: The Hokies and the Mustangs both won yesterday (even if the Mustangs win was maybe the ugliest …
: Europeans who feel superior about social welfare programs should be reminded that every European …
: Beer and cold cuts by the Duomo Milano is a great way to start this trip.
: Perfection?! Conlextions #394 🟪🟦🟨🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 Solve Time: 1 minute, 27 seconds
: It was bound to happen; today it did. Six Appeal #191 I solved Six Appeal #191 in 7 seconds! Real …
: Today I realized that NYT Connections/@lex Conlextions are basically iterated solitaire Codenames.
: 2024 Towler Oktoberfest Tasting A list of beers we tasted during this year’s start-of-Fall Oktoberfest/pumpkin beer tasting, …
: Today my morning pages led me to sermon notes I took in 2018. That’s the whole point of …
: Our traditional Oktoberfest pumpkin beer tasting has begun!
: I have been using a wireless keyboard at work and at home for years because I hate all the wires all …
: All the times I have read Esther, and today I realized for the first time that she was an orphan. …
: Finished reading: Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb I cannot express my despair at the end of …
: A few weeks ago, I published Why Does Daniel Go By His Hebrew Name, But His Friends Go By Their …
: I do not enjoy playing sysadmin for VerseNotes. On the other hand, I do enjoy paying very little for …
: Latest travel saga over. Spent more than two hours on the tarmac in Charlotte waiting for them to …
: The current plan for the maintenance problem for the airplane I am in is literally “turn it off and …
: Our flight from Dayton back to San Antonio was delayed from 12:30 to 3:30, then 5, then 7. We …
: Finished reading: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I went into this book thinking it was more YA …
: Finished watching: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Super fun homage to the original. Keaton is …
: Book nine of nine is ready to go! The work doesn’t stop here, but it’s a good milestone …
: Book eight of nine is ready to go! I might actually make it through all of them this weekend. One …
: Book seven of nine is ready to go! Throughout this editing process, I’ve had a lot of work to …
: Book number six of nine ready to go! As always, a bit slower than hoped-for, but other things are …
: Book number five of nine ready to go! I’m getting faster as I get into the rhythm of editing. …
: Book number four of nine ready to go! My stretch goal is to get them all ready by Monday, but …
: The Other Nebo In the rolls of the families that first returned to Judah from Babylon, Nehemiah lists “the …
: It took more time than I wanted tonight, but book 3 is edited and ready to go. Even has a fun cover …
: Five more chapters tonight; progress meter up from 25.2% to 25.7%. I’m working on Judges, one …
: Meera and I were talking about the definition of ska on the last trip to the lake, and today I …
: “Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.” Nehemiah 5:19 ESV …
: Today is the first time I’ve been on top of the leaderboard for any of the Lex.games, however …
: That was an exhausting study/writing session, but I’ve completed chapter 300 of 1189 (25.2%). …
: Since I now have an actual chapter-count target (1,189), I feel like I should build a Brandon …
: Things I never noticed: the night of the transfiguration is the first time we see Moses in the …
: After a hard weekend of drinking beer at the lakewriting and editing, I’m reasonably confident I …
: Writing an About the Author page is surprisingly challenging. How do you distill yourself into a …
: I am editing a series of books I am writing, and despite the fact that I typed every word of it, …
: Finished reading: Royal Assassin (The Illustrated Edition) by Robin Hobb The world continues to …
: Could hardly ask for a more perfect Saturday: football and beer with Meera at the lake.
: Headed up to the lake today for some big weekend plans: food and football. And pumpkin beers.
: Meera and I also finished the Harry Potter series, pretty much entirely this week. It’s part of the …
: Feel very accomplished tonight after wrestling with Python, pandoc, and make. I can now produce …
: Tuck has found a new spot to sit while I’m working from home or writing for myself.
