So went on a cruise last week, Norwegian Encore. Good times. Got back Sunday night, still feeling the cruise sway. Kids don’t feel it at all, almost immediately. Tried to keep a travelogue using Day One, but started to lose steam on Thursday. I’ve tried to backfill, and hopefully I fill in Memex Daily Entries, but we’ll see. Realized I should actually start just taking a picture at each new place, and of each dish at each meal, to help me remember, not to actually post anywhere. Kids really enjoyed the trip. Was really nice having a room to ourselves, and the kids had their own room. They definitely wanted to sleep in more, and having no windows in their room it was very conducive to that. Having a good buffet available for every meal was great. Soft serve machines (just vanilla and chocolate, and I always just got a twist) was good. I have finally realized I just need to use LACTAID before desserts. Much more enjoyable for everyone that way. Damajagua's Waterfalls & Buggies shore excursion at Puerto Plata, DR, was cool, Jackson and I did the biggest jump which was pretty impressive. Got super muddy at the buggies part of it when Tracy was driving. The cruise pier pool was great though. St. Thomas kayak and snorkling tour was fairly relaxing. Shopping was a little boring though. The Virgin Gorda & The Baths shore excursion at Tortola was Jackson’s favorite, probably because of all the water and rock exploring. The Choir of Man show was really good on the boat, and they’re coming to Chicago at the Apollo Theater this spring, so we’re going again. Lazer tag was fun on the boat as well. I did have to splurge and get the premium Wi-Fi package for myself. Was nice that we could all use it, but had to take turns. I did even manage to do some work. Anyway, easing back into things. Disappointed with the snowstorm that fizzled out so far today. And not sure if I’ll keep up my daily or close to daily posting again. We’ll see.

I switched over to a Kindle Paperwhite (11th Generation) from my Kobo Forma. I’d almost rather have another Kobo, but this Paperwhite is just so much faster. And I like the size. I’m still way off schedule. Not sleeping enough. Really got to try and get normal again. And I’ve still got the cruise legs. Although I wonder if it’s just because I’ve been so sleep deprived.

Picked up more sidewalk salt for the upcoming snow storm tomorrow. Wondering if this one will happen compared to the one from earlier this week. Excited if it does, but annoyed if it does because the kids have dentist appointments that I have to pull them out of school early for. Did some errands after dropping Lucy off this morning at school and after dropping her off at swim practice this evening. Getting rid of lots of mucus by blowing my nose in the shower and washing my face in the morning. That’s been nice.

Had to take the kids out of school early because of dentist appointments. Also, so far, the snow storm didn’t really happen today. Too warm, so after an early snowfall, just turned to rain. Roads weren’t that bad. Lots of kids out of school. They even cancelled after school stuff, and probably didn’t need to. Lucky I guess. Still supposed to be freezing though. Finished off Mrs. Davis. Pretty big twist there at the end, but still pretty good. Finally watched Barbie. That was dope. Started watching Marvel’s What If? Season 2. Just that first episode felt like a movie.

Out to Piece for Russell’s 20th wedding anniversary get together. Always good seeing those guys. Piece is still Piece. Beer’s good, pizza’s good. We tried sliding into The Violet Hour as a walk in, but there was a 15 minute wait, so we just bailed. Went ahead and made a birthday reservation though. About time I tried it out. Otherwise a pretty lazy day. Took Jackson to his NBGC basketball game. They won, and got a new player on their team. Tracy and I went to a Mediterranean Bakery & Cafe (she’s on a hunt for a dip we got at the Greek place in Miami), and got a bunch of random stuff.

Jackson had a soccer game this morning. Dressed warm enough. Only weak spot was my socks I think. They had a tie. Started slow, first game for the indoor season. Then went out to lunch with my parents at Avli Taverna. Pretty good Greek food. Then just inside and on the couch for the afternoon and watched football.

Wonder who else gets a cold day tomorrow. CPS has no classes because it’ll be -30 windchill tomorrow. The -14 windchill expected on Wednesday is warm enough they’re expecting classes then. Go figure. Otherwise a pretty lazy day. Did get a workout in. But otherwise couch time.

Kids were off. Took Lucy and Alex to Target for 2.5 hours, while I did some work at Stan’s Donuts in Uptown. Got some work done, and the girls did whatever girls do. Ended up taking Isabel with after Target as well. Decided I need to work through my Super Syrup, so drinking sours. Started with the standard Whiskey Sour, which was pretty good, and then tried a Gin Sour, which was pretty good. I got cocky and tried an Armagnac Sour, and wasn’t that good. Couple more base liquors to try, and maybe some combinations to try as well.

So going to start a 20 minute walk on the treadmill 3 times a day (supposedly after each meal). Hoping it helps some, while I wait for the weather to get a little better, or I just get enough courage to go running in the cold. Also tried more sours today; a mezcal with lime (not bad), cognac with orange (too sweet), and Nixta (corn) with lemon (not good). I made Tracy a filipino rum one with calamansi which was amazing. Thinking I’ll do a bunch of sours for the board party, or I was also thinking of doing the Porn Star Martini. Although maybe I should try that before providing it.

