20231228
========
21:30
-----
Last night was spent watching a new series on Netflix. Because of that,
I overslept for work by a good half an hour. I wonder if it can be
watched outside Poland and if it's as amusing. The series follows a
similar format to "What We Do in the Shadows," but instead of vampires,
it explores the exaggerated thoughts of a Polish nobleman from 1670
(the year 1670 is also the title of the series.). It humorously mocks
all the old flaws and superstitions, cleverly modernized. A good comedy
series allows us to laugh at ourselves, and this one certainly does.
The nobleman's ideas for exploiting serfs are presented with the
language of today's corporations and trendy coaches.
The series includes a series of gags about modern inventions, such as a
toothbrush, which the main character doesn't believe in because he
adheres to the "end of history" philosophy (believing that nothing more
can be invented because there's no need for it).
Ahead of me are a few more episodes, so I'll probably encounter a
follower of the flat Earth theory from that time.
20231227
========
21:40
-----
Today is the first day after my vacation. I woke up before seven, and
it was dark outside. I quickly commuted to my office; there wasn't much
traffic on the road or crowded in the subway. The day passed without
major events; post-holiday workdays tend to be calm. I didn't have
lunch at work because a lot of holiday food awaited me in my home
fridge. So, I had a big late dinner, and now I feel too full.
On the way to work, I read a few articles on Bongusta, including the
news that Google is discontinuing support for Usenet [1]. I wrote
several posts in the past year, so I need to get back to that activity.
https://m.slashdot.org/story/422840 [1]
20231226
========
21:30
-----
Today, I plan to go to bed earlier because for the past few days, I've
been falling asleep too late. So far, everything is going according to
plan because I'm already in my pajamas after a bath. We'll see when my
son falls asleep. He just went to bed.
Today, I spent some time browsing Small Net. A few days ago marked four
months of my daily writing here. Let's see if I'll continue the
experiment next year.
The end of the year is also a time for reflections. A few days ago, I
finished watching the original Star Wars trilogy. I was never a big
fan, but due to my son's interests, I caught up. I went beyond the
first trilogy, which I had only acknowledged until now. I watched every
movie, even when it was too long (two hours!) or cringe-worthy at times
(Episode II). I set a goal to watch everything, and I would only pause
on Disney+ to continue watching the next day. I discovered all the
storylines and learned that the image used in memes comes from this
movie [1].
https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/322841258/Anakin-Padme-4-Panel [1]
20231225
========
22:40
-----
The so-called First Holiday passed with spending time with family.
Nothing noteworthy happened worth describing here. My son continued to
assemble his Lego set; as I mentioned, the manual is two hundred pages
long. Interestingly, when I look back and recall old Lego instructions,
they used to be quite schematic. Today, the manual is an important part
of the whole experience. It includes several special elements related
to the instructions. Firstly, the booklet is stored in a special case
to keep it in perfect condition. Secondly, it contains various
decorative elements; for example, the progress of building blocks on
each page is illustrated by a figure made of blocks approaching the
edge of the page. Even if a certain element is assembled in the same
way, it is printed, for instance, a machine with four legs has the same
pages repeated four times. The goal is to reach those two hundred
pages. Sometimes, it's evident that it's cheaper to make a detailed
manual than the appropriate amount of blocks (plastic). Often,
constructions seem hollow inside, built around a skeleton that is meant
to look nice. Sometimes, this isn't enough for good fun with a
particular set.
Nevertheless, in my opinion, Lego blocks remain the best toy, despite
everything.
20231224
========
22:00
-----
Today is Christmas Day. I'm not religious, so I don't celebrate these
holidays in a religious sense. Nevertheless, it's a traditional family
holiday. We try to have dinner together, preparing twelve dishes where
fish is the main ingredient. On the table, there was carp (although
it's a fish from the times of the Polish People's Republic and
scarcity), herring (in a few variations - with garlic, in sour cream,
in oil), sturgeon, cod, and trout. In addition, there was traditional
red borscht and traditional bigos. There were dumplings with cabbage
and mushrooms. As always, there was too much food.
Apart from that, the main attraction for children is the presents. The
biggest one is a Lego set - fortunately, we finished building up to
page 50 without nerves, and we'll complete the remaining 150 tomorrow.
It must be acknowledged that building a set designed for a
nine-year-old goes smoothly for our five-year-old.
