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| -rw-r--r-- | blog.html | 146 |
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@@ -42,35 +42,100 @@ <h1>Blog</h1>
<p>A collection of thoughts, life updates, projects, and images in chronological order.</p>
<hr />
- <h2>Spring Break - Day 5</h2>
+ <h2>Spring Break - Day 7</h2>
+ <p>It's spring break this week, and seeing as there are lots of things planned, I figured I'd jot down the main points each day.</p>
+ <p>Today was more LEGO in the morning. One of my friends headed home to Michigan and my other friend and I worked on some more Star Wars sets. Progress was steady, and by Lunch we had about 7 sets made including what we worked on the nigh before.</p>
+ <p>Later that day, I got fitted for a suit for the first time. I'm very excited. Since I'm tall and pretty skinny, stuff never fits from the store. Everything is either too baggy or too short in the arms and legs. Having a suit I can have for events and networking is something that's more important now that we attend networking events, but it was expensive, so I definitely understand why that's not something you up and do normally.</p>
+ <p>After, we had dinner with my mom, and headed back for more LEGO building.</p>
+ <p>By the end of the night, we got 8 sets pretty much fully completed.</p>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D7/Finished-sets_1000.jpg" alt="Completed sets lined up on the floor." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D7/Finished-sets-2_1000.jpg" alt="Completed sets lined up on the floor, second shot." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Finished sets.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p>I'm super happy with it. There's some missing and broken pieces on some, which is unfortunate, but everything's a lot more organized now, so I can get right back into building whenever an not have to re-sort stuff.</p>
+ <p>Tomorrow'll be a busy day, as it's the last full day we have here. There's an oil change to do, grandparents to visit, homework, and random housekeeping tasks. We'll see how it goes.</p>
+ <p><b>Created:</b> 2024-03-09</p>
+ <hr />
+ <h2>Spring Break - Day 6</h2>
<p>It's spring break this week, and seeing as there are lots of things planned, I figured I'd jot down the main points each day.</p>
- <p>Today, the goal was to swap the front struts on my dad's truck. The front end needed to be lifted to fit the new, used wheels my dad got for relatively cheap, so we set off in the morning to get started.</p>
- <p>By noon, we almost had the struts out, but were slowed by rusted bolts. We headed to my grandparents' for lunch and to see them since I was back for the week. After a nice meal, we walked around their field for a bit...</p>
+ <p>Today was the "final" day on the truck. We headed out and got the nuts installed for the struts and the rear wheels installed. I also tried heating up the bent plastic fender liner to keep it from catching on the tread, but it just ended up catching again later. I just need to deal with that and change the oil, and it'll be set for the trip back.</p>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D6/Packed_1000.jpg" alt="Jeep CJ-7, Volvo 244, Mazda MX-5, and Chevrolet Silverado lined up in the driveway." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Ready to depart.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p>In the meantime, we packed up and headed to Milwaukee to drop off Ángel and meet up with another friend to grab lunch at <a href="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Crave</a> burgers and <a href="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kopps Frozen Custard</a>, both great places to eat if you're ever in Milwaukee. Each Kopps location has a different achitecture theme going on with the building which is fun to experience.</p>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D6/Kopps_1000.jpg" alt="Large sculpture of a sppon and cherry inside of Kopps." width="750" height="1000" />
+ <figcaption>Sculpture inside Kopps.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D6/Cows-at-Kopps_1000.jpg" alt="Ángel photographing the cow statues at Kopps." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Cows out back.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p><b>Side note:</b> Saw a cool old Corvair while walking around.</p>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D6/Corvair_1000.jpg" alt="Chevrolet Corvair in teal." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Corvair spotting.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p>Afterwards, we stopped by my other friend's appartment and saw his cat, Jack, for a bit before heading back home for the day.</p>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D6/Jack_1000.jpg" alt="Jack the cat stalking a lazer pointer." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Jack.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p>When we got back home we broke out the LEGO. I have been wanting to reassemble all of my LEGO sets, but just haven't had the motivation since it's a big task, but being at school and reminicing with friends about which sets we have rekindled my desire to get everything rebuilt. Plus, having two other people makes things go a lot faster, especially when they're just as excited and motivated to see the completed sets.</p>
+ <figure>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D6/LEGOs_1000.jpg" alt="LEGO and action figures spread out across the livingroom floor." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>LEGO everywhere.</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p>By about 3 AM, we made some good progress and finished about 5 sets. Some were missing one or two pieces, and there were some instances of the infamous fragility of brown and maroon LEGO bricks showing itself in the form of fractured pieces. You can contact LEGO to get broken pieces replaced, so I'll be doing that once we're done for the break.</p>
+ <p>It was a very fun time though. Three friends with some music, a box of LEGOs, and motivation to see as many completed sets as possible by the end of the night is a great experience. I'd highly recommend. Might be a fun yearly event, rotating which house everyone goes to.</p>
+ <p><b>Created:</b> 2024-03-09</p>
+ <hr />
+ <h2>Spring Break - Day 5</h2>
