Archive

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 27: collective #mbjune I’m not an expert on bee identification but if this is a hive bee (instead of a solitary bee) it is gathering food for its collective.

Reconsidering my whole idea of photo posting. I’ve settled on 4 spots: Lightroom Web Albums for events (mostly family and friends), SmugMug for art, Instagram for audience, Micro.blog for blogging fun. Could be some cross-posting and definitely some reorg. Goodbye Flickr.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 26: bridge #mbjune Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 25: decay #mbjune Destruction of the old Hill Farms State Transportation Building. Madison WI. 2018.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 24: bloom #mbjune Tulip at the Keukenhof Garden

Attitude!

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 23: fracture #mbjune

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 22: hometown #mbjune Hot air balloon above the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 21: silhouette #mbjune

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 20: gather #mbjune This year our two families gathered in the Netherlands. Dutch/American.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 19: equal #mbjune These two tag football teams seem pretty equal.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 18: texture #mbjune Tree bark and a lonely vinca.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 17: warmth #mbjune Grandson enjoying the warmth of a fire on a July evening many years ago.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 16: blur #mbjune Peonies in focus with a background that’s showing a bit of blur.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 15: tie #mbjune Twist ties in our kitchen window. Yes, we save a few of these. They’ve come in handy more than once.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 14: twilight #mbjune Twilight along Lake Superior in Grand Marais MN.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 13: pathway #mbjune A rough pathway along the Irish Sea in Northern Ireland near the Giant’s Causeway.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 12: hidden #mbjune The fairies are hidden in the woods near Tipperary. You can only hear their giggles.

RIP Brian Wilson. Another great one gone.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 11: brick #mbjune Brick cobblestones in Galway can sometimes lead to whiskey.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 10: rail #mbjune This mailbox could probably use a rail of some sort.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 9: wood #mbjune The wood behind our former home at sunrise.

I can offer no insight into the minds of others. I can only tell you of my own, and even then I cannot be sure.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 8: travel #mbjune Attending a falconry school is one thing we got to do when traveling in Ireland.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 7: Switch In a lock on the Rhine-Main-Danube canal switching from lower to a higher level as we head east through Germany to Austria.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 6: Contrast Double contrast: A license plate white lettering with a black background with the words “Up N Dn”.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 5: Reflection A reflection of the Gold Medal grain elevator in the windows of the Guthrie Theater, downtown Minneapolis.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 4: Nostaglia My brother Tim with his cash register, taken by my father about 65 years ago.

I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations — they generally produce their worst work when they do that. — David Bowie Software development can be an artistic endeavor. But there are few software projects that are free of users, patrons, clients, or …

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 3: Shadow Shadows in the hallway leading to the Rochester MN Public Library.

Micro.blog photo challenge Day 2: Curve A reading area in the Rochester MN Public Library along its curved wall.

Taken northeast of Grand Marais MN on Lake Superior. – #mbjune Day 1: Tree

The sky to the west after the blizzard. Not much snow but high winds and no visibility. Many crashes on I90 to our east. Last snowstorm of the season?

Blizzard in progress. Worse to come.

After the blizzard

A heron on the wing at sunset. Seen at Wall Springs Park in Palm Harbor Florida. There was quite a bit of smoke in the air which I think was from wildfires between here and Orlando.

A recent visit to a fish shop in Dunedin Florida found this frequent visitor hoping for a handout.

We had some icy days a couple weeks back.

We had some freezing fog the other day.

Hungry Chickadee

Willow in Fog

Frost on Oak Leaves, 2024-12-30.

Ulf, the coffee gnome, wishes you all a Happy New Year!

From the archive: 2015 Christmas Tree Ornaments. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Cougar, Oxbow Park, Olmsted County, Minnesota. This girl was actually purring as we walked by. We were told that she doesn’t do this very often. More likely to hiss, especially at teenage boys.

I might be crazy but I think I’m moving my personal programming projects from Ruby and Python back to Smalltalk in both its Pharo and Squeak derivatives. This could get interesting.

Bald eagle, Oxbow Park, Olmsted County, MN

Just added an album of photos from our trip to Lisbon in 2019 to my photos page.

You have my undivided attention.

I just ordered my Christmas present: Venus Optics Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO Lens

Every time I pick up a camera now it’s my APS-C mirrorless. Seriously thinking of selling all my full-frame gear. Too heavy for me to tote around.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a badger displaying such an attitude of nonchalance.

I was at our Oxbow County Park yesterday. It has a small zoo of animals native to Minnesota. It’s a perfect time of the year to see the furry ones.

📷 I’m finally consolidating photos and making them accessible from my photos page here on micro.blog. I might even get around to using the new photo album support that @manton has recently added at some point.

Editorial shenanigans aside, I still subscribe to the digital versions of the Washington Post, New York Times, and Minneapolis Star-Tribune, as well as my local paper, the mostly excellent Rochester Post-Bulletin and will continue to do so.

📚 Finished the “Demon Copperhead” audiobook by Barbara Kingsolver. Book and narration are both excellent. I’ll have to read “David Copperfield” in the future to compare.

📚 Next dead tree book is “Allow Me To Retort” by Elie Mystal. I like to mix up my fiction and non-fiction. This one is a collection of very opinionated essays. It might be a challenge.

📚 Finished “Future Home of the Living God” by Louise Erdrich. It is set in Minnesota so I’m familiar with many of the places. Excellently written, but as with most dystopian fiction it leaves much unresolved at the end.

WordPress to Zola to Tinderbox.: I’ve removed all my WordPress hosted blogs. One I pointed here. One I just trashed. One I’m moving to a new technology. I tried Zola for it but it’s not quite doing it for me. Turns out I don’t want a blog, I want a highly linked hypertext since it’s a genealogy site …

📚 About ready to start reading “The Future Home of the Living God” by Louise Erdrich. I have a couple of her other books that I haven’t started yet. This one is from the public library. I’m at the point where I donate books to the library when I’m done with them.

📚 Current audiobook: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. About 2/3 of the way through. There’s always a train wreck around the corner at this point.

Doing some cleanup and testing. Please ignore my noise for a bit. Thanks.

Firing up the micro.blog again. Pointing my root domain at it so I can trash the single page WordPress instance I had on the way to trashing all of my WordPress sites. Has anyone here on micro.blog done a WordPress import recently? How did it go? #microblog

RIP Spider John Koerner.

Does anyone else add columns of numbers this way?

Bookmarks. I’ve tried raindrop.io, omnivore, and pinboard. Pinboard is still my workhorse. Compact and easy to search. Dropped raindrop.io – too noisy for me. Keeping omnivore, but not really sure it’s going to be needed.

Backing off of Python back to Ruby and Pharo. I know Python is more popular, but having objects everywhere helps me think more deeply about the nature of programming problems.

I just loaded up KeyboardMaestro a couple of days ago. I have to say it’s slicker than snot.

Tired of getting up at 5:30 to move the thermostat from 65° to 70° so I installed a new Ecobee thermostat I can control while I’m still in bed. It should “learn” our routine over the next few days.

Currently reading: The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore 📚. Borrowed this from our local library. At over 1000 pages I’m only going to hit highlights this time around. Lots of interesting stories here. Will likely borrow again.

A bit chilly today. Might want to put on a jacket.

Thinking that 2024 might be the year I try cultivated meat.

BTW, a shoutout to Shawn King (@KingShawn@mastodon.social) of BC. Professional explainer. Runs excellent and fun photo walks and beginner photography classes. Look him up if you’re in the Vancouver area.

One of my project for the next year is to move from SmugMug back to Flickr. Yes I know it’s the same company, but I think my style fits far better in Flickr for publishing.

Loading up on photo apps. Thinking of trying out Luminar Neo since it is in Setapp. Since the mods are “AI” powered I would not try to pass them off as original. Any experience with this beast?

Pot roast. Cheesy mashed potatoes. Garlicky carrots. Pumpkin cheesecake. What’s not to like?

Chess with my daughter’s SO. He won. I need to brush up.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hall a soft wimpering was heard The OS failed to install… Sigh.

Currently reading: The Man from the Future by Ananyo Bhattacharya 📚. This is an audiobook. I listen to this while doing dishes or some other chore that doesn’t take a lot of mental energy. Decent narration for the topic. I wonder what he would have accomplished if he had not died at 53.

A Quiet Christmas: Ann and I can’t be the only ones who celebrate a very quiet Christmas. We’ll go to church in the morning – no Christmas Eve services for us – too noisy. My daughter and her boyfriend will be over for dinner. We have a small tree. We don’t exchange gifts. We give each …

Currently reading: Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen 📚. Just started. I pick up a book of his about every 6 months or so. Random note: this one has typewriters.

