Nothing says “the Midwest” like monthly tornado siren testing.
Wordle 290 4/6
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Back to work today. Wish F and I were still in St. Louis, strung out on frozen custard and Provel cheese.
Wordle 289 5/6
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Took F and one of her best friends to see “Princess Mononoke” at a local theater and then Starbucks afterward. Not surprised to learn more about Frannie’s middle school life in one afternoon than I have in 3 years of asking her “How was school today?” every weekday.
Getting tired of these close calls.
Wordle 288 6/6
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Blessed Mother FTW!
Yeah, I know, the war isn’t over, and the Russians still are rooting around other parts of the country. But you can’t tell me that Moscow backing off Kyiv barely a week after the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart is a coincidence.
Wordle 287 4/6
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We got dessert at St. Louis’ oldest frozen custard stand. I went over my carb limit again with a “Crater”: vanilla frozen custard, hot fudge, devil’s food cake, whipped cream, and evil. (I also walked 10,000+ steps at the zoo.) Will be better about the carbs starting tomorrow.
Today’s nutrition rundown—before the frozen custard we got at Ted Drewes after dinner. Not only did I fall off the wagon; the wagon ran over me repeatedly.
The zoo and other side trips during our St. Louis stay got me to a record today.
This one pissed me off, honestly.
Wordle 286 6/6
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Pretty much off the carb wagon for this girls’ spring break weekend. Almost 70 grams over my 100-gram daily carb limit today. Not fazed. Will get back on the wagon soon.
Grateful for a short work week so I can road trip to St. Louis with my kid for spring break.
Checked in to our hotel after the 4.5-hour drive. Now able to relax and watch old YouTube clips of Warren Beatty on Letterman promoting Big Ass Ham.
Been off the Wordle wagon over the past few days. Hated how this week started. But it’ll be getting better. This might help.
Wordle 285 4/6
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Joining a parish with periodic tamale sales after all Masses is one of the best spiritual decisions I’ve ever made.
Wordle 281 4/6
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Refreshed after a daylong silent retreat at my parish on the Passion. After a rough week of frustration and extended family drama, I’m deeply grateful for this jumpstart of my Lenten season.
Wordle 280 3/6
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Despite the joy of a twofer kind of cool day—my kid’s birthday and the Feast of the Annunciation—I continue to be stuck in the middle of a painful dispute that heated up this week and involves people dear to me. If you’re one to do such things, please pray for me. Thanks.
I’ve been trying to go to weekday Mass at least once a week, usually on Fridays, during Lent. I usually go to the parish down the street, which – like the others in our town – is a bit more casual and less observant than the parish where we’re registered. (This is the same parish that emptied halfway through an Ash Wednesday service we attended once people got their ashes and bailed.)
After Wednesday Mass at St. Casual, I was able to attend the 7:30 a.m. liturgy yesterday and today at our usual parish. It felt good to be “home” – where I can receive the Eucharist kneeling and on the tongue and not draw weird looks when I linger to pray after the service is over, and where the lights aren’t shut off 5 minutes after the end of Mass – especially when we were able to pray the pope’s prayer consecrating Ukraine and Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (Honestly, I didn’t feel confident that the parish down the street would even bother with that.)
I figure on continuing to attend periodic weekday Mass at St. Casual as long as I’m able. It’s all the same Jesus, no matter which Roman Catholic parish is offering the Eucharist. Maybe being reverent amid the lax culture there is an opportunity to be an example, I don’t know. At the very least, maybe it’s an opportunity for mortification, or a chance – another chance, because I’ve had plenty lately in my personal life – to be charitable where it might be extremely challenging.
Wordle creator talks to game developers about his unorthodox success story
The creator of Wordle says his success story was counterintuitive, with unorthodox choices like once-a-day play, having it be web-only with a hard-to-remember URL, and no monetization. Then The New York Times came calling when he was feeling “immense pressure” about managing the game:
I made this game, but I had no interest in running a game business. Basically, I think of myself as an artist, I really enjoy creating things. Running a gaming business is not interesting to me. And I think I think that for some people, it [would have been] different. But for me, this was really clear.
(More on Josh Wardle’s recent speech to game developers here. Also, he says the earliest version of Wordle had a tougher word list back in 2013.)
Population drops in California’s urban centers: “We are in this new demographic era for California of very slow or maybe even negative growth,” a demographer tells the Los Angeles Times.
Always interesting to look at the young teenager’s alternative public Instagram account for her artwork (which I don’t follow out of respect for her privacy, but still monitor for safety’s sake) and see just how much of a pottymouth she actually has.