WARNING: This is my longest one yet. and it’s kind of a bummer. If you just wanna hit ‘heart’ or ‘like’ or whatever and move on, I won’t hold it against you. There will be no quiz.
Started using https://1001albumsgenerator.com , a site based upon the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It randomly creates a selection from the more than 1200 albums (there have been a couple of updated editions of the book) each day, and gives you links for separate streaming platforms. Each day you rate the previous day’s album if you want. It’s low-friction, pleasant. I’ve really enjoyed it.. except when it gave me a Kid Rock album on my birthday.
Michelle is quoted in a USA Today article. She’s famous!
Ingenuity, a tiny little helicopter on the surface of Mars, flies its last flight. Lasting 3 years longer than it was intended to, and flying way further than design specs required. NASA still does amazing things. Let’s hope they don’t let that stop.
Michelle’s grandmother passes away at 93 years old. Granny was the member of Michelle’s family that most made you feel like she wanted you around. No slight to the rest of the family, but Granny had charisma. The family had some time to prepare, but it still just sucks.
Since Valentine’s Day is also Simon Pegg’s birthday, Michelle requires our celebration to be a viewing of Hot Fuzz.
I come home to find that Hux has developed a small case of “Happy Tail” and the are arcs of blood all over my office. This is pretty common with greyhounds and it was a very minor injury, but it’s still pretty unnerving to see.
I go and get a Steroid Shot in my feets. This is like my 6th annual one, it really helps with my plantar fasciitis.
Did my first light kit for a Lego set, “Tranquil Garden”. It’s neat, but holy cow are they rough. You’re basically disassembling and rebuilding a set, with a bunch of tiny little wires also needing to be placed properly.
On the 29th, I race home from work early so I can queue up the Leap Day William episode of 30 Rock at 2:29pm.
Baby, you’ve got a stew going. – Carl Weathers
Because Michelle’s going to Japan in June, I am not taking a big trip this year. I did take the week we normally go on our cruise off though, and stay-cated. I build 3 big lego sets, and read some books.
Remember, universal healthcare won’t work here in the US, because it would create super long wait times. It only took me 5 months to get in to see a specialist for a problem with my hand. It takes him about 20 minutes to diagnose me with ‘trigger finger’ and give me a steroid shot in my hand.
Granny’s 94th birthday has all of us gathering at her house, going through some memories, and enjoying each other’s company the way she’d have wanted us to. I beg the aunts for a couple of Thomas Merton christmas cards from the monks at Gethsemane.
I purchase future game of the year, Balatro, on XBox.
I spent a bunch of 2023 severely frustrated with my job, and what I felt was a lack of appropriate recognition (e.g. financial, they give me plenty of pats on the back and swag). So, I started doing a little job hunting. I paid for a professional to help update my resume after 17 years off the job market. I interviewed casually at a couple of places. I asked a few folks in the industry if they new anything. I had -several- talks with one company. And I really stopped looking. After months of back and forth with them, and a 4th round of interviews, I told Michelle that I think I just needed to reframe the way I looked at my current job. That things weren’t really that bad. Then the next week they let me know they decided to go a different way anyway.
Sent a report to some engineers with a column named “DatabasesHit” to show them how much work is happening on some areas of my control. Forgot the tool I’m using uppercases everything. Later that day I get some frantic messages in Teams, and a meeting invite, asking what the column, “Database Shit” in this spreadsheet is supposed to mean.
The band The Mountain Goats had decided to make a tour stop in Evansville so they could see the total eclipse. I figured that was as good a reason to pick a place as any, so we booked a hotel and stayed overnight. Weather cooperated, it was mind blowing. Even better than I expected when I vowed after seeing the previous one 7 years prior to make sure I got somewhere for this one too.
Two days later, I pass a kidney stone. This is the -HIGH POINT- for the next 6 weeks.
On April 15th we take Hedy to the vet. She’s acting weird, limping a bit. She had already eaten, so she can’t have xrays. They don’t have any available time for it for a couple of days. I just ask people to try not to think the word Osteosarcoma for a few days. 3 days later Hedy gets her sedated x-rays, and they come back negative. Just arthritis, not cancer!
Michelle leaves for her annual girl’s trip right after I get back from picking Hedy up from her doc appointment.
While Thunder over Louisville is going on, and Hedy is given calming drugs, I notice that Hux is way, way too lethargic. I had noticed this for a couple of days, but had just been hoping he was just picking up on the Hedy vibes. Michelle won’t be back with the car capable of transporting the big dumb boy for 3 days.
