Sorry that I’ve been MIA—I’ve started flying, and it’s been overwhelming but so rewarding! I’m finally finding a moment to update everyone

PRODUCTION

Drawing

• AirPods—While on a conference call, I picked up my leadholder and sketched my AirPods case, trying to focus on shading and highlights, which I have never been able to wrap my head around. I’m actually pretty happy with how it has turned out!
  
  
• Diablo—I started working on an old sketch that I put down. The proportions are off, but I didn’t let that deter me. Rather than correct them, though, I made it my own to prevent losing momentum. I easily get overwhelmed while drawing.
• Logo for Son of Henry—I settled on a brand name for my wood projects (more on that later), and I developed a logo for the brand, Son of Henry. I used the font, Bitter, from Font Squirrel from Font Squirrel.
  
  

Writing

I finally published an article I’ve been sitting on for a while titled Perverse Incentives and the US Army. It’s a fun blend of economics and military 😌

Even publishing another Sunday Shares has been therapeutic to get thoughts out and to reestablish the habit of writing

Website

This work has been a bit stagnant and is still a monumental task (in my mind anyways). I think the difficulty comes from not completely understanding what I want to use my website for. Is it an online portfolio and résumé, a collection of random lists and favorites I want to share, just a blog, a mix of all of the above, or something entirely different? I think I may organize my website menu into:

HOME | BLOG | PERSONAL | PROFESSIONAL | ABOUT

I’d love feedback.

Build

• Mountain shelves—This was a fun and quick project I cranked out. In fact, I made three so that I could give away two. I shared it on Reddit (apparently now removed), and got some people who wanted to buy them. I hadn’t thought of selling them online, but now I’m noodling on how to get my brand and website figured out.
  
  
• Dining table + bench—This is the gift that keeps on taking. I’m working on epoxy for the top of the table and bench to eliminate the grooves that food keeps falling into, but first, I have to put on a different urethane (water-based) so that the epoxy will stick. I also had to order another two gallons of it. I’m ready to have this project behind me. I should have planed it, but I didn’t have access to the woodshop when I initially went to build it—all in the name of experience, right? 🤷🏼‍♂️
  
  Check out V1 on Reddit. I’m currently working on drafting up the bill of materials and will publish a build article once I get the epoxy figured out.
• Harry Potter wands—I used ¾” dowels from Lowe’s and had planned on turning them on the lathe at the woodshop. The guy had to leave, though, so that left me with the drum sander. I tried the mounted belt sander but almost hurt myself twice (one wand got thrown somewhere never to be seen again, and another got sucked in between the guard and the belt, shredding the belt), so I did them all entirely with the drum sander…Lessons learned. They were a hit, though!
  
  
• Book data charts—I build a Google Sheet where I plugged in the data from the books I read this year, and I’m trying to extrapolate useful information. For example, am I happy with the number of female or people of color authors I’m reading or should it increase? “What gets measured gets managed,” right?
• Pumpkin—The Empire did nothing wrong.
  
• Son of Henry—I’m working on putting together an online store. So far, I’m thinking about selling the mountain shelves, Harry Potter wands, military coin holders, moral patch displays, and hopefully expanding into some other ideas. I’d love some tips 🤓

CONSUMPTION

Read

Article: The Real Divide in America Is Between Political Junkies and Everyone Else by Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan

Sorry for an article behind a paywall; I used Pocket to read it. Anyways, the gist is that while the parties themselves are divisive, the real issue is between the America that eagerly follows and engages with politics and the America that just wants results. It reframed our political system in a way I hadn’t considered.

Watch

Video: Cooking with Eva | Episode 2: Cookies (YouTube)

I put together another video of Eva and me cooking. It has been a “productive” way to connect with one another, and our extended family has loved it.

Listen

Song: “Randale” by Kraftklub (Spotify | YouTube)

At one point back in…I wanna say 2010, I was in a music funk and was really craving something that I couldn’t quite articulate. I discovered “Randale” by Kraftklub on Tumblr and instantly fell in love. They’ve quickly become a favorite band. It helps that I was (and am) a total Germanophile, but their sound is also unique and fun.

Song: “Cyphers” by Mord Fustang (Spotify | YouTube)

I’ve been listening to this song on repeat all week as I’ve been studying. Good vibes! Mord Fustang always pulls through, and he even liked my tweet about the song

Podcast: Special: Acquired x My First Million | Acquired (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)

I love Acquired (@AcquiredFM) to begin with, but I especially loved the second half where they just riff on different business ideas and how they could work.

Learn

Concept: BallotReady

I used BallotReady to help me figure out who to vote for in this election, specifically the lesser-known and -publicized local candidates. You put in your address, and it generates your ballot. It then walks you through why one might vote yes or no, then you can make your choice and print off your results to easily populate that ballot.

Concept: Sans-serif vs. slab serif vs. serif

In designing the Son of Henry logo, I had to figure out what is in a font. My brother-in-law steered me toward using a slab serif, which turned out to be just the right blend of modern and sleek with traditional and craftsman. It’s worth digging into the Wikipedia article if you’re interested in design. Here are some slab serif fonts that got me thinking: Top 10 Most Popular Slab Serif Fonts.

Ponder

Idea: Getting involved with climate change

I had a conversation with a Twitter friend, Shelby Smith (@CoShelbysmith), on how to be more active in climate change. It was so refreshing to exchange thoughts. It was unique to use passive, long-form communication (i.e. email) to get the creative juices flowing and to have a record of what we had talked about. I look forward to future discussions and how to make meaningful change on both the micro and macro levels.

Quote:

(Feel free to download and/or share)

As I am slowly refining this newsletter, I’d love feedback on the format and content. Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).