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I had an idea yesterday that I might have tried to squeeze in a longer run today but I worried I hadn’t rested enough so I decided to just go out for a short run today in between some meetings. I actually felt pretty good and the weather was nice and cool. I might regret not extending this run but glad to get a run in.

A sparse, early spring landscape featuring a mix of leafless and willow trees with yellowish branches. The foreground has dry, brown grass and scattered small shrubs. A small pond is visible in the mid-ground, reflecting the overcast sky. The background shows a distant tree line under thick, gray clouds, creating a calm and subdued atmosphere.

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Got home late yesterday from vacation and decided that today with a lot of errands to do in getting back into the swing of things I decided to shake of the cobwebs from travel yesterday and get a short run in.

A paved pathway curves through a dried marshland with tall grass. A bare tree branch arches over the path on the right. In the background, there’s a row of houses and a white water tower amidst a mix of bare and budding trees under a cloudy sky.

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Went golfing this morning at the Catalonia Caribe Golf Club, Punta Cana. Over the years I don’t really play much golf anymore but my son really wanted to play so we got up early to do 18 with some others and a golf pro.

A young man and an older man are taking a selfie on a grassy field. The young man is wearing a pink shirt and a white cap, while the older man is wearing a black shirt and a cap. They are smiling with trees and a body of water visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

A golfer in a pink shirt and black shorts is mid-swing on a green golf course. Palm trees line the left side of the fairway, and a golf cart is parked on the right. The sky is blue with scattered white clouds, creating a sunny day atmosphere.

A scenic view of a grassy area with two palm trees in the foreground. Beyond the trees is a body of water, possibly a lake or pond, with a small island in the center. The sky is bright blue, scattered with fluffy white clouds, creating a serene, tropical atmosphere.

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Decided to get up early to catch the sunrise and have a slow run around the resort. I think I have now traversed across the entire place.

Sun setting over the ocean with a sandy beach in the foreground. The sky transitions from a bright yellow near the horizon to deep blue above, with a few scattered clouds. The water reflects the warm colors of the sunset.

A serene beach scene at sunset with the sun low on the horizon, casting a warm glow over the ocean. The water is gently lapping against the sand, and shadows of palm trees line the edge of the beach. The sky is a soft gradient of warm colors, with a few scattered clouds.

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On this day for weblog.lol

This is a delayed write up, or should I say I have been testing it for the past couple of weeks before I shared it. First off I want to blame thank Jason for the shove in the right direction on trying to create my own script for weblog.lol instead of just complaining that I have the “On this day” link on my Micro.blog site and it sure would be nice if I had it on my currently mirrored weblog.lol site. He really just gave me the quick answer of “I am sure it is possible” and there I went down the rabbit hole to figure out how to make it possible with my limited technical knowhow as well as well as various GPT’s at my disposal.

If you just want the script click her to go directly to the bottom of this page or feel free to read though the short story.

I will say the first crack I had at this was much easier than I thought as I dug into whatJonathan LaCour did to create Micro Memories for his wife that was specific to Micro.blog.

However, with that as a baseline I was able to tweak his code in some cases and rewrite other parts as the weblog.lol was structured differently on the Archives page that is standard.

My first version worked great but only listed the links to the post, which really could have done the trick but I really liked how the version Jonathan created actually had the full posts show up so after a little more hacking away I was able to figure that out as well as making sure that the title would or wouldn’t show up and where things were placed.

All, in all I was happy enough with the results now and using it that I figured I would share it out and or feel free to take a peek at mine to see how it looks.

So there you have it, now if you have a weblog.lol site and have been wanting a “On this Day” link you can snag this script or link it as described below and have the same.

It is is actually simple because for now you can just create a new page in weblog.lol and put the code snip below in there and save it. This is assuming you are using a standard /archive page as well because it does pull information from that in order to get the on-this-day feature.

<div id="on-this-day">
Loading...
</div>

<script src="https://scripts.brebs.net/on-this-day.js"></script>

</body>

For the full script if something isn’t working or you want to modify it to fit your own need you can find it here.

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Needed to get this run in before a early morning and day of travel. I didn’t expect this amount of snow coming down, already down and the amount blowing in my face. Other than that it was pretty out in the night with bright white snow.

A snowy forest path is lined with trees covered in snow. Footprints lead through the fresh snow along the center of the path. Snowflakes fall gently onto the ground, creating a serene and quiet atmosphere. The ambient lighting casts a soft, warm glow over the scene, adding a sense of tranquility to the winter landscape.

A snow-covered path leads through a dense forest at night. The branches of the trees and bushes are coated in a layer of snow, creating a stark contrast against the dark background. The path is faintly lit, possibly by moonlight or another source, casting a soft glow on the snowy scene.

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Well after a very interesting day of trying to work with no official work laptop. I was ready to get this long run in before we head out on vacation. I want sure how this one would feel so late in the day but it was great to get out and chase the sunset.

A sunlit scene of a marshland with tall, dry grasses and a small stream. Bare tree branches frame the foreground, and leafless trees line the background. The sky is clear with a few scattered clouds, and the bright sun casts long shadows across the landscape.

