iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 26/04/2026

I picked up an autographed copy of the latest book by @billmckibben.bsky.social when I stopped by @goldenleafbooks.bsky.social yesterday for Independent Bookstore Day.

A book on a leather chair. The cover of the book shows a bright sun over an array of solar panels. The title of the book is "Here Comes the Sun" by Bill McKibben. Above the title is the supertext "A last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization"

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 04/10/2025

It's stroopwafel season again ☺️

A white coffee mug with a reddish brown base sits on a coaster on a windowsill. The words "UPSTATE OF MIND" are emblazoned across it. Its top is covered by a tan colored disc with a waffle pattern, recognizable as a "stroopwafel."

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 06/08/2025

We see this even in our upstate NY suburb. Our neighborhood is far less shady than when we moved here a decade ago. It's particularly noticeable when walking the kids to and from school. newrepublic.com/article/198364/amer…

Screenshot of text from an article:

As Bloch explains it, there are two big trends
here that would come to define postwar
America: a retreat from the commons, and an
embrace of manufactured, resource-intensive
comfort at any cost. America on AC is an
America suspicious of strangers and the
outdoors, intolerant of discomfort, addicted to
the lonely monotony of suburbia, and willing
to sacrifice a great deal to avoid addressing
these pathologies-more nightmare than
dream. And artificial cooling, of course, only
addresses a symptom; in doing so, it worsens
the disease. Today, Bloch notes, Americans
expend more energy on climate control than
the entire continent of Africa uses on
anything: "It's not an overstatement to say the
pollution we generate for cooling is burning
the planet."

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 31/07/2025

Rugosa roses on the Maine coast just before sunrise.

A scenic view in pre-sunrise light. A green shrub spreads across the foreground, dotted with fuchsia-colored blossoms. A gray ocean stretches off into the distance behind. The sky is cloudy, and there is a single patch of pink near the horizon.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 23/07/2025

A pair of pileated woodpeckers in a tree outside my office window.

The trunk of a tree, partially peeled away from old damage, long since scarred over. Two large woodpeckers cling to it, one listening to the trunk. They are black with white necks and markings and both have bright red feathers on the tops of their heads.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 07/07/2025

Sharing a few notes on vehicular law in New York State, after my bike ride today. There's no "bicycle" exception for crossing a solid yellow to pass. The fact that everyone does it doesn't make it legal. There _is_ an exception allowing bikes to move left to avoid hazards (like potholes).

Screenshot of text. Two portions are highlighted: the words "cannot pass" in the second sentence, and the first bullet point: "Your lane has a solid yellow center line."

The full text reads:

How to Pass on the Left
The left lane is normally used to pass other
vehicles. You cannot pass a vehicle on the left if:
• Your lane has a solid yellow center line.
• You cannot safely return to the right lane
before you reach a solid yellow center line
for the right lane.
• You cannot safely return to the right lane
before any oncoming vehicle comes within
200 feet (60 m) of you.
• You approach a curve or the top of a hill on
a two-way road and cannot see around or
over it.
• You are within 100 feet (30 m) of a railroad
crossing on a two-way roadway.
• You are within 100 feet (30 m) of a bridge,
tunnel or viaduct on a two-way road and
your view is obstructed.
• If you try to pass, you will interfere with
oncoming traffic.

Screenshot of text from a webpage. A segment is highlighted (noted at the end). The full text reads:

Bicyclists and in-line skaters
must:
• Ride in a bicycle lane, if available. Where
there is none, they must remain near the
right curb or edge of the road or on a right
shoulder of the road, to prevent
interference with other traffic. When they
prepare for a left turn or must move left to
avoid hazards, cyclists do not have to
remain to the right.
• Come to a full stop before they enter a
roadway from a driveway, an alley or over a
curb.
• Never travel with more than two side-by-
side in a single lane.
• Never ride on a sidewalk if it is prohibited
by local laws.

