Charles Bartley's Open Salon Blog

I dream of Mini

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 17:12:25 -0500

My wife and I have basically divided our stuff, are living in separate cities and have almost complete separate budgets. We won't start the whole divorce thing until the house sells (if it ever sells, sigh).

I gave my wife the better car (08 Honda Accord) because she won't be able to buy an new car as easily and that one is in good shape. I got the 2001 Ford Explorer that is rather beat up and gets increasingly horrible gas milage (currently 11.7mpg) . The honda should be paid off when we sell the house (hopefully) and the Exploder is paid for.

When I dream of times after the house sale, I think about what car I am going to get to replace the Expoder. We got it for three reasons: It fit me, It fit my dog, and it was under $15K in good shape and was fairly reliable.

Now, I don't have the dog and the gas bill on the explorer is almost twice what I am paying monthly on the Honda Accord.

"Fit" is my big problem. I am a big guy (6'4") and have a hard time fitting in, and seeing out of most cars. For example, I can fit in Subaru's but I can't see farther than 2 car-lengths out of the front due to the slope of the windshield. I also have broad shoulders and long legs. The triple threat of car fit.

In May 08, I test sat over 100 cars and only found three that were under $30K and over 30mpg that I fit into. The Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, and The Mini Cooper (all variants as long as I don't get the standard sports seats).

The Accord has a little more road noise than I want. Also, I can't get the radio options I want unless I also get a sun roof (which eliminates my head room and thus the car). I put an after market radio in the other Accord and it is a reasonable solution, but the road noise is still not that exciting. I do like this car.

I really like the Altima but I only have about .25" of headspace even without the sun roof, and it has the same problem with the radio that the Honda had. I can't really see it being a good option when I hit my head on the celling every time I hit a pothole.

Then there is The Mini. I am falling in love with it--especially Mini's build-to-order system. I fit fine. I can get the GPS, Sirrius, iPod radio without getting a sunroof. I can put a British flag on top (yeah baby!) and it just oozes class and charm. It also gets really good gas milage.

It is rumored that the diesel version will be available in the US in the next year or so which would get even better milage.

The Mini's post 2005 redesign gets good reliability and crash ratings, but not as good as the Altima's or Accord's. I think I can live with that.

It is an easy car to fall in love with over the internet, in the showroom and on the test drive. It is a very fun car to drive. I can say with complete confidence that I WANT IT.

So now the question is "is it good for me."

hmmm.

I will be hopefully coming out of this divorce, with a high-paying job, no debt, no real assets other than the Explorer and my TV and Computers, and a hefty maintenance payment to my then ex-wife.
The Exporer's gas bill will continue to be more than a newer car's bill + mortage payment for the volume that I drive. It plainly has to go.
I will look at used options, but I don't think I will find the combination of stuff I am looking for. My height really makes this tough. People tent to put things like an upgraded seat into vehicles with sun roofs. God I hate sun roofs.
The one area on the mini where the reliability is really rated low on the post 2005 models was the automatic transmission. I normally like automatics because of all of the hills and stop and go traffic that we get in Seattle. I think I would get a stick. I can see really liking it on drives and swearing at it on Queen Ann Hill or on I-90.
I prefer the Clubman model and that is what I would get if I am ordering to spec. If I buy used, then I would take any 05 or later with the correct seats and lack of sun roof.
I have been reading about a carless lifecycle, but I can't see that working in my geography and employment situation, but I find it really attractive. I do want to get out of the debt cycle, but keeping the Explorer's gas bill won't help with that.
I think I will be able to swing it to where, I buy the new (or used if I can find the seats) mini on time, but pay it off fast and then bank the equivalent of the car payments so I can the next car cash. I tend to run cars until they are falling apart so this should be many years down the road.

I am planning on waiting until the 2011 Minis are available. The house should be sold, Honda paid for, and the divorce should be finalized. Until then, I will just dream of small cars. ZUG ZUG.

My "Everything will be OK" play list

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:08:08 -0400

I was recently exchanging some emails with someone that I have never met in real life. They were talking about their love of music and said that a group that I liked played the first song on their "Everything will be OK" playlist.

I decided to make a playlist like that for myself. I am really responsive to musical control of my emotions and moods. So much so, that I am geeking out by reading a book on the topic "This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession" by Daniel J. Levitin. Very good book.