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Decided to take big Darbs for a longer than normal walk today enjoying the snowfall. 🌨️🐶

A black dog stands on a snow-covered path during a light snowfall. The path winds through a wintery landscape with bare trees dusted with snow on either side. The ground is lightly covered with snow, and the dog appears to be on a leash, looking back towards the camera.

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Got lost in a book tape and just enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery I almost forgot to take a picture today on my run. So I took a rather odd one mostly because I don’t think I have noticed this little stream in-between buildings and not sure where it comes and goes to. 🤷

A narrow stream runs through a wooded area with leafless trees on both sides. The ground is covered with brown leaves, and the stream reflects the bare branches above. The scene has a calm, wintery atmosphere, with muted colors and a gentle curve where the water flows.

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Not going to lie, even with the beautiful weather out today this run was a struggle. However, I pushed though mostly because it was more or less an out and back and I had no choice but to continue on.

A wide-open field with dry grass and scattered patches of water, likely a wetland or marsh. Bare trees with branching silhouettes frame the scene on both sides against a clear blue sky with wispy clouds. The background shows a tree line in the distance.

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Sitting in the Shed Office this afternoon it is feeling kind of warm so I was debating if this weekend I should get the window AC unit down and installed. Then I went out and saw how crazy the next 7 days of weather is swinging of 30°F after tomorrow.

Weather forecast for the next 7 days

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Running Route Diverted - Portland Maine

Because I’m a slightly curious person, after coming across all the mess on my usual running route in Portland, Maine, I had to dig into why they seem to be moving this narrow-gauge railroad track over by about 5-10 feet and causing havoc on my favorite trail along the water.

That is right don’t mess with my normal paths or I might get curious!

A set of railroad tracks under construction, partially paved with fresh asphalt. The tracks are lined with orange traffic cones and a small orange sign with a black arrow pointing left. A fence runs along each side of the tracks, with utility poles and wires visible overhead. Buildings and heavy machinery are seen in the background under an overcast sky.

From my digging and research, I found that this is due to new property development in what, from my perspective, has always been an abandoned lot. I couldn’t find much on how the development will look overall, but it sounds like a win since it could bring more people to this area which is great (except for the selfish part of me that liked it less traveled). However, there seem to be some sketchy things about how this all transpired, and I’m not entirely sure I have the full story.

Here are some links I found about the whole debacle. On one hand, it sounds bad, but really, if the solution was just to move the railroad which has seemingly been there since it was built about 5-10 feet over, that should have been made very clear from the start. That’s not something that happens overnight, and it makes me wonder who’s actually footing the bill, because I can’t imagine it’s cheap to have a narrow-gauge rail car put spikes in as well 🤷‍♂️.

Then, in the last link, you can see that part of the track (looks like the offshoots) is actually on the property now being developed, which is probably a big part of the issue. I guess that makes sense for why it has to be moved. But it does make me wonder if the track was that important to Portland, why didn’t they carve that part out of the development plans? For the last 10+ years that I’ve been around this area, the track has been there, and nothing seemed all that ‘active’ on the lot.

I guess for now I can’t wait till everything gets back to normal as it is not ideal to have to run back and forth across this track at varying points along the Eastern Promenade Trail

A single railway track under construction is shown, with gravel ballast laid down, parallel to an existing track. On the left side, there’s a chain-link fence with some dry foliage and trees, while the right side features a path lined with streetlights, bare trees, and a grassy area. The sky is overcast, creating a gray and subdued atmosphere.

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It was a long day of work today with some other kid stuff sprinkled in as well. I kept just thinking I would take a day off but honestly I needed this time to run as the sun was setting tonight. I told myself finally OK, just do 3.1 miles and so I just started running.

A tranquil scene of a sunset over a grassy field bordered by leafless trees. The sun is low on the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow that contrasts with the cool blue sky above. The silhouettes of the trees create a serene and peaceful atmosphere.

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Forty-Four

I’ve just spent the last two weeks in Portland Maine obviously traveling back on the weekend because I wanted to watch my daughter swim at her state competition. Now that I’m back, I’m reflecting on everything as I normally do when writing these for what have become almost yearly reviews.

This past year has, as always, been full of changes. My youngest daughter decided to shift her focus from competitive dance to going all in on competitive swimming and she’s done amazing. I love watching everything she has accomplished so far this year and how much her work and effort is paying off. My middle child who has been a dedicated hockey player for as long as I can remember has really branched out this year. After giving up dance, she took some time off the period year, however now it’s been great to see her grow and try new things from volleyball and soon to be track. My oldest has also had an interesting year. He’s still the kid who loves basketball, but he’s been hanging out with friends and trying new things like golf. Not to mention he started driving this past year! As he is almost now 16, his new thing is looking for a job. I am both anxious and excited for him to be able to drive himself to work, events and activities. The one thing over the past year for him that has been interesting to see is that he has gone on two trips with one of his friends and as much as I hate seeing him go I really love the connections he’s making and hearing all about it when he gets back.

