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My daughter wrote me a card, unprompted, during her "quiet time" (she's moving away from naps) that says "Daddy I leev u". She's four and a half. "Love" is a tough word to spell when you're four. She's learned how to send voice texts via WhatsApp so she bombards me with quick little 'I love you so so so much' snippets five or ten at a time when my wife picks her up from camp. Meanwhile she's grown two shoe sizes since I left in June, is big enough for a booster seat and is apparently ready for a bicycle with pedals. And here I sit, a thousand miles away. I finished Dreamland two days ago which made me realize my neighbor overdosed last year. He and his wife have been on disability for chronic pain since 2003; it would be asymptotically unlikely for them not to be on oxycontin. Which could explain some of the economics of the place; there are eight people in there but only two of them work and they're putting on an addition, despite the fact that apparently they haven't gotten a settlement from his death yet. This is particularly troubling as their nine year old (on the spectrum, maybe some other stuff going on) is my daughter's most common playmate. He's brought lighters over before, and his dad visibly beat him in front of my daughter when he was discovered to have ripped up some disability checks. The kid's 16-year-old uncle lives over there too and last week he was walking around shirtless; we got to see his whipping scars. It's not an emergent problem. But it is a problem. On the one hand, we're reasonably certain that we are the kid's one source of vegetables (he eats with our daughter often) and likely a principle point of stability in his life. On the other hand, he's the most immediate vector opiates have into my daughter's life, and their house is a tragedy unfolding. There is no good solution here that makes things happy ever after. And it eats at me. On the plus side, I spent lunch yesterday with a 2nd generation watchmaker with 40 years experience and signed up for an engine turning class, apparently the only engine turning class in the United States, which happens in December just down the road from me.
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A dear friend of mine befriended the two little girls next door to him, who were clearly not being fed regularly or attending school regularly, and were on the path to be meth heads like the rest of their family. Eventually he formally adopted them. His wife disagreed with his decision, and left him. He died last year. The two girls are now both in college, and use his last name as their own. He set up trickle trust funds for them, so they have a little base income and a leg up on the world. Feeding the neighbor kid vegetables is only part of your gift. He also gets to see what a real family is like, and what a real home can be like. Maybe that's enough to break the chain of destitution that his family clearly hangs from. You are a good man, my friend.
thenewgreen · 38 days ago · link ·
My wife is also 7 months pregnant. I feel awful about this. I tell myself it's all worth it. Well, it had better be. SOme things can't be replicated, some things are just gone forever. I'll never be able to see my son take his first ride without training wheels. That kills me.And here I sit, a thousand miles away.
I feel you pal. This summer my kids have lost their first teeth, learned to ride a bike, how to swim, my daughter swam to the dock - a big deal. My kids are growing and doing a lot of firsts and I'm gone.
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AnSionnachRua · 36 days ago · link ·
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon... I hope you get to spend some quality time with your family soon, tng. And congrats on the new one coming!
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thenewgreen · 36 days ago · link ·
Thanks old friend. I will make it up to them soon. I'll be much better than the dad in the Harry Chapin song :)
I think one reason I value your opinion the way I do and can enjoy reading a comment you make here that I don't agree with at all, just as an example since I can't think of an example of that, is there is always a healthy consideration you give to a great many things. Or at least I've come to perceive that from you. So that comment in particular is not obviously something I could relate to because we are kinda vastly different even if we seem to find common ground pretty often. But honestly, with the knowledge over here that I can sometimes seem incredibly full of shit because I will say things that may seem so saccharine it would make me sick if I heard someone else say it, my heart breaks a tiny bit when I read that. Not that it's particularly insightful on its own or sentimental. Maybe because I see things in it that I can relate to incredibly indirectly. And frankly the opiate problem as a topic is something I've become well acquainted with through no effort on my part or from being in a part of the country where it's worse. Meh. You're a good man, Charlie Brown. I guess a lot of people want your advice but I don't know if anyone has ever just said keep it up. Whatever that's worth from me to you
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I know. I just like how ya do it. And when you unleash a screed against someone I feel deserves it, it beautiful. I found a nuanced, complex person on the internet. It's like I saw a unicorn. Yeah. I think you got the point a while ago and after that I'm kinda just masturbating
You and thenewgreen are breaking my heart. Children are becoming very real shadows on my horizon and, while they were off in the distance, I feared them being born with genetic defects or dying from something outside of my control. While those things are still scary they don't inspire the deep gut fear that comes from the thought of disappointing my potential offspring. I don't even have them and it makes me sad. Sorry man.