I should get rid of duplicate apps. Too many do almost the same thing.

Starting to learn Dutch again. I want to be able to understand the relatives when Ann and I visit. Hopefully I can keep it up for a year and a bit.

Taken about a month ago just northeast of Grand Marais MN.

Nearly ready to put the old place up for sale. It’s been a long road.

Time to broaden my point of view. Following a bunch more folks at random on micro.blog.

The Crazy Days are coming to an end. Our move out of our old place has taken months with Ann pretty much out of commission with her nerve pain and me working. Lots of clean up and repair.

New TVs are too damn "smart": Problem: Our new LG G3 TV was turning off after 15 minutes when the HDMI switch is set to the Spectrum DVR. It worked fine when the HDMI switch is set to the Apple TV 4K. It seemed to be some sort of interaction between the TV and the DVR. Configuration: HDMI 4-port switch box LG G3 TV (HDMI port 4 …

This upcoming week is move week. Ann and I move from our wooded 2-acre lot back into town. Downsizing from 2300 to 1600 sq ft, and from 4 levels to 1 level (no stairs!). Hoping to massively simplify.

Where Have I Been: Following after @manton, @maique, and others. Reminds me a bit of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFRpa81MUAY. Countries Lived United States Countries Visited (in order) Canada Cayman Islands Jamaica Sweden Switzerland Netherlands Belgium Mexico Germany Czech Republic Portugal UK …

I’m finding that I’m using the BBEdit scratchpad and Tot for almost all my #plaintext composition. BBEdit is the second program I install after 1Password on a new Mac.

New tries in the past 24 hours: Ivory for macOS (good so far), Kagi search trial (not sure yet, seems good), latest Quicken for Windows on my dad’s laptop (a vast improvement over Quicken 2015 that my dad was using), back to TunnelBear from ClearVPN, and there are probably more I don’t …

What goes? A lot of books donated to our public library. Extra furniture. All the CDs donated as well. Maple and walnut boards I’ve been saving. Woodworking tools. Snowblowers. Lawnmowers. Bicycles. The list is huge. Some sold mostly given away.

Moving soon. Downsizing from 2300 to 1600 sq ft. Good thing I never bought that 3D printer.

Grandiflora trillium

Finally getting around to getting and setting up Yubikeys. Fun times!

Ann and I saw Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater yesterday. Excellent!

This week I’m playing with the Zola static site generator. Maybe a new toy will get me blogging more often? That’s probably wishful thinking, but even if it doesn’t I’ll be brushing up on rudimentary CSS.

The creators of Smalltalk: Alan Kay, Dan Ingalls, Adele Goldberg, et. al. have my admiration. Simple, elegant, and useful in its time. I go to the Squeak implementation every so often and sigh.

I’ve never played a Mario game in my life but somehow this just seems right. It’s-a-me, Mario’s shoe: Red Wing makes boots inspired by video game character Mario - MPR News

How did I not find out about Standard ebooks until a week ago? I’ll be reading forever.

Why is it that the days you feel too tired to journal are the days when everything happens?

There is no one true app for handling notes: I’m trying to limit the number of apps I have bits and pieces of knowledge stored in, but there is no one true app. Some notes require diagrams, some require tables, some require databases that can be analyzed for patterns. Well-organized folders and tags help with the multiplicity of formats. …

At DeBine brewery in Palm Harbor next to the Pinellas Trail. Informal survey seems to be Half e-bike to regular bike. E-bikes have exploded in popularity over the past two years.

Attempting to wrest control of my OmniFocus database from the clutches of entropy.

Dad had a TAVR surgery yesterday. Looks like it went well. This means he’ll still beat me at golf.

My dad is 95. He still beats me in golf. Yes, he’s that good and I’m that bad.

Found Pins for Pinboard. That should help a bit. I’ve been looking for a better way to get stuff into pinboard. This seems to be it. This should pair nicely with Omnivore.

Pinboard or Raindrop? Decided to stay with Pinboard for now, but it desperately needs some housecleaning.

Should be Crimson King Court.

Now using Omnivore to collect long form posts that need some time to digest. Such as this one: On ChatGPT – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry.

Ripping through the feeds this morning. Followed a bunch of folks on Mastodon last night. Unfollowed some of them this morning. Just managing the firehose.

Lattés from 9th Bar coffee in Palm Harbor. Pretty dang good and a much shorter line than the Starbucks down the block.

Still on the road. Central Illinois is flatter than North Dakota.

On the road again … 🎵

I was thinking of using Chat GPT as a way to break writer’s block – kind of like morning pages but on a particular topic. Something to grease the skids. But $20/month for Chat GPT Plus is a bit steep for that.

📚I’m about 2/3 of the way through the audiobook “Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field” by Nancy Forbes, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. I thought it was going to be a bit of a slog, but it has turned out to be quite entertaining.

I’ve moved from mstdn.plus to universeodon.com. It not only matches my interests a bit more, but mstdn.plus has been a bit unreliable. I could see how this could be a problem with a set of independent federated instances. Hopefully my new one will be a tad better.

After eluding traps for two days the pantry-raiding rodent has been finally been dispatched.

Experimenting again with Linux on my little System76 box. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried this and always end up asking myself “Why?”. I crave its simplicity, but I curse it for the same reason.

One of the perils of living in the country - mice - pantry raiding mice. Grrrr.

Posting here should crosspost to my mastodon instance. Right?

I’m happy that Jason Kottke is back publishing at kottke.org.

Today’s workout: Shoveling snow/slush/ice off the drive. 200+ shovelfulls @ 10-20lbs each. I expect to be sore tomorrow.

Starting to record books with Epilogue. Catching up with 2022. Queuing 2023.

The best part of Thanksgiving is the grazing on leftovers that happens on Friday.

I tried to make clear ice cubes using the double boil method. They might be just a tad more clear than usual. It wasn’t worth the effort.

Cold pizza for breakfast is the best but should not repeat this tomorrow!

I wish I could think of a novel idea for this post but, alas, none occurs. C’est la vie.

I’m not sure I’d ever tire of the upcoming season. I love the old carols, but you can have “Santa Baby”. Sorry Eartha. 😎

📚Just finished the audiobook “Troy” written and narrated by Stephen Fry. Loved the narration in this one.

Does every DJ/band at every wedding in Wisconsin play the “Beer Barrel Polka”? Seems that way.

I just discovered the short story Franchise by Isaac Asimov. Written in the mid 1950’s about the process of a predictive digital election, or as the story calls it “electronic democracy” in which no one actually votes. Good thing it’s fiction. :)

Downsizing? I’m giving up on the hobbies that I haven’t pursued in some time, and replacing old heavy equipment with lighter versions for my active ones. For example, I’ve ordered a new aluminum travel tripod from peakdesign that will replace my older, heavier one.

We need to leave for Thanksgiving in St. Paul on Wednesday next. All of my sibs and their adult kids will be there. It will be a full gathering of the clan for the first time in ages. Maybe we’re a bit unusual, but we all have a great time. It’s going to be fabulous!

The terrific turkey tortas version 2.0 was better than 1.0. Still working on improvements. Will I be ready in time?

I’ve now written a python program to examine my dad’s junk mail folder and immediately delete the obvious bad stuff. I need to adjust it every so often since the spammers are always changing their tactics.

My dad gets anywhere from 150 to 250 emails a day. I’ve been appointed his email guardian. All are viewed with suspicion. A whitelist sends almost all to the junk folder which I review twice a day since the occasional one needs to be added to the whitelist.

I a few in my office, but my most used display is a 3440x1440 ultra-wide. Love the real estate on this one.

Each year at Thanksgiving we have a contest among the Dykstal siblings. This year it’s turkey sandwiches. I’m doing “terrific turkey tortas”. I finally located a source for bolillos in here in town. Today is a practice day. Yum!

I liked “Yes, Minister” during my britcom period. It appears that both Stephen Fry and Margaret Thatcher were fans as well.

Let’s use the iPhone word picker just for fun. I’m certain that I have to go back in the morning because I’m going to have a little trouble with my paperwork. Not bad. It almost makes sense. But it’s 2am and I’m not asleep. A lot of things make sense at this point.

I’ve been on a few boards for volunteer organizations and am currently on my company’s. Fortunately, for my sanity at least, achieving consensus on most items has been relatively easy.

Ann and I saw Sally and Tom at the Guthrie Theater this afternoon. Not an echo of the past. Not history. A reimagining. Thought provoking. I liked it.