The big news for our family this year is that we finally decided to sell our camper at Kiesler’s in Waseca Minnesota. As much as I enjoyed my time there and as much as our family did too it was probably the right time. Our oldest wants to work as much as possible over the summer and our middle child wants to spend more time with friends so I think the biggest people affected are my wife, my youngest daughter, and slightly me. For me, the camper was always a place to go and just relax not having to worry about everything at home. The only trade-off was still having to manage everything at the camper but that was mostly at the start and end of the season with a little in between.

A group of five people, including children and adults, are smiling and sitting together in a golf cart. They are outdoors, possibly at a campsite, with trailers and trees visible in the background. The adults are wearing casual clothes, and one is wearing sunglasses. The weather appears to be pleasant.

Looking back at past years I always talk about running and honestly I haven’t done much with it lately but I did join a friend’s podcast to talk about running and I really enjoyed it. There may be more episodes in the future that I join him on and I look forward to that as well. Talking to him made me realize I have more to say but I don’t have the time or energy to start my own podcast so I would rather just join someone else’s and talk about what I know (not that I really know that much but I do like to talk about running). I’m not saying it’s the greatest podcast just because I was on it but I really like what Joey is doing bringing in normal people like you and me to share their experiences. I felt the same way when I joined Off the Couch in the earlier part of their podcast however, I think as it grew they shifted toward professional athletes. It was an honor to be included but as someone who runs as a hobby and even though it is always interesting hearing people talk about how they got into running that are more professional, it’s harder to relate to career ultra-runners.

From a work perspective I don’t have much to report but I am glad to be taking a year off from planning our big yearly team event. I know it doesn’t sound like much but even if you’re not handling the entire scope of planning a lot falls on you to ensure the week goes smoothly. I’m looking forward to showing up as just a participant this year fully engaging in the topics instead of spending the whole time thinking about logistics, taking frantic notes, and preparing recaps at the end of each day and week.

I feel like my yearly recaps have gotten a bit scattered over time and I’ve probably written too much at this point so I will close with that.

Looking ahead to 2025 I really want to embrace the shifts in my kids’ activities and with the couple of unique family trips we have planned. I want to be present for those experiences and take the time to really enjoy what they have to offer. I’m also trying to reduce the noise in my life whether that’s deciding how or if I want to post to a blog or being more intentional about what I consume on a day to day or week to week basis. I don’t know what that will look like yet but this isn’t going away that I am sure of.

In full disclosure I recorded as much of this as I could on a flight back to Minnesota from Detroit as I was stuck in airports for way to long due to delays then edited it over the following days.

Previously: 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43

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Planned to take a little time off this morning to do my yearly birthday run. It got a little delayed for work stuff but I did make it out. I didn’t plan for it to be as cold as it was when I started but it is a good start to another year around the sun. A serene lake scene with sunlight glistening on the water’s surface. The sky is clear and blue. Bare tree branches extend over the right side of the image, while a lone duck is visible on the water. The opposite shoreline is bordered by a line of leafless trees.

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Glad to be back home running on some familiar trails again. Decided to put in a short one before everyone was hungry for brunch and basketball games started up again.

A wooden boardwalk leads through a vast, dry field of tall grasses under a cloudy sky. Sparse trees and bushes are scattered across the landscape, with more dense trees visible on the horizon. The sky is overcast, casting a gray hue over the scene, creating a tranquil and open natural setting.

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Looks like I will be on a big plane for the last leg of the flight.

A Delta Air Lines aircraft is parked at an airport gate during sunset. The jet bridge is connected to the plane, and several ground service vehicles are nearby. The sky is filled with soft clouds, creating a serene backdrop.

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Not exactly what I had planned for today. I created really interesting route that I wanted to try only to wake up and find it pouring rain outside. I decided to scrap my actual route as it would have been had me being outside for a lot longer in this cold rain and just tried to run along the water. Only the construction along the trail caused that to be derailed slightly as well.

A paved pathway runs alongside a body of water under an overcast sky. There are street lamps evenly spaced along the path, and benches are placed intermittently on the grass adjacent to the path. The area appears wet, indicating recent rain, with puddles visible on the path. The landscape is flat, with distant trees and landforms on the horizon.

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It was a rainy and cool one out this morning as I meandered around the bay and then town of Portland. However, not too cold that I could run with shorts today so a win in my book.

A foggy scene showing a paved path running alongside train tracks, leading into the distance. To the left is a brick building marked “Portland Co.” In the foreground, an orange “Road Work Ahead” sign is visible beside a fallen traffic cone. Streetlamps line the path, casting warm light in the misty atmosphere. Sparse trees and additional buildings are visible in the background.

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Another week in Maine and another loop around the Back Cove in the morning hours. Even though I could probably sleep in more when I travel here it is hard to pass up a nice morning run along this path.

A tranquil scene at sunrise with a long pier extending over calm water. The sky is a gradient of soft orange and blue hues, reflecting on the water surface. In the distance, there’s a structure with triangular shapes, and a bird can be seen flying in the clear sky. The overall mood is peaceful and serene.