: Tried to go out to dinner with Meera tonight. Unfortunately, San Antonio. This ramen—from JY …
: Finished writing chapter notes on Deuteronomy last night, completing the Torah. Today’s goal: …
: The mornings have been blessedly cooler the past few days (although the humidity has remained in the …
: Finished reading: 2k to 10k by Rachel Aaron. Picked this up off a Reddit thread. Good thing it was …
: I now have a new category, VerseNotes, to hold microblog-sized comments on the Bible. I used to do …
: My Bible reading plan today started three new books: 1 Timothy, Proverbs, and Ezra. It feels like …
: Finished watching: Alien: Romulus. I’m not exactly a huge fan of the Alien franchise, but …
: My daily exercise minutes reflects the season and the temperature somewhat cleanly. The tall spikes …
: Watched Borderlands last Friday thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse pass. Not remotely worth seeing …
: And speaking of backpacking, I can now add a 🏕️ next to Wyoming for having spent the night outside …
: First day back at yoga 🧘 after a few days of backpacking 🎒 and camping 🏕️ was instructive. I almost …
: Stopped in Snake River Brewing in Jackson on our way up to the campsite. I can now check off two …
: Dinner and drinks tonight at Wasatch and Hopkins with Salt Lake City friends; the real adventure …
: Heading out on my first backpacking trip since before COVID. It’s only a few days on the trail …
: So far this week I’m in a cycle of not sleeping enough, then drinking too much caffeine so I can …
: My crew is about to start a new adventure, ironically immediately after @TSindelar@zeppelin.flights …
: I finally took the time to write a few more VerseNotes newsletters. Each one takes a surprising …
: Finished watching: Deadpool and Wolverine. Exactly as irreverent as you expect. Gratuitous violence, …
: Finished reading: Assassin’s Apprentice (The Illustrated Edition) by Robin Hobb. I know I’m …
: Somehow I managed to avoid almost all of the CrowdStrike travel chaos on Friday but get caught in …
: I love renting a car out of DCA. Within minutes of leaving the airport, you see the Capitol, the …
: In summer 2023, we couldn’t bear the heat in Texas, so we took two huge escape trips: one to …
: I just learned today that Weird Al had released a Hamilton Polka. And this amazing soul edited the …
: Just realized I didn’t update Where Have I Been after my recent trip. Got to add three countries! …
: The Atomium in Brussels is another one of those World’s Fair buildings (like the Eiffel Tower, but …
: My Microblog Is Now My Only Blog I converted my microblog to be my primary home page. First, I converted my microblog to the Alpine …
: Took a little longer than I expected, but Meera now has a proper website with a nice headshot (photo …
: Feeling dangerously productive today. Let’s see how long I can get it to last. I have three …
: “What is a TikTok dance mash up if not a digital Dorito?” The hierarchy Newport builds up here seems …
: The previous post courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse’s season pass, which we just signed up for yesterday …
: Finished watching: Fly Me to the Moon. I was worried this would be another summer “comedy” that …
: By far my favorite part of Flighty is the Home Screen widget that tells you when your next flight …
: Finished reading: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree. Fun prequel to Legends and Lattes, but …
: The food and beer selection at CDG past immigration is criminally weak for a city that prides itself …
: Finished reading: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Awesome investigation of evolution from a …
: Vianden Castle is a short but steep hike from the bus stop, but the views are excellent even before …
: All public transportation in the entire country of Luxembourg is free of charge to all riders. And …
: I have apparently arrived in Luxembourg 🇱🇺 on the Grand Duke’s official birthday. Unfortunately, all …
: Finished reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. A critical reminder that being the kind of …
: Finished reading: The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher. More swashbuckling! And spies! And a very …
