Yeah, completely missed a month. Whoops. Again. Happy New Year! Let's see, AT&T Fiber is great. Used way too much electricity the last month (hoping it was the extra heaters I put in the basement and the mud room). Christmas was good. Lots of in-law family time with the cousins. Started biking again. Joined the clipless revolution. Mostly because I wanted to be able to use my Japanthers without dealing with toe clips/Powergrips. Working well, haven't had my fall yet. Waiting for it to happen though, since everyone does. Got diagnosed with high blood pressure. Trying to control with lifestyle for now, and hoping I don't have to start taking pills. Otherwise, health is good. Labs all came back normal, except for the still elevated Creatinine. Still not sure what that's from. Maybe too much meat? Will find out if diet/exercise makes a difference. Been wanting to change the site to be more Micro.blog friendly, maybe update to using some posting standards. But haven't gotten around to it. Did switch to Micro.blog from Twitter. Just got too annoying and infuriating reading over there. I think I've successfully weaned myself off it. Been off Facebook for a while now. Seems like it's trending away from those, and especially Micro.blog might be reaching some critical mass. Works been crazy busy, rollout of a new product at the start of the year, lots of late nights. But getting better. Watched Patriot on Amazon Prime Video after a couple podcast recommendations. Good, but after a comment about it being Wes Anderson like, couldn't stop seeing it. Good, but not great. Been watching Happy Endings, now that is a good show. And started LA to Vegas recently. I like that one too. Marvel's Runaways on Hulu is one of my Best of 2017 picks. Pretty much the reason I got the subscription to Hulu. After Amazon Prime Video came out for tvOS, got a new Apple TV 4K to replace the old 3rd Generation I had as a source. Kids have been watching a lot of gameplay videos on it by Zebra Gamer, mostly LEGO City Undercover. Looks great, got LEGO City since Undercover isn't available on tvOS, but getting tempted to get a Nintendo Switch to play Undercover. It looks that cool. Also got a Steelseries Nimbus Wireless Gaming Controller for LEGO City; much better than the Apple TV Remote for gameplay. Tracy ordered up a rug and a settee for the parlor, so we've got actual furniture there now. Been practicing guitar a bit, remembered I should be learning Peter, Paul & Mary songs like Puff the Magic Dragon and Leaving on a Jet Plane. Lucy's been taking ice skating lessons over at Winterland at the Park. Jackson started up swimming lessons again.

So I’ve been all in on the lifestyle changes to try and deal with my high blood pressure. Went ahead and got a Kinetic Smart Road Trainer so I can do my bike riding in the crawl space in the basement. Actually worked up a sweat yesterday, which is really something I don’t do when commuting. I installed and started using My Fitness Pal on my iPhone. Last time I tried using a food tracking app/service, there really wasn’t that much preloaded, but now? Pretty much everything is. Super easy to track. Also, a low sodium diet sucks. Kind of shocking how much I was probably taking in before actually keeping track. Also installed Gulps on the iPhone. Reminders and tracking for drinking water. Trying to stay hydrated. Haven’t quite switched to eating more often in smaller servings, but it’s getting tempting. Pretty much because when I do eat a meal, I’m still hungry afterwards. Not used to the smaller portions yet. In the midst of it all, did my double red blood donation on Monday. Apparently Red Cross doesn’t think I have high blood pressure. Crazy snows as well the last week or two. Wondering how much of it goes away as temps are above freezing and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. I expect lots of giant puddles. Oh, speaking of food, my new favorite place to get it at work is Pret A Manger. Pretty healthy stuff, and a good variety for breakfast. Haven’t actually tried them for lunch yet, but I should. Lots of salads in my future.

