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Waes Hael

So we’ve been playing around with scents in the house ever since we got here. On our first trip to the store we picked up a couple scented candles to give important rooms a pleasant smell. And I’ve been burning incense, which I do wherever I go, which always makes rooms smell interesting. However, while picking up upholstery supplies from a craft store with Nishi, we noticed these cinnamon scented pine cones they sold (for quite a bit of money). They definitely smelled good, but it made me think of a nice and cheap alternative that we hadn’t yet tried in the house.

Growing up, I’ve always had a wood stove in my house. My parents would sit a iron kettle on top of the stove, which would boil and keep the air in the house from drying out. They would throw little bits of spices or potpourri in there as well, cloves and cinnamon especially, which would fill the room with the scent. I picked up some sticks of cinnamon while doing groceries, and figured I’d try this here.

Now, we don’t have a wood stove in this house. But I have heard of people doing this on a kitchen stove, and that’s what I decided to try. In a pot half filled with water, I dropped two sticks of cinnamon and brought it to a boil – and it worked just perfectly! Today, Nishi was looking at the pot and thought, “I wonder how that tastes.” It was only cinnamon and water (and a dash of vanilla), so it should be alright. She tasted it and told me, “This tastes just like wassail!” She added some Tang and sugar to a mug of cinnamon water, and settled back in her chair.

Oh Snap!

I’ve been carrying quite the arsenal around with me this summer, and it’s proved so helpful I don’t think I’ll stop. I suppose it’s a bit of a carryover from last summer’s trip. In my shorts, I currently have a flashlight, lighter, pocket knife, notepad and pencil, and my cell phone. I could go on and on about the knife, since it has been solely responsible for fixing the bus the last few times it has broken down, but this post is about the flashlight.

It’s kind of an odd tool, and I didn’t realize how often I would use it until I started carrying one around with me. I started keeping one in my pocket last summer to check the flow of the oil as we filtered, and found other uses for it since it was on hand. I bought a better light, and kept it with me this summer. Since it’s a little expensive, I’ve looped the lanyard around my belt loop to keep from losing it if it falls out of my pocket. It’s nice to have it that handy and secure, but a pain to get off the belt loop, and as a result I’ve been doing a lot of illuminating from hip level.

At the craft store the other day, I picked up some snaps. I put the male end on my belt loop, and the female end on the end of the lanyard (it turns out all you need to attach snaps is a hammer). And now my light is quickly connected or disconnected from my hip. My attire is slowly becoming perfectly utilitarian, and I’m pleased.

Staple

So I’ve been walking around barefoot or in sandals for most, if not all of the summer. And I’ve developed some rather impressive callouses on my feet.

Nishi has been upholstering for much of the summer as well, and much of that work is either prying staples out of old furniture, or stapling new fabric. I’ve been fairly careful so far to avoid staples while walking around her workspace, and haven’t had any nasty surprises yet.

However, this morning as I got out of bed, I noticed my heel was dragging – catching on the bed sheet. I reached down, and felt a staple logged into my heel. It was a staple that had been pried off a chair, so replace that new staple image in your head with a gnarled and twisted one. I had to show it off, but I just yanked it out and went on my way. I’ve never been more proud of my feet.

Caracycle

So I’ve settled upon a new project. A sub 500 pound, easily built coach composed largely of bicycle parts that are cheap(ish) and widely available, to be pulled by four bicycle riders. I’d like the coaches to be able to daisy-chain, and form into a larger caravan, with the riders of each coach pulling collectively. I’m sure there’s a limit to size, where more riders and coaches lead to diminishing returns and increasing spectacle, but I don’t know it yet.

Important things that need to be pondered:

  • Whether or not a coachman is necessary. While the steering will be handled by the cyclists, I think the coach’s brakes would be best controlled by a coachman, but it is conceivable that the cyclists (or a single cyclist) could control the coach brakes.
  • How to make this project possible without welding. I would like this project to be something that anyone with a desire to attempt could build, regardless of skillset. I need to balance the trade between accessibility and sound structure.

    • And I’m sure there is much more that has yet to reveal itself.

