Take 5, D.

Weekly Update 2026-03-29: A Depressed Edition

What happened during the week of March 23rd - March 29th, 2026:

πŸ™ I can't put my finger on why, but this week was a really depressing one for me. I felt sluggish and uninspired earlier on, but by the time Thursday 03-26 rolled around, I spent the afternoon feeling like I was being crushed by sadness and despair. While these weren't exactly the same feelings when my mother died in 2024, there were plenty of similarities going on. L. & I talked at length both on Thursday night and the morning of Saturday 03-28, as she had noticed I seemed a bit off this week. We agreed that I should reach out to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), whether through my employer or hers. It turns out the choice wouldn't have made a difference, as her employer ironically enough uses my employer for EAP. I have set aside time to schedule a call on Monday 03-30.

πŸ”΅ Looking back at some of my prior weekly updates, I think the signs of depression were there. I haven't been too enthusiastic about...well, many things in life, be it my work, my hobbies, my writing, and so on. There was a definite lull in my mood after returning from the vacation in San Diego, which I understand as post-vacation blues. Fun time is over, now it's time to get back to "reality." Generally, these post-vacation blues dissipate, but it feels like they've morphed into something else.

πŸ‘¨πŸ»β€πŸŽ€ I have tried to get my mind on other things that have little to do with depression, so I have been working on a blog post about music. The short version is that it's a "get ON my lawn" reaction towards younger music critics/journalists/influencers, as they will be approaching music in ways that are different from the current older crop of writers. In fact, the newer folks may not be writing at all, and it's best to either let them have their own space, or give them room in established spaces to do their thing. I also will be incorporating a 2002 flashback to my very early days of LiveJournal writings, which includes reference to the Empty Bottle in Chicago, and back when the Yeah Yeah Yeahs started to become A Thing. Look for it next week, likely before Thursday 04-02.

πŸ“₯ Work has been rather busy, as a couple of larger projects will be coming to the forefront next month. In a way, the busy times at work has helped distract me from my feelings, but it's not a cure-all. The team was short one member, as he was out for nearly a week to celebrate his daughter's wedding. His leave finally prompted me to enter my dates for the May vacation to New Mexico, which I've talked about with my manager but never committed to an actual schedule. Another team member that's been tied up in a massive project should be rejoining the group in mid-late April, once this project goes live and his prep work won't be needed anymore. And last but not least, my manager posted the open position on our team this week, so around the time of my vacation, there could be a new person joining the group. I may end up returning from New Mexico to find I'm no longer "the new guy!"

Items Of Note From Last Week:

Outbound Actions

Internal Obligations

Media

More Info About The Media Selections From This Week:

Going shorter on the media selections this week, because reasons.

Bob Duchesne spent some time in south Florida and discovered a great birding location: sewage lagoons near Palm Beach! The filtration system means the water on the grounds is remarkably clear, and thanks to the constant flow of humans on the boardwalks, the nesting birds have little fear of predators. It's amazing how close Bob gets to approaching birds which would otherwise be freaking out at his presence, which is what I would expect from a Black-bellied Whistling Duck. This bird is almost a duck/goose hybrid in terms of appearance and actions, and it does prefer perching high up on trees. Or, if you're like our Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't friend, who spends time in this short video up in a tree, the ducks will perch on a nearby roof and stare at you with their big eyes and goofy grins. I've only seen this bird once in Florida, but they apparently are making their ways up north and can be found in parts of Missouri and Illinois.

I am rather tired of reading about AI, or reactions to AI, or thoughts about AI, or even making fun of people and organizations that proclaim their love of AI. It feels like it's a topic to talk about out of desperation, and it's just so boring to me. So why include an article about AI from 404 Media? Well, it's pretty short for starters, and it gets to the point right away: AI is no substitute for long-form creativity. You can make shocking videos that look okay if you're doomscrolling on social media platforms, and you can make crappy 30-second commercials that are like audiovisual cotton candy: light, fluffy, meaningless, dissolving instantly. "It turns out when you try to serve [AI] slop on a platform people pay for, no one wants it." I'm sure something worse will come along eventually to pique Disney’s interest, but I will treat their retreat from one AI platform as a small victory and move on.

Speaking of moving on, how about taking a flight from Hawaii to Guam, via the Marshall Islands and Micronesia? Many airlines treat Honolulu in particular, and Hawaii as a whole, as a destination unto itself. However, the Pacific Ocean is profoundly vast, and per Beat of Hawaii, there are islands that are even harder to reach than the Hawaiian archipelago. Starting in 1968 and continuing to this day, you can fly three times a week from Honolulu to two stops in the Marshall Islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), then three stops in Micronesia (Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk) before heading somewhat north towards Guam. It's a style of island-hopping that makes travel between, say, Kauai and Molokai in Hawaii look like child's play, and it belies the idea that Hawaii is at "the end of the road." There's just so much more road to go.

Let's end with two very different podcasts. Flow State is one of the musical Substacks I subscribe to, as they offer up a weekly 2-hour non-vocal show that's perfect for active or background music. This week's episode is free to all (unlike the movie soundtrack episode I linked to last week, oops!), as it's a guest mix from Los Angeles-based duo Green-House (Bandcamp site, if you're interested). They have a fun and playful set that's engaging in points, covering older acts like Vangelis and Haruomi Hosono, and newer acts like Masahiro Takahashi and Nala Sinephro. Finally, on a completely non-ambient front is the Malt Couture beer podcast, which sees Alex and Stephen trying out beers with "interesting" back stories. Some stories tie into the age of the beer, one of which was 21 years old and could drink itself, while others revolved around the unusual circumstances needed to acquire the beverage. In a couple cases, the stories were better than the beers themselves, but I'll leave you to judge which is which.

Picture time!

Let's try a new feature to reward folks who've made it this far in the blog entry.

When L. was at work on Saturday 03-21, I went out for lunch by myself at Living Room in Maplewood. It was a warm and sunny day, so I wasn't surprised along the way to see and hear many motorcycles on the road. What was a huge surprise awaited me in the parking lot: a tan Morgan 3-Wheeler! It's not fully a car, nor is it fully a motorcycle in spite of the plate shown on the back. The V-twin engine is exposed at the front, similar to how it would reside in a proper two-wheeled motorcycle, but the cockpit has a 5-speed manual borrowed from Mazda. Exposed exhaust pipes also further blur the difference between car and motorcycle. An electric version of the 3-Wheeler (with three headlights, no less) was announced in 2016, but canceled in 2018, whereas the 3-Wheeler itself has now been succeeded by the Morgan Super 3. Rumors have it that the Super 3 may itself spawn an electric version, so stay tuned.

A Morgan 3-Wheeler: part car, part motorcycle, part eccentric British motoring.

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