Started writing this post at the end of October, last year, with the intent to do little entries leading up to the year’s close. Reading through it all, I can tell I was tired - in all the ways. The main takeaway from those five entries is that all of the projects discussed are still ongoing (and had been for a while), but the process was feeding and bleeding into each one in a batchy kind of way.

A while ago I learned about something called the “Zeigarnik Effect”, named after it’s creator Bluma Zeigarnik. I discovered it in the form of one of those inspirational-style posters while scrolling on Pinterest, and it came at a time where I was dealing some kind(s) of stuckness because of how much I resonated with the idea. I’d found a word to relate to the feeling. I like to think about it as a kind of blockage comprised of everything set in motion, or tripping over boxes I’ve placed “I’ll deal with it later” invisibility cloaks to visually “declutter” a space. Out of sight, out of mind - but they’re still in the way.

Been a while since I made a blog post having pulled back for a variety of reasons. Even as I was creating this entry it occurred to me again how draining and contrived it felt to concept these things and practice restraint, make sure I’m projecting an “acceptable” image, create and upload free models to link and keep the analytics active etc.

But it also wasn’t the case of taking a social media break to reset. In fact, I think I’ve been more active online in the past 8 months. Taking stock of all my routines - planned, daily, the things in-between - and experimenting with taking breaks (even when I needed to soldier through it) posed new and old questions, over and over, and all over again.

I got to learn my modest way around geometry nodes while developing HEXES Mini Pack 04: Electronic Devices. I started work on it in January and was having trouble deciding how many to produce and the style to make them in. Using geonodes made it feel more flexible and user-friendly. The first project was Sensor 21, based on an air quality dataset I explored for a portfolio project.

I made the above walkthrough video to show my process for the antenna. Used Kdentlive for the first time and there are things about it I made the switch from Da Vinci Resolve easier - the interface is simpler, and some features are easier to access.

Might just be the combination of things I’ve been focusing on lately, but finding a good fit is shifting more and more. So much changes in a month that the draft 2 weeks is so different to the draft of the night before. Found a way to make the data explorations more interesting while also getting to make new stuff as well as following through with older ideas. Nothing goes to waste. This will also let me get more content on LinkedIn.

Things are relatively quiet. Regular exercise and mindful eating. The Printer Challenge is still going along with the data exploration exercises. Happy with how the portfolio is shaping up.

This website is an example of something I look forward to looking back on in months (and years) to come and be able so see how it slowly solidified - like examining the rings of a tree trunk with the passage of time (after you chop it down…?…).

The past few days really drove home how much of a break I need. That coupled with the growing pains of using Linux was what really shifted the last two months by a few gears. It did, though, have surprising benefits.

Started a “Prusa Printer Challenge” for myself in 2023» as a way of turning free content into a new tool for the business. The contests on Printables are fun incentives to create - and be creative.

A year ago I created the Nutvember kitbashing set of nuts and bolts to… celebrate(?) No Nut November (NNN). Also known as Movember it was something I’d been casually familiar with and I wanted to change that.

Read some papers, some very old and others recent. Masturbation is what I read the most on because I wanted to find conversations on the act that weren’t focused on the psycho-sexual parts explored by the Freuds or the Kinseys. It ultimately came down to education, conventional and/or specifically sex.

These blog posts started out with the purpose of covering what I thought were things worth sharing and, in a sense, backing-up some experiences to revisit. The episode where Terry (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) resolves to leave the force, but is persuaded otherwise by Holt. Later episodes made a theme of it and it re-framed the relationship dynamics for me. When I look back I see a lot of it in my own life on both sides and it’s given me a lot of pause recently, making some obvious decisions/commitments difficult.

There was a theme and set of topics set for this month that had to be scrapped,

so this post will touch on some other stuff to keep the monthly train going - and hopefully let off some real steam on the outside.

Got back into reading for the habit more than the learning. I try to do it first thing everyday while it’s still dark. It sets such a good tone for the day.The tone doesn’t last long, but it’s a break. So many things just suck, but the culture says no complaining - good/thankful vibes only.

Burnout isn’t the only reason I stopped making artwork for a while. I also realised I’d been, for the longest time, guilty of only doing works that would be seen. Practice was meaningless if it would only be seen by me, if it wouldn’t eventually be sent out to get hearts and likes. Sad, but mostly true. It’s a weird thing to tackle, but the thing that helped me the most was to commit to daily routines of producing/exploring with the intent of doing the same thing better over time.

Getting the Ball Rolling

One of the things I got out of completing the Data Analytics certification was being introduced to R and RStudio. I’ve since learned how to build a site using RStudio. This is the result so far and I’m currently filling it out daily till I get it to a level of completeness that covers what I can display.

The Learning Process

Early on I was fortunate enough to find CradleToGraveR’s channel on YouTube where he does an amazing job at walking you through the steps and also showing you other routes in case you run into some trouble - which I did on many occasions.