Current Configuration

  • Zoom

    A 4-minute time-lapse video of the drive from L.A. to New York City.

    Pointed out to me by Steve ‘I’m so buff from working out my last name should be Maniel’ Laniel.

  • A Parent’s View

    <img src="/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/nightstairs.jpg" alt="A view down our wooden stairs, which are lit at their foot and get darker as they ascend. On the landing is a bookcase and a turquoise chair."

    I’ve seen this view many times since Jocie was born. The light on the stairs as they ascend into the darkened second floor always struck me, so I decided to capture and share this little slice of my late-night traversing.

  • The Pit All Afire

    A coal mine, seen silhouetted on the horizon at sunset, with clouds in the sky.

    “Oh, Daddy, I’ve had such a dream;
    I dreamt that I saw the pit all afire,
    And men struggled hard for their lives;
    The scene it then changed, and the top of the mine
    Was surrounded by sweethearts and wives.”

    —Don’t Go Down the Mine Daddy

    I attended an interesting talk this past weekend given by University of Pennsylvania Professor of Astrophysics, Ken Lande. He made an interesting point during the course of his talk on the “post-fossil fuel era.” While his ultimate point was that a decentralized energy source such as wind or solar would be far better, safer, and more secure for us, he pointed out an interesting comparison between two other, far more prevalent, energy sources in use today.

    (more…)

    ,

  • Build Your Own Fonts

    A screen capture of the FontStruct front page.

    Ever wanted to make a quick font? Well, now you’ve got your chance. FontShop just opened up their modular web-based font building tool, FontStruct.

    I got a chance to play around with the closed pre-launch version and I can attest to its robustness. I was skeptical when I got the invite, but it does everything it needs to and exports a functional font file to boot.

    My only public “fontstruction”, Faketur, is a work in progress containing what I’d call a first shot at the lowercase letters for a blackletter font. It has big spacing issues and some characters in need of intervention, but I plan to keep on adding and tweaking. I’ll likely post when it’s in better shape.

    Check out FontStruct. The team did an impressive job for this handy little free web tool. Congrats, guys.

  • Blackbird: 2 Months

    Blackbird laying on her side in our bed, wearing a hat and smiling in her sleep.

    Today Blackbird is two months old, and I’m surprising myself at how much nostalgia one can pack into such a short time. Alisa and I are also fascinated by how much growth and change Blackbird can fit in there. She’s gone from being a little cooing lump to becoming… a demanding little lump.

    Joking.

    She’s already a curious and self-reliant little bugger, always looking around and demanding a good view. She loves to sit up (with our hands for support) and is on the cusp of giving us some wonderful baby laughter. As it stands, I’m perfectly happy chasing those little smiles.

    The rest of this post contains quite a few photos, so if you’re on a low-bandwidth connection, beware.

    (more…)

  • Get Back On It

    After some recent “life events,” I got a little waylaid in my efforts to make Current Config super fantastic internets. Expect more very soon.

    Now, I must be going. I have a horse to catch.

  • Go Joe?

    The Cobra logo from the TV show G.I. Joe

    Whoever thought that COBRA was a good name for health insurance was probably the same person who thought up the phrase Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act in order to make it work.

    Also, clearly not a child in the 80s.

  • My Baby Loves the Music of the 30s

    They have a new expression along old Harlem way, That tells you when a party is ten times more than gay: To say that things are jumpin' leaves not a single doubt, That everthing is in full swing when you hear someone shout. Here 'tis: The joint is jumpin',

    Blackbird’s been a bit fussy the past few days. The remedy? Dancing to the musical hits of the 1930s.

    She’s always liked two things: being close to Mom (or Dad) and movement. Well, it turns out she likes music as well, and is a sucker for the 30s. I was playing 1930s compilation (link opens in iTunes) I’d purchased and dancing around like an idiot with Blackbird in my arms and not only did she quiet down, but she even cracked a few non-directed smiles before slipping into that almost-asleep-but-I-won’t-let-them-take-me-without-a-fight state where she looks like a sleepy cross-eyed drunk.

    If there’s anything I’ve taken from this experience, it’s the following three things:

    1) It’s surprising how many of these songs are part of our cultural lexicon. With one exception (the woeful ‘Ten Cents a Dance’), I knew every track.

    2) I’m going to be very fit in about a month with all this dancing.

    3) Once you get past the modern, irony-tinged, throwback quality of the music, you realize that most of these performances are excellent. These people could get the job done. I realize that this revelation is not novel.

    Check out the track list after the jump.

    (more…)

    ,

  • Beat! Beat! Drums! The Whitman Family has Grown!

    The word Was, shown in Whitman Italic and Whitman Bold Italic, laid on top of each other using semi-transparent colors to show the differences in weights.

    One of my favorite type families, Kent Lew’s Whitman, is just about to make the transition from beautiful specialized book face to full-fledged modern workhorse. This is music to my ears.

    (more…)

  • Structures Great and Small

    A view underneath a highway overpass, looking straight down the rows of concrete columns that hold the roadway up over the marshes.

    A small, rusted metal shed surrounded on three sides by fencing, that has old graffiti on it reading 'Chip' in embellished bubble letters.

    Two scenes as viewed from the train this morning. These are best considered while listening to Cicada’s Technology Crisis, which is available for free.

    ,