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francopoli · 37 days ago · link ·
Just remember we live in arguably one of the best times ever to be alive. Crime is very low, most health problems have a solution, child labour is non-existent and there are amazing things happening in all facets of technology and work and engineering. Its easy to see the world as shit because shit sells ad copy. But we humans just sent a rocket to a space station and landed the booster back for reuse. We are using AIDS to, if not cure at least fight, leukemia. Heart disease, cancer etc are now on the run. The biggest mass murders of humanity? Polio, measles, smallpox? They are now epidemics if 100 people contact the disease. The kids born today are going to look at the early 2000's the same way we look at the early 1900's when nobody had electricity or running water and infant mortality was in the order of 40%. Things get better.
I didn't want kids for the longest time. After all, I was a complete fuckup. My parents, who have three bachelor's degrees, a Master's and a Ph.D between them, really fucked things up. I had met many a broken human whose catastrophes were clearly caused by their upbringing. But the thing is? Common sense goes a long goddamn way. Golden Rule takes you the rest of the way. And the little ones start out from a baseline of loving you unconditionally. Early on, whatever you do it must be right because you're doing it. I've had a crisis of faith because the kid is so easy. This says one of two things: (1) I was a truly horrible kid, well beyond the abilities of my parents to deal with me (2) They were truly colossal fuckups, the depths of their incompetence previously unguessed by me So either I hate myself more, or I hate my parents more. But my kid? She's got no hate for anyone, least of all me. Yours won't either. They'll think you're the greatest daddy that ever lived, until you're older, and then they'll probably take things on balance.
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Back home from a lovely two weeks of road tripping through Sweden. Funny how a camping holiday makes you re-appreciate modern utilities like a decent shower or a good chair. I kept my daily meditation streak going (71 days and counting!) but it was such a relaxing trip that I didn't really need to unwind. Clarity of mind comes easy when there is little to worry about. Söderåsens National Park was gorgeous for how small it is. (Note that my frame of reference is the Canadian Rocky Mountains.) We hiked 5 km on the first evening and 16,5 km on the next day (10 miles). If it didn't rain an entire day when we were at Store Mosse National Park, I'm sure we also would've done a bunch of hiking there. While I'm not sure how well I would fare when hiking with a bunch of gear, I do think I'd love to try it. Just before the holiday I got a new cheap lens for my Canon, a 24mm prime to accompany my 50mm prime. I love that thing, it knocks the kit lens out of the park. I also experimented with HDR and panorama shots (with mixed results). The above picture is one of the coolest I think I've ever taken and it's a composite from 16 different shots. Here's a small album of a few photo's I've taken for those interested.
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Those are some great shots. The one above is amazing. I'd be really proud of taking that photo. You now have two lenses. Allow me to share one of the easiest maxims in photography: limit yourself to the three hours surrounding sunrise, and the three hours surrounding sunset. Yeah, you can get pictures other times but if you look over every "great shot" you've ever taken, I'll bet you'll discover that the overwhelming majority of them were taken near sunrise or sunset. Following this rule also allows you to be sociable and not annoy the shit out of your friends and companions with stopping down all the time. They'll know that you're all theirs until the light gets really really good.
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One of the nice things about this maxim is that this time period is when a lot of animals are most active, to avoid the heat of the mid-day. So if you're ever into shooting wildlife, this works on another level. limit yourself to the three hours surrounding sunrise, and the three hours surrounding sunset.
