Prevailing Winds
last update: 03/30 @ 16:19

According to our now three cranes, the prevailing winds are coming from the left (north).

I’m not sure that’s really how it works, but they do seem to all be generally pointed the same way while they are at rest.

We’re waiting to see if three will be the full compliment. So far it does not look like they are building any more crane platforms; maybe three will be enough.

Busy day in DC
last update: 03/28 @ 14:13

In addition to the No Kings march, it was also the kite festival by the Washington Monument.

And the Cherry Blossoms are in peak bloom. While we didn’t swing by the tidal pool, we did check out the kites after crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge en-mass.

It was perfect (though cool) day to be out and about.

While the mood of marchers was good, the reason for the protest really is depressing.

We’ll keep pushing for better times ahead.

And maybe our country will soar again, like these kites…

…or is that too much of a stretch?

(Small plug for new functionality of the blog, click the “Protests” topic tag below to see more posts like this one.)

No Kings Three
last update: 03/28 @ 14:06

The rumor in the crowd was the “LICE” came from Vashon Island, Washington. We’re not sure if that’s right or not, but they were a great addition to the march today.

Sarah and I opted for the march across the Arlington Memorial bridge this morning.

The organizers were hoping for 4,000 to beat the No Kings Two turnout of about 1,500.

To our eyes, we think they met their goal.

That’s the first time I’ve been on a metro platform when they just opened the gates and asked us to walk out without paying with our cards.

The backup at the exit was large enough they are having trouble unloading trains on the platform.

That tells me it was a good turnout.

And that was just one of the early marches to converge on the mall this afternoon.

We were happy to be part of the protest against the current administration and its refusal to follow the constitution.

It is heartening to see others who believe in the rule of law as well.

Sarah rocked her butterfly wings again, “No orange monarchs ‘cept butterflies!”

Pair, sort of
last update: 03/28 @ 13:53

The second big, red crane is ready to go now. We’re feeling a little nervous looking out the back door at the two crane arms that seem to loom over the backyard.

That pine tree in the middle of this picture is the one above the treehouse platform Robert and I built a decade ago.

Oh, and there is now a big, yellow crane just across King Street — maybe they will grab the bridge by both ends and tug :)

Warm again
last update: 03/26 @ 16:47

A bit over 80 degrees and river running 3.86 on a weekday!

Perfect time to be out. The water is still cold so I stayed pretty conservative.

But crossing the nice wave in the Virginia Chute was a lot of fun, even when it broke in my cockpit and I took on a fair amount of water. It was not enough to make it impossible to control the boat (and I stayed upright).

So it was fun. But I was not lured into the whole in the center chute. That would be a long cold swim no matter how tempting it looks. Also a lot of work to get back up to that spot.

I was warm even in a boat full of water with polypro and no wind/water breaker over that.

I saw one CCA trip coming off the river as I was heading out. And one guy with a SUP getting up to the Virginia Chute as I was heading back. So I had Anglers Inn Maryland, Center and Virginia all to myself.

Two Dollar Photo
last update: 03/24 @ 11:39

Actually, I paid $2.25 to pop onto the metro platform for this.

Now the big, red crane is building a medium, red crane. This is not helpful for doing regular chores. They keep doing cool things in the backyard (our backyard is behind the first K in Kokosing on the right-hand crane).

Maybe that new crane will turn out to be the same size, but now, it’s a bit smaller than the first red crane that grew back there.

And yes, this is an update for “you know who” in the comments to the earlier post.

Another fun project
last update: 03/21 @ 17:59

I really enjoyed using my hands and some tools to help Taylor build a bed platform in her van. She and Nanette are touring the southwest now; expected back around here in about 10 days. It was great to see something physical take shape in the real world. And Taylor sounds like she’s happy with it — it’s always nice to have positive reinforcement.

My latest project highlights how well my pre-retirement jobs fit my interests. I’m very happy to be retired, and recommend it to almost everyone (I do think there is a lot of learning and growing to be gained by the variety of jobs, bosses and organizations you can experience over a few working decades).

There is a subtle update to this blog as a result of that project. I’ve given thought to adding topic tags here for a while. And there is a Blosxom plugin to do that, but I’ve also been interested in the buzz around Rust lately, and thought it would be fun to learn a new language.

So at the bottom of blog posts now is a little “Topics” section. As part of that, I realized the monthly list had grown pretty long (over 1500 posts over 22 years is a fair amount). So on the left are two HTML details sections: one with the monthly list and one with the new topic list. Finally, I was able to replace a JavaScript library that I was only using for help handling the comments. It was a large file with lots of cool functionality, that I was barely using. JavaScript has progressed to more standardized support; so I think my “fetch” replacement for “AJAX” will serve me well.

