mastodon 4.7.3Chemistry & web programming teacher in Michigan, hobby web developer (#Flask, #HTMX), beekeeper, wannabe homesteader.
Ok Fedi, I'm starting the process of researching solar panels for my barn. I'm a DIY person, so not looking for install recommendations, more interested in what I need to learn in order to do this wisely. Hardware, unexpected gotchas, other things DIY people need to know.
I can build and I am comfortable with electrical work.
Ok, I decided to do the full route.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/401597782?privacy_code=bSd5cnhfAAj2g4kEKPv2cAGsyy4Vq5kl
Trying to decide how far I want to ride my bike tonight...I just mapped out a 23 mile loop, but that is feeling excessive. I may just go for it and shorten it if I need to.
Super tired again tonight. Spent the day finishing up the seed starting cart (I'll post pictures tomorrow) which had turned into an exercise of iterations in engineering. A couple of teardowns and rebuilds took up most of the afternoon.
Tomorrow, it's back to the house build for the morning at least. But for tonight, it's a shower and a beer.
A field and a mountain this evening.
A quick writeup of my ride in the Amishland and Lakes event yesterday.
https://ohheybrian.com/blog/2026/07/amishland-and-lakes-2026
Just made a reservation for August 12 at Van Buren State Park near South Haven, MI.
The only bummer is that there was a fantastic site available, so I put it in my cart. But then I had to make an account and my cart was lost, but the site was still pending, so I couldn't re add it. I had to leave for a while and when I came back, someone else had grabbed it 😭
I got one that's still in a nice spot, but it's not as good. Still looking forward to my little adventure.
Why does camping in a state park have to be so expensive?
I was thinking about a 2-night trip, but at $45/night for rustic camping, I'm thinking about just an out and back closer to home.
Today was a very productive day. Work on the new house flew - several windows installed and the old part of the house got prepped for its new windows along with siding tear off.
At home, I managed to get the fridge recharged and it is now cooling again (thankfully). I also made big progress on the new seed tray cart - that'll get finished tomorrow.
It's a beautiful day in the windy city.
More enshittification in education this morning.
I don't use Kahoot often, but it is helpful for concept reviews. I used to be able to get high-level reports of how each student did. Nothing wild, just right/wrong ratio and the most missed question in a set.
Not anymore. Today I logged in to look at yesterday's warm up and it's all behind a paywall now. I can see the top three, but no one who actually needs help.
Why can't we have nice things.
Doing acids and bases today, students understand why the general acid formula is HA (A- anion produced).
But why is a general base formula MOH? I don't know what the M stands for...I just know that's what we use.
This is a little concerning - The Lancet published that school phone bans don't improve student digital addictions, it just offloads it to non-school hours.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(25)00003-1/fulltext
We have a ban coming next year in Michigan, which will be one thing. I'm already talking with students daily about their phone habits...I need to be more intentional.
Balancing out the awful bucket, our kitchen staff have put an extra cooler of food out for students. It's all precooked with reheating instructions on the packaging. This reduces our waste and feeds more people.
We also got this monstrosity yesterday.
I have many thoughts.
A few comments, as a teacher, on the Ars Technica article "To teach in the time of ChatGPT is to know pain."
https://ohheybrian.com/blog/2026/04/teaching-in-the-time-of-chatgpt
Today in the classroom:
Labs all day. First year chem is preparing a solution from solid to a specific concentration. I'll test with a colorimeter against a dilution series I did this morning. Then, they dilute to a new concentration and check again. Their grade is partially based on their accuracy.
Second year chem is exploring properties of buffers. They'll compare solution ratios to measured pH values and calculate Ka for an acid.
I got the bottom bracket apart (except the drive side...I need to get a better tool), but the bearings were a mess.
How do I size these for replacement? This is a generic kids mountain bike (Dynacraft Magna Echo Ridge model 8153-31Taj) and the manual doesn't have info. Can I just measure the bracket with calipers?
Today in the classroom:
I have written detention referrals every day this week. I am praying that I don't have more today because I'm worn out.
First year chem is finishing molarity practice and doing a final check on solubility at the particle level when things dissolve.
Second year chem is finishing their buffer lab - we didn't have quite enough time yesterday. They'll describe acid/base salts w/ net ionic reactions and calculate Ka.
We have something like 40 days of school left and the 10th grade boys are falling _apart_.
Took a stack of grading home last night just because I ran out of time during the day. I marked it all and put scores on my clipboard to enter today.
Left my clipboard and all the papers at home on my table 
Today in the classroom:
I was out yesterday and unfortunately I have to talk with two classes about how to behave with substitute. Pretty ridiculous.
First year chem is doing more molarity practice. I might add dilutions in today.
Second year chem is taking notes on buffers to prepare for their big buffer lab later this week.
I told my TA today that I would do dishes because I need a mindless job to distract myself from all the crap that has happened this week.
Of course I realize this while I'm eating breakfast getting ready to head out the door. I'll have to look at it later.
Well, the cart came together well, but I need to do some work on the axle. There's a ton of torque the way it's currently set up, so I need to figure out a way to have a fork on the wheels to reduce that force.
Just realized my blog has a bug. If I save a post as a draft and then publish later, the RSS feed isn't generated. Not sure why ...
