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I'm Matt. Some people call me Hoke. Others who've known me for a while call me Hokie. I'm currently residing in the fine state of Maine.\n\nSee what I'm doing with my time [now](../now). You can send email to: m [at] h0ke [dot] com.","source":"about/index.md","raw":"---\ntitle: about\n---\nHi. I'm Matt. Some people call me Hoke. Others who've known me for a while call me Hokie. I'm currently residing in the fine state of Maine.\n\nSee what I'm doing with my time [now](../now). You can send email to: m [at] h0ke [dot] com.","date":"2021-01-16T21:27:52.841Z","updated":"2021-01-16T21:27:52.841Z","path":"about/index.html","_id":"ck8ezj0ri0001z6fnmlvw2iw2","comments":1,"layout":"page","content":"<p>Hi. I’m Matt. Some people call me Hoke. Others who’ve known me for a while call me Hokie. I’m currently residing in the fine state of Maine.</p>\n<p>See what I’m doing with my time <a href=\"../now\">now</a>. You can send email to: m [at] h0ke [dot] com.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>Hi. I’m Matt. Some people call me Hoke. Others who’ve known me for a while call me Hokie. I’m currently residing in the fine state of Maine.</p>\n<p>See what I’m doing with my time <a href=\"../now\">now</a>. You can send email to: m [at] h0ke [dot] com.</p>\n"},{"title":"projects","_content":"* [Buying Club Software](http://buyingclubsoftware.com)\n* [Start A Buying Club](http://startabuyingclub.com)\n","source":"projects/index.md","raw":"---\ntitle: projects \n---\n* [Buying Club Software](http://buyingclubsoftware.com)\n* [Start A Buying Club](http://startabuyingclub.com)\n","date":"2018-11-04T00:38:14.826Z","updated":"2018-11-04T00:38:14.826Z","path":"projects/index.html","comments":1,"layout":"page","_id":"ck8ezj0rl0003z6fnc5tygycw","content":"<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://buyingclubsoftware.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buying Club Software</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://startabuyingclub.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Start A Buying Club</a></li>\n</ul>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://buyingclubsoftware.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buying Club Software</a></li>\n<li><a href=\"http://startabuyingclub.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Start A Buying Club</a></li>\n</ul>\n"},{"title":"now","_content":"#### What am I doing now?\n\nThat's a great question! This idea was *borrowed* from [Derek Sivers](https://sivers.org/nowff). I'm spending my time...\n\n* being the father of [small](http://lucashokanson.com) [people](http://nadinehokanson.com).\n\n* as an engineering manager at [Spotify](https://www.spotify.com).\n\n* reading [a few books](https://www.goodreads.com/h0ke).\n\n* [listening](https://www.alieward.com/ologies) [to](https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot) [a](https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/podcast/the-upshot/) [few](https://www.theringer.com/plain-english-with-derek-thompson-podcast) [podcasts](https://www.thedeeplife.com/listen/).\n\n<small>*(last updated on Jun 04 2023)*</small>\n","source":"now/index.md","raw":"---\ntitle: now\n---\n#### What am I doing now?\n\nThat's a great question! This idea was *borrowed* from [Derek Sivers](https://sivers.org/nowff). I'm spending my time...\n\n* being the father of [small](http://lucashokanson.com) [people](http://nadinehokanson.com).\n\n* as an engineering manager at [Spotify](https://www.spotify.com).\n\n* reading [a few books](https://www.goodreads.com/h0ke).\n\n* [listening](https://www.alieward.com/ologies) [to](https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot) [a](https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/podcast/the-upshot/) [few](https://www.theringer.com/plain-english-with-derek-thompson-podcast) [podcasts](https://www.thedeeplife.com/listen/).\n\n<small>*(last updated on Jun 04 2023)*</small>\n","date":"2023-06-04T18:17:45.464Z","updated":"2023-06-04T18:17:45.464Z","path":"now/index.html","_id":"ck8ezj0rn0005z6fnfevtoq2q","comments":1,"layout":"page","content":"<h4 id=\"What-am-I-doing-now\"><a href=\"#What-am-I-doing-now\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"What am I doing now?\"></a>What am I doing now?</h4><p>That’s a great question! This idea was <em>borrowed</em> from <a href=\"https://sivers.org/nowff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Derek Sivers</a>. I’m spending my time…</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>being the father of <a href=\"http://lucashokanson.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">small</a> <a href=\"http://nadinehokanson.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">people</a>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>as an engineering manager at <a href=\"https://www.spotify.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify</a>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>reading <a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/h0ke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a few books</a>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://www.alieward.com/ologies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">listening</a> <a href=\"https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to</a> <a href=\"https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/podcast/the-upshot/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a</a> <a href=\"https://www.theringer.com/plain-english-with-derek-thompson-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">few</a> <a href=\"https://www.thedeeplife.com/listen/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">podcasts</a>.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p><small><em>(last updated on Jun 04 2023)</em></small></p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<h4 id=\"What-am-I-doing-now\"><a href=\"#What-am-I-doing-now\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"What am I doing now?\"></a>What am I doing now?</h4><p>That’s a great question! This idea was <em>borrowed</em> from <a href=\"https://sivers.org/nowff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Derek Sivers</a>. I’m spending my time…</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>being the father of <a href=\"http://lucashokanson.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">small</a> <a href=\"http://nadinehokanson.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">people</a>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>as an engineering manager at <a href=\"https://www.spotify.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify</a>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>reading <a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/h0ke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a few books</a>.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p><a href=\"https://www.alieward.com/ologies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">listening</a> <a href=\"https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to</a> <a href=\"https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/podcast/the-upshot/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a</a> <a href=\"https://www.theringer.com/plain-english-with-derek-thompson-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">few</a> <a href=\"https://www.thedeeplife.com/listen/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">podcasts</a>.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p><small><em>(last updated on Jun 04 2023)</em></small></p>\n"}],"Post":[{"title":"cutting (some of) the beard","date":"2016-03-30T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"making a mountain out of a beard-hill.","_content":"The idea of cutting my beard had always come and gone since the first days of growth. It wasn't until year four that the notion really started to gain a foothold. Like many things, my determination to keep growing wasn't dashed in one fell swoop, but slowly chiseled at. \n\nHere's a few of the unforeseen strikes:\n\n- Fastening a bicycle or motorcycle helmet\n- Tying a tie\n- Zipping a jacket\n- Giving someone a hug and then trying to look left or right\n\nAs year five of unshorn-dom approached, so did the birth of my son. Several folks were quick to remind me that small sticky fingers were hard to unravel from a beard and baby puke didn't wash out easily. Once I started seriously contemplating trimming a few (9) inches off the bottom, the pros and cons lined up accordingly:\n\n**Pros**\n\n- Small sticky toes (not fingers) wouldn’t get caught in it\n- It wouldn’t catch fire when reaching across our new gas range\n- People would stop asking me how long I've been growing it\n- Most importantly, I wouldn’t end up cutting it in a fit of rage, leading to perhaps too many inches removed\n\n**Cons**\n\n- People might react negatively to my decision\n- The realization that I was sort of attached to all five years of growth\n\nOne night I finally decided to do it. I entrusted my partner to do the deed and thirty minutes later I'd shed several inches of beard length. As I cleaned up the bathroom, I could feel the anxiety floating in.\n\n“What'll my coworkers think?”\n\n“How about my acquaintances?”\n\n“Folks I know online?”\n\nThe next day I rolled into work and sure enough… nobody noticed. For three hours! Finally someone said, “Did you get a haircut?”\n\n“Sort of”, I said. Another co-worker didn't notice until days had gone by. So much for my anxiety surrounding people's reactions.\n\nSomething else I was wildly incorrect about was the assumption that people would stop asking me about how long I'd been growing my beard. In fact, the whole ordeal become more difficult. Where as before I could simply reply, “Five years!” Now I had this whole complicated story that ended up sounding like, “Well, it used to be longer, and that was five years. But then I cut about half of it off… so… I guess 2.5 or three years of growth?” As you can imagine this doesn't have quite the same impact.\n\nThis whole ordeal is yet another lesson of life, bucketed in the category of: I have no idea what is going to happen in the future. The assumptions and anxieties will result in nothing more than that: assumption and anxiety. Sometimes you just have to cut two (or 2.5) years off your beard and see what shakes out.","source":"_posts/cutting-the-beard.md","raw":"---\ntitle: cutting (some of) the beard\ndate: 2016-03-30\nsubtitle: making a mountain out of a beard-hill.\ntags: blog\n---\nThe idea of cutting my beard had always come and gone since the first days of growth. It wasn't until year four that the notion really started to gain a foothold. Like many things, my determination to keep growing wasn't dashed in one fell swoop, but slowly chiseled at. \n\nHere's a few of the unforeseen strikes:\n\n- Fastening a bicycle or motorcycle helmet\n- Tying a tie\n- Zipping a jacket\n- Giving someone a hug and then trying to look left or right\n\nAs year five of unshorn-dom approached, so did the birth of my son. Several folks were quick to remind me that small sticky fingers were hard to unravel from a beard and baby puke didn't wash out easily. Once I started seriously contemplating trimming a few (9) inches off the bottom, the pros and cons lined up accordingly:\n\n**Pros**\n\n- Small sticky toes (not fingers) wouldn’t get caught in it\n- It wouldn’t catch fire when reaching across our new gas range\n- People would stop asking me how long I've been growing it\n- Most importantly, I wouldn’t end up cutting it in a fit of rage, leading to perhaps too many inches removed\n\n**Cons**\n\n- People might react negatively to my decision\n- The realization that I was sort of attached to all five years of growth\n\nOne night I finally decided to do it. I entrusted my partner to do the deed and thirty minutes later I'd shed several inches of beard length. As I cleaned up the bathroom, I could feel the anxiety floating in.\n\n“What'll my coworkers think?”\n\n“How about my acquaintances?”\n\n“Folks I know online?”\n\nThe next day I rolled into work and sure enough… nobody noticed. For three hours! Finally someone said, “Did you get a haircut?”\n\n“Sort of”, I said. Another co-worker didn't notice until days had gone by. So much for my anxiety surrounding people's reactions.\n\nSomething else I was wildly incorrect about was the assumption that people would stop asking me about how long I'd been growing my beard. In fact, the whole ordeal become more difficult. Where as before I could simply reply, “Five years!” Now I had this whole complicated story that ended up sounding like, “Well, it used to be longer, and that was five years. But then I cut about half of it off… so… I guess 2.5 or three years of growth?” As you can imagine this doesn't have quite the same impact.\n\nThis whole ordeal is yet another lesson of life, bucketed in the category of: I have no idea what is going to happen in the future. The assumptions and anxieties will result in nothing more than that: assumption and anxiety. Sometimes you just have to cut two (or 2.5) years off your beard and see what shakes out.","slug":"cutting-the-beard","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:01.392Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rd0000z6fn1zgs9thj","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>The idea of cutting my beard had always come and gone since the first days of growth. It wasn’t until year four that the notion really started to gain a foothold. Like many things, my determination to keep growing wasn’t dashed in one fell swoop, but slowly chiseled at. </p>\n<p>Here’s a few of the unforeseen strikes:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fastening a bicycle or motorcycle helmet</li>\n<li>Tying a tie</li>\n<li>Zipping a jacket</li>\n<li>Giving someone a hug and then trying to look left or right</li>\n</ul>\n<p>As year five of unshorn-dom approached, so did the birth of my son. Several folks were quick to remind me that small sticky fingers were hard to unravel from a beard and baby puke didn’t wash out easily. Once I started seriously contemplating trimming a few (9) inches off the bottom, the pros and cons lined up accordingly:</p>\n<p><strong>Pros</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Small sticky toes (not fingers) wouldn’t get caught in it</li>\n<li>It wouldn’t catch fire when reaching across our new gas range</li>\n<li>People would stop asking me how long I’ve been growing it</li>\n<li>Most importantly, I wouldn’t end up cutting it in a fit of rage, leading to perhaps too many inches removed</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>Cons</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>People might react negatively to my decision</li>\n<li>The realization that I was sort of attached to all five years of growth</li>\n</ul>\n<p>One night I finally decided to do it. I entrusted my partner to do the deed and thirty minutes later I’d shed several inches of beard length. As I cleaned up the bathroom, I could feel the anxiety floating in.</p>\n<p>“What’ll my coworkers think?”</p>\n<p>“How about my acquaintances?”</p>\n<p>“Folks I know online?”</p>\n<p>The next day I rolled into work and sure enough… nobody noticed. For three hours! Finally someone said, “Did you get a haircut?”</p>\n<p>“Sort of”, I said. Another co-worker didn’t notice until days had gone by. So much for my anxiety surrounding people’s reactions.</p>\n<p>Something else I was wildly incorrect about was the assumption that people would stop asking me about how long I’d been growing my beard. In fact, the whole ordeal become more difficult. Where as before I could simply reply, “Five years!” Now I had this whole complicated story that ended up sounding like, “Well, it used to be longer, and that was five years. But then I cut about half of it off… so… I guess 2.5 or three years of growth?” As you can imagine this doesn’t have quite the same impact.</p>\n<p>This whole ordeal is yet another lesson of life, bucketed in the category of: I have no idea what is going to happen in the future. The assumptions and anxieties will result in nothing more than that: assumption and anxiety. Sometimes you just have to cut two (or 2.5) years off your beard and see what shakes out.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>The idea of cutting my beard had always come and gone since the first days of growth. It wasn’t until year four that the notion really started to gain a foothold. Like many things, my determination to keep growing wasn’t dashed in one fell swoop, but slowly chiseled at. </p>\n<p>Here’s a few of the unforeseen strikes:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fastening a bicycle or motorcycle helmet</li>\n<li>Tying a tie</li>\n<li>Zipping a jacket</li>\n<li>Giving someone a hug and then trying to look left or right</li>\n</ul>\n<p>As year five of unshorn-dom approached, so did the birth of my son. Several folks were quick to remind me that small sticky fingers were hard to unravel from a beard and baby puke didn’t wash out easily. Once I started seriously contemplating trimming a few (9) inches off the bottom, the pros and cons lined up accordingly:</p>\n<p><strong>Pros</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>Small sticky toes (not fingers) wouldn’t get caught in it</li>\n<li>It wouldn’t catch fire when reaching across our new gas range</li>\n<li>People would stop asking me how long I’ve been growing it</li>\n<li>Most importantly, I wouldn’t end up cutting it in a fit of rage, leading to perhaps too many inches removed</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong>Cons</strong></p>\n<ul>\n<li>People might react negatively to my decision</li>\n<li>The realization that I was sort of attached to all five years of growth</li>\n</ul>\n<p>One night I finally decided to do it. I entrusted my partner to do the deed and thirty minutes later I’d shed several inches of beard length. As I cleaned up the bathroom, I could feel the anxiety floating in.</p>\n<p>“What’ll my coworkers think?”</p>\n<p>“How about my acquaintances?”</p>\n<p>“Folks I know online?”</p>\n<p>The next day I rolled into work and sure enough… nobody noticed. For three hours! Finally someone said, “Did you get a haircut?”</p>\n<p>“Sort of”, I said. Another co-worker didn’t notice until days had gone by. So much for my anxiety surrounding people’s reactions.</p>\n<p>Something else I was wildly incorrect about was the assumption that people would stop asking me about how long I’d been growing my beard. In fact, the whole ordeal become more difficult. Where as before I could simply reply, “Five years!” Now I had this whole complicated story that ended up sounding like, “Well, it used to be longer, and that was five years. But then I cut about half of it off… so… I guess 2.5 or three years of growth?” As you can imagine this doesn’t have quite the same impact.</p>\n<p>This whole ordeal is yet another lesson of life, bucketed in the category of: I have no idea what is going to happen in the future. The assumptions and anxieties will result in nothing more than that: assumption and anxiety. Sometimes you just have to cut two (or 2.5) years off your beard and see what shakes out.</p>\n"},{"title":"decluttering","date":"2016-04-17T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"stuff, stuff, stuff, and more stuff.","_content":"Over the last six months, my family has embarked on a decluttering journey. Our goals didn’t include achieving a minimalistic nirvana, but we noticed a decent amount of… let's call it “build up”. It ranged from a stack of magazines intended for collages and a few too many hangers supporting clothing that was sure to fit again.\n\nThe first part of the voyage was prompted by a challenge in the vein of: [get rid of 100 items from your home](http://letslassothemoon.com/2011/09/11/take-100-things-off-your-houses-waistline/). This mission felt both easy and a bit daunting all at once. One hundred is a big number right? We prepared a box earmarked for donations and a trash can with some extra trash bags. \n\n> *Sidenote: If you find yourself getting worked up about making so much trash, keep this in mind: If you own an item that is not being used and not worthy of donation, it's already garbage. Don't let this argument prevent you from getting it out of your life.*\n\nThe process started a bit slow, but as the trash bags filled up and the donation box was about to overflow, we neared item one hundred in no time. Stepping back for a moment, it was interesting to see what 100 things looked like. On one hand I was proud of what we had done. On the other hand, if this was 100 pieces of stuff we probably owned thousands, if not tens of thousands of items. This thought was terrifying.\n\nMonths later, armed with our previous experience and Marie Kondo's book “[The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KK0PICK/),” we began the next, more involved leg of the journey. I'll spare you the play by play, but suffice it to say that we donated/consigned/sold pounds of clothing and hundreds of books at this point. We’ve stalled at the book phase, but only because it’s taken many weekends to sell them at a local book store.\n\nYou might be wondering, “What prompted this journey in the first place?” I’m glad you’ve asked as there were a few things in particular:\n\n1. After three years of living in a lovely but small one bedroom apartment, we had filled up the closet and storage space. With a newly arrived child, we knew we'd have to move soon. The thought of boxing, lugging and unpacking all of this stuff was weighing on us. This prompted the “jettison 100 thingies” stage.\n\n2. Once we had moved, it was clear that our previous concerns were valid and removing 100 hundred things was not enough. \n\n3. There were many tell tale “packed from the prior move and never opened in three years and simply moved again” boxes.\n\n4. We were sinking up to our necks in “storage solutions” and “moisture/rodent proof closet systems”.