Nyquil Weekend

March 10, 2025 by Adam in Family

I ended up getting the sniffles Saturday afternoon when I was taking Emma and Yvonne to the library.  Pretty soon I was sniffling away and ended up taking Nyquil.  I always forget just how spacy it makes me and I was zoning out for the rest of the evening and into the next morning.  Fortunately I slept really well, which I suppose was the point.

Emma headed out Sunday afternoon to meet up with mom and Francis to talk over a trip to visit Sadie this summer.  I headed to my office for some spring cleaning and furniture rearranging.  I took out shelves, plants, and a chair to make room for a daybed I ordered that should be arriving soon.  We don't really have a guest bedroom anywhere and hopefully this will do the trick.  Plus everything is squeaky clean now, which is a good way to get rid of the winter doldrums.

Now I'm back to work, trying to get my Nyquil-addled brain into high gear to figure out some tricky problems.  Hopefully I can sort through the last of these weird bugs.

Still Alive

March 07, 2025 by Adam in Family

It's been a somewhat more stressful week than usual, between the critical feature I'm working on and the organizational changes going on to our team.  Hopefully we find out more this afternoon.  I made way too many mochas for myself all week - I'll return to my usual coffee on Monday.

In the meantime, I'm getting things done and working more than I probably should.  I did sneak away for a tea break with mom and Emma, and Jo and I had a quick date night at Cafe Yumm.  I managed to get some video game time playing Avowed for some fun fantasy adventure.  This weekend doesn't have anything going on, so hopefully I can get a bit of downtime.

Our wayward son is coming to Eugene earlier than expected, leaving Albuquerque at the end of the month.  I think the plan is that he'll stay with Dez and spend some time figuring out next steps.  We've got a long list of projects for him, so at least he won't be bored.

Duncan and Emma are wrapping up the term - one more week of classes and then finals week.  Wild that Emma's graduating in just a few months.  And Yvonne turns 18 next month.  Everything keeps moving ahead.

Rainy Monday

March 03, 2025 by Adam in Family

It's a drizzly Monday, with a little more work excitement than I'd like.  My manager and longtime friend was laid off Friday afternoon.  It's happened to me before, strangely also with Jonathan back in my Health Catalyst days.  It'll probably be several months of uncertainty as we muddle through, though I've got plenty of critical work to keep me busy and likely employed.  I slept poorly over the weekend, worked a little here and there, and am back into things this morning.

As for the rest of the weekend, it was generally a good time.  There was plenty of D&D.  Saturday was a great time with the family group improvising a play that involved murdering a wind-up goblin doll with a giant mousetrap, along with a spray of blood into the audience.  It was well received by the evil hag, as such things are.  Sunday was the friend group, with fantasy space monsters and dead gods.

Emma and I made a productive library run Saturday afternoon, along with helping Jo a little on some tree pruning and straightening.  Spring is right around the corner and it's exciting to see all the crocuses bloom.  Can't wait to start wearing shorts again.

Mocha Friday

February 28, 2025 by Adam in Family

I just finished the last gulp of my mocha.  It's been a full week and nice to be sneaking into the weekend.  I switched dentists back to Dr. Cantrell, who I went to long ago and is just down the hill.  I took my car into the shop where it behaved perfectly - the car computer reported a misfiring cylinder, so I'm going to see if I can get the spark plugs replaced. It was unnaturally warm and sunny yesterday so I took a stroll through the neighborhood to warm up.

I had my bug bash at work and only found minor bugs, but it generated more work to sort out.  We might also have an in-person get together at Microsoft mid-July, though it's at the same time Jo is in Washington for school, so we may have to figure it out.  Theoretically we'll only have adult children by then.

It's a back-to-back D&D weekend.  I've been organizing minis and reading up on things, so hopefully I'm vaguely prepared.  

Otherwise we've been doing our usual routine and keeping everyone doing okay.  Emma seems over her cold and done with the first draft of her thesis.  Yvonne likes her gothic horror class.  Duncan made us all watch the Minecraft trailer at dinner last night.  Jo and I walked down to 1960 Cochina for a date night dinner.

Life goes on.

Sniffly Monday

February 24, 2025 by Adam in Family

I think I've started coming down with a cold - not too bad, but still feeling slower than usual.  Yvonne seems to have one too and Emma had a cold over most of the weekend.  Tis the season, I suppose.

Saturday was pretty quiet.  Emma was sick at her mom's and Jo had an event, so I fed the kids and played way too much Avowed for most of the day.  I took breaks for housework and managed some gardening - pruning plants and generally cleaning up for the coming of spring.  Eventually Jo returned from a generally successful event, along with a friend from Grant's Pass who spent the night before heading home early in the morning.  

Sunday I visited my friend Jason to play board games.  He has a ton that he's never played, so he dug out a Lord of the Rings Duel-style game and we played and learned as we went.  I won the two games we played, but that was somewhat besides the point and it turns out we missed a few rules here and there.  Hanging out and playing board games was crazy fun, and Jason was very happy to play some games gathering dust on his massive shelf of games, so it was a great time.

Afterwards I picked up Emma, who was missing me (and likely Data).  We hung out, played games, worked on a couple projects, and I took her home after dinner.

