The chair arrived.

A reclining chair with gray upholstery and a bentwood frame, paired with a dark desk surface with pegboard holes for accessories

I backed a Kickstarter back in April, maybe, from a Ukrainian woodworker for a reclining chair and desk combo. A reward for finishing the LocallyGrown conversion, I told myself. I work almost exclusively at a standing desk these days, but sometimes you need to sit for reading, ketamine treatments, or experimenting with multiple giant monitors in VR. The chair finally showed up this week, assembled without drama, and it’s exactly as comfortable as I’d hoped. Quality time was had.

Shipped

It was back to work this week after the holidays. Things are uncomfortably slow in general, but my role has me touching nearly every project and potential project we’re engaged with. There’s been lots of context switching, lots of architecture decisions, and lots of opportunities to put new dev tools through their paces. The context switching suits my brain, honestly. It’s the unexpected interruptions that wreck me, not the deliberate pivots.

Read

I started Automatic Noodle this week. The real world is on fire and this was exactly the respite I needed, a few delightful minutes at a time.

Played

I didn’t do much gaming this week. I did pick up A Gentle Rain, a meditative tile-placement game where you arrange lotus blooms on a pond. It takes about fifteen minutes, there’s no competition, and it’s pure pattern-making. It should be a good mental reset between tasks.

Cooked

It was mostly a week of working through holiday leftovers, but I made one big production: a giant pile of fried chicken using Babish’s “Ultimate Fried Chicken” recipe. The process involves a dry brine, a tempura-ish batter, and a double fry. He specifies a particular flour blend for maximum crunch, but I needed these gluten-free, so I improvised my own mix.

Close-up of golden fried chicken pieces with a craggy, textured crust resting on a wire rack

I achieved plenty of cronch. I’d make these again when I’m feeling ambitious. They’re more involved than my usual southern style, but worth it.

Noticed

It was hot and muggy this week, which feels wrong for January. That’ll flip hard next week; the highs won’t reach this week’s lows. Our youngest cat has some Maine Coon in him and his winter coat has fully arrived. He’s more fur than flesh at this point, which will serve him well come the cold snap.

The bigger thing I noticed this week: Buddhist monks from the Walk for Peace pilgrimage passed through Lexington, Georgia, on their 2,300-mile journey from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C.

Monks in saffron and maroon robes walk down a rural road, led by a monk with a tall walking staff. Aloka the rescue Peace Dog trots alongside. Community members line both sides of the road, many with palms pressed together in greeting, as a police vehicle with blue lights escorts the procession.

My own philosophies lean more Taoist than Buddhist, but there’s considerable overlap. It was a wonderful opportunity to be mindful and let them lead by practical example. I’m glad my youngest daughter and I could share a meal with these monks as they walked through our part of the country.

Thinking About

I’ve written quite a bit lately, here and on the company blog, about using AI-powered dev tools with thought and intentionality. For various reasons I’ve felt the need to articulate the philosophy and ethics behind how I use them, not just demonstrate the workflows. Having it down in black and white creates accountability. It’s harder to quietly drift when you’ve already said where you stand.

What’s Next

Inuhele, the tiki convention I help with, is in two weeks. CONpossible, the steampunk convention I help with, is in four. I have so much to do before then.

The vibe this week: I need the coming weeks to run well above my usual productivity, and my usual has been solid. I have a suspicion this is only going to ramp up from there. It’s a good thing I have a comfortable chair for the occasional sit-down.