The triangle of my hobbies

 Was talking to a co-worker, who was intrigued that I had so many hobbies.  In explaining my pattern of hobbies to him, I realized that there's a "triangle" relationship to all of my major hobbies (writing and recording songs; hand tool woodworking; filmmaking).

I'm not going to draw out a diagram, so:  imagine a triangle, with the bottom left vertex being "creativity", the bottom right being "logic", and the top of the triangle being "technical".  Extend a line outwards from each of these three corners:  to "creativity" add "self-expression"; to "logic" add "problem-solving"; and to "technical" add "gear".

All of my major hobbies are an intersection of left-brain and right-brain activities (logic vs creativity), and all involve technical mastery of skills (e.g. playing an instrument; using woodworking hand tools).

The creative aspects manifest themselves in self-expression (emotions and ideas in the songwriting; storytelling through the filmmaking; and various physical forms (and creative decisions about shape, color, and general look and style for the woodworking.

Problem-solving occurs in songwriting (choosing the right notes that fit as a whole); filmmaking (various technical challenges, especially with my limited resources); and woodworking (creating something that's structurally sound and meets the needs, while using often "scavenged" materials).

Finally, all of these hobbies can be performed with a fairly basic set of tools -- but I tend to enjoy the gear (inexpensive, quirky stuff -- not the fancy expensive stuff) as well.  :)

So:  that's a diagnostic summary of (apparently) why my main hobbies are, indeed, my main hobbies -- and why other things (e.g. martial arts) have -- for now -- fallen by the wayside. 

--GG

 

My film photography philosophy

(Dad asked whether my B&W photos were naturally grainy due to the film speed, or whether I'd added it as a digital effect)


Some of the graininess might be (over?) enlarging the digital scan (cropping).  But, yes -- I tend to "lean into" the film-ness of shooting on film -- so I tend to do the opposite of what a digital camera would do:  "sharp and color" is digital, so I shoot on a really low-res old digital camera, or on a box camera or plastic "no-focus" lens (with limited clarity, in B&W; digital is pristine -- so I shoot with 400 ASA usually; I also like the lens flares, which "works" better on film than on digital (I think.

Also "modern" lenses have better technology than (most?) lenses from the '70s -- which are sharper than (most?) lenses from the 1940s -- which are sharper than box cameras from 1910-1930.  I'm discovering that a lot of the look is in the lens itself:  cameras (at least at my price point) from a certain decade really look like that decade....  :)

So, no -- no additions in the edit.  That's a self-imposed "zen" sort of restirctiion:  a lot of people shoot on film.... and then scan it to digital and Photoshop it to death:  I don't see the point of that.  So except for when I've messed up the exposure (or:  was limited by circumstances) and have to do a "salvage job" -- I tend to keep the framing, brightness, contrast, and etc. "as it lies".  :)

As above, I'm "leaning into" the "flim" side of things:  trying to get the right framing and exposure from the get-go -- rather than manipulating it like a lot of people would with a digital image.  ;)

Oh:  I'm learning that B&W photography is akin to wine tasting:  you can choose films with more or less grain (even at the same ASA), greater contrast, sharpness, etc. (although these characteristics are all inter-linked, of course).

At the moment I'm tending towards a type of B&W film that can be processed using "normal" color developing -- because the place that develops my film can do it in-house, rather than sending it out to another lab (so, cheaper, and faster turnaround).  "Real" B&W takes a separate set of chemicals, which "normal" (smaller) labs don't do.  That "fake B&W" film looks the same to me as the other types of B&W -- and it seems that there's more camera-to-camera (lens-to-lens) difference than "film-to-film" difference.  But, I'm still new at this -- so maybe I'm just not aware enough.

--GG

Traditional photography is magic

I'm actually posting this from the future (3 Aug 2022) -- but I'm placing this here just be chronologically correct -- mostly.

I've been into filmmaking for the last few years -- but never had any interest in "still" photography:  I figured that filmmaking had everything that photography had... plus movement!  So even though I respected photography -- I wasn't interested.

But.  I have a co-worker who's into photography. And somehow I got interested in the look of older cameras -- about 1930-1950. Pre-electronic:  no light meters, not auto-rewind. 

