L. Paul Verhage

I'm happy to be getting back into it. I find I have better concentration for getting things like this done better than when I was younger.

I agree with work getting the way of living. I think work is the curse of the making class.

One of the things I did was write 15 medieval poems in a form called a roundel (made popular by Chaucer). I'm now writing them in calligraphy so I can bind them into a book.

I'm just semi-retired. I'm my income to buy a few more tools, pay my credit card, and build up my savings a bit more. After that I'll attend BSU for a year and then finally settle down.

Oh let's see... woodworking, some music, making chainmail, writing calligraphy, learning how to facet gemstones, setting up a lampwork studio, practicing juggling, reviewing my calculus from college, and watching elementary students at lunch and recess. I have some more projects, but need more time.

I've gotten out of radio and spent my time doing art stuff. Since I've retired, I reinvented myself.

I don't even know what that is, so I would say no.

Almost done with my latest calligraphy project. After that, the illumination. Yippee! Almost half done.

I started on this stained glass project over two and a half years ago. I'm finally getting back to it and plan to get it done within two weeks.

There's a village missing its idiot.

Drove up to the Owyhee Mountains and above the inversion. I can see clear across the valley.

Syria rebellion: Rebels say Syria free of Assad after reports he has fled Reports from Syria say President Bashar al-Assad has left the country as anti-government forces enter the capital.

🚨. Syria is free of the Asad regime. Wow!!!

www.bbc.com/news/live/cw...

🤌

Speaks volumes.

Fly nebula and some star clusters in Auriga the Charioteer.

Finally, my one hour exposure of monkey head nebula. This time I used a newer battery in my Stellina, robotic telescope.

One positive to come out of COVID: it validated that most of the general public were competent enough to perform at-home lateral flow tests. Hopefully reducing burdens on primary care now that diagnostics can be done by individuals.

A picture from my previous life. I was an amateur near space explorer and this is an image of some payloads that I launched on a high altitude weather balloon. The average altitude of my 200 flights was 88,000 ft. You could see the curvature of the earth and the blackness of space on these flights.

Faint image of a nebula in the constellation of Orion.

My Stellina robotic telescope recorded monkey head nebula in Orion the Hunter last night. Unfortunately the battery died only after 6 minutes. This is the enhanced image that I got.

The first two casts, not looking too good. I have the third one cooling I'm going to let it cool for a long time before I open the mold.

The second half of the silicone mold is done. Now to go outside and try casting a die in pewter.

First half of the mold has set. Lateral try to cast the second half.

My first attempt to cast pewter with high temperature silicone rubber.

YouTube video by Doug Leach TEDxGladstone 2012 - L. Paul Verhage - Space is Hard, Near Space is Not Nearly as Hard

I found a link to the TEDx talk I gave after getting my PhD. m.youtube.com/watch?v=WQL9...

Learning to play the recorder. This is my attempt to play the Bell Tower.

First snow of the year.

Completed a backgammon board, but for a medieval version called the English Game.

My new winding jig for chainmail.