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2026: E is for experiences

The PolyBlog
January 6 2026

This is a bit of a hard category to nail down. Obviously, everything we do is an “experience” in some way. And I obviously don’t mean simply that…

On the other hand, I’m also not sure if I ONLY mean big experiences. Retiring would be big, but not an experience; going to the circus would be an experience, but not necessarily big.

I guess that I’m more talking about doing things that are not part of my ordinary world. Or perhaps even more simply, things that take effort to do. D&D, even, takes effort.

We’re going to go see Singin’ in the Rain at Centerpointe in June, and it sort of counts, I think.

Usually, I would include various restaurants in the list, except that I don’t have a list at the moment of “must try” restaurants. I should, I suppose, although my interest seems pedestrian…I was following a guy on FB who created a group centred around “Club Sandwiches,” which he called “Clubbing for Cancer” — trying to find the best club sandwich in Ottawa while fighting cancer. He lost his battle, unfortunately, but the group is still active and I liked the premise. I thought of doing wings, but it’s often subjective; burgers, pizza, etc. are all overdone (sometimes literally). But I do have this idea for going out for a simple breakfast — eggs (sunny side, of course), toast, bacon, juice. Home fries if available. Maybe sausages. Normally, no, for bacon or anything else. I don’t really think of that as “an experience” necessarily, but I do have a list of some 70 places that people suggested. I’ve done 3 so far. I tried to tick the box for another one between Christmas and New Years and it was JAMPACKED. Not a relaxing vibe at all. But I’ll probably do a few more over the next year.

I could include astronomy viewings, but again, not really what I’m thinking of, that’s kind of separate.

I am a member of the Capital Crime Writers group, I suppose that would count for an outing to hear a guest speaker.

I could also benefit from a simple baking course, if I could find one that isn’t during the day (I’m not retired yet!).

And I am still thinking about a retreat weekend sometime. Just me and my thoughts.

Oh, and if I get a chance to ride an e-bike or drive a jetski or boat, that would count too.

That’s about it. I’m not dreaming big this year. I did the Bouchercon last year, and we went to BC, even went to an orchard and picked apples (I’ve always wanted to do it and never went!) but this year will be more about home stuff, saving the gusto perhaps for Egypt in May 2027.

Until then, I’ll have to noodle some more stuff. Feel free to suggest out-of-the-ordinary things to try.

Posted in Pondside Planner | Tagged goals | Leave a reply

QotD: Poke Yourself (PWQ00051)

The PolyBlog
January 5 2026
“When you’re a writer, sometimes you have to spend time poking at part of yourself that normal,  sane people leave alone.” ~ Vikram Chandra
Posted in Quotes | Tagged QotD, quotes | Leave a reply

The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healey (2025) – BR00285 (R2026) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
January 5 2026

Plot or Premise

Women are hired to work on code-breaking cyphers, amid a flurry of men with giant egos, poor mannerisms, and potential nefarious intentions.

What I Liked

Previous stories have trodden the same ground, although often in WWII. This one picks up after the war, focusing on the beginnings of the Cold War. Cat Killeen moves hundreds of miles to work in Arlington Hall, home of the Army Security Agency. The story follows generally a combination of her getting to work with someone brilliant but difficult at work, showing her aptitude for the work, and building a social life with some other girls who work in the same unit, with the requisite dating of someone from security intelligence (aka maybe a spy!).

What I Didn’t Like

The story was decent but a little short on action; it was the “cozy” equivalent of a spy thriller. There’s also a scene where things happen to her rather than because of her, and it feels like a lost chance for more agency in the protagonist. So the ending felt more flat than determinative.

The Bottom Line

A bit of spy work with some light romance

Posted in Lilypad Reviews, Lilypad-Library | Tagged book review | Leave a reply

2026: D is for Dungeons and Dragons

The PolyBlog
January 5 2026

Yep, I started playing D&D last year. Except my attendance has sucked as my mental health waxes and wanes more than the moon. 2025 was rough for me both physically and mentally, and some Tuesday nights, I just couldn’t suck it up to play.

My coworker Devin set up a group, and my friend Stephan joined in. We’ve added another friend of Devin’s, Owen, and recently another friend of Stephan’s, Jeff.

We started off with a traditional style game in D&D land, in person, at Devin’s place. That didn’t work out as well as we had hoped for attendance and everything, so now we’re playing a Savage World game on Foundry where we play by remote. The first few nights were rough for the tech side of things, but we added Teams to handle our voice comms, and just use Foundry for the game without video or sound, so it works a little more stable-ish.

But the “night” isn’t really about the RPG, it’s about me doing something social with people. And as a single investment, it’s pretty good. I just have to commit to it more.

That’s it, that’s all. I need to put butt in seat and connect more regularly. I enjoy it, but some nights, I just don’t have the mental energy. 🙁

Posted in Pondside Planner | Leave a reply

2026: C is for Computers

The PolyBlog
January 4 2026

There are several areas I want to explore this year in the realm of computers, IT, and websites.

1. I want to tidy up my backups. I’m a bit behind, easy to do, but I need to catch up.

2. At some point, I have to figure out my carousel on the PolyWogg site. I created a pseudo-carousel, large header, and well, it doesn’t work for me. Yet.

3. I guess I also want to do something with the look and feel of the PolyWogg site as well when it comes to blog entries that are “sub-areas” — the main blog pages show perfectly, the sub-areas not so much. I’m missing something small to tweak, haven’t wrapped my head around it.

4. I want to do something with old computers. I have some I want to convert into game players, and I’m going to set up one PC to run 3D printing. It’s not urgent, but it will take a dedicated two or three days to sort it out enough to begin work. This includes re-purposing and maybe even jailbreaking an iPad. I’ve looked it for fun recently, just cuz I wanted to see how hard it is/would be, and you know what? Not that hard.

5. But if I set up the computer to 3D print, I also need to set up the 3D printer. That is a bit more complicated. The new one should be relatively easy, but the old one is a mess of pain.

6 Much more elaborate, I have plans for two apps. One is astronomy-related; the other trivia-ish. But I think they’re going to have to wait for retirement. The effort required to get into programming is just too much overall to dabble.

7. I mentioned in my book list that I want to read stuff about AI, and perhaps it should be here too, although I think it is more for my L is for Learning side of things.

8. I’m also not very proficient in a couple of pieces of software that I need to work with in the future — GIMP will be my basic editor of choice for photos, and I have a full training program to help me get better at using it. At least for the basics, astrophotography will require more work. But I also have ideas for the future that will involve video, and my wife and son got me a green screen setup for Christmas. So I’m mostly ready to go, I just need to double down on what I want to create and figure out which software packages I’m going to use. I have a bunch, but not sure which ones are best for what I’m going to be doing. That may take until late fall to figure out though.

And that’s it. Pretty linear, pretty straightforward.

Posted in Computers | Tagged computers, goals | Leave a reply

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