Somewhere just before Saturday, 25 June, I got the notion that I'd visit the local antique center and see if they had any reasonably-priced vintage cameras -- just as decoration:  my mental limit was AU$50 (about US$35).  After some browsing, I actually found one for $35!
 

But:  once I got it home and examined it more closely -- I realized that it was still functioning!!!  Suddenly I realized the possibilities:  that pre-electronic cameras are a form of **magic** -- briefly shine light into a sealed box, such that the light hits a piece of plastic with chemicals on it -- swish that plastic around in more chemicals -- and you've preserved a piece of time -- without using electricity at **all**!!!

Have picked up a few old-timey cameras since then.  Am shooting as I acquire them.  Each one has a slightly different look.  All of them are inexpensive (few people want them -- so they're mostly just "decoration" -- for "normal" people).


Various photos to follow.  :)

--GG

Filter sizes or diameters

Memo to myself (using my blog as "cloud storage"; I can Google this blog entry to track down these notes):

One at 44-ish (specialty pin)
Two at 49
Three at 52
Two at 55
Five at 58
One at 72

--GG

What is the up?

 Huh!  Apparently I started my blog in April of 2006.  I've drifted away a bit -- but every once in a while I'll throw something online.  I don't do Facebook or Twitter or whatever is the popular social media platform:  I'm more "long form".

My last post -- back in October -- mentioned that I was "drifty".  Still am -- but getting better.  Watching more YouTube than I ought to -- but, it amuses me.  Still -- I ought to try to squeeze in something else between the time I get home from work and the time I go to bed.

Discovered Reddit about a month ago.  Dabbled in a few forums, but have settled on the filmmaking, cinematography, 8mm (film), and Super 8 forums.  I read the entries that sound interesting, comment on a few, and learn things I didn't know.  :) 

Am getting more into filmmaking these last few months, and am drifting away from woodworking and music:  haven't touched my guitar in months (but keep meaning top); haven't listened to LPs in perhaps a month (could do it tonight -- but really need to get back into a "nine to five" sleep cycle:  have been staying up 'til 2am-3am for the last week (most office workers in AU have Christmas through New Year's off).  

Spent my Christmas and birthday money on camera lenses and.... a smoke machine!!!  :)   Am editing the footage for my test/demo of the smoke machine, and one of the lenses, and am hoping to post them to YouTube in the next week or so.  Have already posted my "wide angle lens" comparison (nothing fancy; just something potentially useful for other beginners to reference:

 

I have eighteen (!!! - whoops!) micro-shorts where I've shot the footage, just need to edit, or add sound to the edit.  "Adding sound" is kind of the sticking point, as I don't currently have a good set-up for recording audio.  "Tidying my 'home office' space" is somewhere on my "To Do" list.

Lots of backlog -- but, I guess I won't be bored.  The backlog includes an edit I was doing for a video short of my kids, for my parents' birthday -- about half a year ago (whoops, also).  The edit has to be accurate within a frame or two -- but the software is getting laggy (I think due to saving all of the previous edits), such that it's hard to briskly scroll to to exact edit point -- so the work becomes tedious, and I abandon it.  I had planned to work on it during this week off -- but instead I ran errands, had a head cold, spent time with family, and shot test footage of my various film purchases -- not necessarily in that order.  :) 

Broadly, though:  things are going well, and I'm in a good place.  We'll see how 2022 turns out.  :) 

--GG

Drifting

Hm.

 

For the longest time, I'd count down the days until the weekend, so that I could embark on whatever project I was in the middle of.

However, for the last month -- or two? -- I've been... drifting.  I spent most of the weekend doing inconsequential things, including watching a lot of YouTube videos:  some informative (mostly about filmmaking techniques) -- but a lot of them just time-wasting, really.

Part of the problem is that I'm inherently nocturnal:  for whatever reason, my default mode is to not get started until late afternoon -- and then I only have a little bit of time before sundown.  And for indoor work, I really don't get revved up until just before (or, just after) dinner.  And then my productivity gets truncated by the need to go to bed for the night -- or, I go with my momentum, stay up foolishly late -- and then pay for it the next morning.

