Words On Wednesday

While it’s still cold, I wanted to take the opportunity to rave about spiced buttered rum for a moment and how it is the ideal way to stay warm. For the longest time, I heard about spiced buttered rum at Christmas parties and other such gatherings. Growing up, my family were teetotalers, so there wasn’t any alcohol anywhere. When we were old enough to buy our own alcohol, my cousins and I would just bring our own alcohol to Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc, and sneak it into red solo cups outside. Having a pitcher of alcohol actually featured in the party was unspeakable. Eventually, I just decided to make some for myself. It was cold and I wanted to try it, so I looked up a recipe  and made some of the butter mix. Fortunately, the process is that you make a batch of the butter and just cut off a pat, add rum, and top it with hot water to melt the butter down. This would be a huge pain if you made the mix per drink, but you can make enough per batch to get probably 20 or more servings....

In the years since COVID-19 forced us all home for a while, remote work has been a hot topic. There are compelling arguments for and against remote work, and I think a nuanced approach is critical. However, many people fall to one extreme or the other, and I really think the industry needs an honest conversation about the merits and limitations of a hybrid or remote schedule. To confess any bias at the very beginning, I am heavily in favor of remote work. I said to a recruiter once that the only way I would take an in-office job again is if I were unemployed and needed the money. There are extremely few benefits that would be compelling enough to entice me into taking a hybrid or fully in-office job, and I would probably need double my current salary if it were a monetary decision. Furthermore, I planted roots when I built my house here. A relocation bonus is irrelevant, I’m not leaving upstate SC. BUT, that’s just my personal opinion on the matter. There are other points to consider. ...

I am finished with my Master of Science degree in Information Technology from Southern New Hampshire University as of December 1, 2023. Thank goodness. This has been a very roundabout journey. I first started seriously entertaining the idea of a master’s degree back in 2017. I was becoming eligible for my employer’s tuition reimbursement policy and I wanted to take advantage of it as quickly as possible. The longer you wait to start, the longer until you’re able to finish. I didn’t want to wait another year, two, or even longer before I got started. My uncle has a philosophy that it never gets easier, so you may as well do it now. Figured I had better get the ball rolling. As of October 2017, I was finishing my first term . I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and much less weathered than I am now. Things looked positive, and I was pretty confident about my ability to finish on schedule and with little difficulty. Things got rocky with that employer and I went on an indefinite...

Anthony Bourdain gives a very revealing look behind the scenes at the most prestigious of restaurants, as well as an introspective journey into his own past and how he arrived in the culinary industry. In the wake of his death by suicide, it is especially poignant to hear what a genuine soul he was and mourn the loss of such an interesting and traveled person. Growing up, I didn’t really care much for Anthony Bourdain. Admittedly, I wasn’t the target demographic. I loved Food Network and the Travel Channel, but Bourdain was unabashedly adult-oriented. I didn’t really understand him as a kid. He pulled in life experiences and parallels that I simply had no exposure to. Instead, I much preferred the flamboyant showmanship of, say, Emeril Lagasse. As I got older, No Reservations would catch my attention if it was on, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. I wasn’t opposed to Bourdain, but I wasn’t really seeking him out specifically either. It wasn’t until his death in 2018 that I really...

I am fiending for a Steam Deck, and I’m not even ashamed about it. Although I have discussed before how there is a time and a place for consoles , I’m finding myself gravitating more toward the idea of PC gaming lately. I’m not saying that I’m done with console gaming; I still think the Nintendo Switch is probably the best gaming console ever made from the perspective of form factor. A single device that can be both a handheld and traditional console is amazing, and my family leverages that capability to great extent. And maybe that’s why I’m now becoming more interested in PC gaming specifically with the Steam Deck. Effectively, it’s the PC equivalent of a Nintendo Switch. It can be a handheld, you can dock it for a more stationary experience, and the OS seems to be very much geared toward browsing a game library and selecting something to play. My aversion to PC gaming traditionally has largely involved the difficult decision between building out a desktop rig and buying a high end l...