So Apple Vision Pro goes up for preorder tomorrow. All this time I wasn’t planning on it, but then I realized I’ve been a day one buyer since the iPhone. So I’ll give it a try. Why not? I’ll just put it on the Apple Card Monthly Installments. Didn’t go to Binny’s today, holding off on buying supplies for drinks until after I finish my Sour experiment. Then I should try a Daisy experiment, which might be a little bigger of a project because of all the different liquors I could use as sweeteners. I have a lot. So definitely a lot of combinations available.

So I checked out the preorder of the Apple Vision Pro when it started this morning. Couldn’t pull the trigger though. Couple hours later, figured I had missed the initial batch, no pickup window available, delivery for mid March. Checked tonight? Pickup window the day after. So I did it. And I’ll have to do some creative budgeting, and hope I can find a use case for it. First off, hoping there’s a Plex and a Jump Desktop app soon. If I had those 2, I could see spending a lot of time in it. But we’ll see if it’s actually useful. I pared down my Mastodon follows. If I was off it for a couple hours, my unread jumped to like 100. Also got my preorder of Nanoleaf Skylights, so had to go searching for lamp replacement cord to hard wire them. Also I realized I could have probably just replaced the can lights with an LED Panel light, like the one I used as a fake window. Whoops. Also, need to find a use for the Nanoleaf Canvas lights now.

Jackson had 2 basketball games today, tied the first and won the 2nd. He actually scored a basket in the 2nd too! Otherwise a pretty laid back Saturday. Lucy had a swim meet. Jackson’s friends came over for a bit while he was home.

Jackson’s team won their soccer game this morning. Starting to see some really good passing on the offensive end. Promising stuff. Some really good saves by Nicky in goal too. Had McDonald’s for the first time in a while. Didn’t actually get any drinks this time, so marginally better. Then tried to stay warm at home, watched some football. Wanted to get a car wash, but the one at the gas station was closed when I went by. Otherwise a very lazy Sunday.

Trying something out, this is my version of the Upgrade 40th Anniversary of the Mac Draft (https://www.relay.fm/upgrade/496) podcast episode. So the first Mac I used, a Mac IIsi that was a hand me down from my brother, that I brought with me to college. Installed an ethernet card and was on the internet for the first time. Favorite/Best Mac: 12-inch Powerbook G4. Great machine. If I have to follow the rules, and pick one that wasn't mentioned, the G4 Cube. Loved the concept. And the first one I bought with my own money. Favorite software: Broadcast. Another college era app for me, used Appletalk to chat to other users. At least I think that's what it was called. Not sure if it could also share files over it too, but just lots of good memories of the use of that app, specifically freshmen year. Favorite/Best Mac Accessory: I'm actually a big fan of the Magic Keyboard. I like the minimalism. I even use it for my Windows work desktop.

I guess updating this and Memex is now a habit. Ended up salting the sidewalk this morning after I drove Lucy to school, so after all the Blaine school traffic. Didn’t look too bad though. Good thing I salted last night. A little annoyed though at the salt I did get, it’s got a bunch of giant chunks that I need to break up. Still haven’t gotten around to putting my Nanoleaf Skylights up. Lazy I guess. Been meaning to take my parents car out so it can get the salt washed off, but apparently it’s damp enough that it looks ok just sitting in the garage. I’ll try and take it out and do some Amazon returns tomorrow and see if I can get a carwash in.

Started watching Reacher Season 2. Alan Ritchson seems so much bigger this season. Like Hulkish. Too much I think. And installed the Nanoleaf Skylights in my basement office. And they are amazing. So much brighter now. Like night and day. I’m really liking the Nanoleaf stuff. Might be my new favorite brand.

Did my triannual Power Red donation. Took about an hour from walking in toe walking out. Not bad. No issues. Stopped by Tous Les Jours on the way home. Yuzu Pie was great, but don’t think I have to keep going back. Maybe time to try other places again. Finally did a load of laundry from vacation. About time. Think I might have enough to do a real load of whites.

I like chopped salads. The iceberg lettuce, hard boiled eggs, French dressing, meats and cheddar cheese. It takes me back. It’s part nostalgia, and part just plain tasty. Got more Amazon Basics flannels, definitely rocking the dad look today. I like it. Definitely need to go through my closet and do a big donation of all the stuff I don’t wear. Also means I can get new stuff. All the snow’s gone, and hasn’t been replaced by ice, just rain. So that’s great for January.

Late night last night and an early morning today. Probably not as tired as Jackson and friends who were at a birthday party/sleepover last night and had a 7am soccer game this morning. Of the 8 kids there, 5 of them had a game this morning, although only 4 went (on 2 different teams) and 1 skipped. With that out of the way was a nice lazy Sunday. Ordered Starbucks for breakfast, and drove over and picked it up. Ordered The Piggery for dinner, drove over and picked it up. Watched Reacher in the morning and NFL in the afternoon/evening. Just didn’t do any drinking, wasn’t really feeling it today.

