Smart Mugs and the Stock Market

Another busy day of working as an animation painter. More meetings, tutorials for the painters, and a general “Here is what we know”, information session. These are time-consuming but very necessary to make sure we are all on the same page.

I was able to finish one of the main paintings that will inform a great many others as the season goes on. Getting these key paintings established is critical and prevents the team from wasting too much time taking stabs in the dark.

I also received my Nespresso order this afternoon, which was very fast service. They even offer to take away your old and used pods when they drop off the new ones. I had the French lavender and vanilla coffee this afternoon and found it to be pleasant. Not one I’ll liley order again, but it will be great for when I get tired of my daily driver.

The weather was fantastic today, but I didn’t get my full walk in at lunch as I had a one o’clock meeting on the books. So, we ended up taking a short walk around the block just to get some fresh air and so we could say we saw the sun.

And then it was the meeting and back to painting. I started a new painting, another one that has been through the development phase and should be a good example when it’s finished. We have a large section of the show where this painting may get referenced.

The stock market took a bit of dip this afternoon again, and I decided to reinvest my money. I have been sitting in cash for a while waiting for Trump to send the markets into a tizzy, as I figured it was only a matter of time. The investments I made pay dividends on a monthly basis and since Robyn is unemployed, I figured a little extra cash might come in handy. I think it will give us approximately Nine hundred extra dollars a month, which isn’t a lot, but it will buy plenty of groceries and keep gas in the car. A CBC article was talking about how one million American citizens can now claim Canadian citizenship and many of them are doing so because of the disruptions in the US. Those applying have to be able to prove they have some ancestry here in order to qualify and some are looking at it as a back up plan incase things get worse south of the Canadian border.

Trump is claiming the war in Iran is about over. Not sure I can take anything that guy says as being the truth. He claimed oil prices would return to normal soon.

We shall see.

If any of what he’s said is true, then my investment today in the market will have been a good one.

And we may have a new and unexpected expense soon, as the oven is acting up and not getting up to temperature. It is very likely an igniter issue, but I haven’t had time to open the oven up and take a look. For now, a roasted chicken thigh recipe that should take half an hour is going to take one hour and fifteen minutes according to Typhur Thermometer probs l inserted into the chicken. I guess if the chicken gets into the safe to eat zone it should be fine. I just wasn’t expecting to slow roast the chicken tonight. Dinner won’t be ready until after nine PM at this point.

After work we headed out to Walmart to pick up a few items. The Listonic app came in handy once again as there were items on the list added by each of us and we did it using our own phones.

The world is full of magic!

I spent a few minutes tonight, before the sun set having a look at my garden and was pleased to see the French Perfume Hyacinths had started to poke their heads through the soil. I think a few of the Grape Hyacinths were popping through the ground as well as some Crocus that I had planted last fall. It looked like the squirrels had been digging through that part of the garden though, as some of the bulbs were sitting on top of the churned-up soil.

I continue to test my Anker Soundcore Sport X20 ear buds. I find them to be fantastic so far. The price is about a third of the Beats sports version, and although the sound is not as good as the Beats, it’s plenty good enough for me. The real test will be tomorrow as I make my way on the train to the studio. Will it drown out the people talking full volume on the phone. Strangely, the people who do talk loud enough for everyone to here always seem to be talking about the same thing. I release of some module that the users will want X or need Y. Maybe being rude comes with certain job types. I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on it.

I signed up for the work sponsored RSP contribution matching today. The company that owns the company I work for offered us the matching contributions up to three thousand dollars a year. And in the animation industry that is a very rare thing. You don’t get that too often. It was only a decade ago that we finally got health benefits. Most animiations studios never offered you any, and even if they did and you waited the three months to qualify, after another three months the production would shut down, and you’d be starting at another studio. There were short periods of time when you might qualify for benefits. So, you had to get all your dental and glasses within the dwindling time frame.

I stayed up to about one AM reading last night. It was nice to just sit and read in bed. I think I stayed up late because of the clocks going forward and my body hadn’t adjusted yet.

Robyn was up all night, she couldn’t sleep for all kinds of reasons, and I was constantly pulled of REM sleep. And I had eaten some cheese before bed, which meant I was having some great and crazy dreams. It’s a shame to get pulled out of the fun dreams. No one ever wakes me up when I am having a bad dream!