+ <p>It's spring break this week, and seeing as there are lots of things planned, I figured I'd jot down the main
+ points each day.</p>
+ <p>Today, the goal was to swap the front struts on my dad's truck. The front end needed to be lifted to fit the
+ new, used wheels my dad got for relatively cheap, so we set off in the morning to get started.</p>
+ <p>By noon, we almost had the struts out, but were slowed by rusted bolts. We headed to my grandparents' for lunch
+ and to see them since I was back for the week. After a nice meal, we walked around their field for a bit...</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Field_1000.jpg" alt="Field in Wisconsin." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Field.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Field.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>...and saw some really old LEGO boxes in the basement.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/SB-D5/LEGO_1000.jpg" alt="Old LEGO box in a bag." width="750" height="1000" />
- <figcaption>Old LEGO box.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Old LEGO box.</figcaption>
</figure>
- <p>Lunch was over, and it was time to get to work. It took the rest of the afternoon and evening to get the struts installed and the wheels test fit.</p>
+ <p>Lunch was over, and it was time to get to work. It took the rest of the afternoon and evening to get the struts
+ installed and the wheels test fit.</p>
<figure>
- <img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Engine-bay_1000.jpg" alt="Ben looking at engine bay while standing on tire in front of the truck." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Looking in the engine bay.</a></figcaption>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Engine-bay_1000.jpg"
+ alt="Ben looking at engine bay while standing on tire in front of the truck." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Looking in the engine bay.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
- <img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Wheel-well_1000.jpg" alt="Me in the wheel well fitting the strut." width="750" height="1000" />
- <figcaption>Fitting the new strut.</a></figcaption>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Wheel-well_1000.jpg" alt="Me in the wheel well fitting the strut." width="750"
+ height="1000" />
+ <figcaption>Fitting the new strut.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
- <img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Side_1000.jpg" alt="Side of the truck with new wheels fitted up front and original wheels in back." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Finished(ish).</a></figcaption>
- </figure>
- <p>The last thing needed are the nuts that hold the struts to the tower and to swap the rear wheels. The lift spacer makes using the old nuts impossibe, so we'll run to the store in the morning to get new ones. But we were able to test it, and it does mostly clear now, so I should be able to take it back to Detroit. I'm pretty happy about that because being car-less in Detroit is pretty frustrating. Maybe I can also bring the RX50 back if the parts come in before Sunday...</p>
- <p>With that mostly out of the way, we had dinner and headed back to my mom's for the night. I tried messing with some computer stuff, but it didn't go too well, and I was tired, so I started writting this post. The computer stuff can wait for tomorrow and Friday.</p>
- <p>Our next adventure includes bringing Ángel back to Milwaukee with the truck once it's fixed. We'll see what else happens the rest of the day. There's plenty to do.</p>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D5/Side_1000.jpg"
+ alt="Side of the truck with new wheels fitted up front and original wheels in back." width="1000"
+ height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Finished(ish).</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ <p>The last thing needed are the nuts that hold the struts to the tower and to swap the rear wheels. The lift
+ spacer makes using the old nuts impossibe, so we'll run to the store in the morning to get new ones. But we were
+ able to test it, and it does mostly clear now, so I should be able to take it back to Detroit. I'm pretty happy
+ about that because being car-less in Detroit is pretty frustrating. Maybe I can also bring the RX50 back if the
+ parts come in before Sunday...</p>
+ <p>With that mostly out of the way, we had dinner and headed back to my mom's for the night. I tried messing with
+ some computer stuff, but it didn't go too well, and I was tired, so I started writting this post. The computer
+ stuff can wait for tomorrow and Friday.</p>
+ <p>Our next adventure includes bringing Ángel back to Milwaukee with the truck once it's fixed. We'll see what
+ else happens the rest of the day. There's plenty to do.</p>
<p><b>Created:</b> 2024-03-06</p>
<hr />
<h2>Spring Break - Day 4</h2>
@@ -80,33 +145,44 @@ <figure>
<img src="./static/media/SB-D4/Before-Hair_1000.jpg" alt="Me with longer hair, before my haircut." width="750"
height="1000" />
- <figcaption>Before.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Before.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/SB-D4/After-Hair_1000.jpg" alt="Me sitting in the Jeep after the haircut." width="750"
height="1000" />
- <figcaption>After.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>After.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the way out, I noticed a red Willys parked next to me.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/SB-D4/Jeep-Friend_1000.jpg"
alt="Newer Jeep Willys parked next to my CJ-7 at the barber shop." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Jeep sighting.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Jeep sighting.</figcaption>
</figure>
- <p>We had a big adventure planned, pick up Ángel from Milwaukee, and I hoped to take the CJ-7. I've been trying to figure out the ignition, and narrowed it down to the ignition switch, so I picked it up from the parts store and installed it. In typical fashion, it wasn't the problem and didn't solve anything... tomorrow I'll actually break out the continuity tester that I should have done almost a year ago and track down the culprit, but right now, I didn't have the time. We took off as it was with a very janky bypass wire for the ignition coil and my friend in his Miata as a backup car.</p>
