The Stories and Novels By Derek Ward
These aren’t normal visitors, but our little pond was visited by a flock of these neat little birds. The Wife came into my office telling me there were some new black and white ducks. Which they aren’t but it was easy to make that mistake from our back window.
I couldn’t get a good pic because they were too busy running about the pond.
The Wife and I traveled out to Idaho last weekend for my uncle’s memorial service.
Christmas– got a bunch of Pocky, a metal tumbler emblazoned with the Mountain Dew logo, and a flashlight that extended out. The Wife told me that she didn’t know how many lumems, but thought I would find it neat.
Dinner was crammed with folks. The Wife’s nephew gave us some smart lighting and gift cards. He also surprised his father with an 85 inch television. It was nice to watch the reveal. Then it was clean up and pack up.
Thursday – Woke up at 0300, did chores, packed up the remaining items, and headed out to the airport. Needless to say, seeing the main security line, even at 0500, made paying for TSA Precheck worth it. I got flagged for routine check, which meant unpacking my carefully packed backpack to get to the wife’s laptop.
First leg wasn’t too bad. Mostly spent the flight watching most of John Wick 4. Wife was extremely happy when we descended into Minneapolis because there was snow on the ground. Once we deplaned, there was one hell of a hike to get to our connection’s gate. Our connection was late departing, but it gave me time to re-watch some Gate. I decided I wanted to binge the series again while we were out. While waiting for our plane, my cousin texted me to ask if I would help his wife with a PowerPoint issue. I told him I would help her when we were in Idaho, but I wasn’t going to do tech support from an airport lounge.
As we landed in Boise, I was excited to see a line of A-10’s as we landed at Boise. The wife was very confused at what they were and why military aircraft were at a civilian airport. It was a bit of a hike to get the bags, but we were quickly fetched by Mom. Which was good, because it was cold out. I found out when we got to Mom’s place that my aunt makes homemade salami. Which is very tasty.
Friday – I woke up feeling like I had a cold coming on. Because the desert is dry and my sinuses now mimic the desert. The Wife was excited to see the snow on the ground. I agreed to do a quick excursion outside so she could experience the snow coming down and get pictures. I forget how wet you get from when the snow melts.
Just as I was settling in to watch my iPad and continue my re-watch of Gate, I was informed we are going to do errands in preparation for the service. And I get to drive in ice and snow and rain! I’m not complaining about the necessity, but I don’t do well with sudden changes. Plus, we were supposed to be helping my cousin in a couple of hours. Frustration compounded when the first store didn’t have what we needed, the second one was closed, but at least the third had everything. I was already at my frustration level, so I was glad to go back to the house.
My cousin and his wife came over, but I found out my PowerPoint services were not required as the funeral home created the presentation. And did a much better job that I would have done with PowerPoint. So we just visited for a while. This was the first time my cousin and me got to meet our respective spouses.
After dinner I got to drive in ice and rain in the dark so we could go up and help set up for the service. For my sins, I got detailed with making the presentation work.
The mp4 file would not work on the media players. Thanks to one of the cousins, we found out it would work on the television, but they wanted me to convert it to a file that would play on the laptop so they can use the projector. Yeah, I don’t have my laptop with me because my new one is barely portable, and I wasn’t taking that huge thing when my iPad does most of what I would want my laptop for. Anyways, I was handed another cousins laptop and voluntold to figure it out. Consulting with brother and Copilot gave me a plan of action, but it was late and I was tired. I would put try my plan in the morning.
Saturday – The plan was simple. The media players we were using wasn’t able to read the file. So get one that would. So, I downloaded VLC and it worked.
We get to the service location and it’s a lot of work getting setup. I also find out that the funeral home is going to come and handle the video. Okay. Fine, I’m the backup. Hey, since you’re free, could you see if you can get this camcorder to work with this memory card? Answer (after about 15 mins)? No. But I will record on my phone and enlist the help of The Brother to get it in a usable form. I knew my shoulders were not going to like that, but I was willing to make that sacrifice for family.
The service was very nice. It was very much on-point for the man being honored. Since I was the “cousin from Florida”, I knew very few of the attendees outside of “core family.” I just did my best to stay out of the way of the organizers with the exception of doing whatever labor was needed. Due to inclement weather and other events, we had about three-quarters of the attendance originally projected. Fecal matter occurs, and Uncle Calvin would understand that better than anyone. The result was that there was a bunch of food that needed to find homes. I imagined we will be eating leftovers for the rest of our stay.
