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A large group of protesters gathered at a street intersection, holding various signs. The signs express political messages and slogans, some of which reference Elon Musk and Donald Trump. The scene is set in an urban environment with trees and buildings visible in the background.

President’s Day Rally at City Hall.

Portland, Oregon. 17th February, 2025.

A diverse crowd of protesters holding various signs stands in an urban setting. The signs display messages about democracy, power balance, and political accountability. People are dressed for cold rainy weather.

A group of people is gathered outside the Portland City Hall building in the rain, participating in a protest. Some hold signs with messages like “Trans Lives Matter” and “Trans Youth Deserve Healthcare.”

A group of people are gathered in a street protest. Many are holding signs with various messages, and a transgender pride flag is prominently displayed in the foreground.

A street protest scene with people holding signs. The signs express messages about economic inequality, such as “The only dangerous minority is the rich.” Some participants wear rain gear and backpacks, standing on a wet sidewalk.

A group of people gathering for a protest on a city street corner. They hold various signs, one of which reads “Make American Science Great Again.” Other messages on signs include opposition to concentration camps and other political statements. The scene is active and crowded.

A group of people are gathered on a rainy street engaging in a protest. The sign on a car reads “STOP THE COUP!” Some individuals hold cardboard signs, and others are dressed in rain gear.

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A snowy street scene featuring a person walking on a snow-covered sidewalk. The trees and ground are blanketed in snow, with a small house partially visible in the background and some parked cars on the street.

Snow day in the neighborhood.

Portland, Oregon. 14th February, 2025.

Three children push a very large snowball on a snow-covered street. Several parked cars are visible, with snow on their roofs. In the background, a person stands near a house with trees and stairs, also covered in snow.

Two people stand on a snowy street. One of them is holding a dog on a leash, and a baby. The dog is wearing a purple coat. They’re in front of a house with snow on the roof.

A snowy residential street with houses and cars covered in snow. A person pulls a child on a sled while another child walks in front of them, and a person dressed warmly walks on the sidewalk. Bare trees and power lines are visible.

A shovel lying on snow-covered ground with visible footprints around it. There are several snowballs scattered near the shovel.

Snow-covered street scene with a turquoise house, chain-link fence, and parked red car. A person wearing a black jacket and orange hat stands near a dark green house. Bare trees and overcast sky.

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My Valentine

A woman is sitting in living room wearing a “Portland Marathon” sweatshirt.

My valentine, my wife of nearly eleven months, is such an inspiration to me in so many ways. She inspires me to be a better husband and man, and to take better care of myself.

I want to especially call out her incredible determination over the last couple of years to running regularly. She took it upon herself to start running again after a long pause. I recall how hard it was for her to train up to running her first 5K, and then her first quarter marathon. Later that same year, with an amazing effort, she ran her first half marathon, followed one year later by her second one.

These days a 5K is just a regular run, which blows my mind. Through all the seasons, and injuries, she is going stronger than ever.

❤️

A woman jogging on a paved path surrounded by tall grass and trees. The scene is in black and white, with overcast skies and a wooden fence lining the path on one side.

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🛠️ Long Workbench

After building storage shelves towards the end of the year, I turned my eyes to the other side of that area and decided to build a workbench there. The idea being that it would house my new 3D printer, and also have room for other projects that I didn’t want to do in the dusty environment of the woodworking area. I drew up a rough plan on a photo and it came to 12 feet by 2 feet.

A workshop wall with a pegboard holding tools on the left. Centered is a computer setup with cables and networking equipment mounted on wooden panels. Overlaid on the image is a green and black sketch of a structure.

Its frame would be made of 2x4 lumber held together with pocket screws (a first for me, so I went and bought a jig!). The top would have two layers of 3/4" plywood. It didn’t need to be fancy, so I decided to use more of the same birch plywood I’d used for the storage shelves.

A woodworking setup featuring a Kreg pocket hole jig with a piece of wood clamped in place, showing two drilled pocket holes. A Makita cordless drill with a drill bit is nearby, along with a tool bag containing various tools.

Installing the frame was a little bit tricky but I managed to do it by myself by stacking some boxes for support, and attached it to the bare studs with lag screws.

A wooden frame structure, possibly a tabletop or workbench, is mounted on a wall. It is supported by storage boxes with yellow lids. A level tool rests on the frame.

Then it was time to make the front legs. The floor in the basement is not only not level but also has lumpy concrete in some spots. So each leg had to be constructed by trial and error for the place it would stand.

A wooden workbench situated against a pegboard wall in a garage or workshop.

Now I was ready to build the surface which had a base, and a top. The base went on pretty quickly. I screwed down from the top to attach it to the frame. The top was made of the same plywood but I finished it with two coats of polyurethane using a spray. Spray was a bad idea, but more on that later. I installed the top by screwing up from underneath the base.

After a week I started to build the other half. It was the same process but due to issues with the studs, I had to cut a couple of dados.

A close-up of a woodworking joint showing two intersecting wooden beams, with precise markings and measurements on the wood.

The rest of it went smoothly, and I lined it up as best as I could with the first half.

