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I had a chance to take the family on a Christmas holiday trip to Belgium, so one of my priorities was to explore the Christmas markets in Bruges and Brussels. I’ve seen some European markets before, in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Florence—the way these shacks spring up and create little villages always seems magical. Bruges The week leading up to Christmas, Bruges has a festival called De Warmste Week (The Warmest Week—love the ironic name), which includes a bunch of mostly Belgian headline acts for nightly concerts....

For some reason (mainly due to my nerdy friend Mike, to whom I’m forever grateful), I got my ham radio license when I was twelve. Back in the Morse code days. I believe we had to show we could send/receive 25 characters per minute. My parents got me a shortwave receiver as a gift for passing the exam. It was a Radio Shack set, and it was badass. I listened to everything I could on that receiver, but I would routinely tune in to WWV to hear the time from the atomic clock....

I just realized I can get around one of the major limitations of MacOS by using Keyboard Maestro. The problem MacOS doesn’t have a built-in way to disable audio devices or prevent them from being used. My problem was, my default audio devices (input/output) would sometimes get changed when I plugged my MacBook Pro into the USB dock on my desk. My HDMI monitor advertises as having a speaker, but doesn’t have a speaker, so I’d occasionally hear nothing when joining a Teams meeting, because MacOS for some reason wanted to use that device as the default output....

Here’s something new you might see on Google Maps. This morning, I was looking at photos for City Bagels in San Jose, to get an idea of what their bagels look like before heading there. Mixed in with what look like regular photos from customers are many others credited to “Storefront by DoorDash”. Ignoring the question of why someone would upload a photo of a restaurant’s flavored milk selection, It’s easy to tell that the Nesquik “photo” is AI-generated, because the details in words are all messed up (classic DALL·E artifacts)....

Apparently I was doing something else (working?) while everyone was perfecting their sourdough skills during the pandemic. Late bloomer again. Well, I’m a couple loaves in, and I’ve got a recipe that looks like a winner. My goals here were (a) use a starter straight from the fridge, and (b) minimize the work and mess. This was almost exactly a 24-hour process for me, and I didn’t have to do much during the workday....

Three and a half years after having wild-type Covid, I’ve mostly regained my sense of smell, but it’s not quite right. Day to day it can be different. One of the first things I usually smell in the morning is coffee, as I fire up the Nespresso. But some days I don’t smell it. And when I do, I rarely get the nuance of different coffees. (I’ve given up on my dreams of being a sommelier, of course....

Gin Lovers Fado at Gin Lovers You might stumble into a tiny Fado concert, as we did, in the towering atrium of this “shopping mall” (no Kohl’s or Cinnabon inside; lots of locally-made goods). Housemade gin, creative cocktails, and elevated food—we loved the Pica Pau and Deconstructed Bacalhau. Zenith Zenith Packed but friendly, this brunch hideaway has sweet and savory pancakes, benedicts, shakshuka, and sangria! Manteigaria The pastel de nata custard tarts are a must-try in Lisbon....

Villa Craft Beer & Bread I ended up coming here two days in a row, and it wasn’t for lack of nearby options. The sardine roll, baked in a wood-fired oven, took me to my happy place. Great local beers on tap, and the fridge has hard-to-find canned beer from all over Portugal. Sintra National Palace Sintra National Palace If you go early to beat the crowds, you can spend plenty of time here and really get a feel for what life was like 500 years ago in Portugal....

Produce stand, Pike Place Market Got some time to spend in Seattle? Here’s a short list of my favorite places. Pike Place Market This must-see has been around since 1907. It’s a vibrant, real market full of fish, produce, meats, crafts, and flowers. Here are a few favorites within: Food and Drink The Crumpet Shop. My go-to is the crumpet with butter, Marmite, and egg. Market Grill, for the best grilled salmon (or halibut) sandwich you’ll ever have....

$x^2=5$ In the PaperMod theme, math is rendered using $\KaTeX$. Follow instructions here to modify Hugo site pages, then use math: true in front matter to enable math rendering. Rendering also works with the front matter title! Block elements Code: 1 $$\displaystyle\sum\limits_{i=0}^n i^3$$ Result: 💯 $$\displaystyle\sum\limits_{i=0}^n i^3$$ Code: 1 $$\frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!} = \binom{n}{k}$$ Result: 💯 $$\frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!} = \binom{n}{k}$$ Code: 1 2 3 4 5 $$f(n) = \begin{cases} n/2 & \quad \text{if } n \ge 0\\ -(n+1)/2 & \quad \text{if } n \lt 0 \end{cases}$$ Result: 😭 $$f(n) = \begin{cases} n/2 & \quad \text{if } n \ge 0\ -(n+1)/2 & \quad \text{if } n \lt 0 \end{cases}$$...