Frog Up or Down

 Linux Mint Install Goes Well Well I have been putting it of for a few weeks as I got together a coupling for my Mac and a pair cable to link the Mac to my router, then started the install, very swift, and easy do do, It asked a couple of questions enroute, but easy to answer, I now have a working Macbook Pro with an uptodate software. FireFox loaded as the main browser, nice, links to Google and all my services, including iCloud, with Apple Notes to keep my Knowledge base live and connected. All I wanted was to save a good Mac! Job Done There is a full account and more on my Substack News Letter.  https://scays.substack.com/  

  The Atmosphere #Atmosphere #The-thin-blue-line #Weather #Earth This is a short note I have made as part of a bigger article I wanted to make as part of my Knowledge Base in Apple Notes, and a slide presentation I build up knowledge like this via notes and slides, I find Slides help me organise my thoughts, and the importance of order, snd  Sequence: The Atmosphere is a thin blanket of gas that surrounds the planet, held in place primarily via  gravity. The magnetic field generated by the Earths core and the spin of the planet, which in effect generates , like an electric engine,, an electric field round the planet, prevents the suns solar wind from stripping away the atmosphere. Mars, our sister planet, did once have an atmosphere, but the planets core died, and Mars lost its protection, and the atmosphere was swept away by space and the suns wind. Wiki has a very knowledgeable page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere Sam Keon Caesars Last Breath has...

 The End of Dominance Date: 2025/12/21 Hashtags: - #Article - #Overview - #Thoughts Article: <p>The end of dominance of my computer, from now on, all my notes will be stored in Markdown as a .md text file, I will not attach any files, photo or pdf, but will store them is two separate files, and they will be linked, I will also remname files to I can see their content rather than the string of letters and numbers, meaning little to me.<p/> **Conclusion:** <p>Its been in the wind for some time, so now pleased I have moved on my thoughts, I does mean a lot of work over the next year, bringing in all my notes styored away in so many formats, but they will be free.<p/> <p>I now need to read my markdown book, in Kindle but I will purchase a paper version as soon as I find it. Thats also an interesting thought, my book collection, is spread over Kindle and Applebooks. I need to consolodate them and make a library<p/> <p>I will publish this as a bl...

 Google Speaker Tower I am reviving my old Google Tower, I have lost the power supply, but hopefully I will solve that soon, but the reason why I am spending time on its revival, is Google Gemini can speak to me through it, plus  it will play my music and well its a cool piece of kit. Let you know how it goes.

 My CPD Records You may think that because I am no longer a member of CIAT and retired, I can forget CPD, well think again. OK for a while I let the record keeping slip, but thats all changed, I am back to keeping my spreadsheet live and updated, with some inprovements to the spreadsheet, to see areas I might want to add, or improve. My actual CPD has not decreeased at all, I spend most morning reading, researching, talking to Google Gemini, and talking to my editor, and before you ask, he is an Architect who works in NewZealand, and his construction knowledge is rather good. So why do I put myself through all of this, well its partly down to habit, partly to see where I have been, and partly to see where I need to go,  And partly to understand my logging of notes in my Apple Notes Knowledge base,, currently the two are not linked, and thats my next step. I fancy a simple spreadsheet line Number, within Appple Notes and the hash tags I used,  to link time to at least one ...

 Specifying a Sequence of Operations I often wonder how I might explain not just a detatail by drawing it, but the steps, or Sequence of Operations, needed to be understood in the installation of the detail, and this use of a template to ensure accuracy. I came upon this excellent overview that I intend to included in some of my details, to not only explain the installation, but the acuraccy I want in the installation, and if I can, the reason why. I might also improve the method by explaining that I need a clearance between the pipe and tile to allow for expantion, also that the Escutchin the small cover plate to the pipe, needs to be fitted to it covers the hole adeiquatly. 

 Junichiro Tanizaki - In Prase of Shadow You might have guesed, I love shadows, I love the way I can play with feeling, and light. This book In praise of Shadow written by Junichiro Tanizaki, is a classic in anyones study of how we use light. For your knowledge book, ask your AI for a conversation on Shaddow and light, and mention Junichiro Tanizaki, and his book In Prase of Shadow. Take time to study Sun path analysisand some of the old ways we used to use,  Sun Dials also comes into the conversation, and there are some very interesting examples all over the world.