We were exhausted by the time we collapsed into bed. Which didn’t help when MIL called to inform us there were electrical issues at the house. One of the breakers flipped and would not reset. We ended up using FaceTime so we could see the issue. So far as we can determine it was one circuit that controls the kitchen lights. One of the benefits of the smart house was being able to check most of the upstairs by using the Echoes. The wife texted our electrician in hopes he would see it in the morning and get us on the books. Much to our surprise, he texted us right back. At around 11 pm local. He said will come out Monday to take a look. It seems like after we make a huge purchase, something expensive breaks.
Sunday – Breakfast was fried apple waffles with a side of mom and my aunt sharing recipes with the wife. Afterwards, I was told that we were going to a thrift/antique shop in Shoshone we’ve been to previously. Somehow, those plans morphed into a longer excursion up towards Sun Valley so the wife could see more snow. I was miffed with plans being changed on the fly, but shouldn’t have been surprised at this juncture. At the shop, we came across a set of uranium glasses. Mom agreed to transport them down when she comes back to Florida. Then up to see snow. The Wife was impressed and happy. I took comfort in that. Dinner was at a steak place, and I had some decent pork chops.
Back at Ward Manor, MIL managed to get the breaker flipped, but we were still going to have the electrician check it out.
Monday – The plan is a day of rest and get a few things done in preparation for travel back. Back at Ward Manor, the electrician came by to check on the issue with the circuit breaker. The good news is that the issue wasn’t going to cause a fire. However, since it was an intermittent issue, and everything was working when they were there, they can’t narrow it down. It’s most likely one of the recessed LEDs, but we will have to wait until the culprit burns out or causes enough of a fault that the electrician can find it. This is the sort of thing why I don’t deal with electrical.
Relaxation was further disrupted when the wife received a notice of cancellation on the rental’s insurance. Note, this is the insurance we just procured because the previous insurance company dropped us after the hurricanes. After discussions with the agent, it seems they want the things fixed they asked us to fix and then we can resubmit to revoke the cancellation. We already sent them the contract we have to get those things fixed, but now we’re scrambling to work with the construction company to get an appointment. Just an added level of stress. My wife, being the wonderful person that she is, took point on getting it straightened out. Sort of. Hopefully. The Wife asked the universe what else, and it answered. I had to go fetch mom because she wasn’t feeling well, and as I was getting ready, shoelace broke. Feck. At least that was all the universe decided to throw our way that day.
Tuesday – Packing for the trip home is always a bit stressful. We always come home with more than we left with, things don’t pack down like they did for the trip out, etc. Plus there’s always the nagging worry we forgot something. That last bit was a little lessened due to Mom coming back down in a few weeks.
Then we had to do some tech support for Mom. It’s a good thing the wife is more tenacious than I am. I was ready to give up (because it was cold outside), but she persisted and was able to get Mom’s issue settled.
The trip to the airport was pleasant. Gave time to chitchat with Mom. Getting through Boise airport check in and security was a breeze. Once again, TSA precheck was worth every cent.
Getting out of Boise was delayed due to the crew being late. Eh, it wasn’t that bad. I think departure was delayed maybe five minutes. It’s still neat to see the Idaho ANG’s A-10’s lined up off the runway.
The meal on the first leg home was a “chicken Cuban”. Let’s just say they used that term very loosely. It didn’t help it was barely defrosted. Apparently, the catering service in Boise wasn’t up to par.
Atlanta wasn’t too bad. Except for the two and a half hour layover. Oh well, it gave us time for the wife to go to a makeup store she really likes. Plus, the pilot managed to get us off the ground early. Which meant we were on the ground in Tampa a few minutes before the new year. It was interesting seeing the fireworks across Tampa as we landed.
There was some issue with the tram from the airside, but by the time we got to baggage claim, one of our bags was already waiting for us.
The drive home wasn’t as bad as feared. We pulled into Ward Manor around 0130.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and all other celebratory greetings!
New Hardware Happening – The big news is that I’m now blogging from the new Battlestation (which is the name I’ve used for my laptops for the past two decades). My old laptop kept crashing, and Best Buy had the Alienware m18 on sale. It is significantly larger than my previous laptop, and I dislike the fact that I can’t charge via USB-C. Still, playing Civ on this beast is going to be fun – particularly when Civ 7 drops.
I hate having to go through and do all the setup. Logging into accounts, finding old license keys, downloading applications. I will use this as an opportunity to streamline some older processes.
I’ve also had to reorganize my desk a bit since the new laptop is bigger than my old one.
There will most likely be more reorganization as we go through “The Great Upstairs Shift” when we decompress The Wife’s office, turn the upstairs living room into a craft/hobby room for both of us, and a bunch of furniture trading between rooms.
If all goes according to plan, I will have an aircraft carrier in my office for all my veritechs / transformers / etc.
Party Happenings – The Wife and I went to the Christmas party hosted by a former colleague of hers. She got to meet with some old colleagues and her current boss. Plus we met some new acquaintances. The Wife always comments on how I can hold a conversation with folks even though I’m a raging introvert. Which is true. The problem is I’m an outgoing introvert – which translates into once Derek starts talking on subjects he knows well, he doesn’t really shut up. I’m really working on info-dumping during conversations and making sure I’m not dominating a conversation.
Keeping Warm Happenings – The Brother found this little fireplace. I find it very relaxing.
There are few things more terrifying than watching the stalking turtle known as a tropical move ponderously towards you. The terror is only intensified when your trusted weatherperson informs you that said storm is probably the most powerful storm seen in these parts in at least a century and at the top end of what the atmosphere can produce.
This was a storm season that stressed my storm preps. I found several gaps, and I’m in the process of filling those. Some will be fast, some slow. The Ward family was very lucky – particularly compared to what others along the coast and in Appalachia suffered.
Anyways, this nifty infographic has been circulating the interwebs.
Now I Know What It Feels Like When A Jackhammer Is Used Indoors – Remodeling the bathroom didn’t go quite as planned. Part of it was some “interesting” choices made by the builder during construction. I don’t know all the details, except it required the contractor and his partner using a jackhammer. I’ve also found having two people working in your house from morning to night is not conducive to the restfulness of Ward Manor. Saying nothing of what it does to my routines. And I’m a creature of my routines. Still, the new bathroom looks pretty damn awesome, and MIL is very happy.
Old Florida Christmas – The Wife and I enjoyed the annual Old Florida Christmas event at Manatee Historic Village. There didn’t seem to be the same amount of vendors there, but we did find a few things there. Besides, it’s a special place for us. A couple of the buildings suffered enough damage from Milton that we couldn’t go in. One of which was the church we got married.
I Am Stupid and Opened My Mouth – My counterparts across the country were commiserating we have not had an in-person meetup in a while. I was stupid enough to joke that they should come to Florida to escape the cold. Guess who suddenly found himself in charge of organizing and facilitating said meeting? Ah well, at least I have friends who can help me since I know nothing about the official process.
OneDrive Shenanigans – I use a rather large Excel workbook to keep track of songs I’ve used for Metal Tuesdays as well as the anime I’ve recommended. I keep it on OneDrive for autosave purposes. Somehow, Excel on my iPad managed to replace all of the data with a blank workbook. Needless to say, I was a bit miffed. Actually, there were curses and oaths to gods above and below. I have over 500 songs on the “backlog” to use and probably 20 or so anime series. Reconstructing that would be a huge PITA. Checking the version history in Excel on both the iPad and my laptop were no-go’s. Feck. Then, The Brother helpfully suggested to check the version history on the web version of Office. Well, damn if that didn’t work.
And no, I don’t really want to hear about the shortcomings of OneDrive. I know it’s shortcomings. I’ve also dealt with files being eaten by a hard drive, Dropbox, Scrivener, and a bunch of other programs. Shit happens, and it’s happened a lot less with OneDrive.
I pulled my Apple Music numbers for 2024, since it’s that time of year for wrap-ups. Except, something didn’t look right. When I looked at my top 15 artists, everything looked kind of what I expected – with the glaring exception of Taylor Swift standing atop the list like a juggernaut in terms of minutes played.
I am not a Taylor Swift fan. I’m sure I’ve heard her music, by osmosis if no other reason. But I’ve never intentionally searched out her music. So how? Oh, yeah. The Wife listens to music sometimes when she works. And she uses the Apple Music linked to the Echoes. Taylor Swift was not the only surprise. Let’s just say there were some unexpected albums that showed up. Ah well.
Anywhoo, on to my stats.
In most respects, it’s been a run-of-the-mill week. There was a decision made, which I’m keeping vague for OPSEC reasons. However, it required a lot of quick buying of things. Fortunately, there were still some Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales going.
Some items of note:
Ward Manor upgrade happenings – We’re remodeling the downstairs bathroom to take out the tub and replace it with a walk-in shower. However, we’re getting close to start time, so we ordered all the tile needed. Yeah, that was a lot of money. The first bit was delivered, but it was by – I guess – a freelancer. We were taking packages of tile out of someone’s car. Well, we got to use the collapsible wagon we picked up with the ambitious goal of using it to walk to the grocery store across the street.
We also took advantage of the Black Friday deals to do some upgrades on televisions. Both MIL’s and our bedroom televisions have been showing their age. It was interesting to see how much thinner current televisions were compared to some most of a decade older. Plus it was nice watching “Dune Part 2” on a new OLED.
Less upgrade and more shuffling was moving a couch from upstairs to downstairs. Fortunately, it kind of slid down the stairs. But it did require quite a bit of shuffling to get it into place. Now to figure out how we’re redoing the upstairs. I mean, we kinda have a plan. Sort of.
Thanksgiving happenings – This year Thanksgiving was being held at BIL and SIL’s house. Since Mom is back out west for a bit, The Wife stepped up to make some of the common dishes. Namely, the stuffing, the apple crisp, and the sweet potato souffle. The stuffing is a family recipe from my paternal grandmother, and it was the first year someone other than Mom or The Brother made it. This was one of the holidays The Wife was very grateful to have the double oven. My contribution was limited to helping reach high or heavy items.
There was a lot of food. SIL went all-out. The Wife’s food was awesome. SIL’s food was awesome. I overindulged in said awesome food. It’s a good thing I took Black Friday off. Food hangovers can be just as bad as alcohol hangovers.
Story Happenings – I finally finished the third Irregulars story. Well, I got the ending finished. Now it’s set it down for a bit and then do an edit. My goal was around 15K words, and it’s sitting at 16K words.
Decorating Happenings – This is The Wife’s favorite time of year. She can let her decorating instincts run wild. To her credit, she’s been keeping the volume of decorations down to what can be easily moved in four to five large plastic tubs. Still, it’s surprising/amazing how the house changes as it is festooned with holiday cheer.
Monday evening my Uncle Calvin passed away. Fuck cancer. Fuck cancer with a syphilitic donkey cock.
Calvin and I were very different people. He was this gregarious man who was happiest outdoors with his horses. I am an introvert who is quite happy keeping his excursions outside Ward Manor to a minimum. We didn’t see much of each other due to living on other sides of the country. Still, the man put in indelible mark on my life.
The summer before junior year of high school, I was sent to work on Uncle Calvin’s farm. Tending to fields, helping with cattle, learning how to irrigate, and so much more. At the time, I didn’t realize how much growing up I was doing. I wouldn’t really figure that out for years.
I have many happy – or at least funny with the passage of time – memories of Uncle Calvin. I am very glad that The Wife got to spend time with him.
I will miss you Calvin.
MIL has been tooling around in an eleven-year-old Hyundai that she bought new. Over the last six months or so, she’s been toying with the idea of getting a new vehicle since hers doesn’t have a backup camera or some of the other modern features. Plus, MIL wanted to go from a sedan to a small SUV or crossover. Well, riding around in her friend’s new car seemed to have been what was needed to push MIL over to actually going car shopping.
We really were just going to go to test drive a car. We narrowed down a Nissan Kicks as a likely possibility, and were going to let MIL test drive one to make sure. We really didn’t plan on coming home with a new car. But MIL really liked the Kicks.
I hate car buying, even when I’m not the one buying the car. It takes so damn long. The plus side was that neither the salesperson nor the finance person did any “hard selling”. It still took hours before MIL and The Wife drove the new car off the lot.
Still some admin stuff to finish up in handing down her old car to family, getting plates transferred, and other items. But as of now, the driveway has both the Ward Wagon and new MIL-Mobile.
