I will admit that I have been waiting for the weather to get moderately cool, and after keeping an eye on the local forecast, I decided that this week would be the best week to wrap up some RC car projects that I started last year, and I'm happy to say that I have found some time to finish my Tamiya Subaru BRZ, and add some upgrades to my Tamiya Plasma Edge II and my Kyosho Optima Mid. The BRZ is only two coats of paint away before I add the finishing touches (e.g. additional body parts like side mirrors and license plates, decals, etc), though I will wait until I visit my brother again before painting the windows, as he has the Smoke colored paint I need to complete the project. I ordered a set of upgrades for the Tamiya TT-02 chassis that will be used with the BRZ body shell, upgrades like two aluminum driveshafts and a complete set of metal bearings. The parts will be here soon enough, and pictures of the BRZ are expected to be uploaded by February 2026.

The reason I ordered two of the same aluminum driveshafts is that they are compatible with the TT-02 and TT-02B chassis, the latter of which is used for the Plasma Edge. My Optima Mid now has a Dumbo RC X6DC(G) with a gyro sensor in it, to improve stability while taking very tight curves. While testing the Optima Mid, I managed to make the motor pinion gear become jarred loose, and the culprit was the pinion's grub screw loosened itself. This was fixed by instilling a drop of Loctite on the grub screw before re-fastening it to the motor.

I've also begun putting aside some money for my nieces and nephews for Christmas gifts. Nonetheless, the road ahead looks good for my RC hobby. ^^

When we last hung out together, my oldest nephew had an awesome time with taking my Arrma Senton for a spin while I manned my Arrma Granite, figuring that the Senton and the Granite would be the most durable of my six cars. He doesn't know this yet, but I will be getting him an RC car for Christmas, and the car he'll be getting is no bigger than my LOSI Mini-T 2.0, so it looks like future RC car races are on the table for him and I.

"Quitting period" is a term that I have used since I was a freshman in high school, circa 2002-2003. In some ways, it's the same as a hiatus, and in other ways it's not. At the beginning of a quitting period, I stop doing what I enjoy doing, but I also leave the door open, in case I ever decide that I want to get back into it. There have been two very notable examples of a quitting period in my life, the most recent being my interest in DJing on Second Life.

In 2018, I quit DJing at a club whose name I'm not at liberty of mentioning due to my personal issues with that club. My motive for quitting there was the fact that I was always playing for an otherwise empty club, while the manager - rest her soul - had at least 50-60 patrons during her sets. I didn't like this, so I quit working there. But as far as DJing goes, I left the door open in case any future opportunities came knocking. In August of 2025, that opportunity came knocking, and I joyfully answered.

The other example concerns my interest in playing violin. In 2002, a fellow high school orchestra student was using criticism to try to get me to play violin her way. I didn't take too kindly to this, so I resolved to quit playing at the end of the school year. Again, I left the door open to any future opportunities, and I answered the door when opportunity knocked in 2020, when I purchased an inexpensive electric violin. I used a great portion of the COVID-19 pandemic to re-learn how to play, aided by the fact I had been keeping my left-hand fingertips in shape while playing guitar.

In short, my quitting periods are never permanent. I'm just like everyone else in that there are times when I need to step away from something for a bit and get back in touch with my inner self. Fortunately, I have no plans of quitting FurAffinity or Second Life unless, heaven forbid, either are ever forced to shut down, which I hope will never happen. Another reason for my leaving FA or Second Life would be if - heaven forbid - I were to die suddenly, which I pray doesn't happen for more than 61 years starting this December 13th -- beyond my 100th birthday.