Had a followup with my primary care physician, and got a decent blood pressure reading. So this whole diet/exercise thing is working. And that was after spending 5 days in Austin visiting my brother with the entire family. They preordered Franklin Barbecue 2 months ago, so I had to eat that, and it was good. But I tried to be as healthy as I could. Hoping I can keep this up. Spent the majority of the time, while the cousins played, organizing all their LEGO and putting together a few choice sets. A very enjoyable way to spend my vacation. Wish I could have put more of them together. And completely jealous of all the LEGO they have. Kids definitely had fun playing together. The iPhone/iPad didn't come out until the very last day. Thanks to Al and Nicole for hosting and organizing all the fun activities. Last night had a playdate for Jackson's classmates and parents. But I had to leave early to see David Robert King at Uncommon Ground and see Bryan and the gang. Special shout out to El for organizing. Since I'm trying to learn guitar, I was paying attention to the guitar playing, and David's stunning. Really really good. Good to see all of them, but had to leave early to help put the kids to bed. Really nice to just be able to walk over and back though. Had the last week off, which was really nice. Being on vacation is nice. On Friday after my doctor's appointment, met up with Tracy on the Brown Line since she had to get her expired driver's license renewed, had lunch together, then walked over to Magnolia Bakery to get some treats, then up to see the new Apple Michigan Ave store, which was pretty nice, then continued up to The LEGO Store to check out all the sets with my new found appreciation of them. Could easily spend thousands there. They had like 5 different Modulars, and the Ninjago City, and the UCS Millennium Falcon, and and and....

About 6 weeks ago (Wednesday, March 14), I broke my right clavicle on my bike commute home from work. Think I pedal clipped turning onto Clybourn from Halsted. Ended up on my right side. Got up, walked over to the sidewalk, shoulder seemed sore but seemed to be working. Bike was in good condition. Then biked home. Once I got through the door and felt the break, realized it was broken, and went to the ER. Had a great experience at Illinois Masonic, hardly any wait, everything pretty quick. Got a sling and x-rays. Took the next couple days off, got an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon (Dr. Patrick Birmingham) at NorthShore Medical Group. Because of the displacement, went with surgery, scheduled for the following week. Had surgery at River North Same Day Surgery Center. Had a very cool cold therapy machine, (Game Ready), and used that for like 3 weeks. Originally was told I could probably be out of the sling in 2 weeks, but after the first post op visit, and seeing the x-rays, and the number of breaks/screws involved, I'd be in for 4 weeks. And then after the week 4 post op, I get another 2 weeks in the sling. I'm about ready to be out of it. Been working from home so I can support the arm while typing. As soon as I'm out, I"ll start heading in to the office again. Finally started helping more around the house, using the right arm a bit more. As soon as I can, I'll get back on the bike. Hoping I can actually do Bike the Drive in another month. Oh, started taking medication for high blood pressure, because my diet went to crap, and I wasn't really exercising. Recently got back on the bike trainer in the basement, which is good. Still totally into LEGO. In the middle of organizing the loose bricks by type. Actually have the Ninjago City waiting to get built. Started watching Rise, but there wasn't enough singing, so I watched the entire Glee series. Also really enjoying LA to Vegas and Deception. Reupped with Comcast in order to drop the cost a bunch, and got Showtime as well to start watching Billions, which is really good. Also watched all the Transformers movies. Also got and switched over to the Denim blue color case and watch bands.

Officially out of the sling. Time to start PT. Also means I can start going back into the office, which is funny, because starting next week they're doing some renovations, so I'll be working from home again for I think a week or two. Not quite sure if I'll have enough space for all my monitors though in the new space. Not really cubes, more like desks. Had Lucy's 8th birthday party at the house last Sunday. 12 7-8 year old kids in the house. Tracy had some painting and cookie decorating activities, which went over pretty well. Still pretty crazy. Surprised that the dress up and costumes got the most play, which is actually pretty cool. And a bunch of the girls played with Jackson's Matchbox Ultimate Garage. Also, the cake from Dairy Queen was pretty good. Snuck away after to see Whitney at Piece. Also saw Leo and Con, which was funny because Jackson tagged along. Haven't been back there or seen Whitney in a pretty long time. Pretty much caught up on Billions. It's good stuff. Loved the Netrunner callout. Finally put all the LEGO away. Not well though, need to find a better display/storage solution for the built sets.

