loopy

I’m not sure where else best to post this, so please direct me if there is somewhere more appropriate.

I’m looking at getting cable again and still have a DOCSIS 3.0 modem. It looks like the biggest limiting factor is the speed but there are other mentions of “improved latecy and power comsumption.” If I’m not get a speed that exceeds 1Gbps, is the latency that much better for $160? I game a little online but hadnt noticed an issue in the past.

For that matter, is an AC wireless router is fine? The AX or Wifi 6 looked neat, but I’m just not sure the benfits are worth the cost. Any input is appreciated.

I’ve been using Express and had a great experience so far, but I may want to try a Proton subscription for cloud space and more emails. It also comes with a VPN service but I’m a little leary on trying something new. Any thoughts on Proton VPN?

I like the idea of a less profit-driven business that is maybe more community-focused but I wonder if they have the same capability as a bank? Have you been able to do your banking needs at a credit union? Was the customer service decent?

I made a low Roman bench out of a piece of bowling alley that was being trashed and some old fence posts. I fitted the legs with slanted mortise and tenon joints and realized that was a lot of work, so I did the other side with bored out round mortise and tenons, which was somewhat easier. There is a notch in place of a full vice, and I mad e a “crochet hook” attachment for wedging up large boards for edge planing, but it split so I’ll need to figure out a different grain direction.

More pics:

• square mortise
• round mortise
• wooden bench dog
• notch vise
• round mortise needed a peg
• crochet hook

I also made a new joiners mallet. My other one’s handle broke because it was pretty soft. The head is a chunk of 3” thick red maple that I’ll use to make my full-sized bench top, and the handle is something dense (oak?). I had to slim down the end of the handle so it would fit through the head. I cut the curve of the handle by cross-cutting lines and then chunking them off with a hatchet and smoothing it off with a spokeshave.

I didnt have an actual mortise chisel, so I essentially had to chisel out the whole mortise. I plan to go back and clean up the fit a little better and smooth out the edges later. I’ll use both of these to make a larger bench to work with, and use the Roman bench as a sawhorse.

Pics:

• joiners mallet
• head
• handle
• starting handle
• smoothing handle
• starting head
• making handle smaller to fit
• cleaning out head

According to the state’s historical society, Jacques Marquette first described the region in 1673. The cursive M was later misread as a W by Rene Robert Cavelier.

The meaning of the word was discussed:

However, the hypothesized meanings were derived incorrectly from the Ojibwe language, not Miami, because the latter had not yet been mastered by modern scholars.

Another possible origin for Wisconsin's name was mentioned to WPR in 2019 by University of Wisconsin-Green Bay elder in residence and member of the Menominee tribe, Napos. He said he "was always told the name came from the Menominee word 'Wēskōhsaeh.'"

The first part of that word come from the word "Wis-cu," which Napos told WPR means "something good." The ending of "Wēskōhsaeh" is locative, meaning "'a good place to camp,' or 'to make a clearing' or 'to basically live.'"

I mentioned to someone how I think there should be more hands-on learning in schools and he told me to look up Waldorf schools. Very interesting to say the least. Rudolf Steiner had very unique philosophies, some very weird or outright morally questionable, but some that I think were an appropriate reaction to the “thinking in the box” that is often dolled out in school.

The parts I agree with are that kids are taught engagement with crafts (eg, carving), music and creativity, an inquisitive exploration (reminds me of the Socratic approach), and an adaptive progression of subject matter that is based on the students’ individual levels. It reminds me a lot of the origins of the liberal arts being the skills a free person needed to engage the world, which included music and logic/rhetoric.

The parts I don’t really agree with are the pseudo-spirituality, the pseudo-science, and the racist parts of Steiner’s theory. I think I would need to do a thorough investigation of the specific school before I would consider sending my student there, but the philosophy definitely seems to meet some needs of students that are otherwise under-developed in the current school systems.

What are your thoughts?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/32338762

…or at least only non-romantic love. I’m learning about history of western philosophy and understand that Plato’s Symposium describes his theory on love and that a person initially desires physical love, but then eventually grows to love things that feel fulfilling, and eventually love the ideal form of beauty itself. It seems like more of a spectrum/progression that includes romantic/physical love, not abstaining from it. “Platonic love” would seem to include physical love and doesn’t seem consistent with the dictionary definition of “friendship love.”

Any thoughts on that?

I would like to eventually begin growing my own food and herbs. Do any of you have good book recommendations for growing food, herbs, or possibly herbal medicine?

I know there are a million options, so a few places to start would be really helpful. I want to start with herbs in a raised planter. I’m in the midwest US, so I’ll bring the herbs into an indoor greenhouse cabinet during the winter.

The larger scale of trying to eat only my own vegetables and maybe chickens/goats would likely be in the distant future.

I made a joiners mallet. I’m trying to challenge myself by only hand tools. The wood was found in the basement; I think hickory head and I have no idea what the handle pieces are. The handle and head were each laminated and the handle was mortised in, wedged, and glued. I rounded out the handle with a spokeshave and rasp.

There are plenty of things I could have done differently, but I’m just glad I pushed myself to finish it. And now have a fairly heavy-duty mallet, so I dont need to swing on the chisels as hard. I think if I were to make another one, I would find a single block of wood for the head instead of laminating cut pieces.

I would like to wood burn some designs into a nightstand but may want to add more burning down the road, after I coat it with shellac. From what I could gather, people mentioned to only burn and then seal, otherwise the burning after the shellac could cause issues, like releasing inhalants. Is that really an issue with shellac since it is “natural”?

I can’t tell if I’m sharpening incorrectly or if my file is just worn out. Is there a way to tell? I read somewhere to replace after like five sharpening a but that seems really short.

I recently started learning hand tool woodworking and won’t shut up about it haha. I found a few books and channels that are helpful and feel real. The more I do it, the more it’s apparent to me that many things around me are just distractions. It’s really nice to unplug from everything and make some things or practice using/sharpening my tools. Those little moments when something clicks feel weirdly fulfilling.

What do you all enjoy doing? Have you found any new passions? What do you like about it?