Today there is a total solar eclipse across North America. I traveled to be with family in the path of totality, and... It's cloudy. This is too bad, since I was hoping to see some of the eclipse itself (through glasses), and yesterday was actually pretty clear. People have come a long way to this area as well. Different parts of the path are clear, but this is just what we risk in April in this area.
On the other hand, it should still be interesting in an hour when we actually get totality, since of course even with the clouds there's still some sunlight. It might actually be kind of interesting.
This is sort of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, not necessarily the eclipse itself but just coming through this area. I'm not the biggest space nerd, but it's a neat natural phenomenon that you may as well try to witness.
I've been up tonight watching some old Star Trek TNG episodes. I'm working my way through all seven seasons. I used to watch them with my family back in the 90s, but didn't really remember much of it.
Now it's late. It's peaceful here at night, and the sky is beautiful when it's clear out. There's light pollution, but not too much.
I don't always have something to write about, but I try to do it now and then because it feels good. I try to have something to say, to put down, but I like to keep it brief. I'm mainly thinking of this place.
I've always treated this as something a little more formal than microblogging, in the way of Mastodon. Yet not quite as involved as something I would publish on my Wordpress site. But part of me feels like I should just give one of them up – this place or Wordpress – and focus on one.
I actually don't think I will do that. I've decided that it's a decision I should make when I actually know what will work out, and I don't think I'm there quite yet. I do like that this is federated, and lightweight.
I technically have another blog at my site, my “main” one. This one just started because I wanted to play around with WriteFreely. I like it, it's simple, and plays well with the Fediverse. I treat it as something between the microblogging of something like Mastodon or Gotosocial, and the full-out Wordpress experience.
Truthfully, when I log into my Wordpress install, it feels like more of a project. Writing and publishing a post feels like writing a mini paper as opposed to just putting something down, which this seems more conducive to. I was thinking about whether or not I should just switch to one and stop doing the other, but I don't think I will.
I do want to play around with the ActivityPub plugin for Wordpress. It looks interesting, and is probably a logical step. I also still toy with the idea of a static site, although I'm going to do that with my own static site generator... Which I haven't written yet. I looked at the countless ones in existence already, and just decided that if/when I make that leap it will be with my own project.
I also have a Mediawiki install, which to me was a way to organize things like howtos and stuff that didn't feel right as a blog post... Although those could also be static pages I guess. I don't know.
Web development isn't my profession, and while it's something I want to learn more about I don't have a terribly constant web presence, or reason to have one outside of social media reasons. I have stuff I want to share, eventually, and I may just have to publish them by whatever means I can actually get content put down.
I'd like to move toward static pages, and maybe that will happen someday. I'll keep playing in the Fediverse, though.
It's cold, but calm and clear outside. I was putting air in my car tires earlier, which was king of a pain. But other than messing around with that this is kind of a neat time of year.
I have some traveling to do soon, but the weather should hold out. A little bit of snow, but nothing too bad, I think.
The days have started getting longer, but today it's cloudy, rainy, and unseasonably warm. It's winter now since the Solstice, but it doesn't exactly feel like it. Still, it feels like we're slowly clawing back more light, which is a tiny nugget of optimism I enjoy.
Christmas lights help, as does proper indoor lighting. I guess if going to a warmer climate is your thing, that's another option. The thing about winter is that back in the day, we usually had a decent amount of snow right now. I'm thinking about the 90s. Now, this seems like the new normal.
Snow could be a pain sometimes, even dangerous, but a tasteful amount of it added a unique glow to this time of year.
I wouldn't say it's pouring out, but it's raining pretty good. It's cloudy and dreary, and warm for this time of year. When I was younger, maybe 20 years ago, we got quite a bit more snow in this region.
I am now a homeowner, and have to shovel snow when enough accumulates. When I've had to do that it's obvious I may have romanticized snow more when I was younger. I mean, I did have to help shovel back then, but I also got snow days and did things like hike and build snow forts with friends. Now I have work to drive to (although I can work from home sometimes), and other stuff I need to commute to. Snow has different implications.
Still, I actually like getting a nice layer of snow each winter. It would be nice to have it around the holidays, but if it hits come January or February that's still something.
I bought a cat perch for George years ago. It didn't appear to be the greatest quality, but it held up at first. Now, years later, it's still holding up, although it's a little shaky. He can still jump on it, hop around on the platforms, and curl up in the little cylindrical cubby hole.
On the other hand, one of the posts was wrapped with jute twine, and that's more or less come undone. There's enough there that he can still claw and shred it, but it could use a re-twining. I think you can buy it at various home improvement-type stores.
Actually, cats tend to love that kind of twine, or similar surfaces. I'm not sure what it is but scratching it must feel good. It's advisable to have something like that, so that they don't find something else in your home to scratch and shred.
Halloween is winding down. I'm just hanging out and watching the Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors episodes, and drinking a beer. I'm laying on my couch, with my cat on my legs. My orange lights are on and will stay on all night.
Not too many trick-or-treaters. Actually, just two. I've gotten more in the past. I don't know if it's the uphill climb, or if they just started earlier this year. So now I'm stuck with more candy.
It's nice to get out someplace new for a while. Maybe 24 or 36 hours. I try to now and then, for no particular reason. Or for some reason. The important thing is that it's outside of a normal routine. IE, not necessarily for work or a semi-regular trip to visit relatives.
I'm doing this now. Nowhere drastic, just a couple hours away for an event. It's fun, although I do kind of miss my own bed and certainly my cat. I had a good dinner, and my hotel room is nice. I'm messing around on the internet and listening to Bill Evans before I get ready for bed.
It's amazing to think that you can travel a hundred miles or so in a couple hours. I have mixed feelings about cars, but this is quite an amazing thing when you think about it. A trip like this could take days on horseback back in the day, although it wouldn't be bad on a train either – assuming the train goes where you need to go.
It's something to take advantage of now and then, the ability to just pick up and go somewhere not quite on a whim, but close. Or on a whim if that's what you want.