: Today, I’m headed back to Japan 🇯🇵 for the first time since October 2022! Nineteen months is too …
: A first for me: a plane at a nearby gate is having a part flown in for maintenance. (Fortunately the …
: Third Space Coffee in Colorado Springs serves artisanal coffeeee flights. We had to get one… okay, …
: Today was the last day of the ski season for us. We didn’t track every day, but we tracked most of …
: I think we found our wall photo for this trip! 🎿
: Sometimes the naming of ski runs is a delicate matter, full of nuance and wordplay and even history. …
: Meera skis like a girl. By which I mean, she had 2,000 feet more vert than we did today.🎿
: Our first day this trip at Copper was exactly as beautiful as expected, if a bit warm. We spent all …
: Today’s the first day of the last (planned) ski trip of the season. The sun is bright, although the …
: Finished reading: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport. What a spectacular book for post-pandemic …
: Expanded the photo wall today to include our trips to Munich, Zermatt, Big Sky (Montana), and …
: Finished reading: Hangman’s Gate (War of the Archons 2) by R.S. Ford This world of forgotten …
: Had to renew my driver’s license in person today. Texas allows one renewal online, but today I had …
: First First Robotics Last Saturday, I judged a First Tech Challenge for the first time. In fact, despite having been a …
: This one went by quickly. Conlextions #138 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Solve Time: 28 seconds
: Finished reading: The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson Apparently Sanderson’s fiftieth novel, and the …
: Finished reading: A Demon in Silver (War of the Archons) by R.S. Ford Magic is creeping back into …
: Last night, I entered all my upcoming trips into my Obsidian trips database. The year is getting …
: One day I’ll post something more interesting. Today, it’s another puzzle. Conlextions #132 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 …
: Posting NYT instead of @lex because the purples today are hilarious. Connections Puzzle #219 🟩🟩🟩🟩 …
: This puzzle continues to bring a little joy (and sometimes frustration) to my day. Conlextions #128 …
: I found this one took a little more patience than some. Conlextions #127 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Solve …
: Conlextions #119 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Solve Time: 1 minute, 59 seconds
: I discovered @lex‘s Conlextions puzzles through Dr. Drang at the end of December and immediately …
: Finished reading: The Law by Jim Butcher. A fairly weak entry in the series, maybe intended as a …
: Finished reading: Heroes by Stephen Fry. A fantastic addition to Mythos. Fry picks some of the …
: Year in books for 2023 Here are the books I finished reading in 2023. I also keep a running log throughout the year. …
: Finished reading: Mythos by Stephen Fry. Excellent retelling of the classic Greek myths. Plus some …
: Two more fall beers tonight: Altstadt Okt Samuel Adams Jack-O 🎃🍻
: Every year, my wife and I grab as many pumpkin/yam/märzen/oktoberfests as we can and do a little …
: Not a good day for football in our house. Nice of Apple News to sum up the day so conveniently …
: Finished reading: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie. An epic end to an epic trilogy. …
: Got off a plane from New Zealand Thursday night, back on a plane (to Atlanta this time) this …
: Finished reading: Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. Even better than the first. Characters …
: I’m a day late to the cycle photo @challenges but I’m going to post this anyway since I’m enjoying …
: I wanted to make a joke about “divided by a common language”, but “this escalator is being rested” …
: I missed the first Virginia Tech football game last week (against ODU) because we were in New …
: Leaving Queenstown yesterday, Meera snapped one of the best sea-earth-sky yonder photos I’ve ever …
: Finished reading: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. Dirty, but not dark. Cynical, but leavened …
: During our stop in Glenorchy yesterday, we encountered some surprisingly well-dressed travelers on …
: We are flying back from Queenstown today, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why.
