Jacob All Trades #315
3D Printed Railroads, Obama-Bro BS, David Attenborough, Ted Lasso, Succession, The Wisconsin Supreme Court, Skateboard Multiverses, and The Indie Frasier Reboot
Sometimes I beat myself up for not sending these as often as I’d like to; sometimes it is astounding to me that I ever get them out. This week Della and Heather were both sick (Della barfed in my mouth. Parenthood.) and I was covering more parenting than normal. I don’t understand what I used to do with my free time. It feels like such a limited resource now.
But, I want you to know I am constantly writing these newsletters in my head. I’m always so excited to spend time putting those ideas down in writing.
Enjoy!
Jacob
DON’T THROW IT AWAY
“Do you think it’s okay to throw this away?” my wife often teases me, holding up something like a dirty diaper or a shirt I’ve worn so many times it looks more like lace than cotton. The joke is: I refuse to throw things away.
The thing is, there is no “away.” It’s a concept that doesn’t exist. Whatever we toss ends up somewhere else in the closed system we call Planet Earth. I’ve gone to great lengths to not throw things away. I reuse old jars, keep camera lenses in torn socks, and have taken a certain pair of jeans to the tailor for mending so many times they finally told me “please buy new pants.” I’ve found niche ways to recycle (did you know Suay Sew Shop in LA will take all your old textiles?), I compost, and I have a reusable Q-tip my wife describes as “soooo nasty.” (It’s not. She’s wrong... but I could maybe wash it more.)
The latest thing I’ve refused to throw away is broken toys. My desk has two toy school buses in various stages of repair, a broken styrofoam glider that I glued back together but still need to sand down for aerodynamics, and (until recently) a “stacking track support” from Brio where the wooden track part had snapped in half.
I tried fixing the track with wood glue but with two kids who are a tad rough with their toys, it kept re-breaking. I wondered if you could buy just the wooden part, but I couldn’t find it online. After a lot of Googling, I found out there are toy train parts that match Brio’s specs on 3D printer websites you can download for free!
In addition to this very niche part, I discovered a treasure trove of custom track modifications including one that let you fit Brio (or similar) tracks onto Duplos:
I don’t have a 3D printer… but did you know that the Los Angeles Central Library has free 3D printers?! They do! The Octavia Lab (named for Pasadena’s own Octavia Butler). They also have laser cutters, a chain stitch machine, a green screen, and three podcast studios. FOR FREE.
So, I booked a session and took Wilder down to the Central Library. He got to see how the 3D printer worked, ride on an escalator, and even experience the urgency of trying to find an unoccupied stall in one of the last remaining public bathrooms in downtown Los Angeles. FUN!
Printing the missing piece took an hour and a half, so I came back to pick it up a few days later and then we replaced the wooden part. I told Wilder we could use the broken wood for our next campfire. Nothing gets thrown away.
So, is this more environmentally responsible than buying a new Brio bridge? Hard to say. I was glad we weren’t tossing the old pieces. The screws are metal and could have been recycled, but the plastic was dodgy. By printing a new piece we were able to keep most of the materials, and not use the resources to create a new item, or the shipping CO2 to get it to us. That said, I did have to buy a special triangle-shaped drill bit set that was shipped to me, so it’s probably a wash. Some 3D printers use a biodegradable plastic substitute, but idk if the Library does. Also, A new Brio piece costs $14.99 for two, so when you factor in time, gas, etc I don’t even know that we saved money.
On the other hand, I got to give my kid a really fun experience and unlock a world of 3D printing wooden train modifications that have now given us an activity to do and a way to be creative (we’re printing the DUPLO adapters next).
And, more than anything, I’m raising my kid with the ethos that we throw away as little as possible and once we buy something, we mend it for as long as we can. And, in a small way, that’s a rebellion against capitalist consumer culture that I can get excited about.
CONSUMPTION JUNCTION
Three things I’ve seen, heard, or otherwise experienced recently that have been on my mind.
I cannot stop thinking about what Crooked Media (the Pod Save Bros) did to the two women who hosted Hot Take, their only climate podcast. After reading this, I’ll never be able to listen to the Obama-bros in the same way. (Side note: check out Hot Take co-host Amy Westervelt’s award-winning true crime podcast “Drilled” set in the world of Big Oil)
I haven’t yet watched A Life On Our Planet yet but this clip is fantastic. David Attenborough breaks down the five ways we can save our planet in the hopeful and inspirational way only he can.
I’ve heard different versions of how Ted Lasso came into existence, but I got served this one on Instagram (apparently, I am clicking on enough of the other Lasso origin stories) and it’s great. Note a pre-fame Jordan Peele (around the time I first met him and Hunt through improv friends) in one of the Boom Chicago cast photos.
A GOOD LONG WATCH
Succession comes back tomorrow night. Here’s the composer breaking down the musical themes and how he arrived at them.
DO SOMETHING
One of the most consequential elections leading up to 2024 is happening mere DAYS from now: Wisconsin will elect a justice to the state Supreme Court. This is a consequential election not only because one justice would tip the makeup of the court for crucial fights around abortion, voting rights, and gerrymandering – but also because the Wisconsin Supreme Court was one vote away from siding with Donald Trump to throw out thousands of votes in 2020 and Republican candidate running for the seat supports the Big Lie.
This seat could determine the outcome of the 2024 election if Wisconsin is again a swing state (it will be) and if Republicans try and overturn the election results (they’ve said they will).
(btw Simon Rosenberg’s “Hopium Chronicles” substack has a great summary of the Wisconsin race. He’s also hosting a panel about it next week that looks interesting.)
VoteRiders is doing a text bank on Thursday 3/30, which is a great way to get involved and help make sure Democratic voters have the info they need for the election. If you haven’t done text banking it is WAY lower key than phone banking – a great way to dip your toe into making a difference.
WORK I AM JEALOUS OF
I’ve had a half idea for years (maybe since seeing Sliding Doors in high school) to visualize all the different paths our lives could take using overlaid images of each possible option. I could never quite nail it.
Then Najeeb Tarazi comes along and makes One More Try. Every version of this I had in my head was so convoluted, but this is elegantly simple and I’m jealous as hell.
CALL FOR ART: AN INDIE FRASIER REBOOT
I love Frasier. I’m weary of the reboot. So, I’m banding together a group of artists to beat PeaCockMax+™ to the punch and reimagine Frasier on our own. Specifically, we are going to remake the Season 1 Finale of Frasier frame by frame. Here are a few highlights so far. If you want to join in the fun, I’m listening…
Tossed salads and scrambled eggs all over the place…
Collectively, the artists participating have had their work nominated for Emmy, Grammy, and Webby Awards; hung in museums; broadcast on Adult Swim, Nickelodeon, Netflix, HBO, ABC, Funny or Die, Comedy Central; referenced in Senate hearings; gotten Vimeo Staff Picks; screened at SXSW, Sundance, Slamdance, Raindance, Riverdance and more. (Okay, fine, not Riverdance).
If you want to join in the fun or know someone who might, please spread the word.
Alrighty, that’s it for this issue. Feel free to leave a comment or share the newsletter using the links below.
Party on,
Jacob
Love what you are doing. Totally agree with you on jury duty. I have been on three juries.