Yeah, I’m probably not doing the social site thing correctly by just posting my random musings here on my blog/musings. But I’m not looking for interaction, or to get into a conversation, I just want to put my thoughts down. Anyway, only got 2 walks in today, not my usual 3. Finished off Reacher Season 2. Just a fun show. Surprised at the nostalgic needle drop at the end of the 7th episode. Good times. I think For All Mankind Season 4 is up next, and then probably Percy Jackson & The Olympians after that. Did watch a bit of Dinner Time Live with David Chang with Tracy. That’s a fun show, at least with the 1st episode. The whole cooking while hosting isn’t an easy thing. Wonder if they’ll keep it up, or bring in Chris to help (that’s my suggestion).

Had to resort to watching For All Mankind via Apple TV+ since my Plex version was missing the forced English subtitles during the Russian dialogue. Annoying. Took me multiple tries to find a version that did. Good thing is that only the 1st and 8th episodes have this issue. Just realized you can purchase For All Mankind on Blu-Ray, but can’t buy it digitally, only available via Apple TV+ subscription. Weird. Also going to start tracking my alcohol consumption, and found out there’s a category in the Health app, and you can use a Shortcut to easily add records. And in the health app it’s got a nice little chart and stuff. Just need to figure out how to display that, if possible, in a widget.

Did an outdoor walk today. Weather was pretty nice when I swapped out Jackson’s school backpack for his sports one. Should probably start running again. Not sure if or when the weather’s going to turn freezing again. I mean it’s February tomorrow, so it should start getting frigid out again. Had to pick the kids up from their basketball game. Took them to Wendy’s after they got their soccer cards. Gina was making fun of me as the cool dad.

Getting into For All Mankind again, and a good watch, but does seem like it’s kind of repeating itself? But maybe that’s just what happens, even in alternative histories, the same stuff happens. Also started watching Free Guy while exercising. Good to have something to watch in 7 minute chunks or so. Still hard to believe how nice it is out in February. Hard to believe it’s already February.

Have lots of things I should be doing, or could be doing. Things on todo lists, projects, big and small. And just procrastinating the day away. Blame it on the doldrums of winter, except the weather’s been really nice out lately. Was tempted to cut up the Christmas tree in the backyard and have a fire with it. Would go up quick. Maybe tomorrow I’ll finally take the outdoor Chrstmas lights down. Baby steps. Instead, I tried setting up some Trakt and Swarm automated importing to my Micro.blog site. Not quite working yet.

Think I’ve got Trakt and Swarm logging to my Micro.blog account working. Just gotta log cocktails manually and that should pretty much cover it. At least all the important things. And maybe start posting again. Maybe that’s what I’m going to start doing this year. Jackson had his 2nd to last i9 game today, at least for this first winter session. It’s final games for the season next week. Then another i9 session. Finished off For All Mankind Season 4. Not sure what’s next.

Finally took the outdoor Christmas lights down. Also took the garland, and cut up the Christmas tree, and used the Solo Stove. Weekends are annoying as I’m trying to lose weight, but I always eat more on the weekends than on the weekdays. And I don’t exercise as much either. So it’s a nice gradual weight loss through the week, then I gain most of it back on the weekend. Jackson lost his soccer game this morning, but they looked pretty good attacking at points. He also had a birthday party later in the day. Got Korean food for dinner, and that was after finding out Tea Ninja on Broadway closed.

So I picked up an Apple Vision Pro today. Only did a fit check, then unboxed it at home, although I did do some work before cracking it open. It’s pretty cool. Happy that 1Password and Jump Desktop are available as iPad apps available on the platform. Hopefully Jump Desktop can get a native app and you can just leave open connections around me. I’ll have to try screen sharing off the MacBook Air tomorrow. But yeah, it’s pretty impressive. Personas are weird. I think I have to try and redo mine. Definitely a 1.0 product though.

Stayed up way too late and didn’t really sleep last night. Tried doing some work, since I went out in the middle of the day to get my new toy. The Apple Vision Pro is pretty cool, but it definitely has it’s 1.0ness. Hoping it iterates quickly and gets ride of the all the low hanging bugs and issues. Because text issue is annoying, not sure if I need to start having bookmarks again, for the few websites I do visit. Also, both my kids wonder why I got one. Just another 1st edition for me to keep (except for my 1st iPad which fell off the roof of the car back when Lucy was a baby. That would have been nice to have as a keepsake.

Tried a Jagerita Sour (https://www.theeducatedbarfly.com/jagerita-sour/) and an Industry Sour (https://www.theeducatedbarfly.com/industry-sour/) in prep for the board party this weekend. Both pretty good. I like taking the cocktails that take liquors you don’t like and making them good (like the Hard Sell (https://www.theeducatedbarfly.com/hard-sell/) and the Amaretto Sour (https://jeffreymorgenthaler.com/i-make-the-best-amaretto-sour-in-the-world/). Only had to drop the kids off at soccer practice, so was able to drop off Lucy and Matilda at swim practice. And was back at Binny’s Lincoln Park, and got the other Redwood Empire Small Lot, Devils Tower a High Rye Bourbon. Pretty much any limited release from Redwood Empire and Still Austin I think I’ll get. Although the whiskey shelf is full again, so have to kill some bottles before that last spring release from Still Austin comes out.

