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I love wearing my Apple Watch. Not only does it tell me that I apparently lost the ability to stay in Zone 2 while running, it also tracks everything else, lets me quickly set timers, pause my podcast without fishing my iPhone out of my pocket, and gives me glanceable information about my life.

Unfortunately, it looks like shit. That’s why I invested quite some money (€40) and bought this very pretty Casio watch. I love it! It’s shiny and has much more of a visual opinion than the Apple Watch, which has looked basically the same for the last decade.

I loved Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War, so when my friend Matti told me she had a new book out that follows the same general principle, just with a different civilization-ending weapon, I ordered it on the spot. It was another great read. Biological War is slightly less good than Nuclear War, but that didn’t stop me from finishing it in less than two days.

For some reason, though, someone decided to put AI-generated images in the book. I’m not an anti-AI hardliner by any means, but why would you ever choose to include completely optional AI-generated images in a heavily researched book? It made the whole thing feel a little cheaper and, weirdly, less trustworthy.

Bad choice.

I like this comic, even though I didn’t when I made it. It’s pure melancholy, and the whole day felt exactly like this.

On a related note, I always struggle with the end of summer and the beginning of the worst seasons. I will persevere, but it’s not going to be fun.

I think it’s important to show an interest in your children’s hobbies. Gigabyte has recently developed a fascination with large insects, and I cherish the quality time we spend together watching them.

A cute little day. We spent quite a while in the perfume section of a large shopping center, trying dozens of fragrances. It was fun, and it sent Anna spiraling down a deep rabbit hole of fragrance research. I love those moments when you suddenly unlock a new interest and get to learn an entirely new set of things. I also learned that I’m apparently a big fan of pine in my fragrances. Who would have guessed I’d enjoy smelling like a tree!

Let’s just say Anna’s and my preferences when it comes to mattress hardness are slowly converging on a point in the future where the only sensible solution will be two different mattresses in her bed.

I’m reading Stephen Fry’s Heroes at the moment, and just like Mythos, it’s a great way of finally getting all the details of the Greek myths without having to slog through the badly written originals. Sorry, not sorry. I especially love how he keeps connecting the myths to modern-day life, whether it’s words we still use or names that have survived for thousands of years. Who would have known that the Perseids are named after Perseus!

At one point I held a thing against the wall for like five seconds. Anna did everything else herself. We're living the beginning of the end of the patriarchy over here!

Deciding to stop reading a book is an art form in itself. I think many people never get into reading because they haven't found the right book for them and aren't willing to give up quickly enough when one doesn't click. Even I find it difficult, and I've stopped reading dozens of books. There are simply too many good books out there to spend time on ones you don't enjoy. The book in question was A Philosophy of Walking, by the way. It was just... so uninteresting.

I’m not sure what’s going on in this house, but sometimes it feels like some kind of social experiment where normal people have been thrown in with people who don’t care about anyone else, just to see what happens.

When Anna and I first met, she told me that her friends Simone and Pastu love cats and would very much like to see as many pictures and videos of mine as possible. Back then, I already invited them to come visit and say hi to Gigabyte and Millimeter.

That finally happened on this day, and at least Gigabyte showed herself from her best side. Milli is a bit shy, but she came around after a while.

Growing up, being an adult always seemed like such a hassle. Turns out, the adults around me just didn’t have all their ducks in a row. And not even because of external circumstances, either. They’d simply built themselves lives that, quite frankly, seemed to suck.

Mine doesn’t.

I’m now at an age where it’s starting to feel a little cringe not to think of myself as an actual adult, and I’ve recently started embracing the fact that I actually am one. Just not the kind who built himself a life full of stress, drama, and responsibilities I never wanted to deal with.

It was such a relaxing day, and I was happy about it. The previous day had been taxing, so just hanging around, reading, painting, and snacking was exactly what I needed. Even though I underestimated the size of that sundae, I certainly didn’t complain, it was delicious.

Gigabyte has a question.

The cats yearn for non-fiction

Right? I feel like there are rules but none of the cats care to elaborate. Not fair.

We should react with “Ew,” then completely ignore whatever tried to rage-bait us more often.

I love tax season. The wave of anxiety that hits when it rolls around is exhilarating, and spending a couple of days feeling like something terrible is about to happen really makes me feel alive.

I tried to become someone who makes music. I failed and sold my e-piano. You win some, you lose some.

I built a shelf for my art supplies! I now have a whole new section in my office dedicated to storing my pens, pencils, paper, sketchbooks, brushes, and paints. I love it!

The Year of Art has been going on for more than six months now, and I don’t feel like I’ll be stopping anytime soon. This really has a chance of becoming a lifelong project, so it felt worth improving the logistics around it.

