Monthly recap: April 2023

Matterhorn, viewed from where we were staying in Zermatt
Matterhorn, viewed from where we were staying in Zermatt

Major updates

A week in Switzerland

  • Zurich
  • Lucerne
  • Interlaken
    • Jungfrau and Harder Klum
  • Zermatt
    • Gornergrat
  • Glacier Express, then back to Zurich

Minor updates

  • AirBnB worked out well, two of these places
  • Cheese Fondue was a hit
  • A trip to the Tech Museum
  • Discovering San Mateo downtown
  • Playing around a lot with Midjourney

Watched/read/made/listened

  • This time, watched more downloaded Youtube videos than in-flight movies (!)
  • Watched Fellowship of the rings
  • Watched Pink Panther (2006?)
  • Finished audiobook of book 5 of Wings of Fire
  • Watched the latest series by Adam Curtis, Trauma Zone
  • Watched a great series on the work of Rene Girard
  • Re-watched Wallace and Gromit

Monthly Recap: March 2023

Onion peel glimpsed through a (good) toy microscope
Onion peel glimpsed through a (good) toy microscope

Major updates

  • Gave up on trying to set up a Minecraft server and just went with a 2-person “Realm” instead — works well!
  • Opened one of birthday gifts late — a toy microscope, but still good enough to see detail in leaves etc

Minor updates

  • Dental adventures: finally got a crown for a previous implant
  • Annual medical check up: all good
  • School events
  • Wrapped up taxes
  • “Family burger time” at Counter
  • Visited the “Tech” museum with Tara: highly recommend (the previous “Children’s Discovery Museum” is boring for her now)

Watched/read/made/listened

  • Puss in Boots (“the last wish”: meh, but mostly funny)
  • Mysterious Benedict Society book two (started book three too, but that didn’t hold interest, so paused it)
  • Finally finished watching all Harry Potter movies (watched the 8th one)
  • Audio book: “Irreversible Damage” (good fyi for parents with daughters)
  • Pink Panther (the 2006 version with Steve Martin) … led to some classic cartoon watching, always good!

Monthly Recap: February 2023

View of San Francisco from the Bay Bridge

Major updates

Trip to Carmel where we stayed in an AirBnB in the woods

  • No internet: board games, reading, sleeping early
  • Fortunately got back in time before the storm closed the roads

Tara’s school was off for a week, went to a great camp by Peninsula Youth Theater — and put on a short play at the end (“The reluctant dragon”)

Minor updates

  • Visited Treasure Island (finally, after over a decade of living here) for a friend’s 40th birthday party
  • Slightly better eat/sleep 🤞
  • Saw a bunch of snow on the peaks
  • Got an annual medical check-up done after a few years’ break (all good)
  • Visited Michael’s after many years with Tara — it’s still around and still a “craft-y wonderland”

Watched/read/made/listened

  • Gosford Park (re-watched) — discovered the music of Ivor Novello
  • Read “Digital Minimalism” (plan to practice some of that this year)
  • Tried out a family board game: Dragonwood
  • Knives out (re-watched)
  • And then there were none (the old version!)

Monthly Curations: February 2023

A 5Hz GPU in Minecraft
A 5Hz GPU in Minecraft

Monthly recap (January 2023)

Street lamp at a park at dusk

Major updates

New year, new beginnings: joined a bunch of very interesting people doing very interesting work at Luminary Cloud

Minor updates

  • Dishwasher, dryer and a toilet all failed on one weekend and all had to be replaced; became a family fun event
  • On eating places nearby: bummed to find that Pastis closed down, mentally replaced it with La Boheme nearby. Also, discovered Fabrini’s as an alternative to Hobees
  • Cough/cold for a few days
  • Doing the Caltrain commute
  • A ridiculous amount of rain
  • Had a long library trip, and a very enjoyable at Tara’s school

Watched/read/made

  • Mitchells and the machines (I loved this — also had a good “technology lesson”)
  • Clue (the 1985 movie — surprisingly, Tara liked this too!)
  • Avatar (yes, watched it with 3-d in the hall)
  • Ivy & Bean (on Netflix … not a fan, the books are way better)
  • Wolfwalkers (enjoyable short animated film)
  • The Duke (one of those classic humorous/satirical/whimsical movies, highly recommend)

Monthly Curations: January 2023

“Somnambulant”, by Ivan Kramskoy

Monthly Curations: December 2022

Lidar overlay showing a part of an extensive civilization in Guatemala

Monthly Summary (December 2022)

Visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra

Major updates

  • India trip to meet family
  • Decided to start at a new place post-Sigma

(will follow-up with a post with details on each)

Minor updates

  • Traded in my troublesome Subaru Outback for something new
  • Side trip to Agra, saw the Taj Mahal (!)
  • Some Urbit adventures
  • Ate a bunch of good food at a bunch of interesting places

Watched/read/made

  • Glass Onion (sequel to Knives Out)
  • Nope (watched this in the flight)
  • The Greatest Showman
  • Netflix: Troll, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Bullet Train
  • Disney+: Mysterious Benedict Society (season 2)
  • Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (finished listening to audiobook with Tara)
  • Nightmare before Christmas (family re-watch)
  • Enola Holmes (part 2)

(a good month for viewing …)

Monthly recap (November 2022)

A group of sea-turtles on Poipu beach

Major updates

  • Moving on from Sigma (more on this later)
  • Trip to Kauai
  • Tara’s birthday

Minor updates

  • Meeting various people, some after many years
  • Bunch of birthday parties
    • Discovered the Palo Alto Junior Zoo this way, pretty fun place !!
  • Trip to Children’s Discovery Museum after a long time
    • Realized it’s really for small kids
  • Trip to The Tech museum in San Jose
    • Exceeded expectations (!)
  • Got a massage (note to self: should do this monthly, at least)

Watched/read/made

  • Couple of side projects
  • Discovered a great series we all watched together: The Mysterious Benedict Society
  • Finished Abbott Elementary (Hulu)
  • Finished listening to audiobook of Plato’s Republic
  • Finished listening to Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix with Tara (long, over 27 hours!)

Monthly Curations — November 2022