However, today I had a breakthrough:  in order to be more "mindful", I need to occasionally stop and ask myself "What is the thing I could be doing right now that will make the the most happy?"  It might be making a sandwich, of course -- but it's more likely to be something like "making something out of wood", or "playing the guitar", or "listening to the record".  It might even be "doing the laundry" -- not because it's fun -- but because if I do it, I'll stop feeling bad about not doing it.

But whatever my answer to myself, it will be something that I do with intention and purpose -- rather than "drifting" like I have been.

There's reasons for my drifting. But that's a discussion for another day -- and one which I'm unlikely to post online.  ;)

--GG

Going through a cheese phase

If a book is well-written, I'll tend to read it -- even if it's not about a topic I'd usually be interested in.  Thus, about a year ago (Oh!  July 23, 2018 -- I wrote inside the front cover) I bought a "Cheeses of the World" book (A First Course in Cheese).  I've always thought cheeses were nice, but I was never "into" them.  But, after reading the book, I bought a few "fancy" cheeses from the "fancy cheese" section of the supermarket -- one or two per trip.  That lasted a few weeks -- but then I drifted away.

For some reason, though, a few months ago I came back to cheese.  I had two or three at work (I sometimes mix it in to my microwaved veggies, for added flavor), and a few at home as well (just for nibbling).  And this morning I started a notebook, and sat down and methodically tasted each of my cheeses -- logging the (approximate) date of purchase, the type, the location I bought it and the cost per kilo, and my impressions.  At the moment I have nine recorded (and seven in the 'fridge [I finished off two, which were just lingering -- small little pieces]).

I logged the cheeses because I have a poor memory -- especially for names -- so I knew that I'd lose track of which I'd tried... and more importantly, which ones I really liked (so that I could come back to them!).  My favorite thus far is the Meredith Dairy chevre goat cheese:  soft, creamy, full flavor; would be good on toast; niiiice!  (Noting that I bought it in mid-October (it's currently January 7th), but it got pushed to the back of the 'fridge -- so it may have continued to age more than if I got a "new" batch. 

The prices of the cheeses range from AU$38-AU$60/kg -- but because I'm the only one in the house that likes cheese (except for The Girl -- and she'll only eat mild cheddar -- I get the smallest little pre-cut wedges I can find -- which usually comes to around AU$3.50-$6.00 per purchase.  And then because I tend to only eat little nibbles, they last me a few weeks.  

The one I'm least enamored with is the Swiss gruyere:  nothing wrong with it -- but because I have a somewhat dull sense of taste, it just tastes like cheddar to me.  And at $52/kg, I'm better off just buying cheddar. 

I haven't ventured into the "stinky" or blue cheeses yet:  I tried one a few months ago, but it was too strong for me and had to give it away to a co-worker.  But I've just put into the microwave some veggies with an over-ripe (i.e. bought it three months ago) Tasmanian Heritage double brie:  it's getting a little "tangy" -- but I anticipate it being good on veggies.

--GG

Film experience with the Easter trilogy

For the last year or so I've been doing a fair amount of (unstructured) learning about film-making and video production:  I've read a few books, and watched a lot of YouTube tutorials:  the topic is very suited to the medium; can show examples of shots, depth of field, and etc.

But, I haven't had a lot of hands-on experience.

However, this whole "C-19" thing has changed that:  because my church (like all other churches) is currently not allowed to hold "in-person" services, we've shifted to an online format.  And because our vicar knows that I know a little bit about video things, I've been asked to assist.


They had already shot a few services before I was brought onboard, but it was fairly low-tech:  using a smartphone, and hitting "pause" each time they changed shots or location.

The first thing I was asked to do was assemble an equipment list.  I knew that getting decent sound is important, so I suggested getting a small stand-alone voice recorder:  it has a built-in mic, but also has a mic input for lapel mics (we've ordered them; haven't yet arrived).  Because we have a limited budget, instead of ordering cameras that can zoom, I suggested getting some inexpensive (AU$99) "action cameras" (i.e. GoPro-style) with a fixed focal length:  my reasoning is that we would just set up the shot by moving closer to, or farther away from, the subject.  And instead of zooming, we could just pick up the tripod and walk forward.  And they had surprisingly decent resolutoin.  We also ordered three tripods.