Typing this up in the Apple Vision Pro via Jump Desktop to the Mac mini. Works pretty well. Using a Magic Keyboard/Trackpad set in an over/under acrylic tray that's pretty nice, while sitting on the couch in the basement. Planning on trying to work out of this setup tomorrow. About halfway through Ahsoka. And watching Nerve for my workout watching. And this weather is absolutely crazy for February.

Weather was pretty amazing for early February. Thought it would be a good night to break out the Solo Stove. Turns out, it wasn’t. Got too cold. Also tried lighting the wood from the top down like I’ve seen in social media. Worked pretty well for lighting and staying lit, but not int he Solo Stove. I think that’s supposed to be lit from the bottom, with a small start, and then build, in order to properly utilize it’s functional structure. Kids and Tracy had the day off, so I went with them for lunch and a midday shopping trip at H Mart. Surprisingly to me busy for midday Friday. Ate lunch there before shopping, which means we didn’t come back with a bunch of extra stuff.

Besides the Super Bowl, Jackson had his last games for i9 and NBGC yesterday. Lost the NBGC game, won the i9 game, and next session for i9 starts next weekend. Also had a soccer game this morning, and they lost. Had a board party last night. Made 12 cocktails in little bottles. Made them earlier in the day yesterday and kept them in the freezer, where some of them froze. Whoops.

Back on my schedule of losing weight through the work week, then gaining it all back on the weekend. Going to take a lot of willpower to stay on the plan over weekends if I want to actually lose more weight instead of just rubberbanding. Felt cold today, probably just didn’t dress warm enough for my legs. And lack of hood never helps either. Started watching The Mechanic as a workout movie. Figure I should start there if I want to watch the sequel. I wonder how many Jason Statham assassin movies I could string together.

Made dinner tonight. Since it’s Mardi Gras, I made jambalaya. Relatively easy, and was able to not make it spicy at all by omitting the spice and using kielbasa instead of andouille. Pretty good. Also just made the pan fried Krispy Kreme with melted ice cream for Jackson. He liked it. Finally took the toaster apart too, to try and track down the awful plastic burning smell. Found that, and hopefully can get a replacement and get our toaster back. The toaster oven doesn’t meet approval by the chef (Tracy) because it blocks the under cabinet lights and makes that area of the counter dark. Finally polished off the last cocktail from the board party.

Made it to Home Depot today, and picked up some wire connectors (I assume that’s what I need to fix the toaster). Gonna try that probably tomorrow. Probably should do it outside with a fire extinguisher handy, just in case. Did an outdoor walk today, to switch it up. Also had to hit some Pokemon GO stops because I didn’t have to drive Lucy this morning (Tracy drove her).

Repaired the toaster successfully. No longer smells in use, and toasts bread as expected. Something randomly pried off the grill on the patio speaker. Very weird. No idea when it fell off (no camera pointed in that corner), or what did it. Strange. Wonder if I can get a replacement or fix it and put it back on, without the use of duct tape.

Tried out Kung Fu Tea today, kids got the Cat Noir’s Cocoa Cataclysm, the closest they had to a brown sugar milk tea. It’s ok. Still looking for a replacement for Tea Ninja that’s relatively close by. Next time going to try Bambu. Looks like they have something like might be similar to halo-halo. Jackson also got McDonald’s today, the double Big Mac, a limited time only sandwich. It was pretty big. Killed off another whiskey bottle today, starting to get some room on the shelf again.

Finally made it to The Violet Hour for drinks Saturday night. Good drinks, only had a couple, but had to have a pour of the George T. Stagg 2022. Probably the only chance I’ll ever get to have it, and it was absolutely amazing. Like wow, jaw droppingly good. Jackson also had an i9 basketball game on Saturday, new winter session started. No soccer game this weekend, but had to get up and go drive my parents to church and get breakfast with them on my dad’s birthday. Otherwise a pretty lazy weekend. Kids don’t have school tomorrow. I did manage to keep up with my exercise over the weekend, which is a pretty good step in the right direction.

Jackson had in effect a LAN party at the house today. They played Fortnite on 2 Switches and dual screened on a PS5. Theoretically, could have had 2 more Switches join the party? Or at least 1 more. But kind of cool. At least they weren’t screaming across the house. Wonder how cheap a real setup would cost, maybe 2 more screens? Maybe if we ever upgrade the TVs in the family room and master bedroom, just move them to the basement, and Bob’s your uncle. Also snagged some Domino’s for them. I keep forgetting how much I like their thin crust, and how bad their wings are. I’m getting tempted by the whole VShred marketing campaign, but I really don’t want to have to go to a gym to do a full workout plan. Maybe if I was still a member at Movement.

