Testing the Iceberg editor for WordPress…again

Unless I’m doing some crazy non-standard layout, I’m not a fan of using WordPress’ Gutenberg editor. Mostly I just want to type some simple text and add a link or two. Last year I bought a license for Iceberg which is a lightweight Gutenberg replacement that feels more “normal”. I stopped using it because there was a kind of uncanny valley effect, but after several frustrating days wrestling Gutenberg, I’m trying Iceberg again....

June 17, 2021 · 94 words

Thomas Paine on simplicity

The more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered; and the easier repaired when disordered Thomas Paine I would be wise to keep this in mind.

June 11, 2021 · 31 words

Remote workers and their diapered managers

I see office vs remote is very much on the menu (thanks media for using your platform to ruin our day ????) <p> The key should be *choice* </p> <p> Some people prefer to work at home<br />Some people prefer to work at an office </p> <p> It's up to managers to put on their adult pants and facilitate both. </p> <p> &mdash; Andy Bell (@piccalilli_) <a href="https://twitter.com/piccalilli_/status/1402971819431370753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2021</a> </p> <p> My feelings about remote work are evolving, and I&#8217;m working through them, but social media makes it difficult because social media almost forces us to pick a side and run hard with it....

June 10, 2021 · 396 words

Joys of well-engineered mechanical devices – Macfilos

Keith James, Macfilos: Perhaps because life in the third decade of the twenty-first century, for those of us in technologically developed countries, seems to involve almost total submersion in an ocean of digital devices, I suspect I am not the only one who enjoys occasionally being cast away on an island of mechanical wonder, where devices involve moving parts more than moving electrons. Mmmm, mechanical memories.

May 17, 2021 · 66 words

Assembling Bryan's boat lift

I spent the weekend helping a friend assemble and place a lift for his speedboat. It was a job for four people, but we only had two. This meant some extra planning and heavy lifting. Eventually, we succeeded. It was a fun challenge.

May 17, 2021 · 43 words

Idle or floor it?

Things have been stagnating around here. I haven’t felt like doing any capital-B Blogging. Rather, I’ve been pouring stuff into rudimentarylathe.wiki. It’s just easier to have the daily notes tiddler open and type as I go. No need to come up with titles or worry about whether I have enough words put together to justify a new post. Writing blog posts is a Whole Thing™. This blog started out as a place for me to share photos and their supporting processes and gear....

May 17, 2021 · 234 words

What if I didn't share everything?

I wonder what I would choose to do with my time if I didn’t share every detail of my life? Let’s find out.

May 4, 2021 · 23 words

★★★ 3 stars by default

Here’s my star rating system for everything: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was good ⭐️⭐️⭐️ It was OK ⭐️⭐️ I didn’t like it ⭐️ Hated it With me, everything gets 3 stars by default. Books, movies, photographs, everything: 3 stars right off the bat. I always assume that this new thing or person or conversation will be OK at the very least. This applies to more than just media. It applies to people, too....

April 29, 2021 · 146 words

A New Guild System – The Hedgehog Review

A New Guild System | THR Blog | Blogs | The Hedgehog Review: At a time when, as Levin points out, people tend to see participation even in such august institutions as the United States Congress as a platform for building their own personal brand, the solo-proprietor world can all-too-easily become branding all the way down and the personal website a device for constant ego-feeding. “Branding all the way down” indeed....

April 21, 2021 · 71 words

Using the current book's cover as lock screen on my Kindle

I got my first Kindle in 2007. I had given up on Amazon letting me do the Most Obvious Thing, which is to use the current book’s cover on the lock screen. But, after 13 years, I finally can! Finally! (I’ll probably decide to disable it when reading “Fifty Shades”, though)

April 18, 2021 · 51 words

My blog's overwrought theme

Everything in my life has become overwrought, overthought, overdone, and needs to be unwound. Today, I’m dealing with this blog at copingmechanism.com. A few weeks ago I decided to go back to using WordPress (again), and dammit I’m going to try sticking with it this time. But, I don’t like any WordPress themes. There are thousands of them, and I can never find one that works for me. Oh, I find a lot of them that make me say, “Ooh, cool!...

April 15, 2021 · 320 words

Renting eBooks

None of the old books on my Kindle mean anything to me. They’re just there. I never see them, I never re-read them. I never use them for anything. Seems like a waste. In addition, I’ve recently purchased a couple of hardcover books that I didn’t enjoy. So now what? They’ve gotta sit on my shelf forever? I suppose I could always give them away, but that’s also work. (Advantage, real books, though)....

April 6, 2021 · 347 words

Another attempt and having One True Blog

I am once again having thoughts about only maintaining One True Blog™. I know, it’s just another mood and it’ll probably change, but as I wrote a few days ago, I don’t feel like blogging lately. I’m wondering if this is partially because I’m exhausted by the decisions around publishing. Just last week I moved my other blog at baty.blog from Blot to Micro.blog and back again. This meant switching from using Emacs to edit posts to MarsEdit (and back)....

March 30, 2021 · 162 words

The iPod Classic (revisited)

GQ told me that Now Is a Great Time to Go Back to an Old iPod and I believed them, so I bought one. This is a 7th-gen iPod Classic fitted with a custom board and 256GB flash storage. I got it from PiratePTiPods on Etsy. I admit it was a bit of an impulse buy, but after a week of use I’m glad I have it. I’ve loaded it with a bunch of my favorite songs, and have not yet run out of things to listen to....

October 23, 2020 · 242 words

Coping with the Mechanism

Sometimes I get bored with the way I’m running things around here and look to mix things up a bit. It’s happened again. This time, it meant bringing back the Coping Mechanism blog. You’re soaking in it. I have my stuff at a few different domains: copingmechanism.com. This brand new blog. Running WordPress Ghost WordPress. baty.net. My blog since 2000. Generated by Hugo. I’ll probably move the thousands of posts to archive....

October 23, 2020 · 265 words