Learned how to use a 1960 Universal sewing machine
Learned how to sew masks
Re-inked the ribbon on an 1980’s electric typewriter
Tried to restore Windows on a mid-2000s laptop (not successful)
De-clogged two bathroom sinks and one kitchen faucet
Started to learn python (real stuff, not just “Hello World”)
Bleached shoes
No Cash, No Need
I haven't had any cash since April 4. And, I haven't needed any. 💵
I wonder if my car will start?🤔🚗
More (and Better) Masks
I’m Drinking From My Travel Mug
Because I’m sure it is lonely.
Other night thoughts
While walking at night I've noticed that more and more of our neighbors leave their blinds open at night with the lights on.
Either they don't care anymore or it's a public service.
Night Photos
Taking pictures in the backyard, at night
Sew What
We have had an almost free sewing machine for about a year now, so I tried to sew a mask yesterday. It turns out you can know how to use a sewing machine and still not know how to sew. Let’s say the mask is functional and just leave it at that.
Groceries
We did the grocery delivery option today. It was a weird day - some guy in an Altima pulled out a bunch of bags from his trunk, we brought them into the house, disinfected each item to the best extent we could, and put away our food just another regular shopping day?
No ironing
I've been wearing a proper shirt everyday when I work from home so that I look halfway decent on video. However, I haven't been ironing my shirts. I hope that my video quality is bad enough that no one really notices. 👕
Living in Interesting Times
We are in the midst of COVID-19 and spending a lot of time separated. Time to re-activate this blog and perhaps move to other platforms. Audio? Video?
Waiting
Sometimes it's interesting to get that point in life when one of your children is old enough to work but not old enough to drive. Living in suburban America, you find that public transportation sucks.
And you find that you have the singular joy of driving your child to work and home again. Not to mention waiting for her shift to end.
Interesting Thoughts on Keyboards and Tablets
I had purchased a Logitech keyboard cover for my iPad mini and wonder if was a wise in investment. The idea of having a physical keyboard was to make it faster to type. In fact, it is a slower method of communicating thoughts into the iPad.
In fact, I believe the fastest way of getting information into the iPad is to use narration.
Strangely enough, I believe the fastest way is to use narration and use the soft keyboard in combination with the touch screen. I can get the bulk of my thoughts into the iPad through speech, and use the keypad/touchscreen to edit.
I'm using the much improved iOS 7 speech to text functionality within Drafts to prepare this blog post. So far, the dictation is only missed a couple of words and I was easily able to fix it using the touch screen.
Of course, the downside with narration is that the location has to be quiet enough for you to dictate.
Since I'm one of the few lucky ones to have an office at work, I am considering preparing more emails using dictation. Email is one of my primary modes of communication at the office, and I spend a great deal of time and effort to develop my emails.
I need to find a way to improve the workflow of dictation, as I really enjoy using the iPad mini for that task; however, we are a Microsoft office shop...
Fountain Pens
While interested in new technology like using mobile devices for various workflows, both my kids and I have gained an interest in old technology, fountain pens. We looked at fountain pens because in theory it helps folks who have issues with writing, and found that that writing with fountain pens is great! As long as you understand the angle you need to hold the pen to get the ink on the page, the pen just flows. No resistance. No scratching. Just nice writing.
Getting Back Into Blogging
Back Into Blogging
My Feet are Sore!
My oldest and I participated in a 5K run/walk today. It was a great walk for me, but the event was definitely geared toward runners. At the finish line, there was a timer/recorder so that each participant could log their time. By the time I arrived, there was no one there to take my time! And I was far from the last walker to complete the event!
I guess no one cares if your a walker!
Whether running or walking, your feet still get sore....
Almost Time for School
Supplies have been purchased. School clothes washed. Backpacks filled.
School's In!
That's Alarming...
While we were traveling, the fire alarm went off in the hotel at 5:15 am. We worked our way downstairs and outside. It is very interesting (and a scary) to see what other people look like at 5:15 in the morning!?
The place we were staying had a sleep center where they conduct sleep studies. One older gentleman with a cane who was working his way down the steps still had all of the electrodes, wires, and patches still attached to him. Having done a sleep study before and have had all of those things attached to me, I could really feel for him. ?
I wonder if the alarm ruined his study and he would need to take the study again (no fun!).?
But, I guess it is better than burning....
Podcasts Galore!
During my commute and exercise, I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts. Many of these podcasts are produced by 5by5. The ones I enjoy are Hypercritical, Amplified, Build & Analyze, the Critical Path, Back to Work, and especially Geek Friday.
Greek Friday is hilarious! The interaction between a normal person and a not-so-normal person is so entertaining. (Listeners can figure out which one is normal and which is not). Poor Faith!
As an casual Mac user, I also listen to Mac Power Users. I learned many tips on workflow and new or interesting apps. For example, they had an episode on low cost apps, where they discussed Skitch, an easy-to-use (non-geek) app for capturing screenshots and other images, annotate them , and share them. I checked out the site and liked it so much I downloaded it.
5by5 does a great job providing me with hours of entertainment!
Like Squarespace
So far I like Squarespace. When Apple did away with MobileMe, I lost the ability to publish hrabinski.com. My domain provider had a publishing tool, but it was too complicated to use.
I decided to take a look at Squarespace to manage my web content and it is so easy!
My old page looked like this:
Old Web Page
It had some neat fonts, and using iWeb wasn't so bad for basic web pages, but nothing like the tools I have available in Squarespace.
Perhaps if I could find out how to use my Rocketman fonts within Squarespace that would be too cool.
Trying Squarespace
Trying Squarespace to manage site content and style. So far, so good. It let me import my Wordpress blog, add images, change layout...all the stuff the cool kids do.
