What I’m Doing Now
Updated 2025, January 07
I’m based in Springfield, MO.
Taxes are now progressing apace.
I am absolutely open for work solicitation, and will shortly be promoting myself for projects and jobs much more aggressively.
With resulting cashflow comes the power to buy more hard drives. Reorganizing my file system back into a centralized, navigable system with a clear backup procedure again will be immensely valuable.
The Dungeons & Dragons campaign has been on the high seas and island hopping, with sea monsters and weirder things underfoot. Keeping an eye peeled for mermaids. See blog for drawings.
My seeds from the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation arrived. They need pulled out of their envelope in the fridge and to be rotated and fluffed every week or so as they slowly root, to be planted carefully with mesh and a tree tube after frost. The weather is such that I reckon I can get away with seeding some more garlic bulbils presently. My chief annual crop seed preoccuption for this year is my packet of the rain-fed Jadu’I watermelon variety. The overwintering container perennials are uneventful so far. I am growing eager to find out where things are going in the ground, especially my propagation of Grandma’s much cherished heirloom climbing rose with its deliciously fragrant, pink blossoms that instill a desire for rose syrup.
Ongoing & Queued Animation and Art Projects
Panorama Animation and Digital Painting in Blender for Web & VR
I thoughtfully composed a tutorial for myself as I went so I could pickup where I left off with retooling my animation workflow for Blender’s Grease Pencil tool, in which I am close to doing treatment tests for the 360 panoramas. In this direction lie not only my usual desires for flexible camera panning but also digitally painting immersive, animated nature scenes for web and VR, for which I have many Photo Sphere / equirectangular photographic, video, and sound samples and references captured for adaptation.
I’m presently working with WPVR plugin from Rextheme as my WordPress panorama implementation at present but am definitely open to a new platform that isn’t on a freemium business model. I saw WordPress is working on implementing something like that natively, but slowly of course, and prioritizing WordPress.com rather than the mainline project.
Surface Design
I signed up to take a Surface Design course I had been suggested, from Bonnie Christine teaching in Illustrator, I’ll be watching Inkscape-specific tutorials for the repeating, tiled designs first so I can follow in parallel. I’m also looking forward to the monetization / manufacturing side of the course.
I’ve been keen to make such designs for a long while, and I have sketches to dig through and photos from my former garden to reference of vining watermelons, ornate leaves, stands of bee-covered perennials, etc. I have a mind to eventually try this process in Blender with the Geometry Nodes system when I’m ready to tackle that particular learning curve.
Photogrammetry
My photo archive includes a lot of object capture feedstock for 3D software photogrammetry experiments to convert them to 3D models and texture maps, it’s been a hot minute since I spent time with Meshroom but it has a particular node procedure that needs a deep investigation to churn out clean geometry and texture, which will likely extend to a Blender pipeline.
Sell old pieces
I have a number of small wood panel oil landscape paintings, pastel drawings of animals, and more I need to list for sale, stay tuned. Lesson learned: Customers must do their own framing! Trying to front for framing has been a massive barrier to sales. The landscape panels do work really nicely on cheap plate hangers however, those are easy to fit and provide.
Merchandise
If you have a Made-To-Order / OEM / White Label partners you like, please let me know so I can get art prints and garments listed for sale. I have a deal of work in my catalog to adapt for those print to order purposes but am still working up to making stencils for some hand-made stuff like t-shirts with spray paint. I have a notion to make handkerchief prints but crisp-edged, precision dyeing is out of my current knowledge. I did just find my electric skillet for melting batik wax.
Mosaica Rose Studio Assistant
Expect new mosaics and artworks from Christine Schilling at her workshop and space on Commercial Street. I look forward to assisting.
Big Brutus Visioning
Regarding historic Big Brutus, retired, orange, 13-story electric coal shovel of West Mineral, Kansas, with which my family has much history: The museum board members are receptive to my idea I just need to put together a presentation/animation envisioning development and electrification, especially visitor vehicle charging and regulatory considerations thereof. They’re so close with excellent facilities and power/water/waste hookups for RV campers and food truck vendors with a comprehensive overnight fee, but no metering for day visitors. Make it a vehicle charging or supercharging destination, supplement a “Southeast Kansas History of Electric Power” narrative to their excellent mining history and miner’s union content, and I think you tap and develop a growing market.
Community
Archery
I’ve learned the Springfield Park Board has indoor & outdoor archery facilities and more so that’ll be nice to start up again with friends.
