from Attach to Process

I've had a personal Claude Pro subscription for a few months now. I've used it to build a few apps that my kids and I use at home. Most recently, I rebuilt my personal homepage with the help of Claude Code.

Choosing a tech stack

Part of my discussion with Claude was what tech stack to build the new site on. I considered React, ASP.NET, or even a popular static site generator like Eleventy. But at the end of the day, those all felt like overkill for a static site with at most 2-3 pages. I decided to just have Claude build it with plain HTML and CSS. Any future updates I can handle myself by editing those files directly, and with continuous deployment from GitHub to Netlify, shipping a new build is quick and easy.

That continuous deployment pipeline turned out to be one of the real benefits of using Claude to help build websites. It knows GitHub, and it knows Netlify. I had no idea how to set up a pipeline that deploys automatically from GitHub to Netlify, and researching it myself probably would've taken a few hours. With Claude, I had step-by-step instructions and a working pipeline in under 10 minutes.

Getting the design right

The first design Claude came up with was kind of bland. I told it the design was “meh,” and it responded by putting together three more options for me to choose from. One of the designs seems to have taken inspiration from this very own site, it mimicked the blinking cursor, but gave it its own spin, pulling in some design cues from terminals and code. I chose that one. I toned it down a bit from the original concept, but I think it turned out pretty well.

This was the other big benefit of rebuilding the site with Claude. I can build websites, but I'm not much of a designer. Giving Claude some direction and getting back multiple design options to choose from, made that part of the process a lot less painful.

Sunsetting apps.dinobansigan.com

In other news, I took down the Blazor Web App at apps.dinobansigan.com. The site itself is still up, but it's now been replaced by a maintenance page (also built by Claude Code). That also means the Write.as Archive Page Generator app that used to live there is now gone.

Truth is, that app has needed a fix every few months since I built it. The root cause is different each time, but there's always something going on with it. At this point I don't have the bandwidth to keep chasing the fixes, especially for something only a handful of people ever used. So I'm letting it go.

That's it for this update. Between the new homepage and letting go of of the archive page generator app, it feels like I freed up space in my brain to focus on new stuff. Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you in the next DevLog.

Tags: #DevLog #ClaudeCode #WebDevelopment #WriteAs

 
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from What's New on Write.as

Been a while since you logged into Write.as, and can’t remember your username? Now you can easily retrieve it on our Forgot Username page! As long as you have an email address associated with your account, you can enter it there and get a message telling you the username(s) of any and all accounts you have.

#updates #improvements #WriteAs

 
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from Roscoe's Story

In Summary: * It's nearly time for the opening pitch of my Monday's MLB Game. I'll be listening to the call of the game provided by the Nationals' broadcast team.

And I'll be listening with hearing only at half-strength. I'm using ear wax removal drops to give me what little hearing I now have. Right ear is about half there, left ear is pretty much shut down. This happens to me yearly about this time of year and is not nearly as annoying as when I had season tickets to the Symphony Orchestras of Indianapolis and of San Antonio. It comes, I treat it, and it goes.

Anyway, after tonight's ball game and the night's prayers I'll be looking for an early bedtime.

Prayers, etc.: * I have a daily prayer regimen I try to follow throughout the day from early morning, as soon as I roll out of bed, until head hits pillow at night.

Health Metrics: * bw= 229.83 lbs. * bp= 137/79 (65)

Exercise: * morning stretches, balance exercises, kegel pelvic floor exercises, half squats, calf raises, wall push-ups, BP breathing exercises, pilates

Diet: * 04:05 – 1 banana * 04:40 – 1 ham and cheese sandwich * 10:15 – pizza * 12:20 – mashed potatoes * 15:00 – 1 bean and cheese taco, 1 bacon and egg taco

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 03:10 – listen to local news talk radio * 03:55 – bank accounts activity monitored. * 04:10 – read, write, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, nap * 09:00 – start my weekly laundry * 12:20 to 13:20 – watch old game shows and eat lunch at home with Sylvia * 13:30 – listening to relaxing music while folding laundry * 16:30 – listening to 106.7 The Fan, flagship station for the Washington Nationals, ahead of tonight's game between the Nationals and the Phillies.

Chess: * 09:47 – moved in all pending CC games

 
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from bios

An Interview with Guy Buttery

Guy Buttery was recently nominated for three SAMAs for Orchestrations — Album of the Year, Best Instrumental and Best Engineered. The album, released last year after 12 years in the making, took shape across a dozen countries, involving different orchestras, string players and musicians along the way. This weekend he returns to the Hilton Arts Festival with multi-instrumentalist Quintin Song.

