Recently updated blogs

Important things first: 27 January there's a python meetup in Leiden (NL) of the new python Leiden user group. Meetup groups come and go, often depending on one or two people or on a company that organises it. And yes, meetup.com has basically cornered the market, at least in my experience. There used to be a "PUN", python usergroup Nederland, meeting that would be held in various cities, depending on …

After 4 (cumulative) years of service at my job in late 2023, I became eligible for a 3-month paid sabbatical (honestly what a perk). My only prior experience of a work sabbatical had been the offer of a 6-month paid sabbatical after 25 years of service at a past employer, so needless to say, this was very exciting indeed. Cautious of being alone with my thoughts for 3 months – …

The gang begins filling up Meike's empty home.

Christopher Bush's The Case of the Second Chance (1946), 31st entry in the Ludovic Travers series, is best described as an "in-between" novel for more reasons than one.The Case of the Second Chance is a post-WWII detective novel, a time of austerity, social malaise and imperial decay, during which Bush was in the process of transforming the series by turning Travers from an amateur detective with police credentials into an …

I'm Kathryn Desforges, a Devon-born, Yorkshire-based artist with a passion for printmaking, process, and material experimentation. I specialise in etching, lithography and woodcut, and alongside my studio practice, my career as a printmaking technician and tutor intertwines with and informs my work. I love working intuitively with materials - embracing and exploiting incidental marks and chance happenings. Moving between representational and non-representational, the interaction and influence of elemental forces and …

While we are just beginning 2025, the Law Library of Congress has determined the schedule of webinars for 2025 and is excited to share the upcoming U.S. law webinars for February. We hope you will join us next month for the next offering of our Orientation to Legal Research webinar series, which will focus on U.S. case law and the first Introduction to Congress.gov webinar of 2025. Both of these …

The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own. I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before. In this thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is …

With the passing of the New Year, in the era of accelerated polycrisis, it can feel like time is getting away from us. These books interrogate the fight for free time outside of domestic work and wage labour, our conceptions of radical histories and futures, the tech enabled culture of speed, and more! In 2025, escape doomscrolling through insubstantial content, and spend your time slowly digging into books that will …

Super Switch. There’s a lot to unpack here (plan to record an episode of Breaking Change this weekend to discuss), but the biggest “surprise” is that this is the least surprising console Nintendo has ever designed. youtube.com/watch?v=itpcsQQvgAQ

1. New York added congestion pricing and one of the buses has been faster. As someone who regularly takes an express bus, this intrigues me. 2. Phil Lewis talked to some residents of Altadena who lost their homes in the fire. There are some links to GoFundMes in there too. 3. Some teens built a library.

I never knew I needed rice cakes in my risotto until now – their satisfying chew is the perfect addition to Eric Kim’s delightfully creamy Winter Squash Risotto with Chewy Rice Cakes! This was my first time cooking with kabocha squash (aka Japanese pumpkin), which I found on a recent trip to H Mart. It’s sweeter than butternut squash and incredibly easy to prepare using Eric’s microwave steaming method. The …

If you see my substack blog, you can skip this one – it’s the same chair that I posted there the other day… I have the last chair from 2024 for sale now. I made it in the fall, then it sat around before I put the seat in it. Then sat again before trimming the feet & photographing it…but now it’s done. PF ladderback, red oak & ash 2024 …

Californios (singular Californio) are Hispanic Californians, especially those descended from Spanish settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californios Arguello, Noe, Vallejo, Martinez, Peralta; if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you know these names. In 1892, they were the surnames of well-known women, descended from the Spanish settlers of California. Their families left their legacy as place names. Please …

In 2015, I wrote this letter to the Austin Chronicle, it appeared in their January 16th, 2015 issue, hence posting today. In just 4-days, we should have the next Presidential inauguration on January 20th, 2015. Let’s hope so. YOU GET WHAT YOU VOTE FORDear Editor,So, our “Rail or Fail” Mayor Leffingwell reminds us that there are some 860,000 people in Austin, and it’s hard to remember that when confronted by …

Note: this item was provided for review. I have used, owned, and tested/reviewed loads of bags which fall into the general category of a ‘do it all day-to-day’ bag. Something large enough to take to the office, or to travel with, but also small enough you can generally take it anywhere with you. That’s a recipe which is ripe for compromise, and while I’ve liked a lot of the bags …