\n\nIf you find yourself in any of the above situations, you might want to consider a conscious decluttering of your home. Remember, you only have to go as far as you feel comfortable. Though I will warn you, once you get going it can be tough to slow down.","source":"_posts/declutter.md","raw":"---\ntitle: decluttering\ndate: 2016-04-17\nsubtitle: stuff, stuff, stuff, and more stuff.\ntags: blog\n---\nOver the last six months, my family has embarked on a decluttering journey. Our goals didn’t include achieving a minimalistic nirvana, but we noticed a decent amount of… let's call it “build up”. It ranged from a stack of magazines intended for collages and a few too many hangers supporting clothing that was sure to fit again.\n\nThe first part of the voyage was prompted by a challenge in the vein of: [get rid of 100 items from your home](http://letslassothemoon.com/2011/09/11/take-100-things-off-your-houses-waistline/). This mission felt both easy and a bit daunting all at once. One hundred is a big number right? We prepared a box earmarked for donations and a trash can with some extra trash bags. \n\n> *Sidenote: If you find yourself getting worked up about making so much trash, keep this in mind: If you own an item that is not being used and not worthy of donation, it's already garbage. Don't let this argument prevent you from getting it out of your life.*\n\nThe process started a bit slow, but as the trash bags filled up and the donation box was about to overflow, we neared item one hundred in no time. Stepping back for a moment, it was interesting to see what 100 things looked like. On one hand I was proud of what we had done. On the other hand, if this was 100 pieces of stuff we probably owned thousands, if not tens of thousands of items. This thought was terrifying.\n\nMonths later, armed with our previous experience and Marie Kondo's book “[The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KK0PICK/),” we began the next, more involved leg of the journey. I'll spare you the play by play, but suffice it to say that we donated/consigned/sold pounds of clothing and hundreds of books at this point. We’ve stalled at the book phase, but only because it’s taken many weekends to sell them at a local book store.\n\nYou might be wondering, “What prompted this journey in the first place?” I’m glad you’ve asked as there were a few things in particular:\n\n1. After three years of living in a lovely but small one bedroom apartment, we had filled up the closet and storage space. With a newly arrived child, we knew we'd have to move soon. The thought of boxing, lugging and unpacking all of this stuff was weighing on us. This prompted the “jettison 100 thingies” stage.\n\n2. Once we had moved, it was clear that our previous concerns were valid and removing 100 hundred things was not enough. \n\n3. There were many tell tale “packed from the prior move and never opened in three years and simply moved again” boxes.\n\n4. We were sinking up to our necks in “storage solutions” and “moisture/rodent proof closet systems”.\n\nIf you find yourself in any of the above situations, you might want to consider a conscious decluttering of your home. Remember, you only have to go as far as you feel comfortable. Though I will warn you, once you get going it can be tough to slow down.","slug":"declutter","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:05.700Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rj0002z6fnh8hqzkf6","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>Over the last six months, my family has embarked on a decluttering journey. Our goals didn’t include achieving a minimalistic nirvana, but we noticed a decent amount of… let’s call it “build up”. It ranged from a stack of magazines intended for collages and a few too many hangers supporting clothing that was sure to fit again.</p>\n<p>The first part of the voyage was prompted by a challenge in the vein of: <a href=\"http://letslassothemoon.com/2011/09/11/take-100-things-off-your-houses-waistline/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">get rid of 100 items from your home</a>. This mission felt both easy and a bit daunting all at once. One hundred is a big number right? We prepared a box earmarked for donations and a trash can with some extra trash bags. </p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Sidenote: If you find yourself getting worked up about making so much trash, keep this in mind: If you own an item that is not being used and not worthy of donation, it’s already garbage. Don’t let this argument prevent you from getting it out of your life.</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The process started a bit slow, but as the trash bags filled up and the donation box was about to overflow, we neared item one hundred in no time. Stepping back for a moment, it was interesting to see what 100 things looked like. On one hand I was proud of what we had done. On the other hand, if this was 100 pieces of stuff we probably owned thousands, if not tens of thousands of items. This thought was terrifying.</p>\n<p>Months later, armed with our previous experience and Marie Kondo’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KK0PICK/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>,” we began the next, more involved leg of the journey. I’ll spare you the play by play, but suffice it to say that we donated/consigned/sold pounds of clothing and hundreds of books at this point. We’ve stalled at the book phase, but only because it’s taken many weekends to sell them at a local book store.</p>\n<p>You might be wondering, “What prompted this journey in the first place?” I’m glad you’ve asked as there were a few things in particular:</p>\n<ol>\n<li><p>After three years of living in a lovely but small one bedroom apartment, we had filled up the closet and storage space. With a newly arrived child, we knew we’d have to move soon. The thought of boxing, lugging and unpacking all of this stuff was weighing on us. This prompted the “jettison 100 thingies” stage.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Once we had moved, it was clear that our previous concerns were valid and removing 100 hundred things was not enough. </p>\n</li>\n<li><p>There were many tell tale “packed from the prior move and never opened in three years and simply moved again” boxes.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>We were sinking up to our necks in “storage solutions” and “moisture/rodent proof closet systems”.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n<p>If you find yourself in any of the above situations, you might want to consider a conscious decluttering of your home. Remember, you only have to go as far as you feel comfortable. Though I will warn you, once you get going it can be tough to slow down.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>Over the last six months, my family has embarked on a decluttering journey. Our goals didn’t include achieving a minimalistic nirvana, but we noticed a decent amount of… let’s call it “build up”. It ranged from a stack of magazines intended for collages and a few too many hangers supporting clothing that was sure to fit again.</p>\n<p>The first part of the voyage was prompted by a challenge in the vein of: <a href=\"http://letslassothemoon.com/2011/09/11/take-100-things-off-your-houses-waistline/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">get rid of 100 items from your home</a>. This mission felt both easy and a bit daunting all at once. One hundred is a big number right? We prepared a box earmarked for donations and a trash can with some extra trash bags. </p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Sidenote: If you find yourself getting worked up about making so much trash, keep this in mind: If you own an item that is not being used and not worthy of donation, it’s already garbage. Don’t let this argument prevent you from getting it out of your life.</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>The process started a bit slow, but as the trash bags filled up and the donation box was about to overflow, we neared item one hundred in no time. Stepping back for a moment, it was interesting to see what 100 things looked like. On one hand I was proud of what we had done. On the other hand, if this was 100 pieces of stuff we probably owned thousands, if not tens of thousands of items. This thought was terrifying.</p>\n<p>Months later, armed with our previous experience and Marie Kondo’s book “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KK0PICK/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>,” we began the next, more involved leg of the journey. I’ll spare you the play by play, but suffice it to say that we donated/consigned/sold pounds of clothing and hundreds of books at this point. We’ve stalled at the book phase, but only because it’s taken many weekends to sell them at a local book store.</p>\n<p>You might be wondering, “What prompted this journey in the first place?” I’m glad you’ve asked as there were a few things in particular:</p>\n<ol>\n<li><p>After three years of living in a lovely but small one bedroom apartment, we had filled up the closet and storage space. With a newly arrived child, we knew we’d have to move soon. The thought of boxing, lugging and unpacking all of this stuff was weighing on us. This prompted the “jettison 100 thingies” stage.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>Once we had moved, it was clear that our previous concerns were valid and removing 100 hundred things was not enough. </p>\n</li>\n<li><p>There were many tell tale “packed from the prior move and never opened in three years and simply moved again” boxes.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>We were sinking up to our necks in “storage solutions” and “moisture/rodent proof closet systems”.</p>\n</li>\n</ol>\n<p>If you find yourself in any of the above situations, you might want to consider a conscious decluttering of your home. Remember, you only have to go as far as you feel comfortable. Though I will warn you, once you get going it can be tough to slow down.</p>\n"},{"title":"the future of libraries","date":"2016-04-06T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"they're not going anywhere, but what will they become?","_content":"\nI recently went through the process of renting a Kindle book from my local library. I assumed it was going to be difficult and require me to Google several steps along the way.\n\nWhen I got the email saying my e-book was ready, I clicked the link and was forwarded to a special section of the library's site. I selected my desired type of e-book (Kindle edition) and clicked the 'Checkout' button. I was forwarded to Amazon's lending page and asked to log in. After entering my credentials, I clicked another button and sure enough, the book was instantly downloading on my Kindle.\n\n“This is amazing,” I thought to myself. “We really _won't_ need physical libraries in the future.”\n\nA lot’s been said about the future of public libraries. What's going to happen when everyone is bumbling around with e-readers and there's no more use for physical books? This question usually sparks a heated yet hushed debate between an Oculus wearing techno-fiend and the nearest “I'll never read a book on a device!” luddite.\n\nI've realized that this discussion misses the mark. Only a few days later, while listening to the excellent [Question of the Day podcast](http://www.earwolf.com/episode/would-libraries-be-invented-today/), James Altucher mentioned that nobody was using the NYC public libraries anymore. Instead, they’re all spending their hard earned dollars at Barnes & Noble.\n\nHis co-host Stephen Dubner pointed out that studies show libraries in NYC have a higher yearly attendance than all NYC based cultural and sport events combined.\n\nThe key difference is that now the library visits are less about book borrowing and more about a public and free access to internet or printers. It's easy to forget that not everyone has a computer connected to the internet at home. And while smartphones have become ubiquitous, things like job searches and resume creation are still often best suited for a desktop or laptop.\n\nIn addition to computer use, public libraries are an excellent spot to meet a tutor, a mentor, a social group, some friends or spend time after school. Even personally, the local library's story time and creative corner is where my toddler socializes and contracts communicable germs.\n\nPublic libraries are about providing information for people. Perhaps the initial versions looked a lot like stacks of books and piles of print media. However, it wasn't long after that libraries included audio recordings. And then film. Eventually all those piles of print media were converted to microfiche. At some point you could actually check out the audio and video. Somewhere along the way the card catalogs were replaced by blinking black and green terminals where you had to remember to type the author's last name **first**. Eventually those computers improved and they weren't just hooked up to the catalog server, but also to the World Wide Web.\n\nAll the while there had been community rooms, reading areas, rare book rooms, local history archive, children's sections and a handful of other functions that local patrons requested.\n\nSo it seems that libraries have been evolving with shifts in media consumption, culture and technology all along. The discussion around their usefulness as we trend towards e-book is only valid in the minds of people who haven’t stepped into a library in recent years.\n\nEven if it got to the point where all the stacks were removed and the primary use, as Mr. Altucher predicts, was to borrow virtual reality gear and sail off the coast of Brazil until your time was up, that would still be an excellent use of the library. It’s important we not throw the library out with the book water.\n","source":"_posts/library-future.md","raw":"---\ntitle: the future of libraries\ndate: 2016-04-06\nsubtitle: they're not going anywhere, but what will they become?\ntags: blog\n---\n\nI recently went through the process of renting a Kindle book from my local library. I assumed it was going to be difficult and require me to Google several steps along the way.\n\nWhen I got the email saying my e-book was ready, I clicked the link and was forwarded to a special section of the library's site. I selected my desired type of e-book (Kindle edition) and clicked the 'Checkout' button. I was forwarded to Amazon's lending page and asked to log in. After entering my credentials, I clicked another button and sure enough, the book was instantly downloading on my Kindle.\n\n“This is amazing,” I thought to myself. “We really _won't_ need physical libraries in the future.”\n\nA lot’s been said about the future of public libraries. What's going to happen when everyone is bumbling around with e-readers and there's no more use for physical books? This question usually sparks a heated yet hushed debate between an Oculus wearing techno-fiend and the nearest “I'll never read a book on a device!” luddite.\n\nI've realized that this discussion misses the mark. Only a few days later, while listening to the excellent [Question of the Day podcast](http://www.earwolf.com/episode/would-libraries-be-invented-today/), James Altucher mentioned that nobody was using the NYC public libraries anymore. Instead, they’re all spending their hard earned dollars at Barnes & Noble.\n\nHis co-host Stephen Dubner pointed out that studies show libraries in NYC have a higher yearly attendance than all NYC based cultural and sport events combined.\n\nThe key difference is that now the library visits are less about book borrowing and more about a public and free access to internet or printers. It's easy to forget that not everyone has a computer connected to the internet at home. And while smartphones have become ubiquitous, things like job searches and resume creation are still often best suited for a desktop or laptop.\n\nIn addition to computer use, public libraries are an excellent spot to meet a tutor, a mentor, a social group, some friends or spend time after school. Even personally, the local library's story time and creative corner is where my toddler socializes and contracts communicable germs.\n\nPublic libraries are about providing information for people. Perhaps the initial versions looked a lot like stacks of books and piles of print media. However, it wasn't long after that libraries included audio recordings. And then film. Eventually all those piles of print media were converted to microfiche. At some point you could actually check out the audio and video. Somewhere along the way the card catalogs were replaced by blinking black and green terminals where you had to remember to type the author's last name **first**. Eventually those computers improved and they weren't just hooked up to the catalog server, but also to the World Wide Web.\n\nAll the while there had been community rooms, reading areas, rare book rooms, local history archive, children's sections and a handful of other functions that local patrons requested.\n\nSo it seems that libraries have been evolving with shifts in media consumption, culture and technology all along. The discussion around their usefulness as we trend towards e-book is only valid in the minds of people who haven’t stepped into a library in recent years.\n\nEven if it got to the point where all the stacks were removed and the primary use, as Mr. Altucher predicts, was to borrow virtual reality gear and sail off the coast of Brazil until your time was up, that would still be an excellent use of the library. It’s important we not throw the library out with the book water.\n","slug":"library-future","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:20.349Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rm0004z6fnlyafh9pp","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>I recently went through the process of renting a Kindle book from my local library. I assumed it was going to be difficult and require me to Google several steps along the way.</p>\n<p>When I got the email saying my e-book was ready, I clicked the link and was forwarded to a special section of the library’s site. I selected my desired type of e-book (Kindle edition) and clicked the ‘Checkout’ button. I was forwarded to Amazon’s lending page and asked to log in. After entering my credentials, I clicked another button and sure enough, the book was instantly downloading on my Kindle.</p>\n<p>“This is amazing,” I thought to myself. “We really <em>won’t</em> need physical libraries in the future.”</p>\n<p>A lot’s been said about the future of public libraries. What’s going to happen when everyone is bumbling around with e-readers and there’s no more use for physical books? This question usually sparks a heated yet hushed debate between an Oculus wearing techno-fiend and the nearest “I’ll never read a book on a device!” luddite.</p>\n<p>I’ve realized that this discussion misses the mark. Only a few days later, while listening to the excellent <a href=\"http://www.earwolf.com/episode/would-libraries-be-invented-today/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Question of the Day podcast</a>, James Altucher mentioned that nobody was using the NYC public libraries anymore. Instead, they’re all spending their hard earned dollars at Barnes &amp; Noble.</p>\n<p>His co-host Stephen Dubner pointed out that studies show libraries in NYC have a higher yearly attendance than all NYC based cultural and sport events combined.</p>\n<p>The key difference is that now the library visits are less about book borrowing and more about a public and free access to internet or printers. It’s easy to forget that not everyone has a computer connected to the internet at home. And while smartphones have become ubiquitous, things like job searches and resume creation are still often best suited for a desktop or laptop.</p>\n<p>In addition to computer use, public libraries are an excellent spot to meet a tutor, a mentor, a social group, some friends or spend time after school. Even personally, the local library’s story time and creative corner is where my toddler socializes and contracts communicable germs.</p>\n<p>Public libraries are about providing information for people. Perhaps the initial versions looked a lot like stacks of books and piles of print media. However, it wasn’t long after that libraries included audio recordings. And then film. Eventually all those piles of print media were converted to microfiche. At some point you could actually check out the audio and video. Somewhere along the way the card catalogs were replaced by blinking black and green terminals where you had to remember to type the author’s last name <strong>first</strong>. Eventually those computers improved and they weren’t just hooked up to the catalog server, but also to the World Wide Web.</p>\n<p>All the while there had been community rooms, reading areas, rare book rooms, local history archive, children’s sections and a handful of other functions that local patrons requested.</p>\n<p>So it seems that libraries have been evolving with shifts in media consumption, culture and technology all along. The discussion around their usefulness as we trend towards e-book is only valid in the minds of people who haven’t stepped into a library in recent years.</p>\n<p>Even if it got to the point where all the stacks were removed and the primary use, as Mr. Altucher predicts, was to borrow virtual reality gear and sail off the coast of Brazil until your time was up, that would still be an excellent use of the library. It’s important we not throw the library out with the book water.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>I recently went through the process of renting a Kindle book from my local library. I assumed it was going to be difficult and require me to Google several steps along the way.</p>\n<p>When I got the email saying my e-book was ready, I clicked the link and was forwarded to a special section of the library’s site. I selected my desired type of e-book (Kindle edition) and clicked the ‘Checkout’ button. I was forwarded to Amazon’s lending page and asked to log in. After entering my credentials, I clicked another button and sure enough, the book was instantly downloading on my Kindle.