Bios: The first thing I noticed listening to this album is how different it feels from your other stuff — like every track has this intention, this driving force behind it. I'll never accuse you of being structured, but this feels like you're heading somewhere specific in each track.

Buttery: Yeah, man. I mean, when you work on something this long, the vision becomes very clear. What I will also say is, what was that film that Terrence Malick made where a lot of people didn't make the cut? The Thin Red Line. Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney didn't make the final cut. A lot of people recorded parts for this record and ended up not landing up on the album. The vision of it was so clear after such a long period of time. I think there's also a lot to be said for the fact that when you're working with orchestral musicians, classical musicians, there was an improvisational nature in some of the playing, but 99% of it was scored and rescored. There was a lot of back and forth with the arranger, Chris Letcher. There was certainly improvisation from me, but the orchestral parts were very much scored with great intention. You kind of have to when there's a 52-piece orchestra.

Bios: Letcher is a genius. That early 2000s Van Der Want/Letcher album is still etched in my mind.

Buttery: I think that record you're talking about was called Bignity. If it was 2002, I think they had one before that called Low Riding, which was late '90s, around '98, if I'm not mistaken.

Bios: How much did you know about scoring before going into this, and how much of it was just you learning a whole new way of making music? A 52-piece orchestra versus you on stage with your sitar — those are two completely different headspaces.

Buttery: Working with an orchestra versus working in a solo environment, they're sort of incomparable. That video was filmed when we started this project, and it was simultaneously incredibly exhilarating — there's just so much power behind you — and also really, really terrifying. I've done a lot of concerts, and I'm not normally too nervous, but this was different. It was like, “I never asked to be born,” you know? It was just terrible. But also really empowering. We rehearsed on this very stage where that video was captured. Chris was there for the rehearsals, and we ran through the piece. Afterwards he ran onto the stage changing the timpani parts and the bass clarinet parts, asking, “What about this?” Just insane imagination and ability to isolate 52 different voices — 53 including my own. He's an amazing man whose voice on this record is very loud and very clear. It was a privilege to work with him. This project went on for so long. I could put out a ten-album box set.

Bios: When you started, did you know you'd end up on stage with a 52-piece orchestra?

Buttery: No, it was actually more the other way around. One of the reasons the project took so long was, I'm afraid, the very boring answer: mostly funding. It's just a very expensive project to get going. That video was the very first time — it was just a one-off concert, three songs with the orchestra that night. Then we did it again, and a few more songs were added, and then a few more. I did it with a string quartet for a while, it got transposed down, then there was a different orchestra. Then I got the Standard Bank Young Artist thing, and more songs were added, and the project just kept growing.

In my head, the very first time, I was just playing three songs with the KZNPO, and that was it. I never thought it would happen again. So the idea of recording came quite a bit later. There's a dark story there too, because I ended up rerecording my parts three times for this record. The project just kept changing and transforming into something different. But to answer your question, it evolved organically.

Bios: How do you even have the balls to ask the KZN Philharmonic to sit down and record an album with you? That's a massive ask.

Buttery: Ha! Indeed. But not just KZNPO, many orchestras and string players were involved in the end. There were string players from all over the world — a lot from the Eastern Cape, a lot from Edinburgh, and others in the US and India. It was recorded all over the place, really.

Bios: So now it's all transposed and written down — could any orchestra pick up the sheet music and perform this? Does it move beyond you once it's on paper, versus when it's just the recording?

Buttery: Totally, man. I have an agent in the US, and one of the projects was pitched with orchestra, either symphonic or philharmonic, so it's completely playable by anyone with the sheet music. The one thing missing is my parts, because they were never transcribed. I was always present, so it wasn't necessary. But that doesn't mean it can't be done — that part has just been left open. Another interesting thing is that a lot of the arrangements were shaped so beautifully that they stand on their own. In the final mix, when we muted my guitar parts, the orchestral parts were just gorgeous by themselves. There were sections on the record where we removed my part completely because the orchestra was singing so beautifully on its own. So yeah, I like the idea of the work living on without me — if anyone is mad enough to go and play it.

Bios: How do you perform this if you need 52 other musicians every time? Do the songs become a fixed point in time?