As I continue my journey on Second Life after having returned to Fauna with Zevarius and Elly by my side, the lyrics to the song "Back in the High Life Again" by Steve Winwood, which was released in 1986, applies to me now more than ever:

It used to seem to me
That my life ran on too fast
And I had to take it slowly
Just to make the good parts last

But when you're born to run
It's so hard to just slow down
So don't be surprised to see me
Back in that bright part of town

I'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time
Will open up again
I'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched me once
Will smile and take me in

And I'll drink and dance with one hand free
Let the world back into me
And oh I'll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

Girl you used to be the best
To make life be life to me
And I hope that you're still out there
And you're like you used to be

We'll have ourselves a time
And we'll dance till the morning sun
And we'll let the good times come in
And we won't stop till we're done

We'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time
Will open up again
We'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once
Will smile and take us in

And we'll drink and dance with one hand free
And have the world so easily
And oh we'll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

In memory of Dragoneer, I offer a couple of personal favorites from the 2016 album, The Seeker, by indie group Cloud Cult. Please play these in sequential order for the best effect.

- Prelude to an End - https://youtu.be/p37yBqtudzA
- Through the Ages - https://youtu.be/-y6dsLQ_OBA

This spring has been very heavy on the workload, and this summer is going to be equally as work-laden. On top of that, rainy weather here in Akron has been pretty spotty, leaving me with days that are either too hot or too humid to do any kind of RC body work, so with that said, I have decided to postpone all of my RC car projects until the spring of 2025. I will still continue to upload music on a monthly basis, and Arduino projects on a weekly basis.

The amounts of time that have passed since December 13, 1986 (accurate as of 11:11 PM Eastern Time):

- 37 years
- About 451 months
- About 1,929 weeks
- 13,505 days
- 324,120 hours
- 19,447,200 minutes
- 1,166,832,000 seconds

These numbers have been calculated with Joshua F. Madison's freeware "Convert" utility, which is compatible with anything from Windows 95 up to Windows 11. The utility can be used with Wine on Linux and UNIX systems.

Elly and I will be out of town for Thanksgiving, so there will be no uploads next week. I will reconvene on the weekend of December 1st.

Stay safe, everyone, and have a Happy Thanksgiving. And be sure you're wearing that comfy pair of sweatpants if you plan on eating a lot of turkey.

- Rin

Elly and I are currently traveling, and due to limited car space, I will not be uploading any Arduino Weekends projects or music for this weekend. I will resume uploading on or after August 11th.

- Rin

Due to family commitments and limited car space, I will not be uploading any Arduino Weekends projects or music for this weekend. I will resume uploading on July 8th.


- Rin

The replacement CPU fan I ordered has arrived, and has been installed. It's good to have this Lenovo laptop back up and running again.

Many thanks to for lending me her computer while I waited for the fan to arrive so that I could install it.

I've been looking through my personal music library, and I've rediscovered quite a collection of tracks that I've made over the course of 10 years that I've all but completely forgotten about. I've lost a lot of the source files for these tracks from catastrophic events like computer failures and hard drive crashes, and so the only surviving versions are the MP3's that I've rendered from the aforementioned source files.

I've found that it's also good for the soul to have a look back on where I was 10 years ago, and how far I've come with my covers, original compositions, and sound design experiments. To me, what's old is new again, just like the subject line for this journal. ^^

Lately I've been tinkering with a Steam app called "Pixage FX Studio", and it allows you to apply various filters to your photos, like pixelation, posterization, and changing color bit depth, among many other effects. It's on sale now for $4.49, though it does eat up about 6 GB of storage space, but in my opinion, it's worth every penny and megabyte if you're looking for an easy-to-use but powerful photo filter program. Highly recommended.

I do plan on working more with Pixage FX Studio as time goes on, and I hope to upload some examples of my own work in the very near future.

In a previous journal, I mentioned that my employer - a soon-to-be former probate attorney - promised to give me his Brother ML300 electronic typewriter, but at that time, he did not have a set date as he wanted to get his office cleaned out first. I also offered to continue providing tech support, albeit at his home, once his law practice has been closed for good.

