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  • Full circle, we’re moving

    So back in 2019 at peak covid our family moved from Dallas Texas to Staten Island, New York, where we stayed three years. I’m not the biggest fan of NYC, but it was a pleasant stint in the Big Apple. From there we moved to Huntington, West Virginia. This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer much beyond its looks, and we lasted there for six months. I still miss the place a little.

    We ended up in Beloit, Wisconsin where we have been exactly a year. It’s ten minutes from where I grew up, and I have a few wonderful friends here that I hadn’t seen in ages. Though I did see them some, I quickly realized that now we’re in our fifties and the days of loitering at each other’s homes and showing up unannounced are over. We all have kids, jobs, and many other responsibilities. They were the only reason to possibly stick around, but it really wasn’t happening. The four times we hung out in a year wasn’t really worth staying in the area, better to visit. 

    So now, two days before Christmas, we will be moving back to Texas, the place that is really more our home. Neither my wife nor I were born there, but our children were. So the natives out number us. We’ve finally dropped the renter life after thirteen years and bought ourselves a house, hoping to dig in some roots for the kids; who, if it all goes smooth, will get to spend Christmas and Christmas Eve in their new home. Bonus, they don’t have to share a room anymore. So everyone, have a Merry Christmas! Here’s to new beginnings. 

  • The weekly wish

    <img height="1024" width="1024" alt="An image with caption: Cowboy at a PC" src="../rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MjMxNzYsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--1ebaf566d821d59b09a54d553fc61dd6fac344f2/a%20cowboy%20hacker.png">

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  Cowboy at a PC
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    It may sound silly, but about once a week, sometimes more, I find myself wishing I were a cowboy.  The freedom that would come from the total disconnect from the rest of the world. The peaceful feeling of open spaces and working with animals. And let’s not forget a tinge of adventure. 

    At 52, I find myself wishing this still. There was a time in my early thirties I seriously considered it, then came marriage and kids and it slipped away. These days, I still find it nice to think about. 

    Today I sit attached to my desk, living in a semi suburban world. The only animals I tend to are my two dogs. Sometimes I sit alone and listen to old cowboy songs from the likes of Chris Ledoux. I guess it helps that I live in Texas, giving me default western status, though nowhere near that reality. 

    I work in cybersecurity and hang out in more undeveloped parts of the web where outlaws may dwell, I guess that is as close as I get. It’s nice to daydream. 

  • Trying out Pika

    And the trial of new blogging products continues. I recently just heard of Pika and figured I would give it a peek. It seems to hold to the original ideals of Ghost when it first came out. Just a simple place to write and post from. 

    Playing around with the interface so far, I like it. It’s simple and clean. I will have to play around with it a lot more to see if it truly fits my needs. I was going to use ghost, but in all reality it’s pretty expensive, and I’m not going to be having a ton of people paying to read what I write, so why bother. 

    Well this post is mainly an experiment and will be deleted sooner than later, so let’s see what happens. 

    Cheers

  • Common Grounds Coffeehouse in Brownwood, Texas. ☕️

  • Cloudy morning at Brazos Bend State Park, from the observation tower. Unlike any other state park I’ve been to. Didn’t see any alligators.

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