Buttery: Yeah. You know, for me it's a project that comes back around. It picks up, comes my way, leaves me, and then returns again. I was actually supposed to perform the work in Prince Albert, but that was unfortunately cancelled quite late. So it does keep reappearing. There are orchestral programmes in South Africa where I occasionally get included, and if I was actively pushing it, I could probably go around and perform these works more often. I'd be open to that. I guess I just have so many projects on the go that it's one of many. In some ways, a lot of this work only really existed in recorded form, and that's fine by me. Some pieces were never performed live, while others were performed live but never made it onto the record. So there are different worlds there. But for me, just being able to do it, work with these guys, and dive into a project like this — in a way I wouldn't have been able to otherwise — was really special. Working with all these wonderful players and finally having this work recorded was always the end goal.

Bios: Did anything change in your approach to music through this whole process?

Buttery: One of the things I learned sounds like a cliché, but this project was really, really hard to get together. Just keeping the momentum going was difficult.

There were many times where I wanted to throw in the towel and thought, “This is too big a mountain to climb. It's never going to happen.” And then a little opportunity would come along — “Hey, why don't you come do this thing with the Eastern Cape Philharmonic?” — and I'd think, “Okay, cool, maybe we can add one more tune.” And suddenly it would start moving again. There were so many moments where it felt impossible. So what I'm getting at here is — what's the cliché? You fill in the blanks — but it's something like, “Good things come to those who suffer innumerable pain,” you know? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't very, very tricky just trying to get this thing going. I was talking to a friend once, saying, “I can't believe I've been working on this for 12 years. It's killing me.” And he flipped it around and said, “Guy, how cool that you've been able to work on one thing for so long.” Obviously I was doing other things in between, but this project was always there — sometimes on the back burner, sometimes on the front burner. It shaped a third of my life, for better or worse.

Another thing I learned was how valuable it is to work with people who are really experienced and great at what they do. I mixed this record on my own for about three years, and eventually sent it to Simon “Fuzzy” Ratcliffe, one of the best engineers on the continent. He listened and said, “Nope, Guy, you fucked it up. You got it wrong. We're going to have to do this again.” I said, “No, I've been mixing this for three years. I'm not doing it again.” He said, “Yes, you are. You're flying down to Cape Town and we're remixing the whole thing.” And he was 100% right. Maybe I didn't need to spend three years learning how to mix an orchestra. I've mixed a lot of records, but I don't know how to handle a viola. I don't really know what a glockenspiel wants. I certainly didn't know how to work with a bass clarinet — but he did. So what I'm saying is, if you can work with people who have incredible craft and skill sets, let them do what they're good at. Focus on the guitar, Guy.

Bios: Focus on the guitar, that's your takeaway? So — this weekend's gig, sounds like there's a lot more improvisation in that performance.

Buttery: The concert this weekend and the orchestrations have very little in common, really. There's some crossover — I think there's one song we do as a duo — but it's a totally different animal. Quintin Song is amazing, man. It's almost annoying how many instruments he plays so well. I remember someone asking me, “Oh, are you collaborating with this guy Quintin Song? What instrument does he play?” And I just said, “Yes,” because what is his instrument? Is he a guitar player? A drummer? A flautist? Does he play bass? The santur? The oud? He plays everything. He plays a lot of wind instruments with me, and we've written some beautiful arrangements specifically for this duo, alongside things from my previous recorded work — my repertoire, whatever the word is. But yeah, it's a totally different animal. There's lots of improvisation, lots of space to breathe. I think that's where we really shine as a duo. It's a very open-ended thing. You know, to try and channel the abyss.

Bios: And the SAMA nomination?

Buttery: Fuzzy and I are also up for a nomination for Best Engineer, which I was really happy about. So the record got three nominations, one of which is Album of the Year, which is kind of mad in my head. It's not an obvious Album of the Year contender.

Bios: Album of the year, bro — you gonna pull a Brenda Fassie and storm the stage if you don't win? Also, I can't leave the “best of” thing alone — don't worry, Depeche Mode's 81–85 was only the first eighth of their career.

Buttery: No, I mean, I kind of appreciated it. I think what I was trying to say with that “best of” comment was just how long it took to make this record. A lot of those tracks hadn't been released because they lived in this orchestral world, and not really in any other form. But yeah, it certainly took its sweet time to get the whole thing down. Having all those tracks compiled together might have made it seem like a best-of rescored for orchestra. Joni Mitchell did something similar in 2000, taking a whole bunch of her songs and scoring them for orchestra. But that wasn't the case here. This was just because it took me 12 years.

Bios: There's this thing on the record — the sound of a finger sliding across the string, you can feel the texture of it. Do you think about that as a musician?

