We might not ever know who was persuaded, or inspired, by this protest. She knew what the consequences would be, and chose to follow her values in spite of those consequences, which I find courageous and inspiring.

I feel like they have long had a chip on their collective shoulders for not being seen as cool (like Apple), and valued subtly and refinement and looking good over maximizing usability to prove they are cool too

While there are exceptions (windows xp, windows phone), my general experience with Microsoft designers is that they have a strong aesthetic aversion to contrast. Lots of dark grey on light grey, blue on blue, etc.

One of the highlights visiting Mariners spring training is getting to see Ichiro casually wandering around. No baseball task is beneath him - shagging fly balls in bp? - no problem. Pitching BP? - got it. I half expect to see him raking the infield dirt, just to have an excuse to be out there

And if you can, buy decent tools as you go - crappy tools make things harder and more frustrating than they need to be. Doesn’t have to be top shelf, but stay away from the super cheap stuff

Find YouTube videos for that specific thing, get the tools you need for that specific thing, and dig in and do it. It will take you longer to do in the beginning, but over time you will build up skills, experience, and tools.

My best advice is to just start - pick a thing that annoys you around the house (this door sticks, this window sill is broken, this drain is slow …) and just start.

It depends a bit on your goals. There are good classes available for specific skills like woodworking and furniture making, but I’ve never found something that’s a “how to be handy around the house” in a more general way.

If anyone is interested, I wrote a small blog post on the construction details of this piece. www.taperedgrain.com/blog/behind-...

Finally, my favorite project from 2024 was this figured walnut storage bench. It’s made from Oregon black walnut, features wrap-around grain, mitered corners with copper splines, and a maple lining for the interior. Definitely my 2024 masterpiece . #woodworking

2nd to last entry in this series. A client approached me looking for a small, folding table which could so in a small niche, acting as a homework station in use, and disappearing under a couch the rest of the time. This fun little sapele table was the result. #woodworking

I built this 3 drawer entry table for a client who had some very specific dimensions for the space they were looking to utilize, and I think the proportions came out nicely. I also went with quarter sawn walnut for the main components, to keep the grain quiet and elegant. #woodworking

Next up we have a very different project, a trio of tea boxes (inspired by a mike pekovich design) in figured maple, with a continuous grain match all around. The accents are wenge, walnut, and cherry on the various boxes, and the handles are hand carved. #woodworking

That’s really elegant, nice work on both the birdhouse and the photography.

The first entry is this sapele headboard and nightstand combo. The panels in the headboard and the drawer faces are veneered with some figured sapele I found The nightstands feature an open shelf to accommodate some medical devices the client needs, while still leaving a clear tabletop. #woodworking

Add woodworker

Here is a sapele box I made for my landlord so she can support this small statue on a fence in her garden. #woodworking #dovetails

bsky.app/profile/did:...