Blog
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Downpour
I’ve always enjoyed a good walk in the rain in the city. It’s the one time when you be sure that nobody will be out and about. You end up mostly having the city to yourself for a short while. So when it started to downpour this afternoon, I donned my trusty raincoat and headed out for a midday walk.
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Stereotypes
Some people don’t seem to get that although stereotypes have a kernel of truth to them, they’re just a kernel. Holding that kernel against a random person who happens to be from the broad category the stereotype comes from, is just arse holery of the highest order. – me
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Caffeine experiment
After being caffeine free for 4 years, 6 months, and 29 days, I made an exception today at 13:00 for an experiment. I wanted to see what caffeine would do to me after such a long time away from it.
I had a very good day, but it was looking quite good from the outset anyway. I was ranting a bit, which I suspect was caused by a bit of extra aggression and agitation from the caffeine. It’s now 22:16 and I need to start winding down for bed, and I’m still feeling quite active and have zero interest in sleeping. So I took a diphenhydramine (mild sedative) to put me to sleep. When I was drinking a lot of caffeine, it never affected my sleep, but it most definitely has today.
I had 330 mL of Coke Zero, which was utterly disappointing and not how I remembered it. I also had a 250 mL Blue RedBull, which was surprisingly tasty. I don’t think I’ll be doing this again though. It has quenched my curiosity of what would happen to me when I consumed caffeine again, but the answer was “nothing good, but nothing particularly bad”.
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Boysenberries
I always assumed boysenberries were available worldwide. For years, I’d been eating what I thought were boysenberries in Germany, just thinking German ones weren’t great quality. Turns out, they were actually blackberries! After digging into it, I discovered boysenberries are primarily popular in New Zealand, with a small following in the USA (where they were originally developed).
While visiting my brother recently, I found out that he has boysenberry vines growing in his backyard. It wasn’t the season for fresh ones, but he had some in the freezer. The moment I tasted them, that distinctive flavor instantly brought back memories – so delicious!
It’s tricky to describe their unique taste. While they’re similar to blackberries, boysenberries have this wonderfully rich, complex flavor that sets them apart. Think of blackberries, but with a more vibrant, sweet taste.
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Crash site – exactly 40 years later
I drove the route we were meant to complete on February 11th 1985, at the same time, on February 11th 2025. Mission accomplished. I didn’t crash this time.
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Fitness 2024
I’ve been tracking my fitness activities this year with a super simple system – red days for total couch potato mode, yellow for when I squeeze in some movement, and green for those proper sweat sessions ?.
I kicked things up a gear in July and I’m proud of my progress in the later part of the year (minus two annoying colds that hit me in Nov/Dec ?).
I’m hoping to keep this momentum throughout 2025 ?
