• And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming

    January 6,2025
  • Knives

    Icefall Topographic Rockwall

    Magnacut Steel | Titanium Liner Lock | Made in 🇺🇸

    Tactile Knife Co. Icefall Topographic Rockwall in the snow

    Tactile Knife Co. is a relatively new brand, with a machining shop located in Dallas. They have a growing stable of models, some of which they treat to special editions each year through their Seasonal Releases.

    I’m a big fan of Tactile’s Winter 2024 Icefall collection, which added a marbled Cerakote finish of grey, white, and blue to their knives and pens.

    This knife, in many ways, represents the growing manufacturing prowess of Tactile. Not only did they machine the topographic pattern into the full titanium scales, but they then added this truly unique finish. The result is a knife that truly resembles a winter landscape. The Magnacut tanto blade is equally unique, giving the knife a perfect cutting profile and striking profile.

    I would love, and use, this knife more if the jimping on the liner lock was less sharp. It’s not a good match for dry thumbs in winter. Otherwise, it’s a very good cutting tool.

    Purchased in 2024 | ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    January 3,2025
  • Biden Blocks Sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel - WSJ

    In an order Friday, the White House required the companies to abandon the deal within 30 days unless Cfius agrees to extend the timeline.

    We spend a lot of time posturing.

    January 3,2025
  • New chair day.

    Herman Miller Sayl
    January 3,2025
  • ChetCast

    Episode 271: Snow Day

    Benedict is back from his friends’ house and has some war stories for us.

    January 3,2025
  • Knives

    Benchmade 575GY-2001

    M4 | Burnt Bronze Aluminum Axis Lock | Made in 🇺🇸

    One of the few knives I’ve purchased off the secondary market. This knife was Benchmade’s 2021 SHOT Show knife and I bought #779/1000. That’s a cool number! The Presidio II/Mini Presidio II are not flashy knives and they get little attention, but the design is just about perfect. Awesome materials, very solid in the hand, and perfectly balanced. I like this one, not just for what the model is, but for the grey cerakote M4 blade. The colors are awesome and M4 is one of my favorite steels. This is a great knife!

    Purchased in 2024 | ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    January 2,2025
  • It took me three years, but I’ve finally implemented a cable management system for my desk that works.

    January 2,2025
  • Knives

    LionSteel Skinny

    Magncut Steel | Titanium Frame Lock | Made in 🇮🇹

    A fine titanium frame lock, made cooler by its integral construction and blue anodization. Blue Dark Matter FatCarbon inlay adds a touch of class. Traditional Molletta design, this lightweight Italian folder is only held back by the slight difficulty it takes to disengage the lock. This knife looks like winter to me.

    Purchased in 2024 | ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
    January 1,2025
  • It’s always nice to get your new year plans crossed off your list early.

    ❄️

    Kids playing in the snow
    January 1,2025
  • ChetCast

    Episode 270: New Year 2025

    A very rowdy podcast with Lucy and Veronica reviewing Christmas and previewing their plans for 2025.

    🍾

    January 1,2025
  • Hail, Theotokos!

    Marian side altar in Catholic Church
    January 1,2025
  • Maybe we should call ourselves the Febreeze Brothers, ‘cause it’s feeling so fresh right now.

    January 1,2025
  • Life imitates art.

    ❄️

    December 31,2024
  • Surgeon General: ‘You Are Supposed To Be Able To Button Your Pants’ - The Onion

    Leaving your shirt untucked so no one can tell that your pants are not buttoned or declaring that all your pants shrunk several sizes in the dryer are also unacceptable solutions.

    December 31,2024
  • Reading

    Currently reading: Joy at Work by Marie Kondo 📚

    December 31,2024
  • Better luck next time.

    Sticky note on base plate
    December 31,2024
  • Treasury Department Says Systems Hacked by China-Backed Actor - WSJ

    The Treasury Department has long been seen as a lucrative target for state-backed hackers because of its work involving international financial issues, including sanctions.

    All the more so now with that big, fat, juicy Beneficial Ownership Information database of the name, personal identifiers, and drivers license of the owners of every company in America.

    Thanks, Congress!

    🇺🇸

    December 30,2024
  • Best Week of the Year

    In my entire professional life, my favorite week of the year has always been the seven days between Christmas and New Years. Work life collectively slows down, and I have permission to take a deep breath and gather my thoughts. It’s the one time each year that the world collectively checks out of the office. Holiday celebrations, vacations, and trips take over our calendars from meetings, deadlines, and projects. The interruptions slow to a trickle as urgent deadlines are pushed into the next calendar year. I can do some planning, thinking, and gain perspective.

    I don’t spend the week setting professional goals for the next year. Instead, I use it as a strategic reset, preparing myself and my space for what’s coming in the new year.

    I love this feeling of calm; it’s the best week of the year.

    December 30,2024
  • My first day of work in my fully unpacked office.

    I never thought this day would come.

    Aircraft propeller wall art
    December 30,2024
  • Catholic Husband

    Swept to Safety - Catholic Husband

    King Herod, though subordinate to Caesar and his governor, still wielded immense and oppressive power over his subjects. The search must have been massive, as Herod reacted with wanton cruelty to the words of the magi. Despite the scale of the manhunt, Joseph, a simple carpenter, outwitted them all. He strongly and silently swept his family to safety.

    December 30,2024
  • ‘New Year, New You’ Doesn’t Work. Here’s How You Can Actually Improve Your Life. - WSJ

    We want to rid ourselves of the feeling, so vividly described by the English novelist Arnold Bennett, that “the years slip by, and slip by, and slip by, and that [we] have not yet been able to get [our] lives into proper working order.”

    December 29,2024
  • Sixteen days later, the final box has been opened.

    📦

    December 27,2024
  • ‘Ok, Who Got Me The MAGA Hat?’ Asks Kamala Harris As Jill Biden Stifles Laughter - Babylon Bee

    “Merry Christmas, Kamala! Hope that gift brings you joy!”

    … the mood at the party had grown even more uncomfortable after Jill Biden opened her present to find a Fisher Price Doctor’s Kit from the vice president’s office.

    December 25,2024
  • Catholic Husband

    The Great I Am - Catholic Husband

    The spark He struck has turned into the roaring flame that spread through the whole world. None of it was possible without a God whose love for His people could not be contained, or without the simple “yes” of a newlywed couple that brought the Christ-child into their home.

    December 23,2024
  • Civilization VII To Include ‘Bidenomics’ Tech Tree Upgrade Where Inflation Ruins Everything And Eggs Go Up To $12 - Babylon Bee

    But now you can intentionally destroy your civilization from within, adding a new element of strategy as you fight yourself for no reason. … When playing as Joe Biden you can dispatch Hunter to other settlements to secure illicit deals, all while your people slowly starve to death.

    December 19,2024