Huge thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Idol polls! I made it through another round, and I'm now working on my 6-part portfolio project for the upcoming deadline. It's a lot of work, but I'm glad to still be here!

Now, here's something from Chuck Wendig. Chuck is an author who blogs a lot about books and heirloom apples and the writing process. He is also very anti-AI, not just AI as a substitute for creative endeavors but also because a lot of AI output is simply wrong. Here's his hilarious screed on the results of the simple question, does Chuck Wendig have a cat? Talk about a snowball effect!

AGAIN? Yesterday was 64^o, but winds were too gusty to ride outside. Every other day in the last 11 days has promised highs in the mid-upper 50s that instead becomes 48-53^o, which is too cold with the wind-chill you get from cycling.

I mean, I'm really enjoying Orphan Black, but I need Walking Dead levels of peril (every 5-10 minutes) to really make the time pass, and the show doesn't offer that.

But, in random GOOD news... Corey Booker got married to a lovely woman last week! I love Corey Booker—he's my presidential Dream Candidate. Probably not this upcoming election cycle, but someday, I hope?

Today is the last day to vote in the Idol polls for this week. We wrote two stories, and the two polls are HERE and HERE. All of the entries can be found off of those links. Thank you for your votes and your support!

I'm now at 10 consecutive days of garage-biking. Ulhhhh. I'm about to finish S2 of Orphan Black, which has been fun. I think my favorite characters are Cosima (the geeky imp) and the lost, feral Helena. Though I get a kick out of Alison too, because she's so unintentionally funny. :D

For family viewing, we may be adding S5 of Stranger Things next. OR, since we finished Life On Mars (what an ending!), we may dive into the Gene Genie 2.0 on Amazon, AKA Ashes To Ashes. No idea what to expect there, though I hope Gene stays true to form.

Bookwise, I finished In Other Lands last week. It was VERY hard to put down. Then I read When Among Crows (novella) and am now reading the sequel, To Clutch A Razor. Next up, Michael Connolly's new book, though none of his other characters have grabbed me the way Harry Bosch did.

I did most of my Xmas shopping last weekend, but wanted to mention something our daughter gave me for my birthday. Courtesy of Shutterfly, you can use one of your own photos to make a jigsaw puzzle! She chose a picture she took at the American River bike path, where we walk together. If you know a puzzler, that might be a nice option for them. :)

I hope those of you who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our daughter was home for it (yay!), and we relaxed and got a LOT more pictures up. All that's left is our bedroom, which requires committing to furniture placement. I would like the arrangement we had before, but that would put the armoire with the TV in an awkward spot as there is now a doorway where it used to be, and also a really inconveniently-placed light switch that cannot be moved. :(

I worked on two Idol entries over much of last week, though I'd hoped to spend more time putting stuff away (dating from the move-in a year ago). :O There are two polls this week, HERE and HERE, and you can read all of the stories off of those links. I appreciate your votes and support more than you know!

We were able to barbecue our turkey in a Weber kettle for the first time in 4 years. This is a different model than what we had before, which introduced some mystery. A little overdone on the skin, a little underdone at the core, despite what the meat thermometer indicated. Thank goodness for microwaves! I also wanted to post up our cranberry sauce recipe last week, but didn't have easy access to it. Worth sharing? It's reduced-calorie because it has less sugar than the can-log version, and it's just sweet enough with a little tartness. Love it!

HalfshellHusband and our son and I saw del Toro's Frankenstein, which we really liked. Very soulful, and the laboratory sets were swoon-worthy! We also re-watched Return To Me and The Fall Guy so our daughter could see them. The first... who knew David Duchovny could make a character be sweet as well as funny? The latter... is SUCH a fun movie. HSH is getting the DVD of it for Xmas, though he doesn't know it.

I also watched a lot of Orphan Black in the garage, since the foggy weather (and its accompanying cold) lasted all of last week. I thought I'd be biking outside that whole time, but no. Too miserable. :(

Started Xmas shopping yet?