Loving not being in the sling. Having full use, well, relatively full use of both arms is great. Actually hopped back on the bikes today, just up and down the alley, to see what it was like, while the kids scootered and biked. I think I could be back up and biking much sooner rather than later. It's only been like 8 weeks since I took the Clubman out, and the drivetrain (mostly the chain) is already showing rust. That's crazy. As far as I can tell, the bike is still good and solid. I should bring in the Xtracycle for the annual checkup, and if I can get ready by Memorial Day, maybe take it out for Bike the Drive. Hung out with the Grady's a bit this weekend, with the Jacksons' playing in backyards and the aforementioned alley scootering. Tracy broke the grill out all weekend, I made waffles for the first time in a while. Finally broke out the power washer I got last summer. Kinda did the garage doors, and really did the front porch, and did half the front fence. Then I got tired. But pretty cool. Officially working from home for the next couple weeks as the office renovations started. Since I don't have an RDP machine always on in the office, I'm going to set up a NUC here at home for it. I tried an Amazon Workspaces and Azure Virtual Machine, but neither was either as easy, or as cheap as I hoped it would be for a relatively responsive machine. So, I'll use the nice fat AT&T Fiber connection and just leave one up at home.

PT’s good. Had pretty good range of motion and strength, but still have some muscle tightness and knots and stuff from being in the slign. Having to build up the smaller stabilizers, and shoulder blade stuff, to get better. Stretching definitely helps. Extra 2 weeks working from home while they did office renovations was nice. Ate worse though. Looking forward to eating healthier back in the office. Got Tracy a ukelele for Mother’s Day. Much easier to play vs. a guitar. Reinvigorated my guitar learning as well. Maybe we could do a duet at some point. Almost definitely getting the garage redone this summer. About time. Got my NUC setup at home. Pretty nice and fast. Not entirely 100% stable though. Gotta iron that out. Also ordered up a Raspberry Pi to setup Pi-Hole.

Just realized yesterday, when a coworker remarked how 3 of us old timers have more experience at Market Track than everyone else currently in the office combined, that I just had my 15th anniversary at the same company. 15 years. I guess officially, it won't be 15 years at Market Track until November, but still, 15. Crazy. Back in the office mostly. Office renovations is nice. Have a lot less space. Finally completely unpacked a box I've probably been carrying around since we moved to the Sears Tower? I don't have a cubicle to hide it in anymore. Nice eating out again and knowing exactly the nutritional value of the food (mostly). Better than when I worked at home in the kitchen. As for the shoulder, only have a couple more PT sessions. Apparently I'm far enough along that insurance won't pay for any more. And have my followup with the ortho next week, so hoping I get the sign off to start biking again. With medical clearance. Working on some home networking upgrades. Got my pi-holes up and running. Definitely seems faster (not sure how much is not requesting ads or having a local DNS server. Need to install the UPS for the closet, finally got one after the last power outage. And finally getting some additional fans for cooling in that room. Hopefully that will work to get better circulation, and I won't look into getting a tiny AC unit for the room, however tempting it may be. Oh, watched WWDC 2018 on Monday, and with no new Mac mini announcements, went ahead and ordered up the parts for a Hackintosh Mac mini. That should be interesting. Replacing my main home server (specifically for Plex transcoding). Had to double check on data speeds with my Drobo 5D to make sure that wasn't the bottleneck, and it actually might have been, because I had too much data in a single volume I think. Moving stuff to a secondary volume made things speed up like 5x. Also, I guess when macOS Mojave gets released, and my current Mac minis and iMac are no longer supported, I'll look into upgrading those. Found a Wonderall close to work, so tried out Thai rolled ice cream for the first time yesterday. I tried the green tea, which had marshmallows as the mix in, so I think it was a bad choice to show off the mixing. Just tasted like green tea ice cream.