I’ve notice when I play chess that the kind of day I’ve had can greatly influence how well I play. I think, like will power, we only have so many good decisions available to us in a day. As an artist I use up a lot of those decisions in a day. I played terribly in a game I just lost, loosing my Queen about halfway through match. At least I have something to blame my bad playing on, even if it is just my own conjecture. Even when my brain is saying no to more thinking, I can still come up with some bullshit about how it isn’t my fault in the slightest.

I was looking at a Bloomberg article saying that the price of oil has dropped back to about ninety dollars a barrel after Trump signalled the war in Iran was almost over. I wonder if it will stay in the nineties by end of day tomorrow. Nothing like a little investing to get you reading the news again.

I managed to make a pan sheet dinner of chicken legs and various roasted vegetables. The Bluetooth Typhur thermometers allowed me to make sure the chicken was fully cooked. The downside was that the skin was not as crispy as this recipe usually produces, even after I broiled the chicken for five minutes after cooking, and the carrots were very firm, but the potatoes were fully cooked. This surprised me and made me wonder if carrots need to get above a certain temperature to lose the crispiness.

I made some extra so that we will have a ready-made lunch for tomorrow and I won’t have to buy something costly in Toronto. Although, I am tempted to stop at the Patrician Grill for a greasy spoon breakfast. I do enjoy their coffee as well.

Maybe I will do that on Wednesday or Thursday since I now have three mornings to spend in the big TO.

I plan to get to bed before midnight this evening, since I am up early to catch a train to work. That gives me about another two hours to get my daily word count and maybe get some reading in. There is never enough time in the day to get all the things done that I want to without having to sacrifice a good night’s sleep. And every good night of sleep I lose comes with a penalty of lower productivity the following day.

I saw a meme today that said, “I thought Arianna Grande was a font.” I thought this was hilarious and if I find a meme funny it means I am really, really tired.

Checked the Weather Network app and of course there is a rainfall warning for the next few days. The days I am travelling into the studio. You’d be surprised how many times this happens. Travelling into the studio almost guarantees inclement weather.

On the brighter side, ‘The Hail Mary Project’ movie is coming to theatres in a few weeks time. It’s a movie that will actually get me back into the theater. I’d like to see this one on the big screen with some overpriced popcorn and a package of cherry nibs. Better throw in a coke-zero while you are at it. Based on the novel of the same title, by the author of the Martian, Andy Weir, I know this movie is going to be a good one. The audiobook was really well done and was my first introduction to narrator Ray Porter. He is the equivalent of a rockstar in the audiobook world and for good reason. His narrations add to the story and he makes every author look like a great writer.

I’ve been watching this fellow on YouTube that rebinds books and does all kinds of restorations. His channel is called Four Keys Book Arts. He is currently rebinding all three of Andy’s novels with handmade end paper and decorated edges. The book covers are made from different colors of leather lovingly cut into an illustration.

He does amazing work and I hope one day I might be able to afford to get some work done at his shop. I don’t think he normally takes commissions, but maybe we’ll be able to barter instead. Anyways, you should check out his videos, particularly the series called ‘Project Hail Andy’.

I’ve had a smart heated mug for enough time now to really get an idea if it was worth the plus one-hundred-dollar price tag. And the verdict is still… YES! It’s a pricey purchase for what is essential a coffee mug. But man does it make life just that little bit more enjoyable. I can sip my beverage over a period of hours, and each sip is the perfect temperature. I highly recommend getting the type that letsyou chos a precise temperature. Some of the cheaper smart mugs have a three-temperature setting. Essentially a low, medium, and high. The ability to choose the exact temperoarture should not be overlooked. It’s the part that makes it magical. I like different temperatures for different drinks. Tea is one hundred and thirty-two and coffee is one thirty-five. And yes, you will notice that minor difference. Coffee is too cool at one thirty-two, but perfect at one-thirty-five.

 I have even poured a lukewarm Tim Horton’s steeped tea that was brought to me by my wife, poured it into the mug, it displayed the temperature of the tea and then within a few minutes brought it back up to temperature. How cool is that? You may think it is a biton the decadent side. A mug is a mug you say. But you’d be wrong.

I am a big believer in solving those little problems that aren’t really big deals but cause you resistance. Removing all these tiny barriers improves the quality of your life and I think this mug will do that for anyone who buys it. Robyn is already eyeing my mug and wishing she had one of her own. When your beverage is warm and wonderful andyour partners has gone cold, it doesn’t take long before they want one of their ow,

Okay, I am going to end this day by getting in an hour of reading. That should nring me to about midnight and allow me about seven hours of sleep.

Good night, all.