: It’s a day late, but on our adventures this afternoon we found the actual forest used for …
: Visiting Rhyme x Reason brewery in Wanaka, New Zealand, tonight, they had some spectacular murals on …
: Driving around Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, this morning, it just screamed Lord of the Rings. Here you …
: Skied Coronet Peak today. That obviously calls for an après-ski New Zealand-native Ginger Bear in an …
: Wave to the Pelican on the Outer Banks In 2019, we went to the Outer Banks for Meera’s birthday. We visited from Corolla all the way down …
: We flew from Melbourne to Queenstown today, so I had to dig into days past for something precious …
: Finished reading: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. Fun as usual; kind of a …
: On the way back from visiting Westside Ale Works in South Melbourne today, we saw these three huge …
: Riverwalk After Christmas In 2019, we hosted Christmas at our house in San Antonio. My family flew or drove from the east …
: On a wine-and-penguins tour on Phillip Island, we found this abstract tiling of Australian little …
: Finished reading: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. Spectacular, sweet fairy tale in fantasy …
: Hot Chocolate and Churros at Barcelona’s Granja M. Viader In September 2021, we spent a couple of days in Barcelona on our way back from Minorca and Mallorca. …
: Streaking Across the International Date Line Flying west across the international date line always screws with my “streaks.” Games, …
: Finished reading: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. Fun, quick romp through a …
: Thirty-Four Hours to Melbourne Finally in our hotel in Melbourne. Quick recap: At 2pm Friday everything was fine. At 3pm Friday …
: Leaving tonight to add a fifth continent to my skiing conquests ⛷️. It was just a few weeks ago I …
:
Sailboatlings at Port d’Andratx
In November 2021, Meera and I were itching to get traveling again. We had had our shots, waited past …
: In This Picture, the Hail Hasn’t Started Yet What if you went to Versailles as part of your honeymoon, but it absolutely poured that day in …
: I really hate that the best experience of micro.blog is on the web. The Mac app is flaky uploading …
:
Lighthouses and Roses
In June 2013, I was on a business trip to Mountain View. I had never been to California before, so I …
: Do Not Gather Firewood In 2017, we camped in Garner State Park with some friends and took a brief hike the next day. You’re …
: Waterfall Gully Features A Waterfall In A Gully In August 2016, I was in Adelaide for a business trip. Okay, I was in Woomera for a business trip, …
: Switzerland In A Week (Sort Of) Back in 2018, I had a business trip to Thun, Switzerland. Meera and I decided to make a vacation of …
: Just published Four Gospels, Five Great Commissions. It has been fourteen months since I wrote a new …
: The Second-Most-Ridiculous Hike We’ve Ever Taken In 2019, my wife and I joined another couple for a backpacking trip in the San Juan Mountains of …
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Greener, More Flexible, Grass
I came across this March 2022 post about having control over your day by @ChrisHannah, where they …
: The Picture Some friends and I were talking about The Picture—the one you’re proudest of, the one you always …
: Even though I went to the office on Friday after landing from Chile 🇨🇱, the first Monday back always …
: I’ve lived in San Antonio for twelve years, and today I got my first library card. (I’ve read dozens …
: We realized on day 3 of skiing that our skis were conveniently RGB-colored and of graduated lengths, …
: Went to bed excited for overnight snowfall to improve skiing conditions. Woke up to exactly half my …
: Chilean Firsts Achievement unlocked: snow skiing 🎿 in August. To be fair, we cheated by flying to Chile 🇨🇱 to do …
: Initial Reflections on 15 years of Twitter Since the ongoing implosion of X, née Twitter, began, I’ve been combing through my archive of …
: Finished reading: Thirty Questions by Timothy C. Tennent. Structured like a catechism but with …
: Information architecture update complete! Almost everything’s a river, which gives me two huge …
: Finished watching: Tetris. Tons of fun, and filled in the hard-to-believe story of which I knew only …
: Made some good progress today redesigning information architecture for VerseNotes. Current theory: …
: Just dropped off our skis to get waxed. Starting to get excited for Santiago next week! I do feel a …
: Finished watching: Oppenheimer. Superb acting from a cast I didn’t expect tells a story I of which …
:
Finished reading: The One Hour Bible by SPCK. Edited by Philip Law. A great idea—not paraphrasing or …
: My yoga app introduced me to a new pose tonight: locust pose. I’m reasonably certain you can …
: Non-Alcoholic Beer Replacements We've Tried, With Notes We have tried a bunch of non-alcoholic (n/a) beers lately, looking for something that satisfies the …
:
Finished reading: For the Body by Timothy C. Tennent. A critical exposition of the need for the …
: Finished watching: Silo (2023). Incredibly slow start, but every episode was better than the last, …
: I had forgotten how much getting a car serviced costs. My 2014 Altima has been solid since I got it …
: Finished reading: Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. Tremendously dissatisfying. A chaotic run …
:
My First iOS Apps
Today, Phil Schiller celebrated the 15th anniversary of the iOS App Store, and many people posted …
: Pharrell Williams's "Happy" as a Spenserian Sonnet Back in 2014, there was a Twitter account, or maybe a Tumblr account, that published pop songs as …