 Milanote A design board, a planing board, its both and so much more The Mac has an Application called Freeform, I use it a lot, well I did, to plan ideas and thoughts, and bring them to reality. I have some 33 boards on a variety of topics and up until today, I thought it great, then I found Milanote a similar program thats way, way better and has so many distinct and usefull uses, I found it as part of my research on Shadow and at the end of a YouTube video made by the Architect   Dami Lee.  The link takes you to the section of her Japanese Robot video where she outlines her use of the program. It is Freeform, but its taken the concept so much higher. There are several YouTube tutorial videos that help you to progress, but it did not take long to drag items out of the side bar and create new Boards, and add content to them, there is even templates that are designed to assist in quickly building pages. The tutorial below is one of many take your pick. there is a free pl...

 Alternative light Source and Shadows I love this little short video on YouTube, which introduces the concept of alternative light sources from other buildings,, the video makes the case of it being like a studio,  But I like the idea of both light and shadow playing with the building, the main and boldest, being the main building shadow, but, light reflected from other buildings windows, and the shadow they cast, gives an alternative lighter and less bold shadow, whilst still sharpening the profiles of walker passing by, and the interesting thing is,, it changes as the day progresses. I will be writing a longer article on the subject on my SubStack post later this coming week. https://youtube.com/shorts/tP23XvP3YCk?si=CLr0gF9-J4X4LjND

 The Weather Engine If your detailing on any of the external Fascades, then you need to understand the weather. But be warned its not simple, its dan complex, but the weather in you major battle front. Keeping the weather out not just from the internal living space, but the detail itself. and I hope this will be covered in later posts. But for now lets look at the weather, in all its glory. I have written a short overview in the form of a ePub Electronic digital book. There are a couple of reasons for this, first its cheap, I write the narative and send it to Dropbx as an ePub, second I can update it easily, third, and parhaps most important, it allows you to make notes, ask questions and research your own knowledge base. I so hate marking up any paper book, but an electronic book is made to add notes to, and if your using almost any reader, to open the book, it will allow you to mark a word, sentence, or paragraph and add your own thoughts, these you can copy and paist into your K...

 Draughtsmanship The Lost Art (Introduction) Good morning! In a world increasingly driven by AI-powered tools and rapid digital modeling, it’s easy to forget the foundational skills that underpin all great construction documentation. For me, the discipline begins with the essentials: pencil and ink , the feel of a perfectly weighted scale rule , and the delicate dance of tracing paper . This isn't nostalgia; it's the core of professional competence. Every truly excellent CAD drawing, every flawlessly detailed BIM model, owes a debt to the principles of traditional draughtsmanship . Here, on my new blog, we’ll explore how returning to these roots—the Frog Up or Down of design accuracy—can dramatically elevate your digital output, making you not just a faster designer, but a far more precise one. Precision and the Scale Rule The physical scale rule is the ultimate teacher of accuracy and consequence. Unlike zooming in on a CAD screen, which can give the illusion of infinite det...

  From Pencil to Pixels: Unlocking Decades of Construction Wisdom on My New Blog - Looking at Pinterest Good morning everyone! Inspired by my friend and editor Jon Pickup's success with Blogger, and with the Mitchells Rewrite project in full swing, I've launched a new site dedicated to sharing the deeper insights, processes, and expertise that go into great construction documentation. You might be familiar with my work through the extensive visual library I’ve curated over several years on Pinterest, focusing on building and construction: ( https://uk.pinterest.com/stephenscaysbro/ ) While my Pinterest board offers the inspiration and visual context, my new Blogger site is where we dive into the how and why . Why You Should Visit My New Construction Blog This site is a deep dive into the areas I’m most passionate about, turning theory into practical application: The Art of Documentation: We'll explore the essential techniques of draughtsmanship —from the foundational use ...

  My World in 2026 #article #Future #Suncatcher #2025-6 #2026 The future is on the mind of many a writer, all those new year lists, the year just past, whats coming in 2026, there are so many variables, it hard to see what coming or whats heading the pack of a very mixed year to come For me this post os not so much a prediction, more what might be worth watching I see many events and people who I think will make a difference, in a number of key areas, so my overall list look something like: Internet & Technology Building Technology Search Transport Entertainment Science & Maths Health Politics Business Books Travel Computers People Internet & Technology its the state of the internet and AI, the vast number of AI articles all talking about who is best, or who controls what, its a nightmare, the power needed to run the system how do we supply more, google “suncatcher “ satellite that has vast solar panels powering a super computer in a geosynchronous orbit and a laser lin...