Here is my version of that playlist (in random order):

I'm Gonna Take That Mountain - Reba McEntire
A good get you going, you can do anything song. Great Dobro part.

Hard Times - Eastmountainsouth
Hard times come again no more. Enough Said.

Even Superman - Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband
Even Superman can fail, it is ok not to be a superhero. Wish I could have found an non-fan vid.

That's Not Love - Keb' Mo'
Love doesn't hurt like that. A good reminder

Penelope - Great Big Sea
Every Da-a-a-a-a-ya. Cheery music with words that encourage you to go where you are happiest. I couldn't find a good vid for it :(

Wave On Wave - Pat Green
We are all looking for redemption, just afraid to say the name. Am I the one you were sent to save?

Praise You - Fatboy Slim
Happy song, happy video. Do what makes you happy even when you look dorky.

Shepherds' Delight - Martin Simpson
Beautiful brisk instrumental. Always makes me smile and try to whistle along. I couldn't get the link to go directly to the song so you will have to click. 5 star album.

The Cat and the Moon - A. R. Rahman
A happy dance song from the Lord of the Rings Musical Soundrack by the guy who did the Slumdog soundtrack. Hobbits live for leaf, and food and friends. A good reminder. Because we all want to dance like that.

Earthbound - Rodney Crowell
Keep earthbound. Don't get wrapped up in the sky or sink down into the muck. A balancing song. The video celebrates music and eating together. I love that.

Shine - Trey Anastasio
Shine on. Helped me through a really bad time.

Ghosts In My Machine - Annie Lennox
I might be haunted by the ghosts in my machine, but I can overcome them. I keep wondering how she knows me so well when we have never met.

Smoothie Song - Nickel Creek
Another happy instumental

All for Good - Adrienne Young
I loved and hated this song so much I blogged about it. I am finally at peace with it, though I HATE the bible reference it is based on.

In The Valley - Midnight Oil
A good song about working your way through life and about family. I especially like the line "I hope that virtue finds its own reward." That line is a leg of my ethical system. I just found a slower version that I also like so this is a twofer. What can I say, I love passionate, hyperactive bald guys that are taller than I am.

When I Am King - Great Big Sea
The world would sing if I were king. One of my favorite bands. Wonderful live

The Littlest Birds - The Be Good Tanyas
The littlest birds sing the sweetest song. A good reminder for when I feel small and burdened.

The River's Gonna Run - Sam Bush
I'm gonna rock on the water, I'm gonna dance on the flood. Such a good song. I love the plodding intensity.

Going in the Right Direction - Robert Randolph & The Family Band
I love the pedal steel guitar and he is the master. I love how the vocals are the response to the steel's call. Good reminder to keep on the right road.

Beautiful Day - U2
I know I'm not a hopeless case. This song actually makes me physically dizzy when I listen to it with my eyes closed.

Ask - The Smiths
Don't let shyness or coyness stop you. It is strange when you are encouraged by the Smiths... I have definitely been spending to many warm summer days indoors.

Little Bird - Annie Lennox
I've got to put these wings to test. God, I love her.

The Revolution Starts... - Steve Earle
NOW! With me!

Let the Day Begin - The Call
I love how The Call leads with a melodic bass part and the piano part on the chorus is pure joy. Michael Been sings so that you have no choice but to get going. He demands it and you long to obey. This song can't be played loud enough. Now, let the day begin, let the day begin, let the day start.

Things I love: Letterpress Printing

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:08:06 -0400

My freshman year in college was a year of transformation. I started out as a math major, but through a mixture of depression and flu had to drop 2nd semester calculus to avoid what would have been my only failed class in my lifetime--this after I had 103% on 1st semester calc.

While figuring out what I was going to with myself, I found the Printing and Publishing Arts program at my school, and one of the most influential professors that I ever met: Megan Benton. She nurtured an artistic aspect of my life that I didn't even know existed. It is because of her tutoring that I not only became an art major, but I also went on to get a fellowship to co-teach an art class and was chosen to create the poster for my graduating class's final gallery exhibit.

P&PA is a cross-disciplinary minor that was a part of both the English and the Art department. There were classes on editing, and book publishing and design, Chicago style and that type of thing, but there were also classes on letterpress printing and typesetting.

