Now

A page where I can post about my current passions and projects. Updated periodically, and not all sections will get updates.

Vibes

Hmm not great. Trying to avoid looking at the news all the time, especially when my small news exposure is Extremely Bad. Trying to keep myself distracted from the news and working to minimize the damage to myself and others.

Currently Reading

Using a Kindle Paperwhite 2023 because I’ve been spoiled and will never go back to paper

Storygraph Profile

• Just Finished
  • Is She Really Going Out With Him by Sophie Cousens
    • Reading this for book club, it confirmed that romance isn’t my thing and I thought it was too predictable. Still, a fun/cozy read for winter. Not my thing but I didn’t hate it.
  • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Robin Buss
    • My first book club book, 1300 pages of adventure and schemes.
    • There were definitely parts that felt like a slog, but I’d definitely recommend reading this classic, especially the Robin Buss translation
• Just Started
  • Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
    • Hooray a new Stormlight Archive Book!
    • It picks up immediately after the last one left off, so it took a bit to jog my memory but I’m strapped back in and excited to burn through it.

Learning/Productivity/Projects

MIT OpenCourseWare

• Just finished 6.004 Computation Structures
  • I will probably never use these skills but it definitely makes me appreciate and understand all the logic behind the scenes, the hard work of the compiler, etc
  • I’ve been meaning to learn a lower-level language like Rust for a while, and I’m glad I took this class fist to get a better understanding of what really happens in a computer.
• Just Started 18.650 - Statistics for Applications
  • Useful to better understand how to analyze and represent data, especially in the context of experimental design
  • This should be helpful towards becoming a Data Engineer/Analyst
  • Includes fundamentals of using R in addition to a broader background on statistics/analysis

Currently Inked/Stationery Corner

Yes I’m a fountain pen nerd. This should not come as a surprise.

Pens and Inks

• Kaweco Sport DIY <M>
  • Won as a raffle prize in a Stationery Discord server
  • Inked with Diamine Soft Mint, which is pretty but nearly unusable for large amounts of text
  • Lives inside my Travelers Notebook Passport (in my back pocket) at all times
• TWSBI Swipe Blue <EF>
  • Won in a Pen Addict raffle
  • Inked with the default TWSBI Sapphire Blue cartridge
  • It was sent without the special big TWSBI converters, but I can refill the giant cartriges if I don’t get a converter
• Schon Design Ultem Pen with JoWo <M>
  • Purchased at the Philadelphia Pen Show 2024, my first Pen Show
  • Ian Schon is a really cool dude, was willing to chat for a bit about other alternative/cursed materials for a pen
    • I had asked him about a PEEK feed instead of Ultem for the Monoc nib and we discussed why that was a bad idea (too flimsy for proper machining with tight tolerances)
  • Using this pen to finish up all my ink samples, since I can just pour the ink right into the eyedropper barrel
  • Inked with Franklin-Christoph Sweet Maroon
• Nahvalur Schuykill Chromis Teal <M>
  • A gift from the same Stationery Discord server, this time from a generous individual.
  • Gifted it as a birthday present when I lamented that I wanted one but refused to go to the pen show since I was still unemployed
  • Inked with Diamine/Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple

Notebooks

• Traveller’s Notebook Passport
  • Passport size so it lives in my back pocket
  • Cotton Zip insert so it serves as my wallet
  • DIY paper insert using cardstock and excess B5 paper
  • Elastic pen loop holding the Kaweco Sport
  • One day I’d like to create a TN insert outlining the SEPTA regional rail network
    • TN Passport is B7, so I could print it on semi B5, cut in half, and fold to make B7 notebook inserts
• Lihit Lab A5 and B5 refillable notebooks
  • Made with whatever paper I find and punch
  • Notebooks I don’t like using have started getting ripped apart so I can use the paper as fodder for the refillable ones

And the rest

• Pentel Graphgear 1000 (0.5mm) and a metal ruler
  • There’s something satisfying about “drafting”, whether it’s drawing the layout for my weekly spread or designing a font on the fly for cutting out block letters
• Lihit Labs case to keep everything organized in my bag
• Still need to figure out what I’m doing for storage. Currently all stationery-adjacent stuff sits in a basket on a shelf next to my desk which isn’t ideal for organizing