I have to admit that I just couldn’t come up with a good idea for today’s prompt so I’ll just have to exempt myself for this one.

I think admiration implies respect. Can you admire someone but not respect them? I don't believe the converse is true. I could respect someone but not necessarily admire them.

Baleen whales have a license to krill.

I'm not much of a game player, but I broke down and ordered a Playdate from Panic. It's just so dang cute. Should ship in early 2023.

Our Microblogvember prompt for Nov 2 is appropriate. Today is known as the Feast of All Souls.

Can I say that we all feast on roast beast? Maybe that’s in another month. I do love my roast beast. :)

I haven’t skated in years. There is no way I could do a figure eight now. Of course, I couldn’t do it even when I was skating.

I wake up and realize that OMG it’s almost Microblogvember!

Ann has COVID. We think she got it at the Dublin airport, but no way to be sure of course. Could have been the plane, a restaurant, or a cab just as easily. I’m still negative and testing every so often.

A bit of falconry at Ashford Castle!

Doonagore castle. View from our vacation rental in Doolin Ireland.

The Ross-Errilly Friary outside of Headford Ireland.

A nice lunch stop in Maynooth on the way to our B&B in Kilbeggan.

Arriving in Ireland on Wednesday. Hope to post from there over the next two weeks.

Ireland in 18 days. COVID stay away.

Finished “Simply Gödel”. Brought back memories of studying computability theory in grad school. I might dig out the old books.

Finishing up cardiac rehab today. Feeling great!

Starting Simply Gödel by Richard Tieszen. It’ll be interesting to see how it works as an audiobook. 📚

Finished Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I had never read it before. Though dated I’m not sure it’s possible to overstate its importance. 📚

Current reading: Allow Me to Retort (Elie Mystal - hardcover), Hidden Figures (Margot Lee Shetterly - paper), Silent Spring (Rachel Carson - audiobook), and The Plantagenets (Dan Jones - ebook).

Where we are now: So here we are. Ann is doing really well. She is heading to PT this week with the goal of getting her knee back in shape. She's in the final week of radiation treatment for the cancer. Her prognosis is excellent. There is one wrinkle in all of this which I won't get into, but the prognosis for that …

Heart Attack!: The Monday after Easter I had a heart attack. It was just after dinner. Ann and I were watching TV. We had just gotten back that noon from visiting my son in San Antonio for Easter and were catching up on some shows when I could not get comfortable. A mild pain in my upper chest had reached about …

Knee fracture!: The proposed breast cancer treatment was pretty routine and the prognosis was really good. However, Ann was having issues with her knee after a misstep during a workout so she had an MRI. We had scheduled a cruise to Alaska's Inside Passage for early May and all the docs said "go". We went. The day …

Breast Cancer!: The day after I was released from the hospital for the heart attack, Ann got a call from our primary physician. Her last mammogram showed a tumor in her left breast. It was small, caught early. More diagnosis needed. More appointments scheduled.

I've been absent for quite a while. Although I've been a faithful reader of my timeline, a lot has been going on. So much that I haven't even been able to write in my daily journal which was unbroken for three years. Deets to follow.

Ann and I are heading to Seattle to cruise the Inside Passage up to Alaska and back. Hope to post some pictures when I can.

Dead slash pine in the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness west-central Florida.

📚 Today’s reading: One chapter of Le Guin’s interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, the latest Science News, skimming IBM i Security: Administration and Compliance, an article from the Tampa Bay Times on the death trends for pedestrians on Pinellas county roads.

If I stopped playing so much iPhone solitaire I’d have finished my plan for world domination by now.

I’ve replaced my 7-year-old ebike with a new step-thru model. The ebike is my main commute vehicle in non-winter months. My old bones are going to like the step-thru. Now I just have to wait until late March.

Climbing onto the weather seesaw here in southern Minnesota.

Trying Squeak again. This time to finally grok morphic.

Post more. Reply graciously.

I had assumed someone was watching the spectrum. Silly me. Boeing and Airbus urge a delay in 5G wireless service over safety concerns

I cannot believe how fast the coffee disappears from my cup while I’m working. Must be gremlins.

About half done. 😳

Work in progress 😍

Cookie time!! 😋

We got 10” of snow last night.

An occasional evening ritual.

Today I tried to find a reason to buy a tricked-out System 76 desktop Linux system, but couldn’t justify it. Dang. The Apple ecosystem is just too comfy.

Pulled the trigger on this Diplomat Aero yesterday.

Giving up on Tinderbox again after a brief fling. I love the concept, but there are just too many quirks and the occasional crash. Now moving notes to a smattering of apps. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no One True Notebook.

Half #sharp #mboct

#majority #mboct

#dark #mboct

#touch #mboct

Back to basics. Swapping the zoom for the 50mm prime. Zoom with the feet.

Just downloaded Pharo 9.0. It feels good to be working in Smalltalk again, if only for small things.

black walnuts a black and green mottled sphere embedded in the grass a long-handled plastic leaf rake bend the tines underneath flip my woods have one more walnut only 500 left

Not getting rid of the Canon 6D ii, but the G3X’s days may be numbered.

The camera on the iPhone 13 Pro is making me rethink my camera usage.

Tested negative prior to visiting my dad in Florida next week. Hoping I come back that way. 🤞

Apple is acquiring Primephonic. Good news: somewhat decent classical music discovery and streaming from Apple at some point in the future. Bad news: Primephonic goes off-air on September 7th and doesn’t reappear until Apple gets its act together. Sigh.

Woke up at 4:30am again. Third day in a row. I’ll need that nap today. 😎

Finished reading: Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation by Edward O. Wilson 📚

Our little travel group (6 couples) has a trip scheduled to NZ in February/March. I’m skeptical about being able to pull it off.

I have yet to find a scheme for general stuff that can take the place of Circus Ponies Notebook. It had pages and sections. Each page was an outline and handled attachments with ease. OneNote sort of comes close but doesn’t quite hack it. Anyone else miss this?

Testing Ulysses: This is a test. It is only a test. Don’t get so worked up about it. :) Testing some formatting I’ve not posted from Ulysses yet. Let’s see how this works. Here is some inline code: cd /home/ddykstal. Here is some code that I use to reformat text in Drafts. // Get the full text of …

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Cheboygan Light

Five minutes before we were able to cross the bridge, the bridge closed due to some sort of security incident. Now waiting along the beautiful Lake Huron shore in Cheboygan Michigan. 😐

On the road again. Ann Arbor to Manistique. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge on the way.

Currently reading: From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History by Kenneth J. Hammond 📚

Currently reading: Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way by Ursula K. Le Guin 📚

Finished reading: It Can’t Happen Here (Signet Classics) by Sinclair Lewis 📚

Finished reading: The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by Cheri Baker 📚

Finished reading: The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by Cheri Baker 📚

Finished reading: EndTimes by Bryan Walsh 📚 The subject matter is grim, especially on the existential threats we create for ourselves. The book was released in 2019, and accurately predicted the way the science-denying Trump administration would “handle” a pandemic. Fortunately, while …

Finished reading: Figuring by Maria Popova 📚 The funny thing about all of Popova’s writings such as BrainPickings is that you want to take notes. Lots of notes. She works from a wealth of sources, although she obviously has favorites, and you want to see just how all this stuff is connected. …

My three favorite inks at the moment are Iroshizuku kon-peki, Iroshizuku yama-budo, and Colorverse Quasar. The yama-budo is currently in a broad nib Kaweco Sport that doesn’t really do it justice. I may end up breaking my “no new pens” vow. Sigh.🖋️

🖋️ My shimmering ink problems might have been due to a new nib that wasn’t properly cleaned. I’m now using the J. Herbin Gris Orage ink with a Pilot Metropolitan with an italic nib. Seems to work fine.

Fountain pen people – I have a couple of glittering inks, but I’m having difficulty with them. I’ve been using a 1.1mm stub nib in my TWSBI Diamond Mini. Maybe the reservoir is too big? Any advice?

I’ve been taking a couple of hours each day the past week to play with Mathematica. Just stumbled on the image processing suite. Fun and perhaps useful.

📚 It’s not all work and no play. I’m also reading The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by @cheri.

Tech Resources: I like having tech books around as reference and for ideas (Ruby, Python, Linux, security, style, …). I tried various books apps to use them: bad idea – no way to leaf through them easily on ereaders, although desktop isn’t too bad. I tried hardcopy which is better but bulky. The …

📚 I’m reading Popova’s “Figuring”. I do not understand Emily Dickinson. Perhaps with time?