So whatever illness is going around, taking out half of Hudson’s class, sending Serafina’s family to the hospital, or just Matilda’s COVID, it’s all getting closer to my family. So just waiting until it hits. Fingers crossed we still get to go to the Blaine Gala on Friday and Lucy still gets to swim regionals this weekend. Not sure what I’m wanting to do activity/diet wise. Feel like trying something new again, but at least keeping up with the walking. I think that’s good. Maybe I’ll get back to rucking again, if doing that in short sessions works as well. Definitely finding my walking speed is increasing in general. Definitely strange.

Did more walking than usual today. Besides a couple treadmill walks, did a longish walk to Target after dropping the kids off at soccer practice. Went all the way over by Loyola, to their tiny Target to get bleach. Needed some to do a first real load of whites since I have no idea when. Otherwise, need to do more laundry, I’m starting to actually run out of clothes. Well, starting to run out of pants. I actually some of my swrve pants, for the first time in a long time.

Feels like scramble mode. Got a big work project tomorrow. And the Blaine Gala. I guess just those 2 things. But when they’re stacked, makes it feel crazy. Otherwise, Lucy has regionals this weekend. Jackson has his i9 basketball on Saturday and Northwind soccer game on Sunday. Finally did my laundry today. Actually did a load of whites, and things came out gleaming. Also took steps to remove some ring around the collar, which worked. Next up is paring my closet.

Blaine Gala was fun last night. Not sure if my body soreness today is from the dancing or from an oncoming flu. Tested negative for COVID this morning, just to check. Didn’t go to the afterparty (which for our group ended up at A.J. Hudson’s, and came home and worked for like 4 hours. Got most of the things working again. I think. Still some nagging issues. Definitely tried to do some work at the Gala on my phone, but not super productive. Did get a nap in this afternoon. Started watching Percy Jackson & The Olympians. Three episodes in, and it’s pretty good. Starting to forget the previous actors from the movies who played those characters. Wish I could just completely forget the movies even existed and come at it with fresh eyes.

Started watching Percy Jackson & The Olympians yesterday and finished it off today. And now another long wait until the next chapter comes out. Also, I forgot a bunch of what happens, or what’s missing from books, or what’s changed, so I’m going to reread them. That shouldn’t take me long. Still not feeling the best. But still no fever. Think the aches from yesterday were from dancing, because this one feels like a head cold, dry cough. Got to break out the humidifier again.

Stupid head cold, as the weather begins to see saw +/- 30 degrees over the next week. Pretty crazy. But pretty annoying. Another day with it. Hopefully not too much longer. Did get outside for a walk today though. It’s definitely nice out. Definitely not the Chicago February I’ve grown to love and expect. Decided to watch Infinite for workout today, and kept it playing in the background while working, and now moved on to The Old Guard. Might finish up with The Eternals to keep it on trend. Or Highlander. Or any number of Vampire movies.

Starting to feel worse instead of better, which is annoying. Wore a mask when I went to school for Jackson’s International Day, and then later when I drove Spalding with Lucy to swim practice and picked up food from Panda Express. Definitely felt like people were looking at me difference, and people didn’t want to spend any extra time talking to me. I’ll probably do another COVID test just to check.

Feeling better. Now into the expectory phase of my head cold. Good times. Now I’m just going to sound funny for a couple of days. But I think I should be in the clear. Been slacking off on any exercising. Instead have been trying to eat my well back to health. Went to Bittersweet Pastry Shop & Cafe to get a cinnamon roll for Lucy, after I dropped her off at school, and got a bunch of treats. Think that’s where Bombastic Cafe used to get their Pecan Rolls. Very cute place, Bittersweet is, and will have to work from there at some point.

Probably should have watched Leap Year, considering it’s a leap year. Installed worked out to Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. I’m also working my way through Eternals in the Apple Vision Pro. Using TV app to watch the 4K version. Only device that I think makes sense. Don’t really bother with any 4K stuff thruogh the TVs because 1080p is good enough. Although the TVs are capable of 4K, they’re also 9 years old at this point. Would have been interesting if they had a time used display. Kind of surprised they’re still going strong.

Definitely just have to get all the mucus out of my head. That’s all that’s left. Turns out Lucy now probably has whatever I had. At least she doesn’t have anything coming up. Getting all my walks in again. Recharge day for work, but still did a little. Should probably have done more, and maybe I’ll get around to it this weekend.

Went to the Chicago Fire game tonight. Yeah, watching soccer is pretty cool. I should try and go more often. Slept in because I went to bed way too late last night. Only had to take Jackson to his i9 game today. They won. It was nice to have an earlier game. Better light for taking photos.

Took Jackson to his soccer game this morning. They lost. Otherwise not much to do today. Napped. Cleaned another toilet. Took a walk outside. Found a new coffee place I’ll have to try, Loba Pastry + Coffee over at Addison and Lincoln. I think it’s a new location, and just opened, because the line was out the door this morning. Tempted to take a morning off and go watch Dune Part Two. Started watching Silo. No idea how long it’s going to take me to get through The Americans, but it’s a lot. A lot of episodes in a season, and 7 seasons, and 42 min an episode. And it is not a show I feel like binging.

