Haha nice. I'm still working too, but I've gained two extra hours since there's no more commute. I'd be down to see some of those sketches .

Oh they are not very good. I haven't really sketched real life subject matter in many years - just a lot of detailing and presentation stuff.

Nice! I think these are great. I'm digging the playhouse. Something you'd build yourself?

Yeah. I'd try to build it. That or if someone else wanted to build it I'd give them drawings to do it at their own risk. 8-)

Nice work Chad!

Wow. Jewelry? That’s awesome. Would be awesome to see some of your work. Good luck with getting that back up!

Why not?! How’s that going?

I can confirm architect was a better career choice for me and my wife than pre-K teacher! My children probably agree.

Seriously? You gotta share a link to one of those videos.

Sure! Here’s one!

https://youtu.be/nXeyiMnSa9Q

So cool man! Thanks for sharing!

Wow, didn't expect to enjoy this so much... Keep it up Hsianglin!

Thank you! It is still very much a work in progress but I have learned a lot about effective communication and/or even how social networks works. Been very interesting!

That was super fun!

Sounds fun. Yeah, gardening has been fun. What kind of bicycles are you into?

it's the classic problem. How many bicycles is the right number? "N+1"

due to locale mostly road but I mountain bike, do some gravel/ cyclocross and of course have a couple silly little city bikes.

I've been scouring ebay for bike upgrades because the weather is finally getting nicer and I've already reached the s-1 threshold (for the uninitiated, see rule #12). Our next house will need a dedicated space for my bikes ... the trade off will be a dedicated space for her hobbies.

I got that in this last move but all the bike space is full now (in fairness, two of the bikes are hers). I also finally got a modern all-road bike (should be able to replace most of my other bikes) but it's only sent me deeper into bike specialization.

Sean what are you growing? We do flowers and the food crops with the biggest "pay-off" like tomatoes and strawberries. I'd rather buy cucumbers or eggplant or whatever at the farmer's market but homegrown tomatoes really are better.

We have a lot of succulents but are going to be starting on some herbs and flowers soon. I’ve really been interest in more food crops. Have you done bell peppers?

I have. They do pretty well but I've always had better luck with smaller peppers (and smaller tomatoes for that matter). With the Bells it feels like you get 5-8 on the bush then they spend all summer ripening whereas with a poblano or sport pepper you get many more crops and the ripen more quickly.

Good point. Perhaps I'll start with the poblano or sport pepper. I've been nervous about tackling tomatoes because I feel like they'll be too hard to maintain since I'm kind of a newb.

No way, grab a cherry tomato plant - they do great and are so easy. The big tomatoes are quite difficult, and require lots of attention.

Oh yeah? Okay! I'll plan to give the cherry tomato a try too. Thanks!

We're really into gardening as well--so much so that we moved from a city to an old farm in the country, partly so we'd have more space for growing. I'd second archanonymous' recommendation--it's hard to go wrong with cherry tomatoes. We grow a few Sungold and black cherry tomatoes every year; they are prolific and fairly disease-resistant. We also grow several types of hot peppers, and a lot of Shisito peppers, which are mostly sweet with the occasional hot one--they're ideal for pan-roasting. We also grow tons of garlic, herbs, greens, asparagus, etc.. It's a great hobby.

Interesting. I moved to a large city to pursue architecture like 6 years ago... I feel like i might finally be tiring of it. Feeling pretty ready for an exurban/ rural type of setup now. Hoping that the pandemic opens up new possibilities in remote work - if I only had to go to the office once or twice a week, I could deal with a 1 1/2 hour commute.

Totally. I definitely feel you on the remote work aspect. Before I was in the car about two hours each day, but now being home has opened up a lot of possibilities on how I can structure my day. Plus, I personally work a lot better from home.

Wow, that's a lot of writing. Hope all the hard work pays off

Thanks Sean, me too! Thankfully daycare will open up here from May 11th, will make the WFH so much easier.

It's always nice to get around to those tasks that there was never time for.

Started Demo'ing my upstairs bathroom today. We've been wanting to remodel the second floor since we moved in but just decided to jump into it... took out three layers of greenboard and some atrocious plastic? tiles before I got back to the plaster. Torn between keeping plaster and taking it back to studs to create an extra inch or two of interior space.

Our bathroom renovation project that was supposed to start this spring has been pushed back until we feel more comfortable bringing people into the house (we're co-isolating for the time being with my vulnerable parents-in-law)

Yeah we aren't sure exactly how we are going to wrap this up... I can do demo and install wallboard (and simple electrical and plumbing for that matter) but we are really supposed to have licensed trades do those things... silly building code and insurance requirements.

The plaster might get you better sound isolation than the wallboard. Also less cost. Assuming it looks good.

True! I've been researching and plaster is better for acoustics, and insulation, and works in concert with the mass walls (double and triple wythe brick) my house is made of to better control moisture and condensation. We are going to keep the plaster everywhere it is sound and the lathe behind isn't cut in weird spots.

also as an aside, it's so cool to open up walls and find true 2" x 4" old growth hemlock/ fir lumber.

is that where you put the kegerator?

his wife worked for him so he had leverage

You've got a full plate in front of you for sure. Good luck!

Wow that home addition could really use an upgrade, looks like a dilapidated ancient shed! Good luck with that, I’m sure HGTV can offer plenty of inspiration(!)

good one rando! that is what my wife would be afraid of right, the architect's house.