</p>\n<p>“This is amazing,” I thought to myself. “We really <em>won’t</em> need physical libraries in the future.”</p>\n<p>A lot’s been said about the future of public libraries. What’s going to happen when everyone is bumbling around with e-readers and there’s no more use for physical books? This question usually sparks a heated yet hushed debate between an Oculus wearing techno-fiend and the nearest “I’ll never read a book on a device!” luddite.</p>\n<p>I’ve realized that this discussion misses the mark. Only a few days later, while listening to the excellent <a href=\"http://www.earwolf.com/episode/would-libraries-be-invented-today/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Question of the Day podcast</a>, James Altucher mentioned that nobody was using the NYC public libraries anymore. Instead, they’re all spending their hard earned dollars at Barnes &amp; Noble.</p>\n<p>His co-host Stephen Dubner pointed out that studies show libraries in NYC have a higher yearly attendance than all NYC based cultural and sport events combined.</p>\n<p>The key difference is that now the library visits are less about book borrowing and more about a public and free access to internet or printers. It’s easy to forget that not everyone has a computer connected to the internet at home. And while smartphones have become ubiquitous, things like job searches and resume creation are still often best suited for a desktop or laptop.</p>\n<p>In addition to computer use, public libraries are an excellent spot to meet a tutor, a mentor, a social group, some friends or spend time after school. Even personally, the local library’s story time and creative corner is where my toddler socializes and contracts communicable germs.</p>\n<p>Public libraries are about providing information for people. Perhaps the initial versions looked a lot like stacks of books and piles of print media. However, it wasn’t long after that libraries included audio recordings. And then film. Eventually all those piles of print media were converted to microfiche. At some point you could actually check out the audio and video. Somewhere along the way the card catalogs were replaced by blinking black and green terminals where you had to remember to type the author’s last name <strong>first</strong>. Eventually those computers improved and they weren’t just hooked up to the catalog server, but also to the World Wide Web.</p>\n<p>All the while there had been community rooms, reading areas, rare book rooms, local history archive, children’s sections and a handful of other functions that local patrons requested.</p>\n<p>So it seems that libraries have been evolving with shifts in media consumption, culture and technology all along. The discussion around their usefulness as we trend towards e-book is only valid in the minds of people who haven’t stepped into a library in recent years.</p>\n<p>Even if it got to the point where all the stacks were removed and the primary use, as Mr. Altucher predicts, was to borrow virtual reality gear and sail off the coast of Brazil until your time was up, that would still be an excellent use of the library. It’s important we not throw the library out with the book water.</p>\n"},{"title":"just pick one","date":"2016-06-28T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"are more choices better?","_content":"One of the best things I've ever done to improve myself is become a better chooser. The green or red shirt? Bam, picked one. Omelette or scramble? Pow, order requested. Coffee or tea? Well… you get the picture. This wasn't always the case for me. I used to pour over a dinner menu, looking at nearby tables trying to approximate what they ordered and if they were satisfied. Mere moments after the waiter turned their back to the table, I'd begin second guessing my choice.\n\nThis was curtailed after reading one single book. About 7 years ago, I purchased [_The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less_](https://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/149151423X) by Barry Schwartz for a loved one. The first few pages were so compelling, that I ended up reading the whole book before wrapping it. It's not often that a book has such an immediate impact on my life, but it played right to my analytical mind.\n\nAt a high level, our brains did not develop in a way that prepared us for the sheer volume of choices we face today. The paradox being that while we think more choice is the path to happiness, it is, in fact, the opposite. During the selection process, there is much anxiety. Immediately after choosing, a whole other flood of emotions arrives. After a while of this pattern, there can even be an other set of emotions that precede needing to make a choice.\n\nThough there are several areas of my life that were improved by this, such as clothes shopping, ordering food at a restaurant stands out. One of the reasons most people go out to eat is to relax with friends or family and avoid cooking at home. So it's odd that the meal selections process is so fraught with tension. Nowadays, when I'm seated in front of a menu, I scan all the sections and pick two things that I'll enjoy. When the server arrives, I'll pick one and be done with it. I don't experience much “buyers remorse” because I've slimmed my options down to two.\n\nThis topic resurfaced for me because I've recently started a weekly tradition of taking an hour and getting lunch out by myself. My restaurant of choice is a vegan Tibetan restaurant. They keep it simple, as though you're getting a meal in a Tibetan temple. Every day there is a new menu, following the same themes. You order either a medium or large plate[^1]. All plates come with a bean/lentil soup to start. Tea and water are available for self service. There is also beer, wine and desserts. That's it.\n\nLast weekend I found myself enjoying a medium plate and cup of Kukicha Twig tea when an older couple came into the restaurant. The man working the front of house knows that this is an atypical dining experience, so he explained the system. Once he was done with the run down, the couple immediately asked, “Can I get it without the soup and extra greens?” The employee explained that yes, but the extra greens would cost more. “And what about this unseasoned plate,” she asked? He told her that it was like the normal meal, but with no seasoning.\n\n“Should we get a medium or large plate to split between the two of us?” \n\n“What is your wine selection? Do you have beer?”\n\n“Is there more seating out back or is this it?”\n\nThe questions kept pouring from the diners and the patient server answered all of them in stride. It was clear that they meant no harm. The reason it stood out is a majority of people enter the restaurant, say hello and request “2 medium” or “1 large, thanks.” Even in a restaurant that has pared down the potential options, people do everything they can dive head first into the paradox of choice.\n\n[^1]: There is also a smaller, unseasoned plate for those who are spice averse.","source":"_posts/just-pick-one.md","raw":"---\ntitle: just pick one\ndate: 2016-06-28\nsubtitle: are more choices better?\ntags: blog\n---\nOne of the best things I've ever done to improve myself is become a better chooser. The green or red shirt? Bam, picked one. Omelette or scramble? Pow, order requested. Coffee or tea? Well… you get the picture. This wasn't always the case for me. I used to pour over a dinner menu, looking at nearby tables trying to approximate what they ordered and if they were satisfied. Mere moments after the waiter turned their back to the table, I'd begin second guessing my choice.\n\nThis was curtailed after reading one single book. About 7 years ago, I purchased [_The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less_](https://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/149151423X) by Barry Schwartz for a loved one. The first few pages were so compelling, that I ended up reading the whole book before wrapping it. It's not often that a book has such an immediate impact on my life, but it played right to my analytical mind.\n\nAt a high level, our brains did not develop in a way that prepared us for the sheer volume of choices we face today. The paradox being that while we think more choice is the path to happiness, it is, in fact, the opposite. During the selection process, there is much anxiety. Immediately after choosing, a whole other flood of emotions arrives. After a while of this pattern, there can even be an other set of emotions that precede needing to make a choice.\n\nThough there are several areas of my life that were improved by this, such as clothes shopping, ordering food at a restaurant stands out. One of the reasons most people go out to eat is to relax with friends or family and avoid cooking at home. So it's odd that the meal selections process is so fraught with tension. Nowadays, when I'm seated in front of a menu, I scan all the sections and pick two things that I'll enjoy. When the server arrives, I'll pick one and be done with it. I don't experience much “buyers remorse” because I've slimmed my options down to two.\n\nThis topic resurfaced for me because I've recently started a weekly tradition of taking an hour and getting lunch out by myself. My restaurant of choice is a vegan Tibetan restaurant. They keep it simple, as though you're getting a meal in a Tibetan temple. Every day there is a new menu, following the same themes. You order either a medium or large plate[^1]. All plates come with a bean/lentil soup to start. Tea and water are available for self service. There is also beer, wine and desserts. That's it.\n\nLast weekend I found myself enjoying a medium plate and cup of Kukicha Twig tea when an older couple came into the restaurant. The man working the front of house knows that this is an atypical dining experience, so he explained the system. Once he was done with the run down, the couple immediately asked, “Can I get it without the soup and extra greens?” The employee explained that yes, but the extra greens would cost more. “And what about this unseasoned plate,” she asked? He told her that it was like the normal meal, but with no seasoning.\n\n“Should we get a medium or large plate to split between the two of us?” \n\n“What is your wine selection? Do you have beer?”\n\n“Is there more seating out back or is this it?”\n\nThe questions kept pouring from the diners and the patient server answered all of them in stride. It was clear that they meant no harm. The reason it stood out is a majority of people enter the restaurant, say hello and request “2 medium” or “1 large, thanks.” Even in a restaurant that has pared down the potential options, people do everything they can dive head first into the paradox of choice.\n\n[^1]: There is also a smaller, unseasoned plate for those who are spice averse.","slug":"just-pick-one","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:09.265Z","_id":"ck8ezj0ro0006z6fnmyakq38n","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>One of the best things I’ve ever done to improve myself is become a better chooser. The green or red shirt? Bam, picked one. Omelette or scramble? Pow, order requested. Coffee or tea? Well… you get the picture. This wasn’t always the case for me. I used to pour over a dinner menu, looking at nearby tables trying to approximate what they ordered and if they were satisfied. Mere moments after the waiter turned their back to the table, I’d begin second guessing my choice.</p>\n<p>This was curtailed after reading one single book. About 7 years ago, I purchased <a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/149151423X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less</em></a> by Barry Schwartz for a loved one. The first few pages were so compelling, that I ended up reading the whole book before wrapping it. It’s not often that a book has such an immediate impact on my life, but it played right to my analytical mind.</p>\n<p>At a high level, our brains did not develop in a way that prepared us for the sheer volume of choices we face today. The paradox being that while we think more choice is the path to happiness, it is, in fact, the opposite. During the selection process, there is much anxiety. Immediately after choosing, a whole other flood of emotions arrives. After a while of this pattern, there can even be an other set of emotions that precede needing to make a choice.</p>\n<p>Though there are several areas of my life that were improved by this, such as clothes shopping, ordering food at a restaurant stands out. One of the reasons most people go out to eat is to relax with friends or family and avoid cooking at home. So it’s odd that the meal selections process is so fraught with tension. Nowadays, when I’m seated in front of a menu, I scan all the sections and pick two things that I’ll enjoy. When the server arrives, I’ll pick one and be done with it. I don’t experience much “buyers remorse” because I’ve slimmed my options down to two.</p>\n<p>This topic resurfaced for me because I’ve recently started a weekly tradition of taking an hour and getting lunch out by myself. My restaurant of choice is a vegan Tibetan restaurant. They keep it simple, as though you’re getting a meal in a Tibetan temple. Every day there is a new menu, following the same themes. You order either a medium or large plate<sup id=\"fnref:1\"><a href=\"#fn:1\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup>. All plates come with a bean/lentil soup to start. Tea and water are available for self service. There is also beer, wine and desserts. That’s it.</p>\n<p>Last weekend I found myself enjoying a medium plate and cup of Kukicha Twig tea when an older couple came into the restaurant. The man working the front of house knows that this is an atypical dining experience, so he explained the system. Once he was done with the run down, the couple immediately asked, “Can I get it without the soup and extra greens?” The employee explained that yes, but the extra greens would cost more. “And what about this unseasoned plate,” she asked? He told her that it was like the normal meal, but with no seasoning.</p>\n<p>“Should we get a medium or large plate to split between the two of us?” </p>\n<p>“What is your wine selection? Do you have beer?”</p>\n<p>“Is there more seating out back or is this it?”</p>\n<p>The questions kept pouring from the diners and the patient server answered all of them in stride. It was clear that they meant no harm. The reason it stood out is a majority of people enter the restaurant, say hello and request “2 medium” or “1 large, thanks.” Even in a restaurant that has pared down the potential options, people do everything they can dive head first into the paradox of choice.</p>\n<div id=\"footnotes\"><hr><div id=\"footnotelist\"><ol style=\"list-style:none; padding-left: 0;\"><li id=\"fn:1\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">1.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">There is also a smaller, unseasoned plate for those who are spice averse.</span><a href=\"#fnref:1\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li></ol></div></div>","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>One of the best things I’ve ever done to improve myself is become a better chooser. The green or red shirt? Bam, picked one. Omelette or scramble? Pow, order requested. Coffee or tea? Well… you get the picture. This wasn’t always the case for me. I used to pour over a dinner menu, looking at nearby tables trying to approximate what they ordered and if they were satisfied. Mere moments after the waiter turned their back to the table, I’d begin second guessing my choice.</p>\n<p>This was curtailed after reading one single book. About 7 years ago, I purchased <a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/149151423X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less</em></a> by Barry Schwartz for a loved one. The first few pages were so compelling, that I ended up reading the whole book before wrapping it. It’s not often that a book has such an immediate impact on my life, but it played right to my analytical mind.</p>\n<p>At a high level, our brains did not develop in a way that prepared us for the sheer volume of choices we face today. The paradox being that while we think more choice is the path to happiness, it is, in fact, the opposite. During the selection process, there is much anxiety. Immediately after choosing, a whole other flood of emotions arrives. After a while of this pattern, there can even be an other set of emotions that precede needing to make a choice.</p>\n<p>Though there are several areas of my life that were improved by this, such as clothes shopping, ordering food at a restaurant stands out. One of the reasons most people go out to eat is to relax with friends or family and avoid cooking at home. So it’s odd that the meal selections process is so fraught with tension. Nowadays, when I’m seated in front of a menu, I scan all the sections and pick two things that I’ll enjoy. When the server arrives, I’ll pick one and be done with it. I don’t experience much “buyers remorse” because I’ve slimmed my options down to two.</p>\n<p>This topic resurfaced for me because I’ve recently started a weekly tradition of taking an hour and getting lunch out by myself. My restaurant of choice is a vegan Tibetan restaurant. They keep it simple, as though you’re getting a meal in a Tibetan temple. Every day there is a new menu, following the same themes. You order either a medium or large plate<sup id=\"fnref:1\"><a href=\"#fn:1\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup>. All plates come with a bean/lentil soup to start. Tea and water are available for self service. There is also beer, wine and desserts. That’s it.</p>\n<p>Last weekend I found myself enjoying a medium plate and cup of Kukicha Twig tea when an older couple came into the restaurant. The man working the front of house knows that this is an atypical dining experience, so he explained the system. Once he was done with the run down, the couple immediately asked, “Can I get it without the soup and extra greens?” The employee explained that yes, but the extra greens would cost more. “And what about this unseasoned plate,” she asked? He told her that it was like the normal meal, but with no seasoning.</p>\n<p>“Should we get a medium or large plate to split between the two of us?” </p>\n<p>“What is your wine selection? Do you have beer?”</p>\n<p>“Is there more seating out back or is this it?”</p>\n<p>The questions kept pouring from the diners and the patient server answered all of them in stride. It was clear that they meant no harm. The reason it stood out is a majority of people enter the restaurant, say hello and request “2 medium” or “1 large, thanks.” Even in a restaurant that has pared down the potential options, people do everything they can dive head first into the paradox of choice.</p>\n<div id=\"footnotes\"><hr><div id=\"footnotelist\"><ol style=\"list-style:none; padding-left: 0;\"><li id=\"fn:1\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">1.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">There is also a smaller, unseasoned plate for those who are spice averse.</span><a href=\"#fnref:1\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li></ol></div></div>"},{"title":"me and games","date":"2016-01-18T05:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"a long, sordid history with games.","_content":"I've always wanted to like games. I've tried. I really have. When I was young, I would spend entire summer days in a friend’s basement playing SimCity, Doom and all the other great games of the 90s. Even then, once summer sessions started for soccer, I would haul out of the basement, grab my gear and run to the field.\n\nThroughout high school, I didn't play video games. There was a brief stint of playing Dungeons & Dragons, but that was only when it was too hot or rainy to play street hockey.\n\nOnce I got to college, the only draw to video games was the blazing fast campus network. Most of my focus on Unreal Tournament and Counterstrike was fed by being surrounded by other people who were also avoiding work. However, the majority of my time in college was spent in class, doing work or socializing with actual humans.\n\nAfter college I headed to Steamboat Springs, CO and played no games, unless you count the ones that involve alcohol. The ski town life was all consuming: snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, drinking craft beer and dabbling in other mind altering particulars.\n\nWhen I moved back to Maine, I played video games since my good friend and roommate was an avid gamer. The PS3 had stepped up the graphics quality and online gameplay, so I found myself deep into Warhawk and watching other people play Fallout.\n\nEventually I moved out to California and though I owned a PS3, I didn't use it much. I bought it to play against/with my younger brother back in Maine. It also happened that I worked at game company where most everyone was a huge gamer. I thought it would help me fit in at work, but it didn't. I eventually sold it.\n\nOccasionally in downtime I'll poke at a mobile game, but even then I don't quite find myself having fun.\n\nSeveral months ago, I knew my son was on the way and was advised to have some entertaining games ready to play while standing with said child sleeping in a carrier. I hopped onto Steam and bought a few new games that looked good. I even went as far as buying a game controller for maximum standing gameplay.\n\nSo here I am, laptop loaded up with games, controller accessible and barely able to bring myself to start, let alone finish a video game. At the end of the day I'd rather be reading, programming or spending time with my family.\n\nI don't begrudge folks who like games. I’ve finally comes to terms with the fact that games are not for me.\n","source":"_posts/me-and-games.md","raw":"---\ntitle: me and games\ndate: 2016-01-18\nsubtitle: a long, sordid history with games.\ntags: blog\n---\nI've always wanted to like games. I've tried. I really have. When I was young, I would spend entire summer days in a friend’s basement playing SimCity, Doom and all the other great games of the 90s. Even then, once summer sessions started for soccer, I would haul out of the basement, grab my gear and run to the field.