Think I finally saw a notification in the car that my key fob had a low battery. I thought it was a much more visible warning light, but I only saw it through the window after I got out of the car. Lucy took a sick day, so I didn’t have to drive her in the morning. She did go to practice later though, so I stopped by Binny’s Lakeview on the way home and picked up a Redbreast Lustau Edition and a PX Edition. Never did get the Kentucky Oak Edition and I might have to get the Tawny Port Cask one. Tried the Drumsanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin the other day, and it’s pretty good. Have to try a couple other Irish gins, but I think I have a favorite country for distilling.

So I also picked up a Drumshanbo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey today, and turns out, I like it. So yeah, fan of The Shed Distillery. Next up want to try a Dingle or a Glendalough gin/whiskey. New iOS/iPadOS updates. Best part of the update? Ability of apps to get Apple Card and Cash and Savings details. So now Copilot is my financial tracking app of choice. Just need to get the rest of my accounts in, but that’s my Mint replacement. Currently watching Silo, Top Gun and Extraction at different times during the day. Weird to be watching so many different things at the same time. Silo’s the current TV Series. Top Gun because I want to watch Top Gun: Maverick, and it’s in 4K, so I’m watching that on the Apple Vision Pro. Extraction as my exercise show.

Forgot to mention I started rucking for my 20 minute treadmill walks. Gets me sweating, so that’s good. Next step is probably to actually get outside and running for a little bit. Something is better than nothing. Tried out the Redbreast PX Edition and Redbreast Lustau Edition. Both good, but might need to do a side by side comparison instead of one after the other. Kind of hard to tell them apart. Oh, picked up a bunch of different fast foods for the kids today for before soccer practice. First time going to SONIC. Ice was probably the best thing I got there. Actually worth going back for. Definitely have to try some of the other different drinks and stuff. Used guest mode on the Apple Vision Pro for the first time for Serafina today. Fairly easy to use. Wonder why there isn’t a demo mode, like a first run app to practice the interface.

Almost have all the Apple devices updated. At least the ones I can deal with. Apple Watches continue to be annoying to update. Wish they could to theirs OTA instead of through their associated iPhone. Seems like it could be faster. Watched Extraction 2. Pretty good. I could see it going the way of The Fast and the Furious series, where each sequel just raises the craziness that’s involved. Like somewhere down the line they’re extracting the president or something from an island prison that used to be a major city. For example.

First time writing this up in Apple Vision Pro. Since the visionOS 1.1 update, Shortcuts has access to the clipboard, so I can do my Memex updates here too. Jackson tried it out today, but didn't seem to work that well for him. Currently watching Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Big Hero 6, and Silo. All bits and pieces. Rained pretty much all day. Got soaked on the way back all from Bittersweet Pastry Shop & Cafe, where I worked wa for a bit this morning. Didn't do my normal walk during Jackson's soccer practice, so did a treadmill ruck before picking up Lucy from swim practice.

Lucy and Tracy were out all day for Math COUNTs and Tyr Pro Series spectating. Jackson was out most of the day with Hudson and Dave, so I spent the day watching The Americans and working out. I did get a ride to watch Jackson’s i9 basketball game. Ordered up Papa John’s for dinner, since it was just Jackson and me. Then we got Dairy Queen. And watched MLS.

Ate too much. Over the course of the day, finished off the leftover Papa John’s pizza from last night. Jackson’s game got cancelled/postponed this morning. Ended up going out with my parents to Sam’s Club. I keep forgetting how cool those warehouse stores are. And how tempting all the giant boxes and quantities of things are. Didn’t even exercise at all today, so that’s not good.

Went and saw Dune: Part Two at the Alamo Drafthouse. Good, but felt like it started slow and then just ran through the finish. Now I kinda feel like I need to read the books, except I have a feeling it’s going to be a slog. Also, I think I get a better viewing experience in my Apple Vision Pro than in a theater. At least I’m guaranteed the perfect seat. Although I don’t get seat shaking sound at home. Until someone figures out a way to add it. Didn’t even open up the backyard garage door today. Crazy.

Stayed up way too late last night. Sleep schedule is way off. Might start to feel like a scramble now that spring break is only a couple weeks away. Weather feels like spring. I was out in a t-shirt and shorts today walking to get Popeye's for the kids' dinner tonight. Nice.

Got mostly a full night's sleep last night. Hoping to get somewhat similar tonight. Gotta start prepping for the Irish whiskey tasting this weekend. Shopping tomorrow, maybe Friday too. Not sure when I'm going to start cooking. Watched Dumb Money with Tracy. Didn't realize it's adapted from the book by the same guy who did Bringing Down the House. I've added it to my wishlist, along with other books of his. Current exercise movies: G.I. Joe movies. Wondering if I should start with the cartoon for exercising. Tempting.