Which 3D printer are you using, do you recommend?

Takes a lot of maintenance when switching materials, etc...but have a Flashforge CreatorPro. Still messing with the PTEG settings.

230C extruder/50C bed/60mms/80mms...I messed up months ago on my right extruder so for whatever reason it doesn't do well on the right side, so running left only.

Read that as Bullshit and Beer Show...

I do get tired of writing out the full name: "The BS* + Beer Show (*building science). The double entendre is intentional; some might say the best thing about the concept ;-)

It definitely got my attention, so it works!

Curt, I will update the website soon, probably tomorrow. Our shows are currently every Thursday, 6-7:30 pm eastern time. I try to send out emailed invitations on Monday and Wednesday, or sometimes Thursday morning. You can also keep an eye out at https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/; today or tomorrow they will post an announcement for the next show.

signed-up. you had me at beer.

It’s looking good sir!

Very burtalist is style and form. Nice!

You have holes in your shelves--won't stuff fall through? Cool design though.

It's a minimalist design Wood Guy, geeesh, get with the hipness man! 8-)

I assume fondue is just cheese on top of a Bechamel? My Bechamel and Mornay trick is to make sure the cheese and butter are up to room temperature (or above - i stick mine next to the pilot light on my oven) before mixing them with the roux base.

any morel/ ramp/ onion foraging tips or guide that you refer to for ID, etc...?

No cheese involved, fondue is french for melted and a beurre fondue is simply an emulsion of melted butter in water--think of a silky, slightly thick version of butter that doesn't break out into fat and milk solids. It takes up flavor really well--often you cook vegetables in a beurre fondue then cook a mild protein like fish or chicken

morels are great because there's really only one thing which can be a morel. on the east coast they're primarily around downed trees, oaks, beech and ash, in well drained soil, and generally they come up after a few days of heavy rain. you want to cut them at soil level, not dig them up, so as not to disturb the mycellear (sp?) network in the soil. also, morels are always hollow. there is a 'false morel' which is poisonous, but a false morel is always solid, and never has the upright, torpedo shape of a morel

ramps are found in forest understories near water, generally on slopes. they have paired, ovular leaves, red stems, a bulb, and they smell like garlic. cut the leaves, leave the bulb so the plant can survive another season. the bulb is good raw but gets mushy when cooked. the flavor is...spectacular. think garlic without the bitterness or pungency, and a touch of onion without the sharp cutting bite of a regular, mature onion. wild onions are much the same, tall narrow leaves, almost like grass, but the smell is strongly like an onion or chive.

Awesome, thanks! I must have missed the "beurre" part of the beurre fondue - sounds like an interesting technique. Emulsions are hard but I'm always trying to step up my food game and learn more from different cuisines.

Healthy eating and exercise is very important.

Sounds like we need to be at your place for dinner! Would love to see a shot of one of your dishes.

j-lax is an obese internet troll so I wouldn't take his recipes too seriously.

Im actually at a perfect BMI and run 3-5 miles a day, but try again fucko.

Sean, you’re welcome over for dinner anytime man.

jla-x prove it fatty. With all the BS you spread around here I don't believe you without proof. Yes I called you a liar.

are you Miles? you sound like Miles.  and i'm not jla-x, i'm just tired of your shit.

Chad, I don’t care if you think I’m fat. It’s laughable that you form these right winger tropes in your dumb head. You seriously can’t accept the fact that some people have different opinions than you. Those people must be fat and mean! How about you prove that you are capable of debating topics without resorting to ad hominem attacks.

jla-x try harder . . .

we're in this together - you don't like that I poke fun at egotistical idiots. I can see why you're upset with my posts.

this was your first response to j-lax's food post, which was a completely innocent post, no politics or anything else controversial and you write this:

j-lax is an obese internet troll so I wouldn't take his recipes too seriously.

so who again is the troll here, Chad?

Is there a "Whatcha cookin?" thread? I'd contribue the hell into that. ...I too have been cooking like crazy since WFH, even posting some how-to's on Instagram for my fellow pantry-hoarders. On the upside, my wife is very happy. On the downside, I gotta start running more.

jla-x consistently acts like a dishonest internet troll on this site so I treat it as such where ever it posts

Tduds, that’s great. Definitely should start working out again. It’s helped me enormously both physically and mentally. I’m at the point where I actually look forward to my runs. For the first couple years I hated it. I think there was a thread like that now that you mention it...I’ll start a new one later :)

Can we see the hoop?

Sorry I haven't uploaded it to the office portfolio yet!

Yes, please share a photo of the backboard and hoop. The wife and kids have been after me for months on putting one up. I've been avoiding it on account of how ugly the store-bought versions are.

nice! sounds like a fun bunch of projects! The hoop sounds pretty cool.

That's a nice hoop. Well done.

Attachment is only suitable for a skinny ass university student but if Lebron shows up he may pull the whole fascia assembly down with him if decides to paste one!

come on Lebron, layups only dude!

Nice. I vote you get a black net

Very nice!

A net will mess up those clean lines...

chain net!

At first glance, it looks like there is a toilet in the bottom right. That would be so convenient, but maybe not so close to the main entrance.

Should've made the backboard from boulders ;)

Nice! I’ve been walking a lot more for sure.

Go fast and leave a beautiful corps, if you wearing leathers.