Christmas Week Was A Work Week (Weeknotes No. 23-52)

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Diabolical puzzle

Here are the highlights from week 52 (Dec 24–31) 2023.

🧩 For Christmas we got one of those diablocal Two Million Dollar puzzles from MSCHF. The trick is that there’s no reference picture to work from. The completed puzzle is a QR code that, when scanned, takes you to a website where you enter the secret code that’s in the box. Every puzzle wins at least one dollar, and you can win up to $1,000,000. We did not win the million (or any other high-dollar prize) but we had a lot of fun as a family working the puzzle! (Time will tell if I get the dollar.)
😮‍💨 I’m writing this on the last day of the last week of 2023. It seems strange, but I feel a sense of relief at the year coming to a close. It was a really good year, so I’m not eager to put it behind me. It’s just that now Christmas is over (and I’m not a big fan of New Year’s as a holiday) I’m looking forward to what’s next. For my wife and me, that means a BIG trip starting next week. (Watch this space.)
🍿 The latest social media craze this week was to use Microsoft Designer to create FunkoPop figures of ourselves. I tried many times, with several different prompt variations, this is the best I could get. Why am I wearing floods?! (I just jealous of Maique’s version.)
📺 I canceled my DirecTV Stream subscription this week. I’m going to miss BBC World Service News, ESPN, and Jeopardy! But it was costing a fortune and I think I can live without those things. Tablo could be an interesting alternative for local TV though, so I should look more closely at that.
🥅 I enjoyed Lee’s post about being intentional versus setting “goals.” In that vein, I loaded the Streaks app on my iPhone this week with the hope of keeping my intentions in sight throughout the coming year. It’s also given me an opportunity to really think about my priorities. I was successful this year at making some new habits, so I’m hopeful.
📷 I’ve been reading some of David duChemin’s books lately. I know there are a lot of photography authors out there and a lot of them have the same things to say but for some reason I find myself connecting with his writing. I’m working my way through Within the Frame now and making a lot of notes. I also signed up for his email newsletter. I know the most important thing is to get and shoot though, so I need to get more intentional about that too. 😄
🦉 Some of my friends have been on a Duolingo kick lately. I did lessons for a week or so and am left wanting. I may explore some other more formal options for language learning. Also, I’m going to need to commit to which language I want to spend time learning. Lately I’ve been bouncing between Italian, French, and Hungarian. It seems like French might be the most practical for me, even though I enjoy Italian a lot.

This Week’s Media Highlights

🎄 We watched a handful of Christmas movies this week (as one does) and they ranged from mediocre (Happiest Season, Single All the Way, The Santa Clause 3) to decent (The Santa Clause 2) to pretty great (The Holdovers).
🎵 My new favorite Christmas song that isn’t a Christmas song is It Snowed by Meaghan Smith.
🐻 Started watching The Bear now that we picked up Hulu again. It’s off to a promising start. I’m eager to see where this goes.

That’s all, folks! Best wishes for 2024!