Just finished the audiobook “The Wave in the Mind” by Ursula K. LeGuin, an excellent set of essays on the crafts of writing and reading. The narration by Christina Moore was flawless. I’m keeping a print copy around to mark up. 📚

Ann bought a new step-through bike today so, of course, that means I had to buy a new bike rack for the truck. 😜

I just bought two Homepod mini’s and set them up in stereo in our condo. These things are great! I’ve got a Sonos setup at home and these are more convenient if you are into the Apple ecosystem.

I keep way too many fountain pens inked up (9). But I can cut back anytime I want. 😂

One thing that is NOT getting a lot of use is the reMarkable 2. I’m a little surprised at that. I’m finding it too single-purpose and find that I’m much more keyboard oriented. I think it has a place for some folks, perhaps just not me.

I’ve been using a new iPad Air while traveling. I’m a little surprised by how much I like using the new keyboard/trackpad. I almost never touch the Apple Pencil.

Just finished the audiobook of “A Dance with Dragons.” Looks like I’ll have to wait quite a while (like years) for books 6 and 7 of “A Song of Ice and Fire”. Hope I make it. 😎📚

I’m getting tired of having to learn a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts for every notetaking app I’ve tried; looking at you Roam, Workflowy, Craft, Tinderbox, … I’m swearing you all off and sticking with plaintext. Off in the darkness someone whispers …

I’m off to Florida tomorrow to visit my Dad. I’ll see how he’s doing and do the inevitable tech support. My daughter has been visiting him for the past two weeks and she leaves as I arrive. It wasn’t planned, but we’ll actually meet each other in the airport.

Back at the gym for a solid week now. Slow going and a bit sore at first. To be expected.

I don’t post political content here to keep things civil. However, if you are interested, I do post my left-of-center and somewhat snarky comments to news clippings on my clippings blog. I’m pretty far behind though; there is lots of stuff still in Drafts.

I have this love/hate relationship with desktop linux.

🎶 ★★★★★

The only books I’ve read more times than Dune are LOTR and Stranger in a Strange Land.

Also waddling my way through this. Love the narration. 📚

Queued

New furnace installed today. The old one (going on 20 years) would stop with a clogged condensate tube every 3 hours. It was time for an upgrade anyway.

I’m beginning to shed apps that take too much mental energy: Roam and Workflowy among them. Give me plain text, a rock-solid RDB, and a modern scripting language instead.

I noticed this artifact on my Big Sur desktop background. Brings new meaning to the phrase “If you believe that I’ve got a bridge to sell you.”

Our new well parts are in and working: controls, new pressure tank, new pump. It feels great to have reliable water again after 2 weeks. It’s easy to take for granted. I can’t help but think now how lucky we are to have this, hundreds of millions of people do not.

The Milky Way is probably full of dead civilizations | Live Science - Very interesting.

I’m thinking of using a Raspberry Pi Zero to take pics of the backyard from a window at specific times of the day for over a year. These would be in my time zone and not adjusted for daylight saving time / summer time. Anyone with experience in setting something like this up?

reMarkable 2: first impressions: So far I like it. the OCR experience is OK. It is reasonably accurate for my cursive handwriting, but you can only export by email coming from a remarkable.com address. The iPad’s scribble support is better from that perspective. OCR was not an interesting use case for me though. The …

Some time ago I posted how I was abandoning wordpress and blot for micro.blog. Well, that didn’t happen. I’ll probably move my two wordpress sites to hugo when I’ve sussed enough of it, and I finally have plans for blot.

Techo entries for Jan 2 & 3. Phenology entries are for sunrise, sunset, weather, unusual weather events, and any animals observed. Other entries record sleep hours. That’s St. Clare on the right. She’s in charge of marking the current day.

Our 33 year old 5-party well began acting up on December 23rd. We’ve had to manually start the pump every 4-5 hours to bring it back up to pressure. Yesterday the pressure tank started leaking. Tomorrow all the bits get replaced.

My New Years gift to myself is a reMarkable 2. I’ve always found e-ink interesting. I think I’m going to be using this for a sketchbook, commonplace book, and quick capture.

Finally getting around to getting rid of old, obsolete, technical books. I mean, who really needs iWork ‘09: The Missing Manual?

Science is dynamic. It changes based on evidence. If it did not, it would be religion.

normal. command. insert. These are vim modes. I tried, I really did, to see the utility folks claim for vim over so-called modeless “graphical” editors like atom and bbedit. It’s just not there. Giving up on vim.

Ann and I walked in Frontenac State Park. This is on the northern side of Lake Pepin – a widening in the Mississippi River below Red Wing, Minnesota. It was over 70˚F today, almost unheard of in this area for November 8. It will likely be the last warm day until March and we made the most of …

Another view of Maiden Rock.

A view of Maiden Rock from Frontenac State Park on Lake Pepin.

🎵 Someone told me it’s all happening at the zoo. I do believe it, I do believe it’s true. Paul Simon

Swans: Ann and I took a short road trip yesterday to Brownsville and Weaver Bottoms on the Mississippi River to see migrating tundra swans. There were thousands of them in Brownsville on the river along with various ducks and a lot of Canada geese. Weaver Bottoms had several hundred. The swans will stay in …

I’m finding the Daily Notes section in Roam incredibly useful for collecting references to news articles. I tag them but I probably should be going back and directly linking them where they have a tight connection. It’s the kind of stuff I would do in Pinboard, but better.

#adayinthelife I’m going to squeak in under the wire with this pic of my office. I spend a good chunk of my time here each day. This is the neat section. 😎 In my defense, I did get outside yesterday to rake leaves. It was very likely the last nice day of the year.

Peak color today.

Nice. The Guthrie is doing a “Dicken’s Holiday Classic” streaming in December. Should be fun.

Lady Ta-Da stretching in the sun.

Saint Francis contemplating the hosta.

Computing: The Human Experience – The story of computing is the story of humanity.™

Up late to watch the Perseids. Was out for 30 minutes. Saw two bright ones and I think I saw some very dim ones but it’s hard to tell.

Today I gave my 90th blood donation. I was surprised.

Latest peeve: Seeing staunch used instead of stanch when describing something that needs to be restricted or contained. Makes my teeth hurt.

Ann and I are back to hiking in MN State Parks. Great River Bluffs was the last. We’ll revisit in autumn. The colors should be awesome!

A view of the Mississippi valley from Great River Bluffs State Park just south of Winona MN.

RIP Fran Allen. IBM Fellow Emerita.

I’m beginning to really dislike Markdown for technical doc. All of our system’s special values begin with *. Unix-style pathnames contain /. I wish I could turn off the highlighting for those characters in tools like iAWriter, Bear, and Ulysses.

History shows again and again how Nature points out the folly of men.

Listening to Stephen Fry read Mythos. Very entertaining. 📚

📚 So Far, So Good Ursula K. LeGuin’s final book of poems. Each one a gem. #mbmay

📚If you haven’t read Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. Read it. Read it now. #mbmay

Violet(s). #mbmay

Indigo. #mbmay

Blue. #mbmay

Green. #mbmay

Yellow. #mbmay

Orange #mbmay

Red #mbmay

Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. The White Queen 💬

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. Henry David Thoreau 💬

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. Benjamin Franklin 💬

I hate edge tiling of windows.

I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, ‘What are you?’ – Grace Hopper 💬

💬 Groucho Marx: I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.

Chaos is a friend of mine – Bob Dylan 💬

Machines take me by surprise with great frequency. – Alan Turing 💬

Life after death?

Not quite social distancing.

Lady TaDa

Leftovers

New pen! Lamy 2000. Black with EF nib. Colorverse “Map of Mars” ink.

Daffodils

Maintain a social distance while Dancing in the Street.:)

Thinking about a gofundme for local restaurant workers who survive on tips. Is this workable?

📚Also finished Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. I should have read this years ago.

📚Finished the audiobook of The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. Loved the narration by Bill Homewood. It was a bit commitment since the book runs about 55 hours. I was expecting a bit of a swashbuckler, but instead found a morality tale of the dangers of omnipotence without omniscience.

My nephew has made it home from Denmark where he was studying.

Archdiocese of Detroit suspends all public Masses

Local Bookstores - Fair Trade Books in Red Wing, MN: I admit that I’ve been getting most of my books from Amazon or from our library as ebooks. They are convenient for reading in bed or while traveling, but those are the only advantages. There is nothing to mark up and, worse, there is nothing to share. I had a short list of books I wanted to …

More ink! I’m probably set for this life and many after.

I’ve been journaling regularly now for over a year and sporadically before that: pen, paper, and text only. I don’t understand journaling like this.

