2020 – The Year that Was

Each and every time I sat down to write something - I just could not do it. Nothing in 2020 seemed to click when it came to writing. I would sit down and type out a few sentences in my drafts document and then just stare at it. Then delete it. Maybe it was a level of depression. Maybe it was just not knowing where to begin and how comfortable I would be sharing via a blog.

 This much is true - overall, the year sucked. There is no two ways about it. We lost 3 members of our extended family over the course of the year. I lost my father and my wife lost two grandparents. There was a great deal of small projects and distraction activities, but no amount of sourdough bread and homemade mead fills that void. All that aside, the four of us made out OK physically. No one got sick and we got to spend A LOT of time together, which is one of the bright spots. As a family, we cruised through a bunch of books, movies, tv shows, board games, and video games.  We survived and we were damn lucky to be in a position where our day to day could easily adapt to working from and staying home.  Onward and upward.

 Currently Reading:

Forgotten All-Star: A Biography of Gardner Fox by Jennifer DeRoss

Bits & Bobs

Man oh man.

Lots of neat stuff is happening around the house.

DW and I have begun landscaping our backyard and while the project is tedious at times, it is finally starting to take shape. We sold our garden property last month so we could laser focus out time outside in a more meaningful way. This weekend we will be laying more pavers and laying down weed fabric. The next phase involves picking out and then planting flowers, fruit, and vegetables. After that comes the mulch, the stone, and finally grass seed. I love this phase of the project.

Aleister, our 3D printer, currently humming along behind me as I type this, is furiously fabricating a case for the raspberry pi 3 that will physically attach to the printer. Last weekend I finally got around to installing Octoprint and ever since then, I have been tweaking settings and having a blast. I just installed Octolapse so I am hoping to post some tiny, low-res snippets of some prints.

The boys are in the home stretch school-wise. Summer is just around the corner. I can’t wait. Despite my allergies doing a number on me the past few days, I am brimming with optimism, or whatever passes for it in my shadowy cranium.

Currently Reading:

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh

Whelp...It's 2019

It feels like I just wrote the last post where I told you (well, more like myself) that I would post on a more regular basis. That didn't happen clearly. November came and went and then December roared into our lives like an unholy were- beast.

Between work, the holidays, and a vacation - I just didn't find the time to update the blog.

January was plague month here at the house. We all took turns being sick in various ways. Last week, the country saw some of the coldest temperatures in nearly a generation. The Midwest was hit the hardest but we did not remain unscathed by the cold. Our pipes froze and then our fireplace and a space heater were called into action to help drive out the chill in the first floor.

But normalcy returned. As I type this, our oldest son is celebrating his 7th birthday and the weather has regained her senses (it's 42 F outside at the moment).

We bought a 3D printer which has been occupying my free time of late. It's a cool device that is forcing me to learn new software and dive deeper into hardware tweaking. I love it. It's a Creality Ender 3 and I have already printed a few upgrades and named it Aleister.

Reading picked up a bit too. I am in various stages of 3 different books which is just the kind of moody, scattered absorption that feeds my brain and soul.

Hacking the Xbox is an excellent primer for reverse engineering and refreshing by brains on the intricacies of PC architecture.

IWoz is a not-so-well-written autobiography on a very interesting person. I wish it was less conversational or that a ghost writer took a pass through it.

Altered Carbon is enjoyable and then some. I came to the book via the Netflix show and I am very please. I am "sipping" on that one.

All three should be complete this coming week which means I need to load up my queue.

Currently Reading:

• Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering by Andrew "bunnie" Huang

• IWoz by Steve Wozniak

• Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan

The Hermit Emerges...Sort Of

I had high hopes of maintaining a pretty regular schedule for the blog. Maybe twice per month. That seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. It didn't happen. Now I am taking steps to be better. No promises though.

Mid October brought a pretty horrific health scare for me.Without going into any major details, it looks like I will be back on blood pressure medicine for the foreseeable future.I am good with this. The alternative is not pretty.

From September to mid October, I was wrestling with one form of illness or another. Since the mid October event, I've been feeling much better. Damn near normal.

Anyway, Halloween came and went. If the nation does not disintegrate into a Purge sequel fever dream after this Tuesday, then Thanksgiving is next in the queue. This is good as I like Thanksgiving. It's mostly a low key affair that involves eating and napping.

Currently reading: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Sick & Tired: A Summer Cold Sneaks In

It started with a general feeling of “unwellness”. Then came the chills and then the fever. And then, Boom, I had Strep Throat too. My wife was fighting it for about 24 hours before me so I knew a little of what to expect. Anyway, here we are. Day 2 of intermittent fevers, chills, body aches and other not so fun things. The only positive is that during the lucid, not fever-y moments, I got some decent reading done.

I finished a Warren Ellis book and I am nearly done with Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Next up is something by Cory Doctorow, just not sure what yet.

Summer colds are the worst and this one crept in just before Summer winds up and Fall begins. Once the antibiotics kick in, I have some work to do but for now, I think I need a few minutes with my Kindle and then an hour of sweaty, non restorative sleep.

Go Home Summer

Summer is packing up her bags and finishing her last drink. We are in full swing late summer cleaning mode at the house. It feels good to clean and rearrange stuff, chucking what you don't need to use to donate/eBay pile. Cathartic even. We picked up a new desk for our oldest and we are actively scouring the sales for his first laptop. I love shopping for computers and he is giddy at the thought of us playing Minecraft together on our network.

"My allergies are killing me!" is a phrase I might as well have tattooed on my forehead. The last few days were a marked improvement but this past Thursday and Friday were pure torture. Bring me Fall with the cool evenings and low pollen count please. 

 

The Man on the Edge of Forever

Harlan Ellison passed a few days ago. I never met him but as a being with a pulse and a penchant for science fiction, his work left an indelible mark on me. The first Dangerous Visions (edited or curated by Ellison) was practically required reading even though it was nearly 25 years old by the time I got my grubby hands on it.  Interestingly enough, his death followed that of Michael Fleisher's by nearly four months.  Ellison and Fleisher (noted Bronze Age comics writer of The Spectre and Jonah Hex) were once embroiled in a lawsuit involving some choice words Ellison had for Fleisher which began as half-praise.  It's always a bummer to watch two talented people spend energy on a disagreement. To my knowledge I don't think the tension between the two ever resolved. But that was Harlan Ellison for ya.  Maybe he stuck around just long enough to make sure he got the last word in.  He was brash and belligerent and I am sure many, many other things that start with "b".  I think the next book in my queue will probably be something with his name on it.  Probably Dangerous Visions again as I haven't read it since high school.  

Currently reading: Normal by Warren Ellis (I've been on a bit of a kick)

Beer & Loafing in Ontario

It's vacation time for me and the family and we decided to head north to Ontario to explore the falls among other things. We are renting a farmhouse via Airbnb which could not be more perfect at this moment. The breeze is cool, my beer is cold, and the sunsets are peaceful. And there is a hammock. I love hammocks. They represent the highest form of relaxation to me. Happily the WiFi is fairly decent there are plenty of old (well old to my boys) toys hiding in a closet. 

Currently reading: Gun Machine by Warren Ellis  

mic check. one. one. two. one. two.

First post time.  Playing around with the style and format a bit.  Testing the digital waters.  Expect changes.