We are down to one teenager in the family! With today’s birthday, A19 will henceforth be known as A20, leaving K16(almost 17) as the last remaining youth in the house.
This starts our family’s birthday week; we have two more between now and next Friday. Let the party commence.
i do not think it’s a coincidence that the new right found its youth market right as we started scrubbing reading lists of anything transgressive. people *like* a little transgression. if kids don’t get it from stephen king, they’ll get it from 4chan.
Iowa is only 10 hours the wrong direction…
Working logistics to get us and our younger two kids and my MIL out to Rapid City for the oldest kid’s college grad, then getting the grad moved to Oregon, kid #2 moved home for the summer, kid #3 to all her AP tests. It’s gonna be a whirlwind couple of weeks in May.
Well, the Iowa women have had a great basketball season, but they are getting embarrassed by UCLA this afternoon. UCLA is bigger, longer, and settled. Iowa looks like a junior high team by comparison. Iowa still probably deserves a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but UCLA is fully in another class.
I’ve now seen 4.5 of the Best Picture nominees: Sinners, Hamnet, OBAA, Bugonia, and started Marty Supreme. Hamnet and OBAA are clearly the top tier thus far but are so different that it’s hard to pick between them.
He is now shocked, *shocked!* that the party is amoral, corrupt, and racist. I hope someday he is able and willing to take a more honest historical survey of the past 60 years of Republican politics.
Inadvisably started listening to a David French interview on a podcast I usually like. French's position that the Republican Party was a bastion of morality and goodness right up until 2015 just wears very thin.
We have a woman at church who buys those in bulk and hands them out to everyone she meets. Like grocery store clerks, nurses, everyone. She gave me one, said “put it in your pocket, and when you reach in and it’s there you can say ‘hey, I found Jesus!’” 😂
The latest episode of our church’s podcast was our best yet, I think: a conversation with our former church intern and first-year seminarian. She’s delightful, and the conversation flowed freely.
youtu.be/XX2jvw1fE…
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That’s a wonderfully generous offer that I might take you up on before we’re done. She connects with people quickly but a few pre-seeded connections would make this dad’s heart rest a little easier. 😄
Big blessings: just heard from our oldest that she has accepted a job offer that will have her gainfully employed in her field of study once she graduates college in May! And in the location she wanted: Portland, OR. Phew.
2026 Reads: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker 📚
Delightful.
I know Apple has a history of ugly beta OSs, but this latest iPadOS 26.4 beta apparently broke the App Store. Can’t download or update apps. Stunning incompetence.
I don’t remember where I found the idea but I liked it and try to remember to keep it updated.
Well, my Now Page was overdue for an update. Blew the dust off and freshened it up a bit.
Taking some training at my new job that is very similar to courses I used to teach at my old job. Gotta pay attention, though, because the nuances between how the companies do the work will trip me up if I’m not careful.
It’s the little things!
That all being said, my birthday is in 3 weeks… maybe time to bring it back in all its glory? 🤔
Made this for the older young adult’s birthday: cookiesandcups.com/insane-peanu...
And yes, it’s amazing. And yes, it’s insane.
@chrishubbs.com I think you sent me this recipe?
Yeah, pretty sure that was the cake I made for my own birthday back in 2020. It was ridiculous and amazing. IIRC I’ve made the cake part again multiple times but never combined with all that frosting. (Which is sad because I love the frosting but OOF SUGAR)
*Now* is it a rivalry?
2026 Reads: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers 📚
I unabashedly love Becky Chambers’ stuff. This one is no exception. Can’t believe I let it sit unread on the shelf for so long.
Bullet Points for 3 weeks at a new job: https://chrishubbs.com/2026/02/20/bullet-points-for-weeks-at/
I see a lot of gushing over Ben Sasse’s latest interviews, and while I am sorry he’s dying, I have a hard time just looking past how he completely let politics corrupt his principles and witness with no acknowledgement or repentance.
A neighborhood blanketed in several inches of fresh snow.
Monday it was 68F and I went for a nice run outside.
Today:
Yeah, it’s still an Iowa winter.
WSJ phone alert saying “Billionaires’ low taxes are becoming a problem for the economy”
Did somebody just hijack the Wall Street Journal’s feed? 🤔
#Wordle 1,704 3/6*
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#YoungPups
I feel pretty good about that one.
On the super-optimistic side of the AI discussion: Solve Everything.
I haven’t gotten close to reading it all yet, but they envision a future so rosy even Star Trek might think it a tad unrealistic.
Yes! I think the only one of theirs I’m missing now is Barton Fink.
