January 15, 2023

It’s a quiet day here in the Desert Compound. My husband is watching football (his second game today), the dogs are sleeping near my feet, Truman is sleeping in his cat tree, and the rest of the family has gone on a movie date to see 3 1/2 hours of Avatar.

I’m enjoying the relative downtime.

I’ve been using this quiet time to clean up my computing experience a little bit. I’m always tweaking my setup here and there. I’m determined to not buy any new computers in 2023 and 15 days in I’m still holding to my word. I don’t need a new computer, of course, but once in a while I think about buying something to use at work as part of their “Bring Your Own Device” program. I have a cantankerous relationship with my work-issued, Windows 10-based laptop at best, but when all is said and done it gets the job done and that’s what’s important. I just need to take a focused approach at using the dang thing so I don’t get into my own head about buying another computer.

I’ve also been using the quiet time to engage in some of my hobbies. I’ve been watching flying videos, chatting with other pilots of aviation forums, and looking into some other flight opportunities in the area. The weather for the next 48 hours is rainy, cloudy, and cold, so I might as well engage in my aviator blood through other methods.

I’m also doing more research and planning for Storm Chasing Trip 2023 coming up later this spring. I’ve been looking at maps and the like, figuring out some key places I want to visit should I run into any downtime between storms.

And if that’s not enough, I’ve also been doing some research on my vintage point of sale systems hobby site. I found a video focused on John Lennon’s death and the impact on a local Tower Records back in 1980. It was quite interesting in itself, but I also noticed the Data Terminal Systems cash register featured in the video. It’s been over nearly four decades since these cash registers were in the mainstream, and they probably populate too many landfills, but I still hold out hope that someday I’ll find a unit I can clean up and restore for my own amusement.