Thanks! I have a natural tendency to do that, about a third of all my photos are of sunsets and another third around sunset. The midday photos almost always have blown-out lights and highlights. On the other hand, my friends know I like to take photos and I know they like the photos I've made, so they don't really complain at all.
psychoticmilkman · 37 days ago · link ·
Amazing shots!! I only recently got my camera back have finally got a chance to play with a 50mm prime. I can't wait to get more and a 24 is high on the list.
so crazy.... I never drink on Tuesdays... but WHY NOT?!?!?! I was saving this post for tomorrow... but I'll share today. I have been out of my mind with life changes... but hey - it's mostly good stuff. I sold my house yesterday and am homeless for another couple hours until I close on the new one. My kid got a drivers' license and insurance jumped. My job has been garbage for a while, and after the closing is complete, I'm going to make a change. My life is in boxes. Me and a dozen of my closest friends get to move them all tonight. It'll be a party. Cheers Hubski! UPDATE: I am no longer homeless. My life is still in boxes... But those boxes are 6.2 miles northwest of their previous location. New (used) house! Huzzah!
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Hello All. Not sure if you've noticed, but I've been on hiatus for a bit. Been dealing with morons of such colossal proportions recently that I can look at things like the events of the weekend and say to myself, "Yeah, that makes sense." It's an interesting (for lack of a better word) feeling to be simultaneously overwhelmed with hope and despair; such is the life of anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur, I suppose. Been in such overdrive mode that I haven't really conceived of the fact that in 5 months I will be a small, helpless person's legal guardian (what people who aren't in denial call a "father"). Have 4 trips to go on in the next two weeks (3 for business and one to watch the eclipse with my dad), which sounds like a lot until you talk to my business partners, who just call that a normal two week span, so no complaints about it from me (except for this thinly veiled one). I'm normally the sort who can see "many sides" to most events. Part of it comes naturally to me, and part of it is cultivated from reading many thousands of pages on history. (For example, I had a Twitter conversation with a conservative today in which I got him to admit that open carry can sometimes appear threatening--a little empathy goes a long way.) However, I find myself now in an adversarial relationship with a group of men who are simply intransigent. Not sure how to deal with that, since it's devoid of logic. They simply don't like me, don't like my boss, and they've taken the position to tell me to go fuck myself, even to their own detriment. Difficult to deal with, because even bad or perverse logic can be decoded and responded to. When the debate is being framed by people who would rather burn down the building than sell it to you, your options become fewer. Thinking of maneuvering to a scorched Earth policy, but there's no uncrossing that bridge.
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The secret is to not think of them as "small helpless persons" and yourself as their "legal guardian" but to view them as people in training with you as the trainer. The guy sitting next to you in Driver's Ed has a responsibility to keep you from crashing into stuff; that's pretty much what's up, times a couple decades. The other secret is to understand that humans come out premature because the optimal curve fit between brain size and pelvis size involves booting the baby out of the uterus eight weeks earlier than the primate model would suggest. As such, they don't really become persons in training for a while. The first bit they're fetuses on the half shell. Congrats, good luck, and god speed.
blackbootz · 39 days ago · link ·
It's been three months since I bought a house. And it's only this week that I feel settled, excited about coming home to it, all cozy like. I underestimated how moving into a new home is work for a long time. I have a week off work before school starts August 28. I'm not sure what I want to do with it but I've had some ideas. I look back fondly on the time I was stuck in a remote place of the world with the no internet or cell phone service, going to bed by 9pm and rising by 5am, reading for hours a day and feeling in tune with myself. I might want to try to replicate that for a few days. Go on helpx.com and find a cabin in the mountains or something. I believe in rites or ceremonies to demarcate new phases. Me feeling adjusted for the first time, on top of school starting, feels like a new phase indeed.