Buttery: Yeah, man, I totally think about that kind of stuff — string squeaks and that kind of texture. I'm mostly partial to the humanness of it. I'm all for the realness of it. Unless it becomes distracting, in which case you might clean something up. I don't remember doing any of that in these sessions — I'm pretty sure we didn't. This new recording project I'm working on right now is actually the antithesis of this. It's leaning hard into the realness of a recording. It was recorded in a very reverberant space. I mic'd the instrument twice, but I mic'd the room three times. I'm leaning into bats and cows — it was recorded in a rural church — so I'm very partial to that kind of thing. That's right up my street. I think the older I get, the more power that stuff has. The texture you're talking about — hearing the string, hearing the finger sliding — yes! That's what we want, right? Isn't that it?

Bios: How do you even record a bat? Aren't they above the range of human hearing?

Buttery: I swear there are bats on my next record. Lots of them!

Orchestrations on Bandcamp

Tickets for this weekend's Hilton Arts Fest gig

It's Not Not Acceptance← · · →The Passage Of Time Is Not A Story

 
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from Roscoe's Quick Notes

Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies

My Monday's MLB Game is less than an hour away. The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies are scheduled to start playing at 5:40 PM CDT. As I usually do, I'll follow the game's score and stats in real time via MLB's Gameday Service where we can also find links to the radio-call of the game provided by announcers of either team we choose.

And the adventure continues.

 
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from Attronarch's Athenaeum

Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Alaric Human Paladin level 4 Big, doe eyed country boy with wavy blond hair and willingness to do the right thing. Paladin of Tyr.
Aurella Elf Fighter level 1 / magic-user level 1 Exiled and chased out of her tree commune, she now wanders the Wilderlands.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5 An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.
Jacob Vin Human Assassin level 4 Slick black hair, inconspicuous dress, youthful for his age, and of keen instincts.
Kenso San Human Fighter level 2 An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.
Petrus Human Paladin level 1 Follower of Surya, God of the Sun and Ruler of the Planets, sporting a large sun motif on his shield.
Wilbalt Abendeurer Human Fighter level 2 A burly blonde barbarian; Warmund's younger brother and a better swordsman of the two.

Thawmist 16th, Airday

Alaric led a party of seven to a tumuls two leagues north-west from Ironburg. He led them there after baron Sig informed him that scouts have spotted goblins digging out skeletal remains. “Alaric, get rid of the denizens. You can keep whatever you find. But you must bring me a list of everything you find.”

Having had enough of the accursed ruin known as Castle Yukanthur, adventurers gathered up and jumped at the opportunity to kick some goblin ass. They were joined by two newcomers—Aurella the Elf, and Petrus the Paladin—and set out for the tumulus with the first ray of sun.

Adventurers opted to take the longer route, following the hilly terrain instead. This, they reasoned, would give them a vantage point. They arrived around noon. Their assumption was accurate, and they spotted the tumulus nearly a thousand yards away.

It was a rectangular affair, roughly three hundred feet wide, three hundred feet long, and between thirty and fifty feet tall. Dugouts were noticeable on the southern side. A singular, albeit large, tree adorned the top. It stood proud on the south-west side.

The party spent an hour circling the barrow. This preventive scouting paid of handsomely for they spotted a large vaulted entrance into the burial mound, as well as its guarding. A large, obese beast, munching on something, sat by the entrance.

“An ogre.” more experienced adventurers muttered.

“Leave it to me.” Aurella offered.

She got down on all fours and prowled towards the foul beast. She went from bush to bush. From tree trunk to tree trunk. And when she got in position, some one hundred and forty yards away, she gingerly got up to kneeling position, and took out her longbow.

The ogre waved at her. It was munching on what appeared to be a humanoid leg. Aurella stood up and fired at the beast, twice. She hit he dirt behind it, twice.

The monster laughed and ran forward.

Aurella shoot again, twice. Her first arrow nicked the beast, making it laugh even harder. Second arrow flew into void.

But Aurella was not alone.

Alaric and Kenso ran forth, checking the ogre's progress. Wilbalt, Petrus, and Jacob were right behind.

Ogre smacked Alaric with its gnarly, half-eaten leg. The paladin recoiled from blunt force trauma, but stood still. Wilbalt used the opportunity to drive glaive straight into the beast's neck. It gurgled blood, and then toppled over.

It wore nothing but loincloth. It also had a large sack tied to a rope. Inspecting it revealed disgusting snacks—one human left arm, one elves right arm, one kneecap, and one half-chewed hobbit head.

