Broken Espresso Maker Friday

January 17, 2025 by Adam in Family

Well, the espresso maker I use to make my Friday mochas has apparently stopped working.  I can steam the milk, but I'm not getting enough pressure to drive the steam through the coffee.  I guess what I'm drinking this morning is hot chocolate coffee or something equally lowbrow.

It's been a generally fine week, and last weekend as well since I neglected to update everyone on my exciting life.  Sunday was another D&D session with a big fight that took up most of the time.  We ran late but made it through our first dragon fight and the heroes got the first piece of the magic artifact that will save the multiverse, as is typical in these tales. 

I've got the family group this Sunday, so I've been frantically painting minis in preparation.  A few of them turned out really well, and the rest are serviceable.  We'll see if I need to delay the group with side quests so I can get my minis painted.

Work has been interesting this week.  I've been switched over to working on a "see if I can fix this problem before everything blows up" project.  It's higher risk than I'd like and the deadlines are looming quickly, but if all goes well it'll likely be a feather in my cap.  Plus I'm used to my manager Jonathan throwing me in the deep end at this point from our previous job, so I'm not too stressed out about it.

We're upgrading our electrical box next week, so I think we'll lose power for a day - hopefully I can work with my phone's hotspot and our battery backup.  Jo's birthday is coming up fast and I've got presents to wrap.  Emma's organized a trip to Smith Family Bookstore next week to dispose of some used books.  I'm sure we'll hit up the library and likely Oregon Art Supply this weekend.  Emma's gotten into repairing hardcover books and wants some supplies.

The rest of the family is generally doing well.  School goes well.  Kitties try to sleep on us whenever possible.

Mocha Friday

January 10, 2025 by Adam in Family

It's a dreary January day - I've resorted to wearing a rain jacket when I head out to my backyard shed.  It's days like this when I get jealous of the kitties, lounging around near the fireplace and napping the day away.  Still, it's Friday and my mocha was tasty.  Work is moving along nicely and a fun weekend of hanging out and D&D awaits.

Nothing of great importance happened this week.  Emma and Duncan have been going to school again.  Yvonne's has started as well, but she's been feeling poorly.  I finished The Invicible video game, which had a great retro sci-fi feel and my brave astronaut managed to escape the alien planet.  I keep playing around with AI generated portraits and music, starting to put together some "one shot" games after the family D&D game wraps up.  I'm thinking Cyberpunk and a wild west Call of Cthulu game, but we'll see what everyone wants to do.

Sometimes the ordinary can be very satisfying.  We watched the newish Fall Guy movie and enjoyed it.  I started watching Mars Express and love the cyberpunk themes.  My new miniature area seems to be working well and feels much less cluttered.  I did some last minute printing and painting for D&D this weekend.  All is well.

Back to Work

January 06, 2025 by Adam in Family

I've got a few moments before I gather my things and walk through the darkness to my backyard shed.  Soon I'll be logging in and slogging through the endless emails that have built up while I've been gone, my only solace that most of my coworkers were also away.  I generally remember what I was working on and what to do next, though some of the details are fuzzy.  I'm sure I'll figure it out.

It was generally a good weekend - getting quite a bit done in between the relaxing.  Emma and I mostly completed the Christmas takedown, removing lights and decorations and putting the tree out by the yard waste for chainsawing later.  I enlisted my neighbor Todd into moving the hutch upstairs - it was challenging but we got it in place.  I now have endless space for the endless minis and nerdy things of the living room, hidden away behind high quality Amish woodworking.  No one will know.

My other projects putter away.  I started playing The Invincible, based on Stanislaw Lem's story, and love the 60's sci-fi aesthetic.  I'm still making way too many AI generated songs, filling out my cyberpunk and western horror playlists. 

Emma and I had a nice stroll through the neighborhood, making me hopeful for spring.  She starts school today and Duncan starts tomorrow.  Yvonne is out of school a bit longer, but starts again next week.  

Happy New Year

January 03, 2025 by Adam in Family

It's somehow 2025 which feels both futuristic and strangely the same as always.  I've been having way too much fun having AI generate songs for me, which is a mix of garbage and brilliant tunes that haunt my brain for days.  Plus nearly all our appliances talk to the Internet, which seems a little weird and unnecessary.

It's been a mostly chill week.  I finished Silent Hill 2, ready to be done with the psychological horror genre despite the overall excellence of the game.  The basement is a wreck as I attempt to move the old tv hutch upstairs.  It'll be great in the living room but I think I need to ask the neighbor for help moving it.

Emma's been over the last few days and we've been puttering around.  I made her play Mansions of Madness, a fun Lovecraftian board game.  Our first game failed completely but we succeeded the second time around, each of us with a broken limb but not yet succumbing to madness.  Plus the entire place was on fire and the cultist mostly caught on fire as we ran through the flames to escape.

Jo and I are headed to the woods for a little hike this afternoon.  Emma's working for mom for a bit.  Kevin's in town and spending time with Duncan and Yvonne.  As for me, I'm starting to mourn my vacation and thinking about what I need to do Monday morning to turn back into a real person.

Wrapping Up 2024

December 30, 2024 by Adam in Family

I've got another week off work - my hope is for a blend of house projects and taking it easy.  I've been waking up in the morning with the mantra "there's nothing I need to do," which is wonderfully reassuring.

It was great seeing everyone over the holidays and having some light and presents and cheer was just what I needed in the darkest days of winter.  Though the weekdays and weekends blur together I managed to get some of the post-Christmas cleanup done on Saturday.  Sunday I started digging up the old sandbox turned strawberry patch.  The hope is to get a greenhouse in that corner of the garden, though the soil is riddled with roots and weird things that make it a challenge.  We'll see how far I get this week.

D&D Campaign Albums

December 29, 2024 by Adam in Adam's Games

I've been playing around with AI generated songs and put together an album for my friend D&D group.  It's nautical themed, so lots of sea shanties.  It's wild being able to make these songs with custom lyrics that are specific to the people and places the adventurers have encountered along the way.

I discovered a new danger of AI - the songs are so damn good that they keep playing in my head throughout the day and I can't stop listening to them.

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2024 by Adam in Family

The kids are all up, slowly getting ready for the day.  Emma, Yvonne and I woke up at a relatively normal time to dig through stockings and chat about the different Sanrio Japanese characters.  Eventually Jo came down to bake some goodies and join us in stockings, trying to keep the cats from eating all the wrapping paper and ribbons.

Dad came over to deliver presents and partake in coffee and cinnamon rolls.  Now he and Emma are going over family trees while I type this.  Duncan woke up with some prompting and I managed to get some breakfast into him.  Theoretically we'll start opening the massive mounds of presents soon.  I think we may have overdone it this year.

It's been a great break from work so far, puttering around and doing assorted tasks.  I managed to finish reupholstering the dining room chairs.  I also finished my new Indiana Jones video game, which was highly entertaining.  D&D with friends happened on Sunday, which was a nice treat.  I left on a cliffhanger - next session might be exciting.  I'm going to see mom this afternoon.  Jenny's get together is tomorrow.  Fortunately I'll have lots of time off to play with all my new presents, whatever they may be.

Sea Shanty Friday

December 20, 2024 by Adam in Family

I've been playing around with AI music generation with Suno, making songs for my D&D campaign.  After some fiddling around I managed to get Copilot to write the lyrics which I moved into Suno and told it to make a sea shanty.  The result is an absolute banger that nicely touches on the campaign's themes and is quickly getting stuck in my head.  It's wild how much things feel like they've started to change in technology.  I never would have predicted that the future is populated with AI generated sea shanties.

The last of the boxes in the kitchen has gone and we now have a dishwasher that doesn't require complex button pushes to bypass the safety checks.  All of our appliances are now the apparently popular black and chrome and all but the refrigerator talk to the Internet.  Now Jo occasionally lets me know when the dishes are done or the oven is done heating up.  The next grand project is replacing our old electrical box, which is more expensive than expected but hopefully prepares us better for future projects.

The rest of the week is going along well.  Emma stopped by for a visit yesterday and a trip to the library.  Jo and I went out for burgers at Plank Town in Springfield then off to a Christmas musical at the nearby Wildish theater.  It's nice having older kids when stepping away for a couple hours is relatively easy.

As for the weekend, tomorrow we've got to decorate the tree and I've got presents to wrap.  Sunday is D&D with friends.  Best of all it's the start of two weeks off work, the first long vacation since August.  I'm really excited.

The Kitchen Tower Shrinks

December 17, 2024 by Adam in Family

The once immense tower of appliances in the kitchen shrunk slightly on Sunday as Jo and I installed the new microwave.  It was the usual somewhat frustrating affair, dealing with weird cabinets and having to drill some of the holes a couple of times.  Still, we got it setup in the end and declared success, somewhat exhausted.

I'm still getting used to the new microwave - for example, it doesn't rotate the tray when you open the door like our weird old one did.  The first time I heated up tea I moved my hand to where I predicted it would be, then had to adjust to the now stationary tea.  It also plays a jaunty tune when finished heating, which may get old.  Maybe the microwave has ringtones like the 1990's cell phones.

Duncan's sweetie returns to Florida today.  Emma comes back from the beach.  Yvonne still has school.  Jo has an event tonight.  We've yet to put up a Christmas tree or wrap our remaining presents.  Jo and I are seeing a play at the Wildish Theater on Thursday after dinner somewhere in Springfield.  It's fun feeling fancy and going out on the town.

Rainy Mocha Friday

December 13, 2024 by Adam in Family

We've entered the dreary season  - not particularly cold but quite soggy and gloomy.  I continue to break out the bright lights, cozy fireplace and warm beverages in response.  The kitties lead by example.

Getting the microwave and dishwasher installed was unsuccessful - they'd only install a microwave on a dedicated circuit and the dishwasher didn't have the required plug. One day our kitchen won't have a tower of boxes, but not this week.

It's been a generally pleasant week - Duncan and Emma are off of school, Duncan's been hanging out with his sweetie who's visiting, Emma's off to the beach with her mom, Jo's busy with end-of-year things at work, and I'm wrapping up my big work project and hopefully moving on to the next one soon.  After next week I have two weeks off, which I'm very much looking forward to.

I've got a long to-do list for this weekend - moving a cabinet door over an inch to better fit the new oven, finishing reapolstering the last of the chairs, wrapping christmas presents, putting up lights, and a bunch of other little things.  I suspect I'll manage some fun in there too - I'm enjoying the new Indiana Jones game, currently looting the secrets of the Vatican and punching nazis.  Good times.