Trying beans from a new coffee roaster today. Really excited about this place. The owner has personally traveled the world to many of the farms where he sources beans and they only serve pour overs in the shop. I haven’t gotten a pour over there yet, but hope to soon. Troubadour Coffee Roasters
My Current Work Routine
A colleague asked me yesterday what routines and practices I’ve been using to manage our new normal of working onsite every day. I typed up this response, and decided it was worth turning into a blog post so I could share it more broadly in case others were interested.
I’ve had all of three days to figure out this new routine, so it’s ill-defined in its current iteration. I’m sure it will get crisper over time, but here’s what I have been doing the past few days.
I shared this picture of the joke board with our contractor team today (who are still remote for now) and the responses were:
- “are the ‘jokes’ written on paper towel?”
- “We are resigned to using parchment like our ancestors”
- “you shouldn’t write jokes on the dead sea scrolls”
My wife picked up a leather bound journal for me at a thrift store today. I like testing a few pens in a new journal to break the tension of the blank page. After I finished the first page, my daughter climbed up on the couch with me and added her own finishing touches.
I packed up my home office yesterday and moved all my NASA IT equipment into the office today. After getting settled in, I put up this joke board on the outer wall of my desk to be a little speck of joy as we adjust to the new normal.
Today held happy water-themed beginnings. It was my daughter’s first time peeing in a full-sized toilet and her first day of swim lessons.
No need to read between the lines on the latest email to feds about “What did you do last week?” They moved on to open mockery. I will say, despite all the ill-will and distraction thrown at my colleagues, it has been inspiring to see everyone stick to the mission and deliver on our work.
Targeted by Trump and Musk - On Being a Federal Employee
In my weeknotes post from January 20, 2025, hours before the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump, I wrote about being uncertain about what a Trump presidency would hold for me as a federal employee.
While government efficiency sounds good (who wouldn’t want that?), it seems like part of the plan is to make things tougher for federal employees. Including return to office mandates, layoffs, worse retirement/insurance benefits, and more. As a federal employee, that does not sound appealing.
Weeknotes Vol. 3
My week summarized into 3 highlights, 2 discoveries, and 1 anticipation.
3 Highlights The Office - I went into the office on Tuesday this week, which was a highlight for two reasons. First, I got an InBody scan as part of a twelve-week fitness challenge I am doing through NASA. The results were what I expected, and I have some work to do to get my body composition to where I want it!
New site feature! I added a sidebar for recent microblogs. This will only appear on desktop, not mobile devices.