\n\nThroughout high school, I didn't play video games. There was a brief stint of playing Dungeons & Dragons, but that was only when it was too hot or rainy to play street hockey.\n\nOnce I got to college, the only draw to video games was the blazing fast campus network. Most of my focus on Unreal Tournament and Counterstrike was fed by being surrounded by other people who were also avoiding work. However, the majority of my time in college was spent in class, doing work or socializing with actual humans.\n\nAfter college I headed to Steamboat Springs, CO and played no games, unless you count the ones that involve alcohol. The ski town life was all consuming: snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, drinking craft beer and dabbling in other mind altering particulars.\n\nWhen I moved back to Maine, I played video games since my good friend and roommate was an avid gamer. The PS3 had stepped up the graphics quality and online gameplay, so I found myself deep into Warhawk and watching other people play Fallout.\n\nEventually I moved out to California and though I owned a PS3, I didn't use it much. I bought it to play against/with my younger brother back in Maine. It also happened that I worked at game company where most everyone was a huge gamer. I thought it would help me fit in at work, but it didn't. I eventually sold it.\n\nOccasionally in downtime I'll poke at a mobile game, but even then I don't quite find myself having fun.\n\nSeveral months ago, I knew my son was on the way and was advised to have some entertaining games ready to play while standing with said child sleeping in a carrier. I hopped onto Steam and bought a few new games that looked good. I even went as far as buying a game controller for maximum standing gameplay.\n\nSo here I am, laptop loaded up with games, controller accessible and barely able to bring myself to start, let alone finish a video game. At the end of the day I'd rather be reading, programming or spending time with my family.\n\nI don't begrudge folks who like games. I’ve finally comes to terms with the fact that games are not for me.\n","slug":"me-and-games","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:24.217Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rp0007z6fngfhec8p0","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>I’ve always wanted to like games. I’ve tried. I really have. When I was young, I would spend entire summer days in a friend’s basement playing SimCity, Doom and all the other great games of the 90s. Even then, once summer sessions started for soccer, I would haul out of the basement, grab my gear and run to the field.</p>\n<p>Throughout high school, I didn’t play video games. There was a brief stint of playing Dungeons &amp; Dragons, but that was only when it was too hot or rainy to play street hockey.</p>\n<p>Once I got to college, the only draw to video games was the blazing fast campus network. Most of my focus on Unreal Tournament and Counterstrike was fed by being surrounded by other people who were also avoiding work. However, the majority of my time in college was spent in class, doing work or socializing with actual humans.</p>\n<p>After college I headed to Steamboat Springs, CO and played no games, unless you count the ones that involve alcohol. The ski town life was all consuming: snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, drinking craft beer and dabbling in other mind altering particulars.</p>\n<p>When I moved back to Maine, I played video games since my good friend and roommate was an avid gamer. The PS3 had stepped up the graphics quality and online gameplay, so I found myself deep into Warhawk and watching other people play Fallout.</p>\n<p>Eventually I moved out to California and though I owned a PS3, I didn’t use it much. I bought it to play against/with my younger brother back in Maine. It also happened that I worked at game company where most everyone was a huge gamer. I thought it would help me fit in at work, but it didn’t. I eventually sold it.</p>\n<p>Occasionally in downtime I’ll poke at a mobile game, but even then I don’t quite find myself having fun.</p>\n<p>Several months ago, I knew my son was on the way and was advised to have some entertaining games ready to play while standing with said child sleeping in a carrier. I hopped onto Steam and bought a few new games that looked good. I even went as far as buying a game controller for maximum standing gameplay.</p>\n<p>So here I am, laptop loaded up with games, controller accessible and barely able to bring myself to start, let alone finish a video game. At the end of the day I’d rather be reading, programming or spending time with my family.</p>\n<p>I don’t begrudge folks who like games. I’ve finally comes to terms with the fact that games are not for me.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>I’ve always wanted to like games. I’ve tried. I really have. When I was young, I would spend entire summer days in a friend’s basement playing SimCity, Doom and all the other great games of the 90s. Even then, once summer sessions started for soccer, I would haul out of the basement, grab my gear and run to the field.</p>\n<p>Throughout high school, I didn’t play video games. There was a brief stint of playing Dungeons &amp; Dragons, but that was only when it was too hot or rainy to play street hockey.</p>\n<p>Once I got to college, the only draw to video games was the blazing fast campus network. Most of my focus on Unreal Tournament and Counterstrike was fed by being surrounded by other people who were also avoiding work. However, the majority of my time in college was spent in class, doing work or socializing with actual humans.</p>\n<p>After college I headed to Steamboat Springs, CO and played no games, unless you count the ones that involve alcohol. The ski town life was all consuming: snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, drinking craft beer and dabbling in other mind altering particulars.</p>\n<p>When I moved back to Maine, I played video games since my good friend and roommate was an avid gamer. The PS3 had stepped up the graphics quality and online gameplay, so I found myself deep into Warhawk and watching other people play Fallout.</p>\n<p>Eventually I moved out to California and though I owned a PS3, I didn’t use it much. I bought it to play against/with my younger brother back in Maine. It also happened that I worked at game company where most everyone was a huge gamer. I thought it would help me fit in at work, but it didn’t. I eventually sold it.</p>\n<p>Occasionally in downtime I’ll poke at a mobile game, but even then I don’t quite find myself having fun.</p>\n<p>Several months ago, I knew my son was on the way and was advised to have some entertaining games ready to play while standing with said child sleeping in a carrier. I hopped onto Steam and bought a few new games that looked good. I even went as far as buying a game controller for maximum standing gameplay.</p>\n<p>So here I am, laptop loaded up with games, controller accessible and barely able to bring myself to start, let alone finish a video game. At the end of the day I’d rather be reading, programming or spending time with my family.</p>\n<p>I don’t begrudge folks who like games. I’ve finally comes to terms with the fact that games are not for me.</p>\n"},{"title":"slightly different","date":"2016-05-25T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"where a beard and van intersect.","_content":"Being slightly different is something that I've always “been”. I was quiet until halfway through high school. I played soccer in a football loving town. I wore polyester pants, t-shirts and ties, often at the same time. I shopped at thrift stores, grew my hair long and didn't drink. I pledged a fraternity sober and didn't date until I was 25 years old.\n\nThe unifying factor with all these is they’re slightly, but not radically, different. I never like being in the limelight, but I don't mind a sidelong glance. People's opinions of me mostly register as their issue, not mine.\n\nAnother difference that remains constant is a fairly large beard. Not World Beard Competition big, but big. At this point, I don't even notice the blatant staring anymore.\n\nI’ve begun to notice potential benefits from being just off. For instance:\n\n* I can now survive the limelight for small amounts of time. I still get pretty embarrassed if the _whole_ room is looking my way, but won’t approach near death as before.\n* I can take a beard compliment and know to say, “Thanks!” This is followed by my cheesy Dad joke: “I like to tell people I grew it myself...”\n* I can converse with a complete stranger. This was something that would cause my stomach to churn at mere thought. If someone was walking my way, looking as though they might utter words, I'd walk away or steel myself for the worst. These days, I can gab with the person about the state of the world or their troubles… whatever.\n\nAnd best of all, I’ve noticed that being slightly different makes my life that much more interesting.\n\nA recent purchase illustrates this well. Walter, a 1983.5 VW Vanagon Riviera is an addition to my “weird.” I had not had the keys in my possession for more than 10 minutes and gruff man on a Harley Davidson pulled up next to me. \n\n“What year is this thing,” he asked.\n\n“It's an '83,” I replied. \n\n“It got a sink and stove and shit in it?”\n\n“It sure does.” \n\n“That's really cool, man,” he said moments before taking off down the road.\n\nI can tell you, that’s a conversation I’ve never had sitting in my 2004 VW Golf.","source":"_posts/slightly-different.md","raw":"---\ntitle: slightly different\ndate: 2016-05-25\nsubtitle: where a beard and van intersect.\ntags: blog\n---\nBeing slightly different is something that I've always “been”. I was quiet until halfway through high school. I played soccer in a football loving town. I wore polyester pants, t-shirts and ties, often at the same time. I shopped at thrift stores, grew my hair long and didn't drink. I pledged a fraternity sober and didn't date until I was 25 years old.\n\nThe unifying factor with all these is they’re slightly, but not radically, different. I never like being in the limelight, but I don't mind a sidelong glance. People's opinions of me mostly register as their issue, not mine.\n\nAnother difference that remains constant is a fairly large beard. Not World Beard Competition big, but big. At this point, I don't even notice the blatant staring anymore.\n\nI’ve begun to notice potential benefits from being just off. For instance:\n\n* I can now survive the limelight for small amounts of time. I still get pretty embarrassed if the _whole_ room is looking my way, but won’t approach near death as before.\n* I can take a beard compliment and know to say, “Thanks!” This is followed by my cheesy Dad joke: “I like to tell people I grew it myself...”\n* I can converse with a complete stranger. This was something that would cause my stomach to churn at mere thought. If someone was walking my way, looking as though they might utter words, I'd walk away or steel myself for the worst. These days, I can gab with the person about the state of the world or their troubles… whatever.\n\nAnd best of all, I’ve noticed that being slightly different makes my life that much more interesting.\n\nA recent purchase illustrates this well. Walter, a 1983.5 VW Vanagon Riviera is an addition to my “weird.” I had not had the keys in my possession for more than 10 minutes and gruff man on a Harley Davidson pulled up next to me. \n\n“What year is this thing,” he asked.\n\n“It's an '83,” I replied. \n\n“It got a sink and stove and shit in it?”\n\n“It sure does.” \n\n“That's really cool, man,” he said moments before taking off down the road.\n\nI can tell you, that’s a conversation I’ve never had sitting in my 2004 VW Golf.","slug":"slightly-different","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:36.641Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rq0008z6fn0nofhn5l","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>Being slightly different is something that I’ve always “been”. I was quiet until halfway through high school. I played soccer in a football loving town. I wore polyester pants, t-shirts and ties, often at the same time. I shopped at thrift stores, grew my hair long and didn’t drink. I pledged a fraternity sober and didn’t date until I was 25 years old.</p>\n<p>The unifying factor with all these is they’re slightly, but not radically, different. I never like being in the limelight, but I don’t mind a sidelong glance. People’s opinions of me mostly register as their issue, not mine.</p>\n<p>Another difference that remains constant is a fairly large beard. Not World Beard Competition big, but big. At this point, I don’t even notice the blatant staring anymore.</p>\n<p>I’ve begun to notice potential benefits from being just off. For instance:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>I can now survive the limelight for small amounts of time. I still get pretty embarrassed if the <em>whole</em> room is looking my way, but won’t approach near death as before.</li>\n<li>I can take a beard compliment and know to say, “Thanks!” This is followed by my cheesy Dad joke: “I like to tell people I grew it myself…”</li>\n<li>I can converse with a complete stranger. This was something that would cause my stomach to churn at mere thought. If someone was walking my way, looking as though they might utter words, I’d walk away or steel myself for the worst. These days, I can gab with the person about the state of the world or their troubles… whatever.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>And best of all, I’ve noticed that being slightly different makes my life that much more interesting.</p>\n<p>A recent purchase illustrates this well. Walter, a 1983.5 VW Vanagon Riviera is an addition to my “weird.” I had not had the keys in my possession for more than 10 minutes and gruff man on a Harley Davidson pulled up next to me. </p>\n<p>“What year is this thing,” he asked.</p>\n<p>“It’s an ‘83,” I replied. </p>\n<p>“It got a sink and stove and shit in it?”</p>\n<p>“It sure does.” </p>\n<p>“That’s really cool, man,” he said moments before taking off down the road.</p>\n<p>I can tell you, that’s a conversation I’ve never had sitting in my 2004 VW Golf.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>Being slightly different is something that I’ve always “been”. I was quiet until halfway through high school. I played soccer in a football loving town. I wore polyester pants, t-shirts and ties, often at the same time. I shopped at thrift stores, grew my hair long and didn’t drink. I pledged a fraternity sober and didn’t date until I was 25 years old.</p>\n<p>The unifying factor with all these is they’re slightly, but not radically, different. I never like being in the limelight, but I don’t mind a sidelong glance. People’s opinions of me mostly register as their issue, not mine.</p>\n<p>Another difference that remains constant is a fairly large beard. Not World Beard Competition big, but big. At this point, I don’t even notice the blatant staring anymore.</p>\n<p>I’ve begun to notice potential benefits from being just off. For instance:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>I can now survive the limelight for small amounts of time. I still get pretty embarrassed if the <em>whole</em> room is looking my way, but won’t approach near death as before.</li>\n<li>I can take a beard compliment and know to say, “Thanks!” This is followed by my cheesy Dad joke: “I like to tell people I grew it myself…”</li>\n<li>I can converse with a complete stranger. This was something that would cause my stomach to churn at mere thought. If someone was walking my way, looking as though they might utter words, I’d walk away or steel myself for the worst. These days, I can gab with the person about the state of the world or their troubles… whatever.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>And best of all, I’ve noticed that being slightly different makes my life that much more interesting.</p>\n<p>A recent purchase illustrates this well. Walter, a 1983.5 VW Vanagon Riviera is an addition to my “weird.” I had not had the keys in my possession for more than 10 minutes and gruff man on a Harley Davidson pulled up next to me. </p>\n<p>“What year is this thing,” he asked.</p>\n<p>“It’s an ‘83,” I replied. </p>\n<p>“It got a sink and stove and shit in it?”</p>\n<p>“It sure does.” </p>\n<p>“That’s really cool, man,” he said moments before taking off down the road.</p>\n<p>I can tell you, that’s a conversation I’ve never had sitting in my 2004 VW Golf.</p>\n"},{"title":"goats do not eat everything","date":"2018-01-13T05:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"in fact, they are quite picky.","_content":"Recently, I overheard someone telling a story about the goat his neighbor had growing up. “Yeah! It was tied with a rope to a tree, and the old man used to feed his cats and then throw the tin cans in the backyard. The goat would eat the entire can!”\n\nAs it was a story, I left this conversation uninterrupted. However, it stuck with me for the last few weeks, so I’ve decided to correct a few points.\nTo start, having just one goat is never a good idea. In their [_Twenty Truths About Raising Goats_](http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/twentytruths06.html), Onion Creek Ranch notes:\n\n“Goats are HERD animals. More so than any other livestock, goats depend upon staying together for safety. They have few natural defenses and many predators.”\n\nAs far as eating a tin can is concerned, this notion is entirely wrong. In fact, the time I’ve spent with goats has taught me that they are selective eaters. Even to the point where an alfalfa cube that has been dropped onto the floor might make it upalatable.\n\nThis is explained further in the informative book [_Living with Goats: Everything You Need To Know To Raise Your Own Backyard Herd_](https://www.amazon.com/Living-Goats-Everything-Raise-Backyard/dp/0762784407) by Margaret Hathaway. \n\n“Goats are ruminants, in the same family as cows, sheep and deer. More specifically, they are browsers. This means that, like the deer that wander through our orchard and nibble the tips off low branches, goats prefer weeds, woody stems, and bark to grassy pasture. Because their diet is naturally varied, goats are designed to be choosy when it comes to their food, and they can actually be finicky when they aren’t offered their preferred foods”\n\nThe idea that goats will eat anything probably comes from a combination of things. First, their curiosity is never ending. They will certainly nibble and sniff your shirt, beard and yes, probably a freshly discarded tin can. Secondly, they do eat some questionable items. Examples being blackberry bushes, thistles and both poison ivy and poison oak. If you seen a goat down an entire blackberry cane and nibble on a tin can, perhaps it could be a sensible leap. It would be an incorrect leap, but perhaps reasonable.\n\nTo wrap up as clearly and succinctly as possible: [No, goats do not eat tin cans.](https://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/goats-eat-tin-cans/)\n\n","source":"_posts/picky-goats.md","raw":"---\ntitle: goats do not eat everything\ndate: 2018-01-13\nsubtitle: in fact, they are quite picky.\ntags: blog\n---\nRecently, I overheard someone telling a story about the goat his neighbor had growing up. “Yeah! It was tied with a rope to a tree, and the old man used to feed his cats and then throw the tin cans in the backyard. The goat would eat the entire can!”\n\nAs it was a story, I left this conversation uninterrupted. However, it stuck with me for the last few weeks, so I’ve decided to correct a few points.\nTo start, having just one goat is never a good idea. In their [_Twenty Truths About Raising Goats_](http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/twentytruths06.html), Onion Creek Ranch notes:\n\n“Goats are HERD animals. More so than any other livestock, goats depend upon staying together for safety. They have few natural defenses and many predators.”\n\nAs far as eating a tin can is concerned, this notion is entirely wrong. In fact, the time I’ve spent with goats has taught me that they are selective eaters. Even to the point where an alfalfa cube that has been dropped onto the floor might make it upalatable.\n\nThis is explained further in the informative book [_Living with Goats: Everything You Need To Know To Raise Your Own Backyard Herd_](https://www.amazon.com/Living-Goats-Everything-Raise-Backyard/dp/0762784407) by Margaret Hathaway. \n\n“Goats are ruminants, in the same family as cows, sheep and deer. More specifically, they are browsers. This means that, like the deer that wander through our orchard and nibble the tips off low branches, goats prefer weeds, woody stems, and bark to grassy pasture. Because their diet is naturally varied, goats are designed to be choosy when it comes to their food, and they can actually be finicky when they aren’t offered their preferred foods”\n\nThe idea that goats will eat anything probably comes from a combination of things. First, their curiosity is never ending. They will certainly nibble and sniff your shirt, beard and yes, probably a freshly discarded tin can. Secondly, they do eat some questionable items. Examples being blackberry bushes, thistles and both poison ivy and poison oak. If you seen a goat down an entire blackberry cane and nibble on a tin can, perhaps it could be a sensible leap. It would be an incorrect leap, but perhaps reasonable.\n\nTo wrap up as clearly and succinctly as possible: [No, goats do not eat tin cans.](https://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/goats-eat-tin-cans/)\n\n","slug":"picky-goats","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:26.985Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rr0009z6fnjbyeutip","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>Recently, I overheard someone telling a story about the goat his neighbor had growing up. “Yeah! It was tied with a rope to a tree, and the old man used to feed his cats and then throw the tin cans in the backyard. The goat would eat the entire can!”</p>\n<p>As it was a story, I left this conversation uninterrupted. However, it stuck with me for the last few weeks, so I’ve decided to correct a few points.<br>To start, having just one goat is never a good idea. In their <a href=\"http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/twentytruths06.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Twenty Truths About Raising Goats</em></a>, Onion Creek Ranch notes:</p>\n<p>“Goats are HERD animals. More so than any other livestock, goats depend upon staying together for safety. They have few natural defenses and many predators.”</p>\n<p>As far as eating a tin can is concerned, this notion is entirely wrong. In fact, the time I’ve spent with goats has taught me that they are selective eaters. Even to the point where an alfalfa cube that has been dropped onto the floor might make it upalatable.</p>\n<p>This is explained further in the informative book <a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Living-Goats-Everything-Raise-Backyard/dp/0762784407\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Living with Goats: Everything You Need To Know To Raise Your Own Backyard Herd</em></a> by Margaret Hathaway. </p>\n<p>“Goats are ruminants, in the same family as cows, sheep and deer. More specifically, they are browsers. This means that, like the deer that wander through our orchard and nibble the tips off low branches, goats prefer weeds, woody stems, and bark to grassy pasture. Because their diet is naturally varied, goats are designed to be choosy when it comes to their food, and they can actually be finicky when they aren’t offered their preferred foods”</p>\n<p>The idea that goats will eat anything probably comes from a combination of things. First, their curiosity is never ending. They will certainly nibble and sniff your shirt, beard and yes, probably a freshly discarded tin can. Secondly, they do eat some questionable items. Examples being blackberry bushes, thistles and both poison ivy and poison oak. If you seen a goat down an entire blackberry cane and nibble on a tin can, perhaps it could be a sensible leap. It would be an incorrect leap, but perhaps reasonable.</p>\n<p>To wrap up as clearly and succinctly as possible: <a href=\"https://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/goats-eat-tin-cans/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">No, goats do not eat tin cans.</a></p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>Recently, I overheard someone telling a story about the goat his neighbor had growing up. “Yeah! It was tied with a rope to a tree, and the old man used to feed his cats and then throw the tin cans in the backyard. The goat would eat the entire can!”</p>\n<p>As it was a story, I left this conversation uninterrupted. However, it stuck with me for the last few weeks, so I’ve decided to correct a few points.<br>To start, having just one goat is never a good idea. In their <a href=\"http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/twentytruths06.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Twenty Truths About Raising Goats</em></a>, Onion Creek Ranch notes:</p>\n<p>“Goats are HERD animals. More so than any other livestock, goats depend upon staying together for safety. They have few natural defenses and many predators.”</p>\n<p>As far as eating a tin can is concerned, this notion is entirely wrong. In fact, the time I’ve spent with goats has taught me that they are selective eaters. Even to the point where an alfalfa cube that has been dropped onto the floor might make it upalatable.</p>\n<p>This is explained further in the informative book <a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Living-Goats-Everything-Raise-Backyard/dp/0762784407\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Living with Goats: Everything You Need To Know To Raise Your Own Backyard Herd</em></a> by Margaret Hathaway. </p>\n<p>“Goats are ruminants, in the same family as cows, sheep and deer. More specifically, they are browsers. This means that, like the deer that wander through our orchard and nibble the tips off low branches, goats prefer weeds, woody stems, and bark to grassy pasture. Because their diet is naturally varied, goats are designed to be choosy when it comes to their food, and they can actually be finicky when they aren’t offered their preferred foods”</p>\n<p>The idea that goats will eat anything probably comes from a combination of things. First, their curiosity is never ending. They will certainly nibble and sniff your shirt, beard and yes, probably a freshly discarded tin can. Secondly, they do eat some questionable items. Examples being blackberry bushes, thistles and both poison ivy and poison oak. If you seen a goat down an entire blackberry cane and nibble on a tin can, perhaps it could be a sensible leap. It would be an incorrect leap, but perhaps reasonable.</p>\n<p>To wrap up as clearly and succinctly as possible: <a href=\"https://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/goats-eat-tin-cans/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">No, goats do not eat tin cans.</a></p>\n"},{"title":"suspenders","date":"2016-02-14T05:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"pants are dumb.","_content":"Pants are dumb. I have [thoughts on pants](https://twitter.com/search?q=%40h0ke%20pants&src=typd).\n\nMy body type can be best described as ‘husky,’ to use the early '90s parlance. While I wish clothing manafaturers would cut pants that fit me, I totally understand that my proportions are not… average.\n\nHere's the problem:\n\n  * If I get the right waist measurement, the inseam and rise are too long.\n  * If I get the correct inseam and rise, I can _maybe_ fit my left quad into the waist.\n\nThis has been my reality to date.\n\nA couple years ago, the Gap started making a 34 in. waist pant that fits me less terribly than any other non-custom pant. The inseam is a bit long at 30 in. and the rise provides a look best described as “saggy britches.” However, I’ll take what I can get and ameliorate the situation using a sturdy belt and rolled cuffs. [^1]\n\nOver the last month, I decided something had to change. In pondering what could be done, I remembered a podcast from late last year. It was an episode of freakanomics called, \"[How Did the Belt Win?](http://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-did-the-belt-win-a-new-freakonomics-radio-episode/)“ \n\nThe main thread (see what I did there) was that belts and suspenders have gone back in forth as the dominant leader in the “plumber’s crack avoidence” market.There is talk of fashion trends, wedgie avoidal, monarchical mandate, sword belts, modern social norms and even concerns of cutting into the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve like a tourniquet.\n\nWith this in mind, I decided to give suspenders a go, social norms be damned. I picked a [relatively cheap pair](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUZTVXO?tag=30daydel-20) for the experiment, and waited for the two days shipping (#firstnerdproblems)\n\nOnce they arrived, I quickly tried them on. Lo and behold: They looked **ridiculous**.\n\nThe suspenders accentuated my dad gut and placed the waistline of the pants roughly two inches higher than normal.\n\nAfter taking a deep breath, I realized that the higher waistline actually provided the pant fit I was looking for. The hem of my pants fell where I wanted and the \"saggy britches\" morphed into “there might be an ass in there.\" The suspenders actually made these untailored, readily available pants fit.\n\nOk, but what to do about the whole upper half of my wardrobe making me look like an over-fed mountain dwarf?\n\nThe solution unvailed an unintended benefit of the suspender experiment. It was decided I was to wear a decent sweater or button down shirt to cover the suspenders. Now I had a decent top and pants that fit! If only my mother could see me now! [^2]\n\nI’ve always rejected the notion that dressing well impacts your mood. But I must say that standing there in my apartment, giving myself a once over, I felt much more… well… adult. There is plenty of [psychological study](http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13612021311305128) around the impact of dressing well, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. \n\nIf you’re tired of fixing oddly fitting pants with an uncomfortable belt, consider trying suspenders. At the very least, remember that dressing well can actually improve [your first impressions](http://www.riskology.co/dress-well/) and social norms don’t always have your best interest in mind.  \n\n[^1]: I realized I could always take them to a tailor, but spending $20 on tailoring a pair of $60 pants doesn’t sit well with me.\n\n[^2]: She can, though I’ve yet to send her a picture.","source":"_posts/suspenders.md","raw":"---\ntitle: suspenders\ndate: 2016-02-14\nsubtitle: pants are dumb.\ntags: blog\n---\nPants are dumb. I have [thoughts on pants](https://twitter.com/search?q=%40h0ke%20pants&src=typd).\n\nMy body type can be best described as ‘husky,’ to use the early '90s parlance. While I wish clothing manafaturers would cut pants that fit me, I totally understand that my proportions are not… average.\n\nHere's the problem:\n\n  * If I get the right waist measurement, the inseam and rise are too long.\n  * If I get the correct inseam and rise, I can _maybe_ fit my left quad into the waist.\n\nThis has been my reality to date.\n\nA couple years ago, the Gap started making a 34 in. waist pant that fits me less terribly than any other non-custom pant. The inseam is a bit long at 30 in. and the rise provides a look best described as “saggy britches.” However, I’ll take what I can get and ameliorate the situation using a sturdy belt and rolled cuffs. [^1]\n\nOver the last month, I decided something had to change. In pondering what could be done, I remembered a podcast from late last year. It was an episode of freakanomics called, \"[How Did the Belt Win?](http://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-did-the-belt-win-a-new-freakonomics-radio-episode/)“ \n\nThe main thread (see what I did there) was that belts and suspenders have gone back in forth as the dominant leader in the “plumber’s crack avoidence” market.There is talk of fashion trends, wedgie avoidal, monarchical mandate, sword belts, modern social norms and even concerns of cutting into the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve like a tourniquet.\n\nWith this in mind, I decided to give suspenders a go, social norms be damned. I picked a [relatively cheap pair](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUZTVXO?tag=30daydel-20) for the experiment, and waited for the two days shipping (#firstnerdproblems)\n\nOnce they arrived, I quickly tried them on. Lo and behold: They looked **ridiculous**.\n\nThe suspenders accentuated my dad gut and placed the waistline of the pants roughly two inches higher than normal.\n\nAfter taking a deep breath, I realized that the higher waistline actually provided the pant fit I was looking for. The hem of my pants fell where I wanted and the \"saggy britches\" morphed into “there might be an ass in there.\" The suspenders actually made these untailored, readily available pants fit.\n\nOk, but what to do about the whole upper half of my wardrobe making me look like an over-fed mountain dwarf?\n\nThe solution unvailed an unintended benefit of the suspender experiment. It was decided I was to wear a decent sweater or button down shirt to cover the suspenders. Now I had a decent top and pants that fit! If only my mother could see me now! [^2]\n\nI’ve always rejected the notion that dressing well impacts your mood. But I must say that standing there in my apartment, giving myself a once over, I felt much more… well… adult. There is plenty of [psychological study](http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13612021311305128) around the impact of dressing well, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. \n\nIf you’re tired of fixing oddly fitting pants with an uncomfortable belt, consider trying suspenders. At the very least, remember that dressing well can actually improve [your first impressions](http://www.riskology.co/dress-well/) and social norms don’t always have your best interest in mind.  \n\n[^1]: I realized I could always take them to a tailor, but spending $20 on tailoring a pair of $60 pants doesn’t sit well with me.\n\n[^2]: She can, though I’ve yet to send her a picture.","slug":"suspenders","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:39.773Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rs000az6fn6n1d2dkp","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>Pants are dumb. I have <a href=\"https://twitter.com/search?q=@h0ke%20pants&src=typd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thoughts on pants</a>.</p>\n<p>My body type can be best described as ‘husky,’ to use the early ‘90s parlance. While I wish clothing manafaturers would cut pants that fit me, I totally understand that my proportions are not… average.</p>\n<p>Here’s the problem:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>If I get the right waist measurement, the inseam and rise are too long.</li>\n<li>If I get the correct inseam and rise, I can <em>maybe</em> fit my left quad into the waist.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>This has been my reality to date.</p>\n<p>A couple years ago, the Gap started making a 34 in. waist pant that fits me less terribly than any other non-custom pant. The inseam is a bit long at 30 in. and the rise provides a look best described as “saggy britches.” However, I’ll take what I can get and ameliorate the situation using a sturdy belt and rolled cuffs. <sup id=\"fnref:1\"><a href=\"#fn:1\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup></p>\n<p>Over the last month, I decided something had to change. In pondering what could be done, I remembered a podcast from late last year. It was an episode of freakanomics called, “<a href=\"http://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-did-the-belt-win-a-new-freakonomics-radio-episode/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How Did the Belt Win?</a>“ </p>\n<p>The main thread (see what I did there) was that belts and suspenders have gone back in forth as the dominant leader in the “plumber’s crack avoidence” market.There is talk of fashion trends, wedgie avoidal, monarchical mandate, sword belts, modern social norms and even concerns of cutting into the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve like a tourniquet.</p>\n<p>With this in mind, I decided to give suspenders a go, social norms be damned. I picked a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUZTVXO?tag=30daydel-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">relatively cheap pair</a> for the experiment, and waited for the two days shipping (#firstnerdproblems)</p>\n<p>Once they arrived, I quickly tried them on. Lo and behold: They looked <strong>ridiculous</strong>.</p>\n<p>The suspenders accentuated my dad gut and placed the waistline of the pants roughly two inches higher than normal.</p>\n<p>After taking a deep breath, I realized that the higher waistline actually provided the pant fit I was looking for. The hem of my pants fell where I wanted and the “saggy britches” morphed into “there might be an ass in there.” The suspenders actually made these untailored, readily available pants fit.</p>\n<p>Ok, but what to do about the whole upper half of my wardrobe making me look like an over-fed mountain dwarf?</p>\n<p>The solution unvailed an unintended benefit of the suspender experiment. It was decided I was to wear a decent sweater or button down shirt to cover the suspenders. Now I had a decent top and pants that fit! If only my mother could see me now! <sup id=\"fnref:2\"><a href=\"#fn:2\" rel=\"footnote\">2</a></sup></p>\n<p>I’ve always rejected the notion that dressing well impacts your mood. But I must say that standing there in my apartment, giving myself a once over, I felt much more… well… adult. There is plenty of <a href=\"http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13612021311305128\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psychological study</a> around the impact of dressing well, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. </p>\n<p>If you’re tired of fixing oddly fitting pants with an uncomfortable belt, consider trying suspenders. At the very least, remember that dressing well can actually improve <a href=\"http://www.riskology.co/dress-well/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">your first impressions</a> and social norms don’t always have your best interest in mind.  </p>\n<div id=\"footnotes\"><hr><div id=\"footnotelist\"><ol style=\"list-style:none; padding-left: 0;\"><li id=\"fn:1\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">1.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">I realized I could always take them to a tailor, but spending $20 on tailoring a pair of $60 pants doesn’t sit well with me.</span><a href=\"#fnref:1\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li><li id=\"fn:2\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">2.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">She can, though I’ve yet to send her a picture.</span><a href=\"#fnref:2\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li></ol></div></div>","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>Pants are dumb. I have <a href=\"https://twitter.com/search?q=@h0ke%20pants&src=typd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thoughts on pants</a>.</p>\n<p>My body type can be best described as ‘husky,’ to use the early ‘90s parlance. While I wish clothing manafaturers would cut pants that fit me, I totally understand that my proportions are not… average.</p>\n<p>Here’s the problem:</p>\n<ul>\n<li>If I get the right waist measurement, the inseam and rise are too long.</li>\n<li>If I get the correct inseam and rise, I can <em>maybe</em> fit my left quad into the waist.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>This has been my reality to date.</p>\n<p>A couple years ago, the Gap started making a 34 in. waist pant that fits me less terribly than any other non-custom pant. The inseam is a bit long at 30 in. and the rise provides a look best described as “saggy britches.” However, I’ll take what I can get and ameliorate the situation using a sturdy belt and rolled cuffs. <sup id=\"fnref:1\"><a href=\"#fn:1\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup></p>\n<p>Over the last month, I decided something had to change. In pondering what could be done, I remembered a podcast from late last year. It was an episode of freakanomics called, “<a href=\"http://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-did-the-belt-win-a-new-freakonomics-radio-episode/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How Did the Belt Win?</a>“ </p>\n<p>The main thread (see what I did there) was that belts and suspenders have gone back in forth as the dominant leader in the “plumber’s crack avoidence” market.There is talk of fashion trends, wedgie avoidal, monarchical mandate, sword belts, modern social norms and even concerns of cutting into the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve like a tourniquet.</p>\n<p>With this in mind, I decided to give suspenders a go, social norms be damned. I picked a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUZTVXO?tag=30daydel-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">relatively cheap pair</a> for the experiment, and waited for the two days shipping (#firstnerdproblems)</p>\n<p>Once they arrived, I quickly tried them on. Lo and behold: They looked <strong>ridiculous</strong>.</p>\n<p>The suspenders accentuated my dad gut and placed the waistline of the pants roughly two inches higher than normal.</p>\n<p>After taking a deep breath, I realized that the higher waistline actually provided the pant fit I was looking for. The hem of my pants fell where I wanted and the “saggy britches” morphed into “there might be an ass in there.” The suspenders actually made these untailored, readily available pants fit.</p>\n<p>Ok, but what to do about the whole upper half of my wardrobe making me look like an over-fed mountain dwarf?</p>\n<p>The solution unvailed an unintended benefit of the suspender experiment. It was decided I was to wear a decent sweater or button down shirt to cover the suspenders. Now I had a decent top and pants that fit! If only my mother could see me now! <sup id=\"fnref:2\"><a href=\"#fn:2\" rel=\"footnote\">2</a></sup></p>\n<p>I’ve always rejected the notion that dressing well impacts your mood. But I must say that standing there in my apartment, giving myself a once over, I felt much more… well… adult. There is plenty of <a href=\"http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13612021311305128\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psychological study</a> around the impact of dressing well, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. </p>\n<p>If you’re tired of fixing oddly fitting pants with an uncomfortable belt, consider trying suspenders. At the very least, remember that dressing well can actually improve <a href=\"http://www.riskology.co/dress-well/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">your first impressions</a> and social norms don’t always have your best interest in mind.  </p>\n<div id=\"footnotes\"><hr><div id=\"footnotelist\"><ol style=\"list-style:none; padding-left: 0;\"><li id=\"fn:1\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">1.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">I realized I could always take them to a tailor, but spending $20 on tailoring a pair of $60 pants doesn’t sit well with me.</span><a href=\"#fnref:1\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li><li id=\"fn:2\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">2.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">She can, though I’ve yet to send her a picture.