So while I wait for my left shift key to show up for my iPad Pro Magic Keyboard, I've switched over to using the MacBook Air for my typing. I tried just using the right shift key but it felt too weird. So I'm back to using a real computer for a bit. Starting prep for the Irish whiskey tasting. Got a bunch of meats for the Irish Breakfast. Gotta make soda bread, sausage rolls, and the cake tomorrow.

Cake is mostly done. Just have to add the chocolate drip tomorrow. Made some sausage rolls too. Not quite how I remember them, but not bad. Really just pigs in a blanket. Driving the kids to tryouts in the morning, but don't have to pick them up, so I can continue prep in the morning. I was worried I wouldn't have enough time tomorrow, but I think I should be fine. Probably do my mise en place in the morning. Figure I should have the stout pie done by 3:30 before Jackson's basketball game. Getting tempted by that $750 M1 MacBook Air at Walmart. Would be nice to have an Apple Silicon Mac in the house, although getting a brand new one that's 3 years old is hard to swallow.

Stayed up way too late last night, so need to get back on schedule to recover from Saturday night still. Did get my exercise in today, so that helps. Got my dad another Apple Watch. Hopefully this one sticks around. I did walk home after dropping it off and the car with my parents, and stopped by Do-Rite Donuts & Chicken for a blueberry crumb donut and a coffee. Now on Mission: Impossible III on my MI journey. Wow was 2 bad. Although it does make me want to watch Face/Off.

Did some outside walking today, instead of just treadmill rucks today. Mailed my ballot, then a Jewel run at lunchtime. Then picked up Noodles & Company for the evening walk. Just walks though, no rucks. Been tempted to get a Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 R WR pancake lens, thinking I'd be more likely to carry the Fujifilm X-E4 around more. It's been flipping availability on Amazon (from Amazon.com) repeatedly over the past week, but delivery wasn't before vacation, except recently. And now it becomes randomly available, as well as pricing fluctuating between MSRP and secondary. Maybe I'll just wait until supply stabilizes (which is weird for a lens that's 3 years old).

I was doing really well with diet and exercise, actually came out of last weekend not having gained any of the previous week's losses back, and then I go and gain it all back by Wednesday. And I was trying to be good before Spring Break. I ordered the wrong replacement keycap for the iPad Pro Magic Keyboard, so I tried Apple Lincoln Park to see if they had any, but they didn't. So I went ahead and ordered the right ones, and hopefully they'll come in time before vacation, otherwise, it'll be pretty annoying if I have to do any work on vacation.

I've been thinking of divesting my  stock, mainly because of the DMA in the EU, but now with the DoJ anti trust lawsuit, well, I think I've missed my window. But I'm still way up so could probably do it anyway. Huh, I just checked what happened to MSFT during their antitrust lawsuit, and looking back, doesn't seem to have moved the needle that much. And considering where MSFT is now, might be worth it to hold AAPL, as long as I continue to believe in them. Anyway, Spring Break starts tomorrow after school. Jackson's back on Northwind SC 2013 P4 again. Guess he'll hopefully get to play with Hudson and Serafina with the Blaine team next year as 5th graders.

Just another Friday. Did Jackson's laundry, since I didn't have to do it Wednesday since he skipped soccer practice. Last indoor soccer practice of the year. Dunkin was actually busy so I didn't sit there and work. Instead I came back and worked a little at Chicago Futsal Academy. Picked up drinks from Bambu. That's Lucy's favorite of the new boba places we've tried. I'd say it's the most interesting as well. Finished up a couple more Mission: Impossible movies and just have the latest one to watch. Those and watching Silo is a lot of Rebecca Ferguson, not to mention watching Dune Parts 1 and 2 a couple weeks ago.

Took Jackson and Hudson to the robotics class that Dave took them to 3 weeks ago. Pretty cool seeing how easy it is using a Raspberry Pi. Seriously, just an IDE and Python. Anyway, that was pretty much the first half of the day, then lunch at Bonchon, then home for a bit before heading to Jackson's last i9 basketball game, and picked up McDonald's for dinner for Jackson and me. Then finally some couch time. Got all my exercise in today though, but definitely ate a lot, so that's coming out a wash.

Managed to work out again today. Trying to keep it up before vacation. Wonder if I'll be able to keep up anything on vacation, or if I'll even have to. Maybe at least try and keep up the 7 Minute Workouts? Short enough that I should be able to sneak those in, like in the morning before anyone wakes up? Started packing, which might be a first for me, not the night before. Oh, I'd had a blister on my finger from cooking, and was slightly worried about it, but it managed to pop itself sometime either last night or this morning, and now it just feels like a callus.

Hard to believe, but actually finished packing early. Well, not like within 8 hours of leaving. Seems pretty crazy. Might have to look into Peak Design Shoe Pouch, instead of just using the small cubes. Otherwise, no notes on packing. Definitely making some packing choices, we'll see if it pans out.

