A Brief Christms in Valpo
It was a tough decision for us, but Liz and I decided to visit Valparaiso for a brief Christmas evening with Bob and Julie.
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Removing Rust with Electrolysis, Part 1
As part of our errands a few days ago, Liz stocked up on several items from Home Depot to try her hand at removing rust via electrolysis. We’ve got several items to clean, and one of the bigger ones are the cast iron vent covers from the first floor.
Cleaning the Mantel
Apparently, the color was due to the shellac used, and has required several rounds of cleaning to get to this point. I think Liz mentioned that she stripped this three times, and there was still shellac seeping up through the pours (and eventually she just had to stop).
Dippin’ Dots and the Cold Chain
The COVID vaccine currently being shipped around the country—manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech and granted an emergency use authorization on Friday—needs to be stored at -94 degrees Fahrenheit, or else important components can degrade.
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Keeping millions of doses that chilly is no easy task, and necessitates what manufacturers call a “cold chain”: an infrastructure that standardizes temperature throughout every step of shipping and delivery.
Lewis Capaldi: Someone You Loved
On first viewing, I thought the story was a kind of time travel thing, where the older man in the video was present day… and the couple was from an earlier time. When I realized they were different people, I thought “Oh, you bastards.”
Revisiting Logan Square
At times, I found myself getting bored and being done with being around people. At other times, I remembered why everyone had on a mask and got even more uncomfortable being around people. Even after all this isolation, I don’t find myself craving crowds; it’s the same feeling: get away, get home.
Advent of Code
I’ve tried to do some of these in my spare time, outside of work. Sadly, I’m a bit behind and it’s been harder to keep motiviated the further behind I get. I also realize that my “outside of work” relaxation involves code for imaginary problems that don’t exist. It’s technically me “unwinding from work,” but kinda not?
The Wallings Jr.: Before the War
I recently thought about a song I really liked, that I hadn’t heard in a long while: “On the Edge of Morning,” by The Wallings Jr.
New Humidifier in the Basement
We were fortunate to have Bob over today, who stayed late into the evening to finish the humidifier install to our downstairs furnace. With the cold weather kicking in and the air getting dryer, there was a concern that the new first floor flooring would suffer for it.
Harder to Find Hardware
Liz was excited to receive this in the mail, today. For all her searching (she’s been on the lookuut for years for hardware that matches our house)… she’d never encountered window pulls (aka sash lifts) before.
Daily, Weekly
Well, this was going to be a “this daily blog is starting to feel like a weekly blog” post. But as I was looking back over things, I guess I already did that… back in August.
More Time with Destiny 2
Ok, so I lied previously. While I haven’t really cared for the free games that come with Stadia Pro, I’ve put in a bit more time into Destiny 2.
Ben Tardif’s “Ultimate Functional” Workbench
I don’t often enjoy watching how-to videos, or watching people make things. There’s a whole host of this type of content, particularly on Instagram, and it tends to stress me out more than it inspires. I tend to find them sources of frustration and anxiety.
Bun Portrait
It’s a challenge, updating this blog when I really don’t leave the house all that much. I used to take more photos when I was walking to/from the train, and well… we really don’t do that anymore.
The Weepies: Say I Am You
There’s a distinct feeling of nostalgia I feel, listening to this album again. It’s also fitting that the days are shorter, and dusk arrives a little faster – as this album makes me think a lot about late fall.