My grandpa greeted me often by calling me Zeke instead of Bryan. I once asked him, why? My grandpa replied that he had a friend named Bryan/Brian that everyone called him Zeke. He then paused and eventually admitted he didn't know why they called him Zeke either.

I just finished listening to Ray Charles' 1984 album, Friendship. As you can tell by the picture, I purchased this album at a garage sale a few years back for $5. This album has Ray Charlies returning to country music accompanied by a number of country stars including Hank Williams, Jr, the Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. To this day, my favorite song on the album is the the last song on the album, "Seven Spanish Angles" with Ray Charles and Willie Nelson just singing away.

The vinyl record for Friendship contains 10 tracks, each with a featured guest (listed below). According to Wikipedia, the 2005 CD version of the album contains two additional tracks featuring Tony Bennett on one song and Billy Joel included on other song.

My exploration for new and alternative social media platforms is coming to an end. Over the past couple years I joined dozens of social media platforms in search for the better ones for me. In my last post on this subject, I did a lot of editorializing but with this post I'll be brief and present the with the list of social media platforms and websites where I have a presence. This list may continue to shrink in 2025.

I will never miss an opportunity to ride at the end of December with temperatures peaking at around 50 F. I rode about 50 miles yesterday! It’s pretty warm for this time of year here in South Dakota. The ice is looking rather thin for safely ice fishing on most area lakes…I hope those I saw ice fishing this weekend stay smart and be safe.

It wouldn't be Christmas without Doctor Who. The best part is it was my wife that bought me the tree ornament. She so gets me!

I love those Progressive commercials where they warn you to "not be like parents". I laugh at them because more times than not, I'm already at the "parent level" of behaviors and obsessions. This latest video from Progressive on weather nerds though hits close to home. After working for more than 30 years with the National Weather Service, I and many of my coworkers can't help but talk this way. Enjoy!

My 2023 Ford Maverick with Sync 3 does an odd thing, it doesn't allow me to sync Android Auto from my Google Pixel 6 to my vehicle wirelessly. Instead, I have to connect my phone using a USB cable from my phone to the console. There are times, especially during short trips, I prefer to keep my phone in my pocket and not mess with the hassle of cables. Luckily, the third-party market has responded and offers us wireless car adapters to allow me to connect to my phone wirelessly.

My quest continues in 2024 to find better social media platforms! While Mastodon is currently my favorite social media platform for engagement, it's unfortunately not the platform many of those that I followed or followed me on Twitter. Many of these friends and acquaintances have either migrated to Bluesky, Threads, or stayed on Twitter/X. I've been busy looking at these other alternatives.