Since it's important to have decent lighting, we also purchased some AU$30 LED worklights from the big-box hardware store:  they're clip-on, rather than having stands -- which I figured would let us mount them to ladders and other tall things.  And we'd also need a few extra power strips/power bars (whatever you call them), with on/of switches -- because the $30 lights are too inexpensive to have their own switches.

CF, who is on the church council with me, was kind enough to do the "shopping run" for all of these things.


And then we did some shooting:  three separate days of production.  The early morning segments occurred without me (fine by me!).  But the "main" shots were during the day, starting around 10am.  Similar to a television production, we shot a few days in advance:  on Tuesday we shot the Thursday installment of the "Easter trilogy"; on Thursday we shot Good Friday; and on Friday we shot Easter Sunday's footage.  This gave CF (who was kind enough to learn how to do editing, so that I didn't have to!) only a day or two to do the editing.

I was pleased to discover that my year or so of learning about film making provided some context -- e.g. the subconscious symbolism behind shot angles and framing; "more light" is usually an advantage; how to get decent sound; and getting a good "performance" from the actors.  So I ended up serving as kind of Director/Director of Photography.


Example:   For the "stripping of the altar" scene, where we remove all of the accessories from the altar as we enter the period of mourning (because Jesus has been crucified, and not yet risen), I suggested that we keep the camera rolling, and remove a piece at a time -- but edit out the bits where the person is removing the items.  This would give the impression of the pieces mysteriously disappearing.

Similarly, the shot ends with a single candle remaining in the middle of the altar.  The creative question is, what mood are we trying to evoke?  If we do a close-up of the lone candle on the altar, that will feel intimate and comforting (which might be good, in these COVID-19 times).  Or, if we do a wide shot of the bare alter with a lone candle in the middle, that will feel lonely and sad -- appropriate for a period of mourning.


I also suggested to the vicar that it would be consistent with the medium (YouTube) to treat the sermons more like a video blog, and make them more "musings" than formally standing behind the lectern.  So she ended up shooting them from her desk or sitting on her sofa, and then CF edited them into the "church service". 


And, just little things like suggesting we "cut on motion"; the "180 degree rule" when changing angles to shoot the same scene; creating a shot list from the "script" (the vicar cringed a bit when I called it a script:  "It's a litergy, not a script"), crossing off each "scene" as we went, and getting all the shots from each set-up before changing the camera positions.


The type of advice I provided turned out to be similar to when I was producing the audio recording of my congregation singing Christmas carols, about half a year ago.  So, it suggests that I'm decent at that end of the business:  the "vision", the planning, getting good performances.

What I'm not particularly interested in is the fiddly bits -- the editing, computer-based visual effects, and (in audio) the fine-grained tweaking of pitch and timing (which I also have philosophical issues with).  This is consistent with woodworking:  I like the planning, and the general building -- but I'm not interested in doing time-consuming inlay work or intricate surface carvings.  (Urgh.)  In part this is because I have only a limited amount of time, and I know that if a project extends beyond a weekend (or a period of vacation), it's likely to fall down the list of priorities and (literally) languish for years:  so I need to crank it out.

Similarly, Chris Schwarz noted that in a project, the final 5% takes almost as much time as the first 95%.  From my perspective, this means that I can finish two projects "pretty well", or one project "well".  So especially if it's something for my own purposes (e.g. an equipment rack, for music gear), I go with the "pretty good", with twice the productivity.  Maybe when I retire,I'll do something more fiddly.  (NB:  In contrast, my brother says he enjoys the precise tasks.)  :)


We had many learnings along the way -- such as the action camera screens don't correctly represent the framing of what's actually captured:  so we learned to add a substantial margin at the top and bottom of the screens -- and then CF would crop it down in post-production.

Hat-tip to CF for also progressively figuring out ever-better ways of integrating the footage with the text that the viewer would read (as she/he followed along with the hymn or Bible readings).


