Mayday

May 01, 2026 by Adam in Family

It's May first - International Worker's Day.  I feel busier than ever.  I'm leading a bug bash in less than an hour.  I was asked to do a presentation in our monthly demos later this morning.  I've got features I need to look at and projects to keep moving forward.  Maybe I'll try and take it easier this afternoon.  It's also a celebration for the old Traveller RPG that I grew up loving, due to the "Mayday" blurb on the back of the original boxed set.  I've been vibe coding an elaborate system for running a Traveller space trucker RPG.  I managed to get ChatGPT to make some beautiful retro-scifi images for portraits and such.  Even if I never play it, I've been having fun putting it together.

Our wayward travellers continue their adventures.  Emma just left Niagra Falls and should make it to Sadie's later today.  The trip has gone well, and Francis has been super, though I think a week of driving has been exhausting.  Yvonne called, asking for her passport to be mailed.  She's trying to get her driver's permit so she can learn to drive and get an EMT job.  In the meantime she's hanging out on her dad's farm doing farm stuff.  It's great that everyone is doing okay and figuring things out.

The farm house project is slowly coming along, though the list of things seems endless.  Took my mom out to see about a septic tank hookup and other things with a local contractor.  I think tomorrow I'll go out to clean up some garbage and plant our Christmas tree.

I'm getting together with Jason to play board games on Sunday.  Really excited to unwind for a little and hang out with a friend.

Kids on Adventures

April 27, 2026 by Adam in Family

Emma and Francis left Idaho this morning, heading ever Eastward.  The trip went well, listening to The Magnus Archives and driving through the Columbia Gorge.

I continue to adjust to outnumbering the kids at home.  Saturday morning started with an impromptu early birthday event - candles stuck in a Metropol scone and a few presents in colorful bags.  I hung out with Emma, chilling out as she loaded up her mp3 player with podcasts and figured out how to connect it to her new bluetooth speaker.  Hopefully she'll be technologically prepared for the journey ahead.

The rest of the weekend was a mix of projects, visits, and computer games.  Jo and I did a bunch of gardening, moving plants and making room for squash.  I disassembled the broken bench that came with the house, removing rusty bolts and spray painting the iron black.  I ordered new contacts, a slightly more powerful version that means I can read books again at the cost of needing things a little closer.

I helped mom with her printer and we chatted about the farm.  I gave the thumbs up the the farm house electrical work.  Still need to sort out a plumber, but hopefully we're on the right track.

One of the coolest things I did this weekend was hike to the top of Pisgah with the oldest son.  He chatted about work as we moved up the mountain at a rapid rate.  I certainly felt my muscles for the rest of the day, though I feel pretty good today.  The view was beautiful and we could see all the way out to the cascade mountains.

One Kid Away

April 24, 2026 by Adam in Family

Jo dropped Yvonne off at the airport this morning, starting her journey to the East coast.  I think all is well, despite a little kerfuffle earlier this week.  Yvonne got the date wrong and didn't discover it until a half hour up the road.  It all worked out and was hopefully one of those adulting educational moments.

I managed to chat with family quite a bit this week - tea with mom on Wednesday, tea with Yayoe on Thursday, and chatting with Jenny last night.  The big news is that Jenny passed her boards and is certified to administer injections - she's been really stressed about it and really pushed herself to get it done.  She kept talking about how much she appreciated everyone's help - dad, Seraph, mom, and her instructor.  It was cool to catch up.

Tomorrow is Emma's last full day in town.  I don't know if we have any plans other than final preparations and some early birthday present exchanges.  I imagine she'll want to get her Data time in.  Last I checked she'd planned her route, booked her rooms, and probably has a bunch of playlists ready to go.

It's another big milestone in life.  I feel like I'm generally handling things okay - talking about my feelings, connecting with people that are important to me, and working through things that come up.  It helps that I'm excited for the kids as they figure out their next steps.  I need to find ways to fill my time, but between getting to my endless backlog of projects and hanging out with other people in my life, I think I'll be okay.

Trip Preparations

April 20, 2026 by Adam in Family

Emma arrived Friday afternoon and I pried myself away from my work computer and AI agents, though I admittedly kept going back to checking on them.  They're like brilliant, easily distracted children, often getting off task to chase down weird unrelated things.  Now I'm back at it again this morning.