20231223
========
11:00
-----
My son keeps coming back to the topic of Santa Claus. How is it that
they can fly so quickly? To be precise, as a parent, I responded in a
scientific manner using Clarke's Third Law: 'Any sufficiently advanced
technology is indistinguishable from magic.'
14:00
-----
My family came with gifts for my son. Where should I hide them so he
won't see? The first potential spot was "explored" by him shortly after
I thought of it. The second was discovered during a game of hide and
seek a few moments later. Fortunately, I managed to divert attention,
explaining that they weren't the wrapped gifts he had in mind. Let's
see if he doesn't connect the dots tomorrow when Santa Claus brings
something similarly wrapped.
20231222
========
21:45
-----
Today, one can write about the weather and be sure it won't be entirely
senseless. I was awakened by the spring sun in the morning. A few hours
later, while standing in line at the store, snow began to fall. Snow is
an understatement—it was a snowstorm with gusty winds and a real storm
in the background. A storm in December. The snow melted a few hours
later, but instead of sunny weather, it rained for the rest of the day.
That's the winter holiday atmosphere.
What do you talk about in a store queue? Two older ladies, who seemed
like sweet grandmothers at first glance, started anti-globalist
discussions with a series of conspiracy theories. It was a way to
entertain oneself during the boring wait in line.
In Polish recently, the word "foliarz" emerged. It refers to people who
used to make hats from aluminum foil to shield themselves from harmful
cosmic radiation. In the Polish language, "folia" translates to "foil."
A person associated with foil is referred to as a "foliarz."
They started by saying it's not worth getting vaccinated against COVID
because you can take Amantadine. As soon as I heard that, I realized
how long it had been since I heard such nonsense. Those were the times
of the first vaccinations, when people, in anticipation, tried to find
a miraculous cure on their own. It seemed like that topic had long been
forgotten. But evidently not.
When one of the ladies claimed to have received the sixth dose, the
other advised her to take aspirin daily to thin her blood. Supposedly,
from the sixth dose onwards, even young people are said to be at risk
of stroke and die very quickly.
It continued with the notion that forced relocation of immigrants would
destroy Poland. The argument was that people lack their own reasoning
and are enslaved by globalists. Even one of her very devout neighbors
doesn't share their views (i.e., think independently). And, according
to them, non-believers shouldn't celebrate Christmas at all.
I admit, it's been a while since I encountered someone like that. The
ladies happened to meet in the queue by chance. Other people didn't
react, although, in my opinion, everyone heard it. Surely, a large
portion, if not the majority, holds different views.
It's quite an interesting experience. Today, we are finally enclosed in
our own bubbles. Interestingly, those ladies also complained that it's
difficult for entire families to gather around the holiday table.
Listening to such revelations, indeed, it would be challenging for me
to sit at such a table as well.
20231221
========
21:30
-----
Tonight, I didn't sleep too well. Fortunately, it's the last working
day before the holidays, and I have a day off tomorrow. I came home,
sat on the couch, and initially watched a few episodes of Mr. Bean with
my son. Now that he's asleep, I remembered episodes of Not The Nine
O’Clock News. I discovered it only a few years ago. I must admit that
the humor in Mr. Bean, as portrayed in NtNON, caught me by surprise the
first time I saw it. It's worth watching, and the individual sketches
are still very good today and haven't aged at all.
Only two days left until Christmas. It seems like most things are
already prepared. I hope to take a bit of a break nonetheless. The
arrangement of the weekdays and the resulting days off this year is
very favorable. No need for special leave during this time.
It's worth mentioning the weather as well. The holidays will be rainy
and windy. The weather won't be wintry at all. It might not even be
cold, with temperatures around 10 degrees.
20231220
========
22:00
-----
Today, I commuted to work using my old route, which passes through a
continuously renovated stretch of road. Ten kilometers of construction
amid mud and street grime from last week's snow. I don't know when this
renovation will end, but it doesn't seem soon. The bus maneuvers
through sharp turns, temporary narrowings, and detours, struggling to
fit when a larger vehicle approaches from the opposite side.
However, the most interesting thing happened on the way back. There was
more crowding than usual, so I stood among other people. Suddenly, a
couple in their thirties started talking near me. The man was striking
up a conversation with the woman, and after a while, it turned out they
didn't know each other at all. He was trying to get her phone number
and invite her out in the evening somewhere in the city. After a
moment, she started giggling like a teenager. Scenes like that don't
unfold often.
