So what have I been up to in the… five years since I last posted to this blog? Let’s see… I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physics from Rowan University, got an internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, got a full time job at same, got a masters degree in physics from Johns Hopkins and now live in Maryland just outside of DC. So, you know, nothing too big.
You may notice that this site is basically blank at this point. A while back a hacker got into my wordpress account and basically put a bunch of crap into all of my old posts, so I had to take them all down. That was a few years ago and I haven’t really had a strong desire to post my words or art to the internet. I’ve been really focused on my education and career without much thought for creative output or social interaction. I also deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts because they just made me feel bad.
So, I’m hoping to turn this site into a nice little place on the internet that doesn’t hurt me to use. Going forward I think I’m going to use it to document what I have come to call my “serial obsessions”. If you’ve ever seen the movie Adaptation there’s a drug that makes people fascinated with things. Also, one of the main characters talks about how he was really into breeding tropical fish (I think… haven’t seen the move in a while) and then suddenly gives up tropical fish breeding. When asked why he gave it up he says, “Fuck fish, that’s why!”
I sort of do that with different projects and hobbies. I find some subject and just completely immerse myself in it, set some kind of goal to accomplish, and once I have I just completely forget about it. In the last year I’ve:
- Learned to knit and knit a scarf and hat.
- Bought a 3d printer and designed and printed 3d replicas of sword from cartoons I like.
- Learned how to use neural networks to generate text.
- Learned how to sew jeans from a pattern.
- Tried to learn to play the guitar, the piano, and the ukelele.
… and probably some more things that I’ve forgotten. Right now my new obsession is tabletop roleplaying games. Specifically Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve been reading fifth edition sourcebooks and consuming a ton of D&D podcasts and shows.
So I’m going to try to use this site going forward as a way to document my obsessions and the results of those obsessions. See you soon…