personal &mdash; Mitchell Report https://michaelmitchell.blog/tag:personal A personal blog for Michael Mitchell Wed, 06 May 2026 13:54:41 +0000 Birthday Thoughts on a Country at a Crossroads https://michaelmitchell.blog/birthday-thoughts-on-a-country-at-a-crossroads?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A pastoral scene at sunset with a dirt road splitting into two paths in the center, symbolizing a crossroads. On the left side, near a cozy cottage with smoke rising from the chimney, there are stacks of gold coins, a large gold dollar sign, an oil barrel labeled "OIL," a red gas pump, and a blackboard with a green upward-trending graph, representing economic and industrial interests. In the background, a factory with smokestacks emits smoke into the sky. On the right side, near another similar cottage with an American flag flying, there is a wooden ballot box labeled "VOTE," a megaphone, political campaign signs, an American flag, and an old television showing a suited man speaking, symbolizing democracy, voting, and political engagement. The sky is filled with warm golden clouds, and the entire scene is framed by trees and colorful flowers. At the top, the text reads "Birthday Thoughts on a Country at a Crossroads" in elegant script. smallAt a pivotal crossroads, a nation contemplates its future between the pursuit of wealth and industry or the call to civic duty and democratic engagement./small I turn 57 this month, and with everything going on in the world, it almost feels like an afterthought. This year feels worse, more doom and gloom than others. I am not entirely sure why, but it is not just politics. The economy has been rough too, with gas prices staying high, in my case over $4.25 a gallon, along with rising costs across the board and ongoing tech hardware shortages. It all adds to the sense that things are off. I have never seen as much upheaval as I have this past year. I have also never witnessed in my adult life companies and wealthy individuals fawn over a President to this extent, while much of the media seems complicit. Then they wonder why their trustworthiness is at an all-time low. I believe in a neutral, fact-based media, but in reality we have never truly had one in this country except when it suited particular interests. !--more-- What do I mean by that? Yellow journalism is a term that emerged in the late 1800s, around the time of the Spanish-American War. It was fueled in part by sensationalized reporting about the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898. At the time, many blamed Spain, though the exact cause of the explosion has never been definitively determined. That kind of reporting helped push the country toward war. Personally, I think we probably should have kept control of Cuba at that time and eventually made it a state or states. I also know corruption has existed across parties. The Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency is one clear example. At the same time, leaders from other parties have had their own issues. Franklin D. Roosevelt had people around him who benefited from proximity and influence, a kind of cronyism that shows up in different forms across administrations, including more recent ones. The real root of the problem, in my view, is something I do not think the Founders fully anticipated or addressed well, and that is political parties. They formed quickly after the Constitution was ratified, but there were early warnings. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned about the dangers of political factions and how they could divide the country and put party loyalty above the public good. That warning feels more relevant now than ever. Now it feels like everything is driven by one party trying to outdo the other. In the United States, this seems more ingrained and entrenched than in many other countries. I foresee, and I could be wrong, a large Democratic wave coming if elections are conducted fairly. But if that happens, Democrats need to be cautious. People are tired of endless investigations and political theater. They want action. They want real solutions, not lip service. That means actually addressing things like immigration reform in a lasting way and strengthening Social Security. Some issues may even require constitutional amendments to address structural weaknesses that recent events have brought into focus. At the same time, do not spend all the energy trying to impeach Trump again. Focus on limiting his power through legislation, oversight, and where possible, overriding vetoes. Hold members of his administration accountable where appropriate, using every lawful tool available, and where warranted, pursue impeachment in cases where it clearly applies. There should be real consequences, including barring individuals from future federal service when justified. That kind of accountability would act as a genuine deterrent. If people know the long-term consequences outweigh any short-term gain, they are less likely to go along with wrongdoing, regardless of pressure or job security. The broader goal, to me, is making Trump politically irrelevant by not allowing him to dominate every moment or control every outcome. That would likely be more effective than impeachment, because it removes the attention and influence he relies on. I am hoping this year ends better than it has started. I am usually upbeat during my birth month, but so far this year I am just not feeling it. Here is hoping things turn around. Luckily, I do not rely on politics or economics for my ultimate happiness. We are just sojourners on this planet, and Easter reminds me of that. Time to shake off the doom and gloom and focus on what actually matters. #personal #politics #currentevents p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/birthday-thoughts-on-a-country-at-a-crossroads"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A pastoral scene at sunset with a dirt road splitting into two paths in the center, symbolizing a crossroads. On the left side, near a cozy cottage with smoke rising from the chimney, there are stacks of gold coins, a large gold dollar sign, an oil barrel labeled "OIL," a red gas pump, and a blackboard with a green upward-trending graph, representing economic and industrial interests. In the background, a factory with smokestacks emits smoke into the sky. On the right side, near another similar cottage with an American flag flying, there is a wooden ballot box labeled "VOTE," a megaphone, political campaign signs, an American flag, and an old television showing a suited man speaking, symbolizing democracy, voting, and political engagement. The sky is filled with warm golden clouds, and the entire scene is framed by trees and colorful flowers. At the top, the text reads "Birthday Thoughts on a Country at a Crossroads" in elegant script.

At a pivotal crossroads, a nation contemplates its future between the pursuit of wealth and industry or the call to civic duty and democratic engagement.

I turn 57 this month, and with everything going on in the world, it almost feels like an afterthought. This year feels worse, more doom and gloom than others. I am not entirely sure why, but it is not just politics. The economy has been rough too, with gas prices staying high, in my case over $4.25 a gallon, along with rising costs across the board and ongoing tech hardware shortages. It all adds to the sense that things are off.

I have never seen as much upheaval as I have this past year. I have also never witnessed in my adult life companies and wealthy individuals fawn over a President to this extent, while much of the media seems complicit. Then they wonder why their trustworthiness is at an all-time low. I believe in a neutral, fact-based media, but in reality we have never truly had one in this country except when it suited particular interests.

What do I mean by that? Yellow journalism is a term that emerged in the late 1800s, around the time of the Spanish-American War. It was fueled in part by sensationalized reporting about the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898. At the time, many blamed Spain, though the exact cause of the explosion has never been definitively determined. That kind of reporting helped push the country toward war. Personally, I think we probably should have kept control of Cuba at that time and eventually made it a state or states.