On April 24th we get him in to the vet. The blood test shows that Hux has so few platelets they don’t show up on a blood panel. We wait for more extensive results from offsite lab. Those results come in and it rules out a tickborne illness , working theory is “Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia.”
April 28th, we take Hux to Jefferson Animal Hospital, after two long days of watching our boy suffer and pant. We decide we will do one blood transfusion, but if it doesn’t take, we’ll make the harder choice. They take a blood sample, and come back to tell us that won’t work, he has something else, an aggressive blood cancer of some sort, and that it’s too late. We take him home, thinking we will call Heart’s Ease on monday and have him euthanized at home. After a few hours of watching him suffer so miserably at home, we take him back at 2am and euthanize him.
Hux, he’s greyhoundy. – Camille (she didn’t die, Hux did)
May is a month of misery in my family. So much death and anniversary of death. This year made it worse.
On May 1st I get an autogenerated email from our primary vet’s pharmacy, offering a 15% discount on all of Hux’s needs. They are beyond apologetic when I respond slightly less than politely.
May 6th, we go back to the vet with Hedy for a followup and prescription spot check.
May 8th, 130am, Hedy does the greyhound scream of death, while laying still in her bed. I decide to make another appointment.
May 9th (the 8th visit to the vet in less than a month), we redo some xrays, and the growth is clear. Comparing to the xrays from 3 weeks ago, it’s absolutely stunning. Osteosarcoma is killing our other dog.
We consult with Heart’s Ease, and they get our vet to give her some ketamine and up some other drugs. Giving her a little pain relief for a few days. The constant drugs and chicken nuggets and ice cream make her pretty pleasant, and all around very chill for a few more days.
I buy Balatro on Steam, so I can zone out in my office, when I don’t wanna steal the TV from Michelle.
May 19th, after another round of ketamine that just didn’t seem to work, Hedy’s pain grew to be too much, and we took her to Jefferson Animal Hospital for euthasia.
On May 25th we get Hedy’s Ashes back, put a tiara on the urn and set it on the mantle next to Hux and Einstein.
Somewhere in there, I got the new 4K version of Stop Making Sense on Blu Ray. Yay.
If the dumbest person is on your side, you’re on the wrong side. – Steve Albini
I finally finished the Three Body Problem trilogy. This is the kind of book series I’d never actually recommend. I don’t regret reading it, but it was an unfun slog in way too many ways.
Jim Henson: Idea Man came out on Disney+.
The astronaut that took the picture called “Earthrise”, the photo of Earth rising over the Moon’s surface, died. We’re losing all the people who had first hand experience doing the hardest thing America ever did.
The company I have worked for for nearly 19 years goes public (Nasdaq:WAY). I own no shares, I have no advice. But it’s kinda cool to look at all the lines that have gone up and up in my time here.
Michelle goes to Japan for 10 days. Because we live in the future, we talk twice a day. She gets a picture of the Hachiko memorial, visits Hiroshima. Hurts her knee. Basically has an adventure of a lifetime, and I stayed back here, in a dogless home.
However, Michelle is in Japan, I get 2 different calls from local greyhound folks, trying to find a new foster for a 9 year old that’s not in an ideal situation. They both know we’re not really ready yet, but ask if we can help. After Michelle gets back from Japan, we talk. Of course we say yes.
I don’t compare ‘em, I just catch ‘em. – Willie Mays
Osti, our new foster, pulls a lego set off the shelf, barks at herself in a mirror, jumps on the couch, once. She adapts faster than we do. We aren’t ready.
In keeping with the cascade of horror this year has become, a friend of mine loses his dog during surgery the day after my mom euthanizes her old dog.
GWAR covers “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie for the AV Club undercover. Look it up on Youtube.
The Democrats make a change to their presidential ticket, and for a few weeks a bunch of people get super charged up pointing out that republicans are fucking cruel, creepy morons incapable of actually governing.
Workwise, I’m asked about a bunch of things I said I was going to help with, and some details about work I’d done for another team. I remember none of it. There is some alzheimer’s in my family history and this whole episode aboslutely terrifies me. This was all work that was done when the dog drama was going on and Michelle reminds me that grief causes brain damage.
Took Michelle to a Dr Seuss special dinner hosted by a local restaurant. I had the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and she had the Green Eggs & Ham.
The only way to survive is to have a sense of humour. – Bob Newhart
The Olympics are pretty entertaining. I mean, not the breakdancing, but there was a whole bunch of wild and entertaining stuff. The iPad app is just spectacular at giving us sooo much stuff and working so well. Something that is clearly not a goal for most of the streaming companies.
