This week’s written snapshots.
Each elephant enthusiastically eyed effulgent Easter emu eggs entering ebony Egyptian edifices.
A desert tigress crouching for prey in the overgrown lawn.
“They created a wasteland and called it peace” – Calgacus
03 Jun 2023
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OPM.43 Bluebeam Markups
When I joined the Division, I was assigned an office that was so large that I brought in a spare table from home for extra desk surface. It was a great setup for reviewing the three university projects that I was managing.
Then the pandemic hit. I grabbed a laptop and went home.
I quickly learned to mark up PDFs in Bluebeam. It turned out to be easier than paper. Review on screen, make notes as I go, and email the the PDF back to the architect. No more long write-ups for comment letters!
A couple of years later, I discovered the Markup List feature. Now the computer will automatically compile a letter from my markups!
The default setting creates a new PDF file, but “append and hyperlink to current pdf” will add the comment summary as new pages to the back of the PDF.
I request written responses from my architect, so appending the summary gives them an option to respond in the body of the PDF or on the centralized list. I’ve tried moving the summary to the front of the PDF, but it messes with the hyperlinks, so I just leave them in the back.
I use a yellow pen to highlight things as I go, marking what’s been reviewed. My actual comments have a red outline. Before processing the summary, I filter comments by color, hiding the yellow items.
Architectural Drawing sets often have custom names for the pages, which leads to odd results when sorting by Page (General sheets end up after Electrical!) The fix is is to sort comments by Color. The markups will follow the order they appear in the PDF file.
Filter out comments you don’t want to be included on the list.
Then create the PDF Summary.
Bluebeam is a powerful program. But like the rest of tech world, the next evolution is to collaborate on shared markups in the cloud. I’ve talked to architects about their experiments in this direction and I hope to explore it with the next round of projects.
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Some Links
This has been a technical OPM letter, so here are three fun newsletters that publish on daily schedule.
Weirdo Poetry is a daily haiku webcomic. That alone would be a fun pairing, but Jason McBride also adds a short contemplative letter to each post. It’s a rich three course meal to start the day.
The Heron Dance Art Journal pairs a watercolor with inspirational quotes from luminaries through the ages. Follow the link embedded in the newsletter to find extended notes and additional quotes. The art is always ethereal, an aptly named pause for beauty.
Erica Drayton publishes a story with exactly 100-words) in her 100 Words Daily. These drabbles are always delightful and often a touch horrifying.
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Thanks for reading!
Justus Pang, RA
02 Jun 2023
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He asked for another sheet of paper as the molehill of ballots grew on the craft table.
I was on the couch,
She was practicing Chinese,
Mom was on the computer.
He handed each of us
A small slip of paper.
“Vote.”
On the front, he wrote “For”
He drew a line with a dot on the back.
“Write your name.”
My wife wrote her name.
I wrote “爸” (dad)
The girl added hearts to her name.
He called for
(a) “Cottage Cheese” (container)
for a ballot box.
We searched the cabinets,
Only found big
Yogurt tubs.
Never mind.
“It’s late!”
Time for bed.
䷧䷿
shoot falcons
liberating sheep
skipping over
cushioned walls
01 Jun 2023
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Clothes (just presentable)
One thing my parents nailed was their Pareto Principle approach towards clothing. (If flashy isn’t the goal, 20% of the effort gets 80% of the results.)
As a man, it’s easy to be decent — button-down shirt, slacks, and dark non-sneaker shoes. That should work for anything outside of a wedding, job interview, funeral, or legislative hearing. (It’s also the most comfortable way to dress.)
I blend in by making sure I’m not the most underdressed guy in the room. If in doubt, I’ve got a cheap sports coat stashed in the trunk of my car, and I slap on a tie. (Yuck…Tuck in that darn shirt…Double Yuck.)
I wear the clothes until they wear out, and then I wear them around the house until they fall apart. Then I thank the rags and move on to the next Costco special or hand-me-down. (I recently got a haul from my retired uncle.)
It’s not minimalism. (It’s a lot easier.)
31 May 2023
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AI can write what I write, but it can’t be who I am.
Three disconnected links.
Tears in the Rain
Borges on Rewriting a Classic
Inhabiting the space to (re)create the work — “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”
Mixing Bible Stories
1 Kings 19:11&12 (to Elijah), Exodus 3:14 (to Moses)
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And God said, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
30 May 2023
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He carefully studied his sister as she drew emoji’s with her friends before wielding his scissors and markers.
He cut two long rectangles,
Colored them blue,
Held them against his face.
He cut an oblong shape,
Sharp corners at each end.
Colored it red,
Lips.
He cut a square,
Drew a face,
Colored it brown.
???
䷏䷿
drink and feast
but no wet heads!
30 May 2023
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kampMATE firebox, 2021
We’ve been a couple of weeks away from camping, for years.
Last year, we slept in the backyard to test the tent, the sleeping bags, and pads, and stayed properly indoors for the rest of summer.
The year before, we spent Memorial Day weekend testing the kampMATE firebox. It’s a simple contraption: five interlocking stainless steel plates that create a small wood cooktop.
On Friday, we learned that harnessing one of the four elements takes a learning curve! We’ve never cooked with fire before, so we wasted wood to boil water and scramble eggs.
My mother-in-law stepped in the next day. Unlike pampered Americans, she grew up cooking with coals. She danced between wood scraps and charcoal briquettes to build a proper fire. We stir-fried ground pork, added white beans, and stewed for an hour. We switched pots to cook rice. After the rice was cooked, we reheated the stew with cauliflower. It was a legitimate meal, but it took forever. We used 42 briquettes.
On Sunday, I started the fire using charcoal, paper, and dried leaves. We made a savory stew with stir-fried onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, and garbanzo beans. Surprisingly good; more surprising than good. The meal was supplemented with veggies and rice cooked in the house as the stew simmered for two hours. We used 20 briquettes.
We celebrated Memorial Day with an all-American chili. We filled the box with rocks to pushing the charcoal up to the pot. Unfortunately, the red beans were uncooperative and took hours to soften so it still took 20 briquettes.
We closed the long weekend buying a dutch oven from Home Depot. We planned one-pot meals by adding rice to the stews and watched outdoor bread baking videos.
The firebox spent the summer in the sun before moving permanently into the shed. (The dutch oven is a cast iron bread box on the kitchen island.)
Still, $25 was a cheap diversion for a long weekend.
I wonder when we’ll go camping, two weekends from whenever.
29 May 2023
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Thanks for reading!
Justus