Almost out of one woods, into another

5 June 2008

Yes, so it’s been ages since I wrote anything here. I’ve been dedicating practically all of my time to my work and using whatever time I have left to relax and live life.

We’re currently working toward revision 1.0 of the project that I’ve been contracted to build. This means that the big, heavy-lifting phase is almost over and that it will soon be time to refine, tweak, and polish the thing. I’m getting really excited to see this thing really start to come to life.

Outside of this, I’ve been looking for things to do that could satisfy the need to use my management and organizational skills. I used these skills a lot when I was working freelance and having to deal with multiple clients, pitching myself to new clients, and managing my finances and business stuff. I’m now trying to find a way to bring these talents into something outside of my work that I’m passionate about.

After talking to a handful of people involved in local arts and music projects, I’ve decided to realize an old dream of mine and start a cassette label (yes, cassette) and small-press distribution project. I’ve played in bands before and have made several attempts at self-publishing, both to very limited success, and I think that this new approach is the best way for me to use my strengths in a field that’s filled me with passion since as long as I can remember.

I’m approaching this in a very organized manner, and I’m already making progress toward this end. I’ll write more about these here, along with updates on the other things in my life that I find interesting. Stay tuned.

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Wot? No updates?

6 February 2008

Yes, it’s been very busy at Casa del Hunt. Blogging was a great way to get noticed while searching for contract work. Good news is that I’ve found contract work! So, I’ve been busy with getting that started, too.

That’s not to say that my inspiration for blogging was only to find work. There’s tons to write about, but I’ve been concerned with many other things lately. I’ll be back soon - hopefully this week - to write more.

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Quick New Year’s Eve Update

31 December 2007

I’ve spent much of the past week relaxing and re-energizing. I worked on so many different things this Fall and it’s nice to take a step back and enjoy life.

This isn’t to say I’ve been idle. Aside from a brief holiday visit in Portland, I’ve been doing a few things to fill the time:

• Catch up on some reading
• Work on some personal Web-related projects
• Set goals for the next six months
• Implement new methods to organize my work life
• Sketch ideas for new art & craft projects, research materials and techniques

I’m currently working on a tool to help me find new leads for freelance work. It’s pretty cool, and I will put a demo online once it’s complete. I’m also eager for the new year to begin so I can use my brand-new red Moleskine daily planner. It’s red. So red. And it kind of excites me. I’m a nerd like that.

Enjoy your NYE2k8. Be safe, please don’t drink & drive, and have lots of fun.

Tags: Personal
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The housing situation

13 December 2007

I moved to Oakland from my home town of Portland, Oregon in March of this year. For six-plus months I lived in a tiny bedroom in the Temescal area of North Oakland, and in November I found my current place in West Oakland on Craigslist. It’s a live/work warehouse space in an industrial area of West-O. I was looking for a living arrangement that had the space necessary for all the projects in my mind, and I was also looking for room that I could modify and decorate however I wanted. I found it.

There are several bedrooms and mine is the largest. It’s 13 feet by 21 feet. It’s more space than I’ve had in years… definitely more space than I thought I could ever afford in the Bay Area. My room mates are all involved in creating art and working on their crafts, and as a guy who just likes to make stuff, I really feed off of their energy. There are plenty really nice power- and hand tools, there’s all kinds of art detritus all over, and everyone is eager to listen to project ideas and give technical advice.

The gallery below shows the “before” side of the story. I’ve done a lot already since then but I’m still working on a number of things:

[Show as slideshow]

When I first moved in I started thinking of the ways I could really make my room my own. There were several things that needed to be fixed and I started making lists of projects that I could take on to solve various issues. First, the paint was old and the drywall was damaged in a few areas, so I patched the walls and painted a coat of flat white, to act as a barrier between the old paint (and some weird murals) and whatever color/design I would paint later. I still need to put on a second coat but it’s hard to deal with painting my bedroom when I work from home… it will get done one of these weekends.