I received three new inks today. Can’t wait to try them out.

I’ve recovered from my norovirus attack and am now basking in a cool breeze off a Dunedin fishing pier. #mbfeb

Today is Sunday, a day of rest. I thought I’d post this peaceful sunset over Lake Superior from last September. #mbfeb

Life today is out of balance. Unwell. Hope to be up to snuff tomorrow. #mbfeb

It’s 75°F here in Dunedin Florida. These blankets at the downtown market spell even extra warmth. #mbfeb

About to rise at MSP. #mbfeb

We ran across this odd attachment at Quase Café in Lisbon last spring. #mbfeb

Lake Superior beach. Plain. Simple. #mbfeb

I found this sign in Dublin this fall when visiting. It was in Merrion Square near the statue of Oscar Wilde. Mathematicians are my heroes. #mbfeb

The lull before the Sunday snowblower symphony. #mbfeb

Sunlit is crashing on my phone on startup. Just started today. Anyone else seeing this?

Contrast. Too many here to count. #mbfeb

My Gwen Ifill stamps have arrived!

Science Hall looms above Park Street on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison WI. #mbfeb

My dear friend, Craig, wrote this plant book. It’s getting quite a good reception. Craig teaches at University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College. You can follow his tales of Florida gardening on his blog: There Were No Fences. #mbfeb

I’m finding that the photos I’m posting for this February challenge are from my everyday life. They’re not art by any means, but tell stories about things or people I encounter that fit the prompt, maybe with a little twist. I think I’ll stay on that track.

This hobonichi techo planner has a cover made from the hide of a goat. #mbfeb

A spot of tea in the mid-afternoon is just what I need. #mbfeb

Catching up on the “classics”. Took a break from The Handmaid’s Tale to read On The Road. I liked Kerouac’s style, so it wasn’t a slog. Interesting in its time I suppose. 📚

Each morning I reflect on the previous day. #mbfeb

The rose tinted dawn over our hill was quite a sight. #mbfeb

My snowblower is looking lonely in the open garage. #mbfeb

In progress are “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Kindle), a graphic novel that purports to be a sequel to “Treasure Island” (Libby on iPad), a very entertaining audiobook version of “The Count of Monte Cristo” (iPhone), and several print books in various stages of …

Now starting “On The Road”. Don’t know how long I’ll last through Kerouac, but I found the first few pages to be pleasantly and surprisingly interesting. 📚

BTW. I just discovered the Libby app for obtaining books from our public library. Easy to use for a 14 day loan and a really decent eReader to boot. 📚

First book of the year finished. Nancy McLean’s “Democracy in Chains.” Recommended for US readers. 📚

Something’s gotta give. I can either continue to fiddle with blot or just go whole hog with micro.blog. I like blot a lot, but once you start playing with your own themes, well, it turns into a time suck.

Remembering this from a while back. Still true.

Carmine was awake but knew she was drugged. “Some sort of opiate,” she mused. Breathing was a little easier now that it was taking effect, but oh, so sleepy. But she forced herself to stay awake. She was worried. She had failed and failure in her business was not tolerated.

The KVM experiment failed. The display emulation doesn’t match the monitor and fools the attached computers. They won’t drive it to its full resolution. It was also cable hell. I knew the cable mess was going to be bad, but not this bad.

Fired up the new Intel NUC i3 running an Ubuntu Linux variant yesterday. Not a bad little machine. Now I need to get a KVM to control all these beasts. It’s like a vacuum cleaner for money.

Mark and Betty joined Lt. Davis for the ride back to the hospital. “Carmine has threads everywhere,” Davis was saying, “There are the usual suspects: Russia, China, Iran, even North Korea, but she works both sides, apparently the CIA has used her on more than one occasion.”

Done. All five systems updated to Catalina. No problems noticed as yet.

Me: knock knock Grandson: who’s there Me: deciduous GS: deciduous who? Me (as Elvis): 🎶 deciduous high class, but that was just a lie 🎶 GS: huh? I’ll see myself out …

I have a dedicated Linux box arriving soon. I’m done with the gyrations of living with VMware. It’s good for casual use, but I struggled with the office VPN and 2 layers of key remapping.

Moving from 13” MacBook Pro to 16” MacBook Pro. It’s all about the screen real estate. I can work directly on the 16”. I always found myself wanting to hook the 13” to a monitor.

It’s 8:30pm and I can’t keep my eyes open.

Carmine was waking up. She was in real pain. “She’s breathing on her own now,” she heard someone say. “Yeah,” she thought, “but every breath hurts like hell. This must be Hell. Not like I imagined.” She groaned. “That second dose must have …

Spent the day sizing and hanging coats for our annual Christmas Anonymous Store Day. Tomorrow, folks who’ve registered through their social service agencies will come and be able to pick up gifts and winter clothing for their families. Busy day tomorrow!

Davis continued, “There’s a lot we know about Carmine, but there’s a lot more we don’t. My friends at the FBI have hinted as much. I’ve already called them in.” Betty calmed down a little, “Davis, I trust you. Your record is better than most, even better …

Is @blot down? I’m getting time-out and cert errors.

Davis turned to Mark and Betty, “I’m gonna need details.” Mark told his bit then Betty hers. Betty was shaking with rage as she recounted Carmine’s words and added, “She’s got to be lying! There’s no way she could have engineered that crash!” …

My ##mbnov story has taken a life of its own. I blame @amit 😁. I’ll continue to post until I reach some resolution but I’m removing the tag. I have no aspirations to include fiction writing in my retirement activities and that’s probably a good thing.

An EMT hooked Carmine up to oxygen and continued to work on her. About two minutes later he gave a thumbs up. “Heartbeat!” As the team prepared her for transfer to the ER, carefully storing the dart pouch and antidote, Lt. Davis said, “Guard’s already at the ER.” …

Betty called 911 while Mark continued CPR. It didn’t take long, perhaps 10 minutes. The EMTs arrived and took over. Lt. Davis arrived and barked at the EMTs. “I’ll post a guard in the ER. She’ll be extremely dangerous if she lives. Look for the poison she’s got on …

I was considering submitting these flash fiction episodes to the 2020 Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest, but the rules state that they have to be previously unpublished. Just my luck.

Carmine had stopped breathing. Betty checked for a pulse. Nothing. She started CPR. “Wake up! Damn it!” she muttered between breaths. She felt Carmine’s ribs crack under the pressure of her pumping. Five minutes passed, then ten. She was exhausted. Mark took over. #mbnov++

It’s vs its. They’re vs their. You’re vs your. I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE! Why don’t my fingers know before I hit the post button? Sigh.

I’ve been using Tower as a git client for a few years. I like it, but it’s time to get my command line git chops up to snuff again. Use it or lose it.

Carmine coughed and swallowed. Betty unlocked her phone and handed it to Mark, “Call Lt. Davis. Get him here ASAP.” Mark protested, “It’s nearly one a.m.!” “I don’t care. Wake him up. Tell him we have Carmine. He’ll come.” Betty turned her …

“Don’t be an idiot,” Betty hissed at Mark, “of course I’m going to try.” She bent down to Carmine’s mouth. She was breathing, but it almost not noticeable. She unstopped one of the vials and slowly poured the contents in hoping Carmine would swallow and not …

I have been freed from the tyranny of #mbnov words! Actually, it was fun trying to find ways to fit them into the story line. Constraints can force one to be creative and there were many times the word changed the story arc. I was thinking only about a post ahead the whole time.

Betty made it to the end of the path. One car. The keys worked. Six vials in the back seat. Grabbing three she ran back to the clearing. “She’s gone.” Mark said. “The hell she is!” said Betty. Mark was bewildered. “You’re not really going to try to save her, …

Mark said, “She’s not going to last much longer.” Carmine’s breathing was becoming shallow. Betty remembered a verse from childhood about forgiving the unforgivable. Taking a chance, she rummaged through Carmine’s pockets, found her car keys, and sprinted down the path. …

Carmine was speaking very slowly and deliberately now, but with a touch of pride still in her voice. “It was me. I killed Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. One of my better jobs. Got paid well too.” She gave a little laugh. Mark held her wrist checking her pulse. #mbnov++

Betty felt Carmine’s resistance fade but finished tying her hands behind her back with the strips cut from Mark’s shirt and turned her over. Carmine laughed softly. It was evil, like the knock of death upon a door. Carmine spoke with effort, “You don’t know, do you?” …

It’s a good thing MicroBlogVember has been extended. There’s no way I could wrap up this story in time otherwise. Thanks @Macgenie!

