Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Forget a banquet or a trophy.. this is enough of an award for me. I ran on Ashley Carrick’s relay team for the Equinox Marathon, and for a guy who doesn’t run much, it seems I can still turn on the motor when needed. 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Happy Labor Day, everyone! I marched with my union (Fairbanks Education Association, local chapter of NEA-Alaska) in our local Labor Day parade! Good times. 020
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I think so too. Sibley’s seems to agree with me, as does a friend I texted who is really into hawks. 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 08/09/2026No, but I do have a copy of Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Western North America! 000
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Bird enthusiasts of Bluesky: any ideas what kind of raptor this is? Spotted in my backyard, central Fairbanks. I perused my copy of Sibley’s and I think it’s a northern goshawk, but not sure. 281
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 05/09/2026.. and the United States that could still be! I’ve become very cynical about national politics these days, and JFK and his crew were so optimistic about the future of the USA that I can’t help but feel it too. 110
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Wife’s out of town for a trip and I’m watching 11.22.63 on Netflix with the dogs. Or rather, pausing every 10 minutes to think about it. I think it’s a great series because of the sense of dread, but the scenes with JFK get me overcome with emotion - for the United States that could’ve been.. 100
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/08/2026What stately dames! I recognize the Everetts plane, but what is the one on the left? Is it a DC-3? 110
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 02/08/2026Side effect of watching the live cast: I now want to visit Hutchinson, Hays, AND Wichita. Wichita looks like it has a cool zoo, Hays is a fun little city, and Hutchison is where the Nat’l Baseball Congress is held. I guess the Kansas Board of Tourism’s investment in subliminal messages is working. 000
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 02/08/2026I’m watched my hometown’s baseball team (the Alaska Goldpanners) play at the National Baseball Congress live on YouTube the past 3 nights. the Panners played well & made it to the final round. I wondered for a bit “Man, this is so easy to watch, why doesn’t MLB do this?” Answer: “Money!” 120
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Also the source of at least 60% of my quotes!static.klipy.comMonty Python and the Holy Grail: 'Tis But a ScratchALT: Monty Python and the Holy Grail: 'Tis But a Scratch 020
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 27/07/2026I will add that JKT himself with there. I saw him at the staging area passing out lit and fishing for votes. He hustles! Also, the candidate on the bike is Pepper McFarland, who’s running for HD-33 (North Pole)! She’s a fellow teacher and doing well in a 3-way race I wish more folks would cover. 240
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Wow! Thank you for posting your notes on the parade. I agree, you needed something dazzling on your float to stand out this year. I was marching with a Borough Assembly candidate (we were upstaged by ANG guardsmen driving a cool treaded vehicle and passing out candy.. that’s a tough act to follow). 140
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Have fun on the Dome tonight! My elbow is doing better, but I’d say I’m at least a week out of the saddle (again, it’s good timing to go on a vacation where cycling wasn’t on the program for 10 days) 030
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 17/06/2026B. I landed on my left elbow and now have epic swelling and bruises on it! The good news is that the wife and I are going on a trip to Greece this Thursday, so I’ll have time to rest my busted elbow on the beach. Plus, my Enduro’s fine, so that’s good. 170
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Well, Ester Dome demands a blood sacrifice every year for good trails, and my lottery number came up last night. I was riding my Enduro, minding my own business, and overcorrected trying to dodge a trees (it came right at me!) and ended up with an ER visit. I learned that.. a. No broken bones! 3100
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 13/06/2026Finally have time to clear my garden plot and plant the seedlings I started in Spring (it’s been a cool start to summer in Fairbanks), and I found a Wood Frog! I set it loose in the woods nearby. 190
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Anybody here into Softball? I’m part of a local Rec team and am enjoying it enough to invest in my own bat and practice. One question: what’s the difference between the one-piece bats and the two-piece ones? 000
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 10/06/2026As a year-round resident of House District 32, I have endorsed a candidate for House: this ham sandwich. It’s nourishing, made with sourdough bread baked in my house, is spicier than the competition with the Calabrian pepper spread, AND is better for me than either Rep. Stapp or Mr. Church. 4163
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Oh look, it’s my House Rep, Will Stapp (32-R) chatting with a Glenfarne representative as his committee amends legislation for the proposed LNG pipeline. That’s totally fine and not sketchy at all. 2158
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Oh look, it’s my House representative, Will Stapp, doing something that looks totally OK and not sketchy at all. 080
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/05/2026There, @haharuffo.bsky.social just saved you from reading The Name Of the Wind! 020
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Also, the Cubs lost today.. to the Astros! Sigh, better luck next time… 000