A wooden workbench frame inside a workshop or garage. It is constructed with natural wood and secured with screws. The wall has pegboard and exposed studs.

Next I fastened 2x2 boards all along the edges, and mounted a strip of the same plywood along the back, and with that, it was completed.

Workshop setup with a wooden workbench, a fabric enclosure labeled “TOPCUBE,” with a 3D printer inside, and a network rack with cables on the wall. Yellow-lidded storage bins are underneath the bench.

So far I don’t feel the need for all the legs I had in the sketch, but I can add more if needed.

Lessons were (hopefully) learned. Mainly to not use spray poly to finish a large flat surface, and also not to do it in the house, even if it was in the rough basement. I finished the second one in the shed.

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A monochrome photo depicting a cozy living room scene. A person covered with a blanket is sitting on a couch. A cat is perched on the back of the couch, looking towards the person. Sunlight creates patterns on the wall.

Good morning. 6th January, 2025.

📷 Hasselblad 500C/M
🎞️ Cinestill Double-X (ISO 200)

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A black and white photo of a fallen, decaying tree trunk in a forest. The textured bark and exposed wood are prominently visible, surrounded by leaf litter and foliage. Trees can be seen in the blurred background.

Laurelhurst Park, Portland, Oregon. 9th November, 2024.

📷 Hasselblad 500C/M
🎞️ Cinestill Double-X (ISO 200)

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Black and white diptych of a park scene. The left side features a large, gnarled tree trunk with branches extending outward, surrounded by other trees and fallen leaves on the ground. The right side shows a tree with dense foliage, fallen leaves revealing a pattern of concentric curves.

Laurelhurst Park, Portland, Oregon. 9th November, 2024.

📷 Hasselblad 500C/M
🎞️ Cinestill Double-X (ISO 200)

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A black and white image showing the corner of an old building with large windows. The building’s surface is weathered with visible textures and shadows. On the left, leafless tree branches extend into the sky, creating a stark contrast with the structure.

Black and white image of Ankeny Square featuring an elaborate archway with three arches. The scene is framed by bare trees, casting intricate shadows. A skateboarder is silhouetted, partially visible near the arch.

A black and white image of a city street with leafless trees and a building in the background. A person is walking on the sidewalk. Street signs and lampposts are also visible.

Trees and nearby structures were catching my eye on a little afternoon walk in downtown. Portland, Oregon. 25th January, 2025.

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A colorful RV with vibrant graffiti-style artwork is parked on a street. Behind it, a building with red walls features large windows and graffiti art, including the word “LORDS” and other abstract designs. A smaller car is parked nearby. The scene is lit by the warm glow of the morning sun.

A street corner with a blue building featuring a yellow door and several windows. A vintage pickup truck is parked nearby. Visible signs advertise ice cream. Power lines cross the sky, and a pedestrian crosswalk with traffic lights is in the foreground. The scene is lit by the warm glow of the morning sun.

A bagel sandwich with egg, sausage, cheese, tomato, and other fillings is placed on a table in a lined basket. Beside it is a blue plastic cup and a napkin holder. A small potted plant is in the background. The sandwich is lit by the warm glow of the morning sun.

Morning walk on Foster Road to get a bagel sandwich. Portland, Oregon. 18th January, 2025.

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A cat in a harness sits on a porch railing, looking up at a hummingbird near a red feeder. The porch has a hanging bell and decorative elements, with a background of a yard, trees, and a neighboring house.

Friends.

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A black and white landscape photo of tall trees silhouetted against a cloudy sky. Below the trees is a view of a town with rooftops and more trees stretching into the distance. The sky is mostly cloudy with some brighter patches and dramatic cloud formations.

Mt. Tabor Park. Portland, Oregon. 12th January, 2025.

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A new version of Mimi Uploader is out with even more support for Photo Collections 🎉

The previous release had the ability to see your list of collections. This new one adds the following features:

  • Add photos to collections from the list of recent uploads. Tap and hold a single photo, or use the “…” menu on en entry that has a batch of photos to add them all.
  • Delete a photo from a collection. When browsing a collection, tap and hold on a photo to see the option to delete.
  • Create a collection. Just tap “+” on the collections list.

I’m finding this way of managing my collections to be great. Hope you like it too!

You can get Mimi Uploader for free from the App Store.

As discussed in a previous post, the Photo Collections feature is only available to Supporter. You can become a Supporter using the sliding scale in the app.

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I enjoy podcasts but I got the feeling I was listening to a lot of tech. In 2024, I reduced the time to about 50%. In 2023 they were close to 65%.

The image shows a 2024 summary of top nine podcasts listened to in Overcast, with a total of 288 hours spent, 156 of which were in tech podcasts.

Maybe I can get it down to 40% this year.

I’m listening to several at 1.5x speed now. I was very averse to that a few years ago.

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🛠️ Basement Storage Shelves

Over the last week or so I designed and built freestanding storage shelves in our basement. Inspired by this video, and other similar ones, I decided that I would give it a go.

The basement had become a mess of stuff, about 70% of which was worth keeping. So we started by re-organizing what we wanted to keep and the rest we discarded/donated/gave-away.

