Garrett Armstrong

Don’t get me wrong, all these things are fine, but I finally have realized that I’m not invincible (and have escorted my elderly parents to the ER often enough that I’ve rather stay out of there myself). Plus, planning bike tours sounds sounds fun now!

Part of aging for me is a newfound interest in “safer” sports. Hockey? I didn’t grow up with it & have too many dreams about lost teeth to be excited about adult rec league, but Floorball (floor hockey designed by the Swedish Fun Police) is appealing to me now. Ditto for gravel bikes and pickleball.

I made it too! I figured that if Fairbanks Public Works employees could go out on garbage pickup today, I could handle a jaunt to work. It wasn’t so bad, but dress warmly if you’re going out and make sure your bike lights are charged before leaving!

It’s 6:19 AM in central Fairbanks: it’s -35 F, with the outdoor temperature rising, AND the ice fog has lifted!

He’s on the move! He’s hosting a public meeting here in Fairbanks next Monday.

Thank you! It’s an Iwachu tea pot from Japan. It’s been collecting dust for a while, and this cold snap inspired me to take it out. It’s nice for black teas that take longer to brew because it can sit on the stovetop (as seen above) and stay warm.

Greetings from Fairbanks, where our outdoor thermometer quit (it stops after - 40 C), I’m on my 2nd week of Winter Break, and I’ve dusted off the cast iron tea pot Heather and I bought in Japan. It now lives on the wood stove.

I am revisiting Quake (the video game). It never ceases to surprise me that, with its turbulent development and lots of elements that shouldn’t mesh on paper (fighting chainsaw & grenade-launcher wielding ogres in castles with shotguns to a soundtrack made by Trent Reznor?!) but it all works out.

Birch Hill looks mighty spooky this October..

Oh, I just meant that I support the property tax exemption for seniors.

Preparing for the Golden Days Parade tomorrow! If you’re in Fairbanks, come on downtown to see the floats and familiar faces, such as yours truly!

Hello friends and family across the Fairbanks North Star Borough! I’m running for Assembly this Fall to strengthen our public schools, work on lowering energy costs and promoting more affordable housing, and supporting our seniors. See my website for more information:
www.armstrongforassembly.org

They’re still pretty, but in a certain alien way. They look like tomato plants from a different line of evolution to me - one where they needed to protect themselves from being eaten more proactively.

So one of my eggplants has a bud, which is really cool. It’s my first year growing eggplants in my garden, and boy was I surprised to learn that not only do they grow thorns, their flowers look like they’re from a nightmare realm. Just look at it!

I just finished filling envelopes with thank you letters for donors from my campaign last year. Whew! It takes a while. Even a modest 71 letters took 2 hours. I can only imagine what it was like to pack envelopes for political campaigns in the days before the Internet.

#akleg Our state constitution says "All civil officers of the State are subject to impeachment by the legislature."

If Adam Crum has been obstructing legislative audit and giving away hundreds of millions in sweetheart deals to his buddies at the oil companies, it might be worth considering.

Ewww! I thought you were kidding until I turned the sound on. When this is reality, who needs parody?!

Who’s my little chimichangita?!

It’s a thing now!

In terms of taste 4/5. Good, crust is bready, similar to a Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza but much less greasy and (in my opinion) far superior to the Hut’s. In terms of fullness, 5/5 - honestly, as long you and guests can handle the ingredients, you can’t go wrong with Kirkland pizzas

Last week, my school’s PTO gave me an entire Kirkland pizza for showing up for an open house (lesson here: it pays to show up. I was home alone, so I ate it all by the next day.
My warning: if you finish an entire Kirkland pizza alone in 24 hours or less, you may never crave another pizza again.

ET CUM SPIRITUO TUO Intensifies (Yes, I agree with you and the translation from the original Latin liturgy to English sounds less clunky in “And also with you” but damnit I want more Masses in Latin. Dominos vobiscum!

Word on the street (here in Fairbanks, not Florida where Suzanne spends her time) is…
A. Those were locals protesting.
B. FNSB Assemblymember Barbara Haney ghostwrote that for MRAK.

Prayers, thoughts, and good vibrations for my parents. I just took my dad to the ER. I’m glad he’s going (he’s bedbound and needs more medical attention than my mom and I can provide ) but I’m worried about him and my mom.

Sweet! Thank you!

Is Open Office still available? I was under the impression it wasn’t, but if it is, then great!

Is it just me (and my wife), or is Microsoft Office becoming increasingly difficult to use? I just noticed that the first thing I see in Word is an invitation to use the AI. I don’t want it! I just want Word’s toolbar to look like it did in the XP era OR find a modern version of Open Office.

In addition to teaching PE, I do some reading tutoring at my school. My 3rd grade boys and I had fun reading this - kind of a Malcolm in the Middle type chapter book.
I like that the boys reading it were engaged, asking questions, trying to predict what happens next. Good times!

Update: the Speed Queen is here! @haharuffo.bsky.social and I installed it ourselves. It does not play music when loads are washed or connect to WiFi, but it does have a 5 year warranty and an expected service life of 20-25 years, so that’s fair.