I always knew losing you would hurt but the reality is 100x worse than I imagined. The house feels wrong tonight. Too still. Too quiet.

I keep expecting you to be on your bed in the bedroom, or in John’s room, or somewhere. Anywhere. You were woven into our daily family routine and it feels lopsided now.

I want to take you out for a break tonight. I want to take you to the bus stop tomorrow. I want to hear you sing in the morning as we wave Nikki off to work with John.

Thirteen years of small moments added up to the best dog we could ever ask for. You were gentle, loving and good in a world that often isn’t.

I am so grateful you chose us. We told you we loved you every day. We told you that you were the best good boy in all the land. None of that feels like enough now.

I will miss you forever, Junior. More than I can put down on a page. More than I know what to do with. Losing you hurts in a way that sits deep and doesn’t move.

We generally use sturdy, reusable/refillable 5 gallon bottles for our water cooler but sometimes we get disposable ones (usually when we didn't time it right and the refill place is closed, or like in this case, their refill station is frozen.) The disposable bottles are thinner, flimsier and always collapse on themselves slowly as they empty, as you can see in the photo.

So clever me figured I would try to get it to not collapse by poking a little vent hole above the water line. Makes sense no? A vent hole. Like a coffee cup. But instead of expanding the bottle, it actually made the water cooler leak uncontrollably. Or flow freely… you know… like a coffee cup? 😄

So I turned to a LLM for an explanation. Here's what it had to say:

Two really interesting bits of physics and design are happening in your water cooler, and they fit together more tightly than most people realize.

Why the bottle slowly crushes as it empties A 5‑gallon water jug on a cooler is not vented to the atmosphere. When you flip the bottle upside‑down and place it on the cooler:

• Water flows out of the bottle into the reservoir.
• Air cannot flow back in, because the neck of the bottle is submerged inside the cooler’s internal water tank.
• As water leaves the bottle, the air pressure inside the bottle drops.
• Outside air pressure (much higher) pushes inward on the thin plastic walls.
• Result: the bottle slowly collapses or “crushes” as it empties.
• This is exactly the same reason a sealed plastic bottle dents inward when you suck the air out or cool it down.

The crushing is normal and expected. It’s part of how the cooler regulates flow.

Why poking a hole made the cooler leak When you added a hole above the water line, you unintentionally broke the pressure‑based flow control system.

• Here’s what normally happens in a properly sealed bottle:

• The cooler only lets water out when the reservoir level drops.

• As water leaves, a small bubble of air glugs up into the bottle.

• That bubble equalizes pressure just enough to let more water out, but only when needed.

• The nozzle doesn’t leak because the reservoir stays at a controlled level.

But when you poke a hole:

• Air can freely enter the bottle at all times.

• The bottle is no longer sealed, so there’s no vacuum to hold the water back.

• Water flows continuously out of the bottle into the cooler’s reservoir.

• The reservoir overfills.

• Once overfilled, water escapes through the nozzle or drip tray.

In other words: The hole turned your cooler into a gravity-fed open tank, so it overflowed.

This graph illustrates my lifetime consumption of bourbon as of this writing. Nikki said “what a great way to document your burgeoning alcohol habit”. 😏

I had no idea Flickr was still a thing. I’ve been struggling with where to post my photos since I got a real camera earlier this year. Posting it on the doom-scroll apps is a waste and posting it on this site isn’t ideal either as this is more of a stream of consciousness brain dump. So Nikki and I signed up for Flickr Pro again today. (She is also the owner of a Fujifilm camera now which I am super excited about.) It feels strangely nostalgic and nice. 😊 I’m looking forward to taking photos with a purpose again.

I am not a mixed drink kind of guy. I stumbled on this combination by accident one night using what we had at home at the time. If I am ever associated with a “signature drink” in the future, this here will likely be it. So good.

Phrase of the day.

I dared him to wear this hat and casually go get some milk from the fridge.

Tonight I learned about Fujifilm recipes (presets). Basically there are 7 programmable slots in my camera where I can save custom settings (colour, grain, white balance, etc) which I can then access. This opened up a whole new world to me. I can’t wait to do more with it. There are so many out there!

This photo was taken using a recipe called Classic Cuban Negative.

The best dog in the world.

I have always been a Nikon guy. Ever since my D700 died a couple years ago I have been wanting to get something to replace it and fill the void. For the past couple of months, however, I have kept coming back to the Fujifilm X100VI. Finally found one on Facebook Marketplace from a guy who preordered one of each colour but liked the black instead of silver so he put the silver — my preference! — up for sale. I couldn’t resist the deal so I snatched it up!

I am in love with it and have been bringing it everywhere snapping photos like back in the old days.

