Summary for March, 2024

Solid quali for Ferrari. Car looks fast again over one lap. If the terrible tire degradation from last year’s car has been reduced, I will feel great about the potential for the season. 🏎️ #F1 #ForzaFerrari

Biggest question marks for me are with Mercedes and McLaren. George managed to qualify on the second row, while Lewis struggled mightily. The McLaren was all over the place. I also think Checo is done for if he continues to have such a wide execution gap with Max. #F1 #F1

Well, that was a boring race! 😂 Max spanks Checo and Red Bull is still way out in front. Charles has bad luck with his car (surprise, surprise…). Frustrated for Charles, but happy with a 3-4 finish. Probably the best possible today. #F1 🏎️ 💨

Finally got around to watching Barbie tonight with the fam. As others have said, it is a far better movie than one would expect on paper. Definitely a bit heavy-handed, but extremely entertaining with a solid message.

Our Rivian R1S is delivered on Saturday. The best 20th wedding anniversary gift for my wife :D

What a great race for the Scuderia! Charles gets his first podium of the season, and over two races it’s looking that the SF-24 is the clear “best of the rest” car on the grid. Ollie’s debut couldn’t have gone any better. #F1 #ForzaFerrari 🏎️ 💨

🐻 👨🏻

Finished the main part of God of War a few days ago. There’s a lot to like about the game, but it really didn’t “click” with me. I found the entire thing tedious, overly complicated, and a bit boring at times.

I’ve moved on to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Really enjoying it so far. The story and characters are great, and the skills tree and abilities are quick to learn. It’s a bit janky and buggy sometimes, which is annoying, but overall it’s pretty solid.

Got off to a bit of a rough start with the Rivian. Software glitches galore starting the day after we took delivery. Thankfully, they were able to push an update to the car and now it’s working great.

Loving the Rivian so far. My biggest complaint is the lack of CarPlay. I ordered an inexpensive portable CarPlay screen to try. It is very promising! I can power it with the OBD2 port. Just need to mount it elegantly…

Thanks for everything Aaron Donald! You will be sorely missed. What an incredible player. Future first-ballot hall of gamer, no doubt. 🐏 🏈

Finished Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Really fun game. I ended up growing to love the characters, which is always a good thing. Definitely a bit janky at time with gameplay, but worth it. I just started Jedi: Survivor and it’s off to a great start. Visuals are much improved.

Was just reminded yet again how great it is to have preserved my web presence across platforms by consolidating on my website. Check out my archive: https://cleverdevil.io/archive My entire public web life, from 2002 to today. #IndieWeb

My daughter turned 13 in January and it’s hit me hard. I’ve been reminiscing. She was a perfect little baby. No hair on her head for longer than most, and then suddenly perfect little blonde curls. I remember her clonking around the house in mama’s boots. I remember singing her to bed every night. 💕

My wife’s cancer diagnosis, surgery, and now chemotherapy, have been challenging for all of us. Having my daughter ask me to snuggle her to sleep, to take her to Disneyland, or to help her with her math? Priceless, precious, and special. I love her so much!

The kids are processing their emotions in very different ways, and I’m doing everything in my power to support their minds and hearts. Cancer sucks, but I’m trying to appreciate the opportunity to be there for my family.

Rivian updates: - My CarPlay solution is working well. It’s not as good as first-party support, but it’s good enough. - Built in navigation is… not the best. - For a tank, it’s an absolute blast to drive. - I wish there were more physical buttons. - iOS Shortcuts support is decent! I have “unlock” assigned to my Action Button on my phone.

A few more nits: - Even when the car is sitting in the driveway, it aggressively grabs Bluetooth connections from our phones. Annoying. - Alexa is terri-bad. Seriously awful. - I wish there was a glove box. Seriously, though, it’s an amazing car. Even with the warts.

I’ve been married to my lovely wife for 20 years as of today. What a milestone!

Been a tough day. My wife was ordered to the ER this morning, and tests have identified a blood clot in her lungs, AKA a pulmonary embolism. She has been given an injection of an anti-coagulant and will be admitted to the hospital. Her next chemo treatment was supposed to be on Monday. Not so sure now.

At home watching F1 practice, distracting myself. Lacey is spending the night in the hospital without me, as she is sharing a room and I’m not allowed to stay with her. Frustrating. On the bright side, Charles Leclerc is blisteringly fast in the SF-24 in Melbourne. Optimistic!

Thanks for all the encouragement and well wishes for my wife. She is still in the hospital but is in good spirits. There was some concern that there may be clotting or bleeding in her brain, but thankfully a CT of her head was clear. Hoping for discharge today.

Discharge order is in! She can sleep in her own bed tonight. Blood thinners prescribed for management. Lots of monitoring going forward. But treatment of her cancer can continue. Whew!

Friday night qualifying? Yes, please! Love the Australia GP as a west coaster. Evening sessions, quali, and race. Gotta love it. Don’t want to jinx it, but Ferrari is looking incredibly strong so far this weekend. Let’s hope it translates to results.

Well shit.

FORZA FERRARI!!! #F1

Man, I needed that race.

For fucks sake, America. Why do we have this shit healthcare system? Anyone who thinks that it’s better than universal healthcare is a dolt. The motivation should be about care, not profit.

Yay. My wife’s chemotherapy session has to be rescheduled because of insurance sucking.

Insurance sorted. Treatment plan updated. Moving everything to the right a day for the remainder of the chemo.

So happy that Kristen Kish is succeeding Padma on Top Chef. Replacing a legend is a tall order, but she has risen to the challenge, bringing her own flavor ( 🥁 💥) to the table, while still clearly staying true to the ethos of the show. Bravo!

On my Mac, I’m a happy user of Arc as my browser. On my iPhone and iPad, I’ve been using Safari, as the Arc app for those isn’t great. Recently, I’ve switched to Orion, from the folks that make Kagi. It’s excellent, and even includes support for Chrome and Firefox extensions.

Still enjoying Star Wars: Jedi Survivor very much. The character development is top notch; especially for the main character. There are new skills and abilities to unlock, and it all builds from the prior game. Sometimes it does feel a little like Star Wars Jedi: Parkour though 😂

Before my wife’s cancer diagnosis, she had planned to take my daughter to a concert with one of her fave artists, Em Beihold. VIP passes purchased. Last night, I got to take my daughter instead due to my wife’s treatment. There are always blessings in the midst of struggles.

I helped my daughter make a special gift for Em, a cowboy hat decorated with “jewels” and glitter. Em graciously took the gift and wore it on stage. Then, once the concert began, my girl asked me to dance with her. I’ll keep the night in my heart for years.

Back in my happy place in the desert after a long time away. Good for the soul. More importantly, good for my wife’s chemo treatment week.

I’m smoking a pork shoulder overnight for Easter dinner, and I have some gorgeous boneless short ribs in the sous vide for a 48 hour cook. She may feel lousy, but she’s going to eat well, dammit.