Emma and I chatted about possible trips, things to see along the way, and worked on a list of things to accomplish that Saturday.   Jo went off to take a class in writing screenplays.  Emma and I hit up thrift stores and book stores, returning with assorted necessities such as a map.  That afternoon we washed both our cars, made sure her spare tire was full of air, and that she had a tire iron.  She wandered off to take care of a friend's dog - mostly petting him while they both watched tv - and I played around with a new game generation thing.  The night wrapped up with a final anime night with Duncan and Yvonne, watching more wacky Death Note, though it'll be on hiatus for a long while.

Sunday morning I fed everyone crepes, fruit, and way too much whip cream.  We puttered around until after lunch before Emma, Yvonne, and I headed over to visit Yayoe and John for a couple hours.  It was a treat catching up as we haven't seen them in a long while.  Eventually we headed home and Emma and Yvonne had a final "I won't be seeing you in a long while" hug.  It was sad and sweeet and the start of many farewells.

I helped Jo in the garden, putting flowers in the ground while they worked on the balcony irrigation.  Hopefully I can join in on their fun projects as these kids head out on their adventures. 

Mocha Friday

April 17, 2026 by Adam in Family

It's cold in my shed this morning - I unplugged the heater while getting the new air conditioner installed and I'm having to bundle up as I type away.  Jo and I managed to get the AC installed.  My shed is such a tiny space packed with a bed, desk, and chair, that I had to take a couple slats out of the side of the day bed in order to make room for the AC unit.  Still, the new AC unit is much quieter and leaves most of the window unblocked.  It should keep the room brighter and I can leave it running on hot days while I'm doing a work meeting.

Life changes keep coming.  Yvonne got her EMT license in the mail yesterday and is headed to Portland with Jo next Wednesday to catch a flight to DC.  Emma's in full trip planning mode as she plans on hitting the road with Francis on the 26th, a little over a week.  They both plan on coming back - Emma in six months and Yvonne in a few weeks. There's no turning their bedrooms into a new craft room or hot yoga studio just yet.  There seems to be a good chance Yvonne moves to Rochester after lining up work.  Jo and I are talking through what our new life and schedule will look like.

There's little things, like figuring out Delta Green.  And bigger things like how I spend my weekends with Emma and Yvonne away.  I've got people I want to connect with and house projects I want to accomplish.  It does feel like I'm moving into a new phase of my life.

As for this weekend, I'm mostly focused on helping Emma get ready.  I'll be helping her with the bank, getting a portable DVD player, some new overalls, and talking through the journey.  This is her last full weekend before she hits the road.

Changes

April 15, 2026 by Adam in Family

I took yesterday afternoon off, taking Yvonne to see Project Hail Mary for her birthday.  It was really well done and it's a treat to see great scifi movies these days.  I helped mom with some printer issues (or at least explained why I can't get the old printer on the new network).  Then it was home to dinner to wrap the last present and get things ready to go.  The birthday dinner went well - takeout and cake with candles - along with a big pile of shiny presents.  

I keep having these "is this the last time?" feelings every time we do things.  Yvonne's plan is to head to DC in about a week to help her dad teach a class, then staying in Rochester for awhile to look for work and check out the town.  If she can get a job lined up, which seems likely as her dad is in the business, then she'll pack things up and head to Rochester to live.

Emma also let me know that she's taking the farm job in Massachusetts until October.  The plan is for her and Jamie to drive across the country next month, stay with Sadie, work at Upinngil farm, and come home in the Fall.  I'm excited for her - she's been wanting to have an adventure for awhile.  As Emma and I hangout on the weekends, it'll be a big change for me.

One of the constants of my life has been to periodically reinvent myself.  We'll see what I do with my time now that the kids are all starting to wander off and do their own things.  It's sad and exciting and strange all at the same time, which is probably pretty normal.

Monday, Monday

April 13, 2026 by Adam in Family

I worked too hard over the weekend, going back and forth with the people applying my database fixes to the customer.  My Friday afternoon rewrite had a copy/paste bug which the validation script caught.  Then the numbers changed slightly from what was expected.  Then I had a director who wanted to play with one of my vibe coded apps but I kept running into problems.  Basically I kept working off and on all Sunday and felt more worn out at the end of the weekend than when I started.

There were highlights - Saturday was a whirlwind of Oregon Art Supply, the library, breaking for lunch, then back to the book sale at the Fairgrounds that afternoon.  Sunday morning Yvonne, Emma and I went to the picadilly market to look for treasures.  Yvonne got the biggest haul with a military duffel bag, canteen, and a bunch of knives.  Emma and I just browsed and people watched.