20231219
========
20:20
-----
My son is after a bath. We will try to fall asleep before 10 PM. Now he
is drawing in the bed. I sneakily play Chopin in the background. It
must be working because he starts yawning.
There were times when I didn't listen to music. Then I discovered
various music genres, from awkward moments with techno to rock, metal,
and jazz, culminating in classical music. It turned out that classical
music can evoke all musical emotions. You can be in a Chopin mood and
mainly listen to him. That's where I am today. Once, it happened that
the year-end summary on Spotify mainly featured Chopin.
20231218
========
21:53
-----
I’m sitting on a sofa while drinking a Baltic Porter beer. I had written
about this kind of beer here a while ago.
My son doesn’t sleep yet. He is talking a lot and giving us many
questions. Today the main topic is space. He was drawing several Death
Stars from Star Wars. Then he was asking about stars, which is the
brightest, how they are shining, and so on.
We participated in the Christmas shopping spree a bit. Most presents
have been ordered on the Internet. A crowd of people doesn’t make the
real shops more attractive than online shopping.
I browsed the small net today. Most things make me feel alienated. My
Comitium feed was almost empty. The Antenna was populated by entries of
people I don’t know. I must catch up on things.
20231217
========
21:00
-----
The next day of housekeeping. I packed all issues of Pixel Magazine and
I stored it in a basement. I packed also several other titles. They
were laying in my apartment and I hadn't needed them. The empty
bookshelf was rearranged with other books which were stored one on top
of the other earlier. This was the thing I haven't had the strength to
do for the last long time. I had been browsing photos of my apartment
from when I had just moved out. The bookshelf was in order and with
empty spaces. I don't know where so much stuff came from.
In the second part of the day my wife and my son were in the Botanical
Light Garden. It's organized in winter season with lights formed in
shapes and characters from cartoons. It's a popular attraction. They
have written that in a rush hour they experience a traffic jam on a
driveway. Fortunately, there were no problems.
Maybe it's because of the weather. Gardens of Lights are best viewed
when there is snow, and instead of snow it was drizzling today.
During their trip I watched a retro channel discussion on YouTube about
the Wrestling. It's a show which doesn't have any substitute in Poland.
It was discovered here in 90s while the satellite TV started to be
popular. On every balcony a satellite dish was set and TV shows like
Wrestling came to Polish houses. The most interested in were teenagers
who don't know that it was directed show. I was one of them. On YouTube
the overall phenomenon was discussed and especially was focused on
computer games because it is the channel main theme. I didn't play any
Wrestling computer game but as I discovered now there were several
titles even on 8 bit computers.
20231216
========
21:20
-----
It was a sunny day for a while before the noon. We were on a walk. We
know our neighborhood very well but it's possible to find out something
new every time. We were going through a small inner streets and we
found a confectionery. Later I've seen a funny advertisement on a
street.
-- Eating pizza makes you hot.
With a Ruben's shaped lady laying on a hot pizza slice with melted
cheese.
There weren't too many people on streets today. In the evening it
became dark and gloomy again. We were doing a house cleaning. There
wasn't any exciting thing to write about.
20231215
========
21:10
-----
My son has opened a next window in his own made Advent Calendar. It was
themed as... Minecraft. Today's day had been drawn inside as a green
zombie head in a red circle as in a prohibition sign. And there wasn't
any green zombie today. Who knows what had been drawn inside next
windows.
We have bought a Christmas tree today. It's the 5th real tree in my
house. Year by year the there is bigger and bigger. This year it has
around 120-140cm. It's a fir. The overall cost around 30 euros. I've
browse all photos of past Christmas trees on my mobile.
The weather surprised today. It was snowing for a while. And one hour
later the most of the snow was melted. But today was rather cold
outside.
20231214
========
20:00
-----
The Christmas shopping spree could be a good thing to write about.
After I've finished my work I went to a shopping center. There is a
special shop with so called ecological cosmetics. I'd like to buy a set
for a man. A shopkeeper said:
-- People could buy more books.
-- People has everything what they need.
-- Time is the thing which can't be buy.
She should be a spiritual leader rather a shopkeeper.
So I didn't buy anything and probably I won't visit this shop anymore.
20231213
========
22:45
-----
It was an ordinary day. The weather is gloomy. I've done my activity
goal. There aren't any interesting things to write about.