I'm really looking forward to the iOS 12 release this fall. I'm looking forward to the Screen TIme stuff, finding out how often I pick up and look at my phone, finding out which apps I use the most, adding App Limits. Mostly this is for myself, but also for the kids. They're not gonna like that, I'm probably not going to like what I see as well. But in the meantime, I tried to limit myself to just the News app and Unread. I've been off Twitter for a while now, and only went back on to check on the start of NBA Free Agency. I also stopped checking Reddit for a while, but then I reinstalled the app. I should delete it again. I'm also trying out Nuzzle again, but I should delete that too. I have to try and let go of my desire to catch breaking news. Still haven't found the ideal balance. Completely forgot about my now page, so updated that, and made a more in depth version (now) in the memex. Good things to know and keep track of. Always interesting to look back and realize I've been wearing the same shirts for 5-6 years or longer, or even shoes for the same length of time. Just good things to write down and know. I went ahead and installed the public beta for macOS Mojave on my MacBook. Not bad. I thought I'd have to do a fresh install, but nope, just like a regular OS upgrade. It's interesting. Basically wanted to try News and Dark Mode on the only machine I have that will support it officially. Still haven't started bike commuting back into work yet. Soon. After reading an article about UniFi home user, I figure I should do a real config for my access points. I guess the Auto stuff isn't so Auto. It has been pretty rock solid for me though. Sitting on a 40d uptime for the network.

Took a vacation toward the beginning of July, went and visited the Cases for a week. Good times. Got to go to the Delaware beaches, which felt like Florida. Waves from the Atlantic are pretty rough, but fun. Went crabbing (blue) for the first time, managed to catch enough to at least taste some. And Lisa got me back into Pokemon GO, and then I got Jackson into it too, so we're both playing. Lucy hasn't caught the bug yet. Managed to lose my main credit card (BarclayCard Apple Rewards), which I didn't realize until I was at the airport on the way there. Never got used, so no one stole it, but never found it, and got a new card/number. But I went ahead and switched over all my payments to the Amazon Prime Rewards card instead. Definitely get more use out of that one I feel. Also notifications on usage is much more immediate from Chase vs. Barclays. And supposedly next year Apple will be coming out with a different branded card with Goldman Sachs? Not sure if I'll bother. Oh, cracked my iPhone X screen the 2nd day of vacation, so I then put a case on it. Got it replaced, along with my iPad (which I also cracked the screen on), both under Apple Care, so that's nice. Had to wait for a replacement iPad to get delivered to the store for pickup. Saw my Auntie Agnes a couple times (visiting from the Philippines), had dinner at the house (ordered way too much food from Aurelio's. Got stuff to put up another shelf in the basement for LEGO display/storage. Also had to get a couple more hard drives (got a low space warning on the Drobo 5D. They had a sale on Seinfield, and also added Impulse (YouTube series based on Jumper) and Zebra Gamer gameplay of Paper Mario Color Splash.

I'm picking today as the anniversary of Daily Dose, even though the site wasn't actually publically available until August 17, 1998. Either way, twenty years is a long time. Started as hand coded html, copied and pasted posts from main, to older, to archive pages. Then moved into perl scripts moving posts around in html files locally before ftping updated site to a hosted account. Not sure if I can remember moving to a database structure using cgi-bin and perl still, or if I jumped directly to PHP. But pretty much been there ever since, technology wise. Content wise, started much like Twitter, short little posts, what I was doing, what I was planning on doing, getting to eat. More than a few a day even. Then fewer and fewer, but longer and longer, eventually daily, less than daily, and just barely monthly now. But moved to Memex for daily posting and recording of activity instead. So that might explain the lack of posting here. But still, there was a break from August 1999-July 2001, however, looks like I was doing Musings in the interim. I guess I missed the 20 year anniversary of Musings (which would have been January 13, 2018). But yeah, I've seen a lot of online life. Haven't necessarily contributed much to the online world, but I've been here for a while.