I also know corruption has existed across parties. The Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency is one clear example. At the same time, leaders from other parties have had their own issues. Franklin D. Roosevelt had people around him who benefited from proximity and influence, a kind of cronyism that shows up in different forms across administrations, including more recent ones.

The real root of the problem, in my view, is something I do not think the Founders fully anticipated or addressed well, and that is political parties. They formed quickly after the Constitution was ratified, but there were early warnings. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned about the dangers of political factions and how they could divide the country and put party loyalty above the public good. That warning feels more relevant now than ever.

Now it feels like everything is driven by one party trying to outdo the other. In the United States, this seems more ingrained and entrenched than in many other countries.

I foresee, and I could be wrong, a large Democratic wave coming if elections are conducted fairly. But if that happens, Democrats need to be cautious. People are tired of endless investigations and political theater. They want action. They want real solutions, not lip service.

That means actually addressing things like immigration reform in a lasting way and strengthening Social Security. Some issues may even require constitutional amendments to address structural weaknesses that recent events have brought into focus.

At the same time, do not spend all the energy trying to impeach Trump again. Focus on limiting his power through legislation, oversight, and where possible, overriding vetoes. Hold members of his administration accountable where appropriate, using every lawful tool available, and where warranted, pursue impeachment in cases where it clearly applies. There should be real consequences, including barring individuals from future federal service when justified. That kind of accountability would act as a genuine deterrent. If people know the long-term consequences outweigh any short-term gain, they are less likely to go along with wrongdoing, regardless of pressure or job security.

The broader goal, to me, is making Trump politically irrelevant by not allowing him to dominate every moment or control every outcome. That would likely be more effective than impeachment, because it removes the attention and influence he relies on.

I am hoping this year ends better than it has started. I am usually upbeat during my birth month, but so far this year I am just not feeling it. Here is hoping things turn around.

Luckily, I do not rely on politics or economics for my ultimate happiness. We are just sojourners on this planet, and Easter reminds me of that. Time to shake off the doom and gloom and focus on what actually matters.

#personal #politics #currentevents

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/birthday-thoughts-on-a-country-at-a-crossroads Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:01:40 +0000 Better Health, Bigger To-Do List https://michaelmitchell.blog/better-health-bigger-to-do-list?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A cluttered desk filled with numerous stacks of DVDs and CDs, some scattered and some in cases, alongside two black game controllers and a white coffee mug. In the center of the desk is a black computer tower with a digital display showing the number "3." Behind the desk is a large monitor displaying lines of code or text, and a bookshelf filled with more DVDs or books. A desk lamp on the left side casts warm light over the scene, creating a cozy atmosphere. smallA cluttered desk overflowing with DVDs, game controllers, and a computer setup highlights the challenge of balancing a busy to-do list with the pursuit of better health and productivity./small I haven't blogged lately for several reasons. I have been feeling much better from my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (I have blogged extensively about it in several past posts). I will just say my Camzyos and Metoprolol 200 mg ER twice daily seems to be working. I am sleeping at night and I hardly feel my heart symptoms anymore. The only lingering negative is a high heart rate most of the time, even when sleeping. But I have more energy, and that is actually why I haven't been blogging as much. I know what you are thinking: if you are feeling better, why aren't you blogging? Well, it is because I am catching up on backlogged personal projects I have wanted to get done, and spending too much money in the process. Ever since AI came on the scene, I have been getting up to speed and, with its help, doing things I have wanted to do but didn't have the knowledge or know where to look. For instance, I have over 2,000 discs (DVDs, CDs, and Blu-rays) from over 30 years of accumulation that I am finally archiving and getting into my Plex server for my home. I had no one to ask and couldn't find resources, so I just had the discs sitting around, many never opened, as I relied on streaming services. But I have been on a purge of subscription services since early last year. I am also finding approximately 100 DVDs that have either disc rot or are scratched. That last one really hurts, as most of the disc-rotted and scratched discs have never been opened. So there has been a renewed sense of urgency on my part to get these things archivally backed up. !--more-- All the while, I have been using Windsurf AI IDE and other tools to make software that I want to use and customize for myself, like a Personal Poster that posts to all my social media platforms and a separate blog poster program to post to all my different sites without having to worry about cutting and pasting. Then there is continuing to build out my homelab and home server setup, and again, thanks to AI. I ask and it helps and puts it in a way I can understand. It is a resource I have never had before. I have also been trying to stay ahead of the negative side of AI causing prices to spike on computer hardware so that I will not have to have a computer subscription like the one recently introduced by HP (windowscentral.com). I refuse to rent a PC. I have never leased a car and will not lease a PC. At what point do companies take subscriptions too far? Personally, I think we are there. So with all of this, plus working so I can afford to buy and pay for everything, I have been rather busy. The only things I want to write about and express my feelings on lately are my other health conditions (which I may do) and politics/economics, which are driving me crazy and I am trying to stay away from because I don't think anyone cares about my opinions on these matters. All that said, I am still here and I have not gone anywhere. I just have a lot on my plate right now. Hopefully I will be back to writing more regularly soon, and I will have plenty to share about what I have been working on. --- --- Links may be shortened via mtribe.link for cleaner formatting. All links redirect to their original destinations. #personal #productivity p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/better-health-bigger-to-do-list"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A cluttered desk filled with numerous stacks of DVDs and CDs, some scattered and some in cases, alongside two black game controllers and a white coffee mug. In the center of the desk is a black computer tower with a digital display showing the number "3." Behind the desk is a large monitor displaying lines of code or text, and a bookshelf filled with more DVDs or books. A desk lamp on the left side casts warm light over the scene, creating a cozy atmosphere.

A cluttered desk overflowing with DVDs, game controllers, and a computer setup highlights the challenge of balancing a busy to-do list with the pursuit of better health and productivity.

I haven't blogged lately for several reasons. I have been feeling much better from my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (I have blogged extensively about it in several past posts). I will just say my Camzyos and Metoprolol 200 mg ER twice daily seems to be working. I am sleeping at night and I hardly feel my heart symptoms anymore. The only lingering negative is a high heart rate most of the time, even when sleeping. But I have more energy, and that is actually why I haven't been blogging as much.

