Made an early Christmas present for Rachel today: an oak rolling pin. Started out square but with a saw, belt sander, draw knife, and some time, I got it functionally round.
Made an early Christmas present for Rachel today: an oak rolling pin. Started out square but with a saw, belt sander, draw knife, and some time, I got it functionally round.
Meet Ralph, our garage cat. He started showing up a few months ago. His hair was terribly matted and had to be painful, so one day we caught him and shaved off the matted bits. He wasn’t happy about it, but maybe he appreciated it because he started showing up regularly, especially once we started feeding him. As winter approached, we set him up with a bed and heated mat in the (detached) garage, plus a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases.
ChatGPT has a TV ad showing a young farmer, working her multi-generational family farm, asking ChatGPT what’s wrong with her soybeans. But … but … sigh … never mind.
I somehow missed that Jesse Welles is on Bandcamp. Listening to Pilgrim now. One song features Sierra Ferrell! 🎵
Almost a month ago, I dumbed down my smartphone. Here’s my report. The immediate effect was about a one-third reduction in my overall screen time (my iPhone and iPad taken together), so even retaining some of the time-waster apps on my iPad made significant progress. This is because: The iPad cannot be used comfortably in bed, meaning I’m futzing around online less before going to sleep. The iPad cannot be used at work without raising, ummm, concerns with my boss.
One of the things I appreciate about Wendell Berry’s fiction is the quietness in it. It’s not comforting fiction (or cozy, as the marketers would have it) because there is real pain suffered by the characters. But that pain is endured rather than emoted.
A good article about the current penny shortage. It’s unsurprising, I suppose, that this administration simply stopped minting pennies without providing any guidance on how the shift should be handled.
We’re on the edge of most winter storms here. In Indiana, winter storms tend to include all of northern Indiana down to Indianapolis. Often they’ll hit Bloomington–only sometimes Bedford. If the Midwest is characterized by winter storms, we’re barely Midwestern. We’re expecting 1-3" tonight.
This Indian pudding (cornmeal custard) is really good! Some historical background in this video.
Nothing original below. To the contrary, I’m trying to remember that less alienated era I grew up in. Some of these I’m doing and some I’m working on. Please suggest additions. Don’t talk about politics or religion. Never bring it up yourself and if the other person brings it up, redirect the conversation. The only exception to the above is local news. This encourages engagement with the concerns of the community, which actually affects your life.