Ten Year Plan

Duolingo Milestone

I hit a numeric milestone in Duolingo yesterday, 300 days learning Spanish.

One of my Covid-19-keep-my-sanity-hobbies I decided to take on was learning Spanish. I started out really strong, and in the early days was spending an hour or more each day. After a couple of months, I started burning out, so I slowed down, and found a balance where I could still move forward, but not feel it was too much.

Just a Note Regarding Harry Potter

I just wanted to take a second and say that I nor anyone associated with this website approves of or appreciates the destructive and bigoted transphobic messages coming from J.K Rowling recently. If you are not familiar with the issues, ContraPoints does a fantastic job describing the issues.

While I say that, I do want to say, I really love Harry Potter and the wonderful world the books create. Such a delight and wonderful addition to the world.

New Radio Cabinet

For the holidays last year, my good friends, Al and Amie surprised me with a Raspberry Pi kit.

I’ve had an idea for a while now to put up a panel or screen that ties various boat systems together and displays relevant information, such as location, boat speed, ais information…etc.

Yes, there are turn-key solutions for this, but I would also like to have a system I can tinker with and make my own.

I Met a Dog and Some Horses

Of course, the Monday after daylight savings time shift, I had to drive to St. Augustine and film some interviews. I really could have used the extra hour of sleep!

But on the plus side I got to meet a horse-sized dog, and several horses, as well as several dog-sized miniature horses.

I’m lucky that work throws me these odd encounters occasionally.

Sunsets on the Boat

I haven’t posted a sunset from the boat in a while. Nice evening on the bow reading a book.

Fireworks in Slo-Mo

Sometimes you get lucky. I was able to catch a cool clip of our local neighborhood fireworks in slow motion. Enjoy with sound on if you can.

Happy New Year!

Here’s the finale!

And who doesn’t love a bonfire in slow motion 🙂

“The Tender Bar: A Memoir” by J.R. Moehringer

Who helped shape your life? Is who you are today genetic? Environmental? Or some combination of both? J.R. Moehringer looks for the answer tosome of these questions in his memoir “The Tender Bar”.

J.R. only knows his father as a disembodied voice on the radio. Growingup in small town Manhasset, New York, JR struggles with his identity. From a small town bar, the beach, Arizona, Yale, to the New York Times, J.R. Searches for himself.

"The Silver Ships," by S.H. Jucha

S.H. Jucha’s debut novel, “The Silver Ships,” introduces a future universe where colony ships from old Earth have settled in different, distant systems, and worked to make a life for themselves.

Two of the groups, with very different experiences and opportunities, meet again after centuries. The now, very different cultures must work through some challenges and face a common alien threat.

"Knots and Crosses" by Ian Rankin

We had a lot of great reviews on the old ClubReading website. And so those don’t go to waste, (and so we have some fresh content here occasionally), I’m going to post an old review now and again for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

“Knots and Crosses” by Ian Rankin is a classic noir crime mystery, set in 1980’s Edinburgh. Ian Rankin’s recurring police detective, John Rebus makes his debut in this story about serial killing and revenge.

"The Town and the City" Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac’s first published novel, The Town and the City is a story of monumental scope and great emotional depth. The book’s jacket cover talks about Kerouac’s idolization of Thomas Wolfe and this book reflects that interest. The story is about choices and regrets. It’s also about a generation robbed of choices and left wondering and apathetic and lost. The book tells the story of a family growing up in a small New Hampshire town pre-World War II and follows the family through war and loss.