Lounge Backlighting Project
My friends have been giving me a hard time about not having backlighting for the whiskey bottles, so I finally gave in. I had considered it when I originally put the room together. My original plans were to hard wire it into the main switch of the room. Run lines behind the walls and tie the walls together via electrical dropped from the ceiling. All in it would have been a pretty involved wiring project and I estimated it to be around $300-400.
Running a Bookstore
A retrospective on starting and running a bookstore in a small town in Texas by Ryan Holiday. Some of the advice resonates with me like being contrary to what everyone else is doing. I have been looking for opportunities at work to Zig when everyone else is Zagging.
https://ryanholiday.net/5-years-of-lessons-from-running-my-own-bookstore/
Jim Whittaker
When I was a kid growing up in Seattle, Jim Whittaker was a huge deal and hero. I met him at an event when I was in scouts.
Mountaineer Jim Whittaker Dies
The Mighty Squirrel
With so many bird feeders out, the squirrels are well fed and very daring.
Breath by James Nestor
I had seen Nestor make the podcast rounds in around 2021-2022. I am all about learning to breath better or at least being more informed around how this breathing business works. I found this book informative, especially in the first half, but found some of the claims a bit far fetched.
Montaigne by Stefan Zweig
There are many interesting layers to this book. First the subject who during the late 1500’s wrote a book of essays which is a unique glimpse of his life during the time. Second is this book was written by an interesting person, Stefan Zweig who found a common spirit in Montaigne. Third, the book was written during the height of WWII, and the interesting grounding of the uncertainty and dread of the mid 1900’s with the uncertainty and dread of the late 1500’s (constant war and plague).
Gold by Rumi
Poetry is not my thing, but sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone. Poetry is meant to speak to you, not to have me speak about it to you.
Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching
AI Ethics by Mark Coeckelbergh
This was a quick read hitting some of the main areas of concern around the use of AI, presuming it gets much better and more integrated in human life. Like Future Ethics by Cennydd Bowles, it would have been great if it was written even a few years later. There are interesting ethical concerns around AI as a technology, and then there are ethical concerns in the use of these tools in the hands of our ever-optimistic technocrat leaders who keep telling us they have our best interests in mind.
Goodbye Buddy
Titan, you were a great dog. You came to us with a bad rap sheet, but you proved to be a gentle and loyal member of the pack. You could not be around other dogs, but we all have our flaws and we made it work. We were honored to have you for the last two years of your life and hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.