: Finished watching: Ted Lasso. Three seasons and only two clunkers. Amazing record. It’s not common …
: I Made a Swift Game I’ve been obsessed with Demonin’s Array Game since Andy Baio linked to it a month ago. …
: I just accidentally used the Universal Control feature built into macOS Ventura. I had set up my …
: Gave a bunch of stuff back to Apple today. These computers got both Meera and me through college and …
: Makeshift parfait at the BOS (Logan) Admiral’s Club this morning waiting for our flight back to …
: Brunch at In A Pickle in Waltham ahead of a wedding yesterday afternoon. Hot honey chicken and …
: Today I discovered Merlin Mann’s Wisdom Project, and it’s the kind of thing at least …
: Mostly final desk setup, shown here during a video conference we were both attending (on the iPad). …
: Our other early-COVID desk, set up not in the office but the guest bedroom. Like everyone else, my …
: Standing desk evolution, a few weeks in COVID. At this point, we still had the blinds open to remind …
: Our home office desk before COVID. Made of an old kitchen table and K’nex, naturally. 📸
: Day three of desk pictures. This one is an actual working desk of mine from my first apartment in …
: Yesterday’s desk post made me think of other interesting writing desks I’ve encountered. This one is …
: My workspace at Hotel Bellevue in Cazaubon, France, a few weeks ago. I love the aesthetic, but it …
: Cleaning out and backing up my college/grad school MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008), and the …
: In Corpus Christi for Rio Texas Annual Conference. Tried out Railroad Brewing Company right by the …
: Felt bad that I didn’t get much done yesterday, so this picture is to remind me of what I did finish …
: Finished reading: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Slow start for an amazing ending. Fun …
: Pro tip: when the sky looks like this, the best time to leave work was half an hour ago. 📸
: Finished reading: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson. …
: Finished reading: Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett. Like “Pyramids”, an excuse for Pratchett to …
: Finished watching: Hidden Figures. I’m so glad this movie exists. Epic women I’ve looked up to …
: Finished reading: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Wow, what a fun novel. I had no idea what was …
: Finished reading: The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve never read a book so full of …
: Finished reading: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Late to the party on this one. One of …
: Finished reading: Eric by Terry Pratchett. Just fun. Less effort than previous books, but more …
: Finished reading: League of Dragons by Naomi Novik. Probably my favorite of these, which is nice …
: Finished reading: Blood of Tyrants by Naomi Novik. I will never get used to the pacing of these …
: Finished reading: Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik. Fantastic adventure in the Andes devolves to more …
: Finished reading: Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik. Unexpectedly appropriate for my long layover …
: Finished reading: Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik. Pacing finally feels good, and as a result I …
: Finished reading: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. Tremendous effort and tons of fun. …
: Finished reading: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. Probably my least favorite of the series so …
: Finished reading: The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. I absolutely tore through this book. As …
: Finished reading: Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. More like a log of adventure than a novel. …
: Finished reading: Black Powder War by Naomi Novik 📚
: Finished reading: Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik. Seemingly totally independent from the first novel …
: Finished reading: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. Learning a new world is always fun, and …
: Finished reading: The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden 📚
: Finished reading: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. Long train rides make these books fly by. Another …
: Finished reading: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. The first Discworld novel that actually made me …
: Finished reading: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. Takes a long time to get going, …
: Finished reading: Sourcery by Terry Pratchett. The self-consistency of Discworld, despite the total …
: Finished reading: Mort by Terry Pratchett. Death hires an apprentice so he can take some time off …
: Finished reading: Uprooted by Naomi Novik. Starts as a twist on a fairy tale, ends as high fantasy. …
: Finished reading: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik. I absolutely devoured this book. It pays off …
: Finished reading: The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik. More fun in the Scholomance. Cliffhanger from …
: Finished reading: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. Clearly written for the Harry Potter set, but …
: Finished reading: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson. Concludes as expected, a surprisingly …
: Finished reading: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson. Beautiful, tragic, ending. Harsh …
: Finished reading: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett. As fine a primer on headology as one could hope …
: Finished reading: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett 📚