I know what you are thinking: if you are feeling better, why aren't you blogging? Well, it is because I am catching up on backlogged personal projects I have wanted to get done, and spending too much money in the process. Ever since AI came on the scene, I have been getting up to speed and, with its help, doing things I have wanted to do but didn't have the knowledge or know where to look. For instance, I have over 2,000 discs (DVDs, CDs, and Blu-rays) from over 30 years of accumulation that I am finally archiving and getting into my Plex server for my home. I had no one to ask and couldn't find resources, so I just had the discs sitting around, many never opened, as I relied on streaming services. But I have been on a purge of subscription services since early last year. I am also finding approximately 100 DVDs that have either disc rot or are scratched. That last one really hurts, as most of the disc-rotted and scratched discs have never been opened. So there has been a renewed sense of urgency on my part to get these things archivally backed up.

All the while, I have been using Windsurf AI IDE and other tools to make software that I want to use and customize for myself, like a Personal Poster that posts to all my social media platforms and a separate blog poster program to post to all my different sites without having to worry about cutting and pasting.

Then there is continuing to build out my homelab and home server setup, and again, thanks to AI. I ask and it helps and puts it in a way I can understand. It is a resource I have never had before. I have also been trying to stay ahead of the negative side of AI causing prices to spike on computer hardware so that I will not have to have a computer subscription like the one recently introduced by HP (windowscentral.com). I refuse to rent a PC. I have never leased a car and will not lease a PC. At what point do companies take subscriptions too far? Personally, I think we are there.

So with all of this, plus working so I can afford to buy and pay for everything, I have been rather busy. The only things I want to write about and express my feelings on lately are my other health conditions (which I may do) and politics/economics, which are driving me crazy and I am trying to stay away from because I don't think anyone cares about my opinions on these matters.

All that said, I am still here and I have not gone anywhere. I just have a lot on my plate right now. Hopefully I will be back to writing more regularly soon, and I will have plenty to share about what I have been working on.

Links may be shortened via mtribe.link for cleaner formatting. All links redirect to their original destinations.

#personal #productivity

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/better-health-bigger-to-do-list Sun, 15 Feb 2026 18:48:24 +0000 Finally, Great Heart News https://michaelmitchell.blog/finally-great-heart-news?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Great news today at my follow-up with my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialist. Camzyos is really starting to work. My most recent echo earlier this week was excellent, and so was the heart cath I had in late December. In fact, the heart cath showed that Camzyos is working well enough that I do not need to rush into an alcohol ablation or a septal myectomy. If I ever do need an intervention in the future, my doctor said I would be a good candidate for septal alcohol ablation. I also told my doctor that, if at all possible, I would prefer to stay on medication and avoid any surgical treatment. More good news: I will not have to see him or have another echo for six months. I told the doctor I have been feeling great since starting Camzyos. My metoprolol dose was increased last month, and I have been sleeping much better. He said everything seems to have calmed down, and my gradients with exertion have improved greatly. So, no immediate decisions need to be made. He also had a positive conversation with the cardiac interventionist and personally read my echo himself. It looked good, and he is pleased. I told him that I think staying consistent with my medication has helped. Lately, I have not had delays caused by the pharmacy needing certain tests before refilling my prescription, and I have not had any breaks where I was off the medication. That means my main job now is simply dealing with the pharmacy and making sure I get my Camzyos on time each month. So let's pray it keeps trending in the right direction. I actually feel normal for once. #health #news #personal p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/finally-great-heart-news"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> Great news today at my follow-up with my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialist. Camzyos is really starting to work. My most recent echo earlier this week was excellent, and so was the heart cath I had in late December.

In fact, the heart cath showed that Camzyos is working well enough that I do not need to rush into an alcohol ablation or a septal myectomy. If I ever do need an intervention in the future, my doctor said I would be a good candidate for septal alcohol ablation.

I also told my doctor that, if at all possible, I would prefer to stay on medication and avoid any surgical treatment.

More good news: I will not have to see him or have another echo for six months.

I told the doctor I have been feeling great since starting Camzyos. My metoprolol dose was increased last month, and I have been sleeping much better. He said everything seems to have calmed down, and my gradients with exertion have improved greatly. So, no immediate decisions need to be made.

He also had a positive conversation with the cardiac interventionist and personally read my echo himself. It looked good, and he is pleased. I told him that I think staying consistent with my medication has helped. Lately, I have not had delays caused by the pharmacy needing certain tests before refilling my prescription, and I have not had any breaks where I was off the medication.

That means my main job now is simply dealing with the pharmacy and making sure I get my Camzyos on time each month.

So let's pray it keeps trending in the right direction. I actually feel normal for once.

#health #news #personal

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/finally-great-heart-news Sat, 10 Jan 2026 03:35:15 +0000 Happy 2026! https://michaelmitchell.blog/happy-2026?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A serene watercolor illustration of a cozy workspace by a window, featuring a laptop displaying code, an open book, a steaming mug, and a potted plant, all bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the window. The artwork combines realistic elements with abstract watercolor splashes. I just wanted to put up a quick blog post and wish everyone a Happy New Year. Let's pray and hope that God blesses us all. I'm looking forward to this year on many fronts. I want to continue getting my heart under control with my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, do more self-hosting with AI, and learn more coding. This is also my 25th year of proper blogging (more posts coming on that later). With all the computing power I'm putting together, I'm hoping to learn more about web development, self-hosting, and becoming less dependent on big tech. I'm one year closer to retirement, which I'm looking forward to. Instead of focusing on an employer's needs, I'll be able to focus 100 percent on what interests me and devote more time to my faith. Putting my love of God and technology together. So Happy New Year to everyone, and let's see what 2026 brings for us all. Should be an interesting year, especially on the home front with the United States of America hitting 250 years. personal p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/happy-2026"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A serene watercolor illustration of a cozy workspace by a window, featuring a laptop displaying code, an open book, a steaming mug, and a potted plant, all bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the window. The artwork combines realistic elements with abstract watercolor splashes.

I just wanted to put up a quick blog post and wish everyone a Happy New Year. Let's pray and hope that God blesses us all. I'm looking forward to this year on many fronts. I want to continue getting my heart under control with my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, do more self-hosting with AI, and learn more coding. This is also my 25th year of proper blogging (more posts coming on that later).

With all the computing power I'm putting together, I'm hoping to learn more about web development, self-hosting, and becoming less dependent on big tech. I'm one year closer to retirement, which I'm looking forward to. Instead of focusing on an employer's needs, I'll be able to focus 100 percent on what interests me and devote more time to my faith. Putting my love of God and technology together.