Letterpress printing involves little mirrored-image lead letters that you put together into lines, with strips of lead in between the lines (leading), strips of brass/copper in between letters (kerning), and then you put the individual lines together in to a frame called a chase. All of that goes into an old-fashioned printing press that you have to operate with a combination of a foot treadle and a lever. An ink roller spreads ink on the block of type, while you slide the piece of paper into place. Then the press presses the inked lettters into the paper. This not only transfers the ink, it also leaves an impression in the paper. You can control the depth of this impression. Pro Tip: you don't want to smash your hand in there when you put each sheet of paper in.

I am not too creative, but I am imaginative and I have a deep love of craftsmanship. Letterpress is perfect for me. There are so many things that you can consciously control to produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

It starts with content--the source text and/or illustration or carving that you want to print. You can write your own (I never did) or pick a source text. My first project was the opening paragraph from The Hobbit with the JRRT logo below it.

Type selection is the next major choice. A "font" is a specific typeface in a specific size. This distinction isn't too important in the digital age, but in cold lead it is everything. What fonts do you have available, do they have enough of the letters that you need to print a whole page of your text, do they fit the theme and message that you are looking for in your design.

Small fonts have plenty of individual letters, but are very hard to set. My fingers are big enough that I often had to use tweezers. Large fonts are heavy (they are made of lead after all) and don't have as many of each letters. For some like Q or X there may only be one or two individual letters in that size.

Anyone with Powerpoint can tell you also that the font selection can completely change the tone of the source material. You also get to play with the spacing--the leading and kerning.

I carved the JRRT logo into a piece of linoleum and set the type using an Uncial typeface in about 14 point. I kerned sparingly, and chose a fairly large amount of leading to spread the lines out more.

Next comes the paper selection. Paper is fun. In this age of copier paper and newspaper this gets hidden. Paper can be hand-made or machine-made. It can contain different textures, colors, ink absorption properties, edges and more. I chose a hand-made paper made from banana leaves in the Philippines that had a nice woven texture, a yellow tinge and a deckle edge.

Deckle edges of paper are a byproduct of the paper-making process. The paper pulp/goo gets pressed between two planes. As the goo reaches the edges, it thins out (like waffle batter does). That edge is normally cut off for books and other things. When you leave it on it can be decorative. Deckles are often simulated by tearing or cutting normal paper, but they don't have the same thinness and beauty of a real deckle.

Since this was a hand-made paper it had deckles on all for edges of the master sheet. I decided to cut the sheet into quarters so each of my pieces would have deckles on two sides--the right and the bottom. I composed my type and image to fit on the cut paper with good margins and white space.

Next comes the ink. Printing ink is sticky/tacky not runny like the ink from a fountain pen. You only need a little bit. You can print in multiple colors if you want to, but what that means is that you have to have a complete set-up/tear down for each color--you can only print one color at a time. Because multi-color takes multiple passes it introduces more room for error. Your passes might not line up correctly, especially because you are feeding the paper in by hand in a moving machine (again, don't smash your hands).

I decided to go with a single ink in a slate blue that contrasted nicely with the yellow of the paper. The combination looks pleasantly aged.

"Impression" is the term effect caused by how hard the inked type is pressed into the paper. It is really easy to control by putting other sheets of paper behind the one that you want to print on. The more sheets, the deeper the impression, the more the outline of the type is visible on the back side of the paper and the more of the ink is transfered to the paper

I further increased the aged look of the piece by choosing a light impression.

Here is the finished piece:

You can download a higher-resolution version here. I recommend zooming in on the edges and on the type and logo to see more of the details.

It took about a month to create this from beginning to end (while doing other classes etc). I only printed 8 copies. One is on display at the Elliott Press, I only have this one, and I gave the rest out to friends (I don't remember who got them). The only other project I have from this time are my wedding invitations and programs.

My professor had a beautiful hand-made book of the poem Leaves of Grass. It was multiple color with type at all sorts of swirling lines and angles. Extremely complex printing. It is the most beautiful book I have ever seen.

I haven't printed anything since I graduated. I would love to find a place where I could rent press time. Eventually I would love to have a press all to myself, but that is kind of like having a large pipe organ. Not very practical. Printing perfectly mixes so many things I love: craftsmanship, machinery and humans both contributing to the end result, design, collaboration with others, communication. There are so many levels to it for those that know how to manipulate and see them.

