Twin Cities Marathon morning!

Runners in a road race pass through a tree-lined park path as a spectator stands beside a portable Bluetooth speaker on the curb.

I’m using the new Use Model capability in Shortcuts to bring My Version number to life on my phone each morning. The prompt is still off — too software focused and not enough zen. But I like where this is going and how easy it is to create.

iPhone lock screen showing a wake-up notification with weather for Minneapolis, with two hikers posing at a mountain overlook in the wallpaper.

Delightful evening for a late season soccer game! Go Loons!

Minnesota United FC night match at Allianz Field with packed stands, bright floodlights, and play underway near the far goal.

A very big Happy Birthday to my Mom! Doubly special that many of her sisters and her brother could come and celebrate with us! 🎂

Large multigenerational family group smiling outside a Taste of India restaurant on a birthday celebration outing.

Very happy that I found out you can get 12” firewood. This fits perfect in the sauna oven. Let it snow! 🥶🔥

Outdoor barrel sauna with transparent polycarbonate panels and wood-burning chimney, beside a rack stacked with split firewood, next to a gray garage.

Taking my (very dirty) boat in for the winter.

Pontoon boat approaching a white aluminum dock on a calm algae-covered pond with a lakehouse and trees in the background.

Chromatic firmware upgrade to 4.0! I love the retro vibe of the updater app. 🤩

ModRetro Chromatic system update screen showing firmware v3.2 with v4.0 available, featuring a pixelated yellow Game Boy-style handheld graphic.

Got my first immersive card in Pokémon TCG Pocket tonight — Pikachu ex. The videos for these are pretty cool.

John Prine had the answer to being “too online” before being online was even a thing.

Blow up your TV, throw away your paper,
Go to the country, build you a home,
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches,
Try and find Jesus, on your own.

Spanish Pipedream released in 1971.

John Prine: Songs & Souvenirs

I never got a chance to see John Prine play. There is a list of bands that I really regret never seeing play live. Hüsker Dü is on it. So is The Replacements. And so is John Prine. When he passed away in 2020 I was sad that we lost such an amazing songwriter.

I don’t remember how I found John Prine but I know it was on a CD run that I picked up Great Days: The John Prine Anthology and listened to disc 1 of that set many, many times.

Jason Wilber and Dave Jacques both toured and played with John Prine for well over a decade. They took the stage at The Dakota and led a great evening through the Prine catalog and encouraged the audience to sing along the verses. It was a gift from them to us — to be able to hear those songs and enjoy the music even though Prine is gone.

They also raise funds for Prine’s Hello in There Foundation from each show. Wonderful stuff. 🎶

Two musicians perform on stage at Dakota jazz club, one playing acoustic guitar at a microphone, one playing electric bass guitar.