Recently updated blogs

This blog post will delve into the details of each tool you need for plein air painting.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Transit Maps has never taken a look at the map for Portland’s northern neighbour, the (original) Vancouver. With the recent addition of their second “The Vine” BRT route along Mill Plain Boulevard, now seems like a good time. At first glance, it seems to be a pretty solid map with some nicely simplified geography and routes clearly delineated. To my eyes, it seems to take some design …

I used to have a blog on wordpress.com called “Proper Gander”, so I revived the name but added a heavy metal umlaut1. To avoid unnecessary disappointment, please don’t expect me to stick to a particular theme, topic, or schedule. caveat lector Any opinions I post are mine unless attributed, and should not be mistaken for my employers' views or those of their clients or partners. Nothing I post here should …

My first trip to Scotland was when I was sixteen. At the end of the summer term I was asked not to return to Lancing College, my boarding school, as I was deemed ineducable. My parents didn’t really know what to do with me but, somehow, my mother learnt of adventure training courses run by the Scottish Council of Physical Education (now Sportscotland) at Glenmore Lodge a Highland centre near …

https://meangreennation.substack.com Over on the first post on MGN Substack we listed the main reasons why we are moving over. The great challenge of writing consistently…

The terrain of American mental health is as vast and colorful as this country’s geography. I’ve been interested in exploring the landscape since 2019, when I dashed off a quick blog post on cultural differences in psychology. Backburnered for four years, the topic is now top of mind for me. My interest in the economies of cultural and spiritual production, the topic of Life After Lifestyle, led me right back …

Last Updated on October 12, 2023 by Real Men Sow Nowadays, rapid advancements in science and technology as well as humanity’s pursuit of environmental sustainability are driving innovation in various fields. In the world of horticulture, hydroponic systems, with their unique advantages, are becoming increasingly popular, capturing the attention of numerous gardening enthusiasts and professionals. 1. The Origin of Hydroponic Agricultural Technology The history of hydroponics can be traced back …

Comme bien des montréalais depuis quelques années, des travaux sont en cours sur notre rue depuis deux semaines. Aqueducs, conduites d’eau contenant du plomb, remplacement de ci et de ça, la totale. Ce matin un camion avec tuyau articulé mêne un bruit d’enfer en pompant ou injectant quelque chose au fond d’un trou, je n’ai pas investigué. En revenant à la maison tantôt, autre camion au coin de la rue, …

Eric C. Wilder is a freelance designer living in Upstate New York. Here he takes us through his process for creating three covers for Open Letter Book’s Translator Triptych series. I have previous experience as a packaging designer, so when I get a series like this I tend to look at it as though I’m developing a product line. That is to say, instead of developing three covers for three …

We go back to Marlin Apartments in Stratford, where homeless families live 4 and 5 to a single room – around which they are pursued by militias of rats, mice, bedbugs, cockroaches, tiny flies and other pests that I didn’t care to view closely at the time. There are pictures and stories here if you can stand it. Being eaten by bedbugs was plenty to be getting on with, but …

This is a fraction of the items currently in my to-do list app, which functions more like an underpass covered in graffiti tags these days than a tool for productivity. I’m passing through, jotting down names of people I meet, frantic reminders of deadlines, books to read, errands to check off. The chaos of it gives me shivers. As my dad loses access to words, memories, faculties, ranges of motion, …

A diary of my visits to my club's section of river, somewhere in deepest, darkest Sussex.Last month I received an email from Kyle, a fellow South African who'd recently made Sussex his home. Kyle wanted some ideas about where he might find trout in running water before the approaching close of the season. I delivered the bad news first. Unusually for Britain, finding river-dwelling trout in Sussex is about as …

Bear’s Castle is an enigma. There is little agreement over why it was built, or its purpose, but it truly captures the imagination. Bear’s Castle stands on the edge of the Yan Yean Reservoir, just out of Whittlesea. It’s one of those places I’d only seen photos of, so to say I was pleased to have a chance to visit earlier this year is an understatement. Bear’s Castle is on …

looks up Blimey, er, time's kinda flown. But what a year. I posted in INTERLUDE that I needed to sort myself out before the Winter of Discontent II landed. Well, we got through that. We also found a house, went through 5 months of ballache buying it, moved (again), and I'm now up to my neck in DIY. I did a contract for Rockstar, on stuff I'll probably never be …

This tour is massive, the excitement must be wild, what does it mean to you to be able to do this? It’s what we’re always waiting to get back to on our time off to be honest. It’s the most amazing rollercoaster, there are so many highs and lows, so many amazing moments and then some days when it’s really hard. So much life is concentrated into those couple months …