We’re in the midst of a long and languid holiday break. I’ve been off work for a whole week and a day, and don’t go back until Thursday. I finished off work on a high note, having successfully merged my R&D branch of the codebase back into the main branch, deployed it and all. The project is turning the corner from R&D into productization, always a fun part of the curve. Also lots of planning meetings for big ambitious new features and new R&D threads in the coming year. After a long uphill slog into strong headwinds I now feel that the tide has turned, the wind is at our backs and filling our sail, and we’re gaining momentum as we cruise downhill.
Michelle came home from school a week before Christmas, and Lizzy a few days later along with Josh. We even got snow a couple times and it remained cold enough for the snow to stick around for a white Christmas. We did Jeannie’s family party the Saturday before Christmas, and went to Mary’s on Christmas day. In between was lots of food and drink, movies and games, music, wrapping presents, opening presents, hanging out and getting things done at a relaxed pace.
We’re shaping up for a new release of the Global Jukebox in the new year. Nick has come up to speed as my new second software engineer, which is great. I still miss Martin whenever I work on the jukebox. He wrote so much amazing code and did so much of the devops stuff too. I’m always inside his thoughts and mind when I read thru the code. Anyway, Nick is now filling that role and bringing his own approach and perspective. The major new feature we’ve been working on converting the existing Cantometric codings for all the songs to a new simplified schema, to make it easier to train new coders and to eliminate some ambiguities in the original system. Nick wrote the script to do the conversion, which required understanding alot of domain knowledge as well as the architecture of the web application. Meanwhile I created the spec for the new schema and did all the UI and UX work on the client side. Now it’s all on the staging server and we’re looking at finishing off some P2 features to get into the next release.
I bought a drum mic kit as a present to myself. It’s bundle of eight microphones for all the different drums plus overheads, along with stands and cables. I’ve decided I want to use more real drums on my next record (more on that soon) and so it’s essential to be able to mic it up. Next step is to get it all set up and learn how to use it. Oh, and I’m going to upgrade to a 16-input preamp/DAC unit as well.
Oh, and Jeannie got a Nintendo Switch, so I’m gonna get some games for that too!
We went up to Buffalo for a few days after Christmas. They had a ton of snow when we arrived, but while we were up there it got warm and started to melt. Kathleen and the kids came up too. It was a little sad because we all felt Martin’s absence, but there was also healing energy and coming together, and it was good to see them. I’ve been trying to bond with the kids and get closer to them. I took them out for a long walk around the neighborhood one morning to the park and the lake and all the local playgrounds. Played some chess with Match and Abbie. We also had dinner with Larry and Jackie and place in Allentown called Mother’s which was really good. To top it all off, the Bills demolished the Jets on Sunday. Looking good for the playoffs.
I’ve started a D&D campaign with Martin’s kids as a fun way to try and be a presence in their lives. We’ve had three sessions so far over the last three weeks. The first week we rolled up characters, the second we did a warm-up wilderness encounter en route the the start of the main adventure, and this last weekend the party got the the base town, met some of the locals, stocked up on provisions and all that, and set out for the ruins of the Sunless Citadel, where the adventure begins in earnest. They climbed down into a ravine and are now at the front door of the main dungeon (where a trap awaits, unbeknownst to them). The party consists of the three oldest kids, Charlie, Matthew and Abbie, as well as their cousin Rylee, all aged 12 to 16. Also joining in are Michelle and Jeannie. It’s a good mix of races, classes and alignments. Rylee is and Elfin Fighter, and Charlie and Elfin Ranger. Match is a Dwarven Barbarian, and Abbie a Gnomish Bard who rides around on a giant rabbit. Michelle is playing a Halfling Cleric and Jeannie a human Sorceress. I’m DM’ing, which is something I really enjoy. Everyone is first level, and their alignments are centered on chaotic neutral, which fits with their general attitude.
We’re using a combination of software. It’s amazing how all this stuff has advanced since I first started playing D&D online twenty years ago with Nick. We’re using google meet for the video conference. This mostly works great by the call only lasts and hour, so I have to start a new meeting halfway thru. We’re using DND Beyond for the character sheets, stats, and related stuff like spells, weapons, bonuses, modifiers, and hit points. And we’re using Owlbear Rodeo for maps and combat. All free apps that run in the browser, very convenient.
So far it’s lots of fun, and good to be able to spend time with everyone in a casual, semi-structured way. They’re all definitely enjoying it. My plan is to keep it going thru the winter at least, and maybe longer if everyone remains into it.