Seven hundred

 This'll be the 700th post on this blog. Woo! Or maybe not so woo, as I've been doing it for over 15 years, so that averages out to about 45 odd posts per year. But 3.75 posts per month sounds better, as that would imply about one per week.

The actual numbers are quite different, as nearly all my years are below average, with my lowest being 2014 when I only did five posts for the whole year. Not surprising considering what I was doing that year! My average is pushed up by two good years, 2008 and 2015 which both had over a hundred posts (101 and 116 respectively). Followed closely by 2009 (75) and 2007 (69, lol).

Is this good or bad? I don't think raw numbers really matter, as I could easily post 365 times a year by setting up an automatic script that publishes a randomly generated post each day but doesn't actually say anything. I like not feeling obligated to post "filler" posts to make up numbers.

To avoid this being a filler post (or worse, a maths post!) here's this weekends' project: get sunburnt! Actually, the project was help clean up the garden, the catalyst was not putting on sunscreen, so the result was burnt shoulders and back of neck. Dang.

This post brought to you by aloe vera gel, which I'm liberally applying to my sunburn in an effort to reduce the damage.

On this day

In 2009, I got my motorcycle L plates in WA. Didn't get any lessons, didn't have a few grand for a bike (and the all important safety gear) and after a year it lapsed.

I've always liked the idea of riding motorbikes, but my sense of self preservation is too strong. I much prefer a car which is wrapped around me, rather than a bike where I'm wrapped around it. Plus there's nowhere to put a decent stereo and sub woofer on a bike!

Those poor boys were lied to

 

Allegedly, this is a screenshot from a Russian soldiers' phone, presumably either captured or killed in Ukraine. Rough translation is a discussion between the soldier and his parents, with the parents asking how the training is going and where they can send a care package. He replies with his frustration that it's not an exercise, it's an actual invasion.

No wonder the Russians are doing "stupid" things like going to local police stations asking for fuel. They were told it is a training exercise, not an actual invasion.

So many lives lost, so many families broken for no damn good reason.

Liquid stone?

 I wonder if there is such a product as liquid stone?

Similar to plaster or cement, which can be mixed and poured at room temperature but not as crumbly. Cement is great for shoe-box size or larger projects, not so good for fiddly little watch or coin sized projects. Plaster is way too fragile, would just crumble.

Epoxy resin is pretty close - mix two liquids and pour, But it's too physically light, doesn't have that "mass" that I'd like. 3D printing is good because you can get all these weird shapes, but a decent printer that does small detail is big dollars. And again - lacks that solid feeling of weight in small projects.

There's a variety of different alloys available which melt at low temperatures, they're good for casting small one-off projects but "low temperature" is a relative term. Plus lead-free alloys are quite pricey - not just to buy, but also in postage. Aluminum would be good as it is easy to save a bunch of cans and off cuts to have "free" raw stock to melt down, but the gases to get the place hot enough to melt and building the furnace (and molds!) is a tad out of my price range.

A material that is a liquid at room temperature, that can be poured into a mold and ends up with the feel and density / mass of a rock or metal would be brilliant. There probably is such a product out there, and it'll be $100 per litre or something stupid.

Low on energy

 Getting pulled in all directions at work, constantly playing catch up. I'm getting very annoyed with myself to be just vegging out on the phone and not doing anything creative. But I just don't have the energy to get up and get going. I have a few ideas on things I want to do and they are all achievable (without spending a buttload of money). But it's the energy that's running low.

Sucking at something is the first step to getting good at something - but need to start first!

Ditto!

 I've posted before that I started playing Pokemon Go a while back. A bit late to the party compared to all the other PoGo players who have been in it since it launched back in mid '16. I never watched the show, played the games or collected the cards but I've picked up a few bits of the lore.

One of the characters is called a Ditto, because it mimics the look of others. I'd caught one not long after I started playing but it was a really piddly little one. Then I got a challenge to catch one. I think that was maybe two months ago? So of course I didn't see another one.

Then about a month or so ago I got another challenge to catch a Ditto. Those two tasks were sitting there teasing me for weeks and weeks. It's not like I could go actively hunting for one. So it  was just a "wait and see".

Finally got one earlier today! Woooh, two tasks down with one catch! Admittedly, it was also another puny one, but I'll hang on to it in case there is a task to evolve one or trade one or something. They don't seem to come up too often.

Just about gave myself a heart attack!

 Earlier today I was driving home after work, windows down, not a care in the world. I looked in the rear view mirror to see what was behind me, went back to watching the road. So I knew there was nobody in the car with me. Suddenly, someone slaps me on the back of the head!

Lucky I tend to under-react, could have freaked out and swerved off the road or into a car or something! Didn't have any issues with the driving, but took me a moment to realise that it was a hat that hangs behind the drivers' seat on the hand grip which had started flapping around with the wind of the open windows and the peak was what had swatted the back of my head.

Had a bit of a laugh at myself, but for a moment - dang, nearly freaked out that there was someone skulking in the back of the car and I hadn't noticed them!