My days are mostly filled with either work or house related stuff. I did take another trip to Philadelphia to focus on the presentation for RailsConf 2025.

Walnut Canyon National Monument

My wife and I have wanted to get up to see this place for a while and finally found time. It's a fascinating area where Native Americans built dozens of apartment-style structures within the walls of the canyon.

Cliff dwelling in Walnut Canyon National Monument

Many families lived there a long time ago because it was very well protected against both hot and cold temperatures, and close access to water.

Philadelphia Trip Number 2

While I was there mostly for work, I saw the Thunderbolts* movie while there (see below), I got a surprise the day I was supposed to fly back. My 11am flight was delayed until 9pm, so I had an extra day in the city I wasn't expecting.

Something I didn't see last time was the Philadelphia Portal. I'm not sure what other city we were spying into, but it was pretty neat.

Philadelphia Portal

House Construction Update

Our framing is mostly done at this point. Part of the month has been spent digging trenches for all the pipes that will carry the water, sewage, electric and gas to the house from the closest hookups.

Front view of the house
Back view of the house

The roof is coming up soon and by the end of next month, we may have our windows and sliding doors in place.

Movies

  • Late Night with the Devil came out a few years ago. About lost footage of the mysterious events at a fictional talk show from the 70s, where some mysterious stuff happened.
  • In a Violent Nature shifts the focus of a slasher film like Jason from the Friday the 13th films and follows the killer rather than the other characters. Sounds intriguing, but ultimately a little boring most of the time.
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Having just seen the last episode of the Andor series on Disney+, I had to re-watch Rogue One, which the series is a prequel for. It certainly made for a new experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I can't imagine seeing the series (highly recommended, by the way) and not ending it with this film.
  • Thunderbolts* is the latest Marvel film and I had a lot of fun with it.
  • Gerald's Game (2017) Any film from Mike Flanagan is a must-see for me, and this is one I missed up until now. Not his best, but still a better than average horror film.
  • The Electric State was just okay. Felt a bit like a direct-to-video release back in the Blockbuster days. A film you may rent and enjoy at home, but you may have felt wouldn't have felt as good if you paid to see it at the theater.
  • Smile (2022) is one I've been meaning to catch for a while based on good word-of-mouth. And it was unsettling at parts, and pretty good. I hear the sequel is better, so looking forward to catching it soon.
Azrael
  • Azrael (2024) stars Samara Weaving, who I'll watch in about anything. There's practically no dialog in this film. It's set in a world where speaking is a sin, so the characters have had their vocal cords removed. Samara's character is targeted for sacrifice for something. So she's on the run. Really liked this one.
  • Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning seems like it is the last Mission Impossible film. There was a bit of recapping to tie all the films together, but still had plenty of action to make it worth of calling a summer blockbuster. All the MI films have been really good and this one delivered.
  • Titane (2021) Definitely an art film. The main character, Titane, has sex with and is impregnated by a car. Oh, and she's a serial killer. And while on the run finds a family. Strange.