One stressful thing was having the check engine light start flashing on my car on my way to Jason's.  I think one of the cylinders was misfiring, so I turned around and parked it in my driveway.  Now I'm waiting for a car computer reader thingie to arrive before making further decisions.  Fortunately I don't really have to drive anywhere this week, so there's no immediate crisis.  I eventually want to get a new car, but was going to wait until later this year when some Microsoft stock magically appears.

Now I'm back at work, going a little slow with being sick.  My unit tests are mysteriously failing and I'm trying to track down why.

Mocha Friday

February 21, 2025 by Adam in Family

I just finished the last gulp of my mocha.  The heater in my shed is a little wonky, so I bundled up in slippers and a jacket and the coffee is keeping me pleasantly warm.  

My work projects are coming along nicely and hopefully disaster will be averted.  It's been a fun "keep the lights on" project and I'm getting better at breaking complicated changes into smaller bites for others to digest.  It's also been nice to not be on call this week, which puts me a little on edge.

We've got a quiet weekend ahead.  Jo has a big writer's event on Saturday and another Sunday afternoon.  I suspect Emma and I will be fighting over the computer to play Avowed, but I've got some miniatures to finish organizing for the next D&D sessions.

I've been trying to put together a list of house and farm projects for our wayward son's return.  It's increasingly obvious that we've got a ton of things to do - we'll see how far we get.

We also got Apple TV+, so Jo and I have been watching all the new shows.  Such are the exciting things in our lives these days.

Mocha Monday

February 17, 2025 by Adam in Family

I have the day off today, something I didn't realize until Friday's team meeting.  I have no real plans and the most useful thing I've done today beyond the usual is to make myself a mocha for the day.  It's lovely.

The weekend was generally quiet.  Emma and I ran some errands - Joann's Fabric, Oregon Art Supply, and the library.  Emma picked up a pattern and some book binding supplies.  The library had a couple graphic novels and DVDs I'd been wanting.  Eventually we returned home to read and work on projects.  Emma's getting the hang of bookbinding, taking some old paperback books of hers and making them much cooler.  I made myself soup and salad instead of the usual calzone for dinner, along with pizza for the younger kids, and we settled in to anime watching for dinner.

Sunday Emma and I went out to a coffee place on Willamette that's run out of an old school bus.  We played board games and chatted before heading home.  I tore the seams on my rain gear while planting trees, so we broke out the sewing machine and Jo taught me to use it, something I missed out on all these years somehow.  It's a cool piece of kit and amazingly fast and accurate after all my years of sewing by hand.

We'll see how useful I am today.  I started watching Civil War for my run, which hits a little too close to home some days. I've got a list of practical things to do, but I've only gotten as far as making the list.

Happy Valentine's Day!

February 14, 2025 by Adam in Family

Hi to all the people I love out there - Happy Valentine's Day.

It's been a snowy, slushy couple days of hunkering down at home and not going anywhere, though it looks like this winter snow is going to be brief.  Even Emma's U of O classes were cancelled yesterday, along with Lane and South Eugene, though I think it's just a delayed start today.

Nothing particularly exciting has been going on.  Went out to 16 Tons for date night.  Pet cats.  Ran on the treadmill and finished season 2 of House of the Dragon.  Played some occasional video games.  No big plans this weekend either, though I'm starting to get a little stir crazy being at home.  Maybe I'll take Emma to the old school bus turned coffee shop and play some board games.

On Call

February 10, 2025 by Adam in Family

Today's my first day of being on call at work - hopefully I survive the week.  In the meantime I've got various critical work projects I need to shepherd through the automated approval procecesses, which is going a little bumpy.  Hopefully it all gets done before things fall apart.

The weekend was good - Saturday was D&D with the family.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the AI-generated marionette versions of their characters.  Later Emma and I went to the library where she efficiently scooped up books and we headed out again.

Sunday was a big cleanup day, taking things to donate, recycling cans and bottles, cleaning the patio and front porch.  Emma was a great help as I apparently "awoke the beast" until she got tuckered later in the day.  I managed a bit of reading, which was a treat, and generally hung out a bit.  It was lovely.

Mocha Friday

February 07, 2025 by Adam in Family

It's been a somewhat calmer week once the tree planting ended.  I had my tech spec review which generally went well.  Now I've got to get on with building things, but at least I have my Friday Mocha to keep me company.

Tomorrow is family D&D, which should be fun.  I've got some old letters Seraph wrote me that I've kept for decades I want to show her.  Hopefully I'm prepared enough for the game - I was painting minis this morning and reading ahead on the adventure.  If all else fails I'll just break out some funny voices.

Emma's over a little early, getting in some extra Data squishing time.  Jo had an essay published, which was cool.  Mom and I skipped tea this week as she was off doing important things with her advisory board position.  I hear our wayward son is excited about coming home.  Duncan continues his video making.

Life goes on.

