Organization

Cleaned kitchen. Participated in SESIG meeting. Cleaned kitchen more. Spoke with cleanup guys—coordinating with folks next door. Unpacked backpack—serious closet reorganization, installed pegs for luggage. Got pizza and beer with Brian, Tim, Kirby. Began photo editing work on composite. Walked to Suds. Beer:30 with Tim, Michael, Cathy, Mary. Cathy brought me home. Watched Ancient Civilizations—Roman and Han empires comparison.

Pursuing Order

December 20, 2025

These notes describe the events of Thursday, 12/19/2025.

Cleaned up the kitchen. The ongoing restoration of order, dealing with accumulated dishes and surfaces. Returned to finish what was started earlier—the process taking multiple sessions to complete properly.

Participated in a SESIG meeting. The regular gathering, technical and scientific discussions, the intellectual community providing connection and stimulation. Wide-ranging conversation covering multiple topics: tree falling incidents and golf courses, Boulder facing extreme fire danger with 8% relative humidity and 100mph winds forecast. NVIDIA putting money into Corvallis to work on chip cooling, the Apple A19 using vapor cooling technology. The ongoing challenge of heat generation versus computational output, the need for software to be more efficient. Discussion of building LLMs, memristors, data center transitions with racks being overstressed. Business models like Disney characters, iTunes, Spotify. The distinction between computer science and software engineering. Climate research sabotage by Trump, what our children and grandchildren will think of us. Appreciating music by studying scores, Handel's Messiah mentioned. The conversation jumping between technical subjects, political concerns, cultural observations—the characteristic SESIG mix of expertise and curiosity.

Spoke briefly with some cleanup guys. They were going to coordinate with the folks next door—the tree removal work continuing, communication happening between crews and property owners, the storm damage response progressing.

Random note on my bulletin board

Unpacked the backpack. In the process did some serious closet reorganization. Installed some pegs on the wall to hang various pieces of luggage. What started as simple unpacking turned into a larger project—taking the opportunity to improve storage, creating proper places for travel gear, making the space more functional. The kind of task that expands beyond its original scope but results in better organization.

Got pizza and beer with Brian, Tim, and Kirby. Lunch out with friends—all HP employees beginning their respective Christmas breaks. The timing created opportunity for midday gathering, celebrating the start of time off, sharing Christmas plans. Casual meal and drinks, social time away from home.

Began some photo editing work on a composite. Working on combining images, the technical and artistic work of digital composition.

Walked to Suds. The regular journey to the gathering place. Started a conversation with Claude during the walk regarding how to rent timeshare weeks on VRBO. Exploring options for generating income from timeshare points, the logistics of listing weeks, pricing strategies, market dynamics. It looks promising—potential way to monetize unused vacation time.

Beer:30 with Tim, Michael, Cathy, and Mary. The evening social ritual, familiar faces, ongoing conversations, the community connection. Made a plan for a "Rare Exports" movie night at my house—that'll be fun. The Finnish horror-comedy Christmas film, the dark twisted take on Santa Claus mythology, looking forward to sharing the bizarre film with friends.

Cathy brought me home. The ride back, the convenience of not walking in the dark.

Watched Ancient Civilizations. This episode compared the Roman and Han empires—the parallel developments of major civilizations on opposite sides of the world, similar patterns of power and organization emerging independently, the ways different cultures solved similar problems of governance and expansion. The comparative historical perspective showing universal patterns and unique variations.

The day moved through domestic tasks, intellectual engagement, organization projects, and social connection. Kitchen cleaning in multiple sessions. SESIG meeting providing stimulation across technical, political, and cultural topics. Cleanup crew coordination continuing storm response. Backpack unpacking expanding into closet reorganization and luggage storage improvements. Lunch out for pizza with Brian, Tim, and Kirby—HP colleagues starting Christmas breaks. Photo composite work beginning. Walk to Suds with conversation about renting timeshare weeks on VRBO. Evening Beer:30 planning "Rare Exports" movie night. Cathy providing ride home. Ancient Civilizations comparing Roman and Han empires, showing how distant civilizations developed similar patterns of power and organization independently.