It's been a minute

Hello friends,

It got really cold here, and with the cold came a whole lot of pain. But now that it's warmer things are better and I can type again.

One thing I learned from the arctic freeze is that I am no longer willing to be my dog's butler. The constant opening and closing of a sliding glass door was really hard on my already aching arms. So I finally broke down and got a dog door. One of those ones that go in the grooves for the door you already have. My awesome brother in law even came in and installed it for me.

Gilly hated it. The bottom of the dog door has a magnetic seal to help keep the weather out, but whenever it closes it makes a slappy sound that she cannot abide, and refuses to negotiate.

It has taken a week of coaxing, patience, and cheese to get her to trust the door and embrace her new found freedom. I still have to hold the flap up for her when she first goes out in the morning. But after we perform the morning ritual of proving that the flappy door will not kill her, she comes and goes as she pleases.

Writing soundtrack

Hello,

I hope everyone is staying warm and safe this winter season. It got below zero here, and I have gone into full blanket-burrito mode. Even Gilly doesn't want to go out when it's this cold.

I thought it might be fun to talk about what I listen to while I write. I can't listen to songs with words while writing words. They make my brain short-circuit. Most of my background music is from soundtracks. I'm especially fond of video game soundtracks which, by design, stimulate brain function without becoming distracting.

I currently have 44 videos saved to my youtube music playlist. I also have some album playlists scattered about my library. I tend to bounce between them depending on what I'm writing.

One of my favorites for writing action scenes is the soundtrack from Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It's a game I have not played, but I love its music. I discovered the album from a Reddit thread where people were arguing over which game had the best music. Deus Ex always pops up in these type of threads.

Based on the Wikipedia article, Deus Ex is an action RPG set in the far-off future of 2027. You build your hero based on various cyberpunk augmentations for either stealth or combat, and then explore various cyberpunk themes such as megacorps and transhumanism.

I find the music to have an eeriness that is perfect for some of my world-building, and a beat that helps keep me excited for writing action.

New Year's Resolutions

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with friends and loved ones. I got four different puzzles to keep me busy. I still struggle with stretching out my arms, so I've started circling the puzzle table like a shark, hunting for the pieces I need.

Although sharks seem far more chill about their hunts. Rarely do you ever see a shark shout "Why are there so many lawn pieces!!!" But I digress.

As we go through the weird in-between times of the holidays, I was thinking about the New Year. I've never been one for making resolutions. I prefer to take long-term goals and break them into sizeable chunks throughout the year. But it wouldn't hurt to start.

I'm planning a trip to Japan in late fall of 2025, so for my New Year's resolution I would like to learn some basic Japanese, even though it means putting up with the passive-aggressive attitude of the Duo lingo bird.

What about you? What resolutions are you making for 2025?