Wilbalt took an interest into the last one. He picked out the head and fingered it. Lo and behold, a golden ring was stuck in what little remained of its gullet. While he did that, others advanced toward the tumulus.

Kenso and Jacob climbed it, and investigated the tree. Alaric and Ignaeus flanked the large vaulted entrance, twenty feet wide, and thirty feet tall at the apex. Stone doors laid smashed on the ground in front of them. Aurella and Petrus continued forth, inside.

Light shone all the way in, down the sixty feet wide corridor, and into a square chamber forty feet long and wide. Doors were straight ahead. The duo moved forth, laser-focused on them.

They heard a whistle the their right.

They turned just in time to receive three javelins to the face.

Aurella went down.

Petrus dodged and blocked.

Three filthy goblins giggled behind portcullis.

Petrus jumped to the side, flattening himself against the east wall.

Ignaeus and Wilbalt ran in, and killed all three goblins in seconds, extinguishing their mocking voices forever. Little fools remained too close to the iron grates. Two fled into the darkness beyond.

Adventurers dragged Aurella outside. She survived hear ordeal, but was properly banged up. Still, she offered to carry the torch and be useful however she can.

Kenso and Jacob informed the party that there is a hole beneath the tree, leading down, alongside its roots. It is deep and dark, so they did not see where exactly it leads.

“Let's go in!”

And so they went in. Jacob shone a light down the portcullis. A rectangular chamber, thirty feet wide and forty feet long, with an arched exit to the south-east.

North doors were locked.

Jacob stepped forth. He picked the lock like a Master Thief.

“SNAP!”

“Uh-oh.”

Within seconds Jacob, Petrus, and Kenso were doused in thick and sticky military oil.

“TZUNK! TZUNK!”

Two small quartz-stones hit against each other.

They failed to produce a spark.

And luckily, neither of the three held a torch.

“Look at them, the Greasy Boys!”

“Oh, open the doors already!”

“They are stuck.”

With a little bit of muscle and grease, the adventures forced their way into a rather disgusting chamber. It measured forty by thirty feet, and was filled with sacks of various sizes, covered with writhing maggots and buzzing flies, and sitting in pools of coagulated blood. Half a dozen of barrels contained frothing brown liquid, a rancid mix of piss and ale. Since Tam was not present, the quality of ale remains undetermined.

But west wall is what preoccupied Ignaeus and Aurella the most. A carved relief of a skeleton warrior laid in a coffin dominated the central portion.

“Aha!”

Upon a closer inspection, Ignaeus observed that the eyes are recessed. He promptly poked both of the sockets. Left eye depressed, and the relief slid to the side, revealing a thirty foot long corridor. Seven more, identical reliefs adorned the corridor.

The elf moved in, while others observed from the filthy chamber. He systematically checked each relief. Only two had the same style of recessed eyeballs—both at the end of the corridor.

He pressed the south one.

It rotated south.

Dank air assailed his nostrils. Before him was a tunnel, but not hewn stone nor natural cave. It was packed soil reinforced with wooden beams. Puddle of stagnant water were visible here and there. Water seeped through the sides.

Ignaeus and Alaric took the lead. Several alcoves were visible. Approaching the first revealed its inhabitant: a skeleton dressed in ancient leather armour and horned helmet, holding a rusty blade. Wilbalt spotted a large bronze band around its left biceps. “Would it fit me?” he thought. The skeleton's head turned towards Ignaeus. It did not move.

The elf made a few more steps forth. The head followed. Body did not move. Similar skeleton, with similar behaviour, was in the next alcove as well.

“let's go back. I don't like this. Could collapse on us anytime.”

Adventurers fell back into the corridor. Secret doors they came through had close. There was no skeletal relief on their side.

“Uh-oh.” somebody uttered.

Ignoring that, Ignaeus pressed the eyes of the northern relief.

It swung open, revealing a hewn corridor leading forth. Jacob's lantern shone the full length of it, revealing it opens up into a chamber.

Stepping in, all felt frigid cold. Their breaths became visible.

Ignaeus marched first.

Jacob and Alaric behind him.

Aurella and Kenso in step.

Petrus at the rear.

Wilbalt behind him. Daydreaming about bicep bands.

Alaric felt a presence of great evil. He knew that he cannot leave this place until he cleanses it. Nay, he was compelled to do so.

Ignaeus came to the archway.

Onyx black slab, nine inches tall, and ten feet wide and long, dominated the chamber.