I'm feeling a little out of sorts this morning.  Maybe I need to take a little time off to unwind my brain.  Or maybe it's just that I'm passing through a time of changes and will come out the other side okay but somehow transformed.  Hopefully I get an extra hand or something cool.

Mocha Friday

April 10, 2026 by Adam in Family

I'm enjoying the springtime weather - sunny days, blooming flowers, and wearing shorts.  It also made me finally pick out an air conditioner for my shed - hopefully the one I picked will fit my tiny window while being quiet enough to run it while I'm in a work meeting.  The old one was way too loud.

Work goes well.  I did a weird little "meteor defense thingie" as a learning experience so I could figure out some new reporting tools.  It apparently made a splash and the video was shown around as an example of things thing can be done.  I was just trying to entertain myself.

The big news of the day is that Yvonne passed her EMT test.  It was very cool and to follow up she's off to get her driver's permit this afternoon.  I think her plan for the weeks ahead is to get driving practice under her belt, go to Rochester to check out job opportunities, then come home to pack up her room and relocate if it all works out.  We're understandably a mix of proud and wistful.  All these kids just keep getting older and having their own adventures.

I still have a bunch of farm house tasks I need to follow up on, but hopefully that can get settled soon. I built the last of the planter beds for the balcony - Jo's been moving plants around in preparation for the year's garden.

I've got a new game I'm building with AI that's turning out to be fairly entertaining - you play as a wizard in 13th century Europe, building your magical power and having adventures.  It's a card game of sorts, but more about combining cards and finding new cards.  I'll have Emma play with it and tell me if there's something worth continuing.

As for the weekend, the library has their big sale at the Fairgrounds.  We'll probably go to Oregon Art Supply and the library.  Hopefully I can finish Piranisi.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

April 08, 2026 by Adam in Family

I remember having to learn "The more things change, the more they stay the same" in French for some reason long ago.  It's comforting in a way - I'm still going out to my little shed to work away.  The sun rises and sets.  Cats demand pets.

Work is keeping me busy - I spent all afternoon giving feedback on code, how work is going, how my leadership was doing, and so on.  I've got a broken customer I need to fix - I think I'll need to take more dramatic steps.  Hopefully I don't break anything.  

Trying to get the farm house project over the finish line has been stressful, but mom and I met with an electrician and a contractor who can help with the retaining wall, painting, plubing, and the rest of it.  Bids will come in and then we'll need to go to the bank to ask for more money.  It's all been a lot at times, but it'll be good to get this finalized and done with.

Yvonne has her EMT test tomorrow and driver's permit test on Friday.  Then it's her birthday and flying back east to visit her dad.  The plan is that she lines up some work, comes back to pack things up, and heads out to Rochester.  It feels like we're moving into that phase of our lives where we fly around visiting kids as they move around the country.

Oh - I forgot about last weekend!  We played Delta Green, which was great as usual.  Emma and I did a library run and generally hung out.  I made the mistake of getting Slay the Spire 2, which has been consuming my free time.  Emma helped me mail in my passport renewal - hopefully Canada likes my pictures this time around.

After peaking the first part of the week, I think my stress levels are settling down again.  It helps to cross things off the list, play some games, pet some cats, and be out in the sunshine.

On Call

April 03, 2026 by Adam in Family

It's been an on-call week for me at work, the first one since AI has taken over.  On the whole it's been great to turn things over to my horde of agents to perform investigations, comb through code and telemetry, and suggest fixes.  I've even managed to keep the momentum going on my real work, something I wasn't really able to do the last time I was on call.  AI isn't perfect and often draws incorrect conclusions, but I'm always asking it to clarify and dig deeper and it does so without complaining.

My various AI projects at home continue onward.  For some reason my space game veered into trying to make good looking 3D planets in the game.  I ended up falling into procedural generators and think I have a solution that mixes one with a step that enhances textures with AI.  I've sunk way too much time into this one feature, but I find I enjoy the journey of game development more than any particular destination.

The farm house project continues, with lots of details that need to be sorted out soon.  Mom and I need to pick some painters very soon, along with a bunch of last minute tasks.  I think insulation went up this week and drywall has either started or is starting soon.  A house should appear shortly.  

Tomorrow is Delta Green, the first in a long while.  I worry about starting an epic campaign and everyone's availability, but hopefully we can pull it off.  I've got so many props to hand out and crazy experiences to show these players - it would be a shame if they went through life without being horribly scarred by surreal horrors.

My mocha's gone and I've got agents to manage.  Signing off for now.