Bask in the glow

Today has been a rough day. Birds help to brighten it.

A small brown bird pecks at the ground, surrounded by dry grass and fallen leaves, in a natural setting.

A small dark bird pecks at the ground amidst fallen leaves and green plants. It’s surrounded by patches of grass and dried foliage.

Four mourning doves peck at the ground, surrounded by dry grass and scattered leaves. They stand near flat, gray stones in a natural, outdoor setting.

A small bird perches on a green bird feeder filled with seeds. It is set outdoors, surrounded by blurred green foliage in the background.

A small bird pecks at seeds in a hanging green bird feeder. Nearby, other feeders are visible, with trees and foliage in the background.

šŸŽµ The Only Exception - Paramore

Itā€™s hard to find songs from snippets in TikTok when you wake up with them in your head. But I did and itā€™s this chorus.

šŸŽ¶ Iā€™ve got a tight grip on reality But I canā€™t Let go whatā€™s in front of me here I know youā€™re leaving in the morning when you wake up Leave me with some proof itā€™s not a dream šŸŽ¶

The more AI startups I start to see trickling into my work email with their breathless hype-riddled emails, the more I fear that if using Ctrl+F or CMD+F was more widely used, they wouldn’t be in business.

I don’t need to chat with my document or my tabs when I can search them. Then read them.

We got our first bit of snow today that stuck.

Colorful light decorations line a snowy walkway in a residential neighborhood. Snowflakes fall steadily, covering lawns and houses, with leafless trees and overcast skies in the background.

Snow lightly covers a backyard with birdfeeders on poles, bordered by a yellow house, white shed, and trees, creating a serene wintry scene.

A spiral light structure glows warmly in a snowy front yard, surrounded by colorful path lights. Bare trees and bushes are covered in snow during an overcast winter day.

Home Screen going into 2025.

Iā€™ve been putting off making changes to the apps I donā€™t use anymore. The muscle memory was stronger than desire for change.

Both photos are my own. My wife sitting in a rose garden in New York and a sunset from Hawaii.

Decided to try dark mode icons. Onward!

A person sits on a wooden bench, smiling, amidst vibrant pink roses. Surrounding them is a garden with informational signage. The screen displays the time as 7:32 and a temperature of 38Ā° with other phone data.

Smartphone home screen displaying various app icons like Reader, Kindle, Reminders, and Spotify. Notifications appear for Reminders and email. Background shows a serene ocean sunset with a search bar. Time reads 7:32.

Visited the National Gallery of Artā€™s Impressionist exhibit. I quite enjoyed the faces of these two paintings.

Whatā€™s the monk up to? Heā€™s scheming. šŸ˜

A seated man with a white beard rests hands on a knee, wearing glasses and a dark hat, set against a forest background inside an ornate gold frame.

A bearded monk chisels a wooden figure in a workshop, surrounded by religious statues, tools, and crucifixes. Latin text partially reads: “a dextris… nec pomƦ… pedum…” Artist signed: “J. E. Dantan, 1874.

Easily repackaged as dunks - by Ryan Broderick

You simply just donā€™t have to figure out how to fit the newest global crisis into your creator niche. Itā€™s alright to sit one out.

You don’t have to have an opinion on everything. You don’t have to figure out where you stand on every single issue in the world. You can be silent.

This is even more important going into 2025. Thereā€™s going to be so many things to have an opinion about. Or not. By the time you form an opinion on in the latest outrage, there will be a new one.

Visited the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC for a Basquiat x Banksy exhibit. But fell madly in love with the Laurie Anderson room and the work of Flora Yukhnovich.

A vibrant, abstract painting features a skeletal figure with outstretched arms alongside a dog-like creature. The background is a chaotic mix of bold colors. Text: “Basquiat” at the top.

A woman walks through an art installation featuring black and white wall murals with intricate text and drawings. Prominent text includes “Laurie Anderson,” “REMIND,” and “John Cage.

A painting shows two police officers frisking a graffiti-style figure with exaggerated features, while an alert dog stands nearby, set against a plain wall. “Banksy” is written above.

Painting depicts abstract floral forms in pink, orange, and green, blending seamlessly. Located in an art gallery, signed “Flora Yukhnovich” above. The brushstrokes are fluid and dynamic.

A large, textured abstract mural stretches across a curved wall, featuring layered horizontal strips of colorful paint. The setting includes a patterned floor and overhead spotlights. Text reads: “Mark Bradford.

Offering a choice isnā€™t empowering when the choice isnā€™t understood

Dear Apple,

Install Rosetta for people with Apple Silicon computers.

It will prevent so many questions and so much confusion about what Rosetta is and why I need to install it. Providing a choice is not empowering if the maker of the choice does not understand what theyā€™re choosing.

If you insist on asking people, as if they can make an informed choice, then provide them context written in plain English, what Rosetta is and why you need it. And I mean very basic, easy to understand language that doesnā€™t rely on other technical knowledge. If you canā€™t, then install it.

For those curious, Rosetta will let your printer driver or older versions of software work with your new Apple computer.

Rosetta works automatically in the background whenever you use an app that was built only for Mac computers with an Intel processor. It translates the app for use with Apple silicon.

But if you have to ask the user to install it, they may never benefit from it.

For those curiouser, hereā€™s what Apple says about it. If you need to install Rosetta on your Mac - Apple Support

Hawk perched on a wooden frame looks sideways, surrounded by blurred branches and foliage in a garden setting.

