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Sock-Eating Shoes

2022-12-31 / ron

tl;dr a sprinkling of baby powder curbed my shoes’ evil sock-eating tendencies

I have been plagued with foot pain for as long as I can remember. As a consequence, I have tried countless different kinds of shoes, from cheap to pricey, but have worn flip-flops or gone barefoot most of my life. I’d estimate I have spent over $10,000 on shoes and never found a comfortable pair… until last year. I had been wearing some Oofos flip-flops that I found remarkably comfortable, and discovered that they sold shoes as well. I decided to try a pair.

Magnifica!

2022-08-28 / ron

My favorite way to make coffee is cold brew, but I do enjoy cappuccino. Since moving in with my betrothed, I have grown accustomed to having her DeLonghi Magnifica (ESAM3300) espresso machine at hand. Continue reading

mailbox

2022-06-01 / ron

When I moved here a bit over a year ago, the rural mailbox on the curb was a mess. It was a standard metal box on top of a steel pole. At some point, someone had hit the pole and bent it. The box itself was dented, tarnished and had hardware-store stick-on numbers plastered to it. Then, to make matters worse, my future father-in-law backed his truck into the pole, bending it even further. Amazingly, it was still usable but it looked terrible.

a three hour tour

2022-03-12 / ron

The plan was to hike the Dipsea trail, a delightful 7+ mile walk from Mill Valley, California to Stinson beach. Wikipedia says:

The Dipsea is well known for its scenic course and challenging trails.^[32] The race starts on Throckmorton Avenue in Mill Valley, near Miller Avenue, in front of the old train depot (now a bookstore). After traversing a few blocks in Mill Valley’s downtown, runners climb 688 stairs^[33] (now 700 stairs, after the renovation of the middle section in Nov 2017) leading up the side of Mount Tamalpais, and then pass through Muir Woods National Monument, Mount Tamalpais State Park, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

fryer explosion

2022-01-02 / ron

I had an adventure preparing holiday meals.

day-of-week tags

2020-12-12 / ron

My caffeine daily driver is cold-pressed Peet’s Ethiopian Fancy. It takes 10-24 hours to brew. Things have been so crazy busy in my life, though, that I have a problem. Often, in my sleep-deprived haze, I forget when I put up the last pot. Was that this morning? Or yesterday?

eyes above the mask

2020-08-16 / ron

Last month I took a road trip to Denver, about 1,100 miles each way. I wanted to visit one of my longest, dearest (never “oldest”!) friends who had contracted COVID-19 in early March and who had largely been in isolation since with severe aftereffects (a class of patients who’ve recently gained the moniker “long-haulers”). Continue reading