welding, running, cousins, and food

Friday's progress took longer to accomplish than I would have liked. My morning attempt at welding shut the second capsule for my next experiment almost worked. I achieved a decent looking bead across both the left and the right sides of the seam, but I wasn't certain if there might be a slight gap in the low spot in the middle, and the corners didn't look quite right, either. So I tried the 30 seconds in the oven test, and the darn thing lost mass (which is likely due to the water inside being cooked out through small gaps in the seal).

So I went home and cooked myself some yummy homemade pizza to drown my sorrows, and returned to uni after lunch. However, at that point I wasn't feeling up to doing more welding, so after a bit of other work on the computer, feeling more and more icky as time progressed, I decided to head home for a nap, intending to return afterwards and fill another capsule (and weld it shut) then.

I don't think that the feeling icky is coming down with any sort of sickness, I think it is a somewhat annoying reaction to the tree outside my window, which is happily doing everything in its power to encourage flying creatures to help it have sex with other trees in the neighbourhood. I never used to have (or at least never noticed having) allergic reactions to pollens before moving to Tasmania. Perhaps the plants in Alaska aren't a problem for me, perhaps there has been some change in my body chemistry. Whatever the reason I've had to deal with a drippy nose for a couple of days now, combined with low energy and an ...awareness of that portion of the back of my throat which is so high that it is in contact with my nasal cavity. The awareness doesn't cross the line into pain, but it can't be described as pleasant, either. Frequent hot showers seems to help, as does rest. Part of my secret in rarely, if ever, being sick is that I listen to my body when it asks for things like extra rest, which is why I went home for that nap.

Of course, as luck would have it soon after I drifted off to sleep my boss called--he actually had a free moment to check in with me (something that isn't happening as often as he'd like, as he's dealing with complications related to his parent's aging). When he asked if I was in my office, I explained that I'd gone across the street to take a nap, with the plan of doing the second capsule after I'd rested. He let me know that he'd be in till about 17:30, and I went straight back to sleep. I woke up earlier than I really wanted to, since I thought it would be a good idea to actually meet with him before he left for the weekend.

After meeting with him I went to the store to pick up the replacement bulb for our microscope lamp. I'd tried purchasing it the day before, but they didn't carry that type and had to order it in. Boy am I glad I'll be reimbursed for this purchase--52 euros for a single light bulb! Then I finally settled in to capsule filling and welding. Much to my delight, this time it worked; not only is the bead sealing it shut pretty, but it also passed both the 30 seconds and 60 seconds in the oven test, not losing any mass either time.

To celebrate I called it a day at 19:30 and went home to play D&D with clovis_t, cook some lovely spinach tarts for today, and work on another of the nålbinding needles I'm working on for zoezebra.

Today I've spent more time relaxing over e-mail/livejournal/facebook than anything else. I've added as facebook friends a few cousins I haven't seen since I was a child, and had a lovely chat with one of them. That cousin left some complimentary comments on some photos taken about the time I moved to Milan, and of course, I clicked on the link in the e-mail to see which photos she'd commented on. I have been noticing recently that I've added just a bit of softness to my middle this winter, but looking at those photos makes me realize that, actually, it is more than a bit. Sure, I'm still well within "healthy range", and the jeans I bought in Tassie when I dropped a fair bit of weight as I was finishing up my PhD still fit. But then, when I arrive in Milan they were loose, and now they fit.

This realization got me thinking about my exercise levels. While I do plenty of walking, I haven't done anything in the way of aerobic exercise in months. As soon as I thought that, I shut down the computer, when home and changed into clothes I was willing to sweat in, and went for a short run with clovis_t, who also hasn't done anything aerobic in months, though he, too, gets in plenty of walking. I was very pleased that he was the first one to suggest we switch to walking for a bit--it does the ego good to not be the first one to need to drop the intensity of the workout. We did run for far more of the loop than we walked, but it being the first time to engage in such activity in ages, we also opted to do only 20 minutes. He dived straight into a shower after we got home, but I put on some music and danced for another 20.

Now I just need to remember to keep doing some sort of aerobic activity in addition to all of the walking. It doesn't do much good to be active once a month--bodies are happy with regular movement. Of course, the sensible thing would have been to have been doing this all winter, when the temperatures were nice and cool, not to start being active again just before Milan settles into the hot season. Oh well, I can't change the past, but I can make certain I stick with the plan going forward, and, perhaps, getting out and running regularly will help me better cope with the heat when it arrives. I can only hope.

welding, running, cousins, and food

Friday's progress took longer to accomplish than I would have liked. My morning attempt at welding shut the second capsule for my next experiment almost worked. I achieved a decent looking bead across both the left and the right sides of the seam, but I wasn't certain if there might be a slight gap in the low spot in the middle, and the corners didn't look quite right, either. So I tried the 30 seconds in the oven test, and the darn thing lost mass (which is likely due to the water inside being cooked out through small gaps in the seal).

So I went home and cooked myself some yummy homemade pizza to drown my sorrows, and returned to uni after lunch. However, at that point I wasn't feeling up to doing more welding, so after a bit of other work on the computer, feeling more and more icky as time progressed, I decided to head home for a nap, intending to return afterwards and fill another capsule (and weld it shut) then.