The highlighted text is "…must move left to
avoid hazards, cyclists do not have to
remain to the right."

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 24/06/2025

Does anyone know what these flowers are? They seem to only bloom in the morning, and then they close up again by midday.

A few purple blossoms on a green stem. The blossoms appear to be made of three individual petals that open nearly flat, and a cluster of stamens protruding out from the center, intense yellow pollen visible at their tips.

Behind, and sightly out of focus a metal fence post is visible. Sunlight backlights the leaves of a tree in the background.

Two purple blossoms on a green stem. The blossoms appear to be made of three individual petals that open nearly flat, and a cluster of stamens protruding out from the center, intense yellow pollen visible at their tips.

More greenery is visible in the background.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 18/06/2025

It's been a while since he perched himself here ☺️

A gray and white cat relaxes in a second floor windowsill. He's looking at the camera, his front paws tucked underneath him. It's a bright but gray day outside, so the cats features are somewhat obscured in shadow. The second floor of an adjacent house is visible through the window.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 13/06/2025

It was easy to carry groceries for dinner for my family of six on the back of my road bike (plus a little something for the grownups 🙄). Bicycles FTW! (And for any local followers no, Price Chopper doesn't carry New Scotland whisky—it's from the store next door) cc @americanfietser.bsky.social

The back of a bicycle from behind, with two panniers on a rack, each full of groceries. The tip of a liquor bottle is visible peeking out of a bag on the top of the rack.

A collection of groceries on a table: two bags of chips, a bag of hotdog buns, a bag of hamburger buns, a package of American cheese, two containers of French onion dip, a package of raw beef hamburger patties, and a bottle of bourbon in the middle.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 10/06/2025

One of the great benefits of working from home is that you can use your lunch break to get started on dinner. Prepping some sauce for chicken marsala with linguine tonight 😋

A pot on a stovetop. It's partially filled with a light brown colored liquid. Slices of lighter brown mushrooms, dark orangish red sundried tomatoes, and dark green scallions are visible in the liquid. On the countertop beside the stove is a black wine bottle labeled "PELLEGRINO -1880- MARSALA SUPERIORE"

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 04/06/2025

Fuchsia is such a bizarre plant 🙂

Bright red flowers of a fuchsia plant. They dangle from their stems, looking like elongated balloons that have opened up. The ones that are fully open trail long red filaments beneath them. Green leaves with bright red veins are visible from the plant above.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 24/05/2025

One of my favorite ways to start a Saturday morning ☺️

A green coffee mug with blue glaze decorations around its bottom half rests on a wooden windowsill. A beige-colored waffle-patterned disc rests on top, recognizable as a stroopwafel. Outside the window, and out of focus, are green grass, some trees, and a small white building with windows and maroon shutters.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 14/05/2025

Our feline elder statesman (our other cats are a decade younger).

A gray and white cat sits in a windowsill looking out to the right. His tail drapes down into the room behind. Tree branches are visible through the window.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 13/05/2025

I was happy with how this photo came out.

A close-up of a white globe of dandelion fuzz on the stem, against a background of green grass. The thin stems of the individual seeds are visible, giving the globe a geometric appearance.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 13/05/2025

Wallflower (we think) growing where my wife scattered a wildflower mix last year. #BloomScrolling

A cluster of small yellow-orange blossoms on a green stem with long blade-shaped leaves.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 12/05/2025

A segment of my lunchtime ride today on the Hudson Mohawk "Hike Bike" Trail. It's gorgeous out. #Bicycles #BikePath

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 28/04/2025

Our young serviceberry is in flower ☺️

A cluster of small white flowers at the end of a twig on a tree. A few pale green leaves sprout from the twig beneath the flowers. Branches of larger trees are visible out of focus in the background, against a pure blue sky.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 28/04/2025

Movie you've watched more than six times using gifs.