So Happy New Year to everyone, and let's see what 2026 brings for us all. Should be an interesting year, especially on the home front with the United States of America hitting 250 years.

#personal

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/happy-2026 Thu, 01 Jan 2026 15:34:28 +0000 My 2025 in Review https://michaelmitchell.blog/my-2025-in-review?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Illustration of a focused middle-aged man with glasses and a beard, sitting at a desk in a cozy, sunlit room filled with books. He is sketching or writing in a notebook, surrounded by art supplies and books. Ethereal, futuristic diagrams and clocks float around him, suggesting a blend of creativity and concepts of time. Rays of sunlight stream through a window, casting warm light and creating a serene, inspirational atmosphere. smallAmidst a cascade of light and time, a visionary crafts his dreams for 2025, blending art and aspiration in his timeless sanctuary./small I thought I would give a roundup from my point of view for 2025 and share some thoughts on 2026. 2025 brought so many new things for me. I left InMotion Hosting and WordPress after 9 years with them. I probably would still be with them if it weren't for three factors. First, they had given me a discount for three years, and when it expired, they would not renew it and offered me nothing. Second, they had switched to a new spam email system called MailChannels that was more concerned with outgoing spam instead of incoming spam. I think they started to concentrate on outgoing spam because of complaints coming in. The last issue was WordPress. I started to get the same feeling of craziness from the owner/co-owner that I got from Elon Musk. I moved to Write.as and thought I would like it. I had been trying it out before I left InMotion Hosting. I purchased a 6-year stint up front after trying it for about 3 months on the free version. But I soon learned it was not all that I had hoped for. I went to Micro.blog, and even though it had a shorter trial, I really liked it and saw how outdated Write.as was. I really liked, and still like, what Manton Reece is doing. So I changed from InMotion Hosting to Micro.blog and MXRoute for email hosting (as Micro.blog doesn't offer that and InMotion Hosting had the whole bundle). Both services have been fantastic, and Micro.blog is operated by an individual, not a big corporation and Manton Reece cares about his service. MXGuarddog is a small company from what I can tell and has been flawless. I will be making a detailed post about these services coming up in the new year for a one-year usage review. !--more-- 2025 also brought many health-related issues. I have Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM for short). Here is a good video that explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oblQE0LNbf8 . So I went on a medication called Camzyos (you have probably seen the TV commercials for it). It has worked as far as I am concerned, but my doctors tell me the obstruction is worse upon exertion. So I have two options now, both explained again by Tufts Medical videos pretty well. The first way has a 90 percent rate of success of relieving the problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxX6jvdiHk8 but is also the riskiest, takes a long time to recover from, and is very invasive. The other procedure has a 70 to 80 percent chance of eliminating or reducing the problem upon exertion and is less invasive, but has a higher risk of not working https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ4-mH7R-XE . My eyeglass prescription changed in March and was great, but nine months later it feels worse than before. I already need a new prescription, and the cataract in my right eye is interfering with my eyesight. Hoping that improves in 2026 too. So as you can see, this has been a most challenging year for my health. But it isn't all bad news. My type 2 diabetes has been under great control, and I have lost 35 pounds, going from 255 lbs to 220 lbs. Also in 2025, I got really into self-hosting and am preparing to get rid of a lot of big tech in 2026, if the DRAM crisis doesn't get ahold of me. Storage-wise, I have taken steps and gotten ahead of this looming crisis. I have a couple more things I want to do and get regarding storage. But, more to come on all that later. As for 2026, I am hoping to maintain my weight and improve my health, especially my heart and eyes. I am also hoping the political and economic uncertainty settles down. I am looking forward to completing the buildout and population of my Plex server, continuing my self-hosting journey, and working on custom software to make my home life balance and personal goals just work. I am also looking forward to seeing how AI will factor into all of this in a positive way, instead of a negative way like the DRAM crisis it has caused. So while 2025 has not been a bad year or a great year, it was an okay year. Not one of my worst, but not one of my best either. Hopefully, prayerfully, and blessedly, 2026 will be a great year, not just for me but for you too. Here's to 2026! personal p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/my-2025-in-review"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> Illustration of a focused middle-aged man with glasses and a beard, sitting at a desk in a cozy, sunlit room filled with books. He is sketching or writing in a notebook, surrounded by art supplies and books. Ethereal, futuristic diagrams and clocks float around him, suggesting a blend of creativity and concepts of time. Rays of sunlight stream through a window, casting warm light and creating a serene, inspirational atmosphere.

Amidst a cascade of light and time, a visionary crafts his dreams for 2025, blending art and aspiration in his timeless sanctuary.

I thought I would give a roundup from my point of view for 2025 and share some thoughts on 2026.

2025 brought so many new things for me. I left InMotion Hosting and WordPress after 9 years with them. I probably would still be with them if it weren't for three factors. First, they had given me a discount for three years, and when it expired, they would not renew it and offered me nothing. Second, they had switched to a new spam email system called MailChannels that was more concerned with outgoing spam instead of incoming spam. I think they started to concentrate on outgoing spam because of complaints coming in. The last issue was WordPress. I started to get the same feeling of craziness from the owner/co-owner that I got from Elon Musk.

I moved to Write.as and thought I would like it. I had been trying it out before I left InMotion Hosting. I purchased a 6-year stint up front after trying it for about 3 months on the free version. But I soon learned it was not all that I had hoped for. I went to Micro.blog, and even though it had a shorter trial, I really liked it and saw how outdated Write.as was. I really liked, and still like, what Manton Reece is doing. So I changed from InMotion Hosting to Micro.blog and MXRoute for email hosting (as Micro.blog doesn't offer that and InMotion Hosting had the whole bundle). Both services have been fantastic, and Micro.blog is operated by an individual, not a big corporation and Manton Reece cares about his service. MXGuarddog is a small company from what I can tell and has been flawless. I will be making a detailed post about these services coming up in the new year for a one-year usage review.

