I’m truncating several posts to just clear out my queue of posts.

Since last we updated:

  • Wife and I went on our first kid free vacation last month. First we flew to Seattle for a few days, and then to a cabin outside Mt. Rainier. In Seattle, we stayed with our in laws and really had a nice time catching up with them, and scheming a little about our futures. We made the obligatory Pike Place Market visit - and I was really struck by how enjoyable it was. Food was great, shops were great, and there was enough of everything for everyone. One of the rare places that lives up to the hype. While we were in Seattle, we caught up with my friend J and their husband M. This was my first time meeting M, who I’ve heard so, so much about. He was every bit the loving, sweet, smart and funny man J described him to be, and I have no trouble imagining how they fell for each other. Mt. Rainier was jaw-droppingly beautiful. I shared some of the pictures I took on my instagram, so head on over there to find them. Wife got some outstanding photos too, and just being away from everything for a minute was good. Last, Tacoma was a low key highlight of the trip. Point Deliverance Park and the Chihuly Glass museum were both fun, interesting, and worth the time to go and see if you find yourself out that way.
  • The book Weapons of Math Destruction punched under its weight. It’s an ok polemicist tract in the first and last chapters, but all of the in-between chapters fell flat. They weren’t technical enough to go beyond superficial description (which bugged math inclined me) and weren’t well written enough to form a coherent narrative. Mainly, I chalk this up to bad editing - it felt like a series of blog posts rather than a book. Last, the ideas that author Cathy O’Neill writes about are important, so if you have no background in Data Science, this book could be a good starting point. But for further investigation you need to turn elsewhere.
  • I am almost finished with Americanah by Chimanda and I love it. One of the reasons I’m writing this post is to be able to write a full review soon when I am finished.
  • I am excited about High Holy Days, the book Here I Am by Jonathan Safron Foer, and true fall.
  • Lots of uncomfortable changes in my life right now. Trying to navigate them has been very difficult and I’m under some time pressure at work. And here’s the thing - when I am able to knuckle down and concentrate on any one thing, it’s not too bad. It’s that it feels like there’s so much going on, and so much that has to change, right now, in order to be ok.
  • I’m weirdly excited for football. I know which games I want to watch and when, and I’m not playing fantasy this year. It kindof allows me to just be a Chiefs and Mizzou fan, which is nice.
  • Even though my physical training has been haphazardly scheduled lately, I’ve still managed some nice seasonal bests - both with rowing and lifting. Consistency makes a difference, and doing something helps a lot more than doing nothing.
  • Grad School so far has been a review. It might not be this class that I actually advance my body of knowledge, but I like it all the same.
  • Wife has listened to a lot of Brene Brown recently, and one of the things I’ve been mulling over is the distinction between fitting in and belonging and how there are few places and times I feel the latter.