Movie gif showing a kitchen with an open refrigerator. A person appears from behind the refrigerator door with whipped cream all over their face.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 26/04/2025

I found a couple of interesting books today at @goldenleafbooks.bsky.social (my new favorite local bookstore). It was good to be able to observe #IndependentBookstoreDay

A leather armchair with two books on the seat. The top book is black and white. The title and author are legible and show that the book is Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. The bottom book is more colorful, though only its spine is visible. It's blue at the top and fades through pale yellow to dark orange at the bottom. The title and author appear to be The Inner Work of Racial Justice by Rhonda V. Magee.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 25/04/2025

Reading about the wifi and the Ring camera reminds of that scene in The Matrix where Cypher explains why they have to view it in code—the translators work for the machines. It's important for us in infosec to remind laypeople that "smart" devices work for Capitalism, not their "owners."

Screenshot of the movie The Matrix. It shows Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) sitting in front of a bank of computer screens with green characters on them. He's looking over his shoulder and talking to Neo (Keanu Reeves).

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 25/04/2025

We have a single blossom on our baby peach tree. Hopefully there will be more, but it had a very rough first season in the ground last year, so who knows.

A twig with a green shoot at the end, and a single blossom about halfway up, set against a gray-blue sky. The blossom is a light pink color, round in shape with curved petals semi-enclosing the center, where a cluster of thin stamens with red tips are visible.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 25/04/2025

I've been reading _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_, and a chapter I read last night really stuck out. I'm continually surprised by how current this book is, despite being written more than a half century ago.

Text from a paperback book. The full text is below. The following sentences are highlighted:

"To him it had revealed an incredible ignorance of what a church really was…Here, posing as piety was an example of the very materialism the church opposed."

"…those who couldn't tell the difference were simply revealing something about themselves."

Full text:
"It began with reference to a newspaper article about a country church building with an electric beer sign hanging right over the front entrance. The building had been sold and was being used as a bar. One can guess that some classroom laughter started at this point. The college was well-known for drunken partying and the image vaguely fit. The article said a number of people had complained to the church officials about it. It had been a Catholic church, and the priest who had been delegated to respond to the criticism had sounded quite irritated about the whole thing. To him it had revealed an incredible ignorance of what a church really was. Did they think that bricks and boards and glass constituted a church? Or the shape of the roof? Here, posing as piety was an example of the very materialism the church opposed. The building in question was not holy ground. It had been desanctified. That was the end of it. The beer sign resided over a bar, not a church, and those who couldn't tell the difference were simply revealing something about themselves.

"Phaedrus said the same confusion existed about the University and that was why loss of accreditation was hard to understand. The real University is not a material object. It is not a group of buildings that can be defended by police. He explained that when a college lost its accreditation, nobody came and shut down the school. There were no legal penalties, no fines, no jail sentences. Classes did not stop. Everything went on just as before. Students got the same education they would if the school didn't lose its accreditation. All that would happen, Phaedrus said, would simply be an…"

Text from a paperback book. Full text below, but the following passages are highlighted:

"The real University is a state of mind. It is that great heritage of rational thought that has been brought down to us through the centuries and which does not exist at any specific location."

"The real University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself."

Full text:

"…official recognition of a condition that already existed. It would be similar to excommunication. What would happen is that the real University, which no legislature can dictate to and which can never be identified by any location of bricks or boards or glass, would simply declare that this place was no longer "holy ground." The real University would vanish from it, and all that would be left was the bricks and the books and the material manifestation.

"It must have been a strange concept to all of the stu-dents, and I can imagine him waiting for a long time for it to sink in, and perhaps then waiting for the ques-tion, What do you think the real University is?
His notes, in response to this question, state the fol-lowing:

"The real University, he said, has no specific location.
It owns no property, pays no salaries and receives no material dues. The real University is a state of mind. It is that great heritage of rational thought that has been brought down to us through the centuries and which does not exist at any specific location. It's a state of mind which is regenerated throughout the centuries by a body of people who traditionally carry the title of professor, but even that title is not part of the real Uni-versity. The real University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself.

