Month: January 2026

When we moved back into our home after our mission time in California, we started finding little plastic animals hidden around the house. Kyra and Hannah had apparently bought a package of them on Amazon, and scattered them about just prior to our return. For weeks, I’d find them atop door frames, in the refrigerator drawer, behind the salt shaker, under the silverware, and on and on. Every day brought new animals and a smile to my face.

Well, that was six months ago and we’ve found most of them. My last discovery, at the end of December, was a little blue brachiosaurus inside the glove I keep stashed in the car in case of emergencies:

Kyra was pretty clever with some of these!

Tonight I found a tiny stegosaurus in the Party House, and it reminded me there are still a few lurking out there.

Then I got to thinking: maybe I could design a kids’ game for Oliver that features these fun little dinosaurs and animals. I already gave him Ofrendas, which is basically Go Fish, and he seemed to enjoy matching the cartoon cards. I gathered all the dinosaurs I’ve found to date…

… and now I’m contemplating how they might make a game suitable for a five-year-old. Ideas are welcome!

Back in 2003 I put two magnets together to form the catchy phrase Thought Monkeys. Over the past two decades I’ve registered a domain, created a fake company, created a real company, and generally had a good chuckle about all of it.

Last month Pepper and I were at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Dillon MT and I saw a sign on the wall:

I immediately knew that was the logo I should use for Thought Monkeys! Today, a little bit of graphics work and voila:

Clearly it’s trademark infringement for me to use this screaming sunglassed howler monkey on anything official. So it’ll just be another fun addition to the 23-year-and-counting saga of Thought Monkeys…

Every month or so, it’s time to make a bunch of pizzas and freeze them. Today it was time.

It’s actually a fun process. There’s enough dough to make nine mini-pizzas, which I put into little pans. They get wrapped and frozen, and for the next month I can just grab one from the freezer, pop it into the oven, and in eighteen minutes enjoy a piping hot fresh-baked pizza! Brilliant.

Well, this is it. The last one.

For well over a decade, I’ve been buying this brand of orange juice from Costco. They’ve recently discontinued it, and don’t plan to re-stock it. This is my last can from the freezer.

I love orange juice, This is a blow to my habit, because now I’ll have to buy it at “regular” grocery stores (much more expensive than Costco) and in smaller sizes.

Hmm. Maybe I should plant some orange trees in my orchard…

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally feel like I’m “back in the saddle” of technical work. For many months I’ve been thinking about how to un-retire and do some meaningful software development. Fortunately I have a long-time client (and friend!) who’s willing to engage me in some projects. It isn’t full-time work– far from it– but it’s enough to keep me busy for a few hours here and there. I’m updating and upgrading their web application, using technologies I’ve been immersed in for 25 years while exploring new technologies to make things better, faster, and easier.

Ahh, editing PHP in Vim…

While much of what I’m doing feels so familiar, there are a few twists. First, I have a triple monitor setup with massive 32-inch 2K screens: plenty of real estate for all of my editor windows, test pages, log files, research tabs, and so on. More pixels are almost always better!

Second, I have an amazing lake view out the window as I work, which beats the basement window well view of my old home office. And third, the pace is much more relaxed: no more 50-hour weeks, constantly checking email, or feeling like I always need to be available for clients. I work a few hours a day, taking pizza and gaming breaks or shifting gears for a personal project for a bit.

It feels good to be back in this groove. I always enjoyed my job, and my clients… it was having to work those long hours that became a drag. Now that I can do it more on my terms, I think it’s going to be a Good Thing.