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The Lee-Fendall House was built by revolutionary  war hero Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee in 1785. It was home to 37 different family members, including being the boyhood home of Robert E Lee. It’s now a museum and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Apps For Travelers

When I travel, my phone ceases to be an entertainment and diversion device and turns into a real tool. Whether I'm staying in town or on an outdoor adventure, I rely on my phone for directions and information about things to do and places to go. Here are a few of the apps I find helpful. History PointerHistory Pointer uses your current location to show you locations on the National Historic Register. I was amazed to see how many places in my own hometown were listed. You get maps, Wikipedia excerpts and an augmented reality tour. ($4.99) Gas BuddyLast weekend, my gas light came on while I was way out in the country carrying my granddaughter to work at the horse farm that employs her. Luckily, I have Gas Buddy installed. I use it without signing in and only letting it use my location when I'm actively searching for gas....

7 weeks of consistent training and I’ve outgrown pretty much all of my equipment at home. So now I either buy heavier dumbbells or just sign up to the gym already. I had these weights for some time, so it’s strange to see them getting a little too light.

Wow! 😏 I completed 24k steps today and had a fantastic lake trip that I never thought I could do. I'm really happy, but now it's essential to take a bit of rest...

The Last of Us - Season 2 Episode 2

Profanity /prō-făn′ĭ-tē, prə-/ noun 1. The condition or quality of being profane. 2. Abusive, vulgar, or irreverent language. 3. The use of such language.

📝 The Digital Nightmare Ritual: The Sacrificial Click of Letting Go

I’m staring at the screen, a cold sweat beading on my forehead, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest, caught in the agonizing dilemma of fight or flight. Instead, my mind freezes, while my trembling hand hesitates—each millimeter closer to the screen feels like stepping toward a cliff’s edge. Before me lurks my worst nightmare and my sworn enemy, an ever-present shadow in my life that has stolen my sleep ever since I first learned to type: that little, merciless, unforgiving “delete” button.  It taunts me, daring me to make the final cut, a merciless executioner of my digital life—whispering that once something is gone, it’s gone forever. ... And for most of my life, I agreed with it. ... The Fear of Letting GoHovering over that button and confronting this fear feels like a sacrificial ritual—offering up my most cherished possessions in the hope of prosperity, each...

““The world wants our productivity, not our presence.”” — Shiv Sengupta

Exercise rest day. I did a lot this week, feeling it. Also feeling my body healing right now. Fantastic feeling.

Sooner or later I should take a closer look at how Webhooks work. 😇

📡✨ — Freaking Out

People are upset since Synology announced tied control of drives supported in their recently updated NAS devices. As someone who works in IT with enterprise-class storage vendors like NetApp, IBM, and Hitachi, I am accustomed to this level of control. However, home users see it as a money-grab tactic. The truth might be right in-between. 

Get Plain Text - Adds a Feature the Mac Lacks

People who work with text a lot are familiar with the Mac shortcut to paste the clipboard as plain text -  Command + Shift + Option + V. This shortcut works in many native Mac applications like Pages, Mail, and Safari. When you copy content from a source and use this shortcut to paste, it automatically strips away any formatting. While the shortcut is highly versatile, it only works sometimes. Applications like Microsoft Word or third-party software may not support it natively. You can learn application-specific methods of pasting as plain text. Word has a way to do it. So does Google Docs. It is easier, however, to find and use an application that will just take care of this for you. A good choice is an app that has been round for over a decade, Get Plain Text, available for free (with an IAP to tip the developer if...

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The car on the right has the DC Rugby team’s logo all over it. Go Old Glory!

Delighted to discover our friends now live on a boat!

Ok, giving up on vibe coding for now. Good to learn about Hugo though.

Decided to "vibe code" tonight. Let's see what I can come up with. One of those things I always wanted to do, but never got around to — just to change scenery a little.

In meditation/ contemplation silence is not an absence of sound but rather the intimate, unconditional and wordless experience of whatever is happening.

From a security and privacy point of view, Windows Recall is one of the most stupid pieces of technology I've ever seen.

Random morning photo.