"In addition to this state of mind, "reason," there's a legal entity which is unfortunately called by the same name but which is quite another thing. This is a nonprofit corporation, a branch of the state with a specific address. It owns property, is capable of paying salaries, of receiving money and of responding to legislative pressures in the process."

Text from a paperback book. The full text is below, but the following passage is highlighted:

"Confusion continually occurs in people who fail to see this difference, he said, and think that control of the church buildings implies control of the church. They see professors as employees of the second university who should abandon reason when told to and take orders with no backtalk, the same way employees do in other corporations."

Full text:

"But this second university, the legal corporation, cannot teach, does not generate new knowledge or evaluate ideas. It is not the real University at all. It is just a church building, the setting, the location at which conditions have been made favorable for the real church to exist.

"Confusion continually occurs in people who fail to see this difference, he said, and think that control of the church buildings implies control of the church. They see professors as employees of the second university who should abandon reason when told to and take orders with no backtalk, the same way employees do in other corporations.

"They see the second university, but fail to see the first.

"I remember reading this for the first time and remarking about the analytic craftsmanship displayed. He avoided splitting the University into fields or departments and dealing with the results of that analysis. He also avoided the traditional split into students, faculty and administration. When you split it either of those ways you get a lot of dull stuff that doesn't really tell you much you can't get out of the official school bulletin. But Phaedrus split it between "the church" and "the location," and once this cleavage is made the same rather dull and imponderable institution seen in the bulletin suddenly is seen with a degree of clarity that wasn't previously available. On the basis of this cleavage he provided explanations for a number of puzzling but normal aspects of University life.

"After these explanations he returned to the analogy of the religious church. The citizens who build such a church and pay for it probably have in mind that…"

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 24/04/2025

It's a great afternoon to sit in an Adirondack chair and enjoy a beer after work.

A scene from a suburban front yard. A small table surface has a pint glass full of a deep-yellow liquid with a bit of foam on top sitting next to a pint beer can. The can is blue with a drawing that might be the front of a car. In the background, a garden banner with a tree in it displays the text "Read Books." Houses and a residential street are visible behind.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 22/04/2025

Our young serviceberry tree is budding ☺️

A closeup of buds at the end of twigs on a tree. They're clustered, almost like wheat but aren't quite as long. The buds are a light green with barely visible white fuzz on the outside with dark red stems.

More tree branches are visible out of focus in the background against a clear blue sky.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 20/04/2025

From _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ by Robert M. Persig. It was written fifty years ago.

Text from the page of a book. The full text is below, but most of the middle paragraph is highlighted. The highlighted words read:

"It's a problem of our time. The range of human knowledge today is so great that we're all specialists and the distance between specializations has become so great that anyone who seeks to wander freely among them almost has to forego closeness with the people around him."

The full visible text reads:

"…really on my mind about, say, the a priori presumption of the continuity of a motorcycle from second to second and do this without benefit of the entire edifice of the Chautauqua, they'd just be startled and wonder what's wrong. I really am interested in this continuity and the way we talk and think about it and so tend to get removed from the usual lunchtime situation and this gives an appearance of remoteness. It's a problem.

"It's a problem of our time. The range of human knowledge today is so great that we're all specialists and the distance between specializations has become so great that anyone who seeks to wander freely among them almost has to forego closeness with the people around him. The lunchtime here-and-now stuff is a specialty too.

"Chris seems to understand my remoteness better than they do, perhaps because he's more used to it and his relationship to me is such that he has to be more concerned. In his face I sometimes see a look of worry, or at least anxiety, and wonder why, and then discover that I'm angry. If I hadn't seen his expression, I might not have known it. Other times he's running and jumping all over the place and I wonder why and discover…"

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 16/04/2025

The trees were blooming yesterday in Central Park ☺️

A close up image of pale purple blossoms on a tree branch. A bare tree is visible out of focus in the background, and an architectural feature of some kind of visible in the distance against a pale blue sky.