We spend a -ton- of time devouring shows on Dropout.tv. Mostly Gamechanger and Make Some Noise, but occasional other stuff too.
Officially failed at fostering Osti, to the surprise of no one. We signed the papers, paid the fee. We have a greyhound again.
A very demure, very mindful miniature model of the set from Casting Couch Porno wins a ribbon at the Kentucky State Fair.
Women are smarter than men because they listen. ~ Phil Donahue
Finally got to turn off a bit of code that sent our finance folks at work some data daily. Code I wrote in 2010, and had to manually update roughly once a quarter despite it not being part of my job for at least the last 8 years.
I go to the eye doc because of an infected ‘thing’ going on with my eye.
The company announces they’re moving to the east end, and out of downtown. Tripling my commute, moving to an area where I lived in and worked for many years before I landed back downtown. I -hate- this.
Attend a midweek wedding in a really amazing venue. It’s a beautiful and funny ceremony.
Balatro comes out on Apple Arcade. So I begin the quest to unlock all the stuff for the 3rd time.
We officially move out of the downtown office. I get one last sunrise shot from the terrace.
My eye thing gets another visit to the doc. After a 2nd round of antibiotics and some -rough- manual manipulation.
It becomes pretty clear that the momentum from the new candidate can’t be sustained because democrat consultants are fucking horrible at their jobs. And the ad sales created by a horserace matter more than just being honest about the monsters that make up the republican party.
XOXO happened, I’m not sure if it happened in October, or they just posted the videos of all the speeches in October. This is a celebration of what the internet should have been. Look it up on youtube, or visit https://xoxofest.com.
Both the aurora borealis and a comet are visible to much of North America. Just a few months after a total solar eclipse. I’m just saying, maybe all those stories about astronomical events being evil portents aren’t ‘wrong.’
My second staycation of the year! My b-day, our anniversary. I spend all day doing fun stuff on my b-day. Hanging out with my favorite people. And for our anniversary, we just go out to eat, and when a pic is taken at the restuarant, I realize I’m wearing the same clothes at the same restaurant we celebrated our anniversary in 2 years prior.
A 2nd trump sign appears on the block. So now there’s 2 yards I don’t feel obligated to clean up the dog shit out of. (That’s not true, I still clean it up. Because I live in a society, something those people apparently do not understand).
After a few months of battling a sty and blepharitis, I get a steroid shot directly in my eyelid.
We almost bail out of participating in Halloween, but talk ourselves into it at the 11th hour. I again spend a few hours telling kids dressed as Spider-Man how much I like their Batman costume.
I try to laugh as much as possible and enjoy the company of people who can make me laugh. – Teri Garr
Fucking Fuckers Fucked it all up again. I hate it here.
We start working from the new building. The commute’s not nearly as bad as I feared. It’s nearly 3 times as far, but so far it really hasn’t been as dreadful as I feared.
My New Boss has to have a talk with me about some concerns HR has… I’m breaking him in well. To be fair, I really do like him. It occurs to me around Thanksgiving that I kind of like my job. Definitely not how I felt about it a year ago.
Started playing D&D in a new campaign. Playing D&D is ‘fun’, being the DM is -WORK-.
You make your mistakes to learn how to get to the good stuff. – Quincy Jones
I took the day after the Thanksgiving weekend off. I cannot recommend taking the day after a long weekend off enough. People solve their own problems, and you avoid a good 75% of the mind-numbing catch-up chit-chat that begins the next day’s meetings.
Michelle wasn’t feeling very ‘standard christmas’y this year, so she chose to decorate in a yule and ‘raven’ theme. Our house looks bad ass. And I’m again reminded of one of the ways I got lucky in this here life.
I got to wear my new Kermit as Bob Cratchit X-mas sweater to a dinner with really long time coworkers. This crew is, without a doubt, the reason I talked myself out of job hunting ‘harder’. January 7th will be 19 years at my current work place. I really want to make 20 (or 30, and be in a position to retire… but c’mon, look at all the other shit above. Planning for a future in this world is a fool’s errand).
Apple TV’s series “Shrinking” keeps making me cry.
I read the entirety of The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (I’d already read the first, but reread it anyway).
PS: The eye thing is STILL ongoing. I’ll schedule a 5th eye doc visit in January.
If you could split him in two, you’d have two Hall of Famers. – Bill James on Rickey Henderson