Coffee, Code, and Chronicles

Revisiting some early blog posts. Goals Well, six months later you have two posts in December. And A to Z 2026 is around the corner. Work and work related Continuing Education just creeped in and demanded more and more of my recreational time. Cigar Rituals Recall my ritual when smoking a cigar ? When the label finally lets go, I'll take the cellophane wrapper and re-tighten it to a roll small enough to fit into the label and release it. It will spring open again, pushing the label fully open. I'll then study the art and notes of the label before placing it too in the ash bowl. My ritual complete. I, of course, thought readers might like a visual; a visual for the non-smoker or the cigar curious. F1 2025 and 2026 The F1 season ended. While Max Verstappen didn't clinch the Championship, his run to the final race was phenomenal. I'm happy for Lando Norris, though I wanted Max to have his fifth championship. The next four months to the 2026 season will be exciting. New en...

Always standing against the opportunistic grave robber is the Grave Warden. Employed by the smallest village—often a stipend to the head of the village militia or inn keep—and largest city, the Grave Warden's singular task is to assist the priests of Morr* in burying the dead properly: “six feet deep in the cold, hard ground." But Grave Wardens have a second and equally important role: watch over the graves of the recently buried. The Grave Warden has a singular nemesis: the grave robber. The grave robber can be anyone. They can be other members of the militia, friends of the Grave Warden!, or just common thieves. All often arrive to secure the body of the recently dead to fulfill a contract from unsavory barber-chirurgeons, mad scholars, even dark wizards collecting bodies for foul experiments or fodder in growing armies of undead. A Grave Warden is charged by the Cult of Morr to use any force necessary to protect those that have been laid to rest. This means that grave robbe...

I love a cigar. I thought about holding this topic for V is for ... Vices —and that still may be the topic—but I made a snap call this evening. All the smoking warnings aside—and considered—the often quiet and reflective moments of an hour or more cannot be discounted. I've developed a few of my own rituals. And there are many varied rituals in the cigar smoking community. My first ritual is removing the slender cellophane tube that holds many mid-market “sticks." Many up-market cigars do not, but some do.  I fold the wrapper then roll it on my finger and tighten it into a squat roll and hold it for a between my forefinger and thumb for a minute or two while I inspect the cigar. I set the cellophane in my ash bowl where it will spring open into a loose curl. Cigars come with a distinctive label that wraps the body of the cigar. Decorative, often evocative of a forgotten moment in the 19th century, but some modern, and many in-between. I really strive to remove this label in a ...