</span><a href=\"#fnref:2\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li></ol></div></div>"},{"title":"tech fast","date":"2016-08-31T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"sometimes you just have to put the device down.","_content":"After listening to the On Being podcast with Tiffany Shlain, I’ve been thinking about the concept of a [technological sabbath](http://www.moxieinstitute.org/technology_shabbats). Technology has always been part of the observed shabbat, but this modern take is concerned specifically with screens and other such devices.\n\nShlain reports being “so much more creative come Sunday morning.” If you think about it, this makes sense. For all the benefits of technology, a heightened ability to focus is not one of them. Allowing for whitespace in one's life is a whole blog post in itself, so I'll only say this: time away from devices allows you and your brain to explore new topics and delve into new and musty caverns of the mind.\n\nA great part of going without screens for a day is the impacts on the addictive aspects of technology. Assume for a moment that your devices are like sugar, drugs or alcohol. This isn't much of a stretch considering all the research that shows how dopamine is released as you navigate from inbox to social media to 39 second viral video clips. Many products are designed especially to feed off this rush and do an exceptional job. However, if you take an entire twenty-four hour period away from any of these addictions, the hold will be slightly weakened. Depending on personality types and chemical dependence, one day might not be enough to shake the hold entirely. Yet, after a few months of taking a weekly tech fast, you may be able to detect a difference. \n\nOne benefit I personally enjoy that a tech sabbath can afford you is the slow return of gratitude and appreciation for technology itself. Roughly five years ago, I happened to be away from my phone for over a week. It was an old iPhone 3s and toward the end of its life. Before the extended fast, it felt old, clunky and slower than mud. Once reunited, I immediately turned it on. The load screen was shockingly crisp, as were all the icons. Scrolling through my applications, the smooth movement and responsiveness brought a smile to my face.\n\nI was enamored with my old, “junky” phone.\n\nNot only did it reset my appreciation, it may have even taken me to a point of gratitude I had never before experienced. By the time I had bought the phone, I'd seen my friends' and coworkers' smart phones, so I knew what I was getting into. I even owned an iPod color. So once I unboxed it at the Apple store, it was a known quantity and my gratitude was tarnished as such.\n\nI wish I could say that this feeling toward my iPhone 3s lasted for many months after, but sadly that was not the case. Within days, I was already getting mildly annoyed with its load times and performance. Having had this experience, it wasn't difficult for my partner to convince me that _we_ should be practicing a weekly technological fast.","source":"_posts/tech-fast.md","raw":"---\ntitle: tech fast\ndate: 2016-08-31\nsubtitle: sometimes you just have to put the device down.\ntags: blog\n---\nAfter listening to the On Being podcast with Tiffany Shlain, I’ve been thinking about the concept of a [technological sabbath](http://www.moxieinstitute.org/technology_shabbats). Technology has always been part of the observed shabbat, but this modern take is concerned specifically with screens and other such devices.\n\nShlain reports being “so much more creative come Sunday morning.” If you think about it, this makes sense. For all the benefits of technology, a heightened ability to focus is not one of them. Allowing for whitespace in one's life is a whole blog post in itself, so I'll only say this: time away from devices allows you and your brain to explore new topics and delve into new and musty caverns of the mind.\n\nA great part of going without screens for a day is the impacts on the addictive aspects of technology. Assume for a moment that your devices are like sugar, drugs or alcohol. This isn't much of a stretch considering all the research that shows how dopamine is released as you navigate from inbox to social media to 39 second viral video clips. Many products are designed especially to feed off this rush and do an exceptional job. However, if you take an entire twenty-four hour period away from any of these addictions, the hold will be slightly weakened. Depending on personality types and chemical dependence, one day might not be enough to shake the hold entirely. Yet, after a few months of taking a weekly tech fast, you may be able to detect a difference. \n\nOne benefit I personally enjoy that a tech sabbath can afford you is the slow return of gratitude and appreciation for technology itself. Roughly five years ago, I happened to be away from my phone for over a week. It was an old iPhone 3s and toward the end of its life. Before the extended fast, it felt old, clunky and slower than mud. Once reunited, I immediately turned it on. The load screen was shockingly crisp, as were all the icons. Scrolling through my applications, the smooth movement and responsiveness brought a smile to my face.\n\nI was enamored with my old, “junky” phone.\n\nNot only did it reset my appreciation, it may have even taken me to a point of gratitude I had never before experienced. By the time I had bought the phone, I'd seen my friends' and coworkers' smart phones, so I knew what I was getting into. I even owned an iPod color. So once I unboxed it at the Apple store, it was a known quantity and my gratitude was tarnished as such.\n\nI wish I could say that this feeling toward my iPhone 3s lasted for many months after, but sadly that was not the case. Within days, I was already getting mildly annoyed with its load times and performance. Having had this experience, it wasn't difficult for my partner to convince me that _we_ should be practicing a weekly technological fast.","slug":"tech-fast","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:43.586Z","_id":"ck8ezj0rv000bz6fnuupvn0mc","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>After listening to the On Being podcast with Tiffany Shlain, I’ve been thinking about the concept of a <a href=\"http://www.moxieinstitute.org/technology_shabbats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technological sabbath</a>. Technology has always been part of the observed shabbat, but this modern take is concerned specifically with screens and other such devices.</p>\n<p>Shlain reports being “so much more creative come Sunday morning.” If you think about it, this makes sense. For all the benefits of technology, a heightened ability to focus is not one of them. Allowing for whitespace in one’s life is a whole blog post in itself, so I’ll only say this: time away from devices allows you and your brain to explore new topics and delve into new and musty caverns of the mind.</p>\n<p>A great part of going without screens for a day is the impacts on the addictive aspects of technology. Assume for a moment that your devices are like sugar, drugs or alcohol. This isn’t much of a stretch considering all the research that shows how dopamine is released as you navigate from inbox to social media to 39 second viral video clips. Many products are designed especially to feed off this rush and do an exceptional job. However, if you take an entire twenty-four hour period away from any of these addictions, the hold will be slightly weakened. Depending on personality types and chemical dependence, one day might not be enough to shake the hold entirely. Yet, after a few months of taking a weekly tech fast, you may be able to detect a difference. </p>\n<p>One benefit I personally enjoy that a tech sabbath can afford you is the slow return of gratitude and appreciation for technology itself. Roughly five years ago, I happened to be away from my phone for over a week. It was an old iPhone 3s and toward the end of its life. Before the extended fast, it felt old, clunky and slower than mud. Once reunited, I immediately turned it on. The load screen was shockingly crisp, as were all the icons. Scrolling through my applications, the smooth movement and responsiveness brought a smile to my face.</p>\n<p>I was enamored with my old, “junky” phone.</p>\n<p>Not only did it reset my appreciation, it may have even taken me to a point of gratitude I had never before experienced. By the time I had bought the phone, I’d seen my friends’ and coworkers’ smart phones, so I knew what I was getting into. I even owned an iPod color. So once I unboxed it at the Apple store, it was a known quantity and my gratitude was tarnished as such.</p>\n<p>I wish I could say that this feeling toward my iPhone 3s lasted for many months after, but sadly that was not the case. Within days, I was already getting mildly annoyed with its load times and performance. Having had this experience, it wasn’t difficult for my partner to convince me that <em>we</em> should be practicing a weekly technological fast.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>After listening to the On Being podcast with Tiffany Shlain, I’ve been thinking about the concept of a <a href=\"http://www.moxieinstitute.org/technology_shabbats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technological sabbath</a>. Technology has always been part of the observed shabbat, but this modern take is concerned specifically with screens and other such devices.</p>\n<p>Shlain reports being “so much more creative come Sunday morning.” If you think about it, this makes sense. For all the benefits of technology, a heightened ability to focus is not one of them. Allowing for whitespace in one’s life is a whole blog post in itself, so I’ll only say this: time away from devices allows you and your brain to explore new topics and delve into new and musty caverns of the mind.</p>\n<p>A great part of going without screens for a day is the impacts on the addictive aspects of technology. Assume for a moment that your devices are like sugar, drugs or alcohol. This isn’t much of a stretch considering all the research that shows how dopamine is released as you navigate from inbox to social media to 39 second viral video clips. Many products are designed especially to feed off this rush and do an exceptional job. However, if you take an entire twenty-four hour period away from any of these addictions, the hold will be slightly weakened. Depending on personality types and chemical dependence, one day might not be enough to shake the hold entirely. Yet, after a few months of taking a weekly tech fast, you may be able to detect a difference. </p>\n<p>One benefit I personally enjoy that a tech sabbath can afford you is the slow return of gratitude and appreciation for technology itself. Roughly five years ago, I happened to be away from my phone for over a week. It was an old iPhone 3s and toward the end of its life. Before the extended fast, it felt old, clunky and slower than mud. Once reunited, I immediately turned it on. The load screen was shockingly crisp, as were all the icons. Scrolling through my applications, the smooth movement and responsiveness brought a smile to my face.</p>\n<p>I was enamored with my old, “junky” phone.</p>\n<p>Not only did it reset my appreciation, it may have even taken me to a point of gratitude I had never before experienced. By the time I had bought the phone, I’d seen my friends’ and coworkers’ smart phones, so I knew what I was getting into. I even owned an iPod color. So once I unboxed it at the Apple store, it was a known quantity and my gratitude was tarnished as such.</p>\n<p>I wish I could say that this feeling toward my iPhone 3s lasted for many months after, but sadly that was not the case. Within days, I was already getting mildly annoyed with its load times and performance. Having had this experience, it wasn’t difficult for my partner to convince me that <em>we</em> should be practicing a weekly technological fast.</p>\n"},{"title":"a consolidation","date":"2021-01-16T05:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"pulling things back onto the internet.","_content":"i've always been bothered by the fact that i've shut down old blogs instead of carrying over the content. not that any of the writing was amazing or particularly insightful, but I enjoy seeing _other_ bloggers' progress through time. \n\nso, i've decided to pull in some old blog posts from blogs long gone including early iterations of h0ke.com, thehokie.com, incessantrambling.com and a recently decommissioned tumblr site.\n\nthere's way too much content to add all at once, so it'll be more like a slow, archival project.","source":"_posts/a-consolidation.md","raw":"---\ntitle: a consolidation\ndate: 2021-01-16\nsubtitle: pulling things back onto the internet.\ntags: blog\n---\ni've always been bothered by the fact that i've shut down old blogs instead of carrying over the content. not that any of the writing was amazing or particularly insightful, but I enjoy seeing _other_ bloggers' progress through time. \n\nso, i've decided to pull in some old blog posts from blogs long gone including early iterations of h0ke.com, thehokie.com, incessantrambling.com and a recently decommissioned tumblr site.\n\nthere's way too much content to add all at once, so it'll be more like a slow, archival project.","slug":"a-consolidation","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:36:48.934Z","_id":"ckl6qx5k60000w6id8vnicub5","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>i’ve always been bothered by the fact that i’ve shut down old blogs instead of carrying over the content. not that any of the writing was amazing or particularly insightful, but I enjoy seeing <em>other</em> bloggers’ progress through time. </p>\n<p>so, i’ve decided to pull in some old blog posts from blogs long gone including early iterations of h0ke.com, thehokie.com, incessantrambling.com and a recently decommissioned tumblr site.</p>\n<p>there’s way too much content to add all at once, so it’ll be more like a slow, archival project.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>i’ve always been bothered by the fact that i’ve shut down old blogs instead of carrying over the content. not that any of the writing was amazing or particularly insightful, but I enjoy seeing <em>other</em> bloggers’ progress through time. </p>\n<p>so, i’ve decided to pull in some old blog posts from blogs long gone including early iterations of h0ke.com, thehokie.com, incessantrambling.com and a recently decommissioned tumblr site.</p>\n<p>there’s way too much content to add all at once, so it’ll be more like a slow, archival project.</p>\n"},{"title":"the blue sky","date":"2021-02-13T05:00:00.000Z","_content":"![the blue sky](the-blue-sky.jpg)\n\nSometimes when I'm walking around, I remember to look up.","source":"_posts/the-blue-sky.md","raw":"---\ntitle: the blue sky\ndate: 2021-02-13\ntags: photo\n---\n![the blue sky](the-blue-sky.jpg)\n\nSometimes when I'm walking around, I remember to look up.","slug":"the-blue-sky","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:49.060Z","_id":"ckl6sfyzj0000xcid6zb3e8l9","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p><img src=\"/posts/the-blue-sky/the-blue-sky.jpg\" alt=\"the blue sky\"></p>\n<p>Sometimes when I’m walking around, I remember to look up.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p><img src=\"/posts/the-blue-sky/the-blue-sky.jpg\" alt=\"the blue sky\"></p>\n<p>Sometimes when I’m walking around, I remember to look up.</p>\n"},{"title":"le premier œuf","date":"2020-12-01T05:00:00.000Z","_content":"![the first egg](le-premier-oeuf.jpg)\n\nAfter a few months of feeding and caring for our new flock, we've got an egg.\n\nAlso, it's not a giant egg. That's a six year old's hands.","source":"_posts/le-premier-oeuf.md","raw":"---\ntitle: le premier œuf\ndate: 2020-12-01\ntags: photo\n---\n![the first egg](le-premier-oeuf.jpg)\n\nAfter a few months of feeding and caring for our new flock, we've got an egg.\n\nAlso, it's not a giant egg. That's a six year old's hands.","slug":"le-premier-oeuf","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:37:17.823Z","_id":"ckl72kae60000tyidbsvf3ria","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p><img src=\"/posts/le-premier-oeuf/le-premier-oeuf.jpg\" alt=\"the first egg\"></p>\n<p>After a few months of feeding and caring for our new flock, we’ve got an egg.</p>\n<p>Also, it’s not a giant egg. That’s a six year old’s hands.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p><img src=\"/posts/le-premier-oeuf/le-premier-oeuf.jpg\" alt=\"the first egg\"></p>\n<p>After a few months of feeding and caring for our new flock, we’ve got an egg.</p>\n<p>Also, it’s not a giant egg. That’s a six year old’s hands.</p>\n"},{"title":"sailor's warning","date":"2021-02-27T21:32:07.000Z","_content":"![pink morning sky](sailors-warning.jpg)\n\nRed sky in morning, sailor's warning!","source":"_posts/sailors-warning.md","raw":"---\ntitle: sailor's warning\ndate: 2021-02-27 16:32:07\ntags: photo\n---\n![pink morning sky](sailors-warning.jpg)\n\nRed sky in morning, sailor's warning!","slug":"sailors-warning","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:38:29.384Z","_id":"cklo8rmhn0000i7id6e7ya63l","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p><img src=\"/posts/sailors-warning/sailors-warning.jpg\" alt=\"pink morning sky\"></p>\n<p>Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning!</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p><img src=\"/posts/sailors-warning/sailors-warning.jpg\" alt=\"pink morning sky\"></p>\n<p>Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning!</p>\n"},{"title":"a life was lived","date":"2021-02-20T05:00:00.000Z","_content":"when they cut my limbs,\nthe rings' stories will be clear:\nyes, a life was lived.","source":"_posts/a-life-was-lived.md","raw":"---\ntitle: a life was lived\ndate: 2021-02-20\ntags: poetry\n---\nwhen they cut my limbs,\nthe rings' stories will be clear:\nyes, a life was lived.","slug":"a-life-was-lived","published":1,"updated":"2021-02-27T21:35:48.514Z","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","_id":"cklo8ugtl0000nsidcelq0z73","content":"<p>when they cut my limbs,<br>the rings’ stories will be clear:<br>yes, a life was lived.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>when they cut my limbs,<br>the rings’ stories will be clear:<br>yes, a life was lived.</p>\n"},{"title":"a grey day","date":"2021-03-10T02:44:43.000Z","_content":"![a grey day with trees](a-grey-day.jpg)\n\nThis is an image I took in November of 2020. On a very grey day I decided to stop the car on the way home and walk down to the Saco River.","source":"_posts/a-grey-day.md","raw":"---\ntitle: a grey day\ndate: 2021-03-09 21:44:43\ntags: photo\n---\n![a grey day with trees](a-grey-day.jpg)\n\nThis is an image I took in November of 2020. On a very grey day I decided to stop the car on the way home and walk down to the Saco River.","slug":"a-grey-day","published":1,"updated":"2021-03-10T02:49:10.036Z","_id":"ckm2ueqwp0000uyidern5bi1w","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p><img src=\"/posts/a-grey-day/a-grey-day.jpg\" alt=\"a grey day with trees\"></p>\n<p>This is an image I took in November of 2020. On a very grey day I decided to stop the car on the way home and walk down to the Saco River.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p><img src=\"/posts/a-grey-day/a-grey-day.jpg\" alt=\"a grey day with trees\"></p>\n<p>This is an image I took in November of 2020. On a very grey day I decided to stop the car on the way home and walk down to the Saco River.</p>\n"},{"title":"2021 In Review","date":"2022-01-03T02:02:07.000Z","subtitle":"we made it... again.","_content":"I was spending too much time trying to determine what format my \"year in review\" post should take. At dinner today, my wife shared with us some New Year [worksheets](https://biglifejournal.com/collections/printables) she'd found online that we had each filled out last year. So, instead of making up some fancy format, I'll borrow it from the worksheet I filled out. \n\n### 2 - Two things I will get better at:\n* French\n\t* This went well as I continued my fourth year of weekly French lessons and went another year without missing a single day on [Duolingo](https://www.duolingo.com/profile/h0ke). It feels like I'm at a sort of intermediate plateau, but I'll keep trucking along. \n* Ukelele\n\t* Nothing to report here as I spent my \"musical\" time on the drums (see below).\n\n### 0 - Something I want to do less of:\n* Eat fewer carbs\n\t* This went OK... sometimes. I have a feeling this is going to be a lifelong goal of mine. 😅\n\n### 2 - Two things I want to learn:\n* How to make furniture\n\t* I didn't end up doing any large pieces for the house, but I did make a laying box and \"mobile\" roosting bars for our chickens. Also, a squatty potty. \n* How to play drums\n\t* I did end up buying the [Alesis Nitro Mesh 8-Piece Electronic Drum Set](https://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis/Nitro-Mesh-8-Piece-Electronic-Drum-Set-1500000219380.gc), which was a good start. I haven't done any formal lessons yet, but I've been practicing some [rudiments](https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/education/40-essential-rudiments.html), off and on, and got a few grooves mostly worked out.\n\n### 1 - One new thing I want to try:\n* Reading one book per month\n\t* This did... not go well. I wasn't able to find a consistent time through most of the year which worked for reading. I finally pulled it together in the last 3 months of 2021 and eked out [3 books](https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/26124780). I shall try again this year for a book a month. \n\nAdditionally, I spent ~45min [reviewing last year's calendar](https://tim.blog/2021/12/27/past-year-review/) (week-by-week) and last year's photos. Here is a sample of highlights I pulled from this exercise.\n\n* We harvested some excellent food from our garden. ![green cabbage](cabbage.jpg) ![garlic scapes](garlic-scapes.jpg) <hr/> ![potatoes](potatoes.jpg) ![leeks](leeks.jpg)\n* We got excellent food from our [CSA](http://www.girardfarm.com/)!