Sabbatical Checklist

So on August 1st, I lost my job. Laid off. The upside is that I’ve already landed a replacement gig elsewhere and I’m excited about the opportunity. So here I am. Waiting for my start date on the 29th. So I guess this means I’m on sabbatical for a bit, and that I need to … Read more

Nugget: Scars

I originally left this in a comment on Gloria Liu’s blog. Scars are trophies of a life well-lived. It’s no different than a book with dog-eared pages, really — there’s a certain degree of love and respect for material things (bodies included) that results in a bit of damage-by-familiarity. Those little imperfections, the same things … Read more

Other Chili, Other Stuff

chili con carnage

This blog is supposed to be focused on tinkering/making/hacking stuff. So why am I posting another chili recipe? Well, mainly because I can’t stop tinkering — every time I try a recipe, I mess with it a bit. My Unholy Good Chili recipe started fairly simple and grew over many iterations into a burn-the-hair-off-your-feet monstrosity. It wasn’t something I wanted to cook up for the Birchwood Bike Team Superbowl Party, as I wanted something more mild. So I found a different recipe, and scribbled it down. Then I edited the hell out of it to formulate my own take on it. I’d say about 60% of the original recipe remains, if that.

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Being Useful

Today’s accomplishments: Fed, dressed, and delivered kids to school. Did dishes. Took out trash/recycling. Load of laundry. Worked on personal consulting site. Had grueling two-hour nap. Signed up for Khan Academy, started working through the “Pixar in a Box” series on storytelling. Gave “Grand Tour” a look on Amazon — watched the first episode. Soaked … Read more