Reading

Entry tags:

gardening

the tomato that conquered Pittsburgh

This year I got three (different) tomato seedlings, all container-friendly, along with some peppers and other things. Having failed to do proper research, I allocated the tomato cages pretty arbitrarily. I should not have done that.

potted plants on a patio with a gigantic tomato plant in the middle

The giant tomato plant in the center is a Sungold. It seems to be in the process of conquering my patio, the neighborhood, and perhaps the city. It makes sweet, tasty, orange cherry tomatoes. I've had quite a bounty so far and there's plenty more to come. It was originally on that ledge with the others, but a month or so ago I realized that if I kept it there, I would not be able to harvest without a ladder. (So much for using that trellis.) At least this way I can climb up on that ledge to reach the ones I can't reach from the ground (or at least I hope I'll be able to reach them all!). Wowza. Next year, bigger cage! (They're very tasty, so I do plan to get this type next year.)

The other two tomato types are Patio Choice, advertised as good for small containers, and Mountain Magic. They both produce red grape tomatoes (Patio Choice are sweeter). On the right, not as clear in the picture, are two Cornito peppers and a banana pepper, all still working toward a first harvest. I've moved these around a few times over the course of the summer to try to optimize sunlight.

Entry tags:

house,
tech

desk experiments

Dani and I both concluded, at about the same time, that our office chairs were past their use-by dates. We both also want to test a chair, not just order blind, so we headed off to a well-stocked office-supply store and found replacements. (As it turned out, we both liked the same model.)

While we were there I asked if they had any kneeling chairs, because I'd like to try varying my posture. I had one of those 30+ years ago that I liked (at work), but also encountered several I didn't like, so I definitely want to try first. (Also, I don't know if it's compatible with the arthritis that is starting to form in one knee.) Alas, the sales rep said, that business has moved entirely online, so I gave up on that.

I had a height-adjustable (sit or stand) desk at my last job, back before Covid. Replacing my current desk would be a pain (as well as expensive), but after we got the chairs I started looking at "adapters", an adjustable thing you can put on your desk to raise a platform rather than the whole desk. Many of them make strong (maybe even binding) assumptions about monitor placement that do not work with my vision, but eventually I found a "just raise this (basically) rectangle and don't do anything else" model with metal, not plastic, core parts.

Raised platform holding a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, with space behind; the L-shaped desk below has two visible computers, a headset, a coffee mug, a water bottle, part of a printer, and assorted peripherals and papers. The monitor shows a MacOS lock screen. A two-part footrest is visible below the desk.

With nothing on it the platform lifts easily (there's a control on one side). With a monitor that is well below the rated weight limit, the first few inches of lifting are a fair bit of work, and then it goes fine. Lowering is easy. I switch back and forth once or twice a day, so that initial push is ok; if I were working full-time and wanting to change it up every hour or so, it might be more annoying.

I thought of half of a second-order effect. With this setup, even with the desk lowered the platform is about three inches higher than the desk surface. That's ok, I said; I'll just raise the chair. I rejected similar products that added more "resting" height; I did think about this. The part I didn't think about is that I'm short, so that change to chair height makes the difference between my feet reaching the floor and not. So now I am experimenting with footrests, courtesy of a friend, one of which is visible in the photo. I think this is the style I want, particularly if I can get a wedge of foam to stick in there to hold the "V" shape.

It all goes to show that you can't change just one thing. So far, though, I think this is working out.

Entry tags:

Dance!

Oh, and here's a little note worth calling out:

Over the past year, I've been getting more into Scottish Country Dance. I'm by no means an expert -- sadly, I've had to accept that I'm not as bouncy as I once was, and after fracturing my foot a couple of years ago I'm allowing my style to be loose and sloppy -- but I've become a regular member of the Gender-Free Scottish Country Dance class happening in the NESFA Clubhouse twice a month, and am quite enjoying it.

A couple of weeks ago was ESCape, the annual Pinewoods week co-hosted by the local English, Scottish, and Contra communities, which has become a highlight of my annual schedule. Classes all day and balls all night, it's a dancer's dream, and the community is relatively young, queer, geeky, and thoroughly fun to be around.

A particular tidbit this year was the day where Sorcy taught McCloud's Wedding (? I think that was the name), a delightfully weird, intricate, five-couple dance where basically everybody is active. Wild stuff, and at the end of the rather large class they asked for ten volunteers to perform a demo set during the ESCape Chocolate Party on Thursday. They got over a dozen volunteers, so I demurred, but told them that if they came up short, they should pull me in.

Not astonishingly, the party rolled around and they were short on people, so I got grabbed for a quick once-through and then on to the performance. And it was caught on video, so if you're curious what this SCD stuff looks like (in a rather complex form), give it a look!