The R&D Workshop No.4

✤ Intro

It's been a while since I've written one of these updates (April). Mostly, there hasn't been too much to update anyone on. Those of you who are in the category of being interested in knowing, that is. But, here we are already in October, and it's hard to believe that I'm not at least a little further along than I am. Even when I try to be realistic with my expectations of productivity, things work out in a way that still makes it hard to accomplish realistic expectations. The more I lower my expectations, the less I accomplish. Perhaps, I should be doing the opposite?

I have no doubt that what I wanted to accomplish by the end of September will take until the end of October and so forth. I've been trying to put a positive spin on it and remember that last year at this time I wasn't able to do much of anything. Those familiar with the series, "Sump Chump," will immediately understand. Still, that was then and this is now, and I'm working on figuring out a way forward. Taking it day-by-day is getting me nowhere.

So, what have I been up to? Where am I now in relation to where I left off?

✤ Homestead

As the year transitions into fall, I'm working on finishing up any outdoor projects and tasks that I still want to get done. It doesn't feel like this past summer was nearly as productive as the previous four, but sometimes memories of the past can get murky. Still, I HAVE accomplished odds and ends types of projects around the house and garage, and I'm not so sure that trying to list them all here would be productive or interesting. Though, some of it could make its way into a post somewhere.

We did have a fire pit and patio constructed in our backyard that you can read about.

Having the riding lawnmower this summer has helped save some time. You can read about that, too.

Beyond the mowing and yard clean up yet to come, the winterizing of certain things, figuring out how to attach the snow-thrower to the tractor and what parts I need to buy to make that work satisfactorily, cleaning the garage a few more times, cutting down some branches and trees at my mother-in-law's, and whatever else I don't know about, can't think of now, or would rather not list exhaustively, I have one project in particular I want to complete before winter comes. This project includes the shelves that I've already started building for my home studio. I also want to hang my guitars on the wall and do some additional sound treatment. I'm counting those three things as one thing.

The faster I can accomplish all of that and the unknown (amongst all of the other happenings and chores of life), the faster I can get to what I always want to start focusing on once the kids are in school. Making crappy music. Crappy for my contributions, at least.

✤ Web Sitting

AKA, The Itch That Became A Scratch

I got the itch again. The same itch that I talked about in the post, "I Keep Getting Caught In The Web," and the same itch that caused the changes I made this year that I talked about in the post, "New Site, Same Idiot." I've got a problem, sort of. I've got an enthusiastic passion is maybe more the case; it's at least a more positive notion.

What it comes down to is that I've been tinkering with my non-music-project websites, trying to make them more mobile friendly. If you follow my blog religiously, then you probably aren't surprised by this. My blog site, where you are reading this, is pretty mobile friendly, and I've done as much as I think I can to make the emailed version the best it can be with the current Blogger capabilities. And while my blog site isn't as mobile friendly as other sites out there, I'm still pretty happy with it. For now. Blogger has released four new themes/templates that are really modern, responsive, and mobile friendly. This release had been making me rethink things. If that wasn't enough, I've recently discovered a treasure trove of sites that offer free Blogger themes. *Sigh* There are plenty of reasons to NOT "go third-party," but despite those reasons, I've decided that sticking to official Blogger templates with modifications is enough for me.

So, I have been working on a slightly different approach to my hub-site, grahamsedam.com, since that site didn't work as well with mobile as I had liked it to, and it was the perfect candidate to try out a new Blogger template. In the recent past, I also made changes to my music's "home page," including its address, sound.grahamsedam.com. I'm sure I'll change it up again or "evolve" it sometime in the future. I'll talk more about my sound site in the next "Workshop" update.

Lastly, I do have to admit that I've been getting Word Press curious. It's a curiosity that has grown over the last year, since I've restarted my blog. However, the new Blogger themes are keeping me satisfied at the moment. That's a good thing. Nothing seems to ever be complete, and I've pretty much embraced that. I'll be adding to and changing some of what I have up now; I have concrete plans on how to evolve my site (grahamsedam.com) from where it is. In the end, everything is a work in progress.

✤ In Closing

The school year is here, and in the winter, all things are possible. You know, because the teachers are watching two of my kids most of the day and that gives me more TIME. Or, at least, the illusion of time. It's hard to argue that what I WANT to do is more important than my wife, kids, or opportunity to earn extra money. Sometimes, it has to be. I deserve that. However, I set expectations that can be hard to attain. Either I lower them or figure out how to make it happen. And on that note, I should wrap up this post to go work on those shelves for the studio. I received a text and a call recently about an overtime opportunity this week. Head down. Move forward.

In the next R&D update, I'm planning on focusing more on the music—where things left off in April, where I'm at now, and perhaps, my hopes for the rest of the year. Also, I'll get into what's going on with my sound website.

Until then, be the thing you want to be.

*   *   *

Join me on Facebook!
I've recently started a page for THIS blog, Graham Sedam Writes, where I will be sharing all of my writing related endeavors and stuff.

Did you like this post?
Please comment and share!

Tired of missing new posts?
Want to receive posts directly to email?
Subscribe to Graham Sedam Writes
Unsubscribe at any time.
No funny business! I promise.

Thank you for your time!


Did you know that I also have a daily blog, Notes.gs?