On the 23rd I drew up the plan, and we went and bought the first set of materials from a neighborhood building material store, which has amazing people. Then came the holiday, so I didn’t start to build until the 26th.

A photo of a basement wall with outlines for a shelving unit sketched on it. A black storage bin with a yellow lid sits on the concrete floor.

The first set took a while to make as I was new to it and wanted to make sure I got the measurements right as we had already got the plywood cut at the store. On the 27th I put the first shelf together.

Wooden storage shelves in a basement, holding yellow-lidded plastic containers, rolled-up fabric, boxes, and folded items. To the left, there are suitcases and folded tables. The background features a concrete wall and a window.

The design allows for expanding on either side, so right away I built an extension. This time it went really fast, even with a drive to the store to get more materials.

This second set had only two shelves that were half as deep so we didn’t block the window, and also Jenni could place her paddle board bag vertically to easily pick up or drop off. I noticed that the there was a sag on this shelf, so later I added a strip of wood for additional support.

Wooden shelves in a basement with various storage items. Black and yellow plastic bins line the left shelf. A rolled-up fabric item sits on top. A large blue and black backpack, clear plastic bins with tools and supplies, and smaller blue bins are also visible.

On the 28th I built yet another extension. This time I didn’t have enough plywood for three levels, so for the time being it only has two, but hey, those box fans fit nicely in there.

Wooden storage shelves in a basement with various items organized on them. Black and yellow storage bins, a wrapped blanket, a large backpack, stacked boxes, a covered item, clear plastic bins with contents, a power tool box, and two box fans.

Yesterday I completed another extension and that should be good for our current needs. From one end to another these shelves are 15 feet (~ 4.5m)

Wooden shelving units in a garage storing various items, including black storage bins with yellow lids, a rolled-up item, a large backpack, plastic boxes, a box, etc.

I will observe how it performs, and have ideas to add more structural support if needed.

I’m really happy with how these turned out, and with our efforts, the entire space looks and feels so much better already.

P.S. As I was building this I also organized my basement shop that I hadn’t used in a long time, including installing these wall-mounted shelves to hold lumber.

P.P.S The end posts are also 2x4s, but they look like 4x4s in the photo, likely due to distortion from the use of an ultra-wide lens.

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Happy New Year! 🥳

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Back to Reading

I enjoy reading but realized that this activity had reduced in my life. So this year I made a concerted effort to read more, and it worked. I’ve found that the key to my enjoyment of reading is to read a variety. So I mix books that are short, long, fiction, non-fiction, old, new, most-often read genres and others.

On average I’m reading smaller books than before, but I’m reading a whole lot more of them, as seen in these charts.

Three line graphs depict data trends from 2009 to 2024 for the number of books, pages per book, and pages per month.

Yes, these stats are silly, but perhaps you can think of other silly stats I could be tracking and charting? Let me know!

Oh, and if you’re wondering which books, well, head on over to the books page.

Here’s to more reading in 2025 😊

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A new version of Mimi Uploader is out with support for Photo Collections 🎉

As discussed in the previous post, the feature is only available to subscribers to become a Supporter using the sliding scale in the app.

The initial release of this feature provides the ability to see the list of your collections, as well as each individual collection. More features are coming soon. Hope you like it!

You can get Mimi Uploader from the App Store.

Happy New Year!

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From the department of things-I-should’ve-done-years-ago: Wall rack to hold lumber in the basement shop 🎉

A basement with wooden planks stored on wall-mounted shelves. There’s also a cabinet mounted on the wall to the right of the shelves.

And here’s how it was before:

A basement wall with plywood squares stacked against it and a number of boards on the floor stretching for 3-4 feet from the wall. There’s a small cabinet mounted on the wall above.

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Circular stone engraving featuring an abstract face design. Includes a quote by Chief Seattle: “If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?” and text in a native language.

A black and white photo of a dirt path winding through tall grass, leading to a line of leafless and evergreen trees under a cloudy sky.

A black and white photo of a serene landscape with tall grasses in the foreground and leafless trees in the background. The sky is overcast, creating a moody atmosphere.

A black-and-white photograph of an empty wooden bench in a natural setting, surrounded by grass. In the background, there are bare trees and a cloudy sky, suggesting a winter or late autumn scene.

A black and white photograph of a tree trunk with a rough bark texture. The trunk is surrounded by dense branches and foliage, with scattered plants and grass at its base.

A black and white landscape photograph featuring a grassy field in the foreground and a line of sparse trees and clouds in the background.

A black and white photo of a birch tree with bare branches and hanging catkins in the foreground. The background is blurred, highlighting the tree’s texture and details.

Black and white image of a tangled thicket of branches with small berries. The backdrop is a blurred field, giving a sense of depth and a natural, serene setting.

A black and white landscape featuring an open grassy field with scattered shrubs and young trees in the foreground. Dense forest covers the middle ground, while hills and a town are visible in the hazy background. Cloudy sky above.

Walk at Powell Butte Nature Park. Portland, Oregon. 24th December 2024.

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In case you’re looking for a moody over-processed phone wallpaper for the holidays, here you go…

A blurred image of a Christmas tree decorated with warm yellow lights in a dimly lit room.

Merry Christmas!