February was a whirlwind of a month, culminating in a nasty cold that's knocked me out. I'm having a hard time remembering everything that happened, but luckily there's more than enough to fill a newsletter. 😅
What I've made recently
If you've had a conversation with me in the past month, you've likely heard me grumble about the ink parser I'm writing for the game development stuff. I've decided to redo everything and make it a (mostly) straightforward port of the canonical engine. The writeup will be interesting, but I'll also be glad to see it behind me.
My goto sick meal right now (aside from soup) is:
- Soupy beans
- Seitan bacon
- Noodles/grains
- Queso Fresco
- Radishes
I'm also dipping my toes back into breadmaking with a sourdough starter!
Dog Days of Durham
Kira & I went to go visit my best friend, Amy, and it was a blast!
We explored Durham, which was so dog friendly! Kira was a champ while I had some lunch at Cha House, and zonked out at Colche Coffee while I worked.
The highlight of the trip was seeing Mae Jemison speak at Duke University. The talk focused on making a seat at the table for marginalized groups, and how space travel gives us the opportunity to create a more just, egalitarian civilization. It's a perspective I haven't heard before: that the journey to interstellar travel is what may help us undo systemic injustice, not that it will be magically fixed once we can travel reliably in space.
The surest way to create a better future is by working tirelessly on the foundation. Or, put in Mae Jemison's words:
Interstellar Ships aren’t built by 4 year degrees, they’re built by skilled technicians.
She also put Elon Musk on blast for building a hyped-up Saturn V and claiming it's a revolutionary invention. So, a good night.
Interesting links I've found
- This wild rotatory cellphone that someone has hacked together. I love seeing the ways people actively choose to incorporate technology into their lives (plus I’m a giant sucker for e-ink displays).
- I have no idea where I originally found this link, but the University of Texas has put together a collection of Mexican Cookbooks, including digitized handwritten cookbooks & historic cookbooks.
- This took me by surprise, but there's going to be a Tales from The Loop TV series! I bought the sequel rulebook, Things from The Flood on a whim because the concept is so appealing. Maybe one day I'll be able to run a game of it…
- The Adventure Zone: Dadlands was probably the funniest and most delightful thing I listened to in a while. However, many of the voices veered dangerously close to the cast members for the American Gods audiobook, creating a bizarre hybrid universe in my head.
- Quarantine Cooking reminded me of why I love webcomics, and our ability to use comics to relate deeply personal stories about the world at large.
- And to round out the links with more comics + food, I made Lucy Kinsley’s granola and you should too.
How's Kira?
OH MY GOD Kira’s had a month, y’all.
We’ll start from the beginning:
Love is a battlefield (or a play-yard)
In November, I got this photo from Kira’s day-camp, with her boyfriend Atticus:
The months pass, largely without any updates. Then, Kira starts waking up at 4:30-5 every morning, and I groggily check my phone to see this message from Amy:
Don’t show this to Kira:
The betrayal! This caused a whole stir, my phone was blowing up with:
What’re we going to do about this horn dog Atticus?
-My grandma, who always has the best quotes
😲😳🥺😱 What?????
No, no, no, no, no, no!
That's just cruel
And to have to hear about it on social media?! Not classy dude
Why am I legitimately mad at this dog?
Fast-forward to February 14th. Kira and I are running late, and look who we run into:
But Kira’s not one to let a man hold her back, with everyone cheering her on:
However, we might have to have a stern discussion if she doesn’t make up her damn mind: 👀
What's next?
Mostly, I'm hoping March is a lot less hectic. I 100% got sick from overcommitting, so clearly my body's trying to teach me a lesson here.