2025 also brought many health-related issues. I have Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM for short). Here is a good video that explains it:

. So I went on a medication called Camzyos (you have probably seen the TV commercials for it). It has worked as far as I am concerned, but my doctors tell me the obstruction is worse upon exertion. So I have two options now, both explained again by Tufts Medical videos pretty well. The first way has a 90 percent rate of success of relieving the problem

but is also the riskiest, takes a long time to recover from, and is very invasive. The other procedure has a 70 to 80 percent chance of eliminating or reducing the problem upon exertion and is less invasive, but has a higher risk of not working

. My eyeglass prescription changed in March and was great, but nine months later it feels worse than before. I already need a new prescription, and the cataract in my right eye is interfering with my eyesight. Hoping that improves in 2026 too. So as you can see, this has been a most challenging year for my health. But it isn't all bad news. My type 2 diabetes has been under great control, and I have lost 35 pounds, going from 255 lbs to 220 lbs.

Also in 2025, I got really into self-hosting and am preparing to get rid of a lot of big tech in 2026, if the DRAM crisis doesn't get ahold of me. Storage-wise, I have taken steps and gotten ahead of this looming crisis. I have a couple more things I want to do and get regarding storage. But, more to come on all that later.

As for 2026, I am hoping to maintain my weight and improve my health, especially my heart and eyes. I am also hoping the political and economic uncertainty settles down. I am looking forward to completing the buildout and population of my Plex server, continuing my self-hosting journey, and working on custom software to make my home life balance and personal goals just work. I am also looking forward to seeing how AI will factor into all of this in a positive way, instead of a negative way like the DRAM crisis it has caused.

So while 2025 has not been a bad year or a great year, it was an okay year. Not one of my worst, but not one of my best either. Hopefully, prayerfully, and blessedly, 2026 will be a great year, not just for me but for you too. Here's to 2026!

#personal

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/my-2025-in-review Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:00:30 +0000 Utilizing Python to Streamline Social Media Interactions https://michaelmitchell.blog/utilizing-python-to-streamline-social-media-interactions?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[In recent months, I've been building a social media aggregation platform using the Windsurf AI IDE. The platform displays a multimedia timeline that pulls content from Mastodon, Bluesky, Sharkey, Nostr, and Micro.blog. The goal was to centralize my social media interactions in one location instead of checking multiple sites. Developed in Python using AI coding assistants (Claude and ChatGPT 5.2 High Reasoning) to accelerate development, I designed the platform structure and verified the implementation through testing. The screenshot shows the current interface. Some posts appear duplicated because I follow the same people across multiple platforms. !--more-- A screenshot of a social media dashboard interface titled "Personal Events Poster" showing a post from "The Starship Entity ✨ 2025" about NASA's Moon Mission Plume-Surface Interaction Tests. The post includes a link to a NASA article and a thumbnail of a video featuring a spacecraft engine test setup. Below this post are comments from other users discussing unrelated topics. smallNASA's latest technology captures the dynamic interaction of the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission-1 lander's engine plumes with the lunar surface./small The platform works well and I appreciate having one central location to read and respond to posts. There are occasional bugs to fix and a few features left to implement, but it serves its purpose. #personal #programming #ai p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/utilizing-python-to-streamline-social-media-interactions"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> In recent months, I've been building a social media aggregation platform using the Windsurf AI IDE. The platform displays a multimedia timeline that pulls content from Mastodon, Bluesky, Sharkey, Nostr, and Micro.blog. The goal was to centralize my social media interactions in one location instead of checking multiple sites.

Developed in Python using AI coding assistants (Claude and ChatGPT 5.2 High Reasoning) to accelerate development, I designed the platform structure and verified the implementation through testing. The screenshot shows the current interface. Some posts appear duplicated because I follow the same people across multiple platforms.

A screenshot of a social media dashboard interface titled "Personal Events Poster" showing a post from "The Starship Entity ✨ 2025" about NASA's Moon Mission Plume-Surface Interaction Tests. The post includes a link to a NASA article and a thumbnail of a video featuring a spacecraft engine test setup. Below this post are comments from other users discussing unrelated topics.

NASA's latest technology captures the dynamic interaction of the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission-1 lander's engine plumes with the lunar surface.

The platform works well and I appreciate having one central location to read and respond to posts. There are occasional bugs to fix and a few features left to implement, but it serves its purpose.

#personal #programming #ai

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/utilizing-python-to-streamline-social-media-interactions Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:32:54 +0000 Comparing Notes on Retirement Planning https://michaelmitchell.blog/comparing-notes-on-retirement-planning?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A breathtaking coastal landscape featuring turquoise waters, layered sedimentary rock formations, and lush greenery. The scene includes a series of small, unique rock islets close to the shore and a prominent cliff topped with dense vegetation overlooking the sea. A solitary sailboat drifts near the horizon under a partly cloudy sky. small“a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsannino/14973660029" title="Corfu, The Beauty of Cape Drastis"Corfu, The Beauty of Cape Drastis/a” by a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsannino/"Maria Rosaria Sannino/a, a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en" rel="license noopener noreferrer"CC BY-NC-SA 2.0/a. Envisioning retirement as serene as this secluded coastal paradise, where every day feels like a vacation./small I was reading my RSS reader BazQux the other day and came across a post by rscottjones about retirement planning. With approximately 8 years until my own retirement, I've started planning too. I found his approach very interesting. I like reading what other people are thinking and comparing ideas. Since he shared his and his wife's general plans, I thought I'd share mine to help organize my own thinking. !--more-- My situation is different from his. It's just me, and I'm helping my elderly parents right now. I'll probably stay where I am for the foreseeable future. Once they're both gone, though, I'll need to reassess. I'm not particularly close to my brother or sister, or to my nieces and nephews (though that's not for lack of trying on my part). Part of me would love to move somewhere less hot, humid, and hurricane-prone. But another part wants to stay in Florida. Contrary to popular belief, Florida is very expensive. Yes, the weather is good most of the time, but the costs add up quickly. Health insurance, home insurance, and car insurance are all expensive here. If I could afford it and had the energy, I'd explore living abroad. My dream list includes Malta, Corfu, Crete, England (particularly St. Ives and the southern coast), Brazil, Hawaii, Uruguay, Argentina, or the Azores. Most of these are unrealistic due to language barriers or cost. England might be possible despite the expense, since there's no language barrier. Realistically, I'll probably move within Florida to a villa or condo, though I haven't decided on a location yet. Given my medical conditions, staying where I am (just downsizing to a villa or condo) makes the most sense. I do have travel plans, though. I had a passport but let it expire. I've never been out of the country, and I want to change that. I'd like to visit those countries I mentioned, plus Poland and Israel. If I did leave Florida, I've been looking at staying on the East Coast. I've thought seriously about West Virginia, Virginia, or Delaware. Within Florida, my top choices would be Gainesville, Ocala, Orlando/Celebration, or Sebring. In any event, unless something drastic changes, I plan to stay independent. I don't want to go to an independent or assisted living facility. I'm striving to make sure that whatever I choose, I'll be debt-free and settled. I plan on keeping busy with several things I enjoy, especially the homelab stuff. I want my Plex server completed except for new titles, and the rest of my major digital projects finished so I can just maintain things and experiment with new ideas. That way when I get back from travels, I can upload all those wonderful memories. What's up first on my international travel plans? I think it will be Corfu. Ever since watching the series The Durrells, I've wanted to go there. Wherever I end up living, it needs to be ready so I can age in place. I definitely won't be relying on family once my parents are gone. So while my plans aren't as concrete and in motion as RScottJones's, I do have an outline and some concepts that need firming up. Having read his post, at least now I know I'm thinking about the right questions. #personal #travel #retirement p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/comparing-notes-on-retirement-planning"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A breathtaking coastal landscape featuring turquoise waters, layered sedimentary rock formations, and lush greenery. The scene includes a series of small, unique rock islets close to the shore and a prominent cliff topped with dense vegetation overlooking the sea. A solitary sailboat drifts near the horizon under a partly cloudy sky.

