In early January we said goodbye to our pup Helo. Since then it’s felt like time has been standing still and, at the same time, moving way too fast. We knew this day was coming soon and spent the last few months preparing and savoring every last moment. This past weekend we had to say goodbye to our first pup, our sweet Boomer.

Over 13 years ago, we adopted her from the Humane Society when she was two. She’d been there for months, earning her the label Lonely Hearts Pup. It was obvious she had recently had puppies, which made her surrender by her previous family seem all the more unfathomable. But we fell in love with her instantly and brought her home. $30 all-in and the best money we’ve ever spent.

She was the opposite of Helo in basically every way. The extrovert of the family, she had a rambunctious joy for life and did everything at level 11 excitement. She loved to be outdoors and to run, taking hours-long walks and begging for more. And she maintained her signature energy well into her old age.

But what she wanted most was to be around people. She loved every person she ever met. She’d insert herself in your eye line, an inch from your face if she could. She’d thump you with her tail, wagging it with such vigor we often thought she’d injure herself. And she’d stand on your legs/chest with such intention it was physically painful. We’d joke she had 800 pounds of pressure in her paws.

Despite her assertiveness, she could also be a sensitive one. A light rain, a slightly cracked door, or a crumpled piece of paper could stop her in her tracks.

She was so trusting of people though. You could pick her up and hold her in any position and she’d never even wiggle. And when sitting together, she’d lean her entire weight against you.

She could lay in the sun for hours, sprawled on the ground or claiming the sunny spot of the couch.

She loved to look out the window and would perk up as literally anything went by. She lived for a squeaky toy and finding stray crumbs as we cooked. If there was food around she could not rest, every inch of her body hoping for a bite of carrot or a Cheerio or two.

Her entire personality was being happy and Helo’s was being grumpy and the two of them became a wonderful duo.

Knowing we didn’t have much time left with her, we also ordered a custom urn for Boomer. It’s already brought us a lot of comfort.

We miss her so much, but feel such joy and gratitude when we think about our time with her. Rest in peace Boomer, our sweet whippet girl. We hope you and Helo are having a blast together again.

I know the way we watch TV has changed a lot since Netflix and other streaming platforms started releasing their own shows. And honestly I love it. I’ll binge a Netflix original in full and sit down weekly for an HBO prestige drama.

But a trend I’ve noticed lately is how a lot of reviews from friends are like:

“It’s slow and boring at first, but picks up around episode 4.”

“I was ready to give up on it halfway through but someone told me to stick with it and it does get good.”

“It takes forever for the story to get going.”

I think this is a symptom of some TV shows fighting against their medium. The episodes are providing natural breaks for the viewer, but aren’t affecting how the story is being told.

A lot of recent shows are actually 10-hour 3-act movies.

This causes the feeling that nothing really happened or changed from the beginning to the end of an entire episode. It takes several episodes to see the story emerging and no single episode has an identity. The good stuff finally starts happening in act 2 or episodes 4/5/6. And when you get to act 3, the payoff does feel worth it. Unless of course there is no natural end to the season either and the show is actually a 20-hour 3-act movie. Hope it doesn’t get canceled before season 2!

I love a several-hours-long watch session, but I really love TV shows that use the medium well. Episodic storytelling is an interesting constraint that brings a lot of creativity. Some shows have single episodes that stick with you forever: that episode where you know the title, can recount the story it told, and love how it fits perfectly into the greater narrative.

Long live episodes.

I saw a petition going around asking Netflix to finally make season 3 of Mindhunter. I doubt that will happen considering how costly that show was to produce, but I would love to see it.

It did jog my memory that I had started and never shipped a little project I intended to call “Brandhunter.” Like other Netflix shows, Mindhunter had some pretty intense product placement. Much more fun to spot in this show though, with really detailed 1970s and ’80s era design and packaging.

I ended up tracking all the brands that pop up—from many defunct companies and plenty of still thriving ones. I appreciated the more subtle world building some brands provided, but I especially loved the record scratch, take-you-out-of-the-scene product placement.

Maybe if they make a season 3, I’ll end up shipping this project for real, but in the meantime here are a few of my faves:

Before our dog Helo passed away earlier this year, Clay and I had decided that, whenever the time came, we would cremate our dogs but opt not to receive their ashes. We discussed it and felt good about our decision. And when Helo died, we stuck to the plan.

But god dammit it hurt. A couple days later we both looked at each other and knew we’d changed our minds. Luckily it was a one phone call fix and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

Grief just isn’t rational at all. Maybe years from now we’ll scatter his ashes somewhere, but for now, it feels right having them with us.

So then I went down a rabbit hole looking for unique urns and I found Barruntando Ceramics on Etsy, a Spanish ceramics shop that creates painterly, custom urns from photos of your pet. Truly adorable.

Ours finally arrived yesterday and it’s wonderful.

We love having this to look at and to remember our sweet Helo pup. 💚

I’ve been having trouble finding a bicycle helmet that fits well. I’ve got a pretty small head, the circumference measurement just barely making it into the Adult Small sizes for some brands and Kids sizes for others. It’s also quite flat in the back (hats and headbands never quite stay put either).

I tried a few brands that didn’t quite work. Some customer service folks and my neighborhood bike shop suggested DIY padding options. I posed the question on Mastodon and Gabrielle Wee suggested I search for Asian-fit helmets.

Interesting! That turned up a bunch of info and turns out, it’s not just a me problem. Here’s a diagram from Karmore Sports:

I did some searching but ran into a few obstacles:

• Stores in my area don’t carry them.
• A lot of online retailers only carried medium to large sizes.
• There were a lot of snowboard helmet options but not bicycle.
• The bicycle ones were for serious cyclists (definitely not me, I have a one-speed beach cruiser).

A bit of a bummer, but I was able to try some helmets on in person and turns out the ones with the little dial fitter in the back were a great alternative. I tried Smith brand ones and those were comfy, but I ended up with this one from Thousand because I liked the price and the look:

See the dial?

Maybe this dial thing is old news, but I’m new to bike helmets and none of the bike stores I talked to recommended it! It made the helmet really snug and it wouldn’t budge. I hope I don’t ever have to test it, but it feels great and I’ve been comfortably riding the last couple days.

So for my fellow flat-headed people, maybe try a helmet with the little dial in the back. 🚲