This community is a nice place, and I would like to be a bigger part of it. So I figure the best way to do that is to show up and start saying things. Self I recently came to the realization that vulnerability is hard for me and always has been. I've always felt like a peripheral in groups: Accepted, but not an integral member. I used to think that I had some quality that prevented me from being fully accepted, or that my social groups were just lacking that depth. But I realized the reason is how unwilling I am to be real with people. To be seen as imperfect, and to show things like pride, bitterness, bewilderment, and jealousy. And to empathize when people talk to me about those things, and not act like I don't struggle with them too. Personal Projects I've been reading Deep Work, and it's really eye opening for a lot of different reasons. It made me realize that I rapidly bounce my attention between different projects, and end up making substantial progress on none of them. So I made a list of all the projects I want to accomplish, and it's huge. Make web apps (and learning web development in the process), Finish learning Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3, do my new blog, write an ebook about FPGA development... too much to do at once. The next step is spending time prioritizing the most important projects, and then scheduling long blocks of time where I only work one thing, until they are done. This means I have to stop thinking about a lot of interesting things because I don't have time for them, which is hard. I've also been reading The Name of the Wind, and it's so entertaining, but I just want to scream at Kvothe. Just... settle down, play your lute, make cool shit, be friendly to Ambrose, and things will blow over. You're causing most of your own problems. It's not fate that Hemme and Ambrose hate you and are doing things to mess up your life. You caused that, you little shit. Learn some diplomacy and get over yourself. Some people are jerks, but success is more important than revenge. You can take physical beatings but can't stand even a nick to your precious ego.
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When in a group of people, just ask questions. Ask what somebody does for fun. Ask them what they like to cook, or where they last went on vacation. Most people enjoy talking, and sharing their experiences. People who listen are rare, and valued. Also, science shows that the person who does less talking in a conversation is seen to be more intelligent. So, bonus! After a while, you will find how to engage with people honestly and openly. When someone tells you of the amazing sunrise they saw from their tent when they went camping, you can relate when you had a similar feeling. It's genuine, it's participating in the conversation, and you don't have to worry about your pride or perfection or anything. And welcome to Hubski, and Pubski. This is a good place to practice. :-)
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Most people enjoy talking, and sharing their experiences. People who listen are rare, and valued. To add to this, something that's easy to practice with is simply mirroring what they speak about. IT gives the impression of active listening, and engages you in the conversation. A few good stem lines I use are: - [Paraphrase their answer to your initial question], did I get that? - [Repeat answer with some variance], tell me more. - [Rephrase answer]. That makes a lot of sense to me, because [insert your own relatable experience]. Exactly as goobster put it, the whole activity will become more natural and even enjoyable. The best part is that you don't even have to make it about yourself, nor act like you struggle with X problem if you're not willing to or be vulnerable yet. Sheerly by the act of 'active listening' is enough in my experience.When in a group of people, just ask questions. Ask what somebody does for fun. Ask them what they like to cook, or where they last went on vacation.
WanderingEng · 38 days ago · link ·
Thanks to everyone who offered advice regarding an intern who didn't seem to "get" it. I tried some of your advice, and having him write out the process in his own words really seemed to help. I think it was useful to be able to provide feedback on his process rather than on his specific work. On the work I think he felt he had to perform right out the gate, so he'd nod and agree with the feedback we gave without really understanding or asking questions (which he may have seen as an admission of being unable, though that isn't how we'd have taken it). But by writing it down, the work product was a written explanation of him understanding, and I think it helped force him to overcome his need to perform and really think about the work.
