Archimedes' Corollary

Note

archimedescorollary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:12:07 +0000

I am falling behind. Francine is kicking my ass. Today is day 136. I’m going to buck up and sift through some stuff and get back on track — I’m 6 items behind. Honestly, the hardest part of this exercise has been the daily posting, not the daily discarding, but now lately I’m even falling behind in that. So I think I’m mostly caught up in the life-stuff that’s been keeping me busy, and before I have to really bear down and work on planning Mobius V, I swear I’ll get caught up.

So here’s the bonus: A description of what the photograph is on the header of this blog. When my grandmother died in 2005 a month shy of 101 years, we went down into the basement of her home in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. Squirreled away between the floorboard joists of the ceiling, were these tins and jars that my grandfather had left there when he died in 1978. Inside were an assortment of screws and nuts and cabinetry hardware and pieces of string and broken bits of whetstone and so on. And on. And on. Untouched and unused for 27 years. At least.

Inspiration.

day 130 – david

archimedescorollary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:00:46 +0000

Dad’s planning to go to Italy in June. I’ve been hanging on to this watch, which I love for 5 years, waiting for my cousin Roberta to visit to give to her. When I was in Sicily last, she commented that she really liked the design. I did too — it’s a Bill Yao MKII Quad 10. Limited edition. I had it built to spec, but when I got it, I didn’t quite like the hands, or the white on black date dial, so I ordered a second one with the hands I wanted and the white on black number dial. I put this one on the shelf as a spare. When Roberta said she liked my watch, I decided to give her the first one I bought. But I don’t trust the Italian post, and I don’t want her to have to pay exorbitant customs on a gift, so my dad will get it to her when he’s there.

for my girl stunt-double

day 130 – francine

archimedescorollary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:53:12 +0000

tossing this kind of thing doesn’t exactly clear out very much drawer space.

then again, if you have 365 items like this, it adds up

day 129 – david

archimedescorollary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:52:02 +0000

I’d been holding onto this box for, oh, I don’t know… 3 years or so. I thought my dad, inventor of boxes, would appreciate the lid construction. It’s some gum candy box I saw in Paris and saved to show him. He’s visited plenty of times since then, but I’ve always forgotten to show him the box until after he left. Not this time.

inventor of the "Nerds" box, himself

He said the lid was a well-known design, and nothing special in the industry. oh well.

day 129 – francine

archimedescorollary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:47:54 +0000

looks wider than francine

day 128 – david

archimedescorollary — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:26:02 +0000

This one felt good. Post-9/11, I’ve had recurring survivalist inclinations. This was being saved in case the internet went down and I had to look up a phone number, or find an address. Been on the shelf since ’04. Never used. Not once. I don’t know whether I have more confidence in the persistence of internet access in the event of a disaster, or an inflated sense of safety from disaster, or simply that I’ve concluded that any disaster that’s big enough to take down the internet will be big enough that a phone book won’t help either.

still works

Of course, it’s still the benchmark for a toddler’s seat booster. And a timeless prop for recreating Steve Martin’s “The new phonebook’s here!!!” quote from The Jerk.

I’m kinda sad to see it go.

day 128 – francine

archimedescorollary — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:20:44 +0000

david is officially registering his protest for discarding this one.

it was always a favorite

day 127 – david

archimedescorollary — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:19:36 +0000

another critical piece of what, I don’t know.

it's brass. plumbing?

day 127 – francine

archimedescorollary — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:18:32 +0000

day 126 – david

archimedescorollary — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:17:40 +0000

Absolutely crucial little screws. MUST BE SAVED.

no clue what they're for.