Not that I’m keeping score, but I am curious about the value of the vegetables I grow in my backyard garden1. For bragging rights, I’d like to be able to say I’ve produced some lofty number of dollars worth of produce by throwing some seeds in the ground. It’s not that simple, logistically, financially or socially. Let me start with… Read More »The Economic Return of my Garden.
Happily geeking-out about being able to put cat poo in the municipal compost. This could be enviro-, cat-lady-, or just-plain- weird. Whatever. My impact on the environment is lessened. Awesome. Although questions about costs and whether it’s really the best thing for the environment come to mind. The background: Household organic waste collection is about 15 years old where I… Read More »The Joy of Cat Poo. Really.
I long for the simple days of medical care, when the doctor smiled and said “don’t worry, you’ll be fine in a few days”. Or, at the other end of the spectrum “put your affairs in order”. While this second option would be unwelcome, it is a definitive message. I’d prefer no dithering about, ordering endless tests and unpleasant invasions… Read More »Medical Progress
Have we lost track of what an app is? It’s a thing on your phone that does a thing. Or did once. Putting aside conspiracy theories about apps invading personal space by perusing all data once installed, I still wonder if we really understand their nature, or natures. Everything in life happens via app. We make restaurant reservations, order new… Read More »What’s an App?
It’s been too long since I had a good rant about the limitations and associated foolishnesses of AI, and by AI I mean the generally available stuff. Generative language models. That which takes any and all available information (with and without the copyright holders’ permission) and answers requests using this information. It’s tempting to think that with all the world’s… Read More »Why AI isn’t as Creative as You.
My mother’s voice rings in my head, explaining why it’s time to go to bed, turn off the TV, or stop eating Hallowe’en candy. As a child, I took this as adultly wisdom, an incontestable law of life. My catholic upbringing, tinging everything with guilt, suggested to me that expecting good things to continue indefinitely was greedy, or one of… Read More »“All Good Things Must Come to an End”
Time for another drunk-on-summer rant about how much I enjoy the season. No cocktails are involved in achieving this state. I’m so fond of the heat and sun and going barefoot and fresh vegetables that I naturally trend to euphoria in July and August. Admittedly, an icy cold beer is extra delicious at this time of year. In 2024, I’m… Read More »The Joy of Cycling
Part 4, the final step, in the reno-storation of the front hall of my 1927 Arts & Craft bungalow is to add trim, including: The Baseboards. This likely looks like amateur hour but then, I’ve never pretended to be a pro. There are three slightly different floor heights in the hall, which makes baseboards tricky. It seems to me the pro… Read More »Part 4: Front hall reno.
Part 3 of reno-storing the front hallway of my 1927 Arts&Craft bungalow is about refinishing the floor. Part 1 covered the walls and ceiling, and part 2 was planning what to do with the floor. The relatively large entry hall, for a 1400 sq ft house, is 23 ft long and mostly 8 ft wide except where it’s 3ft wide.… Read More »Part 3: Front Hall Reno.
The saga continues of renovating the front entryway of my 1927 Arts & Craft bungalow, aiming for the best reproduction of the original era possible. Following Part 1 – walls and ceiling, Part 2 is the floor plan, err, the plan for the floor. The existing floor (layers visible at the top of the stairs from the basement) consisted of, from… Read More »Entry Hall Reno. Part 2