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weewooweewoo · 38 days ago · link ·
Here's a section of a stand up set I have planned for tomorrow's open mic at the bar. I've been going for three weeks and haven't really found my niche, I'm the youngest one at a bar where most of the comedians and audience are around 30 - 45 years old. I have a natural falsetto voice closest to Aziz Ansari's, but without any of the variance or impressions and a third of the energy. Tomorrow I'm going to try to speak in my slowest, deepest, deliberate deadpan voice, because my comedy style is closest to Steven Wright. I have no idea how it's gonna go, but I'm at the point where I think it sounds better for the set. =============== (walks up and knocks over mic stand) Sorry guys, I'm such a slut. (stammers a bit) I mean klutz. The Alaska Dispatch News filed for bankrupcy last week. I have to tell my pet bird to not shit so much. I told my therapist that I was going to do standup comedy today. He said, yeah, that's perfect for you. Your life is a joke. The last time I had sex I made a joke about how it felt like she was getting taller and taller while we were doing it. She said really? And I said no, I'm just pulling your leg and fucking with you. That was the reason that was the last time I had sex. What's the different between of grape jelly and grape jam? Grape jelly can be sold in squeezy bottles, but grape jam gets jammed in them. Sorry, I forgot that grape jokes aren't supposed to be funny. Kids can be jerks. The other day I was cooking for my extended family and my nephew took a baguette and started whacking me with it. Then it broke and he started throwing all the crumbs at me, so it got all over the kitchen. I was pissed, so I did the most french thing I could to him- I retreated. Sorry, I forgot that dough mess stick violence jokes aren't supposed to be funny either. I don't know why these jokes aren't getting enough laughs. I tested them in a state of the art simulation facility. I go into the shower with a notepad, pen, and a case of beer. Then I cross off all the jokes that don't make me piss my pants laughing.
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Company's flying me into Atlanta to film the eclipse from their quarry for social media. I have like 0 idea of how to do that and don't really have the proper lenses either. And it's not like I get a do-over... but internet research has been kind of fruitless. I guess I'll buy some polarisers, lock everything on manual on 3 cameras and and roll video hoping nothing fucks up. It's like a 99% eclipse at the quarry so I figured it won't get super dark. After that, straight to burning man! And then I'll rent a car and drive around Cali for about a week for more photos of memorials. A hectic couple weeks ahead, but I'm loving it.
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francopoli · 38 days ago · link ·
https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/135-north-american-total-solar-eclipse-2017/ There are a dozen or more good threads on how, why, when what etc in that forum. 99%!??!?!?!?!??!?! FUCK!! you are going to miss the good stuff, and now I'm a bit mad. The sky will get dark, but not quite dark enough to see the full corona. You will get to see the shadow of the moon race toward and away from you. You will see Venus, certainly, but it will not get dark enough to see stars. Depending on where exactly you are and what exactly "99%" is, you should see a ripple of Bailey's Beads across the limb of the sun and weird shadow phenomena on the ground. It will also get cooler than it was at the start, you will see the "shadow bands" as the sun goes from a disk to a point source of light and trees will cast interesting odd shadows. Bring a colander with you and get a picture of the hundreds of little crescents! And remember even at 99% you should use eye protection, solar glasses, #14 welder's glass etc. I assume you already know that but the NASA training is beaten into me at this point. Get as far north on the site as you can. http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html Find exactly where you will be and get the times of all the events so you can plan accordingly. Have fun, get some good shots and if you can, share them!
