I read food labels, but try to avoid foods which have labels. I’m struck by how the same ingredients show up over and over again in different products. I looked up five McCormick spice mixes online for comparison: The mixes contain ingredients we already have in the kitchen, apart from outliers like Yellow #5 and…… Continue reading Minimizing Duplicate Pantry Ingredients
Author: Tom Wilson
Little Mogadishu
Cedar-Riverside, the most diverse neighborhood in Minneapolis, is a four minute walk from our home. One hundred years ago, Cedar-Riverside was home to Scandinavians, Germans, and Bohemians (today’s Czech Republic). During the last 30 years a large number of Somalis, escaping civil war and refugee camps, have moved here to what has been called Little…… Continue reading Little Mogadishu
Izzy’s Ice Cream
This week I bought our final Saturday evening ice cream treats from Izzy’s ice cream store just down the road from where we live. Covid-19, and the uncertainties it’s bringing, gate-crashed the business model; the store is closing. Ice cream in a time of Covid. The server slides my online order through the freezer case…… Continue reading Izzy’s Ice Cream
LEGO Mindstorms Warehouse Picker: Teardown
https://youtu.be/vsbbJ0vttZU Teardown The four modules stack on top of each other. Modules Up-down motor module. Rack and pinion, one servo motor, one touch sensor. Forward-backward motor module. Two linear actuators, one servo motor, one touch sensor. Left-right motor module. Rack and pinion, one servo motor, one touch sensor. EV3 computer brick. I wrote the program…… Continue reading LEGO Mindstorms Warehouse Picker: Teardown
Should I Open This Envelope?
An envelope, addressed by hand, was waiting for me in our mail box today. Judging by the return address, it contained Covid-19 antibody test results from a clinical lab affiliated with the University of Minnesota. I found myself wondering if I should even open the envelope. I try to be disciplined about this kind of…… Continue reading Should I Open This Envelope?
Out of Sight…
In early May, I rode my bicycle past a scene that’s etched in my memory. At that time, George Floyd was alive, but Covid-19 was already disproportionately affecting the poor and people of color. The scene was something I had never seen before: a line of people carrying possessions, appropriately socially distanced, waiting outside a…… Continue reading Out of Sight…
Using Airline Service Trolleys to Organize LEGO Parts
When we mapped out the floor plan for our apartment, we included a closet just off the den for hobby materials and practical stuff. Two rolling carts would sit against a wall: one cart would hold boxes of my LEGO Technics and Mindstorms parts, the other would hold my partner’s Architectural LEGO bricks. I investigated…… Continue reading Using Airline Service Trolleys to Organize LEGO Parts
Naked Desks
Stay-at-home orders have led to a boom in decluttering, closet organizing, and generally improving the home. We tend to get used to things being a little out of whack in our homes. With that thought in mind, I wandered around with a critical eye, trying to see things as if for the first time. I…… Continue reading Naked Desks
Minneapolis Protest Street Art
The elderly white woman periodically topped up our wine glasses. When she decided we were sufficiently lubricated, she turned the conversation to race, specifically African Americans. “They need to get over it,” she announced, repeating with added vehemence, “Get over it.” That conversation has been reverberating in my head as I’ve been looking at street…… Continue reading Minneapolis Protest Street Art
A Day Without News Media
I pay attention to the news; too much attention, some would say. We have digital subscriptions to the New York Times, Washington Post, and our local paper, the Star Tribune. We’re members of Minnesota Public Radio and the local public television station. My long list of online news sources includes Politico, BBC, NHK (Japan, in…… Continue reading A Day Without News Media