Data Day: 13 Years of Annual Finances

Chart Notes

• With the exception of two years (2018: The Year of Stay-At-Home Dadding and 2022: The Year of Having Two Kids), I've consistently made more than I spent. This is intentional so the graph looks more like a brontosaurus.


• Life is definitely more expensive post-pandemic. My grocery bills have spiked from an average of $60 to $100 per trip, and only $10 of that is fresh berries that the kids immediately devour.


• I'm looking forward to September of this year, when that boring mortgage line finally goes away for good, freeing up resources to buy a jetski or an exotic reptile.

Backlogged Side Project Status

7 months after this post

1) Swap out my PC power supply, which currently has a 40% of not turning back on after we lose power in a thunderstorm.

I upgraded my power supply last year, but unfortunately the power issue persists. When we lose power while the computer is on, something in the motherboard keeps thinking it's already on and prevents it from being turned on again. Mysteriously, the only workaround is to move the computer to another room and plug it into a different outlet (though still on the same breaker). Once I turn it on and off there, I can bring the computer back to my office and it works fine.

2) Become fluent in a non-Java programming language (likely Python or Kotlin) in time for Advent of Code 2022.

I didn't get to this in time for last year's Advent of Code, but I have been writing a little Kotlin code every day this year. My GitHub contribution heat map looks much more exciting this year as a result.

3) Migrate away from Eclipse IDE for my polyglot projects, possibly towards something like VSCode or IntelliJ.

I've been using IntelliJ IDEA since last October. I'm equally efficient writing Java in it compared to Eclipse. The IDE is a must-have for Kotlin, though, as the suggestions and autocomplete really help me avoid creating naive code that isn't idiomatic.

4) Restart work on my open-source library, Sparkour.

No movement here, and I'm not sure I'll ever restart this. Like most open-source projects, it's hard to maintain motivation when I no longer work with those technologies anymore.

5) Update the URI! Zone's SSL handling to use free, auto-renewing Let's Encrypt certificates.

Haven't started this yet and I have another year and a half before my next renewal ($46/yr).

6) Update the URI! Zone's ancient reliance on Apache HTTPd, OpenLDAP, and Apache Tomcat, in order to learn more modern alternatives.

These are both still on my "want to do" list -- maybe in the summer or fall!

8) Migrate the Maitz & Wurts Studio Shop to a modern storefront solution.

Still on the list but on the backburner at the moment.

9) Create a mobile app that shows nearby homeowner and sales information as I walk around the neighbourhood.

My interest in this has waned since I haven't taken daily neighbourhood walks with Ian since last Fall. Maybe the warmer weather will raise this back up.

10) Reread the Wars of Light and Shadow series and post book-by-book reviews in anticipation of the final book in the series.

Going strong here -- I've reviewed 8 of 10 published books so far and hope to finish the last 2 by the end of April.

11) Reeducate myself on the current state of MIDI and wavetable synth, which has surely evolved beyond my 2001 Roland Sound Canvas, and update my old compositions currently lost in Finale file format limbo.

Backburnered.

12) Rip all of the CDs in the house into MP3s and develop a NAS-based solution to play an entire library of owned MP3s from Alexa devices throughout the house.

Gone up in priority a bit for each day that Amazon Echo gets WORSE at understanding commands or prevents me from interacting with my purchased music in the manner that I want.

And, two new projects to add the list!

13. Learn Spanish.
14. Compose music or play an instrument regularly.

Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

That Was Now by Just Jack:
Just Jack's latest album is a fun outing with a little more energy than the last couple. The song, Genome is the catchiest, and the "Last Song" outstays its welcome with too much sameness.

Final Grade: B

Top Gun: Maverick (PG-13):
As we started this movie, I was telling Rebecca how the original Top Gun was a disappointment because they didn't let Tom Cruise run anywhere. Thankfully, this is resolved in the sequel, as there's exactly one scene involving tons of running. The movie itself was fine -- there's a logical progression to the plot and reasonably clear action scenes, although the tonal shift into comedic buddy movie towards the end felt a little too obvious.

Final Grade: B-

History of the World, Part I (R):
A forgettable pastiche of skits that shouldn't have been any longer than a skit.

Final Grade: D+

Stray:
This game about a lost cat in a dystopian future has a great style and visual appeal. It's shallow, exploratory gameplay is great for letting Maia watch (although the cat being swarmed by leechy aliens can get a little scary), but it's not so amazing that you'll keep playing to know what happens next. We lost interest about five months ago, probably over halfway through the game.

Final Grade: B-

Maia's Art Day

Notable artwork from March 2022

Hang on to your hats. I'm going to post more of Maia's artwork because I simultaneously want to remember it forever but don't want it all cluttering up the living room shelves!

These cats are CRAZY.

Half of us are surprised by the cat.

Though not perfect, Maia's phonetic spelling of words is improving.

This is the lyrics sheet for a song Maia wrote about love.

I'm not in this picture because I'm "in the kitchen making dinner". Can you spot Ian's band-aid?

A butterfly, of course.

Rebecca's about to pop off on those monkey bars.

Ian Year 1 Month 11 Battle Report

Ian is 1 month away from turning 2. He is very similar to how Maia was at this age although his wants can explode into tempests much more easily. His current weight is 24.6 pounds.

His first desired activity upon waking up is to read books forever, maybe with some breakfast after a while. Once he's gotten going, he has a vigorous appetite and will eat pouches and other snacks throughout the day. Yogurt and berries remain real food staples, and he "loooooves ice keem" -- part of the nightly dessert ritual to entice the kids to get in their pajamas.

He requires much less oversight these days, and if you look busy with chores, he'll wander off and play on his own. Usually this involves reading even more books or building a parking lot out of blocks where he can park all of his cars end-to-end.

Among his common phrases: "'i Daddy!" "'i Amber!" "What doin' Daddy?" "Playing Mario Kart!" The last phrase is shouted when he runs up and down the hall pretending to be a car. Related, here is a picture of his "windshield", a tupperware lid. He likes to walk around the house saying "BEEP BEEP" while looking through (and sometimes licking) the windshield.

Maia recently used her weekly school library visit to get a book that she thought Ian would like, and it was about a franchise called "Trucktown". Ian read it religiously every day and memorized the catchphrases of each truck in Trucktown ("Ram, oops!"). The books are of questionable literary value, featuring two trucks that SMASH and CRASH things even when their friends don't want them to.

Other things Ian likes right now: The rare episode of Bluey he gets to watch with Maia (maybe once a week or so), getting sprayed with the showerhead in his bath, cats, and (of course) wheeled vehicles. Last week, I took the kids to the farm to see the new baby animals and Ian spent the whole visit pointing at farm equipment.

Sleeping is going well -- he sleeps through the night once again, and will either take a 75 minute nap or entertain himself with books in the crib during that period, allowing the rest of the family to have Quiet Time of our own.

Finally, Ian currently has a couple scratches on his face that he won't stop picking at, which is why all of his recent pictures include two band-aids. As a result of the round Scooby Doo bandaids, he has added the Scooby Doo theme song to his repertoire.