Month: April 2018

Twice in a week!

• I’ve run into/met up with two former students this week- it was pretty neat to see how they’re turning out as people (spoiler: pretty awesome). Also: stop calling me Mr. Calvin. Jeeze.
• Studio v3 continues. I’ve finally got plans for the rack mount case completed, so I’m just about ready to buy the rest of the stuff and build things out. Pretty exciting.
• I’ve made some bike repairs this week, too. Some out of necessity (I wrecked a rear tire on my mountain bike), and some out of pseudo maintenance (my road bike badly needed new bar tape). Both had oddball complications (a tire that wouldn’t seat and had a puncture; finishing twine that was a bit too furry for the use), and both had creative solutions (I built a high-volume air chamber to push a lot of air into the tire rapidly and I used some sealant and cotton to patch the puncture; I wrapped the twine carefully and then burnt off any wayward fibers).
• I just sent out the 91st mailing of my newsletter. It feels weird to have been working on that project for so long (a bit over three years!), and to still be finding interesting stuff to share with folks.
• I’ve been starting to thing about tandem bikes more (and bikes in general, always). My kids are getting to the point where they might fit on the back of some, and that’d mean I could do Dad-time and Bike-time all at the same time. That’s efficient! Also: sharing something I love with the people I love makes me melt inside. That said, I’ve also been learning a lot about TIG welding, so take from that what you will.

updatesupdatesupdates

• All the specialty hardware for the new version of the studio is in. And the weather is turning better. You know what’s next.
• Waist bag v1 is done. I’ve weirdly been using it day-to-day at work because it holds my salad container and whatnot perfectly, but I’m sure I’ll have it out on the bike soon. It’s a draft, but it came out way better than I’d hoped for a beta. It still has a couple of changes I’ll make (buckles, internal seams, etc), but it’s nearly in its finished form. 
• I’m going to update the new/old Mac Mini I got. Max out the RAM, maybe add an SSD to make it snappy right quick fast.
• I’ve begun designing a cable cam. That’s a camera platform that runs along a wire- it’s like a gondola for a camera. It’d be great for moving shots and other neat vantage points. There’s a lot of ways to skin that cat, and it’s a matter of walking the line between simple and complicated. Also: given the time this might take me, drones might progress enough with price/obstacle avoidance/subject following to make it moot. We’ll see.
• My dad ended up with a Software Defined Radio Receiver from Adafruit and was showing it to me while I was there on vacation. Now I need one (and to integrate it into studio v3.

Updates.

• The studio overhaul is making more progress- all the specialty hardware for the build has been ordered and is en route. Final drawings are finished, so now it’s a matter of getting the rest of the parts list (that’s all locally available), and waiting a bit for the weather to turn just a little more- the finish work on the wood requires temperatures we’re not seeing consistently enough. Soon, though.
• Back to riding and shooting video again. The temps are up enough (and the trails have dried enough) to make mountain biking a workable thing again. I’m really excited about this season. (New silly video here) I’ve even got 3 out of 4 bikes ready to ride so far.
• The new network/server infrastructure is up and working. My NAS is pretty much where I want it to be, and the new server seems to handle the loads it’s seeing with some degree of grace. I’m really looking forward to getting everything organized and neat in the new rack system.
• Shoulder bag version 5 came together in a single day. I decided that I’d been letting complexity get the better of me, and that for the best functionality I should pare things back as much as I possibly could. Taking some inspiration from musette bags (of the cycling type), the new bag is super simple. 500d Cordura outer, 400d nylon liner, a bit of velcro and some padding, and it’s done. Works really well, so far. (I think I’ll do a retrospective of my shoulder bag projects in a post at some point.)
• nvALT is a lovely, lovely thing. My affection for txt files has only grown, and this tiny bit of software is a special thing.

I can’t imagine anyone actually reads these. Regardless,

Updates!:

• Studio project v0.3 actually made some real progress- studs have all been mapped, a scale drawing has been done, and I’ve got a full parts list for the desks and shelves (though I still have some work to do on the rack). I’ve marked the wall for mounting, and started moving the mass of gear to give myself reasonable access during the build.
• Shoulder bag v5 just came off the sewing machine. It’s about as simple as I could imagine, and I’m hoping that means I’ll use it and stop fretting so much. Also: getting something done in one sitting always feels pretty cool.
• PLEX setup v3 is nearly up and running. I’ve picked up a Synology DS418 NAS for storage, and it’s loaded with 4 x 4TB drives. That is talking to an older Mac Mini running PLEX (handling the transcoding and whatnot), and those are both running over gigabit ether. All that means I finally have enough storage, I have backups dealt with, and I can run PLEX 24/7 without seeing the bump on my electric bill.
• My trail bike is ready to ride- I finally swapped out a bent rear rotor. I’ll need to air the tires and lube the chain, but it should be good to go. I’d love to take it out soon… it’s just still snowing here. I’ll wait until that stops, thanks.