Figure I should get a September post in. Still playing a ton of Pokemon GO. Currently at Level 32. Even managed to go on a couple Mewtwo raids while on break at work. At egg hatch, it's pretty cool to see all these random people standing around by themselves doing a raid together, or even walking between hatches downtown. Should have figured out that's what was happening and I could have done the legendary birds in the previous raids. Oh well, should be able to get them somewhere down the line, right? Kids still playing too. Lucy's smart and has me take my phone with me to work, so I plug hers in, connect it to the Go-Tcha, and it auto spins a couple poke stops reachable from my desk and auto catches all day long. Not to mention the distance when taking the El on the commute, since I haven't started biking again. Just today though, they've got me started playing Jurassic World Alive, which is similar to Pokemon GO. It pushes the market/in app purchases a lot more though, kind of annoying. Other big news is that I started a keto diet a couple weeks ago. Trying to get the high blood pressure down. Definitely losing weight. Probably the lightest I've been in years. We'll see if I can hit my target weight and then maintain. Only a couple days I've really missed carbs, one of those being last night when we got sushi delivered. I got sashimi, but all those rolls look really good. And I'm missing dessert. But can't argue with results. Oh, in the middle of getting a new garage. Pretty cool. Did the North Shore Century again, only the 75 mile route again, so all in 92 miles door to door. Rough, since I hadn't been commuting or doing any sort of training. Only got 1 compliment on the bike this time. Rear fender came loose and started rubbing. I have bad luck with fenders on that ride. Go figure, I went Keto the day after, after I stuffed Papa John's pizza in my belly. Maybe I'll get back to riding to work when they have a proper bike valet/garage again. Upgraded the only Mac capable in the house to Mojave. I was running the public beta on the MacBook anyway, but kind of annoying no other Macs in the house have it. Maybe upgrade next year? All the phones got iOS 12. Kids adapted to Screen Time pretty well. They've started sharing, or at least watching each other's phones so they get double the time. Controls aren't perfect, but they'll do. Example: I want to allow Pokemon GO all the time, because they can play while I'm biking, but putting it in the Allows Allowed list doesn't exclude it from being counted in the App Limits (if set by category). I just checked my stats and I use and pick up my phone a lot. Not much thoughts on the updated iPhones and Apple Watches. My turn is next year.

So when iOS 12.1 got released last Tuesday, decided to nuke and pave. Feels nice to start fresh again. Definitely trying to keep the bare minimum of apps. Especially trying to keep off the news sources. So currently only going with the News.app. No more RSS, no more Reddit. Garage is pretty much done, just a couple things left. SCI is wrapping up their stuff tomorrow. Can control everything, which is nice, and can see the inside, and have the outside security cameras back up. Getting an epoxy floor, the apron and sidewalk should go down next week, and then we have to hang some organization stuff, move stuff out from the basement crawl space, and actually start parking in the garage again. Will be nice. Stupid thing about the Liftmaster MyQ Garage Doors: have to get an additional hardware piece to get them to work in HomeKit. Probably don’t need it, since we can control through RTI, but I do like having Siri control. Curious to see how status works through the HomeKit too. Still on keto. Seems to be working out for me. Found out about erythritol as a sweetener. It’s amazing. Made waffles, cookies, tarts even, all keto friendly. Also found out Cool Whip is kind of keto friendly. So got reintroduced there. I probably fell out of keto for the first time since starting earlier this week. The culprit? Domino’s pizza of all things. Their thin crust is the best we’ve found so far. Not kidding. Maybe I’m still partial to a cold slice of Pizza Hut supreme, or a Papa John’s sausage and banana pepper, but for thin crust? Domino’s is my clear favorite. After getting my blood tests back, trying to cut back a little on the red meat, trying to eat more fish. Started cooking some at home (the pre seasoned stuff from Jewel) and it’s pretty good. Turns out cooking Cod is more allergic to Tracy than tilapia or salmon. I’ll have to try others to check, but seems pretty odd. Oh, I should see what pre seasoned stuff they have at Whole Foods. Oh, and tried Kai Sushi Lakeview just down the street again. It’s amazing. Expensive, but the fish was great. And they started serving hot food as well, and the ramen is pretty good too. I have no issues ordering the sashimi platter. And speaking of raw fish, I discovered an Aloha Poke Co location relatively close to work. Went there like 3 times in the past 2 weeks. It’s good, and I think pretty keto friendly. Found it while on a walk for Pokemon GO raids. Got my first invite to an EX-Raid next week. However, I’m thinking of starting over so I can be Instinct and on Lucy and Jackson’s teams. Yes, still playing Pokemon GO. Oh, company I work for rebranded. I, for the first time in 15 years, now work for a new company, Numerator. After so many mergers and acquisitions it’s about time. Now it’s not this acquired company’s culture or process or product, or this other merged company’s policy. It’s the Numerator way. Been spending too much money lately on stockpiling LEGO sets. Not even building them, just when the go on sale. Kinda need someplace to display them. But not planning on any new iPhones, iPads, or even the new Mac mini, however tempting those all may be. Maybe next fall. I did bite the bullet and get a Kobo Forma, their newest eReader with a Comfort Light screen (which means less blue light at night). It’s amazing. A little big, but amazing nonetheless. I just need to keep up on the reading. Currently in the middle of a Harry Potter reread, on Order of the Phoenix. Not looking forward to the political parallels.

