A Day of Modest Accomplishments

Morning routine. Laundry. Conversation with Cliffe. KAI work. Updated ldmsvr01—discovered storage cache controller issue, ordered replacement battery. Cleaned up Google Drive. Refilled bird feeder. Folded laundry, listened to Wisdom. Exercised. Walked to McMenamins, saw Sage, had a beer and a sandwich. Walked to Suds, had a beer. Ubered home. Watched Ancient Civilizations on Tang dynasty China, then Hogan's Heroes.

When the Day Unfolds at Its Own Pace

January 04, 2026

These notes describe the events of Saturday, 01/03/2026.

Breitenbush selfie

I completed my morning routine while listening to more of the Lex Fridman interview with Michael Levin, then started some laundry. The day organized itself around household maintenance, technical work, and social connection, each element occupying its own space without particular urgency.

I had a conversation with Cliffe at 10am, then did a little KAI-related work following up on our discussion. The organization continues to develop, though the work happens in irregular bursts rather than steady progress.

I updated ldmsvr01 and discovered that there's an issue with the storage cache controller—likely a dead battery. I ordered a new one and did quite a bit of documentation about the problem and the solution. Server maintenance always reveals something unexpected, those small failures that accumulate silently until you finally investigate. I cleaned up the Google Drive associated with lonnie.mandigo@gmail.com, removing accumulated digital clutter and reorganizing it to be more in line with my standard taxonomy. The work serves no immediate purpose but makes future retrieval more predictable. I refilled the bird feeder by my office window, one of those small gestures that connects domestic space to the larger world.

I folded laundry while listening to the audiobook Wisdom, combining a physical task with intellectual input in a way that makes both more tolerable. I did three 45-second planks, maintaining the fitness routine even on a day when motivation felt limited.

I walked to McMenamins on Monroe and saw Sage, drank a beer, and ate a sandwich. Sage was pretty busy so we didn't chat much, but it was good to see her. I walked from McMenamins to Suds and drank a beer. Aurora was bartending. I saw Krys there. I got an Uber home, then watched Ancient Civilizations—an episode called "China from Chaos to Order under the Tang" about how the chaotic three-and-a-half centuries that followed the dissolution of the Han Empire spawned new philosophical and religious yearnings and paved the way for the founding of the next great dynasty—followed by several episodes of Hogan's Heroes. I didn't realize that was the period when Buddhism was introduced into China, one of those historical details that reframes your understanding of how ideas move across cultures and time.

Trump invaded Venezuela. I posted the definition of the word "Bandit" on Facebook. It was observed by others that this is also likely a mechanism for distracting the media from the Epstein files. The political machinery continues to operate through distraction and misdirection, each dramatic action potentially obscuring something more significant.

The day moved through maintenance tasks, technical problem-solving, and casual social encounters without demanding much in the way of intensity or focus. Sometimes a day just unfolds at its own pace, accomplishing what needs to be done without particular drama or insight.