I'm thinking about Christmas. I don't like an overall Christmas
atmosphere. Many aspects are leading for me to buying presents. And
it's always a complicated thing.
20231212
========
21:15
-----
The Time of Coughs is lasting but its magic powers are less and less
powerful. Despite this, I continue to work from home along with
coughing household members. I'm a bit exhausted from this situation.
The weather doesn't give any positive vibes. But I've done around 6km
on foot after work.
The rest of evening I'm watching parliament on YouTube. As I have
written earlier it's a popular thing in Poland nowadays. Today the new
prime minister has given an expose.
There was the hooligan act of one of the far-right MPs, who activated a
fire extinguisher, destroying Christmas decorations (the Hanukkah
menorah, was lit right next to the Christmas tree for the seventeenth
time, was extinguished).
Parliament unanimously, including some members of his far-right club,
condemned his behavior. The Sejm Presidium referred the case to the
prosecutor's office.
Ultimately, the prime minister's expose was disrupted. I'm curious who
initiates such behavior, which was probably intended to destabilize
today. The MP had to explain that these were his independent and
spontaneous decisions. It is possible that it was his stupidity and
lack of awareness of what it would look like to activate the fire
extinguisher. A foam fire extinguisher dirty a huge part of the Sejm.
20231211
========
20:00
-----
Yesterday I got not so clever idea to watch Star Wars III to the
midnight and didn't go sleep as an average serious middle aged man
short after ten PM. I woke up in a good mood but later in the day I was
feeling an effect of my decision. The whole day has passed and I didn't
make any significant things.
During the morning I had a doctor appointment. He determined that it
was just a normal cough and not the beginning of bronchitis. So I'm
coughing but with a medicine.
Other children in my son's kindergartner have a similar symptoms as my
son and the rest of the family. The unknown coughing virus made my city
full of loud cough. It isn't an old COVID, it isn't a RSA, there is no
fever.
20231210
========
21:30
-----
It was a slowly Sunday. The weather forecast is predicting the
temperature will go above zero. So the snow will melt soon. But today
it was snowing a bit again. I was out in the morning and the overall
feeling of winter has still been present. In the upcoming week it would
be up to eight Celsius degrees. We will see.
Today there was so called the shopping Sunday. Shops were operating as
in working day. I don't remember how long in Poland the trade on Sunday
is prohibited. I have never been a frequent buyer or visitor of big
shopping centers in that days. But the the new law still bothers me. I
don't have any special plans but it was so handy to visit shops without
a hurry. In the most cases I'm buying on the Internet instead. So I
don't know if the legislator is happy from that customers habit change.
The rest of the day was creative. There were much of drawing. In the
afternoon we were backing gingerbread cookies.
20231209
========
20:45
-----
I'm sitting on a sofa and I'm drinking the Leffe Brown beer. It isn't
the most original choice but it has been available in the nearest
grocery store.
Today day was the next day of winter weather. It was foggy like
yesterday. But the feeling of real winter has been given by snow which
was falling through the most of the day. It wasn't so depressing like
yesterday.
In the morning we were sleeping well to almost nine o'clock. My son was
sleeping off the last night. He had fallen asleep after ten o'clock. He
was coughing before that what made he can't sleep.
We went to a doctor today. After almost two weeks of a light treatment
he got an antibiotic. He is doing quite well through that time but the
cough must be healed. So we are hoping that it was last doctor
appointment this month.
That all things caused that I don't have any free time for the small
net. I am not active on Mastodon also. Just wait until spring.
20231208
========
20:40
-----
It's Friday! My cough isn't healed. I worked all week in so called home
office. Several people in my team were also complaining about their
health. In the next week there will be a big office meeting. The
occasion is the Christmas dinner. I don't know how it will be with all
teams in a one place.
It's said that many people in Poland are infected nowadays. I've done a
combined test and the result was negative. But I'm coughing through all
day.
The weather is so awful that I didn't go out today for my usual walk.
Instead of that I've got a nap after work. Maybe it's because of my
health condition. I have a deficit of sleep.
After it we played a board game. Then my son had got a bath and now he
is trying to fall asleep.
20231207
========
21:59
-----
I'm in the bed. Today it was snowing again. In the morning I was
getting from the bed later. The day was sleepy.
Today the city illumination was officially started. The big Christmas
tree was set in the city center. We where there in the evening. Many
people were here. The tourists were also visible.
I'm planning to sleep long enough today to fulfill my dreams from this
morning when the alarm clock rang.
