After self-publishing her first poetry book and debating whether or not to do the same for her second—which is about 80% complete—my wife informed me today she sent off her first proposal to a publisher. As so many are, this particular publisher severely backlogged, but it’s a reason for celebration regardless of the outcome. I couldn’t be more proud of her and the effort she’s put into this second book.
Until I take the time to build a proper little station for my Prusa Mini+ 3D printer rig, it’s current spot is next to my desk atop an IKEA Alex drawer on wheels. I also have a Eufy home security camera recording through a magnified ring light so I can keep tabs while I’m away.
Spent some time this past week shooting an assignment for the Michigan Department of Education. The farm tour proved to be a great location for testing out the iPhone 13 Pro review unit I have on loan from Apple for DPReview. Lovely morning light.
It’s been a while, Micro.blog. After nearly two years away I’m hoping to get back to posting here. It’s been too long since I’ve had a consistent personal place to share life’s journey that isn’t Twitter.
I’m always a fan of trying to streamline my workflow; particularly my editorial workflow. But one thing I’ve come to realize over the years is the more means of automation I come up with, be it with text shortcuts or various actions in particular programs, the more often I make mistakes.
It seems some things should be done slowly and less efficiently. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out what’s worth streamlining and what should be kept a more manual, time-intensive process.
There’s still progress to be made (I’ll probably need another one of these organizers specifically for photo-related gear), but I think I’ve finally found a solution for all of my cables and tidbits that usually sit in a drawer.
The organizers are from Iris, made in the United States, and are incredibly well-built despite being plastic (usually stray away from plastic where possible). This particular one is the 44-drawer white organizer. It’s also worth noting that the labels, which are written with a silver Sharpie on 1-inch Gaffer tape, are easier to read in real life than the below image suggests.
This weekend turned out to be an unforgettable one in the worst of ways. I’ll (likely) elaborate at a later time, but for the time being I’ll simply say it’s good to know everyone in our little family is on the mend and feeling better again.
It’s been a little more quiet here than I would’ve liked to start off the new year. No matter how much preparation you think you’ve done for the arrival, nothing prepares you for having your 18 month old come down with a cold the week you bring your newborn home, only to recover for a week before coming down with a stomach bug the following week. The volume and diversity of bodily fluids that have been flowing about our apartment is…disturbing.
The good news it looks like everyone is on the mend and it can only get better from here.
[frantically searching for any wood to knock on]
What’s the point of getting new tech if you don’t push it to the limits, eh? This monstrosity is a Canon EOS R with a Contax 645 Zeiss 80mm F2 lens attached via two adapters (RF>EF>Contax), all on top of a DJI Ronin-SC. Pretty? no. Functional? Mostly.
As I started reviewing my self-employed P/L statements for 2019, I realized it probably wouldn’t hurt to invest a little for future projects by spending a little more on gear before the end of the year.
As a result, I’ve finally taken the dive into the world of video gear and picked up a few goodies to pair with my Canon EOS R. I’ve always wanted to dabble in the world of video, and have even considered making my own content to share online, but the reality is this gear will more than likely be limited to personal use, capturing life’s moments with my family. One day that might change, but for now I’ll embrace the newness of it all and revel in keeping it to myself (and family).
Today, Friday the 13th, is the day we’ll meet our baby girl. On the way to the hospital, we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise. Upon finding our spot in the parking garage, we noticed the odometer in our vehicle was 131313. Furthermore, once we were settled in the labor and delivery room, we discovered our two nurses for the day were both named Samantha (my wife’s name is Samantha).
There’s some interesting stuff happening here in Lansing.
After consulting with the doctors this morning regarding our impending little one (who’s now four days late), my wife has decided to undergo a C-section tomorrow to bring our baby girl into this world. This time tomorrow, we should be holding her in our arms.
Last night I was reminded of an app idea I conceptualized five or six years ago. It’s extremely simple, but remains unique, as I’m yet to find an app that does anything like it in either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store.
Unfortunately I don’t have the bandwidth (or capital) to invest in it right now, but I’ve always wanted to develop my own app. So, maybe sometime in the not-so-distant future I can learn a little development and bring it to life.
Teaser: It’s a productivity app of sorts that brings a bit of the digital world to the art of analogue writing/journaling.
Our baby girl is officially two days past her due date.
My wife and I were certain she’d make an early arrival, but it seems she’s already working on teaching us a lesson in patience before she even leaves the womb.
Here’s to waiting.
My wife and I are currently in the process of getting financials sorted for the purchase of our first home.
Our lease isn’t up until May 2020, but considering how difficult the pre-approval and mortgage underwriting process can be for a self-employed freelancer (as well as this being our first home), we figured we should start the process sooner than later.
In reality, we’ve been planning for this — financially and otherwise — for nearly three years, but the entire operation is easily one of the most nerve-wracking things we’ve ever done. It doesn’t matter how well-sorted you think your finances are or how well-prepared you are, nerves always find a way to seep through.