Carmine stiffened. One of the darts in the pouch had pierced her thigh and it was obvious that Mark had used all the antidote. Her life swam before her eyes. In one sweeping panoramic view she saw it all: the assassinations, the spying, the extortion, the treason. #mbnov++

I’m running icro on Catalina. I didn’t even realize it was the iOS app running under Catalyst until I tried to find it in the Mac App Store for Mojave. The only issue was that It wasn’t immediately obvious how to do replies. Kudos to @hartlco.

Carmine ran quickly up the path toward the clearing then went sprawling face first into the dirt, tripped by a strand of platinum wire across the path. Betty was on her in an instant, but Carmine had a horrible feeling something worse than being ambushed had happened. #mbnov++

There was no way I could integrate today’s word into the story. #mbnov

Betty began to tease apart the platinum wire from the necklace ending up with two six foot strands. “We’ll use this,” she whispered. Mark was quick to see. “Fantastic!” he mouthed, “It just might work!” He took off his dress shirt and cut it into strips …

Betty helped Mark up and they stumbled into the nearby brush that covered this section of the property. “Ok, Miss Beresford, do we have any ideas on how to stop Carmine?” She rummaged through her sleuth bag and pulled out a Swiss Army knife and her sapphire necklace. #mbnov

Carmine quickened her pace to get back to the car for more darts. “I love that these don’t leave any trace in the system. I’ve got to go back and take care of that rich Beresford bitch too before she causes trouble. I’ve heard she’s even more dangerous than her …

Updating second of five systems to Catalina. First one went smoothly and some critical VPN software checked out fine.

Heading out of town a bit early to avoid the snowstorm. Nearly 10" of heavy wet slop expected here.

Betty was rightfully angry. She hadn’t expected someone as dangerous as Carmine to be in the mix. “She’ll be back to make sure you’re dead,” she told Mark. “We have to hide. Can you stand? It’s dark now. We don’t need to go far.” “I think I …

Mark’s voice was recovering. “Carmine was going to turn double agent. Those plans were going to help secure the grid from attack. Turns out Carmine’s a snake.” Betty reproached him, “Damnit Mark, you sexist twit. We’re partners. You have to tell me about this …

Carmine felt a sudden chill of recognition. “Betty Beresford, damn, that’s her name. I did a contract on her parents three years ago. Those two private dicks were getting too good and the boss didn’t like it. Called their company ‘Partners in Crime’ if I remember …

Betty stroked Mark’s forehead, “Mark, it’s me, Betty.” Mark calmed down when he recognized her but was still agitated. “It was Carmine,” he croaked. The name sent a chill through Betty. They were on their own in a woebegone spot far from help. …

Carmine was nearly all the way down the path to her car, thinking of a little tune to hum as she went along. “My boss will be pleased to hear of Mark’s demise,” she thought. But something suddenly tugged at her memory. What was it that Mark had said once about his fiancé? #mbnov

Only a few more days left in microblogvember. I need be wrapping this story up. How the heck am I going to do that?

Mark’s vision began to clear. It was no longer like looking down a hollow tube. He felt the paralysis that had started gripping his chest ease, but his head still felt like he had gulped down three double martinis. He looked at Betty and didn’t recognize her. He panicked. #mbnov

Betty approached Mark carefully. His breathing was shallow. Her flashlight showed the scribbled note, then the stump and vial. She picked up the vial and, lifting Mark’s head, poured the contents slowly into his mouth. She saw him swallow once and then a second time. #mbnov

I’m back in May with my “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” backlog. Only 29 more to listen to and I’ll be all caught up!

You could say that some of my microblogvember story posts are a little forced and you’d be right. This one felt a bit like square peg and round hole. Nevertheless, I will persevere! 😂

Mark could feel his life abate. He thought he heard a soft rustling noise behind him and a short gasp. Betty had seen his nearly lifeless form huddled on the ground. She paused. “Be quick but do not rush,” her dad had said. “Size up the surroundings before taking action.” …

Betty waded through the creek quietly. The noise from the small dam downstream was enough to mask her movements. She wondered why they would build such a thing here. The clearing was just ahead, but the half moon was now behind the trees and it was almost completely dark. #mbnov

Betty came up to the sulphur spring and wrinkled her nose, “Rotten eggs, phew.” She scanned the area with the flashlight and saw Mark’s sign on the tree. “Ahh, superb!” She knew she was on the right path. The clearing should be just across the nearby creek. #mbnov

Mark was face down, but was able to lift his head and scrawl “stump antidote mouth” in the dirt with his finger before he lost strength. He found he could still hear. He almost chuckled, “Selective hearing,” Betty’s mother Prudence would say, “It’s a male …

Carmine continued, “Just to show that I’m not all bad, here’s the antidote. Just drink it down and you’ll be OK. I’ll just put it on the stump for you.” She left. Mark could hear her laughing down the path. The stump was out of reach. Things were beginning to get …

The dart hit Mark in the neck. He slumped to the ground, still conscious but too weak to stand. He saw Carmine enter the clearing. She liberated the packet. “Too bad you won’t get the plans,” she said. “That dart should take care of your meddling ass once and for all.” …

Mark was barely able to see, but the note was definitely in Carmine’s handwriting. “The box is 10 paces west from the stump. Place the money there. The plans will be there tomorrow. No money, no plans. Final offer.” He pulled the payment packet from his dinner jacket. #mbnov

@amit Interesting. These flash fiction posts are a little challenging to write and keep a thread. I have a general idea of bits to include but find it nearly useless to write anything ahead of @macgenie’s prompt words.

Betty could stay in the room no longer. She must follow Mark. He could be in danger. Blackmail was no joke. She grabbed the flashlight and headed back to the pool area. It was quite dark now, but she knew the way to the spring and thought she could trace him from there. #mbnov

Betty’s examination of the room turned up nothing. She remembered the few times where she was allowed to tag along with her parents on their crime solving ventures. Those memories gave her a touch of sadness. " I really miss them," she thought. #mbnov

Betty rushed upstairs to their room, stowed the sapphire necklace into its case, and quickly changed into black jeans and mock turtleneck - what she called her “sleuthing clothes.” She briefly searched the space for anything that Mark might have left as a clue. #mbnov

Betty knew Mark had to be mixed up in something. This note had the smell of blackmail all over it. “Get a grip Beresford,” she thought. She had to follow Mark but evening dress wasn’t going to cut it. The trail was already getting cold. #mbnov

The writing was very faint in the dark. Mark took out his phone to get some light, but it was nearly dead. He spread the note on the stump so the half moon would light it as much as possible. “Might as well be reading by the north star,” he thought. #mbnov

Mark reached the other side of the creek. The clearing was just ahead. Nothing frightening here. He entered half expecting to see Carmine, but there was only another note folded under a small stone on top of a stump. He opened it. #mbnov

Updating the first of eight systems to Catalina. The first is a non-critical system. Already checked several for 32-bit apps. Adobe’s LR issues should not be a problem since they seem to be isolated to functions I don’t use.

Betty carefully detached the paper from its stick. It was a note addressed to Mark. “Dire consequences. Must meet immediately. Follow path past spring and cross creek. More instructions there.” The handwriting was unfamiliar. “Damn,” Betty whispered. #mbnov

Thanks to @amit for the flash fiction idea for #mbnov. I don’t have the time to do NaNoWriMo and the story is being built one day at a time. Not sure where it is going, but that’s half the fun.

Betty was puzzled. Mark had said he’d be by the pool but there was no Mark. She walked around to the front, glanced up and down the street, and returned back to the pool. A flutter caught her eye. A sheet of paper was stuck on a thorn of a nearby tree. “Odd,” she thought. #mbnov

Mark hadn’t planned on tracking cross country after he got that note. His shin was bruised after a brush with a particularly mean cypress knee, and his good shoes were ruined from the mud. “I should’ve changed clothes first,” he muttered, “Evening dress is just not made …

Betty adjusted her fancy sapphire necklace, admiring the way the three blue gems showed themselves in the platinum setting. “Mark will love this,” she thought. She grabbed her keys from the dresser and hurried out into the Florida night to meet her fiancé down by the pool. #mbnov

Mark paused. He sniffed. It was unmistakable, the acrid smell of a sulphur spring nearby. He was close. He cut a small mark on the tree next to him so that Betty would know and moved forward with caution. #mbnov

I like listening to “Key to the Highway” while eating key lime pie on Key Largo. #mbnov

Starting a new fitness regimen with app assisted training. Wish me luck!

Now in Galway for the day!