\n* The rain brought some awesome fungi. <br/> ![mushroom](mushroom01.jpg) ![mushroom](mushroom02.jpg) <hr/> ![mushroom](mushroom03.jpg) ![mushroom](mushroom04.jpg)\n* I participated in a 6-month [Mindful Leadership Practicum](https://www.startuppatterns.com/video-library/advanced-practicum-showcase-2021) that helped me start [thinking and writing about management](https://techdubb.medium.com/) (and related topics).\n* Some fawns lived by our house for a few months! ![baby deer](deer.jpg)\n* I started bidding in online Estate Sales. It's sort of odd, but it's a good way to get some great second hand items for cheap (sometimes).\n* Somewhat rare Pink Lady's Slipper flowers grow on our property. ![lady slipper](lady-slippers.jpg)\n* And, in general, all sorts of good time outside alone, with family and with friends.\n\nIf you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Let's see what 2022 has in store for us.","source":"_posts/2021-in-review.md","raw":"---\ntitle: 2021 In Review\ndate: 2022-01-02 21:02:07\nsubtitle: we made it... again.\ntags: blog\n---\nI was spending too much time trying to determine what format my \"year in review\" post should take. At dinner today, my wife shared with us some New Year [worksheets](https://biglifejournal.com/collections/printables) she'd found online that we had each filled out last year. So, instead of making up some fancy format, I'll borrow it from the worksheet I filled out. \n\n### 2 - Two things I will get better at:\n* French\n\t* This went well as I continued my fourth year of weekly French lessons and went another year without missing a single day on [Duolingo](https://www.duolingo.com/profile/h0ke). It feels like I'm at a sort of intermediate plateau, but I'll keep trucking along. \n* Ukelele\n\t* Nothing to report here as I spent my \"musical\" time on the drums (see below).\n\n### 0 - Something I want to do less of:\n* Eat fewer carbs\n\t* This went OK... sometimes. I have a feeling this is going to be a lifelong goal of mine. 😅\n\n### 2 - Two things I want to learn:\n* How to make furniture\n\t* I didn't end up doing any large pieces for the house, but I did make a laying box and \"mobile\" roosting bars for our chickens. Also, a squatty potty. \n* How to play drums\n\t* I did end up buying the [Alesis Nitro Mesh 8-Piece Electronic Drum Set](https://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis/Nitro-Mesh-8-Piece-Electronic-Drum-Set-1500000219380.gc), which was a good start. I haven't done any formal lessons yet, but I've been practicing some [rudiments](https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/education/40-essential-rudiments.html), off and on, and got a few grooves mostly worked out.\n\n### 1 - One new thing I want to try:\n* Reading one book per month\n\t* This did... not go well. I wasn't able to find a consistent time through most of the year which worked for reading. I finally pulled it together in the last 3 months of 2021 and eked out [3 books](https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/26124780). I shall try again this year for a book a month. \n\nAdditionally, I spent ~45min [reviewing last year's calendar](https://tim.blog/2021/12/27/past-year-review/) (week-by-week) and last year's photos. Here is a sample of highlights I pulled from this exercise.\n\n* We harvested some excellent food from our garden. ![green cabbage](cabbage.jpg) ![garlic scapes](garlic-scapes.jpg) <hr/> ![potatoes](potatoes.jpg) ![leeks](leeks.jpg)\n* We got excellent food from our [CSA](http://www.girardfarm.com/)!\n* The rain brought some awesome fungi. <br/> ![mushroom](mushroom01.jpg) ![mushroom](mushroom02.jpg) <hr/> ![mushroom](mushroom03.jpg) ![mushroom](mushroom04.jpg)\n* I participated in a 6-month [Mindful Leadership Practicum](https://www.startuppatterns.com/video-library/advanced-practicum-showcase-2021) that helped me start [thinking and writing about management](https://techdubb.medium.com/) (and related topics).\n* Some fawns lived by our house for a few months! ![baby deer](deer.jpg)\n* I started bidding in online Estate Sales. It's sort of odd, but it's a good way to get some great second hand items for cheap (sometimes).\n* Somewhat rare Pink Lady's Slipper flowers grow on our property. ![lady slipper](lady-slippers.jpg)\n* And, in general, all sorts of good time outside alone, with family and with friends.\n\nIf you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Let's see what 2022 has in store for us.","slug":"2021-in-review","published":1,"updated":"2022-01-03T02:52:48.537Z","_id":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>I was spending too much time trying to determine what format my “year in review” post should take. At dinner today, my wife shared with us some New Year <a href=\"https://biglifejournal.com/collections/printables\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">worksheets</a> she’d found online that we had each filled out last year. So, instead of making up some fancy format, I’ll borrow it from the worksheet I filled out. </p>\n<h3 id=\"2-Two-things-I-will-get-better-at\"><a href=\"#2-Two-things-I-will-get-better-at\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"2 - Two things I will get better at:\"></a>2 - Two things I will get better at:</h3><ul>\n<li>French<ul>\n<li>This went well as I continued my fourth year of weekly French lessons and went another year without missing a single day on <a href=\"https://www.duolingo.com/profile/h0ke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duolingo</a>. It feels like I’m at a sort of intermediate plateau, but I’ll keep trucking along. </li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Ukelele<ul>\n<li>Nothing to report here as I spent my “musical” time on the drums (see below).</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"0-Something-I-want-to-do-less-of\"><a href=\"#0-Something-I-want-to-do-less-of\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"0 - Something I want to do less of:\"></a>0 - Something I want to do less of:</h3><ul>\n<li>Eat fewer carbs<ul>\n<li>This went OK… sometimes. I have a feeling this is going to be a lifelong goal of mine. 😅</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"2-Two-things-I-want-to-learn\"><a href=\"#2-Two-things-I-want-to-learn\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"2 - Two things I want to learn:\"></a>2 - Two things I want to learn:</h3><ul>\n<li>How to make furniture<ul>\n<li>I didn’t end up doing any large pieces for the house, but I did make a laying box and “mobile” roosting bars for our chickens. Also, a squatty potty. </li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>How to play drums<ul>\n<li>I did end up buying the <a href=\"https://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis/Nitro-Mesh-8-Piece-Electronic-Drum-Set-1500000219380.gc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alesis Nitro Mesh 8-Piece Electronic Drum Set</a>, which was a good start. I haven’t done any formal lessons yet, but I’ve been practicing some <a href=\"https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/education/40-essential-rudiments.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rudiments</a>, off and on, and got a few grooves mostly worked out.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"1-One-new-thing-I-want-to-try\"><a href=\"#1-One-new-thing-I-want-to-try\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"1 - One new thing I want to try:\"></a>1 - One new thing I want to try:</h3><ul>\n<li>Reading one book per month<ul>\n<li>This did… not go well. I wasn’t able to find a consistent time through most of the year which worked for reading. I finally pulled it together in the last 3 months of 2021 and eked out <a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/26124780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3 books</a>. I shall try again this year for a book a month. </li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Additionally, I spent ~45min <a href=\"https://tim.blog/2021/12/27/past-year-review/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reviewing last year’s calendar</a> (week-by-week) and last year’s photos. Here is a sample of highlights I pulled from this exercise.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>We harvested some excellent food from our garden. <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/cabbage.jpg\" alt=\"green cabbage\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/garlic-scapes.jpg\" alt=\"garlic scapes\"> <hr/> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/potatoes.jpg\" alt=\"potatoes\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/leeks.jpg\" alt=\"leeks\"></li>\n<li>We got excellent food from our <a href=\"http://www.girardfarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CSA</a>!</li>\n<li>The rain brought some awesome fungi. <br/> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom01.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom02.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"> <hr/> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom03.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom04.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"></li>\n<li>I participated in a 6-month <a href=\"https://www.startuppatterns.com/video-library/advanced-practicum-showcase-2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mindful Leadership Practicum</a> that helped me start <a href=\"https://techdubb.medium.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thinking and writing about management</a> (and related topics).</li>\n<li>Some fawns lived by our house for a few months! <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/deer.jpg\" alt=\"baby deer\"></li>\n<li>I started bidding in online Estate Sales. It’s sort of odd, but it’s a good way to get some great second hand items for cheap (sometimes).</li>\n<li>Somewhat rare Pink Lady’s Slipper flowers grow on our property. <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/lady-slippers.jpg\" alt=\"lady slipper\"></li>\n<li>And, in general, all sorts of good time outside alone, with family and with friends.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. Let’s see what 2022 has in store for us.</p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>I was spending too much time trying to determine what format my “year in review” post should take. At dinner today, my wife shared with us some New Year <a href=\"https://biglifejournal.com/collections/printables\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">worksheets</a> she’d found online that we had each filled out last year. So, instead of making up some fancy format, I’ll borrow it from the worksheet I filled out. </p>\n<h3 id=\"2-Two-things-I-will-get-better-at\"><a href=\"#2-Two-things-I-will-get-better-at\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"2 - Two things I will get better at:\"></a>2 - Two things I will get better at:</h3><ul>\n<li>French<ul>\n<li>This went well as I continued my fourth year of weekly French lessons and went another year without missing a single day on <a href=\"https://www.duolingo.com/profile/h0ke\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duolingo</a>. It feels like I’m at a sort of intermediate plateau, but I’ll keep trucking along. </li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>Ukelele<ul>\n<li>Nothing to report here as I spent my “musical” time on the drums (see below).</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"0-Something-I-want-to-do-less-of\"><a href=\"#0-Something-I-want-to-do-less-of\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"0 - Something I want to do less of:\"></a>0 - Something I want to do less of:</h3><ul>\n<li>Eat fewer carbs<ul>\n<li>This went OK… sometimes. I have a feeling this is going to be a lifelong goal of mine. 😅</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"2-Two-things-I-want-to-learn\"><a href=\"#2-Two-things-I-want-to-learn\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"2 - Two things I want to learn:\"></a>2 - Two things I want to learn:</h3><ul>\n<li>How to make furniture<ul>\n<li>I didn’t end up doing any large pieces for the house, but I did make a laying box and “mobile” roosting bars for our chickens. Also, a squatty potty. </li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n<li>How to play drums<ul>\n<li>I did end up buying the <a href=\"https://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis/Nitro-Mesh-8-Piece-Electronic-Drum-Set-1500000219380.gc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alesis Nitro Mesh 8-Piece Electronic Drum Set</a>, which was a good start. I haven’t done any formal lessons yet, but I’ve been practicing some <a href=\"https://vicfirth.zildjian.com/education/40-essential-rudiments.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rudiments</a>, off and on, and got a few grooves mostly worked out.</li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<h3 id=\"1-One-new-thing-I-want-to-try\"><a href=\"#1-One-new-thing-I-want-to-try\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"1 - One new thing I want to try:\"></a>1 - One new thing I want to try:</h3><ul>\n<li>Reading one book per month<ul>\n<li>This did… not go well. I wasn’t able to find a consistent time through most of the year which worked for reading. I finally pulled it together in the last 3 months of 2021 and eked out <a href=\"https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/26124780\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3 books</a>. I shall try again this year for a book a month. </li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Additionally, I spent ~45min <a href=\"https://tim.blog/2021/12/27/past-year-review/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reviewing last year’s calendar</a> (week-by-week) and last year’s photos. Here is a sample of highlights I pulled from this exercise.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>We harvested some excellent food from our garden. <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/cabbage.jpg\" alt=\"green cabbage\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/garlic-scapes.jpg\" alt=\"garlic scapes\"> <hr/> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/potatoes.jpg\" alt=\"potatoes\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/leeks.jpg\" alt=\"leeks\"></li>\n<li>We got excellent food from our <a href=\"http://www.girardfarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CSA</a>!</li>\n<li>The rain brought some awesome fungi. <br/> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom01.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom02.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"> <hr/> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom03.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"> <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/mushroom04.jpg\" alt=\"mushroom\"></li>\n<li>I participated in a 6-month <a href=\"https://www.startuppatterns.com/video-library/advanced-practicum-showcase-2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mindful Leadership Practicum</a> that helped me start <a href=\"https://techdubb.medium.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thinking and writing about management</a> (and related topics).</li>\n<li>Some fawns lived by our house for a few months! <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/deer.jpg\" alt=\"baby deer\"></li>\n<li>I started bidding in online Estate Sales. It’s sort of odd, but it’s a good way to get some great second hand items for cheap (sometimes).</li>\n<li>Somewhat rare Pink Lady’s Slipper flowers grow on our property. <img src=\"/posts/2021-in-review/lady-slippers.jpg\" alt=\"lady slipper\"></li>\n<li>And, in general, all sorts of good time outside alone, with family and with friends.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. Let’s see what 2022 has in store for us.</p>\n"},{"title":"the solar array","date":"2024-04-21T04:00:00.000Z","subtitle":"some notes on our solar installation.","_content":"The topic of renewable energy has been something our family has been talking about for a while. As such, we recently had solar panels installed on our property. This post shares our experience of the installation process, from start to finish and beyond.\n\nOur decision to invest in solar panels was driven by a desire to reduce our carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. Maine's standard offering is still powered heavily by natural gas (~29%), so even when electrifying a home, one may still be \"consuming\" more fossil fuels than you intend to. Also, the stability of our future electricity costs was a motivator. [^1]\n\n![the titular solar array](the-array.jpg)\n\nWe worked with the team at Maine Solar Solutions to analyze our energy needs and potential ground mount locations based on sun exposure. Luckily for us, there was an area on our property that gets very little shade throughout the day, regardless of the season. While the array is visible from parts of our house, solar efficiency was important to us.\n\nDetermining the right size for our solar system was a bit tricky as we have not yet had heat pumps installed in our house. These will consume much more electricity in the winter and summer months than our current electricity bills show.  Since we couldn't be sure exactly how much more electricity we'd be using, we aimed to be at about 120% of our current electricity usage. It should be noted that this is all a bit of a dark art. There are models used to estimate how much the array will produce, but the whole thing is obviously very weather dependent. \n\nAfter some back and forth, we decided on a 6kWh inverter and 16 480W panels. Additionally, we decided to hedge our bets and leave one side of the array able to have another 4 panels added if we needed it. In order to accommodate the potential 1.92kWh expansion, we bumped up the inverter size to 7.6kWh.\n\nBefore any dirt was dug or a panel was mounted, a crew came out to do a final walk through and take notes of the site. They put stakes in the ground outlining where the array would sit and they painted a proposed path for the conduit. We also decided that the inverter would be mounted on the outside of the garage, near the utility pole. \n\nThe next step was actually digging a trench for the conduit, which we opted to do ourselves (with familial help). This would allow our solar panels to connect to our home's electrical grid. While the array site was awesome for sun exposure, it was quite a ways from our main utility pole. Additionally, it required a pretty adventurous path around our newly paved driveway. All told, we laid 280ft of Schedule 40 conduit underground. \n\n![conduit trench](trench01.jpg) ![conduit trench](trench02.jpg) ![conduit trench](trench03.jpg)\n\nA few days later, a subcontractor came to drill ground screws where the site prep crew had put stakes. With both the conduit and ground screws done, we were ready to move into the next phase: panel installation.\n\nThe installation of our solar panels was a precise process that required professional expertise.  Maine Solar Solutions had to run the wires through our lengthy conduit and install the ground mounts. While panels were being mounted and wired at one end, the electrician was installing the inverter and hooking everything to the grid on the other end.\n\nThe entire process, from initial consultation to final installation, was an educational endeavor. It spanned from June 22nd, 2023 to December 29th, 2023. We navigated various aspects, including selecting the right amount of panels, understanding the current and future electrical needs, and managing the installation timeline. In the end, I'm glad we made the choices we did and I'm happy to be producing our own electricity here on our property.\n\nIf you're considering solar for your home or property, I highly recommend Maine Solar Solutions. They were instrumental in our project. Their expertise, from assessing our property’s solar potential to the final installation, was invaluable. They guided us through each stage, ensuring we were comfortable and informed throughout the process. I found particular value in the parts that included working with Central Maine Power to become an official power generation site. Those documents are quite dense and you do have to sign them, so understanding what they're covering is important. \n\n#### By the numbers!\n\n* Inverter: 7.6kWh\n* Solar Array: 16 480W panels (7.68kWh)\n* Total cost (not including trenching/conduit): ~$33k\n* Federal Tax Credit: ~$10k\n\n\n[^1]: It should be noted that this price stability isn't guaranteed forever. Solar power generation remuneration and/or crediting is the purview of state government and the utility company. Right now, CMP (Central Maine Power) does net metering with residential generation sites. While they don't pay us for the energy we're pushing into the grid, they do give us energy credits that can be used for up to 12 months. This is helpful for being able to \"use\" the generation from the daytime to pay for consumption during the night. And, similarly, summer generation can cover winter consumption.\n \nBut this may not be true forever. As governments change focus and economic viability of utility companies change, net metering could be phased out. My hope is that by the time this happens, if it happens at all, battery storage will have become more affordable and we could capture daytime generation for use during the night.\n","source":"_posts/the-solar-array.md","raw":"---\ntitle: the solar array\ndate: 2024-04-21\nsubtitle: some notes on our solar installation.\ntags: blog\n---\nThe topic of renewable energy has been something our family has been talking about for a while. As such, we recently had solar panels installed on our property. This post shares our experience of the installation process, from start to finish and beyond.