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I KNOW! I'M SO CLOSE! But they want shots including their quarry so i'm stuck at the 99% zone... Still pretty dope they're flying me in for that. I've never seen even a partial eclipse before. Not ever a lunar one. We ordered some glasses for everyone too. I'm actually planning to punch holes in a poster in the shape of the company's logo and project half-moons into the marble inside the quarry. I tried explaining how awesome that is but I'm not so good at explaining. Hopefully they'll understand what I meant when I make the video. They were asking me WHY the shadows will be half-moons and I was like... cause pinhole photography? Physics? Thanks for the link - I knew you'll have the insider information forums! I'll be in a city called Tate in Georgia - north of Atlanta. Out of the path of totality by a few miles :(
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francopoli · 38 days ago · link ·
Ah, a question I can answer! The sun is not a point source of light. It acts like a uniform disk of light in the sky. This is why on a normal sunny day your shadows are, for lack of a better word, soft. A diffuser sort of, but not exactly, does this as well; it takes the light from a point source, aka light bulb, and spreads it out a bit. The little pin holes mirror the sun's disk on the object that the light is projected on. As long as the sun is a disk, that image will be round. As the moon move in front of the sun, you see less and less of a disk and more of a crescent. Now, the light from the sun is still not a point source of light, but it is also not a perfect disk either. The shadows on the ground reflect the change in the shape of the sun as the eclipse progresses. One of the things that I intend on documenting is when shadows stop being soft and start having hard edges. (My guess is at 75% covered but we will see.) If you have a square light source, by the way, and use a pinhole projector? The image looks more square than round. Here is a picture that shows rather than explains. Yea you are maybe 10 miles from the fun stuff. We get to do this again in six and a half years so use this as the excuse to whet the appetite for a total eclipse. Still a bummer, but when work is paying the bills you gotta do what they want you to do, right? And just because I had it up already for some other sites I looked at the NWS report for Tate. Thunderstorms and 30% chance of rain on the day of. Prepare an out for your gear in case of rain. Hopefully you get to dodge the rain and get some great pictures.They were asking me WHY the shadows will be half-moons and I was like... cause pinhole photography? Physics?
Everyone in that outer, perumbra, shadow will see a partial eclipse. Only in the that cone of shadow, the umbra, is the eclipse total.I'll be in a city called Tate in Georgia - north of Atlanta. Out of the path of totality by a few miles :(
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Yeah it rains on and off every day over there - but hopefully the skies will clear up at the moment of the eclipse. Would be a bit of a bummer if not. Thanks for the explanation - I understand a lot better now :) Have fun on your own eclipse adventure!
I may just ramble here for a second to see how people reply because I don't want to specifically talk about my life right now and I've learned to accept the blunt tool aspect that language has and I don't know if that is a fact many people understand explicitly. There is just no way to apply logic to my behavior or reactions and I'm not sure that doesn't apply to everyone. I'm pretty certain of it in fact. Sometimes I fold entirely under pressure that may not seem very intense from the outside and sometimes I can soldier through objective tragedy. I don't exactly remember what's on this list and I looked at it again because it's meant to be amusing in part: http://www.cockeyed.com/magic/bad_4.php But there's more than a few things on there that have happened to me, even in the last year. It's hard to explain how that feels because it's just complicated. I feel like I deserve a gold fucking star sometimes for just waking up or not crying at a given moment when that's a hard thing to resist. Everyone deals with things they aren't appreciated for that are internally important. Difficulties that are not important enough to mention but would be so greatly appreciated if anyone noticed at all the level of a quiet struggle. And that seems to be my life. A very slow process of coming to be grateful for anything I have or am afforded and the smallest recognitions of any signal from someone about how hard it can be for me just to not accept failure or any number of undesirable things that would be easy to give in to. This is something that is in large part my fault. But there are a lot of difficult to recognize or understand factors in my life that I deal with every day that I cannot overestate the amount of effort it's been to function at a level where if I fold it's a goddamn surprise to everyone looking at me. And that has forced me to educate myself and accept faults of my own that people who have them can exist easily without recognizing and just generally be open to the fact that I don't often know what the fuck is even happening. But that has given me an empathy that I do want a gold fucking star for one day towards people who no one even wants to look at and people who are easily dismissed for reasons that I've learned to see as incredibly judgemental because I have a taste of how bad life can be in ways that people in the first world have no appreciation for since they've never, for example, had to weigh the benefit of carrying everything you own against its weight and the stress that will create to hold on to objects that are not very basically essential. I have done that. And I have not given up and when I've tried to I've failed. Just general advice I've learned through experience, personal or by observation, smiling itself can be nearly impossible sometimes so. Or comforting in its ease at a moment. I feel like people in America sprint through life and are surprise how short it is when they accelerated its speed by worrying about duvet covers or taking cold water for granted. Everyone reading this should understand the levels of grace they've been afforded just by having electricity and internet access. Billions of people right now are comfortable being unsure how they will next eat. I want a gold star sometimes because the very low level of optimism I seem to put off is a lot more than people who I think have none and whatever level of give a fuck I have left is important and probably hard fought.
