2023 Week 28/29/30: Status and Photos

2023-07-31

The past few weeks have been defined by mental work for me. I want to make substantive improvements in myself, for my own sake, that of my family, and for the world I live in.

I received a copy of an OS called Navigatrix a few days ago. This Ubuntu-based Linux distro is designed for use on boats, and it contains lots of software to interface with radios, GPS, satellite phones, and other low-bandwidth technologies. It also has features for reading offline wiki data using Kiwix. Though I don't live on a boat, I'm excited to look through it more--and it might actually inspire me to get back into radio.

As I read more about low-tech movements and see the increasing social, economic and environmental effects of modern life, I find myself wanting more strongly to help reverse the trend myself. One way I can do that is by reducing the number of things I buy, which I've significantly reduced from a few years ago. But another way to help is by saving energy--using analog tools and reducing the amount of time I spend using electronics. I've been failing at this pretty badly, and it weighs on me.

Photo of the week (week 28):

=> A View of Kansas City

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One way I'm trying to deal with a rough mental state is by cycling more. This week I took a trip to Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City, which has a publicly-accessible perimeter road and is popular with cyclists. The southeast corner of the field provides an excellent view of the city center.

Photo of the week (week 29):

=> Post-storm Clouds

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Strong storms hit parts of the American Midwest at the start of last weekend. We were unaffected by them beyond getting moderate amounts of rain, but residual atmospheric turbulence led to more showers and winds for days afterward. Some of the cloud formations were quite striking. Aside from reducing the resolution and applying dithering, this photograph is unaltered.

Photo of the week (week 30):

=> Tabletop Night

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Last year I was involved in a Final Fantasy XIV-themed tabletop RPG game. Due to differences among the players, that campaign eventually fell apart. In it wake we formed a new campaign based on Ilvermorny, the American wizarding school from Wizarding World.

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[Last updated: 2024-10-06]