Flash forward one month and six days since the last journal, he said that he will be delivering the typewriter this Friday - November 18th. I've gone ahead and downloaded/printed the manual for the typewriter, and have allocated a space in my computer desk for it. I've also found and bookmarked an Amazon listing for replacement ribbons and correction tapes for whenever the need arises.

He has some tech-related things he'd like me to take care of with him at the office and at his home before sending the typewriter home with me, but in any case, this is quite an exciting way to put an exclamation point on the week before Thanksgiving.

My employer, a soon-to-be former attorney who once specialized in guardianships and estates, is closing down his law practice for health-related reasons, and one of the things he has promised me is his Brother ML300 electronic typewriter, which was first introduced in 1999, making it 12 years newer than the Panasonic T325 typewriter I once owned which, incidentally, also came from my employer. He hasn't given me a specific date on when he will be passing the typewriter along to me, though he did tell me that it will most likely be after his office furniture is sold and his case files transferred to another attorney or law firm. At less than 12 lbs, the Brother ML300 is also the most lightweight typewriter that I will have ever owned. In contrast, the old Panasonic typewriter was so heavy that it could have been used as emergency boat anchor. In the event that he is unable to find the original manual, I've taken the liberty of downloading the manual from Brother's website, and printing off a copy for my own reference.

I have had the pleasure of using the Brother typewriter in the past, especially while testing a newly installed ribbon, and I can say that the keyboard's tactile feedback is the thing I'm looking forward to the most. The best way I can describe the tactile feedback is, "as soft as a Cherry MX Red keyswitch". I mean, I can definitely feel the keys making contact, but they're not very loud. In contrast, the keyboard of the Panasonic typewriter felt very much like typing on computers like the Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, the Apple II series, and the Radio Shack TRS-80.

Among other office supplies, he has also given me a black leather briefcase - in like-new condition - that normally would have sold for at least $120. My plan is to store things in it like my MacBook Pro, Palm Pilot, and other vintage office tech that I use daily. In any case (never mind the terrible play on words), I'm very excited about getting the Brother ML300 electronic typewriter.

I've made a couple of changes to my monthly upload schedule:

- I am still planning on uploading my Arduino projects weekly, starting tomorrow (April 1st). I will make it a point to find and construct a new circuit and write up a new sketch anywhere from Saturday to that following Thursday.

- In the event that the month either begins or ends on a Friday, I plan to upload my music, texts, and/or pictures on or before that last Thursday of the month. For example, since September 30th falls on a Friday this year, I will upload on or before Thursday the 29th.

These changes may not mean anything to you, but it will help me get into a more consistent routine. Regardless, I hope you enjoy everything I have to offer, and everything I have yet to offer. ^^

Queensrÿche - Silent Lucidity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ylsNHXJljk

In a world divided by hate, death, and war, sometimes you just need find your way into the eye of the storm, and listening to Silent Lucidity helps bring me there. I hope the song brings you comfort as well during these troubling times.

Effective immediately, my future music submissions will no longer feature the [COVER], [DEMO], [SOUND DESIGN], or [ORIGINAL] prefixes, since they will already be organized in folders. I am currently working on removing the prefixes of previous uploads, though the submissions themselves will remain unchanged.

Otherwise, I hope you guys have had a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

Motivated by the presence of the Omicron Variant, I got my COVID-19 booster shot by Moderna yesterday, and other than a sore arm, minor headache and slight fatigue, I am not experiencing any major side effects, though I did wake up this morning feeling very warm. I took my temperature, and the thermometer read 98.2°F, slightly higher than my usual 97.5°F but not so high as to cause major concern. At this point, I'm still masking up when out in public despite the mandate having been loosened up here in Ohio.

Elly got her booster as well, and like me, she is experiencing very minor headaches, slight fatigue, and arm soreness, though her temperature has been leveling out around 98.6°F which is higher than her usual 97.1°F. Again, it's nothing to be concerned about.

At this point, we're both as protected against the Delta and Omicron Variants as we can possibly get.

