Weeknote #54 (20250928-20251004)
meta
This was a really weird week. Monday, I gave my two week notice at my current HHMI/Fred Hutch/Bedford Lab/nextstrain.org gig. Wednesday morning, we woke up to a kitchen with water all over the floor and a failed fridge. Then on Thursday, while trying to sear a roast, the (a?) heating element in the oven started arcing — turning the oven off and back on fixed that, but the oven wouldn’t go past 395°F afterwards.
We ordered a new fridge from Costco, and it was delivered on Saturday. The stove is still under (extended) warranty, so there’s a repair person coming next week. It’ll all be fine — but it was an oddly stressful week!
did
- On Sunday, I finished the chicken stock that I started on the previous Saturday
- We had rain for a good chunk of the week — fall is creeping back in
read
-
I revisited “The Web Is a Customer Service Medium”, from waaay back in 2011:
That is the point that I am trying to make. The web is not, despite the desires of so many, a publishing medium. The web is a customer service medium. “Intense moderation” in a customer service medium is what “editing” was for publishing.
Still resonates; it’s also fun to go back and look at the extensive lists of various sorts of sites and consider which ones are still around, and why
-
“Why I Think Tylenol is Both Dangerous & Useless” (via @glyph)
listened
- “I Only Do Pushups When I’m Drunk (Drinking Lonely)” by Good Hangs
- “Autumn” by The Gaslight Anthem
- “Syndicate”, the new album by The Midnight
watched
- Finished S4 Criminal Minds, moved into S5
- Watched chunks of both the Thorms and the Timbers matches on Saturday (they were unfortunately mostly simultaneous). Thorns managed to pull out a win thanks to Liv “Brace Yourself” Moultrie; the Timbers were, honestly, pretty horrible. I wouldn’t be at all shocked if they manage to slip out of 7th back down to the play-in tier and then fail to make the post-season …again
cooked
- Sunday: chicken wangs and corn
- Monday: Cuban Black Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock
- Tuesday: Shrimp with white beans and blistered tomatoes
- Thursday: bottom round roast with mash and gravy
- Friday: thai basil chicken
looking forward to
My last day at the lab is the 10th, and then I have a couple weeks funemployed before the new thing starts — looking forward to that!