A collection of digital wonders and some other stuff
The 2025 edition of our Three Seconds Everyday video is up. This year I didn’t render out a one second version, but it’s surprisingly watchable at double speed, if you don’t mind the audio.
I have to thank Andrea for picking up a few of the days that I happened to miss.
My wife, talking to the kids, explained the basement is a complete mess and they need to clean it up.
Ian responded: Everyone in the family has to help clean up, not just the bad cleaners. It’s not fair that only the bad cleaners have to do all the work.
This weekend Andrea and Nesslin went on an epic road trip to the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan to pick up the newest member of the family… a puppy! They haven’t made it home yet but I’ve seen photos and videos and I’ve got to admit, it’s as cute as promised. It’s a black Maltipoo (half Maltese; half poodle) and they got it the very first day the breeder declared it old enough to go.
Also on the first day it was available, I just pre-ordered an iPhone 17 Pro. The last iPhone I bought was the 13 Pro four years ago and while it has been my favourite so far, I’m really hankering for the upgraded telephoto (200mm equivalent) that these new phones have. There are a ton of other upgrades too but the camera is what’s driving this purchase for sure. Apparently it’s even better at lowlight situations. I’ll be sure to see how it does on the dark fur of our brand new puppy.
It was the kids’ first day back at school today. We started a tradition of interviewing and creating a poster for each of our kids identifying their favourite things1:
The kids seemed to have enjoyed their first day back but by the time dinner was on, they were both losing their dang minds. Stress from back to school is a real thing and although I don’t remember it myself, according to Andrea, the same thing happened last year.
While doing the crossword this morning, I found this clue to be a bit mystifying: Peanuts in ____.
After solving the puzzle, I hit up Wikipedia and learned that peanuts and coke are a snack that gained traction in the southern United States in the 1920s.
Peanuts and coke, sometimes called a “miner’s Coke” or “farmer’s Coke”, is a snack originating in the coal-mining regions of the United States that later became popular with agricultural and other blue-collar trades. It is made out of peanuts soaked in Coca-Cola.
The most common variation involves pouring salted peanuts into a bottle of Coca-Cola before drinking them. Traditionally, glass bottles of Coca-Cola are used. The snack’s appeal is often attributed to the combination of sweet and salty tastes, as well as the crunchiness of the peanuts. Other variations substitute different nuts or sodas. The combination has been called “the working man’s strawberries in champagne.”
The recipe is simple enough: put some peanuts into your ice-cold Coca-cola. Enjoy!
I was talking to Andrea about how bizarre it is for it to be a thing and simultaneously thinking who would want this when my son exclaims, “Well I absolutely couldn’t take THAT to school!”1
My Apple Watch alerted me that if I wanted a fancy sticker for global running day I would need to run five kilometres on June 4th.
It’s been over a decade since my last “run” but yesterday I figured since I didn’t swim that day and I was feeling a bit antsy and out of sorts anyway1 I should go for it.
It took me 37 minutes.
My legs are a bit sore today but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. The award on my watch, however, didn’t show up. And here I’ve gone and done exercise merely for the sake of feeling good and making myself healthier. Maybe it’ll arrive in the next day or two, otherwise, well, I guess I’m still happy I did it but I’d like that award.
Update: It showed up without a notification. I just had to go looking for it:
I had a job interview last week. I am extremely qualified and was quite looking forward to getting it.
The vice principal called me today and said, “they are ‘going a different way’ from the interview”. Which in my mind translates to, we already had someone picked out for the job and it’s not you.
I’m disappointed but if my hunch is correct there isn’t anything more I could have done.
I found this little gal in my backyard just now:
This is the second black widow I’ve ever come across. I spotted the first one crawling around on the ground near me when I worked on the base in CFB Suffield digging holes1. I left it alone and it left me alone.
With regard to this one in my backyard, however, I didn’t think it would be prudent to just leave it there next to my strawberry garden so I tried to move it and it got away.
I hope you sleep better than I will tonight.
My five-year-old came to me the other day with what sounded like breaking news.
“Santa is just a normal guy!” he exclaimed.
Frowning, I looked at him. I nodded and began wondering if I should have played up the jolly elf a little more.
“He’s just a normal guy who doesn’t even make the presents.”
Sadly, the Christmas magic is gone before it really even started. My thoughts wandered. Obviously the brand names and packaging are a dead giveaway. Good on him for figuring it out at five but he’s too young to be so cynical…
“He’s just a normal guy who doesn’t even make the presents — he just gets the elves to do all the work!”
Nevermind. The magic is alive and well.
After a not so great day teaching at a local high school I wondered about my choices that brought me here, a decade into my teaching career and back to subbing. I understood the irony in that if I just worked at that school more I would actually have better days but I couldn’t help but think I should just stick to the one school that I’ve really been loving this year even if it means not working every day.
I contemplated my day of students showing disrespect, constantly on their phones, and just plain refusing to even pretend to do the assignments as I walked out of the building. Though feeling sorry for myself, I noticed a student that I didn’t recognize chatting with a friend and said good afternoon to his friend. He looked up and said, “Hey, are you Jeff Milner?”
“Yes,” I said hesitantly, while wondering how in the world does he know my name.
His face lit up and he exclaimed, “You taught me how to draw, last year, in Eva’s class!” I remembered the class but I couldn’t believe I had made such an impression. After asking him to remind me his name, I headed out and thought, it’s moments like these why I actually do love teaching.