Fall 2023

[NewTricks]

A day trip to an Amish "Farm & Craft Market" looked good & sounded like my kind of place~especially the craft part. Getting there: 29 miles of rolling hills through well marked paved country roads. Deep blue skies with lovely white clouds. Bright sunshine, idyllic settings.

My destination was 6 miles outside of a town where I took music lessons in a  high school as a pre-teen. Hid nervously upstairs when a sheriff came by our cottage to investigate "kids" making a racket by throwing rocks at a float nearby. "But, it was my brother!" Played tennis at college courts and went horseback riding in the hills. 

Suddenly acres of green grass were spoiled by rows & rows of parked cars-in triple digits!

It was not a "market", but a complex which contained buildings arranged in groups, patrolled by uniformed security.  😟 very much like a strip mall set in a cow pasture.

I braved the crowds & ventured into 4 buildings, bought a winter hat, rolling pin, carrot cake & sticker. Women wore white lace hair caps,  plain solid colored dresses covered by white aprons. Men wore black hats, plaid shirts with black pants. Child labor was abundant. 

Predictably, there was no WiFi or hotspot access. 

Two hours later, I took the long way home, but kept my city/highway mpg in target range. 

The photos below are handmade quilts which are part of the 'craft' allure.

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by NewTricks
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[AdvancedSetup]

Yes, Quilting is BIG in some parts of the country.

Sad to hear of the concrete jungle you had to encounter though

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Here is a quilt one of my daughters made a couple years ago

She also made a pouch to hold it in

The quilt is lying on a California King size bed to give some reference to the size. It does not reach the sides but is pretty big for quilt

 

Pouch

 

Side 1

 

Side 2

 

 

 

 

[NewTricks]

12 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

a quilt one of my daughters made

Impressive skills and beautifully done! Fleece on one side, cotton on the other. That never occurred to me. All points are crisp and matched, triangles (small and large) are tricky and she executed perfectly. Small border squares are creative and the gray really makes those colors stand out. It's an heirloom for the family.

This is a massive amount of work- which shows tenacity and commitment. Quilters are like that. Glad you have one in your family.

[NewTricks]

Before (Cartography) and After GIS mapping.
 

I chose cartography in (my first attempt at) college. In my work 15 years ago, I used GIS maps to show acreage which included multiple counties in the Adirondack Park. The feather in my cap was constructing a composite which International Paper wanted to acquire. Now, finally I'm going to learn the real thing, with all current software, which I'll be able to access for 1 year. Glory fades but learning goes on.

My professor describes herself as a "math nerd" with interests in Fortran (when it was a thing.) She mapped Onondaga Lake to determine the effects of toxic waste on the fish-before having powerful computer models. I took environmental conservation with her last fall. If I could turn back the clock, I'd start over and wear my waders, take samples and have fun, all while wearing plaid flannel shirts, overalls and driving a real truck! ☺️

[AdvancedSetup]

Quite an area of study. 👍

[NewTricks]

Yes! "Meaty", scary, complex, digital. (help!) Still, I'm confident because the formula for success is: attend class, complete assignments. The clue is, you complete the assignments IN class where there's one-on-one instructor presence.  I can do that. 

Small administrative glitch prevented me from accessing our 'learning platform' called Brightspace, so had to put in an IT request & wait 4 hours. Here's a nice view of the campus front lawn. NewTricks' white vehicle is right side. 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by NewTricks
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[AdvancedSetup]

Yep, I was lucky enough to have an instructor stay late at night to help me with some advanced Calculus for Electronics when studying some laser theoretical content.

 

[NewTricks]

I can't imagine calculus for electronics, regardless of the application or theory. A lifesaver for sure. 

Requested a loaner laptop from school for this semester. The Chromebook won't cut it and was merely a stop gap purchase.  Only Day 2 and now diving into file name extensions. (assume the pose and slowly breathe in, slowly breathe out) 

File name rules in ArcGIS: no spaces, no special characters except underscore, abbreviate to make short as possible

Edited August 30, 2023 by NewTricks
additional info

[NewTricks]

Coleus, begonias and green sweet potato leaves.

[NewTricks]

Class notes today: a/k/a The Honeymoon Period

We were offered a "Guided Tutorial on Basic Computer Skills Check-up"

• Points being that the laptop must be shut down, (wait for it to shut down!) put it in the cart and THEN plug in the charging cord. Ai yi yi🙄
• What the Windows START button looks like, and it's function.
• Mousercise
• File Extensions, Paths, Storage and Naming

Cautioned against being a "Clicky Clickerton" a person who clicks rapidly without thought due to frustration 🤣  I got one wrong on the quiz for not knowing that a double backward slash is reserved for web files. 👎

I figured out why I liked the Chromebook "way back when" in 2020. The touchpad is integrated with mouse functions. And for a person who never used or liked laptops, that was a BIG, BIG deal. Just typing this is SO Retro! It's OK to laugh. I am.

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.🏠

[NewTricks]

I've got the tools, motivation and time, and one previous success. A new hire in maintenance is willing to rescue if I botch it. It's nice to have a safety net.

Depending on who answers the building requests, it could be drain cleaner or a plunger. I want a more permanent fix, so will do it myself.

Edited August 31, 2023 by NewTricks
format

[AdvancedSetup]

It's not too difficult to take apart in general but some locations can be harder to reach than others.

These two videos show how to do as well

How to Clean Out a Sink Pop-up Drain Stopper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSwJpHy4LOQ

How to Unclog a Sink -- The Right Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hySkwXMn0pA

 

[NewTricks]

🎉@AdvancedSetup 🎉 woo hooo, nice selections that answered a question and prodded me to go the whole nine yards. I didn't want to even look in the trap, or take it off. 💝felt thanks for your consistent caring.

Ended up with this small orphan part. Could be something that went down the drain, I'm hoping it wasn't part of some internal mechanism. The water flows well and I'm good for about 6 months. I'll bookmark the links in any case.

[AdvancedSetup]

I don't recognize it right off hand. It looks as though it could have connected to some rod or other object as the insert ball area looks like it might snap onto something.

Perhaps one of the other members might recognize it

 

[NewTricks]

I've saved it, just in case, but can't imagine how it might be reattached. So happy to have a nice clear sink about months of pooling water. It was so simple, I didn't even use tools.

The bike tires below astounded me, I know they're "off-road" and looks like thoroughly enjoyed! Crazy! 🙃

[AdvancedSetup]

Plumber of the day award

[NewTricks]

Thank you, I DO feel EMPOWERED!

[NewTricks]

Genesee river rider on Raleigh bike.

[AdvancedSetup]

Ride on over and meet up with David for lunch in NJ 😄

[NewTricks]

My exact plan! How'd you guess?

[NewTricks]

Some flora before I go

[AdvancedSetup]

Fauna-tastic

 

[NewTricks]

From an orientation program Friday afternoon at a school Field Station, a couple miles south of Honeoye Lake.

Edited September 2, 2023 by NewTricks
jpeg additions

[AdvancedSetup]

Good images.