The full-sized rack mount, a turntable stand (with aux gear) on casters, some large format art storage, and one or two other smaller bits. It’s so close, and I’d just like to get this phase sorted all the way.

There’s a long-term project I’m spending some time prepping for, too- travel with the family. That means a bunch of gear, so I’ll be busy designing/building/testing some of that in the coming months.

SitRep

I’m not entirely sure what to say, still. Regardless:

  • New bike frame has been ordered, shipped, and has come. Headset gets pressed in tomorrow, then a build (and maybe a ride. maybe). Pics when it’s together. I’ll say it’s steel, uses 26″ wheels, has a rear disc brake mount, and more “modern” geometry than the previous ride (which is a bit of a joke, it seems to me. But that’s a longer post).
  • New(ish) logo on this page- in the left menu, as well as in the title bar. Not 100% yet on it, but no reason to let perfect get in the way of progress.
  • I’ve started thinking about a new shoulder bag. Some of my jackets don’t really want to work properly with my backpack (anything with structured shoulders, really…), and so a shoulder bag is in the mix. I’d be pretty ok with one of these, I suspect- well, every aspect other than the price tag. So: drafting plans here. Could be a while, though. Tends to be how it goes.
  • I think I’m ready to really dive into a re-design of a trench coat I picked up. It’s a lovely thing, but it’s build as an over coat, and the layers it was built to wear over are significantly bulkier than anything I’m going to be wearing under it. And it needs some other work, too, so that’s a thing.

 

SitRep

New(ish)

  • 20mm to 15mm x 110mm front axel conversions for bicycle front wheels
  • Remaking a small shoulder bag to replace my existing (NF-P-126 spec)
  • Graphic Design Accessibility Standards (hints, anyone?)
  • Small tool organization
  • Movable vice mounting (casters are a terrible option)
  • 650b bike rims with an internal width of 38mm and welded seams
  • I’ve begun a shoe re-sole, but I need to build up a midsole somewhat before I continue

SitRep

Oh, my, how times flies. Things that have/are happening:

  • The shelf project lags on. Honestly, I’m polyurethane away from being done, but the temperatures have just been too low.
  • New computer project- progress! A slightly batty solution, perhaps, but interesting none-the-less.
  • Summer shoe purchase has arrived- the spiritual successor to my favorite summer shoes of all them, the mesh slip-on converse all stars (which, for reasons I don’t understand, they don’t make anymore).
  • At work, I’ve been working on some best practices for online video- and now I’m at the storyboard-it-out phase. I’m not looking forward to being on camera for this end product, but that’s part of the job, you know?
  • I’m shaping spacers to replace the tweeters on my vintage KLH Model 30 Speakers- these are hopefully destined for the study room, and they’re two steps away from done: new tweeters installed and speaker grill fabric replaced with something less hideous.
  • This site saw a bit of a behind the scenes overhaul- there were some nasty people trying to brute force their way into the WordPress install here, and I had to take some steps to deal with that. Done, anyway.

It’s Back.

So- it’s time. The newsletter is back.
I sent out a smaller edition of it last week, and that was fine. But it was short, and I’m hoping this week will be the first full-sized edition in a few weeks [edit: nope! still a small one…]. To that end, if you’ve not subscribed, you probably should (the sign up form is over on the left side of this page). I’ve realized that by volume, the vast majority of my writing is *actually* in my newsletters. Sure, they’re composed of a few links a week, but I try to offer some commentary as well as some context for my choices. Remember, what I’m trying to offer is a steady stream of useful and inspiring material that you might not have stumbled on yourself.
Anyway.
If you’ve been following here, you know that I’m “in between” computers at the moment. As a result, I’ve been writing and working on an iPad as my “primary” device- though, I suppose, if you were to do the math by calculating hours of screen time, my iPhone would be my “primary.” Whatever. The iPad I’ve been using used to be in heavy rotation by my kids, but they recently got upgraded devices, so me, not being someone who lets something go to waste, decided to see if I could make use of their old devices. I’m writing this now on an iPad. Not an iPad2, not an iPad Air, an iPad. The first one. OG.
Honestly? Not bad. I’d rather browse the web via my phone anyway, so that’s not much of a hangup. And I’d rather play games or consume media elsewhere, too- so that’s not much of an issue. Indeed, what I use this for is writing and drawing (and, I suppose, to a lesser degree for reading…). I just picked up a docking keyboard (the original Apple deal- which has a much nicer keyboard action that it has any right to…) for something like $6 on eBay. It’s a wickedly nice setup, now- it looks nice where it lives (which is weirdly the kitchen counter), it comes apart easily, and it’s a decent sized screen for me to write on. I managed to research, write, edit, do the graphic work, and send the newsletter entirely from this here ancient device. Not too shabby, eh? And this keyboard? No joke, this thing here. Great key action, lovely dedicated buttons to lock/unlock/home/play/volume/etc, and (this might be the best part) Tab actually works to move from text field to text field on the web. That’s key (sorry).
So. Where to next?
Obviously, my ancient device system isn’t workable for all my projects- I like the iPad on the counter in the kitchen, but it won’t do for heavy lifting tasks (In my world, that’d be photo management and editing, video editing and management, IoT development, and other administrative tasks). Clearly, then, a new computer is in the works. Likely an iMac, likely 27″, likely Retina. Speaking of IoT, that’s further to the front of my mind than ever. I have a garage project in the works for that, and the list of things I’d like to do keeps growing faster than I can manage, so plenty left on that front. Also, a slew of crafting projects (mostly in front of a sewing machine), and some looming house projects (getting the library up and running, for example). Plenty to keep busy.

Current EDC Update

Oh my. Never a dull moment with this (mostly because I’m never really satisfied). Current:

  • iPhone 5s 16bg Space Grey in a Magpul case
  • Ikea Kullar Vacuum flask
  • CORTIÇA mug
  • Custom CP3 Ti ring
  • Croton 1878 (on a silicone deployment band)
  • Friday & River wallet
  • Uniball Signo Micro 206 (0.38 black)
  • Retrakt Aluminum (G2 0.5 Black refill)
  • Field Notes Dark As Night x2
  • Leuchtturm1917 (standard size, dot grid)
  • Canonet QL17 Giii (this thing seems pretty sweet- though the meter isn’t working [yet] and I’ve just redone the light seals, so…)
  • Kershaw/Emerson CQC
  • Custom Bag (NF-P-815)