April was a busy month. I am not much of a social media person, but I tried to document things a bit better than usual and create some prosthetic memories through the camera lense.
I finished off a new work bench for my shop.
I made a visit to the Oscar Blues brewery in Asheville, NC and saw a ton of Dale's Pale Ale being made. I may have had a few too.
This is one of the many brew tanks that holds 60k+ pints of beer. If you like hoppy beers, Dale's is terrific, and if you like dark beers, I highly recommend the TenFidy stout.
In anticipation of a few robot builds, I did a good bit of scrounging for old DC motors. Aside from reading code, I can think of few things more mentally stimulating than taking apart old electronics, and I always learn something new. There is often a beautiful simplicity in mechanical design mixed with analog electronics.
I took an old '73 Boston Whaler out for its "born again" maiden voyage after sitting for 10+ years. Of course, no respectable captain would be complete without a good hat :)
I made a trip up to DC for State of the Map US. It was a great time, and I was able to put a face to many of the people I have previously known mostly through PRs and Github issues. My main takeaway was that OSM has an awesome community with a penchant for curiosity and innovation. While my main interaction with OSM thusfar has been through contributing to my little corner of the world in Charleston, SC, I was blown away by the many other ways that OSM is being used. I saw everything from crowd sourced street view apps to life-like 3D models of mountains built from drone imagery.
I spent some time out in the country where my wife and I are building a cabin on the marsh. It is quite the contrast from the city, but I always enjoy a chance to be out in nature with friends and family (and dogs).
My wife and I made it out to a River Dogs game (Charleston's local baseball team). The River Dogs are owned by Bill Murray, which I think accounts for the over the top halftime shows and hilarious atmosphere. Fireworks after the game are always fun too.
Lastly, I did a good bit of biking this month. These are a couple shots from an old train rail that was paved over as a bike path near my house. I have been trying to break away from the code screen and meetings as much as possible since DST switched over, and find new spots to enjoy around town. This is definitely one of the most beatiful places at dusk. I often see old men fishing down here, which is always a good sign of a relaxing spot in Charleston.
5-5-14