--GG

Watching the progress -- C-19

When I was a kid -- pre-internet and all -- every Sunday my dad would look at the Sunday paper for the week's stock market results: he'd get out his book of graph paper and for each of the stocks that we was tracking he'd log the weekly high, low, and average (or maybe it was the close -- it's been a while...).

Over the last few weeks, I find myself doing the same thing -- but on a daily basis, and with the Covid-19 situation.

I've tried out a few different websites, and this one is my favorite:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Among other things, I like that fact that it has a "detailed" table -- https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
-- which you can sort by country name, total confirmed cases, total deaths, and -- importantly! -- the number of cases and number of deaths, weighted by population.  (Note:  The first time you click a column heading, it sorts from smallest to largest:  click it again to reverse-sort, from largest to smallest -- which I find the most useful.)

I found it interesting that Vatican City is the worst-off in "Cases per population" -- but it makes sense:  it's in Italy; a small population; and (presumably) most of that population is urban -- so, living in close quarters.

In the above table, if you click on a country it takes you to another page, with  further information on that country -- for example, the entry on the U.S. also gives a breakdown by state (and, as with the "per nation" table, you can sort by various measures).


Grim -- but interesting.  Especially if you do forecasting for a living, like I do (well -- part of what I do...).


--GG

Day three plus one of working from home

I have a small stash of CDs at work that I listen to during the day -- but of course, most of my CDs are at home.

Now that I'm working from home, I thought I'd start to go through all the CDs that I've been keeping in the hopes that "maybe one day my tastes will change".  But now that I'm thoroughly middle-aged, I know they won't.

In four days, I've gone through a shoebox sized stack of CDs:  I'm keeping 30-40%, and will give away the other 60-70%.  Nothing wrong with the CDs:  they're just not "catchy" enough for me, or too deeply into a genre that I'm only somewhat into (e.g. I like some hip-hop; I like some metal....).

I estimate I have 19 "bins" (let's call them; 1 bin is about 2 shoeboxes) of CDs to review: this is only the "ambiguous" ones, and excludes the CDs that I know I like.

I've processed half a bin in four workdays. So that's one bin in eight workdays. 

So it should take me about 152 workdays to process all 19 bins.

Five workdays in a workweek.  So that's 30.4 weeks.

It's three-fifths (i.e .60%, or 0.6 of a week) through the current workweek.  So, by this weekend I'll have about 30 weeks remaining.

If I've browsed the calendar correctly, that's Friday, Oct 30th.


Hopefully we'll be released by then...


And:  that could be an over-estimate.


--GG

How to teach yourself the guitar

I'm totally self-taught on guitar -- so, that approach works.  If you know someone that plays guitar, that'll serve as a good "mentor" for how to hold the guitar, tricks of the trade, etc.  (Although:  I didn't have that [pre-internet].)  ;)


Basically, download a PDF of guitar chords, and then Google for "tabulature" (indvidual notes) and/or chords of some song you like (and know how it's supposed to sound).  And then just keep practising until you can play it smoothly. 

If you're at all of a creative bent -- if you know two or three chords, just strum them in a sequence, with a certain rhythm, and then sing over the top:  that's a song.  :)

If you want to record yourself:  for about $50 you can pick up a used USB recording interface online -- get one that has XLR (Google it) and instrument inputs -- and for another $100 you can pick up an inexpensive but decent mic with a microphone cable.  And now you can record yourself.  Oh:  with freeware software:  Audacity works just fine, and is available for Windows, Macs, and Linux.

It's also more interesting to get together with other people.  But playing along to backing tracks works well, also.

Also:  guitar pedals are fun.  I recommend the guy on the "JHS pedals" YouTube channel -- esp. the "What's the deal with Behringer" episode.  Some people scoff at Behringer -- but they have some good products at very reasonable prices (around AU$50?).  (The JHS Pedals guy's notion is "Price doesn't matter:  if it makes your guitar more fun to play, then it's a good pedal.")   Distortion, and either reverb or delay, are good types of pedal to start with -- but chorus, flangers, phasers, tremelo -- all are fun.  :)   Also "loop" pedals (again, see YouTube) -- esp. if you're solo, and want to play against yourself.