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I was thinking earlier about some things that are a struggle for me right now and even with those things in my life how much of a comfortable position I really am in right now. Reading this post is a confirmation of that, obviously, but you should know that you are an inspiration to me by continuing to share and be hopeful.
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That does really mean a lot. On the surface and also because hubski is some weird internet place where you can be passingly familiar with a bunch of people in a way that is more common on the internet to find yourself casually dismissing someone who is a real living being with complexities and a life. Or something.
Starting as a paid employee at pre-k this week, about 2 weeks earlier than I expected. This frees up a little money in my budget for this month, which means two things: more money spent on getting the Etsy started, and more importantly: I am now looking for a puppy. Going to check some shelters this weekend with my partner. ------------ Speaking of Etsy: Bought a kid's dress shirt pattern yesterday, so anyone with fancy kids can have a cute animal shirt soon too ;) Probably going to be $30 for those. ------------- Going to my first open mic of the past 3 months tonight. This will be the second time I've played in public in Portland. I somewhat suspect it will go better this time...
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I'm much less angsty and more directed this week, it seems to come in waves. I do think I need to take some time to figure out what I want long term, this wishy washy thing is pretty crappy. Also, a bunch of dudes I work with play Overwatch, so I made a new group of friends. It makes me feel bad for my wife. She works from home and has to battle solitude, while I'm making friends by accident. I need to find a way to help her with that.
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ButterflyEffect · 38 days ago · link ·
I wasn't prepared to whine about my life for another day, dammit, Pubski! Went to a music festival this past weekend in Missoula. It was a special experience, perfect size crowd-wise, everybody was having a good time including the bands. I kept running into interesting people and the musicians themselves since it wasn't some massive "Coachella-esque" festival. And I'm single again, so that's a thing for the better, I think.
francopoli · 38 days ago · link ·
When next we meet it will be over. More than 25 years of waiting, a job transfer to be closer, the sacrificing of a pork belly or three to the weather gods, the 200,000+ people that will be in my way, the anticipated gas and food shortages (yes they are planning on running out of gas and food in Western Kentucky), all the education and outreach, all of it will be over. The Great American Eclipse is now so close I can taste it. The weather at the place I will be hiding from the crowds is bouncing back and forth from good to FUCKING PERFECT. I am not bringing camping gear and instead bringing extra telescopes and optical gear for a star party the night before the event. I get to hang with some real astrophotographers so I will pick their brains a bit. And then the day of? No public outreach. No education. No bullshit. All I plan on doing is watch the event, do some basic science to get my NASA and Astronomical League credits, then a massive steak and meat and dead pig BBQ/grilling/Meatfest to celebrate the end of all the work we have done. In January, we start looking to 2024 and do it all again. So here is a picture of the moon I took this month. AS I will be in an area of minimal internet and even spottier cell phone coverage, I am also coordinating my life to have a strict "Fuck you Internet" policy. This weekend is going to be hectic on Friday, Saturday and a little bit on Sunday. Then on Monday the event of the decade. Then Tuesday I go home and recover. 
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WanderingEng · 37 days ago · link ·
This goes squarely over the Adirondack High Peaks, my current favorite vacation spot. I'm already planning to watch from a mountaintop. Maybe I should book my hotel now.In January, we start looking to 2024 and do it all again.