I don't think that the feeling icky is coming down with any sort of sickness, I think it is a somewhat annoying reaction to the tree outside my window, which is happily doing everything in its power to encourage flying creatures to help it have sex with other trees in the neighbourhood. I never used to have (or at least never noticed having) allergic reactions to pollens before moving to Tasmania. Perhaps the plants in Alaska aren't a problem for me, perhaps there has been some change in my body chemistry. Whatever the reason I've had to deal with a drippy nose for a couple of days now, combined with low energy and an ...awareness of that portion of the back of my throat which is so high that it is in contact with my nasal cavity. The awareness doesn't cross the line into pain, but it can't be described as pleasant, either. Frequent hot showers seems to help, as does rest. Part of my secret in rarely, if ever, being sick is that I listen to my body when it asks for things like extra rest, which is why I went home for that nap.

Of course, as luck would have it soon after I drifted off to sleep my boss called--he actually had a free moment to check in with me (something that isn't happening as often as he'd like, as he's dealing with complications related to his parent's aging). When he asked if I was in my office, I explained that I'd gone across the street to take a nap, with the plan of doing the second capsule after I'd rested. He let me know that he'd be in till about 17:30, and I went straight back to sleep. I woke up earlier than I really wanted to, since I thought it would be a good idea to actually meet with him before he left for the weekend.

After meeting with him I went to the store to pick up the replacement bulb for our microscope lamp. I'd tried purchasing it the day before, but they didn't carry that type and had to order it in. Boy am I glad I'll be reimbursed for this purchase--52 euros for a single light bulb! Then I finally settled in to capsule filling and welding. Much to my delight, this time it worked; not only is the bead sealing it shut pretty, but it also passed both the 30 seconds and 60 seconds in the oven test, not losing any mass either time.

To celebrate I called it a day at 19:30 and went home to play D&D with clovis_t, cook some lovely spinach tarts for today, and work on another of the nålbinding needles I'm working on for zoezebra.

Today I've spent more time relaxing over e-mail/livejournal/facebook than anything else. I've added as facebook friends a few cousins I haven't seen since I was a child, and had a lovely chat with one of them. That cousin left some complimentary comments on some photos taken about the time I moved to Milan, and of course, I clicked on the link in the e-mail to see which photos she'd commented on. I have been noticing recently that I've added just a bit of softness to my middle this winter, but looking at those photos makes me realize that, actually, it is more than a bit. Sure, I'm still well within "healthy range", and the jeans I bought in Tassie when I dropped a fair bit of weight as I was finishing up my PhD still fit. But then, when I arrive in Milan they were loose, and now they fit.

This realization got me thinking about my exercise levels. While I do plenty of walking, I haven't done anything in the way of aerobic exercise in months. As soon as I thought that, I shut down the computer, when home and changed into clothes I was willing to sweat in, and went for a short run with clovis_t, who also hasn't done anything aerobic in months, though he, too, gets in plenty of walking. I was very pleased that he was the first one to suggest we switch to walking for a bit--it does the ego good to not be the first one to need to drop the intensity of the workout. We did run for far more of the loop than we walked, but it being the first time to engage in such activity in ages, we also opted to do only 20 minutes. He dived straight into a shower after we got home, but I put on some music and danced for another 20.

Now I just need to remember to keep doing some sort of aerobic activity in addition to all of the walking. It doesn't do much good to be active once a month--bodies are happy with regular movement. Of course, the sensible thing would have been to have been doing this all winter, when the temperatures were nice and cool, not to start being active again just before Milan settles into the hot season. Oh well, I can't change the past, but I can make certain I stick with the plan going forward, and, perhaps, getting out and running regularly will help me better cope with the heat when it arrives. I can only hope.

I enjoy making salt cylinders

I just finished making another couple of salt cylinders and am now completely ready to run my next experiment. I really enjoy the process of making these things--everything from measuring the salt to pressing it into shape to sanding them down to make them fit. I think I just like making stuff.

I did, however, opt to only make two this time. When he taught me to make them my boss suggested that I make 5 to 10 at a time, so that I wouldn't have to do them again. Last time I did three of them. Of those three I used one, a colleague of mine used one, and the third one broke. This time I just made the one I need and a spare. Still, an hour's work on a Saturday will help keep my average number of hours worked for the month in a reasonable range...

Now I should go home and get some sleep.

I enjoy making salt cylinders

I just finished making another couple of salt cylinders and am now completely ready to run my next experiment. I really enjoy the process of making these things--everything from measuring the salt to pressing it into shape to sanding them down to make them fit. I think I just like making stuff.

I did, however, opt to only make two this time. When he taught me to make them my boss suggested that I make 5 to 10 at a time, so that I wouldn't have to do them again. Last time I did three of them. Of those three I used one, a colleague of mine used one, and the third one broke. This time I just made the one I need and a spare. Still, an hour's work on a Saturday will help keep my average number of hours worked for the month in a reasonable range...

Now I should go home and get some sleep.