Oh!  Download a guitar tuner app for your phone, then check that your "open" string (for each string) and the octave (12th fret -- the double dots on the side) is the same note (e.g. an "E" and an "E").  If the octave note is a little sharp or flat, you'll have to intonate it (see YouTube).  Similarly, if the distance between the string and the fingerboard (the "action") is too high, then when you press down on the string you'll actually be pulling the note sharp:  you'll need to adjust the bridge height.

For both of these, you can find instructions on YouTube ("How to intonate your guitar", "How to adjust the action on your guitar"), if you're comfortable with tools.  Otherwise, you can pay someone $30-$50 to do it for you. 

There's also the "neck relief" -- the curve of the neck:  ideally as you go down the fretboard, none of the intervening frets (between your finger and the bridge) get in the way and cause "fret buzz".  This is also something that you can adjust yourself -- but this is getting towards the zone where it may be better to have someone do it for you (at the same time as setting the action and intonating your guitar).


Anyhow:  most of the most famous guitarists are there because they play all the time -- not necessarily "practice" -- but they're just always playing, experimenting, having fun:  "face time".

If you practice, you'll get better.  If you don't, you won't.


--GG

I enjoy playing music

So, basically I'm an idiot.

As I've been saying for the past half year or so:  figure out what you enjoy doing -- and then try to do it, a lot.

Well -- I apparently enjoy making music.  For example, last night I messed around on a weird little four-string short-sale guitar (two of the strings are missing), playing through an inexpensive chorus pedal:  loved it.  And then tonight I noodled around on the piano, playing a classical-sounding "miscellaneous" piece that I made up as I went along:  made me happy to be doing it.  And then, just a few moments ago, I messed around again, on the same funny little four-string electric guitar, this time through a cheap flanger pedal (getting some sitar-like sounds in the process):  once again, loved it.  I was happy, happy, happy.

Which means, of course, that I should do this more often -- like, every night.

Let's see if that actually happens, of course.

But:  I'm a generally happy guy.  But making music makes me even more happy.  So:  I should do it.  A lot. 


--GG

What the weekend is for

The weekend -- or, if you don't work "business hours", then "your days off" -- is for two things:

• Doing things you enjoy
• Getting things done

If you spend the weekend doing things you enjoy:  that's great!  But, then you aren't allowed to complain that you didn't accomplish anything -- because you actually spent the weekend in a different way (which was fun -- although less productive).

And if you spend the weekend accomplishing tasks on your "To Do" list:  nicely done!


The worst thing, I would say, is to intend to get things done, but then to fritter away the weekend avoiding the task (procrastinating!) by doing a lot of small, meaningless things that you don't really enjoy, either.  That is a wasted weekend.

Whereas, if you consciously decide "Screw my 'To Do' list:  I'm going to do [fun thing] instead!" -- well, you've made a choice.  Good job.


As above, you lose the right to complain about your "wasted" weekend -- because you chose to do [fun thing] instead.   But, hey:  at least you had a nice time.  :)


--GG

Three fake beers

I keep a small stash of food in my desk drawer at work.

Near the end of the work-day (it's Friday!!!), I thought I'd have a fake beer.

Dug through my drawer:  turns out I have three different non-alcoholic beers.

This is actually the cross-section of them:  I actually had six in total (from memory (from left to right in the photo), 3, 1, 2).


Huh.


I chose one, poured it (room temperature) into a glass, and threw in a few ice cubes.

Enough to make a beer-lover cringe at a variety of levels.


--GG

Problem solving

Thursday near the end of the business day, the heel of my co-worker's dress boot snapped off.  She takes the train, which is about six blocks away, and she didn't have any other shoes with her.

But -- I have tubes of super glue in my desk drawer -- and a bottle of methyl alcohol to clean the gluing surfaces -- and I happened to have a pair of bar clamps at work that I was re-sellilng (at cost) to a co-worker) (AU$10 for the pair -- and they're actually decent quality; from Aldi).

So, I cleaned, glued, and clamped the boot heel.


