🍀 Notes on Cork, Ireland

In the summer of 2022, I spent a weekend in Cork, Ireland. Here are my brief notes:

  • Drink Murphy’s or Beamish, not Guinness.
  • The English Market is cool. The food at the cafe upstairs is amazing.
  • If you get the opportunity to see an Irish band playing Irish music in an Irish pub, take it.

🔗 Link Dump, 2023-05-25

  1. A simple, ephemeral daily planner. [🔗 focustxt.github.io]
  2. A walkable-oriented development map. [🔗 aei.org]
  3. The 100 greatest children’s books of all time. [🔗 bbc.com]
  4. A guide to cozy mystery books, movies, and television. [🔗 cozy-mystery.com]
  5. Free and open-source Kanban management software. [🔗 kanboard.org]
  6. Vacations with artists. [🔗 vawaa.com]
  7. An archive of Golden and Silver Age comic books. [🔗 comicbookplus.com]

👑 Notes on London

I spent two and a half months in the spring of 2022 living in London. Here are my notes:

  • I could never get bored of London. There is so much to do.
  • The tube and buses make cars unnecessary. Everywhere in London is accessible with public transportation. It’s surprisingly freeing.
  • London museums are free and amazing. I went to the British Museum twice and still didn’t get to see all it has to offer. The Natural History Museum is worth a visit for the building alone. I also enjoyed the Museum of London and National Gallery.
  • When you visit, get a Santander Bicycle and take a ride through Hyde Park. Stop at the cafe by the lake for a snack.
  • Other lovely parks I visited include Hampstead Heath, Bishops Park, Holland Park, and Regent’s Park. I wish I had taken the time to make it out to Richmond Park.
  • The theatre is fun and affordable. Avoid the big productions. Go see something more intimate. The Play That Goes Wrong is a blast.
  • There are outdoor markets everywhere, and the food is always great. I particularly recommend Portobello Market, Borough Market, Broadway Market, and the small farmers’ market at Hampstead Heath.
  • Eat a Sunday roast and a full English breakfast. But don’t stick only to traditional English food. London is full of amazing cuisine from all over the world.

💭 Some Thoughts, 2023-05-23

  1. Somehow my blog got compromised by malware. It was automatically redirecting visitors to other websites, but would still allow me to use my site as normal. I deleted the plugin I think was behind the act. I also deleted all theme files and reinstalled them. I think the issue is handled now.
  2. Sometimes I walk down a street at night that I’ve walked down a dozen times before but always during the day, and it seems like a completely different place.
  3. Killers of the Flower Moon is a spectacular book and this is a spectacular trailer.
  4. Overdrive/Libby are the coolest apps ever invented.
  5. Hiking and audiobooks make for a combo that is hard to beat.
  6. The Minnesota legislature is killing it right now.

🔗 Link Dump, 2023-05-22

  1. An open-source resource management game. [🔗 farmhand.life]
  2. Free worldwide relief maps. [🔗 maps-for-free.com]
  3. An AI that gives answers using the most useful Reddit posts. [🔗 thegigabrain.com]
  4. 35 ways real people are using AI right now. [🔗 nytimes.com]
  5. The United States has a truck problem. [▶ youtube.com]
  6. The condiment packet gallery. [🔗 condimentpacket.com]
  7. A blog about transit maps. [🔗 transitmap.net]

🍎 On Apples

I have opinions on the ever-so-popular fruit.

Some thoughts:

  • Apples with cheese is an underrated combo.
  • Apple slices are an underrated sandwich ingredient.
  • Red Delicious is the worst popular apple variety.
  • Dutch apple pie is the best apple-centric dish.

Some facts:

  • Most apples aren’t true to seed. The apple variety that grows out of the seed won’t necessarily be the same as the variety from which the seed originated.
  • Vermont has a law in place that stipulates when serving apple pie, one must make a good-faith effort to provide either a cold glass of milk, a slice of cheddar cheese, or a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Some art: