My Christmas was a general mess. It was supposed to be the first year I got to host it for the family, but then my 18-month-old nephew got sick and ended up in the hospital (don’t worry, he’s doing much better!). Everything fell through, and chaos abounded.

And now it’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m sitting around writing a blog post. Go me.

Good riddance, 2018.



Thoughts On The Wall…

The kitties in the picture are my newly acquired companions. They’re only seven and nine months old, respectively, and they’re pretty awesome and great company. The tiny one on the left (who doesn’t look so tiny in that picture) is Pixel. The larger, more rambunctious one on the right… has no name.

Yet.

At this moment, Pixel is curled up right next to me on a blanket and the currently nameless one is curled up on the cat tree, sleeping the evening away (which I will pay for later when they wake up around bed time). It makes me a little introspective. I have two new kittens to play with. What else will change in 2019?

That got me thinking about resolutions, so I decided to put a list together.

Get My Parents Moved . They’re in the process of buying a house here, and that should be finished in the second week of January. Then I get to set their techno-stuff up!

. They’re in the process of buying a house here, and that should be finished in the second week of January. Then I get to set their techno-stuff up! Get My Pool Fixed . The patio around my pool is kinda crumbly, and is making a mess of the pool. On top of which, it’s shifted and is crushing the skimmer cavity, causing the occasional leak. I need to fix that badly, and I may as well have the plumbing redone while I’ve got it all torn up. It’s going to be expensive.

. The patio around my pool is kinda crumbly, and is making a mess of the pool. On top of which, it’s shifted and is crushing the skimmer cavity, causing the occasional leak. I need to fix that badly, and I may as well have the plumbing redone while I’ve got it all torn up. It’s going to be expensive. Expand My Homelab . Those new Mac Minis are looking pretty nice; I think I’m drooling a little. I’m also running out of storage space, and playing with QNAP sounds fun. And 10G networking. And…

. Those new Mac Minis are looking pretty nice; I think I’m drooling a little. I’m also running out of storage space, and playing with QNAP sounds fun. And 10G networking. And… Install A Structured Wiring Cabinet . Speaking of the homelab… that bundle of ethernet cables coming out of a gaping hole in the wall? Yeah, that needs to be fixed.

. Speaking of the homelab… that bundle of ethernet cables coming out of a gaping hole in the wall? Yeah, that needs to be fixed. Build Something . I have my nifty new workshop (and a big long post written about it that just needs to be edited), but I haven’t used it yet. WTF is wrong with me?!

. I have my nifty new workshop (and a big long post written about it that just needs to be edited), but I haven’t used it yet. WTF is wrong with me?! Get My Home Automation Platform Going . The idea has been kicking around my brain for a couple of years now; it’s time to see some action!

. The idea has been kicking around my brain for a couple of years now; it’s time to see some action! Name My Nameless Kitten . If you have any suggestions, let me know; I’m partial to technological names, and I’m having issues coming up with a good one for the little troublemaker.

. If you have any suggestions, let me know; I’m partial to technological names, and I’m having issues coming up with a good one for the little troublemaker. Post, Post, Post! Yeah, I know. I said that last year, but the resolution remains.

On the upside, at least the home automation platform is seeing progress. The last few weeks (while sitting around waiting for news on the nephew) have seen a lot of work on it. Much of the infrastructure code is in place (albeit needing a bit more improvement in some areas), and I can start to work on the meat of the problem. I have a particular way I want this thing to work.

As far as I know, it’s going to be a little different than anything else out there.

I’ll keep you posted on that (pun intended).

In the mean time, I’m looking forward to 2019 settling down into a productive year some time in late March or April. Helping my parents get settled here is going to be a bit of effort and may induce some chaos, but I think it’ll be alright. Barring any more urgent and ungodly projects at work, I might actually be able to get some things done this year. I’m really looking forward to that.

And I really need to name that kitten.

Seriously.

Any ideas?

Happy New Year, folks, and may your 2019 be all kinds of wonderful!