Upon it a pale human laid, of taut skin and wild, white mane. Dried flowers and broken twigs adorned its flowing hair. Hundreds of copper pieces were strewn over the creatures chests, genitalia, and thighs. At its waist, on a girdle, an impeccable looking broadsword with a wolf-head pommel rested.

Pale figure raised its head, an gazed at Ignaeus with otherworldly malice.

Ignaeus quadrupled himself.

Secret doors shut behind them.

“Oh no, now we are entombed for real!” somebody eeked out.

“I think if the thing would want to attack us, it would've done already.” Wilbalt whispered “Maybe we can get out of a situation with talking for once?”

He could not believe the words he had just said...

Aurella's account by After.

Meme by Lord Jubalon Flux.

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

 
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from Things Left Unsaid

Most mornings when I'm walking to work I listen to music. The playlists I choose are generally like the music version of comfort food, or a favorite pair of comfortable shoes. It is something I enjoy for that twenty minutes or so on my way to work where generally there isn't any enjoyment. Or maybe I shouldn't say there isn't any enjoyment. I think from time to time my coworkers and I intoxicate and entertain each other with sarcasm about how stupid our f'n job is. Is fabricating joy by hurling insults toward a corporate employer behind their back better than no joy at all? I don't know. Probably.

Most days when I listen to music on the way there I usually end up with one of the songs stuck in my head. One morning I had a rather strange and unexpected thing happen. When I got to the edge of the parking lot at work I decided to sit for a moment on the picnic table and finish the song that was playing, which happened to be Empty by Metric.

I removed my phone from my pocket before sitting down. Right after I sat down I unlocked it with my fingertip so I could check and see how much of the song was remaining. Just as the screen illuminated a lyric in the song played, “ask the line on your face what the line on your hand meant”. Not only did I hear it as it was playing, but the lyrics were also showing up below the little picture of the album cover. I also read the words while hearing them.

I had heard the song likely a hundred or more times over the years but I hadn't heard it in awhile. All day at work I could not stop thinking about that one lyric. It was not something that ever stood out to me on previous listens, and I found myself wondering if it even would have stood out this time if I hadn't sat down just then and read the words on my phone while they were being sung.

The lyric seemed to have an implication that maybe (most likely) it would not have had to me earlier in life. Sort of like regret, or like I had missed something fundamental along the way. At the same time though I felt a kind of freedom in knowing there is fuck all I can do about any of it now. The past can haunt me all it wants, but I can't change it. I can only live with the consequences of my bad decisions and enjoy the rewards of the good ones. Try to learn from all of it, and hopefully use what I have learned to make better decisions in the present.

 
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from Noisy Deadlines

  • ✒️ I’ve been using a Bullet Journal for 2 months now. I’m starting to get a feel for what works for me, and I realized I don’t miss most of the digital tools I was using before. I still use a digital calendar, email and Standard Notes, but I’ve been very satisfied having my to-dos in analog form.
  • 📘 I started reading the last book of The Expanse series, “Leviathan Falls” by James S.A. Corey. I love to have these beloved series to get back to, and I might be unconsciously taking longer to read it because I don’t want it to end?! 🫣
  • 📕 Another series I’m almost done is The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. I finished “Captain Vorpatril's Alliance” and I can’t wait to go to the next book.
  • 🥳 I am now closer to being 50 years old than 45 years old, somewhere in between. And I feel great about it, no regrets.
  • 🔎 I started doing the weekly Word Search and Sudoku that comes in a free weekly flyer with local store sales in my neighbourhood. It’s been ages since I’ve done any of these, and I am enjoying the experience. I love that the section on the flyer is called “Your Moment of Zen”. Anyway, I rediscovered Sudoku, and I heard about this thing called Murdoku that I now want to explore!
  • 🎬 I went to see “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan in a regular IMAX cinema. I haven’t been to the movies since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so that was interesting. The movie is great; it was more gory and bloody than I was expecting, but I enjoyed the narrative choices and the excellent sound design.
  • 🤘 I discovered a new metal band! And by new, I mean really new: they have released only 2 albums so far. The band is called Castle Rat, led by a woman, with a sound clearly inspired by early doom metal and Black Sabbath. Also, they use this over-the-top medieval fantasy 80’s aesthetic that is retro and quirky and amazing.
  • 📝 I decided to join the Blaugust Festival of Blogging !! My first post is here.
  • 📺 I’ve been enjoying the series Connections by James Burke on Curiosity Stream.

Post 02 of #Blaugust #weeknotes

 
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