A big issue is lighting. I’ve started a project to make light fixtures, which I’ve written about and will be posting updates on as progress continues. Natural sunlight is also an issue. I’ve got a “hatch” window (think of a “safari window” on a VW bus) which faces the windows in the front of the building, but it opens only so far and doesn’t let much light in. It will be replaced with recycled windows from old homes. That’s the next “big” project, and I’ll of course be writing about that when it happens.

The great thing about this place is that I can shape my space as much as I want. It’s the reason why I moved in. I have all of the room I want for crafts and art projects, and I can also be handy and create some inventive solutions to some interesting challenges. This place is my creative sandbox, and I am so glad that I found it.

Tags: building stuff, home, Personal, warehouse
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Making custom light fixtures for my room

12 December 2007

I’m doing a lot to improve the warehouse room I moved into at the beginning of November. The room was pretty beat up and a number of big issues needed to be addressed. First, the paint and drywall were in terrible condition, and I set about fixing that. There will be more about this in another post, most likely when I’ve finished painting.

The second big issue was lighting. Except for an IKEA halogen light fixture in the work area (one half of my room, the other half being my sleep/relaxing area), there wasn’t any lighting to speak of. I’m currently using a few compact fluorescent bulbs clamped to the big pipe that bisects my room. It works but it’s pretty ugly. I wanted something more refined, and it had to light my room exactly the way I wanted. Since I’m typically inclined to do things myself, I decided to make some hanging light fixtures.

[Show as slideshow]

The fixtures are comprised of three squares, made of 3/4″ square poplar strips. The squares are held together in the inside corners by four strips of the same width. The squares measure 8×8″, and the “spines” of the fixture are 14″ long. Using my room mate’s radial saw, I cut all of the pieces and glued them together using several clamps and a jig that I built for this purpose. To keep the squares spaced evenly, I made four 6″-long stays to create the right amount of space while everything is clamped and the glue dries.

After the frame is completed, I will either stain or paint the wood and then sheathe the structure with paper, most likely to be either rice paper or parchment. I will be making three more of these (for a total of four fixtures), and they will all be controlled using a single dimmer switch in order to get the right amount of lighting at all times.

I’m very excited about how this is coming together. I’m thinking of ways that I could make several of these at a time and then perhaps sell or gift them, made to order. More on that soon, maybe, but more updates on this particular fixture are sure to come.

Tags: building stuff, Crafts, Personal
Posted in Crafts, Personal | 1 Comment »

Keeping my head down

27 November 2007

I’ve been busy with a number of things lately. Currently in the works:

• Custom layout for this blog
• A wiki to track my notes and store documentation for clients
• Switching my hosting to DreamHost and moving my code libraries into subversion
• Getting my clients’ sites/applications into subversion
• Work around the house, fixing and building bikes

I expect to have something to show pretty soon, but right now I’m focusing on getting it all done. Links, articles, and updates to come. In the meantime, here’s an example of how I manage multiple projects while also working on personal projects: I make stuff in my downtime! I get to play with power tools on my breaks. Life’s pretty good.

Tags: Personal, Work
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Typical introduction.

19 November 2007

So, here it is. I’ve been talking about putting up a blog. I’ve even done one before, only to lose interest later. This time, I’m serious… I think.

To start, I’m 25 years old, male, and I live in (West) Oakland, California. I do many, many things, with web programming being the primary income generator. I’ve been working on a freelance basis for the past four years, and I’ve done a lot of cool stuff. I’m doing other cool stuff that’s outside of the Web, too. Maybe you’ll read about some of it here.

My primary motivation for starting this blog is to share my work-related and creative projects with my friends and family and with anyone else who cares to read about them. I try to keep myself busy with multiple projects because I feel that intellectual and creative growth is critically important to me as an individual. Now, I’ll have an archive of updates and stories, for myself to look back on and to also use as a platform for bragging…

This is the beginning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tags: Blog, meta, Personal
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