Last weekend, we took a trip to Hocking Hills in Ohio to meet up with my mother-in-law. We got in some hikes to see waterfalls and rocks in the state park.
Category: Miscellany
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Photos from Portugal
Last week I was in Portugal for a team-building trip for work. While there I got to do some sight-seeing, both as part of group activities and on my own. Most of our time was spent within walking distance of our hotel near Rossio, but we also took trips to Arrábida Natural Park, Setúbal, and Oceanário de Lisboa.
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A Trip to Florida
We spent last week in Florida. On the way down, we stopped at the Kennedy Space Center where there was a lot of stuff for the Artemis II launch that was only a few days away at that point. Then we visited the Miami Zoo, Biscayne and Everglades National Parks, and some family on the Gulf coast.
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New Job
Not quite two years ago, I left my job at GitHub. It was not bringing me any joy, and I was lucky enough to be in a position that I was able to take a long break from having a day job.
A few months ago, I started entertaining the idea of working again, and saw a job posting that seemed like it could be a good fit for me. The interview process went well, and last week I started a new job at DuckDuckGo working on their browser for Windows.
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Praying Mantis
On my walk this morning, I saw a praying mantis on the trail. At first, it was fighting with another bug, but I think my approach distracted them and the other combatant was able to fly away.
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Beach Trip
Last week, we took a trip out to the Atlantic coast to visit Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
Bald Eagle 
Rays 
Sea Turtle 
Otters 
Waves 
Waves 
Fireworks 
Beach from Above 
Bird on the Pier 
Waves 
Looking Inland 
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Star League at 1,000
Back in 2021, I was one of the founding moderators for a new BattleTech fan server. At the time, the big existing fan communities for the game tended to allow open bigotry and other unwelcoming behavior, and there wasn’t really much in the way of an alternative. After finding each other on twitter, three of us decided to set up a new server with the goal of being a welcoming place, particularly for LGBTQ fans.
It’s been four years now, and the server recently hit 1,000 members. Over the years, it has grown into a great fan community. There have been growing pains along the way, and all three of us founding members have stepped away from moderation over the years – it’s a lot of work to keep a big community running smoothly, and we’ve moved on to other projects. I am really proud of what I helped build there though, and I look forward to seeing it continue to thrive.
If you’re interested in BattleTech, here’s a link to the server: Star League.
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Happy Fourth! (2020)
Back in 2020, I made these Independence Day messages featuring some of the LEGO minifigures that I’ve collected. I posted them on Facebook and Instagram, but those accounts have since been deleted so now they can live on here.
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The Bitter Southerner
The other day, I was watching a video from Carolina Forward and liked the shirt that Blair Reeves was wearing. Looking for it led me to the Bitter Southerner General Store. I didn’t end up ordering that shirt, but only because I ended up finding others there that I liked even more. As I mentioned last week, I like biscuits, so this Make More Biscuits one won me over. Then I also got the Product of Public Schools and Wild Places Matter tees for myself and a Libraries are Essential one for Stef.
Beyond the store, the Bitter Southerner’s main purpose is telling stories about the South and pushing for a Better South. Towards that end, it publishes a magazine, newsletter, podcast, and books. So in addition to a few new shirts, I’m also now subscribed to their newsletter.
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Detroit Zoo
I spent last week in Michigan and had a chance to visit the zoo of my childhood. The Detroit Zoo has changed a fair bit since I last visited it a couple of decades ago. I enjoyed the few hours that I spent walking around and visiting the animals.
Scott Boehmer 