Project day, again

January's project was to build Adirondack chairs. In 2015, N and I put together kits, but this time we were building them from scratch, using an existing chair as a template. I have the most awesome basement workshop for projects. It's large and empty, with lots of pegboards and workbenches. N brought over his table saw, and together with my miter and jig saws, we had lots of different ways to cut up wood.

Today the N&S family came back for a bonus project day, and we sanded, drilled, and assembled.

N&S took two of the chairs home, and I'll keep one. This means I can now have a campfire or morning coffee outside with a friend, but only one friend. If I want to have more friends, I'll have to build more chairs.

Visits to Ohio

     I've been traveling to Ohio often in the last few months so that I can spend time with my dad. This is particularly important to me right now so that I could accompany him for a few of his radiation treatments. Since work is busy right now, I arranged two shorter trips this month. I got back to DC last night, and I'll leave again in six days.
     Each weekday, my dad goes for treatment.. The hospital is 60 miles away, so the entire trip takes at least four hours each day. Most days, someone goes with him, mainly to keep him company on the trip. My father still has lots of energy, so after the two visits I went on, he headed out to a class or meet-up. I was exhausted from all the socializing he does, although I'm pretty he sure he thrives on it.
     So how does my family spend time together? We diagnosed and fixed another problem on my car (bad wheel bearings), argued about the state of modern science and medicine, started cutting out pieces for a vintage bathrobe, and did a marinara sauce tasting. That last one was my idea - my father had purchased different sauces so he could figure out whether the "expensive" sauces were worth it. I was convinced he wouldn't be able to spot the differences if he ate them over the course of several months, so I arranged a blind tasting. My parents agreed on which two were there favorites, and as payment I took home the two jars they liked the least. For my American readers, Classico Tomato Basil, the mid-priced contestant, was the winner,

Wine and a short whine

     I manage a project that runs 10 simultaneous conferences every January. I always attend one, and so this weekend I was Hamilton, near Toronto. Other people do the heavy lifting of organizing and running the thing, but there's still enough for me to do. On Sunday morning, in the span of three hours, I gave a plenary talk, sat on a panel, and ran a workshop. Events like these are absolutely the hardest part of my job for me. I'm actually pretty good at talking in front of people - I'm organized, my slides contain the right amount of information, my talks are super interactive, and people laugh at my jokes. (I hope, of course, that they also learn something.) But I really hate it. I usually manage about five hours of sleep the night before, and then I'm wiped out for several days afterwards.
     Today I flew home and tried to make myself rest by not working on any house projects. Instead, I decided to take a trip to the wine superstore. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, so when I go, I stock up on a six-month supply. Alas, the two-hour errand turned into three when I remembered that I had left my wallet in my other coat, which was still hanging on the coat tree at home. I will not let a mere trifle like that come between me and my wine, so I drive home, fetched the wallet, and then drove back to complete the purchase. Those of you who visit me between now and July can appreciate my efforts when sharing a glass with me

Christmas Recap

Here's a quick look back on my Christmas holiday in Ohio before I forget everything. My brother and his family came from California and we all had three days celebration together.

Everyone else rides motor vehicles as part of their Christmas celebrations, right? My niece, on the left, is posing with a four-wheeler, but my father was riding with her. Of course, there's a small, kid-sized four-wheeler that they can drive themselves.

Ada received many gifts. I wonder if she even remembers what it was like to survive on the streets of Miami.

Dinner was individual Beef Wellingtons and a Buche de Noel. I loved the Beef Wellington recipe, which could be assembled the day before. The individual puff pastry packets had so many delicious fillings (cheese, fresh spinach, caramelized onions, and portabella mushrooms), that I simply left the beef out of mine and it was still amazing.

The kids were entranced with the idea that mushrooms could be made of candy (i.e. meringue).

The kids decided to throw a tea party, with the good "crystal" and the fancy tea set. We were all invited, and it was very exclusive - you couldn't get in without presenting your written invitation.

I also used the Christmas break as a training exercise. I realized that I've been using "Renee Michelle" as my first name for over 15 years, and there were still members of my family that hadn't caught on. I'm happy to give a pass to relatives and friends who see me rarely, but the rest of my immediate family needed to figure this out. For three days, I either turned away or didn't acknowledge comments addressed to "Renee". If needed, I'd follow up with "Who is this Renee?" I tried to express lots of appreciation when they got my name right. Soon other family members were helping remind each other. I understand that it con be annoying when someone arbitrarily changes their nomenclature, so a big shout-out to my family for playing along so well.

Fixing things with physics

     This week I managed to fix something all by myself. That is, the internet helped, but for once I didn't need to ask my father. My microwave started arcing - a scary sight, I'll admit. I thought I'd have to replace the entire appliance, but some googling suggested that this can happen when an interior part (the waveguide cover, to be precise) is damaged and the sharp edges cause sparks. Although I could have ordered a replacement part, that would have been expensive. Instead, I found that you could buy sheets of mica, sold for exactly this purpose, that could be trimmed down to the exact size of cover needed by your microwave. Two days later, with some careful cutting and installation, I have a microwave that is working great. Cue the increase in self efficacy. Of course, I've felt kindly towards microwaves ever since I successfully explained how they work during my oral qualifying exam.
     The car, on the other hand, has been a drag on my happiness level. After many phone calls with my father, extensive consultations with online tire suppliers, calls to local junkyards and mechanics, I think I have a solution to my busted wheels. I first had to learn the difference between a wheel and a tire. Then I had to learn what size tire I had. (Do you know how to read the gibberish 180/ 60-R 15? Because now I can decipher that.) Then I had to figure out if anything could be repaired rather than replaced (Answer: the front wheel and tire need to be replaced but the back wheel and tire may be partially salvageable. I had to determine what kind of wheel I had (Answer: steel.) and what kinds they sold (Answer: mainly aluminum.) and learn about why no one would sell me a steel wheel, and also why I wasn't allowed to have both steel and aluminum wheels on my car at the same time, although I can choose either one as long as all four wheels match. Actually, I'm still not clear on that last one: the physics-y answer is that the moment of inertia of steel and aluminum are different, but I don't really understand how and when the differing moments of inertia will become a serious problem in car handling.

The world is actually doing pretty well

As an counterpoint to the general doom and gloom about 2016, my uncle wrote in a recent post that 2016 was actually a pretty good year when he looked at immediate surroundings. He's right that we need to take a long-term view. Since I'm a person likes to believe what the data tell me, this blog post filled me with optimism. If we look at the past two centuries, the world is richer, more literate, healthier, more democratic, and more educated. By a lot. From the big picture perspective, I sure am lucky to be living in this century, where I am well-fed, well-educated, and healthy.

Tires

     When I was visiting my parents list week, my dad and I were discussing my car. We determined that I've been neglecting my tires. I got new ones 18 months ago, but hadn't kept up with the rotation and alignment schedule. Trying to be a good (well, less lackadaisical) car owner, I made an appointment right away and took care of both of those services this afternoon. Three hours after that, I was driving down a rainy, dark road and mistook a curb for a painted turn lane. Boom and crash, I need two new tires, two rims, and a new alignment. Sigh...
     It could have been worse. I had my friend N with me, and he's stronger, so he could get the lug nuts off. It was raining and cold, but it wasn't raining that hard. I reaffirmed that I know how to change my tire, and only one tire went instantly flat (convenient because there's only one spare, of course). Still, I'm kicking myself a bit.