Whoops. Didn't realize I didn't have at least 1 post in November. So another one of those. Going to try and start the New Year's Resolution early, and start posting here more. Even though I haven't rewritten it, or integrated it with Micro.blog, time I just started writing again. Figure I'll just pick a short topic and write something, not necessarily a recap, but not as meandering as a Musings. Somewhere in-between? So for today, I went out driving with my kids phones, my phone, and our Go-tcha's, to try and take advantage of the Pokemon GO Community Weekend. I thought because I lived in the city, I'd never stoop to driving around. But it was raining, I didn't really take advantage of it at all this weekend, and I still didn't manage to auto catch enough for the kids to do any evolutions. So they still missed out. But yeah, I was one of those guys, 3 phones, random stops (I pulled over at least) when I had to clear some space. But maybe it doesn't matter. I think the kids and I are starting fresh in the new year, Level 1 Valor.

Getting slammed at work. And thinking about some earlier quiet times, and wondering if the things I'm getting pulled on now, and if I could have dealt with them earlier, and I don't think any of these things could have been done ahead of time. So just means trying to do more stuff. Need to try and delegate some stuff. But haven't been trying to do more work after the kids go to bed, not sure if it's because of the diet, but I just don't have the extra energy, or I need more sleep, or I don't have a second wind, but I'm not able to stay up and work as much as I used to. Although I should try to get caught up.

So I was late to the party on the whole Pokemon thing. And actually still late, haven’t even started. I’m only into Pokemon GO. The kids have watched all the shows available on Netflix, and even a couple movies. I got a bunch of those books, which are quite repetitive. I assume it’s just the same stuff on the cards (flavor text). I do wonder if Jackson’s going to get into the cards. But the next thing on the horizon? Beyblade. I think Lucy found the show on Netflix, so guess what’s coming for Christmas? There was also some random cars launched from wrists (again from a random show found on Netflix) from last year, but that one didn’t really last long. Always interesting to see the trends. Or coming late to the trends.

So my blood pressure if really tied in to how much I sleep. Beginning of the week, I’ve been doing great and sleeping plenty, and had the best blood pressure readings in a while. Then I try staying up to do work, then my sleep schedule got screwed up since then, like the immediate following night only got like 5-6 hours, and then last night, fell asleep early but then got up at like 4am and did work for a couple hours that I should have done before falling asleep. Definitely not young anymore. Can’t function without sleep. Which is funny, because I definitely could do it earlier this year. Just need more sleep.

Sleep is really important. Got like 7 hours last night and my blood pressure this morning back to normal. I feel much better. Head’s clearer. All good. Still, 41 years in, having issues with time management, getting everything done that I’m supposed to, and not procrastinating or having the right priorities, and having to cram. I’ve always been a crammer. Always left things to the end. Gotta get Christmas decorations up this weekend though. Have to do that. Got some Winter Village LEGO sets to put up, including the train to put around the train. That will be fun. And needs to get done sooner rather than later, because Christmas is coming.

