Week Notes, 2025-05-11
Weekly Features from May 5th - May 11th:
π€±π» Today is Mother's Day in the US, and as mentioned in the previous week notes, it's the first one after my mother's death. This morning, I woke up feeling cranky with little desire to interact in person with folks, so I skipped out on church.
π Last week, I also mentioned my desire to write about my feelings regarding today and my mother. Some writing has taken place, but I am not up for sharing it today. I'm not sure it would be an easy read, given that its working title comes from a comment made by a family friend when I delivered the news of my mother's passing: "She wasn't a good mother, but she loved you very much." This may end up being a piece I write for myself to purge the feelings out of me, but not one I share--final results TBD.
π£οΈ Time to move on. Let's talk about something else...
πΈ I ordered a Canon Canonet QL17 GIII last week, and according to FedEx, the camera has already made its way from Japan to the St. Louis region. It may show up as early as tomorrow! The Canon jumped ahead of the Minolta due to the latter's relative scarcity online. I likely confused the 7sII model, which is what I originally wanted, with the older and lesser Hi-Matic 7. By contrast, I could find a lot more examples of high-quality Canon QL17 GIII's to buy, so that's where my money went.
π The Random House version of Craig Mod's Things Become Other Things arrived last week. I have set aside enough time off of work to visit his Chicago stop on his book tour (interviewed by Dan Sinker of Punk Planet/MayorEmanuel/Quaxelrod fame, no less), so here's to a longer Memorial Day weekend than usual.
π² First bike ride of the year happened yesterday along the somewhat flooded trail by the Meramec River. The overall distance was around 7 miles, give or take. We discovered the second half of the levee trail that surrounds the original part of Valley Park, allowing us to see a) the attractive scenery near a water treatment plant, and b) how utterly hosed this part of Valley Park would be in the event of a major flood worse than what has happened in 2015 and 2017.
ππ» I was onsite on Friday 05-09 for a work assignment that was productive and enjoyable, but as it started at 7:30 AM, I'm pretty sure that early start contributed a lot to today's cranky mental state. When three coffees and a cola can barely keep you awake, you know you're pretty exhausted!
πͺ My Doctor Who backlog is currently up to five episodes. I may be able to watch the Christmas Special today, once I finish some outdoor errands that with luck won't involve too much social interaction.
Other Things to Note from The Week That Was:
πΊ Watching:
- The home of Flowering Peaches in Achi Village is Japanβs number one utopia, YouTube: Japan Travel Walk
- Inside an Authentic Samurai Residence in Japan | Yanagawa Ryokan Ohana, YouTube, It's Time to Travelπ―π΅
- The Guy From Harlem, RiffTrax (always fun to revisit such a horrible yet hysterical film)
π§ Listening:
- UNLOCKED: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk), Dystopia Now
- OEP 5/6/25: K1, Optic Echo Presents
- Answering questions and answering questions, Six Colors Podcast
- Father Crowley: Desert Padre of the Owens Valley, Desert Oracle Radio
π Reading:
- Naomi Klein: βWhat They Want Is Absolutely Everythingβ; Rolling Stone
- Which Accursed Chicago Baseball Fan Base Will Get To Claim Pope Leo XIV?, Defector
- These Are The 50 Best Bars in North America (2025), VinePair
- The McMansionization of the White House, or: Regional Car Dealership Rococo: a treatise, Patreon: McMansion Hell
- Death is the policy, The Verge
π« Creating:
- Finished my first Series on Glass, Nikon D50, 2008-09. Photos are properly tagged and all that.
- Added more to the second blog lore.
- Started and halted a post about my mother.
πOrganizing:
- Sorted through additional shirts prior to donating them
- My AVI-8 Spitfire sold on eBay last week, whereas the buyer for the Timex Hodinkee backed out after paying. Huh...? Anyway, the Timex Hodinkee is still up for sale in case anyone is interested.
πΎ Socializing:
- Costco run on Monday 05-05 was one of the easiest and least stressful shopping excursions we've made in that store.
- I'll be donating clothing at a thrift store today, and also looking for other short-sleeve shirts and maybe a couple pairs of shorts.
π§ͺ Testing:
- Ended testing of ConniePad on my iPhone.
- Also ended testing of Orion on my iPhone, but I will keep it installed for now.
- Used Musebox heavily for the Glass Series project mentioned earlier.
ποΈ Work:
- Last week's frustrations were largely cleared out, as solutions were devised and discussions were scheduled to talk about them further.
- The onsite visit on Friday 05-09 ended the week on a high note, as I felt like it was a productive week and my time was wisely spent.
π₯ Health:
- Two afternoon walks with L. this week.
- Yesterday's bike ride, as mentioned earlier.
- The aforementioned sleeping-in on Sunday 05-11, which was really necessary.
- Skipped shoulder rehab this week due to numerous work meetings.
- Paid a dental bill on Wednesday 05-07 once I received enough clarification on it.