Posts

It’s been a tough week. Mostly because it’s the start of a new month and that is always a stressful time at work. Also — because russia launched over 800 drones and 10+ rockets on Saturday night, and whatever “rest” I experienced went right out the window. But, there are good news, too. Work I passed my trial period at work. I’m “officially” an employee (still a contractor, legally) and that means vacation time, health insurance, and some other (minor but appreciated) workplace perks. Healthcare in Ukraine is pretty good and cheap/free, but it’s good to know that if something happens to me, I’ve got insurance to foot the bill. ...

This is Eddy. We got him from the shelter. Still not 100% sure he’ll be staying with us, but I will love him forever.

Not being able to post to my blog from my phone is one of the many reasons I bring up when I try to justify to myself why I publish here so infrequently. Well, the part of me that wants to eliminate dumb excuses has gotten down to business and figured out a convoluted (yet simple!) way to fix that for me. The Apps Drafts for writing and drafting the posts. It always starts with Drafts. ...

Weeknotes-2025-35

Why this website is called ‘Vibe Observer’

I watched The French Dispatch the other day. Despite a previous post stating otherwise, movies are NOT something I watch regularly, even though being a “movie guy” has been my thing for a long time during an important time in my life. Not having the attention span (and having too much anxiety) has mostly ruined movies for me. I just can’t sit through something that’s 120 minutes long. Honestly it’s pathetic. But I got through this movie and I loved it. It’s artsy and stylish and reminds me of reading The New Yorker back in the lengthy and important period of my life where reading The New Yorker was a thing I did. And so all of that art and getting through the movie to watch the New Yorker-esque end credits really almost got me to tear up because art exists and I am also here and isn’t that high-key kinda awesome? I mean what are the chances? I want more of this. I hear there’s a medicinal plant that people with anxiety can consume to get them zoned out enough to zone in on a movie and really sit with it. I’ve never been one of those people, but I’ve been around them frequently enough to sometimes be envious of what I think they’re feeling. And I’ve experienced catharsis (not overselling it. it was truly transformative) while watching Adventure Time under the influence. So, like, if this is what it takes to feel at peace enough to be open enough to let myself be patient and attentive enough to watch more movies and experience more art, then maybe it’s worth a try. ...

So, micro.blog is awesome. As far as “what would you recommend to someone who wants to start a blog and keep it very ’low key’ for real” — micro.blog. You get some podcast hosting, great integration with the fediverse and bluesky and even (ugh) threads. It’s all good. What’s not good is that it sometimes takes 20 seconds to post what is essentially a tweet. And that just didn’t work for me. ...

Instagram has become unusable for me because: I use it in the morning/late evening when my critical thinking is at its lowest The algorithm learned that rage bait/stress bait works My whole feed is stuff that consistently makes me furious Unlike some other places, it’s slow to learn/change.

ballistic missile and several drones (or what was left of them after they were shot down) hit in my neighborhood tonight. meanwhile the (supposedly) most powerful politician on the planet compares this war to “kids fighting” and says they should fight it out before the grownups step in…

Finished reading: Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson 📚 First Oathbound now Oathbringer. Very Oathy month.