Things are ramping up for me over next month. Moving Like steve, I too am moving house. I currently live with my parents and I still will be, just in different place. It makes sense for me as I work closely with my Dad, plus we're pretty tight as a family so it's not really something I see as a negative. There's also the added benefit that I get to save money. That new place happens to be in the city where I did my post-grad stuff. I love it there so I can't wait. The house is also a rad new build with all sorts of sustainability and energy saving features. I'll also be closer to a few of my friends as well as being only a 20 minute train journey to the peak district, which is awesome. Canada We went on a family holiday to Canada in 2014 visiting Vancouver and various places in The Rockies. On the 9th of September we're going back again, except this time we're touring the east coast. Starting off in the major cities and heading up to Nova Scotia, the locations we're going to are: Toronto, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Digby, Halifax, Truro, Cheticamp, Ingonish, Sydney, and back to Toronto. It should be quite an adventure. If any of you Hubski folk have any recommendation for things to do or places to visit, let me know! Music I've made some small but significant steps towards achieving my music goals over the last couple of months. If I keep working hard and pleasing the right people, there's every chance that I might achieve the things that have previously only been flights of fancy. I look forward to being able to tell Hubski more about this once I actually get there. The reason I'm being a bit ambiguous here is that I've fallen into the trap before of telling people great news about my music, only to have it not end up happening. So this time I'll keep my mouth shut and keep working until it's actually happens!
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Life Not gonna lie. Just kind of going through the motions at the moment, taking things one day at a time. I've been trying to break my status quo for years now and I'm kind of burned out. There are two job applications that have been sitting next to my computer for over a month now that I haven't been motivated to fill out at all. They'd be a change of scenery, but other than that, that'd be about it. Work wise, it'd be more of the same for probably less pay than what I'm making now. I'm being frugal as a mother fucker lately, not because I'm saving up for anything big, but because I'm not really motivated to buy anything. With the exception of food and gas, I'm not spending money on anything, just hoarding it away. I'm really tempted to call up my comic shop and have them cancel my pull list but I don't really want to do that because they're a small shop, good owner, and I feel like I'd be letting them down. The only thing I spent money on this past month or so, was I went on an outing with a friend to a museum, had barbecue, and then bought a few $1 comics at a local comic shop and it was a fun time, but man, buying shit seems to be not as fun as it used to be. Drawing I need to go out and get more cardstock. I'm running out. I guess that's what happens when you start a piece, fuck it up, and start over again. Shit's harding than it looks, even when you don't care that much about how things come out. Composition and flow? Colors and lines? Stuff's hard. That How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way book doesn't really strike me as a keeper. Compared to other art books I've seen, Youtube tutorials, and what I've learned from lectures, it's more of a primer really or something you can go back for a quick refresher. Unless Dala wants to keep it, I'm gonna put it in our donation pile. Cars There's a guy in our area with a First Generation Subaru Impreza that's been lifted and outfitted with offroad tires. It A) looks badass and B) reminds me a lot of the AMC Eagle with the way it stands right now. I've been secretly hoping I run into the guy somewhere so I can ask him about it.
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I have some stuff to think about in life, so that's new. My family left for their plane to Germany a few hours ago. We didn't really do much talking today, but I think it's for the better. Also, I would like to thank everyone who responded. Even if I'm still trying to process most of it, I bet it's going to help once I'll get somewhere with my thoughts.Otherwise, it's just… Books I'm compiling my thoughts after finishing GEB. It's going to take a while, perhaps I'll even go so far as to read it again. I do have quite a few strong criticisms. Some of the assertions don't hold as well as they used to because of the advances in the field of computing, but those are mostly technical and very "you are pointing out an exception in a book about generality" problems. Frankly, my biggest complaint is the lacking rigour, but it would make the book much less approachable. For every point I can use against it, I can come up with a directly related positive. I don't know if I liked the book, but I can tell you one thing: finishing it didn't feel to me like an obligation. Fact that I'm even considering reading it for a second time just to make sure I'm judging it on its merits should already tell you that I have some significant regard for it. Postwar is on its way to being finished. Because I was pretty busy I didn't get farther with the Durant. One thing's certain: after that, the C2 English course I decided to take this semester might feel more like a breeze.
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WanderingEng · 37 days ago · link ·
No allergy response? It's probably been twenty years myself, and I've heard allergies can come on later in life. I worry about getting stung deep in the woods and having a problem.