FT wrote up a concerning analysis of the democratic backsliding in the US. Later in the article they provide some hope from much of this is due to one-time actions, giving hope that we can turn this around when/if we have our next elections. www.ft.com/content/b474...

I made a roof for over the camera in our backyard.  It's needed to protect the camera from the squirrels and raccoons who otherwise were launching themselves off of it and knocking the camera down. Designed in #FreeCAD and printed on a #Prusa

For a break from everything going on, a young raccoon encounters our hammock.

My wife also made these vegan gluten-free cupcakes which are clearly NOT evil-free. (They also remind me of the Keepers from #Babylon5.)

From one side it looks like a normal birthday cake, but turn it around and it's an entirely different story and the cake is ready to eat you.

This mimic cake was a collaboration between my wife and I for Mr.12's birthday party. She made the tasty honey cake, the "fancy cake" roses and leaves, and the isomalt eyes. I sculpted and painted the mimic face. #cake #crafts #DnD #mimic

Oh hey, I hear it now as well. It's being discussed in another discord I'm on, and I bet local FB groups are grumbling. Someone else posted its flight pattern and that it seems to be owned by www.vexcel-imaging.com

Threateningly imperative neon sign partial failures.

Last night my wife and I went to live Dar Williams performance in Boston. She's a singer-songwriter who is perhaps my favorite musical artist. #DarWilliams #music

It was fun watching the pitch sessions for the #MIT100k #entrepreneurship competition tonight, as well as connecting with the organizers and presenters and #MIT grad students!  They all did a great job on the event.

Both at the same time in the tree...

Hawk and an owl in a tree behind our house in #SomervilleMA. The hawk was unhappy with the owl and they had a bit of a tussle, but the owl seemed unphased. Hopefully they can help us with our rats as long as neighbors or the city don't poison them first... Video: youtu.be/ntkViBEHiWk #birding

When I first saw a picture of the Casio Smart Ring, I thought it was another inspired creation by @nanoraptor.danamania.com, but no, it appears to be real. www.techradar.com/health-fitne... www.casio.com/jp/watches/c...

Now we can track the dishwasher state! I designed and #3dprinted a hanging tag system for our dishwasher (using #FreeCAD) to show if it is Running, Clean, or Dirty. There's a mechanism which causes it to snap into position and stay there, but it can be rotated to change state.

My wife and I finished restoring and rewiring my grandmother's 1940 Singer 201 sewing machine!  It's ready for its next 84 years of service.

I was wondering why our air purifier in the living room was so much louder than usual so I went to check.  The pros and cons of having children who are engineers.  Both intake and exhaust were covered like this with #Magnatiles. #parenting

Photos from tonight's #PartialLunarEclipse.

My #MacGyver moment of the week. Fixed my glasses with fishing line, superglue, & borrowed baking soda while on vacation in New Hampshire. A narrow part of the titanium frame split in half. Fishing line spliced it together, baking soda was an accelerate for the cyanoacrylate to make things solid.

If you're in Vancouver for #IETF this week (ie, didn't have your flight cancelled), try and take a break for a walk through Stanley Park. Parts of it feel like you've stepped into a scifi B-movie or a Stargate episode (for good reason), plus you can get some fresh air. It's easy to get to by bus.

My wife and I made a #Dragon cake for Mr.11's birthday party, to his specifications. The head is cast from a mold we bought, but I carved the dragon body out of modelling chocolate over a rice crispie treat core. Air brushed with edible food paint. #CakeArt #IsItCake

#Aurora right from here in #SomervilleMA last night! It was my first time seeing it here. It was nowhere near as vivid with the naked eye but was still visible even with the clouds and city lights.

Finished and installed an under-desk drawer! Designed in #FreeCAD and 3D printed on my #Prusa MK3S. It took a few iterations to get past the design bugs. I parameterized most of the dimensions in a FreeCAD spreadsheet so it can be reconfigured for different sizes.

#IPv6 Transition Approaches Alignment Chart. Everyone is taking a different approach to IPv6 deployment, some better than others... (I realized I'd started this a year or two back and never finished. I'm not sure I totally agree where all of these landed so am happy to revise for a future version.)

I finished making a shallow wood bookcase for our kids' playroom! Now I just need to attach it to the wall and start migrating books into it. (It was an opportunity to learn some new construction techniques and an excuse to get some new tools.)

Ferrero Roche as a chocolate model of the Earth. (From the vault... First made and posted this elsewhere in 2006.)