Posted by Chuck Grimmett. Learn more on his About page.
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Featured images are friction
Henrique commented on my “Just hit publish” post with: As a designer, I feel that the Post Featured Image blocks me from writing much more than ‘normal’ people would think. I need time to conceive and prepare it—which makes quick daily posts impossible. Maybe I should review my blog template and get rid of them…
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Cauliflower with cassoulet beans and capers
This week’s bean dish was cauliflower with cassoulet beans and capers. I really enjoyed the smoky tanginess that the sherry vinegar + smoked paprika added to the dish. I served this as our main side with a pork tenderloin. This was tasty enough to make again, but probably not going into the standard rotation. I’ll…
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What I’m Reading, January 2026
Non-fiction Fiction What are you reading this month?
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Just hit publish
Blog posts don’t have to be Atlantic-style essays, ground-breaking ideas, or heavily researched. Not everything has to be epic or viral. You can post whatever you want, whenever you want. Keep it low friction and hit Publish. Personal blogs are meant to be low stakes. Some ideas: Don’t overthink it or get caught up in…
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Blogging Beyond the Wall
Social networks are walled gardens. They are closed networks that restrict how users interact, what they see, and how data flows. Outside of the walls is the blogosphere. It is diverse and distributed. If the web is Westeros, social platforms are the Seven Kingdoms, run by mad kings from their Iron Thrones, and the blogosphere…
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Shopsmith Mark V Single vs Double Bearing Quills
Earlier this year I started noticing some runout on the spindle of my 50 year old Shopsmith Mark V. I did some reading about my specific model and came to two conclusions: Replacing the bearing is straightforward. Alex’s Shopsmith Repair sells them and with a few tools you can replace it yourself. What I also…
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Why I Blog
This weekend a friend texted me a screenshot of a Pinterest link his wife sent to him. It was a link to my climbing wall post. She wants him to build one for their son. He recognized Charlie and my blog right away. Someone had pinned it and it gets a decent amount of traffic.…
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Weekly Beans
One of the things I want to do in 2026 is to cook more beans. It occurred to me a few nights ago that I should try to make at least one bean dish each week. I started on January 2 with a chicken, wild rice, and black eyed pea soup. Here are some more…
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Winter gift for the birds
For the past three years, we’ve started the new year by going for a walk in the woods to collect pinecones and make a little treat for the birds. We roll them in peanut butter and birdseed, then go back out the next day and leave them on logs, tree stumps, and branches for the…
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Month of December 2025
December was all about the holidays. We started the month by getting rid of the Thanksgiving decorations. Charlie wanted to run them over with the car, so we did. We set up the Christmas Tree in stages. First the tree + train, then the lights and ornaments Amanda and I prefer, then Charlie’s additional ornament…
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Things I’d like to do in 2026
I’m not big into resolutions, but here are some things I’d like to do in 2026. Many of these are getting back to old interests I’ve moved away from for one reason or another. I know that adding more means that I’ll have to do less of something else. I’d mostly like to scroll less…
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Top 3 (2025)
Happy New Year! I like to do a more narrative recap on my birthday, so at the end of the calendar year I make lists of top things in multiple categories. See also: 2024, 2023. Meals Shows Non-fiction Books Fiction Books New blog follows Places Purchases Memories Things I’ve made Accomplishments
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Week of November 24, 2025
Short work week, long holiday week. On Monday after work and school, Charlie and I took apart my Shopsmith quill to figure out exactly which parts we needed to track down, since I’m pretty sure I’ll never get that replacement quill from Shopsmith. I filed a credit card dispute and ordered some secondhand parts. More…
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100 Things I’m Thankful For (2025)
The past couple years I’ve written this post at the end of December as kind of a year-end recap. This year I thought I’d change it up and do it on Thanksgiving instead. Here’s 100 things I’m thankful for this year. Happy Thanksgiving! Previous years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2017
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Months of October and November 2025
With my shifted work schedule (now 7am-3pm), Charlie getting home earlier, increased work stress, and needing weekends to put our lives back together and get ready for the following week, the last couple months have felt pretty busy and my weekly blogging hasn’t made the cut. My regular time for writing this weekly post has…
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Peeking Under the City
While visiting the Peekskill Field Library this week, Charlie and I stumbled across a gem that reminded me of something I might see on Doc’s Trunk Line blog: Peeking Under the City by Esther Porter and Andrés Lozano. The fun illustrations highlight some of the infrastructure underground that keeps a city running: Water, electricity, sewers,…
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Interview at Current Flow State
Last week Nick Parish did an interview with me at Current Flow State about fly fishing, tenkara, woodworking projects, and making your own tools. Check it out!
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Weeks of Sept 29 and Oct 6, 2025
I’m writing this from bed, sipping some Sleepytime tea and listening to the wind and rain from the tropical storm hitting the northeast. Days and weeks have been going by so quickly. Is this turning into a biweekly post? I’m not sure. My 7am-3pm schedule has its ups and downs. I’m going to bed earlier…
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Weeks of September 8-22, 2025
As you can tell, I’m having trouble getting to these weekly posts right now. I’m going to have to change the timing, I think. Sundays have been filled with shopping, cleaning, and meal prep. I’m writing this post while our breakfast for the week finishes cooking. The transition to Charlie’s new school (mixed age 4…