Dunsverick Castle. North (Atlantic) coast of Northern Ireland. Near Giant’s Causeway.

Entering Belfast harbor.

Had dinner last night at Badger & Co., the restaurant in the home of Kenneth Grahame in Edinburgh. Very pleasant. www.badgerandco.com

The proliferation of markdown editors with syntax extensions and fancy previewers is getting out of hand. Markdown is meant to be easy to read plain text. Not sure anything other than a plain text editor is needed.

📚 Books in progress Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (ebook) The Poet’s Corner, compiled by John Lithgow (audiobook) The Cruel Ever After, Ellen Hart (paper) So Far So Good, Ursula K. LeGuin (paper) You Come Too, Robert Frost (paper) Figuring, Maria Popova (paper)

📚Finished the Audible “Ben Franklin”. Narration was good. The book seemed quite thorough and well organized. Ben is a complex character, not always consistent in matching word with deed. Sounds pretty human to me.

📚Starting “The Cruel Ever After” by Ellen Hart. Physical paper.

Anyone here worked with nvUltra beta? I would think it would be out fairly soon. I’m wondering how it stacks up to Bear or Drafts.

📚 Finished “Reckless Daughter”. I enjoyed the book, but it kind of leaves you hanging about Joni Mitchell since it ends in 2017 with her recovering from her aneurysm. However, I saw a photo of her out and about fairly recently so I assume her recovery is progressing. One tidbit: I …

Current Audible Book: “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life”. 📚

Currently reading “Reckless Daughter: A Portrait Of Joni Mitchell”.📚

Devil’s Kettle in Judge C. R. Magny State Park on Minnesota’s North Shore. The Brule river splits in two and half disappears underground.

Album 10 of 10. “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” 🎵

“Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” is the first Neil Young album I purchased, and marks a lifelong fascination with Neil. I put him in the pantheon that includes Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Lennon/McCartney, and Bruce Springsteen. Sure, he flirted with some oddball stuff in his middle …

Hummingbird.

Album 9 of 10. “Fragile” 🎵

“Fragile” didn’t quite get me started on so-called progressive rock but it was a huge influence in that direction. “Roundabout” was, of course, a favorite, as well as “South Side of the Sky”. Those two have aged reasonably well, but the album has some real …

Two angles. North shore of Lake Superior.

Album 8 of 10. “6 and 12 string guitar” 🎵

“6 and 12 string guitar” by Leo Kottke was a favorite of a few of my friends in college where I first heard it. I didn’t think anyone could play guitar like this. It sounded so massive. However in one sense I was right, he had to change his style significantly due to RSI brought on …

Saw “Glensheen” at the Minnesota History Theatre in St. Paul this evening. I liked the play and the venue. First time there.

Album 7 of 10. “Bach - Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin - Shlomo Mintz” 🎵

1985 was the tricentennial of the births of both Bach and Handel. That summer I spent ten weeks in classes at the IBM Systems Research Institute in mid-town Manhattan. Ten weeks is a long time to be away from home, family, and my music and books. After about 3 weeks I broke down and bought a Sony …

My love for David Bowie lasted for three albums. “Ziggy Stardust was the first one I bought. The other two were “Hunky Dory” and “Young Americans”. The man changed so fast and so much I could not keep up. Though I would only sample later work here and there, I never …

Album 6 of 10. “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” 🎵

One listen to “Can’t Buy A Thrill” and I was hooked on Steely Dan for the first 6 albums. Every song on this is good. Every song on “Countdown to Ecstacy” is good. Every song on “Pretzel Logic” is good. Every song on “Katy Lied” is … You …

Album 5 of 10. “Can’t Buy A Thrill”

“Songs of the American Land” has long been out of print and was never officially issued as a CD. My dad bought this record some time in the early ’60s. I suspect many of us had it in our homes. I wish I still had it. I guess you would call it “americana” now. I’m …

Album 4 of 10. “Songs of the American Land”

Jefferson Airplane was a force of nature at their best. They were unlistenable at their worst. “Bless Its Pointed Little Head” was the first JA and first live album I ever bought. The version of “Somebody to Love” on this record is still my favorite. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack …

Album 3 of 10. “Bless Its Pointed Little Head”

For some it was “Blue,” for me it was “For the Roses”. The first chords of “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” still bring a chill. Favorites also include “Woman of Heart and Mind” and the quirky “Barangrill”. This album, more than any, …

Album 2 of 10. “For The Roses”

Disraeli Gears was the first album I remember buying with money I had earned. It think it was at Penney’s (?) in Westgate in Madison WI. The hook was “Sunshine of Your Love”, but my favorites were “We’re Going Wrong” and “Tales of Brave Ulysses”. Eric …

Album 1 of 10. “Disraeli Gears”

My good friend, Craig Huegel, accepted a Facebook challenge from his friend, Jeff Klinkenberg: Post just the covers of the 10 albums which have been most influential in your life. Craig has finished his list and passed the challenge to me. This proved to be more difficult (and more fun) than I …

After about three weeks, I’ve decided to go back to WordPress from @blot. I really liked blot, but also like the flexibility of WordPress. I’ll keep blot, just not sure what I’ll use it for just yet. I’ll gladly take suggestions. 😎

I have one year to get in good enough shape to tackle Isle Royale for the third time. I was significantly younger the first two times. This is going to take some effort.

It seems like you can’t even buy a cup of coffee these days without getting a customer satisfaction survey.

Music participation in high school linked to higher scores on English, math and science exams This should surprise no one.

I’m thinking a bit about what creativity means. Who is a creative person you admire? Can you explain why you feel they are creative?

Mike’s Sushi in Palm Harbor FL. 👍👍

I’m going all-in on @blot for my long-form blog. I’ve moved from dropbox to git and copied all of the draft posts I had stacked up in MarsEdit to my drafts folder. Some of these will likely end up here though.

Pondering how to distance myself from Google’s clutches after this and this. Leaving my phone number off accounts. Thinking about Yubikeys. Getting as far away as I can from gmail and chrome.

Whenever I want mellotron death-of-the-universe music there is only one album to turn to: In the Court of the Crimson King. My latest trip to Florida to my parent’s triggered it when I drove past King Crimson Trace in Tarpon Springs.

After a long and somewhat disjointed six months I’m going to try being a bit more micro.blog friendly. I’ve been watching and learning though. Thank you all for keeping this platform active!

I’ve just started Maria Popova’s new book Figuring. I was struck by its more than passing resemblance to James Burke’s Connections. Turns out this is not an accident as expressed by Maria herself on Brain Pickings.📕 Anyway, enjoying it so far even though some of the connections are …

Watching “The Sound Of Music” on the plane. I love the outfit Maria wears out of the convent. It’s so governessy.

Off to Florida today. Aging parents.

Back from Lisbon. Pics to follow.

Flat white at fabrica in Lisbon.

I graduated with degrees in Math and CS from UW-Madison in 1975 and 1976. I had never heard of Sister Mary Kenneth Keller.

U.S. Mathematician Becomes First Woman To Win Abel Prize

I’ve yet to find a gel pen that doesn’t misbehave in some way on the paper I like to use. Sticking with ballpoints (uni jetstream, pilot acroball) for travel; fountain pens (pilot, kaweco) for home and office use.🖋

Planning a photo trip to Lisbon. Wishing I could afford this, but taking this.

I got back to the gym today after a five week break. My exercise during that time has been moving snow from the uphill side of the driveway to the downhill side so that it melts with without flowing into the basement. It’s one of the joys of living in Minnesota.

I finally got a lap desk for my favorite chair. Nothing fancy. No lights. No wrist rests. No mouse pad thingee off to the side. Nice and flat. Writing in my two journals (long-form and bullet) should be much easier now.

TIL Always check the white balance setting before a photo tour. 📷🙄

We’ve had a temperature swing last week from -36ºC to 5ºC. It’s played havoc with my driveway, which is now a sheet of ice 1cm thick. It will likely stay that way until the Ides of March.

By the way, that John Gorka concert at Crossings in Zumbrota was great. If you don’t know his music, you should check him out. I love the slightly quirky style of his shows. Crossings was the perfect venue, slightly larger than a house concert. He’s played there many times. You folks in …

I haven’t posted much for Micro Monday, but it you like journally stuff (among many other things) you should follow @sproutlight.

I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I haven’t for years. I just don’t get off on this annual paean to American excess. I found it more interesting to do my taxes instead.

At Crossings in Zumbrota getting ready to hear John Gorka.

