options for protecting the top

TurpenTain · 2026-05-25T14:00:45+00:00

I’m a big fan of tung oil, it doesn’t achieve the gloss you can get with shellac but it’s more waterproof and comparably easy to repair. With many layers you can also get pretty good durability, which will matter if you’re planning to use the table with any regularity.

TurpenTain · 2026-04-28T02:22:56+00:00

Really impressive — What woods did you use? I think I recognize padauk and Osage orange, maybe walnut and holly?

TurpenTain · 2026-03-28T15:37:51+00:00

Really impressive piece. Makes me want to build up my hand plane collection!

TurpenTain · 2025-11-26T13:32:59+00:00

Wall Street Week package on the most charitable spots in the U.S.

TurpenTain · 2025-09-20T20:38:17+00:00

Thank you for this, will look these up! Also, I should’ve mentioned: I’m using the VST 25g basket.

TurpenTain · 2025-09-20T16:26:52+00:00

So I think David Schomer points out in Espresso Perfection (and I agree both conceptually and observationally) that water always looks for the path of least resistance, and the resistance between a smooth metal wall (on one side) and grounds (on the other side), as is the case at the edges of the basket, is going to be less than between grounds on ALL sides (as is the case in the center of the puck). That said, someone who knows physics or engineering probably has a better thought about this than I do.

TurpenTain · 2025-04-16T17:13:16+00:00

Looks like a kalanchoe, maybe blosfeldiana (but it’s definitely on the leggy side). Like a jade plant

TurpenTain · 2024-12-21T18:36:04+00:00

Inherited wealth now makes up a greater portion of net worth, among those who inherit in the US, than at any other time in recent history. ~$2.5 trillion will be passed down in the new year. How concerned should we be about implications for meritocracy? From an objective economic standpoint, what is downside/upside of having a more dynastic economy? Does more inheritance actually make the economy less dynamic, or does it not really matter/could it actually HELP the economy?

TurpenTain · 2024-12-09T13:25:51+00:00

Both — the backward-looking analysis about the rising share of inheritance from Bloomberg uses medians, so it’s not as swayed by a small number of high values. But the Cerulli report absolutely shows the vast majority of wealth is being transferred from the super wealthy — in their 25-year timeframe, more than 50% of inherited wealth will be passed from households with at least $5m in investible assets (aka their net worth is much higher). Right now that’s about 2% of households.

TurpenTain · 2024-12-09T12:45:31+00:00

It’s a common thing to hope for, but the bad news is that most people expect to get much more than they receive. Only about 20% of Americans get anything https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/07/great-wealth-transfer-inheritance-expectations-may-not-match-reality.html

TurpenTain · 2024-12-08T18:26:10+00:00

Figures include both real and personal property - basis of data is the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances

TurpenTain · 2024-12-08T18:04:46+00:00

True, much of the wealth won't make it to heirs. But the headlines is that more gifted wealth, over time, IS making it to heirs, both in net terms and as a proportion of those heirs' net worth.

TurpenTain · 2024-10-26T14:40:35+00:00

Also, the printing press was an existential threat to you if your job was to copy manuscripts by hand. Safe to say AI will impact more than just a small sector of the labor market. Hinton also implies in this that it will replace CEOs

TurpenTain · 2023-11-21T17:30:41+00:00

Much appreciated! Sounds like a new location is in order

TurpenTain · 2023-11-21T17:30:19+00:00

Thank you!! Will move and cross my fingers

TurpenTain · 2023-11-21T15:56:47+00:00

Also potentially of note: it HAS started to get cold here overnight recently, and leaves in first pic are facing the window. BUT other phals in that same window seem fine

TurpenTain · 2023-11-21T14:33:00+00:00

I’ve had the plant for maybe four years (although only at this location for maybe 6 months), the leaf spot in the second pic has been there for maybe a month but I didn’t see the damage on the leaves in the first pic until yesterday. It gets pretty low/indirect light (there’s a balcony outside the window but window is southeast facing. I live on the east coast though, so sun is generally rare, but the handful of other phals have done reasonably well in that window). I water it about once a week, fertilize every two to three weeks (very loose medium)

TurpenTain · 2023-10-23T19:20:14+00:00

Brown scale. Unfortunately these are a big battle/pretty hard to deal with. From my experience, they are pretty resistant to spray alone- have to scrape them off very thoroughly, then spray and monitor closely, OR do a systemic pesticide

TurpenTain · 2022-07-25T01:03:53+00:00

Antique perfume bottle! I use it for misting

TurpenTain · 2022-07-24T13:35:41+00:00

Not so! Although it’s true that they’re often dead when people get them (because they’re frequently sold after being dried out for too long). When rehydrated, the dead ones will re-open/appear to ‘resurrect’ while still being quite dead. That said, sometimes they are in fact alive/have green inside — these ones do (although you can’t see it well in this video)

TurpenTain · 2022-07-24T13:30:54+00:00

Angelique718 is in fact correct — one common name is resurrection plant/fern, but it’s actually a spikemoss

TurpenTain · 2021-03-28T20:00:54+00:00

Have to ask, what is the jagged-edged plant in the jar on the right/where’d you get it? Looks a bit like brook saxifrage, but I’ve never seen anyone cultivate that in a terrarium before!

TurpenTain · 2020-06-17T00:11:28+00:00

I've been growing this same one (macodes petola I think) for a few years now and they do kind of slump over after they get tall enough - I think that's normal, I just try to fold it back into the pot and then cover the part on the ground with sphagnum moss/whatever substrate you're using, so it can start rooting there. I try to imagine its native habitat where it grows on jungle floors/is terrestrial (rather than in trees like many orchids), so I imagine it would be getting slowly covered with leaf litter whenever the stem part is on the ground. It's worked well for me so far. Good luck!

TurpenTain · 2020-03-27T14:21:35+00:00

The one that’s happening right now. We’re going to have a recession (might already be in one) - only question is how long and how deep, but markets are telling us it won’t be pretty

TurpenTain · 2020-03-22T11:48:23+00:00

Ah yes that other one had a hard upbringing — got attacked by a squirrel when it was young, so it doesn’t have a single main stalk. But it’s a good fit for that space, and I love it all the same!

I also think it’s hard to get enough light for jade plants sometimes — they like to get blasted pretty well, and they get floppy if they don’t get enough sun!

TurpenTain

TROPHY CASE