“Corfu, The Beauty of Cape Drastis” by Maria Rosaria Sannino, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Envisioning retirement as serene as this secluded coastal paradise, where every day feels like a vacation.

I was reading my RSS reader BazQux the other day and came across a post by rscottjones about retirement planning. With approximately 8 years until my own retirement, I've started planning too. I found his approach very interesting.

I like reading what other people are thinking and comparing ideas. Since he shared his and his wife's general plans, I thought I'd share mine to help organize my own thinking.

My situation is different from his. It's just me, and I'm helping my elderly parents right now. I'll probably stay where I am for the foreseeable future. Once they're both gone, though, I'll need to reassess. I'm not particularly close to my brother or sister, or to my nieces and nephews (though that's not for lack of trying on my part).

Part of me would love to move somewhere less hot, humid, and hurricane-prone. But another part wants to stay in Florida. Contrary to popular belief, Florida is very expensive. Yes, the weather is good most of the time, but the costs add up quickly. Health insurance, home insurance, and car insurance are all expensive here.

If I could afford it and had the energy, I'd explore living abroad. My dream list includes Malta, Corfu, Crete, England (particularly St. Ives and the southern coast), Brazil, Hawaii, Uruguay, Argentina, or the Azores. Most of these are unrealistic due to language barriers or cost. England might be possible despite the expense, since there's no language barrier.

Realistically, I'll probably move within Florida to a villa or condo, though I haven't decided on a location yet. Given my medical conditions, staying where I am (just downsizing to a villa or condo) makes the most sense.

I do have travel plans, though. I had a passport but let it expire. I've never been out of the country, and I want to change that. I'd like to visit those countries I mentioned, plus Poland and Israel.

If I did leave Florida, I've been looking at staying on the East Coast. I've thought seriously about West Virginia, Virginia, or Delaware. Within Florida, my top choices would be Gainesville, Ocala, Orlando/Celebration, or Sebring.

In any event, unless something drastic changes, I plan to stay independent. I don't want to go to an independent or assisted living facility. I'm striving to make sure that whatever I choose, I'll be debt-free and settled. I plan on keeping busy with several things I enjoy, especially the homelab stuff. I want my Plex server completed except for new titles, and the rest of my major digital projects finished so I can just maintain things and experiment with new ideas. That way when I get back from travels, I can upload all those wonderful memories.

What's up first on my international travel plans? I think it will be Corfu. Ever since watching the series The Durrells, I've wanted to go there.

Wherever I end up living, it needs to be ready so I can age in place. I definitely won't be relying on family once my parents are gone. So while my plans aren't as concrete and in motion as RScottJones's, I do have an outline and some concepts that need firming up. Having read his post, at least now I know I'm thinking about the right questions.

#personal #travel #retirement

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/comparing-notes-on-retirement-planning Sun, 30 Nov 2025 02:43:50 +0000 Divorce maybe in the Future with Microsoft and Windows https://michaelmitchell.blog/divorce-maybe-in-the-future-with-microsoft-and-windows?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Illustration of a person standing in a stylized landscape with mountains, roads, and various technology icons connected by lines, symbolizing a network. The scene includes elements like clouds, sun, and small houses, depicting a blend of nature and digital technology. smallA visionary stands at the crossroads of innovation, contemplating the expansive network that may redefine the future of technology./small I have been a loyal Microsoft Windows customer since I've owned a PC and MS-DOS was a thing. I went to the events they had for major OS releases with my Dad. We both went to see the exciting things that happened when they used to stream them at movie theaters. I was there for the launch of Windows 95. But it is my opinion that Microsoft has totally lost its way with regards to the consumer and Windows. Yes, this is a rant, and I believe it may be too late for Microsoft and Windows with consumers. I know I am not a very techie person, but I believe that Windows is getting too messy in a lot of areas like advertisements everywhere, sloppy code, updates that seem like beta versions, telemetry, privacy concerns, and just all around not caring. !--more-- I follow Paul Thurrotta id="footnote-1-ref" href="#footnote-1" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s"1]/a and Dave Plummer from [Dave's Garage YouTube channela id="footnote-2-ref" href="#footnote-2" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60"[2]/a, and they both have different takes on what should happen to get Windows back on top. I can see both points and agree with both points. But I also agree with Paul Thurrott that Microsoft will not bend unless there is a clear reason to. So what is keeping me on Windows? If it weren't for the games I have, and I do mean lots of games, I would probably be on a different platform. Other than that, I do use it for work and I like the easy installation of programs and it looks good. This is where it gets interesting. I am getting more and more into Linux and have been thinking about MacOS lately (yikes, I know. I have an iPad and don't really care for the OS on that or for Apple). Thanks to Windows' missteps and bad practices and taking advantage of the consumer (though Apple excels in this area), Linux is catching up and there may be a solution for my gaming. Google could step in here, but they are making a lot of bone-headed moves too and are getting where they only want to chase Enterprise/Business. Everyone always underestimates the consumer, and the consumer is already leery of Google because they kill off most of their products just as consumers are right in the middle of falling in love with them and have major privacy concerns. Google is the Hoover vacuum cleaner of the internet. Their old motto of "Don't be evil" is being replaced. They are like the opposite of the character from the Despicable Me movies, going from good to evil instead of evil to good. This brings us back to Microsoft. Microsoft kills off a lot too, not to the frequency of Google, but still a lot. I'll give Apple some credit: they generally support their products longer, even if they're not massive successes. Microsoft may derive most of their revenue from the Enterprise/business side, but consumers will always keep you in the black if you have a good product. You just might not be a trillion dollar company in the process, but you'll be profitable. So I'm learning Linux and waiting for it to become even more consumer friendly through distributions like ZorinOS and CasaOS, or maybe going the direction like Omarchy. I'm continuing to self-host and use AI to build custom applications via Python. I'm hoping SteamOS gets that missing piece so developers support it and we consumers can finally break free from these trillion dollar companies. My goal is to be down to one cloud service provider in five years. The only reason I have multiple now is family obligations, since my parents are in their 70s and I manage everything for them digitally. But whenever I can, I'm moving off these platforms. That's where I'm heading. I don't know if Microsoft will ever earn my loyalty back. Google won't either. Apple has never had my trust and I still distrust their whole ecosystem, though I'm a realist and do use some of their services. ol li id="footnote-1"a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s/a a href="#footnote-1-ref"&#8617;/a/li li id="footnote-2"a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60/a a href="#footnote-2-ref"&#8617;/a/li /ol #technology #opinion #personal p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/divorce-maybe-in-the-future-with-microsoft-and-windows"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> Illustration of a person standing in a stylized landscape with mountains, roads, and various technology icons connected by lines, symbolizing a network. The scene includes elements like clouds, sun, and small houses, depicting a blend of nature and digital technology.