Not all the music I listen to is 50 years old. Some is 300 years old. It’s interesting that the distance from now to Bach is only 6 times the distance from now to the Beatles. 🎵

Taking a bit of time for myself and iTunes. I can’t help but smile when I hear The Band playing. 🎸🎹🥁

Need to learn python. Converting some ruby scripts to python, learning as I go. First impressions are not favorable.

I am thoroughly enjoying Le Guin’s So Far So Good. I’m dipping into it, reading a poem every couple of days. I’m normally not a poetry reader and I am selecting poems at random. There do appear to be two sections of poems that are meant to be read in order: So Far and The Night …

Haiku #47 Sultans of Swing has the best combination of guitars and vocals Fight me. :)

Just about to dip into Ursula K. LeGuin’s So Far So Good. I’m wondering if writing poetry is a craft you can learn or if it is a talent you nurture mostly on your own. Enlighten me, you poets out there. 📚

No presents under our tree today. We decided to just enjoy each other’s presence. It is indeed a very Merry Christmas!

A interesting first game of Ticket to Ride tonight with Ann and daughter Laura. Will play again. 👍🚂

Since the snow to this point has been somewhat disappointing I’ve decided to post a picture of our yard taken after a snowstorm last April. Yep, last April.

Off in a bit to see Ann Reed and Joan Griffith at Crossings in Zumbrota.

Got a bit of time to start tinkering more with @blot and found that I couldn’t log in. Anyone else having issues?

blot.im is just too damn easy.

I’ve been busy. That’s why.

New server hardware day!

I’ve taken a short break. Now I’m back. Just in time for the end of the world.

I think that having FEMA be able to alert cell phones in a true national emergency is a good thing. If DT uses it to campaign I will eat crow. I don’t expect that even though I’m ready to impeach the bastard.

Potato leek soup is my second favorite.

Am I going to break down soon and trade in a 2 month old Series 3 apple watch for Series 4? At 65 this heart monitor stuff is very tempting.

Fired up VMware and loaded Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and found that I still can’t get excited about Linux on the desktop.

I’m my family’s Chief Entropy Officer.

Made it back to the gym today after a month off. Hope to get back in a groove again.

It’s been two weeks since I was able to mow the lawn. Today I go out to do battle with the blades. I hope the squirrels have mercy on me and forgo dropping walnut shells on my head.

RIP Marty Balin. Another one gone. A great songwriter and singer. Jefferson Airplane loves you.

📚Next up on my reading list: Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography, when I can locate it.

Farmers market day. Ann’s first excursion since surgery. Every day more progress.

Installed Mojave on 2 of my 5 machines. So far, so good. Only one minor glitch with one of my VPN clients and an update fixed that.

Saw some nice shots at my camera club meeting this evening. Always fun to compare techniques.

There is nothing more exhilerating than singing. Fight me.

Old rockers do die. They don’t just fade away. Sigh.

DT is coming to my town on Oct. 4. Shoot me now.

I get to try out by barely existent carpentry skills today. What fun! Oh joy!

Yet another cost of climate change - Airports At Water’s Edge Battle Rising Sea Levels : NPR.

New roof went on today. Lots o’ bangin’.

Finally got around to catching up on some podcasts. I listen to these while doing yardwork. Noise cancelling headphones are a must when mowing. Listened to “Don’t Listen to Us” and the “Sketchnote Army” today. Didn’t quite finish the episode with @rohdesign and …

Ann was discharged today. She’s doing pretty darn well. Some pain, but she’s gaining mobility every day.

I almost just got scammed hard: a cautionary tale. Whew. Close one for Mr. Sasser. Thanks to Cabel for the warning.

I name hosts on my network after cities. But I’m seriously considering naming them after PG Wodehouse characters. Fink-Nottle has a nice ring don’t you think?

This. So much this. Everything you know about obesity is wrong.

So it looks like the surgery went well. Ann will have her back in much better shape. Spinal fusion takes about a year to heal completely so no bungee jumping for a while.

Up early. Surgery day for Ann.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream Not happening, sigh.

Go ahead. Make my day.

Micro Monday? Why, @jack, of course. ‘nuff said.

Oh. That decision about not getting the iPhone Xs Max? Reconsidered. Delivery next week? We’ll see. The watch is still on hold and will be for some time.

Back at the gym for the first time in two weeks. We had a vacation interrupt. Now I have to get back to pre-vacation shape and then some. It never ends.

Ann and I just had a minor disagreement about who it was that screwed up and bought the wrong trash bags. “I did.” “No, I’m sure it was me.” Maybe this is why we’ve been married for over 40 years.

Hit Medicare age. Transitioning all the extra insurance bits takes time and patience. I might have actually finished that today.

Decided against a new iPhone and Apple Watch for now. When it happens it will be phone first, watch later. Happy with the series 3. Reasonably happy still with the 7 plus. Besides, I have to buy a new roof for my house.

So, if I say something about this iPhone X s, I get a pin of some sort. :) It’s about time to upgrade. So, maybe. We’ll see.

Bee on echinacea. Glensheen.

Ann and I had lunch today in the magnificent dining room at Naniboujou Lodge on Minnesota’s North Shore. The designs and colors were used by the Cree Indians. You can find some history here.

Most folks following me are probably also following @cheri, but she’s my Micro Monday pick for those who aren’t @cheri-aware yet.

Plein Air Grand Marais for more info.

Plein air in Grand Marais. This guy was doing a street painting of the front of the Ben Franklin store. One of two left in the state.

At the end of the Gunflint Trail. Gull Lake. Canada is just a wee bit from here.

At Gooseberry Falls on Minnesota’s North Shore.

Hope to make it up to the Gunflint Lodge today.

Interesting coffee cup At Sarah’s Table Chester Creek Cafe. “Democracy must be something more …”

“Death Before DECAF” at the New London Cafe, Duluth MN.

Lake Superior at Glensheen.

Canal Park Lake Walk. Ann with “the determined mariner” and a lighthouse for sale.

It was a beautiful day in Duluth. A welcome change from the rain yesterday in Rochester. Here is a picture of the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge open for sailboats.

So. That rain yesterday? 7". Sheesh. Today we dry out.

Just made a quick stop at the Higher Grounds Café in North Branch for a “Minty Moose” on the way to Duluth.

Rain. Lots. Of. Rain.

I keep wanting to spell “bullet journal” as “bullitt journal”. Thanks Steve McQueen.

My go to pen these days is a Pilot Vanishing Point. I love this thing.

Huh. It looks like we have to live with the typos in replies. Is that true?

📚 I loved Treasure Island as a kid. Still do. I keep wanting to recommend it to my grandson, but he’s still grappling with the concept of reading for fun. I realize my sample size is quite small. Is the current crop of middle schoolers indifferent to books?

New battery for the car, $280. Being able to get to Grand Marais next week, priceless. Side note: the original battery lasted 13 years so I’m not complaining.

It’s a beautiful day here in Minnesota.

📚I usually try to keep two books going. One from Audible and one on the Kindle. Currently listening to Ellis Peter’s The Pilgrim of Hate and reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Podcasts and lawn mowing are like chocolate and peanut butter.

📚Finished the Audible version of The Three Musketeers a while back. Impressive narration by John Lee and a great story to boot.

📚Finished N. K. Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate, and so on to another book. I’ll read The Stone Sky in a bit, but I’m going to tackle Bruce Catton’s Terrible Swift Sword first. It’s the second volume in his Centennial History of the Civil War. I read this quite some time …

Setting up Drafts to micro.blog. Please excuse the interruption, we will resume our regularly scheduled programming in a moment.

📚Picked up The Obelisk Gate again after having set it aside for nearly a year. I was getting too deeply invested in the characters, so I left it for a time. Now I’m back to enjoying it. Anyone else left a book you liked for a while and then come back to it? Why?

Stopped cross-posting. Hadn’t posted much on the old Twitter recently anyway. Just read.

Shouldn’t have had that cup of coffee at dinner. Dang.

Newbie here. Micro.blog sure ain’t twitter. But twitter sure ain’t micro.blog. Different feels in each.

I’ll miss you Aretha.

Ahh. Beautiful sleep. Why dost thou elude me?

So, up early tomorrow to head to Florida. I’ll be a bit north of the red tide.

Three notebooks?: A bullet journal, a long-form personal journal, and a project-based notebook/sketchbook. I may have a problem. Briefly tried consolidating, but that was a failed experiment.

I wish to thank Kirk McElhearn for the clear instructions on rebuilding iTunes Library.itl.

Time to head out to vote. #mnprimary.

Did I figure out how to crosspost to Twitter from micro.blog?

Following @macgenie cause you gotta start somewhere.

This is the start of something big, or maybe not.