What's been on my mind lately? Read on...
Just posted on the Microsoft Hardware Blog is a piece I wrote about the tail mechanism for the Arc Touch Mouse (I was the lead mechanical engineer).
The project, as you can tell from the blog, involved some fun, innovative design work (along with plenty of trips to China). I’m psyched for the upcoming US release!
It is sometimes hard, I think, to hold both the good and bad in the world in your mind at the same time, and so we pick times to focus on each. Thanksgiving, obviously, is one of the positive ones. There is much in my life that I am thankful for — friends near and far; family (unfortunately, largely far); a growing relationship with much promise; a home, neighborhood and city I enjoy; lots of fun projects to keep me engaged and busy; a job that that similarly engages; and plenty of potential for more to come on all fronts.
Happy Thanksgiving, Internets!
Rather than focusing on the depressing political news of late, let’s talk about more positive stuff. Like, say, Halloween.
For the second year in a row, General Assembly threw a killer party down in Georgetown. Last year, a group of us went as variations on Abraham Lincoln:
And having been last year, I knew the space had really high ceilings, so this year I went big. Like, 15-foot-tall-giant-squid big:
Originally, I’d hoped to use just helium balloons to hold the top part of the costume (the body of the squid) aloft, but it turned out even 1.1 oz ripstop nylon was too heavy (or more accurately, I couldn’t get enough helium in there to provide enough lift), and so I had to add some support in the form of a thin bamboo pole running up my back. It was definitely the easiest costume to spot at the party (what, being 8 feet taller than almost everything else there), but wasn’t so much the best in terms of being social (my beak cut off peripheral vision and it was hard to hear) or practical.
Lots more pictures (of everyone at the party, this year and last) here.
Going in to fall, I’m excited to have a bunch of projects on tap, some new, some old. Eventually, I’ll update the Projects page, but for now, here’s a rundown:
Sweater — Is this finally the year I finish my sweater? The one from this lovely book? The one I’ve been working on for over 10 years? Well, probably not. But maybe I’ll finish a sleeve before it’s 2011. A guy can dream, right?
Robot Arm — Is this finally the year I finish the robot arm? Again, probably not, but I have some solid ideas about how to proceed with the motor control, and Matt has generously provided some excellent software. The end is (somewhat) in sight!
Sous-Vide Cooker — Before he left for the East Coast, friend and former Dupe resident Jesse built up quite a buzz about sous vide. It’s a cooking method that involves immersing food sealed inside plastic bags in temperature-controlled water baths for extended periods of time, and commercial equipment is quite pricey. Internet to the rescue! A local foodie figured out how to piece things together and assemble a setup for under $100. Naturally, we gave it a try, and damn if it wasn’t the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life. Our setup wasn’t the most robust, and Jesse took it with him to NYC, so I’m hard at work on version 2.
Woodshop — Ever since I left Somerville for points west, I’ve missed having room to build things from wood. I’m very fortunate to have some friends who live in my neighborhood who’re willing to give up some space in their basement. I shipped out a couple big boxes of stuff that was in storage in Connecticut, and just picked up a used table saw. In exchange for using the space, I offered to build them a dining room table (likely a rough copy of this table from Crate & Barrel), so that (or perhaps a workbench) is project number one, starting soon!
Photography — I have a bunch of friends involved in the design/craft scene in Seattle (notably, Chika, and many others like Jean & Dylan, Kate, and Ingrid). I have a project brewing in my mind to document their amazing work and work spaces, though it may be a little while before it really comes together.
I’ll post more details as projects progress, of course!
Heading home from a great week on the East Coast visiting Matt in his new digs at Swarthmore (and eating ridiculous food), seeing friends and family in New York (and eating more ridiculous food), and spending a fantastic long weekend at the Zucker family farmhouse in Connecticut. Sunset rainbow kinda sums it up nicely:
More photos here.