Critical Mass

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Twelve years ago I was driving through the River Oaks area in Houston at night and came across 200 cyclists with their rigs all lit up, and their flags flapping in the breeze. It looked fun but annoying because cyclists are always preaching “share the road!” But they were not. The group was a local chapter of the national Critical Mass cycling group. Think Hash House Harriers but on wheels.

Last night I participated in my first ride with a local chapter on Sanibel Island for a ten mile night ride along dedicated bike trails. The island is known for its luxurious homes, golf courses, yachts, beautiful trails along brackish water and we were in good company. Absolutely looking towards another ride with this fun, relaxed group.

12 Down, 12 To Go

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Halfway through the 2024 reading list and I feel as if I am on a spree. The first quarter of the year was slow reading with work travel, relocating and heavy, difficult books to sort out. The libraries felt generous and dumped four books on me all at once to hurry and consume, but it just won’t be possible to do this and give them justice.

99% of the books on my list are fiction and yet, halfway through it, I am looking for some non-fiction. No biographies, self-help, politics or history. Something thought-provoking. The search is on.

USB ♣️

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Two weeks after receiving my specialized USB Stick, I am finally in the club. Now I can share files with others and pick/choose what files I would like. File formats include pdf, jpg, mov, etc. Here’s a look at the console below. Once I have inserted the USB and verified my secure credentials, I am in.

I have only had time to share one file, a .pdf of JPG photo magazine from 2007 (I miss that periodical), and have downloaded an image shared by another. So I look forward to becoming more involved in the ♣️.

Until next time,

Type Art

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There are many reasons as to why I was looking forward to utilizing my typewriter after I relocated. One, was to make art from it. I’ve been a long time fan of ASCii art but there are people out there that have taken it to the next level and then some.

After nerdscrolling and falling down a few internet rabbit holes, I’ve discovered so many type-art resources out there.

Such as a pamphlet from 1979 turned into a pdf from the Internet Archive entitled Typewriter Mystery Games.

Obviously this would utilize multiple ribbons, paper and practice but I’d love to explore this further.

Until next time,

Between < and >

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I’ve had a pretty shit week. If I wanted to sugarcoat anything, I’d go buy a beignet. The amount of stress-induced breakdowns and resulting physical ailments I had these past seven days is taking a toll. It was mostly job stress, but also a lot of living in my head. Thinking about the what ifs, the whys, and the why nots. On top of it all, insomnia decided to pay a visit too.

Despite me resigning back in February, the relocating and the waiting, I need a day off from my thoughts. I need to relax and enjoy something but it isn’t possible.

I need someplace to call my own, where I can relax, be surrounded and feel grounded. A feeling I have not enjoyed since 2008- sixteen years!

I look around other’s homes and began to notice that there was stuff, art walls, tchotchkes, mementos, clutter, decor, unneeded items, cozy blankets, pillows, flowers, mismatched mugs and chairs, books, and photos – everywhere. I guess things make a home look lived in. Then I thought, Maybe I am over the essentialism and minimalism. Maybe I need something, or something’s to make me feel at “home.”  

I thought about my own places that I have lived in the past 16 years and my own things. And I noticed that today, I have very few of these little mementos in my home, or none at all. Hell, I donated all of my furniture before moving. People barely collect things of worth anymore, I know I haven’t.

And why should we? All we need to revisit our memories is in the cloud. All photos are there, with a click of a button.

Not only does not touching a photograph, and not having any physical presence of it in my home makes it lose its value and to a degree its meaning, we also cannot derive any happiness from digital media without actively looking at it. How often do we look at those digital photos? Digital dust is all that they are.

Music, books, movies, and past memories used to be tangible things in our homes that ”sparked joy” without actively interacting with them. Digital media doesn’t do that. Digital Media creates minimalism

We were told that we had too much stuff, and that having said stuff was bad. Getting rid of all of my stuff, however, would make me free and happy.

Does it? Will having more stuff make me happier or sadder?

Art used to be visible, tangible, tactile, and it made a home feel like a home. Now art is small and fits on one tiny device, as if it isn’t allowed to take up space anymore.

I am rambling here, but to wrap it all up, as soon as I have the opportunity, I am going to fill my space with things that make me happy. Things that remind me of people I love and miss. It’s time to turn our house into a home. Now where is the nearest Ikea?

HTML

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I am in a mood again. Thinking about keeping this website online as a private online archive while at the same time, writing to the journal inside my own offline database.

If I do take this private, it’ll be a stripped down HTML-only version.

Stay tuned.

Type Is Dead

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Well, just my typewriter, actually. The local repairman said no way, and it would be cheaper to get a different one. It now rests in the trash bin behind that shop. So now I am on the lookout for a different model and color.

In the meantime, the Hanx digital typewriter will have to do.

Read & Write

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The Los Angeles Library system recently purchased a local book publisher and plans on publishing even more from local authors. Brilliant!

Local libraries could and should support people to self-publish books, e-books, websites, etc. Instead of just computers for the homeless to play games on, set up printers, scanners, zine machines, etc. Beef up the local writers and potential authors by hosting writing parties. Maybe even add a community feed to host all of those websites and their owners with a shared feed of everything published in blog format and RSS?

Disconnected

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I just had my cellular data plan shut off…deliberately. My talk and text plan still allows basic communication when I am out and about. Let the great experiment begin!