Celebrating the Columbus Crew, Huntertones, Mike the HVAC Guy, and More (Weeknotes

Champions of the Week

🥶 Woke up Tuesday morning at 5:00 AM (as usual) to find the house seemed chilly. The thermostat showed “heating” but it was only 63°F. Something clearly amiss! I tried cycling the furnace to no avail. Fortunately, the Mike the HVAC expert 🏆 was able to visit in the afternoon and get it sorted with minimal (relatively speaking) financial impact. Catastrophe averted!

⚽ Saturday started with tall fluffy biscuits and ended with our Columbus Crew 🏆 winning the MLS Cup Championship and adding a third star to their kit. I’m proud to have been a fan since day one, when there were only ten teams in the MLS and the Crew played games at Ohio Stadium because there were no soccer-specific stadiums yet. Soccer has earned a lot more respect here in the states since then (though not enough to be called “football”) and Wilfried Nancy 🏆 has reinvigorated the team and the enthusiasm surrounding it this year. I’m already looking forward to next season.

🎷 We finished the week with a visit to Natalie’s 🏆 for a performance by Huntertones. 🏆 We’ve had the good fortune to see them play several times over the years, in venues large (well, medium-size) and small (like Natalie’s). Smaller is always better, but these guys never disappoint. Beatboxing Christmas carols and Beethoven on the sousaphone? Don’t mind if I do.

My First Week on Micro.blog

🔬 I started using Micro.blog last week and have been working hard to figure out whether it’s something I really want or need. I like that it creates a workflow for posting photos that’s much easier that uploading to Flickr by hand, although even that is not without its issues. The service seems a little flaky (as others have mentioned) but overall I think it’s worth a shot. I’m planning to go on a month-to-month plan at the end of my trial period and give it a go. I’ve already had to rework my blog navigation and try to figure out how to connect all the pieces parts in a way that is at least somewhat intuitive. As with all things on the small web, it is a work in progress. (And that’s the fun of it!)

The Week in Entertainment

👢 My wife and I enjoyed date night on Friday with tacos at Condado followed by a performance of Kinky Boots at the Short North Stage. Despite the show’s inherent flaws, but the performances were good and we had fun. I only just learned that the musical is based on a film , which is available (so I’m told) on Paramont+ so I’ll be adding that to the watch list.

🎵 I rewatched an early episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist this week, and that show gets me every time! It’s a funny and touching story about empathy, faith, and the importance of human connection. Oh and there’s music and choreography too! Go watch it right now.

🎞️ Jerry & Marge Go Large was an entertaining distraction based on a true story of some smart folks gaming the lottery. (Thanks, Maique, for the tip.)

I hope y’all have a great week. See you next time.