If you live in TX and have solar, I've built a plan calculator and am sharing it for free. I'm going to save $1k next year.

julysun.store/static/

I've improved my tool to determine the best electricity plan for my use pattern. It was not easy.

github.com/cloudkucoola...

I will build a web frontend for it so anyone can use it.

People think that being able to #2 in front of each other is love; I say love is knowing when not to...

GitHub - cloudkucooland/lantern: Code for a woodworking project Code for a woodworking project. Contribute to cloudkucooland/lantern development by creating an account on GitHub.

I spent part of the day using a 110-year-old hand plane, once owned by my Amish great-grandpa to make a decorative lantern... in which the light will come from an esp32 microcontroller and some RGBW LEDS. The blend of old and new is mind blowing.

github.com/cloudkucoola...
#xiao #esp32 #seeedstudio

Took the paduk sawdust from the tea tray and tried to steam distill it. That didn't work. So I turned it into incense. Because I'm a nerd, that's why.

Steamed paduk sawdust in an attempt to get essential oil, yielded almost nothing. Used the soggy sawdust and xantham gum to make it into incense. It's drying now, but seems to have worked. Mild fragrance.

Let my prayers rise like incense, my hands like the evening sacrifice.

Acetone worked as well as isopropyl in extracting paduk sawdust, but was much more difficult to keep at the proper temperature (much lower boiling point). I'm going with isopropyl for future extractions.

I'm experimenting with doing a soxhlet extraction of paduk sawdust. The first try was with isopropyl alcohol and it yielded a lovely tar that cut nicely with acetone and stained pine to look (and smell!) like paduk. I'm doing a run now with acetone and it looks like it will give a similar product.

blue teapot with flowers, matching tea cup on red/orange tray

blue teapot with flowers, matching tea cup on red/orange tray, tea tools and dragon tea pet

blue teapot with flowers, matching tea cup on red/orange tray, dragon tea pet, tea tools

Tea time today #teapet #tea #yixing

Orange yi xing tea set on padauk tea tray.

Orange yi xing tea set on padauk tea tray.

padauk tea tray.

Orange yi xing tea set on padauk tea tray, soft focus, focus is on a board game "Tea Witches" in the background.

I made a new tea-tray out of padauk. I was going to make it from cherry, but www.mckinneyhardwoodlumber.com had a lovely padauk off-cut... for more than I was going to spend on cherry, but not by much. It matches one of my sets. Padauk smells amazing when working it. Video coming eventually.

How the Visa Debate for Foreign Workers Fuels Racism Against South Asians

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...

Say no to hate... especially in my town. #frisco #friscotx

nostalgia

Lets see if this does anything

open.spotify.com/track/04WXfZ...

@listigeplaylists.bsky.social

lumber

I took my tracks for recent youtube videos and turned them into an album.

open.spotify.com/album/5eEjEr...

That feeling when your woodworking project involves learning a new development framework and several GitHub pull requests to other projects to make things work... #nerdgoals

How to make Orange Oil YouTube video by Farm Boy Engineering

New video: youtu.be/jSa8mTgk-Kw

Too Beautiful :: by schroeder (MoonBoy mix) everything's such a blur now, the sun is on my face the original mix of too beautiful that you can get on our album

Listening to the classics: Moon Boy by schroeder; "Too Beautiful" doesn't hit different, it rewrites what different is. I'm not often one for pure nostalgia, but take me back to the 90s for a bit plz.
soundcloud.com/larry-dimaio...
@larrydimaio.bsky.social

Apple's new iPhone and iPad security feature limits cell networks from collecting precise location data | TechCrunch The new security feature makes it more difficult for police and malicious hackers to obtain a person's precise location data from a cell phone company.

techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/a...

Henning Ohlenbusch - Maybe I'm Not Meant To Do Anything Remarkable After All - Autumn Edition YouTube video by rubwrongways

I've had to share this song with two different friends in the past 24 hours. Giftie syndrome, feeling like I've not lived up to my "potential" is a constant reality. I have moments when I am content with how things are (5 fans on spotify, 3 who've read my book, etc).

youtu.be/b41FmVb0VAA

Sage Essential Oil Distillation and Extraction YouTube video by Farm Boy Engineering

Herb Nerd video
youtu.be/VrqRhvLhcjA

I had intended to start recording a video but my camera was set to photo mode... so here is a photo from an upcoming video.

A powerful sunset of golds, reds, pinks and blues all playing together in the unusual clouds

Almost straight-out-of-camera #sooc ; Fujifilm XT5, 7Artisans 12mm. #fujifilm #fujixt5

FTGFOP

Also on Spotify...

Building a little meditation bench YouTube video by Farm Boy Engineering

youtu.be/iEcwtIFwb38

FTGFOP An acid grind, pattern got stuck in my head and so I turned it into a beat, the beat became a track

New acid banger: soundcloud.com/scot-bontrag...

As priests face burnout, Catholic U. grant aims to boost training and support Catholic University is one of 45 institutions recently approved for grants as part of the Lilly Endowment effort to support theological education and training.

www.washingtonpost.com/religion/202...

Just going to leave this here....

G. asked if I knew how to solder... A few hours later I realized it was one of those, "do you even know me?!" questions.

Distilling Oregano Essential Oil YouTube video by Farm Boy Engineering

New video: Oregano essential oil distillation

youtu.be/bLqHBAU1zBo

Distilling fresh sage from the garden (harvested before the freeze). Very little essential oil coming out, but the hydrosol smells amazing! I'm going to save and bottle this stuff.

The sep funnel is collecting a cloudy hydrosol and a clear one, with the cloudy being less dense than the clear.

Antique Hand Plane Restoration YouTube video by Farm Boy Engineering

youtu.be/Iqq0YmAb7DQ

New video - Antique Hand Plane Restoration ; music by me.

I thought I was going to have to write it... but someone beat me to it (thankfully!). Hurray for BirdNet-Go ( github.com/tphakala/bir... ). I set it up as a test and have already detected a great horned owl!

app.birdweather.com