\n\nOur decision to invest in solar panels was driven by a desire to reduce our carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. Maine's standard offering is still powered heavily by natural gas (~29%), so even when electrifying a home, one may still be \"consuming\" more fossil fuels than you intend to. Also, the stability of our future electricity costs was a motivator. [^1]\n\n![the titular solar array](the-array.jpg)\n\nWe worked with the team at Maine Solar Solutions to analyze our energy needs and potential ground mount locations based on sun exposure. Luckily for us, there was an area on our property that gets very little shade throughout the day, regardless of the season. While the array is visible from parts of our house, solar efficiency was important to us.\n\nDetermining the right size for our solar system was a bit tricky as we have not yet had heat pumps installed in our house. These will consume much more electricity in the winter and summer months than our current electricity bills show.  Since we couldn't be sure exactly how much more electricity we'd be using, we aimed to be at about 120% of our current electricity usage. It should be noted that this is all a bit of a dark art. There are models used to estimate how much the array will produce, but the whole thing is obviously very weather dependent. \n\nAfter some back and forth, we decided on a 6kWh inverter and 16 480W panels. Additionally, we decided to hedge our bets and leave one side of the array able to have another 4 panels added if we needed it. In order to accommodate the potential 1.92kWh expansion, we bumped up the inverter size to 7.6kWh.\n\nBefore any dirt was dug or a panel was mounted, a crew came out to do a final walk through and take notes of the site. They put stakes in the ground outlining where the array would sit and they painted a proposed path for the conduit. We also decided that the inverter would be mounted on the outside of the garage, near the utility pole. \n\nThe next step was actually digging a trench for the conduit, which we opted to do ourselves (with familial help). This would allow our solar panels to connect to our home's electrical grid. While the array site was awesome for sun exposure, it was quite a ways from our main utility pole. Additionally, it required a pretty adventurous path around our newly paved driveway. All told, we laid 280ft of Schedule 40 conduit underground. \n\n![conduit trench](trench01.jpg) ![conduit trench](trench02.jpg) ![conduit trench](trench03.jpg)\n\nA few days later, a subcontractor came to drill ground screws where the site prep crew had put stakes. With both the conduit and ground screws done, we were ready to move into the next phase: panel installation.\n\nThe installation of our solar panels was a precise process that required professional expertise.  Maine Solar Solutions had to run the wires through our lengthy conduit and install the ground mounts. While panels were being mounted and wired at one end, the electrician was installing the inverter and hooking everything to the grid on the other end.\n\nThe entire process, from initial consultation to final installation, was an educational endeavor. It spanned from June 22nd, 2023 to December 29th, 2023. We navigated various aspects, including selecting the right amount of panels, understanding the current and future electrical needs, and managing the installation timeline. In the end, I'm glad we made the choices we did and I'm happy to be producing our own electricity here on our property.\n\nIf you're considering solar for your home or property, I highly recommend Maine Solar Solutions. They were instrumental in our project. Their expertise, from assessing our property’s solar potential to the final installation, was invaluable. They guided us through each stage, ensuring we were comfortable and informed throughout the process. I found particular value in the parts that included working with Central Maine Power to become an official power generation site. Those documents are quite dense and you do have to sign them, so understanding what they're covering is important. \n\n#### By the numbers!\n\n* Inverter: 7.6kWh\n* Solar Array: 16 480W panels (7.68kWh)\n* Total cost (not including trenching/conduit): ~$33k\n* Federal Tax Credit: ~$10k\n\n\n[^1]: It should be noted that this price stability isn't guaranteed forever. Solar power generation remuneration and/or crediting is the purview of state government and the utility company. Right now, CMP (Central Maine Power) does net metering with residential generation sites. While they don't pay us for the energy we're pushing into the grid, they do give us energy credits that can be used for up to 12 months. This is helpful for being able to \"use\" the generation from the daytime to pay for consumption during the night. And, similarly, summer generation can cover winter consumption.\n \nBut this may not be true forever. As governments change focus and economic viability of utility companies change, net metering could be phased out. My hope is that by the time this happens, if it happens at all, battery storage will have become more affordable and we could capture daytime generation for use during the night.\n","slug":"the-solar-array","published":1,"updated":"2024-04-22T01:36:39.661Z","_id":"clva9ggv300002ylz43dgc05h","comments":1,"layout":"post","photos":[],"link":"","content":"<p>The topic of renewable energy has been something our family has been talking about for a while. As such, we recently had solar panels installed on our property. This post shares our experience of the installation process, from start to finish and beyond.</p>\n<p>Our decision to invest in solar panels was driven by a desire to reduce our carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. Maine’s standard offering is still powered heavily by natural gas (~29%), so even when electrifying a home, one may still be “consuming” more fossil fuels than you intend to. Also, the stability of our future electricity costs was a motivator. <sup id=\"fnref:1\"><a href=\"#fn:1\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup></p>\n<p><img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/the-array.jpg\" alt=\"the titular solar array\"></p>\n<p>We worked with the team at Maine Solar Solutions to analyze our energy needs and potential ground mount locations based on sun exposure. Luckily for us, there was an area on our property that gets very little shade throughout the day, regardless of the season. While the array is visible from parts of our house, solar efficiency was important to us.</p>\n<p>Determining the right size for our solar system was a bit tricky as we have not yet had heat pumps installed in our house. These will consume much more electricity in the winter and summer months than our current electricity bills show.  Since we couldn’t be sure exactly how much more electricity we’d be using, we aimed to be at about 120% of our current electricity usage. It should be noted that this is all a bit of a dark art. There are models used to estimate how much the array will produce, but the whole thing is obviously very weather dependent. </p>\n<p>After some back and forth, we decided on a 6kWh inverter and 16 480W panels. Additionally, we decided to hedge our bets and leave one side of the array able to have another 4 panels added if we needed it. In order to accommodate the potential 1.92kWh expansion, we bumped up the inverter size to 7.6kWh.</p>\n<p>Before any dirt was dug or a panel was mounted, a crew came out to do a final walk through and take notes of the site. They put stakes in the ground outlining where the array would sit and they painted a proposed path for the conduit. We also decided that the inverter would be mounted on the outside of the garage, near the utility pole. </p>\n<p>The next step was actually digging a trench for the conduit, which we opted to do ourselves (with familial help). This would allow our solar panels to connect to our home’s electrical grid. While the array site was awesome for sun exposure, it was quite a ways from our main utility pole. Additionally, it required a pretty adventurous path around our newly paved driveway. All told, we laid 280ft of Schedule 40 conduit underground. </p>\n<p><img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/trench01.jpg\" alt=\"conduit trench\"> <img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/trench02.jpg\" alt=\"conduit trench\"> <img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/trench03.jpg\" alt=\"conduit trench\"></p>\n<p>A few days later, a subcontractor came to drill ground screws where the site prep crew had put stakes. With both the conduit and ground screws done, we were ready to move into the next phase: panel installation.</p>\n<p>The installation of our solar panels was a precise process that required professional expertise.  Maine Solar Solutions had to run the wires through our lengthy conduit and install the ground mounts. While panels were being mounted and wired at one end, the electrician was installing the inverter and hooking everything to the grid on the other end.</p>\n<p>The entire process, from initial consultation to final installation, was an educational endeavor. It spanned from June 22nd, 2023 to December 29th, 2023. We navigated various aspects, including selecting the right amount of panels, understanding the current and future electrical needs, and managing the installation timeline. In the end, I’m glad we made the choices we did and I’m happy to be producing our own electricity here on our property.</p>\n<p>If you’re considering solar for your home or property, I highly recommend Maine Solar Solutions. They were instrumental in our project. Their expertise, from assessing our property’s solar potential to the final installation, was invaluable. They guided us through each stage, ensuring we were comfortable and informed throughout the process. I found particular value in the parts that included working with Central Maine Power to become an official power generation site. Those documents are quite dense and you do have to sign them, so understanding what they’re covering is important. </p>\n<h4 id=\"By-the-numbers\"><a href=\"#By-the-numbers\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"By the numbers!\"></a>By the numbers!</h4><ul>\n<li>Inverter: 7.6kWh</li>\n<li>Solar Array: 16 480W panels (7.68kWh)</li>\n<li>Total cost (not including trenching/conduit): ~$33k</li>\n<li>Federal Tax Credit: ~$10k</li>\n</ul>\n<div id=\"footnotes\"><hr><div id=\"footnotelist\"><ol style=\"list-style:none; padding-left: 0;\"><li id=\"fn:1\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">1.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">It should be noted that this price stability isn't guaranteed forever. Solar power generation remuneration and/or crediting is the purview of state government and the utility company. Right now, CMP (Central Maine Power) does net metering with residential generation sites. While they don't pay us for the energy we're pushing into the grid, they do give us energy credits that can be used for up to 12 months. This is helpful for being able to &quot;use&quot; the generation from the daytime to pay for consumption during the night. And, similarly, summer generation can cover winter consumption.\n\n<p>But this may not be true forever. As governments change focus and economic viability of utility companies change, net metering could be phased out. My hope is that by the time this happens, if it happens at all, battery storage will have become more affordable and we could capture daytime generation for use during the night.</span><a href=\"#fnref:1\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li></ol></div></div></p>\n","site":{"data":{}},"excerpt":"","more":"<p>The topic of renewable energy has been something our family has been talking about for a while. As such, we recently had solar panels installed on our property. This post shares our experience of the installation process, from start to finish and beyond.</p>\n<p>Our decision to invest in solar panels was driven by a desire to reduce our carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. Maine’s standard offering is still powered heavily by natural gas (~29%), so even when electrifying a home, one may still be “consuming” more fossil fuels than you intend to. Also, the stability of our future electricity costs was a motivator. <sup id=\"fnref:1\"><a href=\"#fn:1\" rel=\"footnote\">1</a></sup></p>\n<p><img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/the-array.jpg\" alt=\"the titular solar array\"></p>\n<p>We worked with the team at Maine Solar Solutions to analyze our energy needs and potential ground mount locations based on sun exposure. Luckily for us, there was an area on our property that gets very little shade throughout the day, regardless of the season. While the array is visible from parts of our house, solar efficiency was important to us.</p>\n<p>Determining the right size for our solar system was a bit tricky as we have not yet had heat pumps installed in our house. These will consume much more electricity in the winter and summer months than our current electricity bills show.  Since we couldn’t be sure exactly how much more electricity we’d be using, we aimed to be at about 120% of our current electricity usage. It should be noted that this is all a bit of a dark art. There are models used to estimate how much the array will produce, but the whole thing is obviously very weather dependent. </p>\n<p>After some back and forth, we decided on a 6kWh inverter and 16 480W panels. Additionally, we decided to hedge our bets and leave one side of the array able to have another 4 panels added if we needed it. In order to accommodate the potential 1.92kWh expansion, we bumped up the inverter size to 7.6kWh.</p>\n<p>Before any dirt was dug or a panel was mounted, a crew came out to do a final walk through and take notes of the site. They put stakes in the ground outlining where the array would sit and they painted a proposed path for the conduit. We also decided that the inverter would be mounted on the outside of the garage, near the utility pole. </p>\n<p>The next step was actually digging a trench for the conduit, which we opted to do ourselves (with familial help). This would allow our solar panels to connect to our home’s electrical grid. While the array site was awesome for sun exposure, it was quite a ways from our main utility pole. Additionally, it required a pretty adventurous path around our newly paved driveway. All told, we laid 280ft of Schedule 40 conduit underground. </p>\n<p><img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/trench01.jpg\" alt=\"conduit trench\"> <img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/trench02.jpg\" alt=\"conduit trench\"> <img src=\"/posts/the-solar-array/trench03.jpg\" alt=\"conduit trench\"></p>\n<p>A few days later, a subcontractor came to drill ground screws where the site prep crew had put stakes. With both the conduit and ground screws done, we were ready to move into the next phase: panel installation.</p>\n<p>The installation of our solar panels was a precise process that required professional expertise.  Maine Solar Solutions had to run the wires through our lengthy conduit and install the ground mounts. While panels were being mounted and wired at one end, the electrician was installing the inverter and hooking everything to the grid on the other end.</p>\n<p>The entire process, from initial consultation to final installation, was an educational endeavor. It spanned from June 22nd, 2023 to December 29th, 2023. We navigated various aspects, including selecting the right amount of panels, understanding the current and future electrical needs, and managing the installation timeline. In the end, I’m glad we made the choices we did and I’m happy to be producing our own electricity here on our property.</p>\n<p>If you’re considering solar for your home or property, I highly recommend Maine Solar Solutions. They were instrumental in our project. Their expertise, from assessing our property’s solar potential to the final installation, was invaluable. They guided us through each stage, ensuring we were comfortable and informed throughout the process. I found particular value in the parts that included working with Central Maine Power to become an official power generation site. Those documents are quite dense and you do have to sign them, so understanding what they’re covering is important. </p>\n<h4 id=\"By-the-numbers\"><a href=\"#By-the-numbers\" class=\"headerlink\" title=\"By the numbers!\"></a>By the numbers!</h4><ul>\n<li>Inverter: 7.6kWh</li>\n<li>Solar Array: 16 480W panels (7.68kWh)</li>\n<li>Total cost (not including trenching/conduit): ~$33k</li>\n<li>Federal Tax Credit: ~$10k</li>\n</ul>\n<div id=\"footnotes\"><hr><div id=\"footnotelist\"><ol style=\"list-style:none; padding-left: 0;\"><li id=\"fn:1\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 10px;\">1.</span><span style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">It should be noted that this price stability isn't guaranteed forever. Solar power generation remuneration and/or crediting is the purview of state government and the utility company. Right now, CMP (Central Maine Power) does net metering with residential generation sites. While they don't pay us for the energy we're pushing into the grid, they do give us energy credits that can be used for up to 12 months. This is helpful for being able to &quot;use&quot; the generation from the daytime to pay for consumption during the night. And, similarly, summer generation can cover winter consumption.\n\n<p>But this may not be true forever. As governments change focus and economic viability of utility companies change, net metering could be phased out. My hope is that by the time this happens, if it happens at all, battery storage will have become more affordable and we could capture daytime generation for use during the night.</span><a href=\"#fnref:1\" rev=\"footnote\"> ↩</a></li></ol></div></div></p>\n"}],"PostAsset":[{"_id":"source/_posts/the-blue-sky/the-blue-sky.jpg","slug":"the-blue-sky.jpg","post":"ckl6sfyzj0000xcid6zb3e8l9","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/le-premier-oeuf/le-premier-oeuf.jpg","slug":"le-premier-oeuf.jpg","post":"ckl72kae60000tyidbsvf3ria","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/sailors-warning/sailors-warning.jpg","slug":"sailors-warning.jpg","post":"cklo8rmhn0000i7id6e7ya63l","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/a-grey-day/a-grey-day.jpg","slug":"a-grey-day.jpg","post":"ckm2ueqwp0000uyidern5bi1w","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/garlic-scapes.jpg","slug":"garlic-scapes.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/potatoes.jpg","slug":"potatoes.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/cabbage.jpg","slug":"cabbage.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/leeks.jpg","slug":"leeks.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/deer.jpg","slug":"deer.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/lady-slippers.jpg","slug":"lady-slippers.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/mushroom01.jpg","slug":"mushroom01.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/mushroom02.jpg","slug":"mushroom02.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/mushroom03.jpg","slug":"mushroom03.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/2021-in-review/mushroom04.jpg","slug":"mushroom04.jpg","post":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/the-solar-array/the-array.jpg","slug":"the-array.jpg","post":"clva9ggv300002ylz43dgc05h","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/the-solar-array/trench01.jpg","slug":"trench01.jpg","post":"clva9ggv300002ylz43dgc05h","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/the-solar-array/trench02.jpg","slug":"trench02.jpg","post":"clva9ggv300002ylz43dgc05h","modified":0,"renderable":0},{"_id":"source/_posts/the-solar-array/trench03.jpg","slug":"trench03.jpg","post":"clva9ggv300002ylz43dgc05h","modified":0,"renderable":0}],"PostCategory":[],"PostTag":[{"post_id":"cklo8ugtl0000nsidcelq0z73","tag_id":"cklo8rmhs0002i7idg51jgxpi","_id":"cklo8ugtp0001nsidbci1c0qw"},{"post_id":"ckl6qx5k60000w6id8vnicub5","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8vkqa0003nsid043s0e78"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rd0000z6fn1zgs9thj","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8vu4n0004nsidf6121es3"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rj0002z6fnh8hqzkf6","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8vxg70005nsid84kcg9we"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0ro0006z6fnmyakq38n","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8w0790006nsid6xng2em3"},{"post_id":"ckl72kae60000tyidbsvf3ria","tag_id":"cklo8w6sz0007nsid3ql8h87g","_id":"cklo8w6t30008nsid4voabwkk"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rm0004z6fnlyafh9pp","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8w8os0009nsidae64bcx7"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rp0007z6fngfhec8p0","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8wbcm000ansid42oj7hda"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rr0009z6fnjbyeutip","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8wdlc000bnsid7vfmdd55"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rq0008z6fn0nofhn5l","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8wlbn000cnsidg04kdraa"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rs000az6fn6n1d2dkp","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8wnny000dnsidgx0e49g2"},{"post_id":"ck8ezj0rv000bz6fnuupvn0mc","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"cklo8wqol000ensidcd7fc7pb"},{"post_id":"ckl6sfyzj0000xcid6zb3e8l9","tag_id":"cklo8w6sz0007nsid3ql8h87g","_id":"cklo8wutx000fnsidc3eo6tq1"},{"post_id":"cklo8rmhn0000i7id6e7ya63l","tag_id":"cklo8w6sz0007nsid3ql8h87g","_id":"cklo8xqc60000t0idh8nc2br1"},{"post_id":"ckm2ueqwp0000uyidern5bi1w","tag_id":"cklo8w6sz0007nsid3ql8h87g","_id":"ckm2ueqwt0001uyid0siyddoy"},{"post_id":"ckxy1hgcr0000xpida3sp9b7b","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"ckxy1hgcv0001xpid5smod3uo"},{"post_id":"clva9ggv300002ylz43dgc05h","tag_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a","_id":"clva9ggv700012ylz35rr798i"}],"Tag":[{"name":"poetry","_id":"cklo8rmhs0002i7idg51jgxpi"},{"name":"blog","_id":"cklo8vkq90002nsidbq4icx5a"},{"name":"photo","_id":"cklo8w6sz0007nsid3ql8h87g"}]}}