- <p>We kept off the interstate, so the drive took forty minutes longer than normal, but we did make it, albiet with a singed connector.</p>
+ <p>We had a big adventure planned, pick up Ángel from Milwaukee, and I hoped to take the CJ-7. I've been trying to
+ figure out the ignition, and narrowed it down to the ignition switch, so I picked it up from the parts store and
+ installed it. In typical fashion, it wasn't the problem and didn't solve anything... tomorrow I'll actually
+ break out the continuity tester that I should have done almost a year ago and track down the culprit, but right
+ now, I didn't have the time. We took off as it was with a very janky bypass wire for the ignition coil and my
+ friend in his Miata as a backup car.</p>
+ <p>We kept off the interstate, so the drive took forty minutes longer than normal, but we did make it, albiet with
+ a singed connector.</p>
<figure>
- <img src="./static/media/SB-D4/Jeep-Museum_1000.jpg" alt="Jeep CJ-7 and Mazda MX-5 in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Made it to Milwaukee.</a></figcaption>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D4/Jeep-Museum_1000.jpg"
+ alt="Jeep CJ-7 and Mazda MX-5 in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum." width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Made it to Milwaukee.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, it went really well. If I fix the ignition wire, I'd be pretty comfortable going long distances.</p>
- <p>We stopped for lunch at <a href="https://cafehollander.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Café Hollander</a> north of downtown and started the long drive back. After a few close encounters with traffic, we made it out of the city limits and cruised back home.</p>
+ <p>We stopped for lunch at <a href="https://cafehollander.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Café
+ Hollander</a> north of downtown and started the long drive back. After a few close encounters with traffic, we
+ made it out of the city limits and cruised back home.</p>
<p>Tired, we hung out for bit before starting up the movie "Bullitt."</p>
<figure>
- <img src="./static/media/SB-D4/Bullitt_1000.jpg" alt="Movie cover for the 1968 action/crime movie 'Bullitt'." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Bullitt.</a></figcaption>
+ <img src="./static/media/SB-D4/Bullitt_1000.jpg" alt="Movie cover for the 1968 action/crime movie 'Bullitt'."
+ width="1000" height="750" />
+ <figcaption>Bullitt.</figcaption>
</figure>
- <p>Tomorrow, we're going to try and swap some suspension components on my dad's truck, so I can actually have something to drive back to Detroit. We'll see how it goes.</p>
+ <p>Tomorrow, we're going to try and swap some suspension components on my dad's truck, so I can actually have
+ something to drive back to Detroit. We'll see how it goes.</p>
<p><b>Created:</b> 2024-03-05</p>
<hr />
<h2>Spring Break - Day 3</h2>
@@ -117,37 +193,37 @@ <figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Backpack_1000.jpg"
alt="Packed bags for roadtrip. Two backpacks, a drawstring bag, and a coat." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Packed bags.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Packed bags.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We got everything packed and left around 10:00am.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Start_1000.jpg"
alt="Ben and Rex in front of their cars, a 1989 Volvo 250 Sedan and 1997 Mazda MX-5." width="1000"
height="750" />
- <figcaption>Ben and Rex.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Ben and Rex.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Stoping for gas an and errand run, we finally hit the road for real around 11:00am.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Road_1000.jpg" alt="Volvo from view of the Miata." width="1000"
height="750" />
- <figcaption>Detroit I-96.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Detroit I-96.</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Bridge_1000.jpg" alt="Bridge along I-96." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Bridge, Michigan I-96.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Bridge, Michigan I-96.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We made it to Wisconsin by 5:00pm. Just in time for the huge storm passing through. There were some tornado
warnings for towns a bit north of where we were headed, and we got a decent chunck of that storm, with hail,
wind, and heavy rain.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Rain_1000.jpg" alt="Rain in Lake Geneva, WI." width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>Rain.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Rain.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Luckily the rain died down a bit, and we made it to dinner with my dad.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Dinner_1000.jpg" alt="Sitting at the dinner table." width="1000"
height="750" />
- <figcaption>Waiting for dinner.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>Waiting for dinner.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We got back to my mom's around 7:30, and I pulled out the CJ-7. I really just needed to drive something and was
eager to pull it out of the garage. We cruised around town for a bit and stopped by the bay before heading back
@@ -155,14 +231,14 @@ <figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/Jeep_1000.jpg" alt="1985 Jeep CJ-7 by Williams Bay waterfront."
width="1000" height="750" />
- <figcaption>My CJ-7 (first start since the beginning of the school year).</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>My CJ-7 (first start since the beginning of the school year).</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I finally was able to set up my subwoofer I got from another friend a while back, so we spend the rest of the
night testing it out.</p>
<figure>
<img src="./static/media/WI_Roadtrip/TV_1000.jpg" alt="Stereo setup with sub and TV." width="1000"
height="750" />
- <figcaption>The AV setup.</a></figcaption>
+ <figcaption>The AV setup.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, it's been another great day. Lots of plans for tomorrow, including a haircut and picking up Ángel from
Milwaukee.</p>
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