20231206
========
19:30
-----
The next day of home office. I've been on a walk after work. So I've
done my activity goal. Now I'm sitting on a sofa. My son is sitting on
a carpet playing the new LEGO set. Now the Star Wars are on top.
According to the Polish theme of this Phlog I must write that salceson
was considered as the worst food on the world by Taste Atlas [1].
People probably will think that every Pole is liking a salceson and a
vodka. But I never ate salceson in my life and I don't like vodka. So
I'm the only one in my kind.
https://www.tasteatlas.com/worst-rated-meat-products-in-the-world [1]
It has supporters and opponents even in Poland, where offal is
generally eaten. Sometimes I like to eat chicken livers fried with
onion. And that would be it.
***
It's worth to say that I got a Christmas postcard from my family. This
custom was still alive several years ago when my grandparents
generation was alive. Now it's rare to get such postcard. What is more
I've got this from my USA family. What is more interesting they are
third generation of USA citizens. They can't speak Polish and Polish
culture probably had no major influence on them. For me, they are more
American than Polish. So maybe postcards are more popular in USA now.
21:20
-----
My son is in the bed. We were reading the first Star Wars #1 comics
(1977) which I had mentioned before.
My throat is in better condition today so I've poured into a glass
Oatmeal Stout. I'm drinking it slowly now.
20231205
========
22:45
-----
Mentioned earlier gifts for tomorrow are ready. My son is sleeping
since 20:30. I'm watching Star Wars I.
We didn't sleep the whole last night because of my son running nose.
But the rest of the day was quite calm. The weather was good. Snow and
sunny weather with the temperature below zero. I was working from home
but I'm managed to do my activity goal after it. I'm going to the bed.
Goodnight.
20231204
========
21:30
-----
My son has an infection again. We've done a COVID test but the result
was negative. We visited a doctor. This season is hard to parents in a
kindergarten.
I was coughing also. I've been working from home.
It's 21:30 and my son isn't sleep yet. He was screaming because he had
a constant runny nose.
I don't have any energy to write more. And of course tomorrow he could
behave like the most polite child.
20231203
========
21:10
-----
My son is in the bed. The snow I mentioned yesterday didn't let us
down. In the morning, before the o'clock we were sledding. There was
more than several centimeters of snow on the ground. The caretaker
hadn't had time to clear the snow yet because it was still snowing.
The snow wasn't enough sticky to make a snowman. But it's possible to
throw a snow ball. Winter as in the school textbook and at the right
time.
***
Because we've done a two hour activity in the morning the rest of day
we've spent in the home.
We were playing in the Karak board game. I had been very pleased that I
found that game. It isn't too complicated for children but it isn't too
obvious. Players randomly select maze tiles. Then they fight the
monsters in the same way. Each player also has a character with basic
characteristics such as strength or health points. A typical RPG game
for children. In addition, the game is very well produced for this
price.
Comment from my son who wanted to play with me and chose it himself. I
asked if he would play with his kindergarten friends who sometimes
visit him.
-- We won't play them because we are interested in Star Wars.
So my son sometimes plays old school games with me to maintain our
relationship. But whatever it is with his friends, he doesn't even
consider it. That's a lesson learned.
20231202
========
20:30
-----
The weather forecast said that it will be snowing all night. So
tomorrow it could be a time for sledding.
I made today more than 7 km on foot. The weather wasn't too pleasant.
It was several degrees below zero and very humid what made the overall
feeling more cold. I was on river shore and it was cold really cold.
I've played with my son Super Mario Bros on SNES. It is good because he
wanted to practice. So he is training his patience and he was playing
without nerves.
I've browse Personal Soap Opera Phlog posts. It's more and more
impressive. I managed to write everyday. Sometimes I hadn't remember
what I've written.
20231201
========
20:20
-----
In my son kindergarten there was a puppet classes and the song Mah na
mah na from The Muppets. My son is playing puppets now and there is no
sign of him falling asleep.
He started to talk about classes asking me about the frog. I didn't
remember what the frog he was talking about. Then I realized that he is
talking about Kermit the frog. I showed him Mah na mah na song a long
before classes. He was content that he knew it earlier.
21:05
-----
He is laying in a bed. Today in the office a colleague without any kids
explained me that it is possible to workout everyday for fifteen
minutes. Because I'm a good conversationalist so I agreed with her
fully.
