Andre Torrez

Catch Up

2022-12-03T09:44:00-08:00

A few things: I stopped making games. It was fun to dive into a new cycle of programming, really different than web development, but still could be as frustrating. I decided no programming was better for me so I stopped.

I spent a few months with the 3d printer. I made a lot of fun things for the house and even designed a pencil extender that was copied and sold by Blackwing themselves. Doh. But again I started feeling like being on the computer was not what I wanted to be doing.

A dream of mine had always been to make backpacks and bags. I own a lot of them and have always appreciated how much detail bag makers put into them. I bought a sewing machine and just started. I was terrible for a long time, then better, then I think finally capable to make something worth selling so I did: shop.torrez.org.

I’m going to keep doing this for as long as it interests me. I have the luxury of being able to try something else if I lose interest, but for now I really enjoy it.

Making Games

2021-01-01T21:37:00-08:00

I started a Substack (boo! hiss!) mailing list you can follow as I learn how to make games. Start here: dungeon.cc.

I think there’s four posts already, so you can catch up and play the games so far. Desktop is best.

Also, if you want to keep a five-year journal you can start here: fiveyears.today.

Still Pencils

2020-11-16T13:28:00-08:00

I’m still getting deeper into pencils. At the center of that interest is the Erasable Podcast. There’s over 150 episodes and so I’ve been listening to them one after another while I take care of stuff around the house. It’s a pencil podcast first and foremost, but there’s enough culture and media recommendations to make it much more than just pencils. I’ve been reading and watching their recommendations over the last five years of episodes I’ve listened to and have found some great stuff I missed the first time around.

The podcast also prompted me to dive into my old stash of staionery. Back in ‘08 to about ‘13 I was deep into pens, paper, notebooks, some mechanical pencils, and bags. At some point I moved on, only keeping my fountain pen habit up until I left Slack. Not having to keep lists and meeting notes for work meant I didn’t have a need for them.

Fast-forward to the pandemic and I’m writing more than ever. I’m designing some stuff for my 3d printer and soon to arrive metal CNC as well as a daily laundry list of stuff to do around the house as well as some online projects I’m working on.

I would say I write more now than I ever did when at work.

Pencils end up fitting into this perfectly. While I loved my fountain pens they were fussy, a little messy, and not great for my kind of sketching. Also pens themselves aren’t consumable the way pencils are, and so it’s nice to spend time with one 15¢ pencil, appreciate how it feels and writes and then move on to some other 18¢ or even 25¢ pencil. Maybe if I’m feeling fancy I’ll grab a $2 pencil. With pens you do consume the ink but if you want to try something else it’s a “whole thing” that I don’t really have time for.

Current favorites: