It's the most wonderful time of the year again! Following last year's summary, here were my top reads for 2020. Last year I vowed to read fewer articles because they felt way more junky than books do. I haven't changed my mind on this matter, but I was compelled to try to understand this especially unusual year.
Since May, I’ve been tinkering with brushless electrical motors, trying to make floating objects move more quickly. The proximate result is this electric motorized paddleboard:
This project is by no means finished. Traveling at 5 mph is fun, but not nearly fast enough. As we speak, a motor ten times the power of this one is sitting in a shipping container, en route to my basement. While I wait, let me pause and reflect on the project so far.
When my sailing class was canceled back in early March, I realized it was time for a more individualistic hobby. And so, I furled the sails and tied up the boat and picked up a circular saw from the hardware store. After I got over my fears of loud, terrifyingly quickly spinning metal blades, a whole bunch of cutting and screwing, then digging and painting, I have a Little Free Library standing outside my house, and a little bit more confidence for the next woodworking project!
