Jerry Towler

Self-driven.

Reading

Book Art

How to Take Smart Notes

Sönke Ahrens


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    Stopped in Snake River Brewing in Jackson on our way up to the campsite. I can now check off two more states on my record of Where Have I Been.

    Old Snake River Brewing vat covered in stickers.
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    Dinner and drinks tonight at Wasatch and Hopkins with Salt Lake City friends; the real adventure starts tomorrow.

    Front door of Hopkins Brewing Company.

    travel

    Heading out on my first backpacking trip since before COVID. It’s only a few days on the trail despite needing to take a plane to get there.

    I’m a little bit nervous, but that’s what packing lists are for.

    So far this week I’m in a cycle of not sleeping enough, then drinking too much caffeine so I can stay awake, and as a result not sleeping enough.

    Today is a good day to try something different.

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    My crew is about to start a new adventure, ironically immediately after @TSindelar@zeppelin.flights and the TPK crew just finished it, seventy-four episodes and a thousand years later…

    The hardcover version of “The Curse of Strahd” Dungeons and Dragons adventure.

    I finally took the time to write a few more VerseNotes newsletters. Each one takes a surprising amount of time considering that I’ve had dozens of drafts written for ages. (ConvertKit’s refusal to let me paste Markdown properly …

    Finished watching: Deadpool and Wolverine.

    Exactly as irreverent as you expect. Gratuitous violence, fourth wall breaks, some fantastic cameos of both actors and characters. All kinds of in-jokes. Unfortunately, a criminal paucity of Morena Baccarin. …

    books

    Finished reading: Assassin’s Apprentice (The Illustrated Edition) by Robin Hobb.

    I know I’m late to the Farseer trilogy/universe, but I really enjoyed this first installment. An unexplained Skill, a Wit, a Fool, more than one father figure, …

    Somehow I managed to avoid almost all of the CrowdStrike travel chaos on Friday but get caught in weather yesterday. My original flight was delayed four hours before it was canceled, and my would-be connection was delayed almost two hours (but …

    I love renting a car out of DCA. Within minutes of leaving the airport, you see the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Potomac, the Pentagon… I’m sure residents are bored, but I’m always filled with a sense of power and history.

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    photos

    In summer 2023, we couldn’t bear the heat in Texas, so we took two huge escape trips: one to Santiago, Chile, and one to Queenstown, New Zealand. As a result, I have snow skiing🎿 pictures like this one dated in August and September.

    Unfortunately, we …

    I just learned today that Weird Al had released a Hamilton Polka. And this amazing soul edited the show to match the polka.

    Enjoy.

    “Weird Al” Yankovic - The Hamilton Polka - YouTube

    travel

    Just realized I didn’t update Where Have I Been after my recent trip. Got to add three countries! Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Netherlands 🇳🇱, and Belgium 🇧🇪.

    (I also spent a night in Paris, but France 🇫🇷 was already on the list.)

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    photos

    travel

    The Atomium in Brussels is another one of those World’s Fair buildings (like the Eiffel Tower, but 69 years later) that looks cooler than it has any right to be.

    The inside is apparently some sort of digital art museum and cultural archive, but Meera …

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    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 theme. I love the aesthetics of the Tufte theme (GitHub) I was using by @pimoore, but it hasn’t been updated in a while and Micro.blog has been …

    Took a little longer than I expected, but Meera now has a proper website with a nice headshot (photo by yours truly), a professional timeline, and contact info.

    Based on Kirby Turner’s timeline-jekyll-theme with a new color scheme, a little …

    Feeling dangerously productive today. Let’s see how long I can get it to last.

    I have three targets for the afternoon: two quick ones and one big thorny one. So naturally my brain wants to focus on the thorny one instead of letting me get the …

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    “What is a TikTok dance mash up if not a digital Dorito?”

    The hierarchy Newport builds up here seems to make sense, but I’m reminded of this Dilbert strip, which makes the point that the medium may encourage certain content, but doesn’t necessarily …

    The previous post courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse’s season pass, which we just signed up for yesterday because for the next couple of weeks the second month is free.

    Gonna try to get out of the house a bit more this summer, and into somewhere else with …

    Finished watching: Fly Me to the Moon.

    I was worried this would be another summer “comedy” that would leave me cringing, but it was actually a fun, fast-paced comedy/heist with a good performance by Scarlett Johansson, a hilarious Woody Harrelson in …

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    By far my favorite part of Flighty is the Home Screen widget that tells you when your next flight is.

    We just got home yesterday from a week in Europe, and it tells me I only have to wait thirteen days until I’m back on the road.

    Flighty widget showing a Delta flight to Atlanta in 13 days.

    books

    Finished reading: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree.

    Fun prequel to Legends and Lattes, but missing some of the magic of the original. Still worth reading. Would be a great children’s/YA book with some light inessential cleaning up. 📚

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    photos

    travel

    The food and beer selection at CDG past immigration is criminally weak for a city that prides itself on food.

    Maybe they’re just upset I’m leaving?

    books

    Finished reading: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

    Awesome investigation of evolution from a totally different (sci-fi) perspective. Made me think fun thoughts. Excellent up until the last couple of pages, which were totally disappointing, …

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    photos

    travel

    Vianden Castle is a short but steep hike from the bus stop, but the views are excellent even before you get to tour the inside.