A visionary stands at the crossroads of innovation, contemplating the expansive network that may redefine the future of technology.

I have been a loyal Microsoft Windows customer since I've owned a PC and MS-DOS was a thing. I went to the events they had for major OS releases with my Dad. We both went to see the exciting things that happened when they used to stream them at movie theaters. I was there for the launch of Windows 95.

But it is my opinion that Microsoft has totally lost its way with regards to the consumer and Windows.

Yes, this is a rant, and I believe it may be too late for Microsoft and Windows with consumers. I know I am not a very techie person, but I believe that Windows is getting too messy in a lot of areas like advertisements everywhere, sloppy code, updates that seem like beta versions, telemetry, privacy concerns, and just all around not caring.

I follow Paul Thurrott[1] and Dave Plummer from Dave's Garage YouTube channel[2], and they both have different takes on what should happen to get Windows back on top. I can see both points and agree with both points. But I also agree with Paul Thurrott that Microsoft will not bend unless there is a clear reason to.

So what is keeping me on Windows? If it weren't for the games I have, and I do mean lots of games, I would probably be on a different platform. Other than that, I do use it for work and I like the easy installation of programs and it looks good.

This is where it gets interesting. I am getting more and more into Linux and have been thinking about MacOS lately (yikes, I know. I have an iPad and don't really care for the OS on that or for Apple). Thanks to Windows' missteps and bad practices and taking advantage of the consumer (though Apple excels in this area), Linux is catching up and there may be a solution for my gaming.

Google could step in here, but they are making a lot of bone-headed moves too and are getting where they only want to chase Enterprise/Business. Everyone always underestimates the consumer, and the consumer is already leery of Google because they kill off most of their products just as consumers are right in the middle of falling in love with them and have major privacy concerns. Google is the Hoover vacuum cleaner of the internet. Their old motto of “Don't be evil” is being replaced. They are like the opposite of the character from the Despicable Me movies, going from good to evil instead of evil to good.

This brings us back to Microsoft. Microsoft kills off a lot too, not to the frequency of Google, but still a lot. I'll give Apple some credit: they generally support their products longer, even if they're not massive successes.

Microsoft may derive most of their revenue from the Enterprise/business side, but consumers will always keep you in the black if you have a good product. You just might not be a trillion dollar company in the process, but you'll be profitable.

So I'm learning Linux and waiting for it to become even more consumer friendly through distributions like ZorinOS and CasaOS, or maybe going the direction like Omarchy. I'm continuing to self-host and use AI to build custom applications via Python. I'm hoping SteamOS gets that missing piece so developers support it and we consumers can finally break free from these trillion dollar companies. My goal is to be down to one cloud service provider in five years. The only reason I have multiple now is family obligations, since my parents are in their 70s and I manage everything for them digitally. But whenever I can, I'm moving off these platforms.

That's where I'm heading. I don't know if Microsoft will ever earn my loyalty back. Google won't either. Apple has never had my trust and I still distrust their whole ecosystem, though I'm a realist and do use some of their services.

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s ↩
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60 ↩

#technology #opinion #personal

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/divorce-maybe-in-the-future-with-microsoft-and-windows Tue, 25 Nov 2025 22:42:07 +0000 Two Pis, many plans, limited focus https://michaelmitchell.blog/smallan-engineer-lost-in-thought-surrounded-by-a-maze-of-circuits-and-the-glow?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A middle-aged man with a beard and glasses is deeply focused while working on an electronic circuit board in a high-tech lab environment. The view is framed as if seen through a circular lens, highlighting the intricate details of the circuitry and the thoughtful expression of the man. The background features futuristic digital displays and diagrams, enhancing the scene's innovative and technical atmosphere. smallAn engineer lost in thought, surrounded by a maze of circuits and the glow of futuristic interfaces./small Lately, I’ve been swamped with projects and short on energy to tackle them, partly because of my worsening eyesight. I have glaucoma, but thankfully no loss of vision. My treatment includes twice-yearly eye pressure checks and nightly latanoprost. Even so, my glasses prescription seems to need constant updates, and I’ve always had a lot of floaters. My ophthalmologist reassures me that the floaters and eye pressure are fine, but my vision keeps changing, which is frustrating. After a recent visit to an optometrist for new glasses (an immediate improvement at first), I quickly found myself struggling again. It’s baffling how fast my eyesight shifts. This ongoing vision issue is a big reason I’m putting off other projects. Other medical concerns, like my heart health, are actually improving. I have two SunFounder Pis to build, a few minor tasks, and I’m refining my blog and social-event posting software. I expect these projects to be fully functional soon, and I’ll update my blog as they progress. Despite having plenty to work on, my motivation is flagging. #technology #personal #productivity p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/smallan-engineer-lost-in-thought-surrounded-by-a-maze-of-circuits-and-the-glow"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A middle-aged man with a beard and glasses is deeply focused while working on an electronic circuit board in a high-tech lab environment. The view is framed as if seen through a circular lens, highlighting the intricate details of the circuitry and the thoughtful expression of the man. The background features futuristic digital displays and diagrams, enhancing the scene's innovative and technical atmosphere.