    Rally to Restore Sanity

    We’ll be attending the Rally to Restore Sanity on the 30th, and I’m hoping it will not be a problem. Nishi and I will be traveling down with Anne Marie, on our way to the Carolinas. According to the FAQ on the Rally’s website, a permit to get a bus in the city costs $50, while parking it costs another $40. I think I’ll be leaning on the fact that I’m driving an RV, and park it on the street somewhere several days beforehand. I’m sure we won’t attract any attention. Then again, maybe I should just get someone to shuttle us from a Walmart.

    I’m pretty excited for the Rally, and I’m certain it will be fun, though I’m curious how they’re going to play it with the March to Keep Fear Alive occurring alongside it. A few weeks ago, Peter invited us to go out on the streets with him baring signs of acceptance and love. Nishi flew a “Free Hugs!” sign while I carried one that read “Have a nice day!” Peter made a sign that is shockingly similar to this one that appeared on the Daily Show a few days later. When he told me about this idea, I thought it would be funny to hold a counter-protest on an opposite street corner, with people holding signs supporting the abstract concept of hate. It would probably be pretty funny, but it would also undermine any legitimacy the initial event promoting love had.

    I’m a little worried the March to Keep Fear Alive will do just that, and the entire event will just become a Daily Show / Colbert fan circlejerk. It will still be fun (I mean hey, circlejerk), but it won’t really register with anyone outside those circles. I’m also hoping I’m wrong, because I think the Rally for Americans in favor of a return to sanity, or something like that, has an extremely legitimate message to get across, and is addressing what is at least partially responsible for the lack of any real governance. I guess we’ll wait and see.

    Declaration

    On my path to knowing what I’m doing when I’m baking, I’m setting a deadline. I want to have baked at least one of each type of bread detailed in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Thanksgiving. I certainly have the time, even though there will be a few weeks of living on a bus between then and now. Why arbitrary deadlines when I am otherwise unemployed and responsibilityless? Because otherwise it won’t happen. Now it will. I’ll post pictures.

    Unemployment!

    I’ve entered the world of bizarro employment, where I do nothing and get paid for it, because once upon a time I made money. I will hopefully only be on unemployment for a month, but I’m hoping to use that time to get a few personal projects started. Mainly: stocks and bread. After that, I would like to get a part time job working with dough, while I entertain stocks on the side.

    And maybe I’ll start chipping away at that large pile of books I’ve accumulated. And maybe I’ll make it through those couple tabs that never leave my browser. And maybe we’ll see some significant cultural change at a rally in late October. And maybe we’ll see that change in the people we elect in early November. And maybe the economy will recover enough to give me a job by December. And maybe nothing will really change and we’ll just keep plodding onwards. And maybe I won’t lose my shirt during all of this, because of the free money.

    Notepad

    I’ve taken to carrying a notepad with me, after meaning to do so for years. Joe has carried a notepad around with him for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always thought it’s a good idea. So far, I’m just using it as a to-do/shopping list, but it is helping me get things done. My hope is that I’ll be able to remember more of those wonderful fleeting ideas that spring on me when I’m not ready for them. Or maybe I’ll just forget to write things down in it like the last time I tried this.

    Stocks

    I found myself with a large pile of money saved up from this summer with the Census, and an even larger pile of loans coming off deferment. I had originally planed to put that money directly towards the loans, making a slightly smaller pile of negative money. But I looked at my pile and thought, “That’s no fun.” I had been wanting to get involved in the stock market for a while, but I didn’t have the money to open an account (etrade wants $1k, Scottrade $500). Well, I have the money now, and if I can make it grow faster than interest accrued on my loans, I could put this money to a better use. So in late August or so I opened an account with Scottrade, and passed my pile of money over to them. I’ve been holding stocks for a week at the most, waiting until I get an acceptable gain, then selling. I made 4% during the month of September, which is more than good enough for me. If I can keep that up, I’ll be well ahead of the interest on my loans, and making a bit of money for myself. However, it’s worth noting that September was an especially good month for the stock market, and I probably did rather poorly considering that. But if I can keep up a modest gain, I’ll be saving money on my loans and keeping myself occupied.
    All good things.