§ A big week. Mar10, Pi Day, the Ides of March, and St. Patrick’s Day.

§ If you don’t count the snow storm on Sunday, this has been the first full week this year that has really felt like spring. The wild daffodils are nearly blooming.

§ In response to the discussion of the terms used to describe different qualities on the most recent episode of RecDiffs:

  • “One”: 1
  • “Couple”: 2
  • “Few”: 3-5
  • “Several”: 5-7
  • “Dozen”: 12

A “handful” is tricky. “A handful of almonds” might be ten but if something took “a handful of tries” that might be closer to four or five.

§ I updated my blogroll to use Micro.blog’s new “recommendations” feature. Check it out! This also means that there is now an always up-to-date OPML shortlist of my favorite blogs that you can import straight into your RSS reader of choice.

§ I got fitted for my wedding suit. It was intimidating but ultimately painless and less expensive than I feared. Good news all around.

§ Apparently cabbage is “having a moment”. It looks like I might be something of a culinary trendsetter.

§ Lot of time spent digitally fiddling with different 3D JavaScript frameworks. We’re in the very early stages of building a new exhibit as work where children can assemble a “care package” for a loved one, learning how the U.S. postal system works in the process. I’m working on the digital side. The pitch is that, as a child adds each item to their package, they scan an embedded NFC tag which pulls up the corresponding 3D model of the item. After the package is “shipped off”, we can then generate a QR code that displays a little online preview of the items that were chosen.

I started with three.js, before remembering that everything is at least twice as complicated as it needs to be. I finally settled on A-Frame which makes much more sense, to my brain. Everything is just an HTML component: <a-box>, <a-cylinder>, etc. My prototype is very rough around the edges but I’ve realized actually building the thing helps me think about it more than anything else.

§ T-minus, uhh, maybe eight weeks until I’ll be forced to learn how the DMX protocol works. So, look forward to that. I certainly haven’t been procrastinating on it in the meantime.

§ Dune: Part One was a treat to listen to on my fancy sound system. It was often visually stunning as well. Story wise, while it occasionally teetered over the edge into too much wacky scifi weirdness, it struck a good, relatively approachable balance most of the time. My biggest critique: it’s so long. I think it might be a bad habit pulled over from television. We don’t know how to tell tight stories anymore. Dune: Part Two is even longer, of course, but I’m excited to see it nonetheless.

§ Poor Things is one of the most interesting looking films I’ve seen in recent memory. Yorgos Lanthimos has clearly learned a thing or two about set design from Wes Anderson. The background of each shot is a treat. The switch from black and white to color was breathtaking. The costumes, the performances, the animals, the boat—captivating.

§ I’m off to Boston tomorrow—my first time traveling out of state in three years and my first time ever in that city.

Okay, I guess I better start packing.