Yes, I'm still alive. ^^

Starting October 1st, I've decided to challenge myself by uploading at least one submission at the beginning of every month, whether it's a snapshot, remix, or original composition. I hope to keep my creativity fresher this way. I wanted to start it this month, however real life got in the way, and thus I never had time to try it out. But fortunately, my life is starting to slow back down to its normal pace.

In other news...

Elly's and my house is undergoing electrical work, albeit in phases. Nothing is wrong with the existing cloth-insulated knob-and-tube wiring, in fact, cloth-insulated wiring is apparently still safe to use as long as the insulation is still intact (i.e. avoiding splicing); we just need more outlets around the house. So far, the basement is complete, with the rest of the house to follow starting in November.

Sometime next month, I hope to have my first - and for the moment, only - build-it-yourself RC car kit, which is a Tamiya Plasma Edge II, a 1/10 scale 4WD buggy. Upon completion, I will make it a point share some photos of the car itself, plus the accessories I bought along with it. Yay for government stimulus money.

Also next month, I will be welcoming the family's newest member... my second of two nephews.

Let's raise a glass to all the awesome fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers in this world: those who are still living, and those who have gone before us.

Spend time with your father if you're able to, and let him know that he is still appreciated.

Let's raise a glass to all the awesome mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers in this world: those who are still living, and those who have gone before us. Without them, life would be meaningless, so spend time with your mother if you're able to, and let her know that she is still loved.

On April 8th, I received my first COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna. Aside from exhaustion, an extremely mild headache and a sore arm, I experienced no side effects, though I also made sure I was well hydrated on both the day before and the day of the injection. Given that I have quite the sweet tooth, it was hard for me to abstain from the sugary foods that I love, but I made it nevertheless.

On May 6th, I received my second vaccine, and again, I maintained my hydration and set my limits on sugary foods. The side effects this time didn't get any worse than the first; the worst of it all was that my arm was pretty sore, with the peak of the soreness hitting late Friday morning/early Friday afternoon. I wanted to wait at least 24 hours after the injection before I took two ibuprofen, because those first 24 hours are important for the body to start fighting, and I took another two before bed. That was all the ibuprofen I had taken up to this point, as the soreness began fading early Saturday afternoon.

Even though the Governor of Ohio has lifted the mask mandate for those who are fully vaccinated, I still plan on wearing mine, not only because I want to protect myself and everyone else as well, but also because I want to help bring the pandemic closer to the end. Elly and I now have a sanitizer tank into which we deposit our belongings after being out and about, to sanitize under ultraviolet light for up 21 minutes.

Elly seems to be reacting pretty well to her vaccines, and we expect to go out in public or travel more often after May 20th, at which point our immune systems should be at the maximum effectiveness (90%) offered by the Moderna vaccine. If booster shots are needed in 12 months, Elly and I definitely are open to getting them.

Wishing you all a blessed Easter season.

Hope you guys are doing alright.

I know it's very late at night, but you may have noticed that I have taken down my two fictional works in PDF format, "The Wedding at Fairborn Castle" and "The Pampered Programmer". This is because I've got quite a few revisions planned for them, including updating character information and typeface management, and I will get them back up as soon as possible.

And now, time for me to try getting some sleep. ^^;

Since my visiting with my sister-in-law and brother in September, I've been ending each day with a 12-minute session of ancient Chinese exercises known as Baduanjin Qigong. A simplified form of yoga, it was introduced to me by my sister-in-law, who was born in China, and her mother in turn introduced it to her. Baduanjin Qigong is claimed to improve organ function, physical health and mental health, and although I'm skeptical of the organ function improvements, it does give me muscular, skeletal, and stress relief, and it only takes 12 minutes of my time.

Here is a video, in English, that demonstrates and instructs how to perform each of the eight exercises, in case you would like to try them yourself. :3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ42w9NZHfA