Tag: brooklyn

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Photo of two sailors on a sailboat approaching a dock. Textbook all the way.

Finally got out for a sail this season. I’m not counting an earlier attempt in July, which was a lovely day, but we didn’t manage to raise sail. This Friday, however, was an action packed day. First, we sorted through the extensive sail inventory and bent on the sails we thought most appropriate for the weather conditions. In other words, we grabbed the ones on the top of the stack. We ended up with the correct main, and a handkerchief of a jib. Just fine for a shakedown sail.

Before heading out, there was one more important detail to attend do: Renaming. The ceremony has two parts. First the old name must be expunged from Poseidon’s Ledger of the Deep. Then, and only then, can the new name be added. As the skipper appealed to the gods of both sea and wind, we looked on, awaiting our time to share some of the libation.

With the ceremony complete, we cast off the lines and motored off on the newly named S.V. Leviathan. We were confident that the gods would see to it that her mighty, and recently rebuilt, diesel engine would deliver us not only to the prime sailing grounds of Long Island Sound, but also safely back to the mooring.

We had a lovely sail indeed. No need to deploy the anchor, nor was a tow called for. She handled beautifully and is really going to fly with a more appropriately sized head sail. Here’s to many more fine days on the sea for S.V. Leviathan.

Back on land, our building organized a Longest Table inspired dinner this week. It was great having a chance to chat with some of our neighbors for more than just a few seconds in the lobby or elevator. The food was also great. We brought lasagna and brownies, both of which were wiped out. While I’m glad people enjoyed it, I was hoping for some leftovers.

Photo of a home dashboard display being tested on the bench--circuits boards exposed.

On the project front, the last of the parts for the display arrived this week. I had been waiting on the LCD driver. I was skeptical that the driver and LCD were going to work together, so hooked it them up on the bench for a quick test. Everything fired up as expected, and with the help of a translation app, I was able to get the menus changed from Mandarin to English and tweak the settings. Putting the rough mockup on it (pictured) revealed a flaw in my design. The viewing angle of the LCD is such that it is difficult to read in portrait orientation. Back to landscape it is. This will necessitate some reworking of the layout. The design is still pretty rough, so now is a great time to fix it.

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Photo of the Statue of Liberty (from the back) against a bright blue sky.

Seeing the After Dark screensavers (link below) after so many years reminded me of an old Mac game I used to like. For the life of me I could never remember the name and I could never summon it in a straight search. Enter Chat GPT: Spin Doctor is the name of the game. After playing the demo, I’ve discovered that I’m much worse at it now than I thought I was.

We have some family visiting from out of town. Ellis Island was on the must-do list, so I was an reluctant tour guide for the day. A couple observations:

  • You don’t need to be an athlete to ascend 215, unless you’re experiencing mobility issues, I suggest giving it a shot, it’s more fun than the elevator.
  • Are tourists trying to emulate their idea of stereotypical New Yorker by being pushy and rude? Chill out people (and stay out of my way).

We also caught a few action-packed minutes of the South Slope Derby. I wondered why any Brooklyn parent would allow their child to race down the hill on 17th Street atop one of these contraptions. However, after seeing this KoKo NYC video with the kids building those contraptions using power and hand tools, I see that they know what they’re doing. The kids are alright.

If you use OMNY (NYC’s transit card), you’ve probably noticed that charges can hit your credit card at odd times on occasion, sometimes days later. If one gets suspicious about being overcharged, the OMNY site isn’t very helpful at lining up charges with the trips, not at a glance anyway. I threw together this page that compares OMNY charges and trips so I could see if I was getting ripped off (I wasn’t). If you have a similar question, feel free to use it. Have fun!

Progress continues on v3 of the Good Morning Display. I ordered most the hardware needed to piece things together. If you care about such things, the parts list is here. I suspect the final cost for this (not including labor) will exceed an off-the-shelf solution. But, where’s the fun in that?

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Photo of fireworks against the downtown Manhattan skyline.
Low res fireworks

Happy belated July 4th to those who celebrate. There was a lot going on in New York to celebrate 250 years. First, we were treated to a spectacular Parade of Tall ships and International Aerial Review, then the fireworks. Hats off to the people that went out in the heat to see these things, we opted to enjoy it all from the air conditioned comfort of our apartment.

Speaking of air conditioning, ours has been cranking for days, which is unusual for us. We’re not the only ones. ConEd reduced voltage in large swaths of Brooklyn on Friday. I was curious as to how much, so I broke out the multi-meter: It was around 115 volts in our apartment. Without measuring, we wouldn’t have noticed, but some of our neighbors’ air conditioners weren’t performing well in those conditions.

Earlier in the week, I was invited to the annual Blessing of the Fleet in Sheepshead Bay. Mechanical trouble forced us to go back to the mooring just seconds after we cast off—better there than in the channel. This prevented full participation in the blessing, but we were able to enjoy some time on the boat and a taste of rum punch.

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Finished reading Street Smart by Sam Schwartz (a.k.a Gridlock Sam) this week. One of the things he points out how easy access to transit information increases transit ridership. In hindsight, this is obvious, but I hadn’t really thought of it. Sure, public transit needs to be frequent, safe and connect many places. But, if it is difficult to decipher the maps and timetables, it’s also difficult to understand how to get where one wants to go.

I remember how difficult it could be to navigate an unfamiliar city’s transit network. Especially when one doesn’t speak or read the local language. Things have gotten so much better in the past several years. Most of us are carrying a connected computer with specialized apps, not to mention the inclusion of open data in the popular map applications. Tap to ride is also a great improvement. Tapping with a credit/debit card or phone makes transit in unfamiliar cities much more approachable. Don’t get me wrong, fumbling around the first time I used a strippenkaart (Dutch) is an experience I’m happy to have had. However, I’m sure the commuters waiting for me to do it are happy I can just tap and ride now.

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Black and white photo of Dave Brubeck at a piano with text: "SORRY, NERDS 5/4 IS DAVE BRUBECK DAY"

Dave Brubeck Day is tomorrow, so a very happy Dave Brubeck day to all who celebrate.

I broke my guitar tuner last week. In the process of purchasing a new one, a new microphone ended up in my shopping cart. I tried it out during our weekly jam—massive difference. This one has much more definition than the old, cheapo mic. So much definition that I was slightly afraid of it when I started singing. It will take some getting used to for sure.

In other musical news, a couple weeks ago at the local, two guys were talking about getting together for a jam. Someone overheard the conversation and said “JP plays bass!” I was very clear about my ability, or lack thereof. They said, “perfect” and I thought that would be the end of it.

Friday night one of them walked by, clapped me on the back and said “you’re hired”. My immediate thought was oh shit.

Now, I give this jam even odds of ever happening. Just in case, I should probably practice a more.

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