The same framing as the previous image, but the pale purple blossoms in the foreground are now out of focus, and the architectural feature in the center of the image is visible as the top of a tower made from beige colored stone with a figure of some kind on top.

Close up of white blossoms on a tree branch.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 16/04/2025

I was very fortunate today to get to see this Gutenberg Bible on display as part of the New York Public Library's Polonsky Exhibition. www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/tre…

A Gutenberg Bible on display. It's a large book with white pages growing yellowish with age. It sits on a stand, open near the middle. Two columns of black printed text are on each page. It's on display on a white surface of some kind with a descriptive placard in front.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 14/04/2025

Goofy cat picture to start the week. Our cats love their cat tree, and it sometimes creates amusing or adorable photo ops ☺️

A view looking up towards a carpeted platform in a house. A black cat with white markings on his face and white paws looks over the edge down towards the camera.

071

SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 14/04/2025

Tonight's #cocktail is a rye buck. 1 1/2 oz rye 3/4 oz lime juice 4 oz ginger beer Very refreshing, though it would benefit from a sprig of mint. I'm definitely looking forward to fresh mint as the weather gets warmer.

A tulip glass on a wooden surface in front of two bottles. The glass is full of a golden yellow liquid and some ice. Small bubbles are just visible inside the glass. The bottle on the left is brown with a green label: Saranac Ginger Beer. The bottle on the right is large and clear and mostly empty. It has a deeper green label: Knob Creek Rye 7.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 12/04/2025

This evening's #cocktail is a Prague Old Fashioned 2 oz rye 3/4 oz Becherovka 2 dashes angostura bitters

A rocks glass on a fabric coaster on a small wooden table. It's mostly full of an orangish golden brown liquid. A single large ice cube is visible in the middle.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 11/04/2025

There's never a bad time to share pictures of a cat.

A gray and white cat sits in a second floor windowsill, staring off until the distance.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 10/04/2025

One of our local meaderies opened their tasting room for the season this week. It's always fun to support local small businesses, especially when they're good at their craft. thebullandbee.com

A table surface decorated with an old map. On the table are four small glasses of mead of different colors in a row. The two on the left are pale yellow, the third is a reddish color, and the last is a deeper amber color. A white laminated sheet of paper in front of the glasses has some scribbles on it in black marker.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 09/04/2025

I ordered new stamps, and they arrived the other day. It feels pleasantly subversive to be using these to send handwritten letters in place of email and text messages.

Three sheets of US postal stamps. Two are red, white, and blue in color. One is an abstract image that's difficult to make out. The other is text, the largest of which reads "We ask but for Peace, Liberty and Safety." The third has an image of a Native American man that looks like it was painted in oils. The label at the top of that sheet indicates that the man is Chief Standing Bear.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 09/04/2025

This is an excerpt from a column by the Rt. Rev'd Brian Cole in the latest edition of the Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians. It seems very on-point for today's world.

A passage from a magazine article. It reads:

The call to contemplation is not simply to be heard and responded to by monks or introverts. Contemplation is essential for all who wish to remain human in a dehumanizing time, to pay attention in an age of distraction, or, to quote the poet Wendell Berry, to "be joyful, though you have considered all the facts."

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 05/04/2025

I'm not optimistic about this cottage loaf. It's felt off through the whole process. We'll see what it looks like after it bakes 🤞🏻

An unbaked cottage loaf on brown parchment paper. It's a pale beige color, dusted with flower. There's a circular flattened ball shape base with a smaller flattened ball on top. The hole where the two were pressed together is just visible. A dusting of flower and vertical slashes show it's ready to go in the oven.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 05/04/2025

It's been a while since I made pancakes for my kids on a Saturday morning, something that used to be a (nearly) weekly tradition. Some of that is because my oldest has taken over making them. But my youngest two asked for me to make them today, and I can't say no to that.

