I went back and reread my latest post on here (good grief, it’s been 4-1/2 months already?), and I realized I’m due for an update.

Where to start? Well, first off, I’m not managing anymore—not officially, anyway. I’m back to designing circuits, and I have really missed it. There are tedious bits—I just completed the schematic review of the most involved design I’ve ever done (by far), and it took a solid two to three weeks to do all the derating analysis, reviewing and approving components, and going page-by-page to make sure everything looks right. But, I have missed it, and it’s so good to be doing it again.

Second, I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I ended up getting the pen, ink, and paper, and I’ve really taken to it. Over a dozen additional inks later, probably a dozen types of papers, and I’ve just ordered my third pen (not to mention four different nibs!), and I’m going strong with it. I don’t write every day like I did when I started, but it is still nice to get everything out on paper, and I’ve found that it’s nice to brainstorm for ongoing commissions that way. Even if it means transcribing my notes into Commission Manager later, there’s something freeing about not being tied to the computer.

Apropos of ongoing commissions, I have two of them now. I’ve gotten the first two installments done for the new commissioner (who seems to have enjoyed them), so that’s been good. It has certainly kept me busy, though. Between that and one-off commissions, I’m staying extremely busy this year. Nowhere near 2018 levels, but still, just about every weekend is spent writing now. I’m gonna need a break soon.

I’ve saved the best for last: I bought myself a finished-out shipping container and turned it into a lab. It’s crazy to me that I haven’t posted about it, but I ordered it at the end of March, had some delays in getting road base delivered, but then got the pad put in and the shipping container delivered in May. Since then, I’ve been spending like a madman, but as of yesterday, it’s finally to where I can really call it a lab. I haven’t ordered the 3D printer or reflow oven, yet—they’re on the list, but I don’t need them right now—but the whiteboard arrived yesterday and is now mounted to the wall, the lab benches are in, the Internet is in, the multimeter and benchtop power supply are sitting happily on their purpose-built shelf, I’ve got ESD mats and a fume extractor for when I solder, and I wrote a tool for managing parts so that I can tell exactly where a particular resistor or photodiode is. I’m also working out of the lab now, so anytime I’m not onsite at the office, I’m out in the lab, surrounded by electronics. I’ve moved the PC out there, too, so that if I want to get away from everything when I write, I have that option. It’s becoming my home away from home… but still at home. In any case, I’m very excited to finally have it ready. Now I just need to figure out which projects I’m going to commit to working on, then take some time off work and writing to actually do it!

Anyway, that’s it for now. I was surprised it had been so long since I posted an update, and now that’s taken care of.