<a href="https://smidgeo.com/notes/deathmtn">deathmtn</a>

4/30/2023, 11:31:00 AM

Well, I'm starting yet another task organization system. This is seriously possibly the 20th one.

The one I've been using for the last couple months is nothing, which felt good for a while, but slowly, my email drafts started creeping toward evolving into a TODO list, and I was missing doing some important things. Before that, I mostly knew what I had to do because so much of it was house selling/buying/moving, and instead, I wrote down what I did each day to give myself credit for doing so much garbage.

I'm now trying out a version of the Captain Awkward system, which a Recurse colleague recommended. It is basically just a list but with an explanation about why you need to do each thing, which I've never bothered with, even though it's something I always do when planning a project or a product.

So far, I've listed 73 tasks for this month. They're not going to get done, but maybe they'll get out of my head.
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4/30/2023, 8:57:35 AM

One thing that’s better about using Excel instead of Google Sheets (other than better features, of which I don’t really know how to take advantage) is the data policy:
This data does not include your name or email address, the content of your files, or information about apps unrelated to Microsoft 365 or OneDrive.
Google’s privacy policy is more complex and includes:
To provide services like spam filtering, virus detection, malware protection and the ability to search for files within your individual account, we process your content.
(Emphasis added.)
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4/29/2023, 9:55:37 PM

I'm not going to make podcast about JavaScript news, so I will give this title that I wrote down a while ago to you: scrollIntoView
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4/29/2023, 8:25:20 PM

The guy finished his tent project. He cut half of the holes, sanded, and assembled.

Now we have a tent in our living room.
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4/29/2023, 5:43:03 PM

Marinade that could be a fabric print
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4/29/2023, 4:42:02 PM

I remembered that toenailing only secures along one plane unless you do additional toenailing along the other plane. I didn’t want to do that, so went with this classic move instead.
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4/29/2023, 4:11:06 PM

Trying some toenailing to try to fuse these boards into one.
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4/29/2023, 4:00:16 PM

And now the guy can cut the final hole for the project.
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4/29/2023, 3:37:56 PM

I didn’t quite line the two cuts up, but after a little chiseling, this will be close enough to the professionally milled board next to it.
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4/29/2023, 3:34:07 PM

First half went OK.
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4/29/2023, 3:27:00 PM

Behold! I built a really awkward fence so I can mill the piece of wood on the right to the thickness we need, and it took me half an hour and two attempts.

I couldn’t come up with a way to do it without putting nails into the workbench. Fortunately, the workbench is more of a “workbench” and was free, not some $500 Sjobergs thing.

So, this is why people go out and just buy wood already to the dimensions they want, even though it’s really expensive.
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4/28/2023, 8:29:41 PM

I (laboriously) jammed up a couple of riffs last night, then rerecorded (and revised) them this morning for the Junto prompt where you make a track that other people can add to. Here it is with a beat behind it. But if you want a guitar track to mess with, go at it on SoundCloud.
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4/28/2023, 12:12:13 PM

OCTOROK IS DEFEAT
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4/28/2023, 1:08:19 AM

Well, I tried to write some riffs and always felt like I was about to discover one, but then just had to settle on some. Then, I spent a couple hours trying to record them without knowing I was taking hours.

Finally, I accidentally erased the take I got while trying to re-amp it. It wasn’t really all that great; it was just on-time.

I think it is a sign of growth that I’m now just letting it go instead of trying to recreate it now.
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4/27/2023, 4:48:53 PM

A monk asked the Master, "What is a true statement?" Zhaozhou replied, "Your mother is ugly."
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4/26/2023, 9:55:46 PM

I added support for setting the event durations via a graph in and was able to render a version of Middlesex Fells that I like better.
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4/26/2023, 8:37:34 PM

As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School

Freight train companies have figured out that longer trains lead to greater profit, so they're getting to colossal lengths. Apparently, they're so long that when they stop, they can't avoid blocking one or more railroad crossing.
But communities like Hammond routinely face a different set of risks foisted on them by those same train companies, which have long acted with impunity. Every day across America, their trains park in the middle of neighborhoods and major intersections, waiting to enter congested rail yards or for one crew to switch with another. They block crossings, sometimes for hours or days, disrupting life and endangering lives.
Hours or days.

So, what happens? People end up crossing them because it's a choice between doing that and missing work or school (which may be a source of meals for a lot of kids). They're effectively walls that can kill you.

This video clip is harrowing.

The new robber barons are in digital technology, but apparently, you still have to look out for the old railroad barons.
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4/26/2023, 7:00:07 PM

Double-fried the zucchini and dipped them in cornstarch in an attempt to make them crispy, but things this watery take real batter for crispy shells. They got cooked at least!
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4/26/2023, 2:44:18 PM

23-minute run, 14 pull-ups. PT stretches. The new shoes feel good, and so far everything is holding up.
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4/25/2023, 8:59:45 PM

I don't know a lot about Bloody Keep, but goddamn look at that logo.
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4/25/2023, 8:37:05 PM

I shipped two packages I meant to ship for weeks, got started on getting artwork framed so's we can have some more art on the walls (boy framing is really expensive!), and paid some municipal bills.

I think these are really basic things for most people, but I don't get any sort of "reward feeling" from doing them. Even the art framing thing, for which I should because we'll get to have cool pictures up! Writing down that I did them is the closest thing I get to a reward.
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4/25/2023, 7:37:06 PM

After struggling to install blinds on a window with awkwardly narrow jambs, I can see the appeal of a Sears kit house. Yes, your house is like a lot of other houses. But if Sears houses (or other kit houses) were still sold (or had reached a critical mass), parts could be made that you knew would fit your house perfectly. You could get blinds specifically for your front upper right window or a solar panel system that requires zero customization. Or you could order a replacement wall or maybe a replacement kitchen.

Anyway, they stopped selling the kits by the ‘60s, so I’m going to have live with my non-standardized house.
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4/25/2023, 6:45:51 PM

The kerning seems off in the numbers of the Old English font on the label maker.
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4/25/2023, 10:20:19 AM

Oh, I should give businesses credit on those rare occasions when it is due. After these emails, someone came out and fixed our gate for free, and the compost people called and said they'll track missed pickups and figure out why they're happening. So, my consumer confidence has bumped up by some small unit.
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4/25/2023, 10:16:45 AM

All right, did the social class conference. Things are going well. Though I did talk to another dad there yesterday, and it could be that social skills are improving simply because these kids are older. There's no way to prove exactly where that improvement comes from. There is no A/B testing in life.

Even in the worst case, though, it's an activity the guy enjoys that gives us access to analysis from licensed counselors that is fairly insightful. At best, he'll get skills that will help him not get run over in middle school.
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