This year has been tiring, with far too little joy. I guess that’s why I thought I’d assemble the Christmas tree 2 weeks too early. #mbnov 🎄

Peated bourbon from Kings County Distillery is puzzling. Does it taste like scotch-y bourbon or bourbon-y scotch? So I thought a Rob Roy/Manhattan cocktail made perfect sense for Friday cocktails. #mbnov

Stoop seems like an excellent word for 2020. I still have hope that things will start looking up, but… #mbnov

I’ve always been a cranky old man in a less-old (?—less true each year) body. But nature still manages to astonish. Autumn sunlight is my favorite light, and the light streaming into our library on this clear afternoon was gorgeous. #mbnov

I’ve signed out of my (other) social media accounts in preparation for what I expect to be a wild Tuesday. I have done my part — Please vote 🗳 if you’re an eligible US voter — and I want to concentrate on my work and what I can control. #mbnov

I’ve long objected to the nonsensical habit of “daylight saving” time. This rainy and dreary Sunday hasn’t changed my mind, but I did spend part of the day reading in front of the fireplace, after finishing the weekend errands an hour early. It was a nice escape from 2020. #mbnov

My 2020 distraction: vintage Christmas ornament shopping 🎄

And Then There Were None 2020-10-13 22:30 EDT (UTC-4) Old Town North, Alexandria, Virginia, USA

A walk along the Potomac in Leesylvania State Park

I’m enjoying the quick AirPods hand-off between iPad and iPhone in iOS 14… until I accidently scroll past an autoplaying video on my iPad while listening to a podcast on my iPhone and the podcast drops. 😠

Now that the annoying screen takeover for incoming phone calls is resolved — hooray! (wish #1) — adding the option to disable media autoplay in Safari on iOS/iPadOS would be greatly appreciated. I have yet to encounter any page on which an autoplaying video or audio is something that improves my reading experience.

Autumn Friday: brandy on the deck next to the fire

🗳 Vote!

I’m trying micro.blog as an alternative to Instagram and (hopefully) as a less frustrating substitute for Twitter.