Hawk perched on a wooden fence, surrounded by leafless branches and green foliage.

Keeping on brand as I have opened an Extremely Accurate Bird calendar and a Birds in Shoes calendar.

A Red Shouldered Hawk caught my eye across the street in a neighbor’s tree then fence. It was hopping down into their yard then back to the fence like it was hunting a mouse or something tasty.

Christmas movie plots of the 80s/90s rely on ā€œthe big promotionā€ or ā€œthe big bonusā€. Then the inevitable loss of the expected money.

What is the modern day equivalent?

Is it all big city woman returns home to small town for Christmas?

Brookside Gardens of Light

Visited Brookside Gardens for their Gardens of Light for my wifeā€™s birthday. The lights were beautiful. But the attraction that made me gasp was the bubbles sticking to the tree branches from the childrenā€™s area. Magical little bulbs in the night. Some of them were filled with mist that puffed out a tiny cloud when popped. šŸ«§

Illuminated flamingo-shaped lights stand by a pond at night, casting vibrant purple reflections on the water amid a dark, tree-lined background.

A light display features a wolf-shaped figure and trees adorned with white lights, set against a night background.

A single illuminated bubble in sharp focus against a blurred backdrop of multicolored lights adorning bare tree branches at night.

Multicolored lights blur background behind a bubble on a twig, creating a bokeh effect in a lit garden at night.

If you are a child of Looney Tunes or Monty Python please enjoy Hundreds of Beavers.

www.hundredsofbeavers.com

How much money is a commute into an office worth?

A two-tiered, oval window bird feeder holds assorted papers, set against a sunset view through a screened window, with a silhouette of a house outside.

Finally installed my in-window bird feeder. Added to a second story window to hopefully prevent the squirrels fromm parkouring into it.

Will it work? Only time will telll tell.

“I can’t keep loving the potential of a thing when the actual thing is making me miserable most of the time.” - a video about a video game

This line has stuck with me. It’s a good reminder to stop loving things for what they could be and start loving what is worth it today. Potential isn’t reality.

Taylor Swift is having the absolute most fun clowning with her fandom and Reputation (Taylorā€™s Version).

And itā€™s hilarious and awesome. And Iā€™m here for it. šŸ¤”

It snowed* today.

*flurries, but it counts

So Iā€™ve been in the head space of SNOW DAY! I want my cereal, a warm blanket and air for Price is Right.

A hand holds a two-toned leaf, red merging into yellow, against a blurred background of a sidewalk and grass.

Between two three hour meetings I found this leaf on my short walk.

A tiered fountain cascades water, surrounded by flagpoles, trees, and a person walking in Roanoke, VA.

A fountain shimmering in the sun in Roanoke, VA.

Michelle Kingdom, Michelle Kingdom, For Safe Keeping, 2022, Embroidery on linen from the The Never-Ending Thread. An Embroidery Exhibition at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

Embroidered figure rests amongst white flowers on a dark background, conveying introspection or melancholy, framed for display.

A person rests their head on their hand, embroidered with thread among white lilies on a black background, creating a textured, contemplative scene.

A detailed embroidery of a human face and flowers, with high textural contrast against a dark background.

Embroidery threads form the shape of a plant or tree on a black background, showcasing textures and colors to create a botanical design.

Embroidered artwork depicting textured plant roots in various colors against a dark background, giving a detailed close-up perspective.

Weekend trip to see a breath-taking embroidery exhibition in Virginia

After learning about Michelle Kingdomā€™s work from an artist talk my wife does, we saw she had some work in a show at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

We knew we had to see The Never-Ending Thread. An Embroidery Exhibition. Photos do not do it justice (says the man sharing photos). The storytelling and the stitch work are equally transcendent. This piece has remained with me since I saw a photo of it weeks ago.

Getting to experience it in person, in a dead quiet gallery with just my wife and I, was more than I could have hoped for.

All photos of Michelle Kingdomā€™s Willful Rhymes, 2023, Square on vintage textile

A framed textile artwork depicting illustrated people with a central colorful group, displayed on a gallery wall.

Embroidered figures walking among leaf patterns; a building with people in the background. The scene is depicted in a mix of color and grayscale stitchwork on fabric.

Embroidered figures engage in varied activities against a backdrop of more figures and foliage, suggesting a community scene on fabric.

Embroidered figures on fabric, with repeating pattern of women against a floral backdrop, displayed partially over a black background, suggesting depth and texture.

Embroidered figures walk among trees and fallen leaves, set against detailed foliage with sketched faces along the bottom.

Kitchen stains are a swatch book for quality control

A hand holds an open carton of Turkey Hill Black Raspberry frozen dairy dessert, partially scooped, atop a white surface.

Does anyone else use the stains on their chest freezer / counter space to match ice cream colors like a swatch book?

This Black Raspberry doesnā€™t match last monthā€™s color.

It tastes like vanilla ice cream sitting near some raspberries in the freezer. If La Croix had an icre cream line, this would be it.

Iā€™ve already contacted Turkey Hill about it to let them know.

The NY Times Tech Guild (who bring you Wordle, Connections, the rest of the games and the Cooking site) are on strike.

And since we donā€™t cross picket lines, theyā€™ve made a Strike Edition of the games we love and the recipes we need.

In all the times Iā€™ve picked up food, there has never been another Carl.

Karl with a K got his pizza with veggies and an order of wings.

Sorry Karl, I nearly got your pizza. Enjoy your wings.