Now I need to pack up 93 books and send them to the company buying them.

I’ll actually save money by switching to fiber. I just wasn’t interested in doing all the work (ordering it and making sure there’s access to the area where the thingy can be installed) to get it. Now’s the time.

Linus isn’t the youngest anymore. Sometimes he forgets he’s an old boy now. When we visited on Saturday and were ready to leave, he shot out the door and jumped down a couple of steps without a second thought for his brittle old bones… or ligaments. Poor baby.

I seldom think it’s a good idea to skip my workout for the day. This was one of those exceptions.

I sometimes forget to make enough time for myself, which leaves my social battery completely drained and brings on headaches.

I lied to Anna for her own good, because I’d prepared a little gift for her, and her investigative skills were dangerously close to ruining the surprise. Thankfully, I’m apparently a pathological liar, because she didn’t suspect a thing and was very happy to receive this little robin.

Days like this are the best.

Meetings before 10 AM should be forbidden.

I don’t know why, but the ending of Disclosure Day made me cry?!

Sometimes quality time together means doing things separately, but side by side.

Please don’t judge my apparently abysmal push-up form.

After that, I actively enjoyed the clean windows for two weeks. It was worth it.

We successfully built everything. Let’s just not mention how, a couple of days later, a real handyman had to come and bolt it all to the wall properly.

This is somehow not as shocking to anyone else as it is to me, but how was this cocktail only invented in 2008? We had smartphones then! How did nobody, in all those years before that, think to smash up a bit of basil and throw some random alcohol into it?! It’s absurd!

We will persevere through these challenging times.

Anna’s new kitchen was installed on Monday, and I saw it for the first time on that evening. It’s beautiful!

Germany seems to have a reputation for apartments being rented without kitchens. A couple of people have told me that, though I can’t confirm it myself. I’ve never moved into an apartment that didn’t have a kitchen. Maybe I’ve just been lucky.

My journal entry from two years ago (just a classic text-based journal) ended with me promising myself I wouldn’t spend my birthday alone the following year. And I didn’t.

Last year, I invited my friends over on the evening of my birthday, and it was wonderful. Now many of them have babies, so this year I invited them over on Sunday afternoon for coffee and cake instead. It was great.

I went to bed blissful and full of gratitude.

I didn't get engaged that day.

You probably neither noticed nor cared, but UARRR.org has moved newsletter platforms. I started on Substack, and now it lives on Ghost.

Running intervals offers an interesting contrast. I never want to do them, even less than a classic run. But once I get going, they’re so much more fun. There’s something deeply life-affirming about sprinting through a forest. It feels almost primal.

I turned 37 on that day! That number doesn’t remotely reflect the age I feel I should be, but who am I to argue with Chronos?

I mentioned the quality of beds in the UK to a few friends, and many agreed that modern sleep technology doesn’t seem to have made it across the Channel.

This was the first vacation I never wanted to end. But I was also glad to be back with the cats.

Aaand we're off to the UK. First Glasgow and Edinburgh, then London.

Packing is the worst. I’m not even bad at it, it just isn’t fun. It’s like a puzzle where the result will never be perfect, and you just have to live with the compromises. Especially when you’re flying with only carry-on luggage.

I painted this without a sketch, and it shows. Which is both a good and a bad thing at the same time.

I played Diablo IV until I had to go to bed, and let’s just say I didn’t have a great night’s sleep because of that.

I love city life, great weather, and days where you don’t have a plan and just let things unfold.

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It was a cute little day.

My hand felt a bit numb this morning. The doctor said it might be because Millimeter hit a tendon. It got better over the course of the day.

Anna’s moving day is close. We’re still working our way through Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I love how the story picks up in this book. It suddenly gets much more serious and dark.

A cup is not a precise unit of measurement, and Oz is home to a wizard.

Home Improvement

It was a slow and cozy day.

It was the Long Night of Museums. You buy one ticket and can visit every museum of the city.

Bless you!

A proper birthday butt slapping.

The spider crossed my “this is fine” boundary and was promptly evicted.

The walls are thin, and I'm a bit sensitive to noise.

It’s 1,800 pages long, and I’m not sure I like it. Maybe I’m just not a fan fiction kind of guy.

The Döner wasn't even good. Fantastic company, though.

I saved money by buying something I don't need. I guess I could play through those Spider-Man games?

Ended up with some weird Harry Potter fan fiction. Not great.

Back home, back to business

This marks the end of our little Barcelona adventure.

Our second to last day in Barcelona.

Preparing the way.

I kind of messed up the background. Please don't unfollow me because I'm not good enough at art.

Who needs meteorology when my head forecasts the weather?

Can't run 10K without clothing, can I?

Poopin' and cleaning up my little town.