Conclave Week (Weeknotes No. 25-19)

Here’s what happened during the week of May 5–11, 2025

Bits and Pieces

Conclave came and went. It happened so fast, I barely had time to enjoy CNN’s Visual guide the Conclave. But there was still plenty of time for {linktopic:name=snoop.jpg&text=memes} and {linktopic:name=da-pope.jpg&text=Chicago references}.
Ben gave me a nice shout out in one of the posts in his series on artificial intelligence this month.
I’m switching back to Firefox, at least temporarily, to see if it annoys my less that Vivaldi does.
This week was the end of Spring term, and I posted grades for my students. Another term starts next week.
I drove to my mother's house for a couple of days. Friday night margaritas have become something of a tradition for us since my dad died. On Saturday we spent the day clearing out all of his ham radio gear, which we gave to someone who intends to make a nice home for it. I hope to have some pics and posts about that in the coming months.

I jumped on the treadmill for a 5k run/walk on Thursday. I didn’t realize I’d also need to cut the grass again so I had a 25,000 step day.
After a couple of days of not doing much physically, I took the opportunity of a sunny Sunday to go out in the neighborhood for a real run/walk. Only 2.5 miles or so but it was nice to get out and move.

The Four Seasons is a new Netflix series based on the 1981 film of the same name, which also happens to be one of my all-time favorites. I was worried that the longer, episodic adaptation might ruin it, but it mostly works. They changed the ending pretty significantly, and a few of the jokes don’t quite land, but overall I enjoyed it very much.
I first saw Conclave at the cinema last fall, but it was even better on the second viewing. I could watch Stanley Tucci in just about anything from now until eternity, but Ralph Fiennes really shines here. His stirring speech on certainty vs doubt is the gravitational center of the film.
To celebrate conclave week, I rewatched The Two Popes. While almost entirely fictional, it’s fun to imagine what Benedict and Bergoglio’s relationship might have been like. Hopkins and Pryce portray the struggle with faith with such vividness it’s impossible not to be moved.

Next week is Eurovision week, I hope you’re as excited as I am! Peace.