I have also been trying to get familiar with all the features. Tonight I was learning to program some of the function buttons for quick access to useful things (like switching between different film simulations) and showed Nikki what I learned. She grabbed the camera from me and snapped this photo.

Pinch and zoom to see the film-like quality.

I haven’t posted about my watches in a long time, so here we go.

I keep going back and forth between an Apple Watch 42mm Series 10 and a traditional watch these days.

Back in January I impulse-bought a used Tudor Black Bay Pro on Reddit. It was [mainly, but I guess I could use any excuse to justify it] to mark the milestone of becoming President of the Welland Hungarian Hall (!!)—which I will cover in a separate post, maybe. About a week ago I traded the BBP for a Tudor Ranger on Marketplace. Truth be told, I've been coveting the Ranger since it came out in 2022. I feel very fortunate to be able to own it now.

I love watches with the 3-6-9-12 dial and no date so the Ranger is a home run. In fact, I like it so much that it prompted me to make this post. 😃 Something the BBP didn't even compel me to do, even though that was a nice [and arguably better] watch too. The Ranger just feels way more at home and much less flashy too.

Sheesh! It feels like we just celebrated the last one, John. Happy 🍰 birthday! I love you more than there are words in books.

Tried an interpretation of this shawarma sauce. I didn’t have tahini, but instead I sprinkled a bit of Tajin 😃. Made it for lunch today with chicken breast kabobs wrapped in warm naan bread. Turned out better than expected!

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/4 cup light mayo
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 medium cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/2 tsp Tajin

Instructions

Whisk everything until smooth. Keep refrigerated up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Made some applesauce tonight. Turned out decent… I assume… (it’s still cooling down). 😎

Update: Ok it was very good. Just tried it on prebiotic toast with a bit of butter… 😋

Ingredients

• 6-7 apples, peeled, cored, diced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a pot, heat on medium heat until apples are soft (~20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Mash to desired consistency with a potato masher or (less efficiently) a fork.

Update Oct 12: I made another batch today for Thanksgiving. Softer apples this time, turned out more saucy, but equally as tasty. John says this tastes like a new Thanksgiving tradition. 😄

I created a game inspired by a watch dial and The New York Times’ Letter Boxed game. It’s still a work in progress, but check it out.

There is a share button that appears when the game ends. What’s your best score? Mine right now is Time Boxed: 50 (17/19/14). The numbers in the brackets indicate the minute of gameplay those points were scored in. The idea is during each of the 3 minutes the game will get a bit harder so having a good score in the third section comes with some bragging rights.

I think so far the game is pretty good but I am still trying to figure out what would make it great and keep you coming back day after day. One idea is limiting it to one game per day and also adding exponential bonus points for longer streaks.

This turned out pretty good today. Secret ingredient was extra basil leaves fresh from the garden. I put a whole 796ml can of diced tomatoes in but maybe a half can would suffice next time.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 796ml can diced tomatoes with juice (or half)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup broth of choice (I did chicken)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 pack Potato Gnocchi (I did Selection brand from Food Basics)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 handful (or more) fresh basil (torn/sliced)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil and butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. Once hot add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, Italian seasoning and give it a stir.
3. Stir in gnocchi. Let it cook, stir often until cooked through (5-7 minutes).
4. Once gnocchi is cooked (give it a taste) stir in mozzarella, parmesan, basil until cheeses melt.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately. ~360 cal / serving.

This recipe with the full can of diced tomatoes made 3 good-sized servings.

I've been an Android user for years now but lately I've started having a serious case of blue bubble envy with contacts who have been trying to add me to group conversations or send me photos or videos (which come across blurry over SMS).

So I caved and switched to iPhone, as most of my contacts are using iPhones. I also knew that RCS was coming soon so I was happy that I would still be able to use RCS with the Android contacts. I learned that RCS was already available in Beta... I wanted a piece of the action and I joined the Apple Beta program.

Still, it was not available in my country or with my carrier. 😱

But then last night, when iOS 18 Beta 3 was released, I finally had access to it! Oh man. You have no idea - I've been racking my brain for weeks trying to solve this, trying to bridge the gap. Finally! As a nerd, this makes me very happy.

All in all, I don’t mind using iPhone. I have “Googlefied” the crap out of it (ie: using Google Maps, Calendar, Chrome, Gmail, etc). It almost feels normal now.

After a blood test this past weekend, it turns out I have high cholesterol again. From my understanding this is in my genes, so I will have to be extra vigilant to lower it. I've had good cholesterol levels the 4 years when we were not eating meat, but in the past year, I've let myself go. I've been eating way more fried foods, meats, sugars and I've been exercising way less. I haven't really gained weight because I'm still focused on portion control, but the quality of the portions I've been eating has been slipping.