So we made it. It’s a refreshing change to back on our old stomping ground. We had a nice evening walk along the beach last night. Off to visit friends on their house boat on a nearby creek today and hopefully just chill the rest of the day.

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Believed to have been abandoned by British General Edward Braddock in 1755 during the French and Indian War, this cannon was placed here in 1915 at the intersection of what is now Braddock and Russell Roads.

““We go on—not upward, not forward, but just on…”” — Soham AI

““To stop when silence is clearer than words…”” — Soham AI

““Peace of mind does not need to be earned or deserved, only noticed.”” — Robert Saltzman

#Lubuntu

Linux I like to always have alternatives not only for the distribution i'm using but also the desktop environment and i've kept a keen eye on the wayland efforts of Xfce, Budgie and LxQt and i came across a post by Steven mentioning the Lubuntu blog post about their 25.04 release and i was thoroughly impressed with how detailed and well written it was. So a couple of days ago i setup Lubuntu on a spare laptop even though they do not offer wayland yet i still wanted to try it out because of the informative and dare i say inviting blog post and like i always say; defaults actually matter a whole lot and i find them to be really nice here. I actually opted for the previous 24.10 release as i want to try out the upgrade process after the reported upgrade issues are sorted out and upgrades are...

On the road with wife and dog.

I’m thinking of upping my exercise routine to two strength workouts a day, one in the morning and late afternoon (targeting different parts). Followed by a rest day where I concentrate just on core (abs). I’ve been doing good for the past 7 weeks, so I’m careful with where to go next here. Worth trying and see where it goes.

I've been using lazygit more and more and have hardly touched my usual go to app for Git stuff, Fork. Really love it. There are a few things I still need to figure out. So far so good.

My current motto: "Keep it minimal."

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Listened to my latest album purchase while making dinner tonight.

Quick App Launcher - Pro, A Well Thought Alternative

There are various ways to launch apps on a Mac. The most obvious and the one used most by new Mac users is clicking icons in the dock. Apple also has Launchpad another built-in launcher. More advanced users sometimes move on to keyboard-driven methods, starting with Spotlight and advanced launchers like Raycast or Alfred, although some don't want the added system overhead or extra features. Some like the convenience of a menubar launcher like Xmenu or Folder Peek. Lately, there has also been a growing popularity among so-called pie menu launchers like Pieoneer. Another choice now available from developer Baser Kandehir, is a well-thought-out pop-up palette of applications through which you can sort in various ways. The app is called Quick App Launcher - Pro. You summon the application window with a user-defined keyboard shortcut or by clicking its icon in the menu bar. You can choose one of three...

““At some point, we realise all our little hopes and dreams for the web are pointless because it’s all out of our hands. And yet we can’t shake those dreams off, because it seems to us like the culture is so busted that the only way to connect it up is through the open web. Because the open web is open access and some form of the web pervades most of our lives now.”” Warren Ellis, Finding the web

The sense, the feeling of  ‘I am, this is, I am this’ is not the same as the sense of ‘me, self and ego’. It’s the difference between feeling life and feeling something about life.

Being Awake

[YouTube Video] Shiv Shengupta, Dark Knight of the Soul

Five hour drive across the country tomorrow back to where we used to live. A few days catching up with old friends which we’re really looking forward to. I’m also catching up with some individuals I used to support which will be fun!

Practice is not immediately remedial or about making yourself feel better right now. It is simply seeing and recognising with clear honesty whatever is happening right now, accepting it and being grateful for it.

The irony of starting a blog about my work just as I’m about to go on holiday is not lost on me. Tomorrow my wife and I are going back to visit old friends where we used to live. I’m also going to be paying a visit to a woman I used to support who now lives on her own and also a whole bunch of guys and gals I used to support who all live on one residential site. I can’t wait, I’m really excited. I know it’s going to be a lot of fun 😀 Back to work next week…

I accompanied my son as he drove to the optician’s to collect his new specs, which look good on him. Mowed the lawn and just got back from a run over the fields. Great view of the mountains in the distance. Just looked down and noticed my legs are completely green from the grass cuttings.

If you are looking for a Google Map alternative then Mapy.com is the perfect app to try. It is also suitable for people that like cycling and walking.

Discipline Equals Freedom. This idea is so underrated.