Dichotomy of Today: Drawing and Dollars | Apr 10, 2025

Lightness and darkness described the day. Morning was full of energizing activity. Afternoon began blackening the day. Wife’s nearly 20-year-old car needed, first $2400 then (after hours of calling and driving around) $4300 worth of repairs.

Truthfully, I don’t understand how the vehicle is still drivable. Leaking pictures of the guts & underhood shots show the cracks, leaks, uneven spacing and mangled parts: scars of its storied service around the world and country. This car has seen things, but the end of its life is near.

And so the streak of monthly financial crises continues. Options? Only two: pay $4K in repairs or find another car. Neither is appealing since I have neither money nor the fire for either.

Car shopping when you want a car vs. need is a different beast.

Why is this happening for me?

Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa | 100 words re-written

Did 100 words of the technical report section, mobile-y, while on the can.

Drawing | Began Proko "Drawing Basics" Course

I'd had my eye on this drawing course for years, but held off because it is a bit pricey ($159).

But after years of going cheap and free, I decided to jump into this course that focuses on the fundamentals of drawing.

That's become a theme this year - back to basics.

Doing things with AI in any medium can make you feel like you're flying. But do you really understand what you're creating?

That feeling of I-don't-know-how-or-why this exists doesn't jive with me. Hence why I'm putting more time into going slower with courses like this.

It's 60+ hrs of beginner drawing skills. Representing a substantial opportunity to improve my fluency in visual language.

As with most courses of this size and scope, there's a lengthy intro:

Getting Started

• Learning How to Draw
• Intro to Drawing Basics
• Project - Get Your Tools and Start Playing
• Ultimate Guide to Sketchbooks and Paper

I completed all these lessons in 50 minutes today.

Next time will hopefully get into some more drawing!

Reading "Infinite Jest" pgs. 528 - 535

More interesting words and phrases:

[...darting jaggedly off on a course,] - (like the use opposing concepts in a single sentence, clever)

wens

"strip-darts, like taking off bits of clothes for points in darts" - had never heard of this, but you can play "strip" anything I guess

'Well Mr. Gately what people don't get about being hideously or improbably deformed is that the urge to hide is offset by a gigantic sense of shame about your urge to hide.' - really good quote

Novel Craft Secrets | How to set up a book website

Final distribution of lesson. It's out!