Prior to this, I got a clean bin liner from the stash at the bottom of one of the wastebins, cut the end off to make it a tube, then cut down the side to make it a plastic sheet (to protect the table I was using as a workstation).

Because the sheet ended up being excesively large (relative to the size of the table) -- and because I'm paranoid about getting superglue on my skin (e.g. fingers stuck together), I cut some of the plastic sheet from the end, and used rubber bands to make plastic "mittens" to protect my hands.


Seemed to work:  I asked her about it the next day, and her heel had stayed attached  for the entire trip home.

(A learning:  in addition to gluing the flat heel surfaces together, there were two spikes that protrotruded from the boot, and two corresponding holes in the heel -- so I also drizzled some glue down the holes, and onto the sides of the spikes:  I figured they probably helped to hold the whole assembly together.)


I didn't get to use it for this -- but I have a small tool kit that I've kept under the desk of everywhere I've worked since 1998 -- just in case someone has a screw or a bolt that needs tightening, etc.  And I have WD-40, duct tape, a ball of twine, and some other stuff in my desk.  Including the super glue.




--GG

In order to know

I've heard that in Mongolia, the traditional nomads burn dried horse poop for fuel.  Horses eat grass -- but don't digest it as thoroughly as cows do, so there's still some fuel left in the poop.

Modern dry dog food is largely cereal. Cereal is a grain, and thus related to grass.  Dogs have a single stomach, like horses -- and thus don't digest their food as thoroughly as cows.

Does dog poop burn?


I placed some "naturally dried" dog poop on an old metal tray, in the back yard (it's been rainy the last week, so there's little danger of starting a grass fire).  Tried lighting it with one of those butane fire-lighting wands.  Nope.

Next, i squirted it with methyl alcohol, then lit it.  It burned pretty well -- but it was obvious that it was the alcohol burning, not the poop.  Also, it smelled bad:  like -- well, burning dog poop, with a hint of singed hair.

The dried turds burned for a surprisingly long time -- but once the alcohol burned off, the poop stopped burning.  This leads me to believe that the poop absorbed the alcohol, much like a wick -- but that the poop itself does not tend towards burning.


This implies -- among other things -- that one should not bother carrying dried dog poop for emergency fire-starting purposes -- e.g. on wilderness excursions. 


--GG

Tiny house like my grandpa or like me

This first one seems like something my late paternal grandfather would've built:  partly the cleverness; partly the exposed wood; and partly how it reminds me of the upstairs bedrooms at his house (which he built himself, with his dad and his father in law).




This second one is like something I would do -- especially with the scavenged and re-purposed things (I like to come up with creative uses for things).  But I would've just used a ladder, not a climbing wall:  seems like a health and safety issue, esp. if you wake up in the middle of the night and really have to use the toilet!!!

--GG

Better to be diplomatic than to accuse

If you start the interaction with an accusation it puts the other person on the defensive; it also means that if your accusation was wrong you need to back down and apologize, or else dig in further (even though you know you're wrong).

This is particularly true when using e-mail -- where there's no vocal inflection to carry the tone, just phrasing.

Instead, perhaps be humble; frame it as a confirmatory question.


Example #1:  "You should never submit Form Z without manager's approval!", try "I just need to confirm:  it looks like you submitted Form Z without getting manager's approval:  is this correct?"

Example #2:  "I sent you this e-mail a month ago -- and you haven't replied.  I guess that's an answer in itself."  Instead, try "I'm just following up:  I don't have a record your response to the below e-mail from a month ago:  could you please forward your original response, or provide a response now?  Thanks!"


To my mind, the underlying aim isn't about blame:  it's about accomplishing or clarifying something (e.g. "verifying that form was properly approved; if not, reminding the worker of the level of approval needed for that form"; "discovering the answer to the initial query".


Maybe there's a reasonable explanation for what you think is the other person's mistake or oversight.  Or, maybe there isn't.  Regardless, I don't see a lot of advantages of starting the interaction aggressively rather than mildly:  you just come off as an unpleasant person.


--GG

Day 4 of vacation -- Tuesday

So, it's Tuesday:  day #4 of my vacation.  (Oh:  never got around to playing my effects pedal last night:  got trapped by the internet instead.)


