December, 2023

Joe Biden’s statement on the death of Henry Kissinger is a masterwork. Without directly saying it, he is pretty clearly communicating “fuck you, you miserable know it all that couldn’t shut the fuck up, I’m glad you’re dead.” To be fair, Kissinger deserves worse even than this.

Yet another reminder that we don’t have to honor the dishonorable in their death. They earned their legacies fair and square, and celebrating their demise is just fine thank you.

Dodged it for a long time, but finally got COVID. I’m vaccinated and boosted out the ears and just picked up my Paxlovid. Feel pretty fatigued and a little congested.

Saturday COVID update. Fever started last night, along with headache. Not fun, but not awful either. The Paxlovid has a side effect that results in a gross metallic taste in my mouth. Still pretty tired.

If Georgia loses, Kirby is going to smash his flowbee.

I know they’re ranked fourth, but FSU looks like number two. 💩

Listen, I can’t stand the Noles, but them not making the playoff is garbage. I feel awful for them, and this is likely the nail in the coffin for the ACC.

This Rams team is so much fun. Great combination of veteran talent, budding stars, and quiet role players. Not close to the Super Bowl team of a few years ago, but they have heart.

Hot tip: if you take Paxlovid and get “Paxlovid Mouth,” which is a nasty metallic taste in your mouth, there are two things that have helped me. First, don’t let those pills hit your tongue. Second, get a pile of cinnamon altoids.

Kids have started dropping hints about getting a VR headset. Here’s the rub: there’s no chance in hell I’m giving my money or my kid’s eyeballs to Meta. Are there any standalone VR alternatives that don’t suck?

Monday night COVID update. My first rapid test since Thursday shows a much fainter positive result. Cough and fever are gone. Now it’s mostly shortness of breath and a desire to hibernate. Three doses of Paxlovid left.

I, too, can confirm that I have not made any complaint to the FIA regarding the allegation of information of a confidential nature being passed between an
F1 Team Principal and a member of FOM staff. #SillySeason #F1

The Messages app for macOS is so awful these days. Its gotten worse now that Screen Time requests come through iMessage, which I dispise. I constantly see the system process that underpins this feature pegging my CPU.

Time for your regularly scheduled COVID update. After my five days of Paxlovid, I got a few promising tests, but yesterday I started to feel bad again, and today I tested fully positive again. This sucks.

Being trapped in my bedroom for weeks has been pretty awful. But, I have passed some time in the evenings playing Horizon Zero Dawn on my Steam Deck. It’s very fun!

HZD isn’t particularly innovative on the basics like combat system and character advancement. But, it executes well, and the story and world building are excellent, and the world is huge and immersive.

My biggest gripes with HZD are the tedium of collecting and managing resources, and how easy it is to lose a bunch of progress unless you’re constantly seeking out save points.

COVID update, day 13… after feeling very close to the end of my infection, I have had a full rebound, and am strongly testing positive and feeling worse. I’m now on round two of Paxlovid.

Yesterday, I missed attending my kid’s big school exhibition, and had to watch their presentations over FaceTime. Next week, my wife has surgery for her cancer, and I won’t be able to visit her in the hospital.

In case it isn’t clear, this has been incredibly difficult. I miss my family so much, but can’t risk my wife’s life-saving surgery being compromised. So, I have to power through.

COVID update, day 17.

I’m halfway through my second Paxlovid doses, and had an encouraging “barely positive” test earlier today. I’m optimistic finally that I’ll recover in a few days. Cross those fingers and toes!

The cavalry arrives today (mother in law, and both of my parents), as my wife’s cancer surgery is on Monday. Thank God for that!

Got my first negative COVID test today, let’s hope it sticks! No more rebounds!

✅ Horizon Zero Dawn

It’s surgery day for Lacey. We are experiencing a combination of excitement and fear that is pretty unique. Send all your vibes, prayers, and thoughts that today is the day she becomes cancer free. 🙏🏼🤞🏼

Just sent Lacey back to the operating room. The waiting game begins. Surgery can take anywhere from 2-5 hours, and they’ve indicated that they may need to move from robotic surgery to an open surgery, which wouldn’t be ideal.

Lacey is out of surgery, which was a success. In spite of some complications and concerns, the procedure was able to be completed fully robotically, which is wonderful news. The tumor, which we have nicknamed Trogdor, is gone. So relieved!

Lacey’s recovery has been really hard, with lots of pain to manage, but she has been such a champ. It looks like she will be able to come home tomorrow. What a miracle. What a blessing. 💕

My lungs feel about 80% now. I probably was at 60% yesterday. Seeing Lacey’s improvement, and the relief of a successful surgery gave my body the space to fight back against the damage that COVID had on me. I finally feel like I’ll fully recover.

With Lacey coming home tomorrow, my parents and Lacey’s Mom being here to support us, and me finally recovering from COVID, I feel like we are going to have a special Christmas together. Again, what a miracle. What a blessing.

So I see that Substack has responded to fair criticism with cowardice. I expected that they were trash, and now it’s strongly confirmed.

People hiding behind the first amendment to platform Nazis are telling on themselves. There is no slippery slope, here, just a bunch of cowards enabling Nazis.

The other day I realized that people who question the notion of being “privileged” often say that they’re “blessed.” Guess what? Same thing. Congrats, asshats.

Hey, Hans, sprechen sie talk? Hans — boobee… I’m your white knight.

I’m Agent Johnson, this is Special Agent Johnson

No relation.

Reginald VelJohnson giving Bruce Willis those “fuck me” eyes and then John Wayneing the shit out of Karl. Movie mistletoe, y’all. I just wanna kiss someone.

Lovely Christmas! I made a perfectly reverse-seared prime rib, roasted garlic and gouda mashed potatoes, garlic green beans, and a caesar salad. Tasty. Now it’s time for a whiskey.

Got Lacey’s pathology report back. She had cancer in a lymph node, which means more treatment. Likely chemotherapy and likely for six months. Not the news we were hoping for.

For Christmas, I gave my 10 year old boy a very special gift. On the tree was a peculiar ornament; a circuit board. When switched on, chiptune Christmas music plays, with a little light show. Then the screen says “my first gaming PC built with daddy.”

The first big decision for him was form factor. He decided he wanted an ITX machine, and picked the Fractal Terra case in his favorite color - green. We are going all AMD.

Okay, first pass of my son’s first gaming PC is up on PC Part Picker. If you’re inclined, take a look and give me feedback! I haven’t built a PC in years.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/cleverdevil/saved/#view=dGFdFT

Can the Rams survive two missed PATs, giving up a TD on special teams, two INTs, and a fumble? Can any team?!

LOL. I cannot believe we survived that dumpster fire of a game.

I would bet a lot of money that the Rams have yet another new kicker next week.