Trees Planted

February 04, 2025 by Adam in Family

I'm a little tuckered out after three days of tree planting.  Saturday morning Emma and I took her truck out to Alton Baker Park to pick up nearly 300 trees.  We picked up 100 Douglas Fir, 100 Ponderosa Pine, and a mix of other firs based on what did well last year.  We headed home for a hearty breakfast that Jo cooked up, then the two of us headed to the farm, with Jo coming along a little later.  Jamie met us there for some tree planting fun.  We put in close to 100 trees around the flat central part of the farm.

The big news, which was really disheartening, was that apparently a herd of a couple hundred elk had come through and eaten over a hundred trees we planted last year.  We ran into the neighbor who estimated a couple hundred elk in the herd, and between the elk poop, hoofprints, and eaten grass and trees, there was plenty of evidence.  Hopefully I haven't just spent the last three days getting an elk salad bar ready.

We headed home somewhat early and Emma and I went to the library as a treat.

Sunday was just Emma and I going out, planting on the northern side of the property.  It rained a couple times, but was otherwise pleasant.  We put in a little over 50 trees there before heading home and taking it easy.

Monday was the final push, waking up early and heading out with the last of the trees.  I put on a podcast, took breaks for coffee and snacks, and kept going until all the trees were in the ground.  I didn't feel too bad, just tired and a little sore and after a nice bath felt pretty human again.  I took it easy, checked in with work, and started on dinner.  About halfway through that I started feeling really tired and was pretty wiped out for the rest of the night.

After a good night's sleep I feel mostly normal, back at work and looking forward to a day of working behind a computer.

Tree Planting Mocha Friday

January 31, 2025 by Adam in Family

I've got my mocha next to me, slowly sipping away on it on this dreary day.  I'm enjoying my new espresso maker, which does the job just fine.

Tomorrow is the big tree planting day.  The plan is that Emma and I take her big truck out to the tree sale at the crack of dawn where we'll pick up 300 trees.  I think it'll be a mix of ponderosa pine, douglas fir, and other assorted firs.  The plan is to get enough to fill in gaps and cover parts that we missed last year.  Tomorrow is supposed to be decent weather, though after that it gets wet and cold and snowy.  Hopefully I don't need Monday and Tuesday to finish planting, but we'll see how it goes.

The rest of the week has been generally okay.  Mom and I had tea where I worked on her computer.  Jo and I had a date night at 1960 Cochina.  Kitties continue to demand pets.  I keep listening to my Critical Role podcast while doing housework.  I've gotten back into Against the Storm, a fun little city builder in a haunted forest.

Work's been a little stressful, doing tech specs and running it by the architects.  I think we're finally getting close to a solution.  Can't wait to get on with it and start building things.

Back at it Again

January 28, 2025 by Adam in Family

Another weekend come and gone.  Saturday was a hang out with Emma day, with a trip to the library and going through boxes of china, notebooks, newspapers, and odds and ends that I've saved over my lifetime.  We picked up a couple plastic boxes to put them in that hopefully will be more mouse-proof.  Sunday was D&D with the friend group with a class heist.  Emma snuck away early to help her mom get grandpa Ray's apartment ready for him - he apparently moved in smoothly yesterday, so all is well there.

I continue to do big and complicated things at work, which is both satisfying and a little scary.  Sometimes it feels like I'm just being thrown into the deep end over and over again.

Next weekend is the big tree planting weekend.  I'm tentatively planning on four hundred trees over four days, which I'm guessing is manageable.  It'll be wet and dreary weather - hopefully I'm made of relatively stern stuff.

Electrified Mocha Friday

January 24, 2025 by Adam in Family

It's been an eventful week.

We have power again after getting our electrical box replaced yesterday and being without power all day.  The electricians hit a few snags so we ate takeout by candlelight as lights flickered on and off.  It's mostly back to normal, though I had to find the breaker to an outlet that connected the web server to the rest of the world.  Now it's back, but there's a problem with DNS I need to sort out - I can get to the server but the rest of the world can't at the moment.  I'm not sure what I'm writing is that important anyway.

Jo's birthday was this week, full of presents, cherry pie, and a card Emma made with a bunch of family signatures.  We've switched to a single candle and told Suno to make up a birthday song which was ridiculous.

Emma and I went to Smith family yesterday to turn old books into cash, as well as just hang out browsing books together.  My old espresso maker died recently and the mocha made from my new one seems adequately tasty.   We have a friend D&D group this weekend and I did a bit of prep and painted a couple big miniatures.

I guess family, friends, and espresso is all that matters in the end.

Three Day Weekend

January 21, 2025 by Adam in Family

It was a full weekend and I was thankful for the extra day to get things off my to do list.  Saturday Emma and I did our usual library run, stopping by the bank and the new coffee place on Willamette that's run out of an old school bus.  Sunday was family D&D with its usual silliness - they met a dandilion knight and his beloved bee, saved a goblin with an evil kite, solved a chess game, taught a cyclops the meaning of love, and performed a play for a troupe of mimes transformed into giant birds.

Monday was a mix of birthday preparations for Jo, getting half-birthday goodies for Duncan, gluing and painting minis, housework, video games, reading a graphic novel, and a handful of practical tasks.  Another day of such things would have been lovely, but I'm back to work on my save the world project.  It's coming along relatively well, though there's a ways to go.

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.