Just finished watching it. Guess what, it's very entertaining. And it was pretty cool to see the wife/mother having skills. Pretty crazy all around, way over the top and everything, but still, pretty much what I expected.

House is decorated. Got a tree yesterday, probably the last time I'll use the old style stand. Hopefully will remember to get the Wirecutter recommended one before the season next year. Had to make a couple trips to Target to get new Christmas tree lights, because the old ones half died, and the first set I got didn't twinkle like the ones we did have. Also ended up getting some prelit garland which I hung on the fence. Looks nice, especially at night, but during the day, sticks out a little because we're in a neighborhood where everyone has real garland. Kinda stick out. Maybe we just need ribbons? Or some realer looking fake garland? Oh well, looks nice enough. Thinking we need something for the railings of the porch though. Also got the LEGO Winter Holiday Train built and running. Ordered up some lights for it. Still need to build the Winter Village Station and Fire Station. And plan on adding to it every year. Made Christmas cookies last night, frosted by the kids and some adults today. Gotta remember to get meringue powder before I make sugar cookies again. The milk based icing I currently make is just too loose. Gotta try somewhat real royal icing (I don't want to do the raw egg whites, although, maybe I should try it).

Did a duck breast and some chicken thighs sous vide yesterday for dinner. Started at like 10am for dinner. But the duck breast ended up being loved by the kids. 2 eight year olds and a five year old. Liking the duck breast. Go figure. Not sure if we're going to put duck breast into the rotation, but it is tempting. I mean kids that like duck! To eat! Also starting to use the sous vide machine enough that I'm wondering if a vacuum sealer would be a good investment. The Ziploc water displacement method left some air pockets when doing the chicken thighs yesterday, that I had to reseal at some point because it was floating in a corner. Also, need to figure out a better way to weigh the bags down, or maybe it's less an issue if I get a vacuum sealer.

So I went back to the dentist for the first time in years, possibly even a decade last month. Had to get a deep cleaning, which wasn't too bad. But they recommended getting an electronic toothbrush, so I ordered up a Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100. And like many things, I'm late to the party on this one. It's amazing. My teeth/gums haven't felt this clean on an ongoing basis since, maybe, ever? And I am flossing as well, but that toothbrush. Good times. And to think I used to think Akira odd for bringing it with to ultimate tournaments. Turns out, as always, I should have been following his lead. But yeah, clean teeth for the win.

For whatever reason, Lucy's iPhone wasn't connecting to the guest network at the office. I tried a couple different passwords, which was failing, and then I wanted to verify it on my phone. And lo and behold, I get this prompt: Do I want to share the password for the Guest network to Lucy's iPhone? I answer yes, and Lucy's iPhone gets on. That's amazing. Unexpected. Almost magic. I assume it's because we're in a family account, but still, that's cross account WiFi password sharing.

Got a Light My Bricks kit for the LEGO Winter Holiday Train 10254. While not perfect like a real LEGO set would be, considering you're running wires between studs and pressed in by transparent pieces, it's still pretty cool. Actually, very cool. I also got lighting kits for the LEGO Winter Village Fire Station 10263 and LEGO Winter Village Station 10259. Just need to figure out how to display with presents under the tree.

Binge Mode. How I love thee. I'm currently listening to, I guess you'd call it a season, the Harry Potter Season of Binge Mode. And it's amazing. It's like a book club, but with experts? That are passionate fans? Either or both ways, it's great listening. I'm currently on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and just finished listening to the episodes regarding Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. But it's so nice listening. It's great learning about things I've missed, listening in on others poking fun at the same things. And hearing how much they feel about the characters, the stories, the tale. I wish they'd do it about all my favorite books. The first that comes to mind is Mistborn. Would love to see them tackle that one. Wild Cards might be another. Snow Crash, Neuromancer, Soon I Will Be Invincible. I wonder if any of those are a common shared interest between Mallory and Jason. I wonder what other television shows they have? Just so awesome.

