Personal

The stuff about me and my life. The “diary” side of blogging.

Star Trek Collector’s Series by Dr. Pepper

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Here’s a fun little entry in my small and random collection of Trek stuff: A set of four drinking glasses issued by Dr. Pepper. They all have TAS artwork on the front, some technical or biographical information on the back, and have a copyright date of 1976.

Four drinking glases sitting on a bookshelf in front of a stack of TOS Star Trek novels. TAS artwork on the glasses shows the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.

This set was found by my brother at a garage sale or antique store (I don’t remember exactly) a few years back and sent to me as a present. They’re great! Though they’re definitely display pieces, as I don’t want to risk damaging them…or the possibility of their using some sort of funky ’70s-era lead-based paint or some such thing.

Four drinking glases sitting on a bookshelf in front of a stack of TOS Star Trek novels. They are turned to show the text on the back of each glass, though it's difficult to read in this photo.

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Year 50 Day 61

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Me, with a slight smirk, standing in front of a window overlooking the entrance to our home.

Day 61: About to get ready for bed, I realized I hadn’t taken my photo for the day. Then I turned in circles for a minute or two trying to find a camera angle that didn’t have an embarrassing background. I rather desperately need to get my home office straightened up.

Year 50 Day 60

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Me sitting in front of our car. The car's passenger-side headlights are visible behind me. I'm holding a headlight bulb and its packaging.

Day 60: We noticed yesterday that one of our headlights was out, so today I figured out how to fix it. Some car headlight bulbs are ridiculously difficult to access and swap out, but the process on a 2016 Chevy Sonic is remarkably simple. Even I could do it! We’re pretty sure I’m an auto mechanic now.

📚 Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe et al.

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31/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hopepunk and Afrofuturist stories in the world of Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer. A really good set of stories, written with a lineup of coauthors. There wasn’t a story here that I didn’t enjoy. While not strictly necessary, I do recommend at least watching the Dirty Computer “emotion picture” before or along with reading this for a little more background on the world and its characters. And, of course, Monáe’s Dirty Computer album, along with the rest of her albums, is excellent.

Me holding Dirty Computer

Year 50 Day 59

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Me and my wife standing in front of a large shark's jaw.

Day 59: Since my wife has the summer off and my schedule has shifted to four tens until fall quarter starts, we now have our Fridays free. Today, we started our day with a trip to the Point Defiance Zoo. It’s a little smaller than the Woodland Park Zoo, but makes up for that by having two aquariums…well, usually, at least — one is closed until next year for renovations. Still, we always enjoy this zoo, and it made for a nice way to spend our morning. Now we’re back inside and hiding from the sun once again.

Year 50 Day 58

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Me standing outside in front of a chain-link fence. Behind the fence is an active construction area, with workers and heavy equipment visible. In the far distance are the tracks for an in-construction light rail station.

Day 58: Eventually (sometime in 2025), there will be a light rail station just across the road from Highline College. In the meantime, one of the area improvements is a major upgrade to the entrance to the campus. The work on that project is underway over the summer and should be complete by the time fall quarter starts. Not much to look at right now, but should be a good upgrade when complete, and it’s going to be very nice to have the light rail station here when it finally opens.

Year 50 Day 57

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Me standing outside one of the buildings on campus, wearing a blue button-up short-sleeve shirt with a print of stars, astronauts, and the NASA logo.

Day 57: I’ve just been feeling a little spacey today. And no, you don’t need to be a dad to make dad jokes. I also have NASA-themed swim trunks which are, of course, referred to as my “space suit”.

Year 50 Day 56

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Me sitting on our back deck, wearing black cargo shorts and t-shirt, holding a bowl of chocolate pudding with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

Day 56: It is really nice to have the kind of weather that allows us to sit out in the sun and have dinner out on our back deck. Plus pudding for dessert! And a new pair of shorts that my wife found for me.

Year 50 Day 55

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Me wearing a Nine Inch Nails 2020 tour t-shirt

Day 55: This shirt makes me laugh — for non-obvious, personal reasons.

I discovered Nine Inch Nails right after Pretty Hate Machine came out, and for years, they were my favorite band (as evidence, I present my 1996 “woody’s obsession with nine inch nails” webpage). However, living in Alaska, I never got a chance to see them live, and even after moving to Seattle, they never played close enough at times when I had money and transportation, so I’ve still never been to one of their shows. (Plus, to be honest, while I still enjoy them, they’re not as much of an obsession as they once were, and I’m much less likely to listen to their post-Downward Spiral work.)

So, when the pandemic hit and they had to cancel their tour and put their tour shirts up on their website, it just seemed perfect. If I’m going to have a tour shirt from a band I’ve never managed to actually see on tour, what better one to have than for the tour that got cancelled?