Monday, October 20, 2025 – Day 433

Monday, October 20, 2025

Good morning.

It’s definitely looking like fall outside—cool air, color in the trees, and the sound of leaves crunching under tires.

Although, in classic Midwest fashion, our A/C decided to kick on yesterday. Nothing like a blast of cold air to wake you up from a good nap. Only a few day ago, if I didn’t like the temperature in the house, I’d just grab my phone and adjust the thermostat. Easy. But apparently, technology has decided I’ve had it too easy. For months, Google’s been sending warnings that my 10-year-old Nest thermostat is “no longer supported.” Translation: it’s now a very expensive dumb device. If I want to change the temp, I actually have to physically touch the wall unit. What is this—2013?

So now I’m forced to buy a new “smart” thermostat. And that just feels wrong. There’s nothing broken about the one I have! Why should I pay $300 for a replacement that’ll meet the same fate in another decade when they stop supporting that version too? Honestly, there ought to be a class-action lawsuit for planned obsolescence.

Same story with my MacBook. It still runs beautifully, but Apple won’t let me update the operating system anymore, which means I’m one unpatched security hole away from becoming a hacker’s side project. Cindy’s computer just aged out of updates too, so we bit the bullet and replaced hers. Ugh. Sometimes I hate technology.

Looks like a trip to the Apple Store is in my future. I’m choosing optimism—maybe the new tech will finally let me connect my brain directly to the computer. That’s an upgrade I could get behind! My typing speed has slowed down, and I backspace so often it’s practically part of my workflow. Writing this blog every morning is a lot of typing, re-typing, and muttering under my breath when autocorrect decides to “help.” I have a deadline to meet. 😵‍💫

Still, I’ll gladly invest in anything that gives me more independence and keeps Cindy’s workload lighter. That’s worth every penny. We’ve been gradually upgrading around the house. Rotary lamp switches have become a bit of a battle, so we swapped in touch-sensitive or smart lamps I can control from my phone. It’s a great solution—until someone flips the manual switch out of habit. Then I’m left in the dark, literally. Old habits die hard!

We’ll keep adapting, one device at a time. It’s a learning process, and Amazon’s delivery drivers are getting plenty of exercise helping us experiment with what works.

Change of topic: The great Prey Series Mystery Gifter remains unidentified. It’s been a couple of weeks since I finished the last book, and I’ve officially hit withdrawal. The story ended, and so did the mystery—until Saturday. Waiting in the mailbox was a package that felt suspiciously like a book. It wasn’t from Amazon Prime but good old USPS. I opened it to find Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger—and a note! The sender mentioned it’s their favorite book. How about that? Another Minneapolis-based story, just like the Prey series. I’ve flipped through it, and it looks like a great read. You’ve made my week. Thank you!

Have a great Monday, everyone. Love you guys. ❤️

Today’s Photos: