Update 4/29/2020: A whole bunch of updates inline below!
Update 5/26/2020: Even more updates
Overall, I grade the current global pandemic an F. It’s not good! That’s not to say that there aren’t silver linings. Like a lot of people, I’m getting things done. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the good, the bad, and the inane things I’ve stopped putting off, as well as the things I have yet to stop putting off:
- Gone through old passwords and made every one strong and unique (this was a big one)
- Set up two-factor-authentication for everything I can. I went from four items in my authenticator to 17. I highly recommend Authy. Don’t waste your time with Google Authenticator, even though many sites treat it like the only one that exists.
- Cleaned out all the drawers in my desk and office
- Consolidated, and sorted all the random computer and A/V cables in the house, and threw away a bunch of old ones
- Cleaned out and organized my closet, and bagged up old clothes for donation
- Sold an extra copy of Mario Kart on eBay that the kids got for Christmas
- Listed and sold some vintage Tupperware on eBay (it’s actually worth a few bucks)
- Baked bread, twice
- Moved everything off of an ancient iMac, and onto my very cool new Synology NAS
- Cleaned up and better organized my Plex libraries
- Got all my external-facing services on the Synology NAS running over HTTPS
- General digital organization on my computer
- Vacuumed and mopped all the floors in the house several times
- Renamed all four Apple TVs in the house to reflect their actual locations
- Lots of Simpsons shitposting (more on this eventually)
- Cleaned my deck every day with the leaf blower (fucking magnolia tree)
- Replaced the cheap optical cable connecting the sound bar to the TV with a really nice one I bought like 13 years ago but never had a use for
- Cleaned out all the kitchen drawers
- Watched Outbreak, because why not?
- Sharpened kitchen knives
- Bought gap filler and filled in a big, disused vent hole in my kitchen that’s been there since I took some cabinets out five years ago. The next step is to spackle it and hide it entirely.
- Spackled every ding and hole in the walls I could find
- Filled various holes around the house with wood putty
- Removed baby gate pieces from the stairs from the previous owners (we’ve been in the house almost five years)
I’ve done a lot so far, but there’s more to do.
To watch
I’ve got a lot of media to catch up on. I’ve got a pretty good list, and I bet there’s more than this that I want to watch.
- Watch The Lighthouse
- Watch X-Men: Dark Phoenix
- Watch The Irishman
- Watch Blade Runner (not sure if I’ve ever seen the whole thing)
- Watch Blade Runner 2049
- Watch Fleabag
Watch Tiger King- Rewatch Mission Hill (it’s probably been 18 years)
Rewatch _Mr. Show _- Watch the What We Do in the Shadows TV series (six episodes to go in season 1)
- Get caught up on The Simpsons (I think I fell off around season 25 or 26)
- Get caught up on Better Call Saul (we’ve seen two seasons)
- Get caught up on Fargo (one season to go)
- Finish The Good Place (11 episodes to go)
- Finish Westworld Season 2 and watch Season 3
Finish The Leftovers (five episodes to go - in progress!)Finished 4/24/2020!- Finish Veep (one and a half season)
- Finish Silicon Valley (two and a half seasons left, I think?)
- Finish Picard (eight episodes)
- Finish The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (three episodes to go)
- Finish Daredevil (one season)
- Finish Jessica Jones (one season)
- Finish The Punisher (one season)
- Finish Iron Fist (one seaso)
- Try to keep current with Jeopardy
Around the house/yard
There are still useful things to do.
Plant grass (it’s been too cold)Done 4/19/2020- Maintain the garden
- Mini kitchen renovation (yikes)
Organize extension cords (this weekend, I swear)Done 4/26/2020!- Set up second workspace in the basement before it gets unbearably hot in my office
General basement cleanupDone 4/26/2020!Scrub dirty walls, doors, trim, and baseboardsDone 4/25/2020!
Digital projects
- Make some photo books and have them printed
Some general under-the-hood improvements to this siteDone 5/22/2020 in a big way.Maybe switch from Netlify CMS to Forestry.ioDone 5/22/2020! and I’m loving it.- Figure out a way to get off of iTunes Match, while keeping older MP3 music accessible to the whole family
- Figure out a way to share our Photos libraries with each other
- Organize Safari bookmarks
There are still a passwords that my wife and I share that need to be updated, as well as the video sites we share with friends and familyDone 4/19/2020!- Improve how I have Time Machine set up on the Synology
- A little update: While I havent’t done this yet, I Time Machine on my Synology did save my ass while I was working on the site. I had a major Git issue (every file I had worked on was empty after a rebase!), but I was able to lose almost nothing by grabbing the directory from a few hours prior.
General to-do
- Honestly, just get out of the house and get some more exercise
- Eat better
- Play more old video games!
- Update: My daughter and I played Super Mario Bros. and I didn’t have to cajole her.
- Write about old video games!
- Play more of/finish Twilight Princess
- Finish reading The Walking Dead (I’ve got about 20 issues to go)
- Read more comics in general, mostly Star Wars.
- Update: Read Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir 4/22/2020
- Get back into Instapaper, organize my articles, and catch up on stuff that’s been piling up
- Bake more bread
- Brew beer