Now

What I'm currently doing, feeling, and thinking about...

As much as I love heat—I did move to the desert, after all—I'm happy that Mesilla Valley is transitioning into autumn. One of my favorite things is monsoon season, but we only got a few weeks of that this summer. So on to cooler times, I say, along with some of my other favorite things: Halloween season and horror movies.

Gardening

I built my first garden this year and managed to grow some great chiles. I live right by NMSU, which pioneered New Mexican chiles, so I have access to tons of varieties that grow well here. Other than that, catnip and basil took off like crazy. My strawberries and cucumbers, however, ended up burning up in the summer sun. I'll have to figure out some better partial-day cover for next year.

Motorcycles

This time last year I bought my first motorcycle, an electric BMW CE-04. I've loved it, but riding in 100° in gear can be a lot. So now that it's getting cooler, I have camping on my mind, and a motorcycle capable of longer distances is sounding pretty appealing. I've been conflicted with options, but ultimately I'm researching and comparing right now.

Gaming

As I do every expansion since I was in the beta for it (good god I'm old), I have re-immersed myself into World of Warcraft. I've always been a semi-casual healer, and with this expansion being really friendly to alts, I'm gearing up a handful.

For a while now, I've been kicking around the idea of an "end of time" sci-fi setting for an RPG. I've finally decided to write it as a published setting for my system Hundred Lite, which should supply the basic mechanics it needs. I'm hoping to playtest it by the end of the year, if I can manage to find time for a short campaign.

Programming

It's been years since I learned and built a few projects with Elixir, but I always had a weird fascination and appreciation for its older sibling Erlang. I've heard others describe Erlang's syntax as ugly or archaic—I find it endearingly pragmatic in its functional focus. With the recent release of OTP 27, I'm diving back in with renewed fervor.

Last updated on September 24, 2024.