That JavaScript file was from the early 2000s, as is Blosxom, the blog engine I use here. As a happily retired person, I appreciate the wisdom and experience which comes with age and don’t want to discount age just because there are newer, younger things out there. But another reason I wanted to use Rust for my tagging project is that Perl is slowly being diminished. When I started working on the integration between Rust and Perl, I realized my workstation didn’t have some of the needed Perl modules and getting them was not going to be super quick and easy. I just pushed along with “development in production” — something I would have had to frown on in my prior, tech managerial jobs.

I am giving a little bit of thought to rewriting Blosxom in Rust so I don’t run into an update to our servers that makes it hard to get the required Perl modules installed. I do have to say that Blosxom is very flexible and does all I need it to do (if I do rewrite it, it won’t be that cool and flexible). And I was really pleased to be able to graft in my updates and still benefit from the core reverse chronological ordering of posts. Also, with a little manipulation of the URL, topic tags restricted to dates work as well (just as they do by default): Alexandria vs. Alexandria in March, 2026. It was cool to me that both those just worked as expected.

I won’t build a full Rust-based web server if I go down that path. I’m happy with the wisdom and experience that comes with GGI, which has been a part of the web since almost it’s very first days. There are more modern ways to build out interactivity, but I know I don’t need that level of sophistication or performance for my little world. I happened upon this post recently about performance of Rust and CGI.

If you’re still reading this, I will also say that I was in no rush and wanted to learn a bit about this new language. So, I chose not to use AI for this at all. I expect AI would have been happy to help me out, would have been much quicker and likely would have produced more solid code. But I would not have learned as much about what makes Rust work and how it differs from other languages. This NYT article about AI assisted programming was an interesting read as I worked on this.

And this fun project has been a throwback, in some ways, to the very first work I did on the web for AARP’s website. In those early days, the AARP IT leadership was all about supported software. Our DEC servers came with a C compiler from DEC so I was told I had to use C for our web interactivity even though Perl was around then (because open source Perl was not commercially supported). Perl, being a higher level language was much safer for public interaction than homegrown C code, and DEC was certainly not going to support my crazy programs. (Eventually, we convinced them that Perl was a better fit.)

As a reward for anyone reading this far: my tagging code.

I expect I’ll slowly go back over some of those 1500+ entries and add some appropriate tags. But for now, back to regular blogging about life rather than reflecting on blogging itself :)

Spring has sprung
last update: 03/21 @ 13:17

Alexandria may not have the tidal basin or UW’s quad (see halfway down this page) for cherry blossoms, but we do have some.

This is on the grounds of the GW Masonic Memorial, where I wandered by it today on a stroll in the beautiful, spring weather.

It takes a crane …
last update: 03/20 @ 17:15

… to build a crane.

Hard to see from our backyard, but the work on replacing the train bridges is getting serious. They cleared all the trees and brush from the siding and now the heavy equipment is moving in.

We thought the excavator and bulldozer were the heavy equipment — they were just preparing a solid platform for the big, red crane.

But to get the big, red crane in place, they brought it in in pieces and have been spending the last few days putting it together (with its little brother, the white crane).

It’s been fascinating to watch.

The view from the train station, looking across King Street is a bit better.

I think they finished this afternoon and the white crane has moved on now.

Beautiful Day!
last update: 03/10 @ 16:51

You just can’t pass up an 80 degree day in March. And with lots of water in the river (back to 4.6 again), it was a great day to be out at Angler’s Inn. (This is next to the hydraulic in the center chute; I stayed out of that.)

I did see a couple of other folks on the river, but there was space in the lower parking lot — always a plus for weekday boating. I really do like this retirement thing!

It’s interesting to see who is wearing what on a warm day in March (the river water is still cold, but no more ice on the river): I saw one boater in the parking lot in a dry suit, and one just putting in wearing shorts — both ends of the spectrum. All the hikers and walkers were in shorts and tee shirts. I was happy to have my fleece, even if I was a little warm. A little water spray was enough to keep me comfy.

Van Changes
last update: 03/09 @ 17:35

Taylor and her mom had some good ideas about changing the bed platform in her van.

And today we had the time and perfect weather for those updates.

It was a very fun and very different project for me: no straight lines and no 90 degree corners.

But I think we did a good job on it.

It’s solidly attached (I even suggested the “seat belt” which would only come into play in an accident) and it fits the mattress well.

And leaves plenty of space for gear below it.

Taylor’s wide angle photo makes it look bigger than it is, but we used all the space available.

Aussie Visit
last update: 03/05 @ 09:13

Taylor is living the van life and we managed to get on her itinerary for a few days.

Her mom Nanette flew in Tuesday for a planned road trip together.

Life got a little complicated and they had to take off earlier than planned and the adventure is a bit different. But I expect it will still be entertaining.

We’re expecting to see them back this way before Nanette’s flight back in a few weeks.

And we’re looking forward to hearing all about where they have been this time.

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