A cast iron griddle on a stovetop. There are eight pancakes cooking, arranged in four rows of two. The top two rows have been flipped and are golden brown. The bottom four have not and are still a pale beige color.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 01/04/2025

This is definitely how I've felt all day 🥱

A gray a white cat curled up asleep on a large gray cushion, its paw covering part of its face.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 30/03/2025

I saw this Tesla on the road the other night. I can't think of any other explanation beyond the fact that they're ashamed of their car. Good. They should be even more ashamed of their lame attempt to disguise it.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 28/03/2025

Pouring beer into a cocktail still doesn't feel quite right, but the result is quite pleasant.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 27/03/2025

Apparently, this guy has been living under our shed 🙄

A somewhat pudgy brown groundhog sits on the crushed gravel foundation of a back yard shed, ready to crawl back underneath at the first sign of danger.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 26/03/2025

Can't have too many cat pictures

A black and white, long-haired cat sits in the sunlight on a dusty hardwood floor and glares at the camera.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 23/03/2025

Sounds about right. We did something similar to ours, planting a couple trees and using containers in between. (It'll look more green in a couple months.)

The driveway of a suburban house. A minivan is parked on one side. The other side has two large squares cut out of it, and mature saplings have been planted in them, their bases spread with mulch. A large fabric planter and a few smaller planters sit between the cutouts, essentially converting half the driveway into space for growing plants.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 22/03/2025

Of the three Czech-inspired #cocktails I served, this one was my favorite: the Prague Old Fashioned. 1 1/2 oz rye 1/3 oz Becherovka 1 dash angostura bitters If I were making it at home in an actual rocks glass, I'd pour it a bit heavier, and I'd use a single large ice cube.

A plastic martini glass on a beige table cloth. It's full of a translucent golden brown liquid with ice.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 22/03/2025

The Breton was quite decent as well. It's basically a gin and tonic, except with Becherovka instead of gin. 2:1 ratio of Becherovka to tonic water. Normally I'd pour it a bit heavier in a Collins glass, but I was just trying it here. #cocktails

A plastic stemless martini glass filled with a pale yellow liquid and ice, resting on a beige table cloth.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 22/03/2025

This #cocktail is the Czechmate: 1 1/2 oz vodka 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz Becherovka 1/3 oz simple syrup 2 oz Czech pilsner Combine the first four ingredients and shake with ice, top with the pilsner.

A clear plastic cup on a table with a beige table cloth. It's filled most of the way with an opaque yellow liquid. A thin layer of bubbles formed on top.

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SamUpstate @sam.upstate.blog · 22/03/2025

I get to play bartender today at the birthday party for my wife's grandpa, who will be turning 104 this week. I chose several #cocktails to honor his Czech heritage. Becherovka was the only Czech liquor my local store carries, so all three drinks feature it.

A hand holding a green liquor bottle above a few boxes of liquor bottles. The bottle has a blue and yellow label, and the text "BECHEROVKA" Is prominently visible.

A single sheet, text-only menu of cocktails. The text is as follows:

Czech-inspired Cocktails
made with Becherovka, the Czech national liquor

Beton
The Czech national cocktail, first introduced during the Montreal EXPO exhibition in 1967
Becherovka and Tonic

Prague Old Fashioned
A Czech variant of the classic Rye whisky and Becherovka

Czechmate
A refreshing beer cocktail, combining the best flavors of Becherovka and Czech Pilsner Vodka, Lemon, Becherovka, Czech Pilsner

Other Cocktails
Available upon request, including (but not necessarily limited to):
Manhattan
Martini
Old Fashioned
John Collins
French 75
Negroni
Boulevardier
Whisky Sour Cosmopolitan
Lemon Drop

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