I found a Heart & Stroke article on managing cholesterol I like so I copied it to this entry for reference in case it gets taken down one day.

Heart & Stroke recommends that you:

1. Eat a healthy balanced diet

• Choose a variety of whole and minimally processed foods at every meal. This means foods that are either not packaged or have few ingredients.
• Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit at every meal. Choose vegetables and fruit for snacks.
• Select fresh, frozen or canned vegetables and fruit. You want them to be plain, without sauce, sugar or salt added.
• Choose whole grains. Look for whole grain breads, barley, oats (including oatmeal), quinoa, brown rice, bulgur, farro, etc.
• Mix up the centre of your plate. Choose more vegetarian options such as beans, lentils, tofu and nuts. Include vegetarian options as often as possible in your weekly meal plan. Make sure your meat is lean, poultry without the skin and include fish a couple of times per week.
• Limit your portion sizes.
• Choose lower fat dairy products or alternatives with no added sugar. Select 1% or skim milk, plain yogurt and lower fat cheeses.
• Plan healthy snacks with at least 2 different types of food. For example try: hummus and baby carrots; apple wedges and lower fat cheese or plain yogurt with berries.
• Drink water or lower fat plain milk to satisfy thirst.
• Avoid sugary drinks including soft drinks, sports drinks, sweetened milk or alternatives, fruit drinks, 100% fruit juice and ready-to-drink sweetened coffees and teas.
• Note: If your blood cholesterol level is high, your physician or dietitian may recommend restricting your intake of foods high in dietary cholesterol such as egg yolks, organ meats, full- fat dairy products and processed meats.

2. Cook and eat more meals at home

• Cooking at home allows you to select whole and minimally processed foods.
• Develop and share skills in food preparation and cooking with your family.
• Buy a healthy cookbook or try some healthy recipes.
• Select the top ten recipes your family loves and get everyone involved in the meal preparation.
• Reduce the amount of sugar, salt and solid fats used in your favourite recipes.

3. Make eating out a special occasion

Eating out usually results in you consuming large amounts of food, more fat, salt and sugar.

• Try to limit the number of times you eat in a restaurant per month.
• When you do eat out, choose restaurants that serve freshly made dishes using whole and minimally processed foods and provide nutrition information.
• Share meals, order the appetizer size or ask for half the meal to be packed up to eat the next day.

4. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight or obese increases your LDL or bad cholesterol level, lowers your HDL or good cholesterol level and raises your triglyceride levels. Reducing your weight is a positive way to reduce your blood cholesterol levels.

5. Maintain physical activity

Being physically active will help improve your cholesterol levels and general heart health. Aim for 150 minutes a week. That is less than 25 minutes per day!

Choose activities you like. Cycling, swimming, gardening, walking are great ways to keep active.

6. Be smoke-free

Smoking is a risk factor for heart disease. It reduces the level of your HDL “good” cholesterol. Once you quit, within a few weeks your HDL levels will start to rise.

Back to smart watches for the spring time. I sold the Pixel Watch 2 to get the Samsung Galaxy Watch6. I find it be a more refined watch compared to the Pixel. Kudos to Google though, for their second iteration, the Pixel 2 was very very good. I think my next jump (or consideration) back to the Pixel watch lineup might be when they release the Pixel 10 Pro and release the Pixel Watch 4 to go with it. I plan to hang onto my current setup (Pixel 6 Pro and Galaxy Watch6) until then.

Anyway, I've been wear this Galaxy watch for about two weeks now. I find it more versatile (all of my 20mm standard watch bands bands fit it and look great!) and I like the UX over the Pixel Watch. The only things that don't seem to work with my Pixel phone without "hacking" the watch are ECG (which I have rarely used), blood pressure monitoring (again, infrequently used) and synchronizing bedtime mode with my phone. I get around that last part by just setting a scheduled bedtime on the watch (eg: display and notifications turn off at 10PM).

(Serves 2, 450 calories per serving)

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs (cooled)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (+1tbsp for extra creaminess, I used Hellman's Light Mayonnaise)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard of choice
• 1 green onion thinly sliced
• 1 rib celery finely diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices of bread, toasted (I used Dimpflmeier Prebiotic Multigrain Bread)

Instructions

Cut the hard boiled eggs in half. Chop and set aside the egg whites. In a medium bowl, mash the yolk, mayonnaise, mustard, salt & pepper until smooth and creamy. Add the egg whites and the remaining ingredients and stir well. Serve on toasted bread.

How to make hard boiled eggs

Put eggs in a pot, fill with cold water until water covers eggs. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 12-13 minutes. Rinse with cold water until eggs are completely cooled.