Springfield-Greene County Park Board Archery Complex, Programs, and Events
Nature, Hike, Bike Meetups
I would be most pleased by trail hiking, kayaking, and street bicycling group outings as well as outdoor dining / picnics / potlucks. Hit me up!
Mask Bloc / Clean Air / Direct Aid
I’m hoping to join a local Mask Bloc such as are listed on MaskBloc.org for respirator/mask distribution, fit-testing, public health resources, as well as clean air safe/accessible arts & culture events organizing and planning a la @Clean_Air_Club_ of Chicago. I’ve spent the last 5 years learning about airborne disease transmission and SARS2 pathology, I’m keen to help others catch up with clean air. I’m often seen sporting a bright pink, floral Flo Mask indoors and among the people these days. I still need to do actual measured fit-tests!
Mask Bloc Los Angeles and other direct aid / mutual aid organizations in that area have been essential with the fires as the city and county government has entirely given up on PPE, planned to leave incarcerated children locked up to die inside active wildfire zones, and arrested people whose homes don’t exist anymore for camping, etc.
PPE, transmission, and pathology subject matter would be great content for another animated Freddy Fox children’s health public service announcement ad spot, if Freeman or a competitor wants to pay me for one, that would be FANTASTIC. Keep me posted!
Community Events, Misc
Good times, gardening, cooking, house shows, local empowerment, human rights, education, food and shelter, sustainability, anti-genocide solidarity, constituent actions, etc, keep me posted!
Recent Media Selections
Reading Now
Pacific Edge by Kim Stanley Robinson
A Second Chance at Eden by Peter F. Hamilton
Recent Art Enjoyed & Revisited
Art of Maquenda on Tumblr
https://www.tumblr.com/artofmaquenda/757509137522458624/more-process-photos-of-this-stained-glass-piece?source=share
https://www.tumblr.com/artofmaquenda/766323828283654144/get-out-wanted-to-make-a-bw-version-d?source=share
https://www.tumblr.com/artofmaquenda/753080548509040640/my-bf-was-showing-my-art-to-some-coworkers-and-he
Luke Humphris on Youtube:
Space Station Weird #1
House between the VOID and the ABYSS
Meals. Mates. Media.
Dedouze on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hpMZljPiqtU
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6WkaGYYsp8o
https://youtube.com/shorts/8P6KzC-Z0PA
DRONE by Sean Buckelew on Youtube
Houndsaint on Twitter
https://x.com/Houndsaint/status/1853597300171665514
https://x.com/Houndsaint/status/1854580026894586081
https://x.com/Houndsaint/status/1855037546599723229
Youtube:
Rusalka by Aleksandr Petrov on Youtube
Recent [Audio] Books Read
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Librivox Parts 1 & 2, & Librivox Parts 3 & 4
The Gold Coast by Kim Stanley Robinson
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib
Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson
War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Maude Translation)
Books 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17
Recent Articles Read
Haddrell, A., Oswin, H., Otero-Fernandez, M. et al. Ambient carbon dioxide concentration correlates with SARS-CoV-2 aerostability and infection risk. Nature Communications 15, 3487 (2024).
Xia Li, Chenpeng Zhang, Yuan Fang, Mei Xin, Jianbo Shi, Zhiyuan Zhang, Zhen Wang, Zhenhu Ren – Promising outcomes 5 weeks after a surgical cervical shunting procedure to unclog cerebral lymphatic systems in a patient with Alzheimer’s disease: General Psychiatry 2024;37:e101641.
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota:
H5N1 avian flu isolate from dairy worker is transmissible, lethal in animals
Wikipedia:
Anosognosia
The Intercept: The House Just Blesssed Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook by Passing Nonprofit-Killer Bill
Recent Podcasts & Episodes Listened
Death Panel: LA Burns but We Keep Us Safe (Part One) (01/16/25)
Death Panel: LA Burns but We Keep Us Safe (Part Two) (01/23/25)
TrueAnon: Episode 419: Afghan Dope
Catalyst with Shayle Kann: TEA breakdown: green ammonia and synthetic methane
In Defense of Plants Podcast: Ep. 455 – The Many Mysteries of Seed Dormancy
Pod Damn America: The Airborne Toxic Event w/ Julia Doubleday
Writer and former Bernie staffer Julia Doubleday joins Jake to talk about how the Democrats all gave each other COVID at the DNC.