Two years ago, plague.<\/p>\n
Last year, plague. And locusts.<\/p>\n
This year, plague. And also … <\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The birds, the noisy noisy birds. The messy, messy birds.<\/p>\n<p>You should see the sidewalks. But it’s better if you don’t have to. And if it rained. Or someone rolled a high pressure washer outside. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eHh6bwuPShw\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Anyway, pretty day out there. But quite cold. This is a tradeoff I’m willing to accept.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/jan26.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Oh, and hey look! My new desk chair showed up Saturday. I put it together Saturday. The cats helped. And, right now, they’re taking turns checking out my stuff.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/jan25.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>I’m assuming that it will prove comfortable, once the animals let me sit in the chair that I … just bought … for myself.<\/p>\n<p>Which must mean it is time for cat pictures. Here’s Phoebe at rest. <\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/jan21.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>And here she is, taking a nap. Yesterday, you see, was a serious sleep day.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/jan22.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>And here’s Poseidon, wondering what I’ve done with his new chair. <\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/jan23.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>He sat in it right there most of the day. After, that is, I assembled the chair, let him sit in it downstairs, spun him around a bunch, then carried the chair, and cat, upstairs. As soon as he got down, hours later, I put it in the office, and shut the door. He is very confused.<\/p>\n<p>This weekend he has also discovered the joys of the space heater.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/jan24.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>This is going to become a thing. We’re creating monsters.<\/p>\n<p>As I typed this, Phoebe returned to the same position for another nap. Clearly I should be doing this at my desk and not in a recliner. <\/p>\n<p>Monsters are what we are creating.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/blog\/banners\/bannerbloomingtonbike.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>I had a nice punchy little ride yesterday, this is a part of Watopia, Zwift’s fictionalized world. <\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/graphic03.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Which explains how I’m underwater there. Some of their environments are simulacrums of the real world. You can ride in a few villages of France. There’s a former world championship site in Virginia. You can ride in Central Park. You can also ride through the futuristic sky bridges of New York. <\/p>\n<p>Or you ride around and up, and through, a volcano. Here’s my avatar coming down from the top of the volcano.<\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/photo\/jan22\/graphic04.jpg\"><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Of course there’d be a full moon and lava spewing. I often wonder, when I’m on this course, what it would be like if you had a different lunar phase as part of the reward. And how difficult to ride through the overwhelming presence of sulfur. <\/p>\n<p>Your avatar rides, literally, on a road that goes <em>through<\/em> a volcano. <\/p>\n<p>Which is a good metaphor for some people’s Mondays. Not mine. But Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Friday mornings? More meetings then you’d normally find on a volcano, though. Sometimes there is a sulfur smell, though, but, thankfully, minimal ash.<\/p>\n<p>At least the birds stay in the trees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two years ago, plague. Last year, plague. And locusts. This year, plague. And also … The birds, the noisy noisy birds. The messy, messy birds. You should see the sidewalks. But it’s better if you don’t have to. And if it rained. Or someone rolled a high pressure washer outside. Anyway, pretty day out there. 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