My dad texted me one afternoon that he’d found some fountain pens at a local auction and asked if I wanted to bid on them. He’s shared links in the past and I’ve never seen anything that looked interesting. From the look of the pictures, most of the listings looked well worn. But one of the pens was actually in the original packaging — a Parker 25B. It was impossible to tell what condition the pen was in, but I decided to take a shot on it. Dad placed a $7 bid. And won.¹

When I got the pen, it was in great shape. The package contained two dried up ink cartridges and a squeeze converter.² The pen had been used — there was dried up black ink in the feed — but I was able to clean it up fairly easily. I...

Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.

Hurricane Helene hit us in Columbia, South Carolina this week. Early Friday morning, we lost power with 60+ mph wind gusts. Trees down everywhere. In Columbia, we weren’t prepared for a storm of this magnitude. We got power back 12 hours later, but many people in the area are still without power.

As bad as it was here, it was much, much worse two hours north in Asheville. Western North Carolina is devastated. Asheville is in many ways a second home and it’s heartbreaking to see the devastation and flooding.

Feels

• Grateful that our family is fine, our house is undamaged, and we have power.
• Heartbroken for communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
• Thankful for the linemen who are working to restore power. (There were five trucks in the front of our neighborhood earlier.)

Health

• I wasn’t particularly rigid with my diet while...
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Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.

This week was a little more relaxed than the last few. I took Friday off and spent some time working on projects. The weeknights were busy, and our middle child had driving lessons on Saturday and Sunday. Next week looks to be reasonable.

Humorously, I wrote, but forgot to upload, my Now page from last week. I’m trying to use this as a weekly journal. It’s more for me than anyone else, but if you missed my weekly update, I’m sorry.

Feels

• I remain impressed with the Harris/Walz campaign. They’ve just got to keep it going until November. (And honestly, beyond Election Day when the MAGA types refuse to accept the results of the election.)
• I’m writing this from my back deck where I’m cooking out tonight. My wife is doing classwork out here with me. We’re a couple of...
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Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.

A very busy week. I had a significant work event on Wednesday, and needed to help my daughter with some of her homework in the evenings during the week. Completely wrecked my sleep schedule. Need to be better about going to bed at a reasonable hour. I feel it when I don’t get enough sleep.

The week ahead looks a little more typical… which is still relatively busy with classes, lacrosse and homework.

Feels

• I remain concerned about the upcoming election. Especially when one side is starting to resort to false and racist rhetoric to inspire their voters.
• The weather continues to get better. We were supposed to have a bunch of rain this weekend, but we only had occasional sprinkles.
• Made time for a much needed date night with Liz. Our schedules are busy with both of us in grad...
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Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.

A draining week and weekend. Not bad, but exhausting. I almost forgot to post my weekly update. We celebrated Jill’s 17th birthday this weekend. (Her actual birthday is next week.) It was wonderful, but involved getting the house ready for guests. Balancing that with classwork, work, lacrosse starting back up for Ryan. It’s Sunday afternoon and I feel like I am running out of time.

Feels

• The weather is improving. We actually haven’t spent much time on our back deck this summer because it was just too hot, but we did some work back there and I look forward to spending more time in the backyard as the weather cools.
• Busy week at the office upcoming with some complicated tight deadlines. Will feel better after Wednesday morning.
• Big win for my Gamecocks, defeating Kentucky soundly. Next week is LSU at...
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Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.

I had an up and down week. Some good days, but I also had one of those days that was terrible from start to finish. Really thankful for the long Labor Day weekend. I’m going to start updating the Now page on Sunday.

Feels

• We had cooler weather last week, but then it’s hot again. Really, really reading for the cooler weather to return.
• Busy. We are starting to balance all of the family commitments with Liz and I both taking classes, Jill and Ryan handling homework, new pick up routines… It’s tough to get back into a rhythm.
• Thankful for the long weekend. I need the time to recharge.

Health

• This week was challenging, but I did a decent job sticking to healthier food choices.

Projects

• My contract type design consulting job is going well, but taking more time than I...
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Red Lobster has been struggling through financial troubles for a while and the chain is the process of being sold. Today, they announced that the location closest to me in Cayce, South Carolina has closed. I’ve eaten at that Red Lobster once in the last five years and it was an unmitigated disaster. We waited forever for a table and the food wasn’t great.

But my grandparents and parents loved Red Lobster. There is a Red Lobster in Aiken that my grandparents always took us to. While I was in college, we had many family dinners at the Cayce Red Lobster. I think we went there after I graduated from college. When Liz and I got married, we lived in Cayce, and sometimes, you want some fried shrimp and Cheddar Bay Biscuits after church.

Alas, I won’t miss my local Red Lobster, but I am sad to see it go.

Bob Wertz...