Since I mostly hit my target weight, I’m going to start having 1-2 carb days a week, because I miss it. Like yesterday, I had a donut and sugar in my coffee for breakfast. And then I had pasta for dinner and beignets for dessert. And this morning I had a pastry from Vanille Patisserie and a ham and cheese croissant. And probably eat more carbs at Ava’s birthday party today. But then back to keto tomorrow and the rest of the week. But I am starting to get a little tired of it. I am enjoying all the fist though. Just the eggs for breakfast. I guess weeks of the same ham and cheese omelette will do that.

Tastes so good, but makes me feel so bad. Tried to get back on the Keto horse today, but failed for dinner. Ended up going to Safehouse Chicago with Chris and Elliot. Walked over and took the Red Line from Addison, because it wasn't that much farther. Safehouse is rather interesting. Probably because we have kids, but themed restaurants are pretty cool. Best thing? After ordering, Elliot, Lucy and Jackson went off exploring. After their food came, brought them back to eat, then away they went again. Kinda nice.

So did 3 Ho-oh Raids today with my and Jackson's accounts, so that's 6 changes, between the two of us, maybe 17 balls each time? And his account and mine never caught it. Lucy on the other hand, managed to catch it after the 2nd raid. Go figure. Although I didn't really have any excellent throws, not even great sometimes. But then again, I don't think Lucy's catch even landed in the circle. Go figure. Missed out on those. At least I got a Lugia, a shiny at that. Jackson didn't get any. I wonder what the 5* will be after tomorrow?

Went for a walk this morning, did a Magikarp raid at Juniper Park with all 3 accounts, and lo and behold this afternoon, we all got Ex-Raid passes to Juniper for next Friday at 1pm. I have absolutely no idea if anyone else will be there. But hopefully enough. And hopefully we all catch it. Yesterday did a 5* Raid on the way home before the switch, so the kids both got Cresselia. Will bring the phones tomorrow to catch them a Heatran hopefully. GPS drift downtown is pretty annoying though. With three phones, I have to wander around until all are close enough. Wish they would all at least drift together.

Had to get my license renewed, figured now would be a good time, close to the holidays, maybe not as many people around. Turns out I was eligible to use the express renewal location, and I was the only one in line. Got in, gave my form and old license, got a picture taken, got in another line to pay (only one again), answered some questions, took a vision test (read line 5), paid, got my old one punched, received a temporary license and they'll mail me the new one. All in? Maybe 15 minutes. That's nice. Don't think I have to worry about that for another 4 years.

I still don't know exactly how it works, but made sweet mozzarella dough (Keto friendly) to make cinnamon rolls this morning. And they're great. Have I mentioned how magical Erythritol is? Also I made a cream cheese frosting with too much whipped cream, so it was a little too fluffy, instead of too cream cheesy, which is better on cinnamon rolls. Either way, I've already had 2 today. Hard not to want more.

Holidays and carbs not so good. Well, food so good, but not helping the weight maintenance. So going to try and get back to keto and down to my target weight. Going to try the Ketostix (one of Tracy's stocking stuffers) tonight to see if I got back on it.

I've screentimed myself. 3 hours, across both iPhone and iPad. Lucy said I should, and I agree, and fitting, because I screentime my kids. So I should do the same. Think this means I'll read more books. Hopefully. And keep checking off the Things.

Lucy started reading Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief, so after finishing up Harry Potter, I started it up again as well. Also, finished up Harry Potter at my desk at work, and good thing it was the quiet holiday week, so no one was really around to see me tearing up at my desk. I'm looking forward to listening to the Binge Mode episodes, and I'm in the middle of Order of the Phoenix there. Also have to get around to rewatching the movies too. But since I'm screentiming myself, I should be reading more, which is good.

Why does box office performance affect Oscar selections for best picture? As in a critically acclaimed movie that doesn't do well at the box office won't get nominated? Or is there some relationship between critical acclaim and box office performance, where if something gets too popular or does too well that no matter the critical response it won't be considered, but no matter how much critical acclaim a movie gets if it doesn't do enough business, it won't be considered?