An engineer lost in thought, surrounded by a maze of circuits and the glow of futuristic interfaces.

Lately, I’ve been swamped with projects and short on energy to tackle them, partly because of my worsening eyesight. I have glaucoma, but thankfully no loss of vision. My treatment includes twice-yearly eye pressure checks and nightly latanoprost. Even so, my glasses prescription seems to need constant updates, and I’ve always had a lot of floaters. My ophthalmologist reassures me that the floaters and eye pressure are fine, but my vision keeps changing, which is frustrating. After a recent visit to an optometrist for new glasses (an immediate improvement at first), I quickly found myself struggling again. It’s baffling how fast my eyesight shifts.

This ongoing vision issue is a big reason I’m putting off other projects. Other medical concerns, like my heart health, are actually improving. I have two SunFounder Pis to build, a few minor tasks, and I’m refining my blog and social-event posting software. I expect these projects to be fully functional soon, and I’ll update my blog as they progress.

Despite having plenty to work on, my motivation is flagging.

#technology #personal #productivity

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/smallan-engineer-lost-in-thought-surrounded-by-a-maze-of-circuits-and-the-glow Sat, 25 Oct 2025 04:44:08 +0000 Space: 1999 at 50 https://michaelmitchell.blog/space-1999-at-50?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Alt text: "Graphic celebrating the 50th anniversary of Space: 1999, featuring the number '50' in large white font with the Eagle Transporter spacecraft from the series superimposed over the zero, set against a starry space background. Below the number, the words 'SPACE: 1999 ANNIVERSARY' are written in bold white letters." I don't typically blog about every anniversary or special date. However, I have a soft spot for "this day in history" and similar themes. Yet, some memories from my youth, like Space: 1999, truly resonate with me. Watching it on Saturday afternoons or evenings, I always thought it was an incredible show. I even bought the 30-year complete edition on DVD. !--more-- For those unfamiliar with this classic series, here are the key facts: Premiere Date (UK): September 4, 1975 Premiere Date (US): Aired in syndication starting September 1975, with some stations airing it in prime time Final Episode First Aired: November 12, 1977 (varying by region through 1978) Total Number of Episodes: 48 Number of Series (Seasons): 2 Year One: 24 episodes (1975–1976) Year Two: 24 episodes (1976–1977) US Broadcast Notes: The series was syndicated in the US, meaning it aired on various local stations rather than a single national network. Episode order varied widely between regions, sometimes mixing Year One and Year Two randomly Being a passionate sci-fi enthusiast, I love series like Star Trek, Star Wars, Space: 1999, Lost in Space in all its forms, and Forbidden Planet with Robby the Robot. These series are woven into the fond memories of my younger days. I've also witnessed many of the futuristic technologies depicted in these shows come to life. I stumbled upon a YouTube video recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DICMyq-pzhg&t=10s and discovered that it's the 50th anniversary of Space: 1999, one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series. I felt compelled to celebrate this occasion and reflect on its impact on my life. While the show may not hold up perfectly today, with some episodes feeling a bit quirky, I still long for one of their communicators, the Commlock or Eagles for my personal collection. Happy 50th Anniversary, Space: 1999. I'm not sure if any of the original cast are around, but if you are, thanks for the show and the memories. This milestone reminds me that great science fiction doesn't just entertain; it inspires generations and becomes part of who we are. Here's to the show that made us look up at the moon and wonder what could be. #personal #tv p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/space-1999-at-50"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> Alt text: "Graphic celebrating the 50th anniversary of Space: 1999, featuring the number '50' in large white font with the Eagle Transporter spacecraft from the series superimposed over the zero, set against a starry space background. Below the number, the words 'SPACE: 1999 ANNIVERSARY' are written in bold white letters."

I don't typically blog about every anniversary or special date. However, I have a soft spot for “this day in history” and similar themes. Yet, some memories from my youth, like Space: 1999, truly resonate with me. Watching it on Saturday afternoons or evenings, I always thought it was an incredible show. I even bought the 30-year complete edition on DVD.

For those unfamiliar with this classic series, here are the key facts:

  • Premiere Date (UK): September 4, 1975
  • Premiere Date (US): Aired in syndication starting September 1975, with some stations airing it in prime time
  • Final Episode First Aired: November 12, 1977 (varying by region through 1978)
  • Total Number of Episodes: 48
  • Number of Series (Seasons): 2
  • Year One: 24 episodes (1975–1976)
  • Year Two: 24 episodes (1976–1977)
  • US Broadcast Notes: The series was syndicated in the US, meaning it aired on various local stations rather than a single national network. Episode order varied widely between regions, sometimes mixing Year One and Year Two randomly

Being a passionate sci-fi enthusiast, I love series like Star Trek, Star Wars, Space: 1999, Lost in Space in all its forms, and Forbidden Planet with Robby the Robot. These series are woven into the fond memories of my younger days. I've also witnessed many of the futuristic technologies depicted in these shows come to life.

I stumbled upon a YouTube video recently: and discovered that it's the 50th anniversary of Space: 1999, one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series. I felt compelled to celebrate this occasion and reflect on its impact on my life. While the show may not hold up perfectly today, with some episodes feeling a bit quirky, I still long for one of their communicators, the Commlock or Eagles for my personal collection.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Space: 1999. I'm not sure if any of the original cast are around, but if you are, thanks for the show and the memories. This milestone reminds me that great science fiction doesn't just entertain; it inspires generations and becomes part of who we are. Here's to the show that made us look up at the moon and wonder what could be.

#personal #tv

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/space-1999-at-50 Sun, 19 Oct 2025 15:48:31 +0000