toroidalcore

It's cloudy, but hot out. I haven't mowed the grass in a while, and I'm not sure if I'm going to today. I may go for a swim, and then reevaluate.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

Time seems to move quicker as I get older. I remember the school year taking a long time when I was young, and then the summer being a long time, though not nearly as long as it should be. Of course, I didn't really have much in the way of obligations back then.

Now, of course, work doesn't let up for the summer. It goes by a lot quicker, and before I know it it'll be September. Then fall again.

That will mean cooler weather, which I generally prefer to the heat. But the heat waves haven't been as bad (yet) this year, and we're still closer to the beginning of summer than to the end. I'm enjoying the nicer weather.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

Change things up a little bit, whatever that means to you. I have routines that I like, but it's refreshing to break free from them once in a while. Try a different coffee, or go for a walk someplace new. Drive somewhere, or read a different book.

Or if it makes sense, travel. Or move. Or change jobs.

Change your way of thinking about things. This may be difficult, but it can be revealing.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

It's a cloudless night. I'm sitting by a fire out in my back yard, with a beer. It's chilly, but I'm burning a bunch of cut up pine from branch that fell, so it's warm.

The sky is amazing. No clouds, some light pollution, but not a lot. The stars are faint, but they're there.

Get out and look at the sky when you can.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

July 4th was yesterday. I didn't go out for a fireworks show, as I went out the night before. There were however, a lot of amateur displays happening not far from my neighborhood. It was actually a continuous series of explosions, that went into the morning. I guess people were getting it out of their systems.

Celebrating Independence Day seems weird with everything going on.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

I am away right now. It has its pros and cons – I'm away from the normal sources of stress, but there are some new, temporary ones. But those new ones tend to outweigh the old ones, I find. Routine change is important.

It's sunny here, and (more or less) warm. The water is beautiful, and pleasant though it's the cold Atlantic. It's great to see the sand, ocean sand, again.

This is a luxury, but in a way it's also a necessity. The getting away part, that is. A change in routine, a few days someplace else, or just doing something different. It can take on lots of forms, but it's important to try for once in a while.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

It's the night before travel. Maybe, I hope, I can get an early start. I hope to have a pleasant drive. I'm mostly packed, just need to eat breakfast, get my coffee, corral George, and load the car.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

I've been thinking I need a change at work. I might get the chance to soon. Not to get ahead of myself, but we shall see.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

I built a fire last night, and another one this evening. I have a lot of twigs and branches that have accumulated. It's nice to build a fire, but it's also nice to get rid of this sort of yard debris. Just putting it at the curb seems like a waste.

I'm trying to head towards getting rid of my pile of wood, since I'm looking to have a fence put up eventually, and could use the room. So I've been making it a point to have a fire a little more often. Luckily, it's been damp out lately, so that hasn't been a huge issue.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town

Thinking of interesting projects is easy. I've got a selection of things in my mental queue, power electronics projects, software projects, and some home-related things. And then of course there's whatever I have going on at work, although that of course is a separate queue.

Part of it is the end goal, the thing you end up with when the project is done: the box, the configuration, whatever. But part of it is the journey, the meditative process of chilling out with a cup of coffee on a rainy day and working on something.

Both require a start, getting nudged onto the track of progress. Sometimes it's easier to do this than at other times. Sometimes inspiration strikes randomly, other times it's a schedule, a ritual you stick to. Sometimes with others, sometimes solo.

Find me at @toroidalcore@masto.hackers.town