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What did you do this week (and weekend)?
As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!
Closed out my first ticket at work! Didn't involve me actually doing anything though, just closed it because doing it would've just taken engineering effort away from actual important tickets.
Also work related but I got a Google Pixel 7 as a work phone and I'm enjoying it more than I was expecting to. Been using Android phones for the longest time now but never had a Google phone so I'm pleasantly surprised by the Pixel. The UX puts my Samsung to shame ngl.
I've been pretty pleased with Google phones. I've been using them since a nexus 5 I got in 2014. The pixel 7 has felt pretty great to me too.
Last weekend I went for a short bike ride to the nearby stately home (Schloss Ribbeck), found that I didn't have enough cash on me for coffee and cake and ended up eating Bockwurst and a roll for €4.50. Enjoyed watching the local stork announce its arrival to all and sundry. Didn't see any cranes.
Didn't do much during the week. Practiced German, went to the HEMA in Charlottenburg, wandered around old Spandau for a bit. Found a nail salon called Hung Nails. I think I'll pass.
It's free museum day in Berlin on Sunday, where should I go?
If you are into history I suggest the Pergamon Museum. They have some really impressive, near complete collections from the levant and middle east. The origins of them are a little dubious (similar to the British Museum) but they are truly spectacular. Also, it's the best retort to the old "well if we hadn't stolen it it would have been destroyed!" defense of stolen heritage/artifacts. The museum was bombed during the fall of Berlin and a section at the top right of the main entrance at the Ishtar Gate was damaged.
My weeks usually just involve lots of meetings early in the mornings (I'm Canadian working for a UK company) but it's a three day weekend here so I took some banked time and am off today making it a 4 day weekend, which is fantastic. Finally got to sleep in (crazy that 7am is sleeping in haha) and just doing lots of chores.
I've started learning how to make kumiko (Japanese patterned woodworking) and it's been fun! I plan to make some strips out of basswood this weekend and start practicing paring on a set of jigs I made last weekend. Ideally my end goal is to sell pieces at local conventions/festivals/fairs, but will have to do some cost analysis to see if my hobby can evolve into something profitable.
I started a new job! It's in retail, but it keeps me on my feet and it pays well. I'm on day 4 of 5 before I get my days off, and I'm really enjoying it. After two weeks of being unemployed, it's good to be working again.
My friends and I trekked out to Big Bend National Park for two days of hiking, and it's given me National Park and roadtrip fever. The park is very remote -- the nearest town is an hour away and boasts a population of 300 -- but the drive there is incredibly scenic, as is the park itself. We had unimaginable visibility, easily viewing mountains hundreds of miles away and across the border into Mexico, not to mention the entire Milky Way at night time. We had to restrict our hikes to the early morning because of the Texas summer, but it was cooler at the park than it was in Austin, and there were very few people in the park, so we had all of our hikes to ourselves. I strongly recommend the park if you're willing to make the journey out to the middle of nowhere.
I've had a couple pieces of wormy maple mocking me from my workshop for a couple of months, so I introduced them to my tablesaw and router.
I made a frame for my bathroom mirror.
It's mitred corners and a chamfer on the inside edge, so a fairly simple design. I was interested in a light grey/brown finish to make the staining around the worm holes pop, and I think it came out perfectly!