Andrew
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drw4d.bsky.social
Andrew
@drw4d.bsky.social
Chicagoan, cyclist, and traveler. Retail Supply Chain, Project Management, and Technology. There are few ills that a good Negroni or Boulvardier can’t fix. Buffalo Bills, Chicago Cubs, Tottenham Hotspur
It is pretty dense, yes. But it’s made for being the base of smorrebrod or other Scandinavian type open face sandwiches, piled with all sorts of delicious things. It also makes great toast!
January 2, 2026 at 4:25 PM
If you have rye flour, let me suggest this. The bake is long (2 hours+), but it comes together quickly, no kneading, and no rising.

www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/icel...
Icelandic Rye Bread (Rúgbrauð)
This dense, mildly sweet, hearty rye bread is ubiquitous in its native Iceland, where it’s traditionally sliced very thin and served with smoked, cured, or pickled foods. That said, it’s also deliciou...
www.kingarthurbaking.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:51 PM
All that said, I’ve been REALLY lazy this winter, and haven’t even ridden the trainer all that much. Really need to get that motivation back somehow.
January 1, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Yeah, I avoid icy weather. But it’s also rain, or even the threat. If I have to, I have to. But if I don’t, I’d rather be inside.

It helps (or not, depending on the POV) that I have an older bike in my trainer year round. So I don’t even have the effort of getting a bike in and out of it.
January 1, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Don’t be afraid of the trainer. Mine has definitely saved my mental health.

But do be afraid of the inevitable, “It’s easier (more safe?) to ride the trainer than go out in this bad weather,” and how what constitutes ‘bad weather’ changes over time.

My weather tolerance has reduced a lot.
January 1, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Yes!! I don’t want to ride Paulina or Sunnyside (or even Wilson) and have to stop every block. I want to ride Montrose or Lawrence, Kedzie or Elston, safely. I take up less space than that car in front of you, and if you give me 10 seconds, I’ll move out of your way so you can pass me safely.
December 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
There’s no crying in ORD.
It’s the best there is!

(Okay, so it’s really not, but it’s home, and it’ll hear you if you sad bad things about it)

(Also; very jealous of the airports!)
a group of baseball players standing in a dugout and one of them says there 's no crying
ALT: a group of baseball players standing in a dugout and one of them says there 's no crying
media.tenor.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:20 AM
December 30, 2025 at 11:18 PM
So what's coming in 2026?
More music from some of the same bands
Quartets from Ireland and San Francisco
A singer-songwriter from Texas, and a fiddle player from Illinois
My more theatrical side comes out
I'll get through the 80s, and dip a toe into the 90s

What's going to surprise me this year?
December 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
"Animals" from #PinkFloyd is just as meaningful today as it was when it was written

"Live 1973" from #Genesis continues to be one of my all time favorites, and one I strongly recommend

A lot of really great music that I got through this year; this has been really fun!
December 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
#LedZeppelin II is one of the standouts for me, partly because I forgot how good it was. But their Physical Graffiti is, surprisingly, one of the disappointments. It's good, but not as great as I had remembered.

The debut from #Rush was brand new to me, and I really enjoy that record.
December 29, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I'm a little better about my walls, but I still absolutely love this album. And 35+ years since high school, I still have a stage production of it (mostly) worked out in my mind, specifically in that thrust-stage theater. Like #Metallica covering The Knife though, it lives only in my imagination.
December 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"In perfect isolation ..."

Your parents are getting divorced; are you okay?
- I'm fine

You're not doing too well in school; are you okay?
- I'm fine

You're going through your own divorce; are you okay?
- I'm fine

" ... here behind my wall"
December 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Put up a wall; it's much better that someone not like me because they don't know me, than to risk that they not like me because they <do> know me.

Put up a wall; it hurts less when my friend's family (abandons me) moves away.

Put up a wall; it gives me (the illusion of) control.

Put up a wall
December 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Then I spent a couple weeks at DePauw University one summer in high school, and was introduced to both The Wall and the card game Euchre, each of which has stuck with me.

But it was working with the high school stage crew my senior year that cemented The Wall for me.
December 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
And now adding some decking on the top deck for this action, including a little skylight, similar to one of the earlier sections.

Bag 34 / 46: ✅
December 29, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Agreed. Give it to your best player, and trust that he finds the open receiver. Just made a bad pass.
December 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Initially, this was about coping with the stress of the world. Today, it’s the stress of a Bills game (yes, that is James Cook getting a first down in the background of 1 photo).

Adding decorative columns, inside windows, and a little structure for a smoke stack.
#Lego #BillsMafia

Bag 33 / 46: ✅
December 28, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Added a couple more levels at one end of this section, along with some portholes and windows along the sides.
December 27, 2025 at 3:18 AM
This was the second holiday season since I last spoke to my brother. Sometimes, I feel bad about it (mostly because I know our father is disappointed by it). Most of the time, I know it’s better for me.
December 27, 2025 at 2:02 AM