123 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
123 lines
4.9 KiB
Plaintext
[1] Christopher Butler ☼
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[2]Archive
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[3]Info
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[4]Now
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Periodical 17 — Optimization
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Optimizing a home is a years-long process.
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[2ecf691b-e250-4506-b824-b2076088b38f]
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Hello from the corner of our home. The sun is setting on what has been a rainy
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but lovely day. We had a brief visit from some friends; my daughter spent a
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couple of hours learning pottery from our neighbor, who is a master potter; my
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son romped in puddles and came home a soggy raisin. We are about to enjoy a
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glass of wine with dinner.
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–
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We’ve lived in this house for 11 years now. Each year, we find ways to better
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inhabit it.
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Optimizing a home is a years-long process. You must closely watch for patterns
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in how you move about it; how you use things within it; how surfaces wear and
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age; how light and dark, heat and cold come and go; how things sound.
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The pandemic, of course, set in motion a lot of optimization. We had never
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spent so much time in the house, and we had never been as many as we were by
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2021, when our second child was born. Our 1,900 square foot house offers us
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enough space, but with four humans and a dog, space is at a premium. So I have
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been optimizing. We have an only-somewhat-said-in-jest motto here — spoken in
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the rhythm of Glengarry Glen Ross — always be optimizing.
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Recently, I did more optimizing.
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First, I finished framing and mounting acoustic panels to the ceiling of our
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office. The entire project is still not entirely finished — I need to re-paint
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the ceiling — but I’m very happy with the results so far. It sounds great in
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here. When you walk in, you can hear it — feel it — right away. It’s like being
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in an isolation tank; it offers a warm silence.
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[f6379286-e573-4c00-80c3-28eb069724c7]
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Next, I created a tool panel for the back of the office closet door.
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I’m frequently reaching for tools as there’s always something to repair,
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update, or make in this old house. It’s surprising how much of a difference it
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makes to simply reach for it rather than squat down and rummage through a bin
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or drawer.
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[5fd2bfee-60b0-4ef8-b00f-14630f79221b]
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On the outside of the door, I used a bit of extra wood and bolts to make a
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simple — but snazzy — coat rack.
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[cf26d7d1-2bc3-4528-8981-d0a2c9ecc1b5]
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Who says a bolt can’t be beautiful?
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Finally, after I made [5]this lamp for the desk, my old [6]cylinder lamp needed
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a new home.
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I decided to notch out some space for it on the main bookshelf in here. My son
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and I took down the books on the third shelf, carried the board outside,
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measured, trimmed, and sanded it, and then brought it back in — about 10
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minutes of effort to make a perfect space for some golden light.
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[6efb3fb6-10ac-4f66-a124-16d9251850bf]
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As I age, I realize more and more how important craft is to me. And I do take
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pride in improving our surroundings. But the thing I’m most proud of here is
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that each one of these projects was something I could include my children in.
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On the short list of things I hope I can teach them is the confidence to shape
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their surroundings for the better.
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Written by [7]Christopher Butler on March 9, 2024, In [8]Log
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Next Entry
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[9] visual journal – 2024 March 9 - March 16 Either nothing is magic or
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everything is. (3 images)
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Previous Entry
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[10] object – Wooden Task Lamp I made a task lamp in just a couple of hours.
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⌨ Keep up via [11]Email or [12]RSS
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✺ [13]Impressum
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© Christopher Butler. All rights reserved
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References:
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[1] https://www.chrbutler.com/
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[2] https://www.chrbutler.com/archives
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[3] https://www.chrbutler.com/information
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[4] https://www.chrbutler.com/now
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[5] https://www.chrbutler.com/2024-02-24
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[6] https://www.chrbutler.com/2023-04-24
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[7] https://www.chrbutler.com/information
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[8] https://www.chrbutler.com/tagged/log
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[9] https://www.chrbutler.com/visual-journal/2024-03-09
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[10] https://www.chrbutler.com/2024-02-24
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[11] https://dontthinkaboutthefuture.eo.page/8y4tg
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[12] http://chrbutler.com/feed.rss
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[13] https://www.chrbutler.com/impressum
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