The other car is in the shop, so I'm stuck at home. That's fine:  plenty to do.


Helped everyone (except me) get out of the house:  made sandwiches and cut up apples for the kids' lunches (they assemble the rest).


Puttered around a little bit; maybe put some laundry on (I forget).  Took a nap from about 9:30 to 12:15pm.  Kind of "burning daylight" (i.e. should've been getting things done outdoors) -- but it was a fairly hot day -- and I enjoyed the nap very much -- so:  eh. 


Had a breakfast-lunch of two bowls of cold cereal while watching a half hour of the Netflix series Dark Mirror:  pretty good -- although I'm appreciating some episodes more than others.


Loaded the dishwasher and started it.  Did some laundry. 


Pretty humid:  some rain during the day. 


Another 15 minutes or so of Dark Mirror.  Finally got changed and went outside at 1:45.


Spent my time splitting the sections of palm tree that I cut down a few days ago.  Took me longer than I expected:  some species split easily; some don't; this one is in the middle of the range. 

Ran out of wedges, and my existing gluts (like wedges, but made out of wood; user-made; expendable) weren't thick enough, so I made some more.  That took me until near dark.


Borrowed the riding mower from my brother-in-law:  tidied a few places in the lawn (mostly the "soccer field" -- currently set up with two poles and a rope, to mimic a volleyball net).  Kept it overnight, to use tomorrow.


Packed up my tools around 6:30m; went inside; showered.


Decanted the remainder of expired food into a big bucket, and stashed it far away from the house:  didn't feel like trekking it down to the existing pile; stashed it far enough that vermin wouldn't be attracted to the house; will shift it tomorrow.


Made dinner for the boys and me (The Lady and The Girl were away at a sports thing).  Just sandwiches and cut apples:  usually we'd have frozen pizza, but for some reason The Lady didn't pick any up when she did the weekend shop. 


The Lady got home; chat with The Lady. 


At 8:30pm, watched some more Black Mirror (which drinking loads of water), then do laundry; more chatting with The Lady.


About 10:30pm actually plugged in the delay pedal and had a go (using a guitar wiith single-coil pickups).  Pleased with my choice of pedals:  the "digital" sounding echo rather than the "analog" (i.e. high-end fades with each repeat) that I chose to not get. 

Messed around with various riffs, chords, and some of the very few actual songs that I can play the melodies (e.g. "What Child is This"/"Greensleeves").  Came up with a chord progression that could make a song:  can hear it being doubled, with a different strum pattern, on acoustic guitar.  Still need a chorus section, and a vocal line (melody) for both -- and lyrics, of course.


Bed around midnight:  I'm nocturnal -- and I don't have to work tomorrow. 


--GG

Music more regularly

I've posted a variation of this before.  And now I'm saying it again.  :)


One of my middle-aged wisdom items is that the secret to happiness is to spend as much time as you can doing the things you like -- and avoid as much as possible doing the things you don't.  Within reason:  you still gotta pay bills and wash the dishes; and don't do things that are bad for you or harmful to others.


So:  it takes me a long while to get around to playing an instrument -- but once I do, I find it great, and realize I'm an idiot for not playing instruments more often:  the very act of playing [nearly always] makes me happy (i.e. intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards).  

And then I don't pick up a guitar for (literally) another two months....  ("Duh.")


So, starting maybe half a year ago, I started making an effort to play something [nearly] every day:  bongos; guitar; (unplugged) electric bass; etc.   I even started keeping drumsticks in the car, so I could "play the steering wheel (and dashboard)". 

Often I'll do the "guitar cousin" thing of noodling around on guitar or bass while watching t.v. (Netflix, really) -- often coming up with some interesting riffs that I'll use for "something".

So:  not task-oriented (i.e. directly songwriting, or recording).   But I'm just enjoying the experience -- and getting incrementally better in the process.

Just making myself happy.  :)



Which -- BTW -- none of the kids seem to do that.  So my musical inclination doesn't seem to have passed through to my children:  maybe the grandchildren? 

But I do notice that The Girl doodles and draws of her own accord:  good.  :)


--GG