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Documented evidence of me making it Dairy State-style.. 000
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/05/2026My go-to cocktail is an Old-Fashioned. I’ve tried it with Bourbon, rye, and Japanese whiskey. A colleague of mine from Wisconsin told me that in the Dairy State, an OF is usually made with brandy. I was skeptical, but I tried it tonight and.. I have to say I like it the best of any I’ve had so far. 100
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Ditto for VW Microbuses. Where did those all go, anyway? 130
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Plus I bet a Brat could out-perform a Cybertruck off road AND on road! Although I’ve seen Soviet-era Ladas go places that a CT would get stuck just venturing off pavement to get to.. 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 10/05/2026The Cubs lost today! I can accept that, but they lost to the Rangers?! Sigh.. 000
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 07/05/2026I recently discovered my school has a bag of 20+ plastic practice Cricket bats. Next year, I may introduce students to the sport and who knows, maybe this will be the start of the Farthest North Cricket team? 150
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 07/05/2026She just needed her emotional support clear! 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 07/05/2026One of my brand-new baseball cleats went missing this weekend. I searched our house and yard upside down, went back to the ballpark to see if I left it behind by accident, no luck. Guess what my wife found in our GSD’s box? 110
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/05/2026I will say playing a sport, rather than just spectating, is satisfying even if it’s not exactly your speciality - it’s fun to BE in the action, rather than observing it. 030
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/05/2026Had my first practice for my Rec Softball team today. My right shoulder’s sore from throwing, I need to practice sprints more, but my swing is pretty good. I’m happy with the start of the season and will post more as it goes on. 140
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 01/05/2026Right on! I hear you there, it’s fun to tune into a game and see a team you’ve never heard of play in a town you’ve only seen on a map (thinking of little local teams, like my town’s own Alaska Goldpanners) 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Update: he’s back! We’re not sure what happened, but ER doctor said he was OK. Dad is back at his nursing home and watching Star Trek again. 150
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 26/04/2026Dad’s back in the ER (for those just joining our program, my Dad is bed-bound and has had a whole bunch of health issues in the past year, including a stroke). He’s awake and talking, but it’s a lot to take in first thing on a Sunday morning. 130
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 06/03/2026Did - The Offspring’s Let the Bad Times Roll. Maybe I’m just an aging millennial clinging to memories of my youth, but that album hit the spot for me. Didn’t - RHCP’s Return of the Dream Canteen. I saw an online review describing that album as “musical leftovers.. not bad, but nothing noteworthy” 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 10/02/2026Don’t get me wrong, all these things are fine, but I finally have realized that I’m not invincible (and have escorted my elderly parents to the ER often enough that I’ve rather stay out of there myself). Plus, planning bike tours sounds sounds fun now! 030
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 10/02/2026Part of aging for me is a newfound interest in “safer” sports. Hockey? I didn’t grow up with it & have too many dreams about lost teeth to be excited about adult rec league, but Floorball (floor hockey designed by the Swedish Fun Police) is appealing to me now. Ditto for gravel bikes and pickleball. 130
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 05/01/2026I made it too! I figured that if Fairbanks Public Works employees could go out on garbage pickup today, I could handle a jaunt to work. It wasn’t so bad, but dress warmly if you’re going out and make sure your bike lights are charged before leaving! 030
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 05/01/2026It’s 6:19 AM in central Fairbanks: it’s -35 F, with the outdoor temperature rising, AND the ice fog has lifted! 030
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/01/2026He’s on the move! He’s hosting a public meeting here in Fairbanks next Monday. 150
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 29/12/2025Thank you! It’s an Iwachu tea pot from Japan. It’s been collecting dust for a while, and this cold snap inspired me to take it out. It’s nice for black teas that take longer to brew because it can sit on the stovetop (as seen above) and stay warm. 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 29/12/2025Greetings from Fairbanks, where our outdoor thermometer quit (it stops after - 40 C), I’m on my 2nd week of Winter Break, and I’ve dusted off the cast iron tea pot Heather and I bought in Japan. It now lives on the wood stove. 170
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 09/11/2025I am revisiting Quake (the video game). It never ceases to surprise me that, with its turbulent development and lots of elements that shouldn’t mesh on paper (fighting chainsaw & grenade-launcher wielding ogres in castles with shotguns to a soundtrack made by Trent Reznor?!) but it all works out. 010
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 12/10/2025Birch Hill looks mighty spooky this October.. 070
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 13/08/2025Oh, I just meant that I support the property tax exemption for seniors. 600
Garrett Armstrong @grarmstrong.bsky.social · 19/07/2025Preparing for the Golden Days Parade tomorrow! If you’re in Fairbanks, come on downtown to see the floats and familiar faces, such as yours truly! 3124