Goodbye Hopper

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:08:50 -0400

My wife called this morning to tell me that she put our dog to sleep yesterday. She told me on Sunday that she might do it this week. I encouraged her to check with the vet for other options, but we both knew that this would come sometime in the next couple of years.

He is old and he had a damaged hip that causes him constant pain. He has been on constant pain medication since we got him. We had him 5 or 6 years. Lately he has been having problems standing, and has been having his legs splay out and then he couldn't get back up and would just panic and flail. He was a wonderful dog. I miss him. I didn't get to say good bye.

What a week

Sun, 9 Aug 2009 12:08:49 -0400

As you can tell from my recent posts, this week started out at a really low place for me. I am amazed at how the week turned out.

My friends--both old and squeaky new--rallied around me in a way that I don't think I have ever known before. I actually had to schedule some "me time" this week so I could get laundry done and chill out a bit.

My sister and her husband live a long way away in North Carolina. They both sent me just amazing emails since they couldn't be here for me. I miss them both and am really thankful for them. I am still working on responding to those emails.

The friend that I have known for the longest time (22 years!!!) spent all day Sunday with me. We haven't spent that much time together for many years. I treasure him. We went to breakfast, I showed him my new place and then we went back to his place and just talked and talked. Some light, some heavy, all good. He knows my wife and yet knows me from long before I met her. He has good perspective on things and wise words. I need him.

Next a recent friend from contra dancing posted on facebook about Science on Tap. This is where real scientists present lectures in pubs around town for the public. This one was called "Mutation, Evolution & Infectious Disease: Looking Forward and Looking Back: The never ending battle between host and virus." As she said, "if they use colon's twice in the title, its got to be good, right?" It was. So was talking with her after the lecture was over.

Next another contra friend made dinner for me and we got to talk for a long while. How to describe it... she gets me and isn't into me--exactly what I need right now. I also understand her. We even write the same way. I feel safe with her.

On Thursday a couple of dear friends from work went out with me to a bar that we had never been to before. I am not a big bar hopper but it is always fun to go drinking with them--even when I only ever have 1 or 2 drinks. They also know my wife. They still care about her, but you could tell that they were indignant with her on my behalf.

Friday was contra dancing again. I got to talk more with the Science on Tap friend after the dance. I loved it. Nothing too heavy (and everything has seemed heavy lately) just light and fun and with other people. I even had to fend off an "admirer" (blush).

Last night I went to dinner and a concert with someone that I only met last week over coffee. She recommended a place named "Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack" and I had a band named Luce that I really wanted to see. She found out about the Chili Shack from a food network show and wanted to check it out. I found out about Luce from a friend who is a huge fan of theirs and lives in their home area (the Bay Area). Both of us highly recommend both finds. The Chili Verde on cheddar grits was tasty and spicy without being overwhelming. Luce played a fantastic show. I really like their recordings, but live they were incredible. You all need to check them out--they are too good to stay a San Fran only band. This friend is also really fun. She seems to have a huge list of places that she wants to check out and is just waiting for a chance to go exploring. So refreshing after so many "inward looking" years.

The wonderful thing about this week is the pure variety. When times are tough like this, I always worry about overloading the few contacts that I have had. I am so intense and the issues are so impossible to deal with. I am good enough at analysis that I can pick the best of a lot of bad choices. I am decisive enough that I can act on that choice. I am emotional enough that I will crucify myself for doing so. It is good to have so many of these people with so many viewpoints all giving me hugs and saying that they think I am doing the right thing.

While I long to talk about the weighty issues of my present circumstances, I also need to escape from them and to talk about something else, or even to just listen to good music with someone and not talk at all. I got all of that this week. I am so thankful for these 8 people.

I need more male friends. Contra is great for meeting women (not a bad thing by any measure) and I think that I eventually will be getting to know their social circles more. I have only ever really met people from work, school, or church. School and church are parts of my distant past. Work is more difficult. Most people there are much older than I am, and while friendly, they aren't what I am looking for. I am not sure really how to get going on this aspect.

I have also really appreciated "The Diary People" (as tequilaanddonuts' mom calls the Open Salon readers). Your comments have encouraged me and sent not a few tears down my cheek (admittedly not a hard thing to do lately). I am sorry I didn't respond to some of your comments, but I know that you understand.

Thanks everyone.

Charles