Spring Break was fun, but surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, didn't catch up on sleep at all. I'm still way behind on getting a full night's sleep. But Costa Rica was a good time. Fun times with the Thorngrens. Figured out way too late that my Fujifilm X-T5 does panoramic photos. Also brought way too much camera gear that didn't get used. I did manage to do a 7 Minute Workout twice, but did a lot of hiking the first 2 full days, so think I got enough exercise for vacation. Didn't really come back with anything except bug bites that are still really itchy. Pretty annoying. Also didn't come back wildly overweight, which is a change. Otherwise, back to the grind for work this week. Not so much for the kids though; Lucy's swim season doesn't start until next week and Jackson's first outdoor practice got cancelled since it was rain/snowing on Wednesday.

Took the kids out of school and went down to Indianapolis last night to be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse today. And it was worth it. Absolutely amazing. When the sun is gone, it's just the ring of fire, and it's darkness, it's so surreal, so crazy, so amazing. Seeing it was right out of a movie. So so cool. Special thanks to Tracy for booking the room a year ago and making us go. So worth it.

Maybe time to update again. So what's new since the eclipse? Lucy graduated 8th grade. Summer started with camps and stuff. I've been eating worse and not exercising and putting on the pounds. Realized I no longer have a bourbon collection, but rather an Irish Whiskey collection. Went ahead and installed a developer beta on the Apple Vision Pro. Got Lucy an Apple Watch. Finally have someone to share Fitness activity with. She probably uses it more than I do. Jackson did a School of Rock camp and might be interested in drumming. Figured out how to soft boil eggs for ramen. Lucy found out she can eat fish. Did another soccer tourney in St. Louis with Jackson. Had another hibachi team dinner. Did a bunch of chaperoning for LTAC Bowling. Had Chicago style hot dogs for a couple weeks. Lucy also got her Herbst appliance and expanders out, and swapped in braces. And currently working my way through the Terminator Universe, currently on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Oh, finally won on eBay a Brydge 12.9 Max+ keyboard. I had been using the MacBook Air, because the Magic Keyboard for the 12.9" iPad had a bum left shift key. Bad enough that I didn't want to use it. This Brydge keyboard is nice, maybe just because it works. Otherwise it's so much bigger and heavier than the Magic Keyboard. Not sure if I want to invest in another Magic Keyboard, or maybe wait and get a new M4 13 iPad Pro. Although being on a Mac has been nice. Also started using my old NUC as a work computer (Jump Desktop into my work desktop has been getting slower and slower). When using Jump on the MacBook Air I don't have to BootCamp into Windows anymore. Also because I'm watching more stuff on the Apple Vision Pro, I've been upgrading videos on Plex to 4K where available and deemed necessary. And now I have to shuffle things around because I'm running out of space. First world problems.

Picked up Lucy and Matilda from swim practice. Then after a quick bite and some packing, brought Lucy to lifeguard camp. Had to do some work, even though I'm on PTO. Just the important stuff for now. Got Jackson a new mouse (gaming?) and keyboard (mechanical). I guess baby steps to getting rid of the Mac stuff for him. Maybe at the 5 year mark I'll look into getting a replacement PC for him. Swapped out the basement can light warm white bulbs for daylight temps. Such a different feel now. Definitely feels like I'll be more awake more when I'm back to work. Also got a bunch of other random Amazon purchases. Excited to try the oil sprayer. Got a smaller fan that should be better for working at my desk. Got a USB-C retractable cord for my desk, oh and a USB AA Battery replacer, so I can just plug in my trackpad jiggler.

Ever since Lucy stopped having morning swim practices, I've been lazier than usual. Something about the early starts made me a lot more focused and disciplined. Or maybe those 3 months or so are about how long I can be that ordered. I was sleeping earlier, trying to keep the sink clean by doing dishes as soon as I see them, but both of those have gone out the window. Trying to get back on the horse. On the other hand, I've started trying swimming for exercise. I'm using MySwimPro app/service, which is nice because it provides workouts and progressions and swimming plans. Still slow, but starting to feel better in the water, like my freestyle (the only stroke I'm currently working on) is finally starting to feel a little natural. But I'm currently keeping up with going 3 times a week. Started back in the middle of September. I got all the practice gear, and the first couple of weeks was dependent on the flippers, so had to restart my training not using flippers at all. Haven't had to use the paddles or the snorkel yet. Also I've been biking to the gym and back, so it's a good warm up/cool down. Which takes me to another thing: my Raleigh Carbon Clubman is back. I got a replacement frame (in black, not sky blue) from eBay back in July, put it together as much as I could, and gave in and brought it to Roscoe Village Bikes to finish it off and double check my work. Turns out I put the wrong chain on, and they fixed any shifting issues, and then I had to get a new front wheel (couldn't be trued). Rim doesn't match, apparently they don't have rounded chrome rims at all. But looks well enough for me. Had to get new Carradice bags to color match (black), and then got a bigger one (Nelson Longflap) so I could carry all my swim practice gear in a saddlebag instead of a backpack although it's so big it's riding on the fender. But having a nice bike again? Priceless. I am just waiting to get hit again, and wondering if I should preemptively buy a backup frame. Lucy's switch swim teams, so I'm up at eBar at the Nordstrom's at Old Orchard which she practices with Swift at Niles North.