New Desk and Chair

After way too much deliberation I decided to head to Podany’s today and come home with a new chair and a sit-stand desk. I should have done this months ago. This is a great upgrade from my previous setup.

White sit-stand desk with external monitor and laptop on a stand, paired with a blue mesh office chair on a carpet mat in a home office corner.

Container Ship Queue

Having the Ever Given, a massive container ship, stuck in the Suez Canal and halting all normal activity through the canal is a familiar problem to any technologist that has dealt with queue problems. Look at the real-time vessel map and all the ships stuck waiting. 🚢

They normally pass 50 ships a day through the canal. With so many backed up, it will be a few days before things get back to normal. 😬

Map showing the Ever Given container ship stopped in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, with dozens of vessels clustered and waiting at both ends of the canal. Marine traffic map near Suez showing dozens of cargo vessels clustered in the Gulf of Suez with the Ever Given marked near the canal entrance.

These pictures tell the story well.

From today’s Economist Espresso:

Coinbase, America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was valued at $68bn ahead of its planned stockmarket listing. Its previous round of fundraising in 2018 put a value of $8bn on the company. It has surged thanks to this year’s bitcoin rally. A successful public listing would be an important moment for the cryptocurrency sector, which regulators have viewed with scepticism.

$60 billion in market value in 3 years. An IPO for Coinbase would be a huge additional validator for the crypto markets.

The Boy Who Would Be King

Tyler and I read The Boy Who Would Be King together tonight. It is a good book, and the story and points are made well. The illustrations are also well done.

Hardcover children's book by Ryan Holiday illustrated by Victor Juhasz resting on a glass table.

From today’s Economist Espresso:

The valuation of Stripe reached $95bn in its latest funding round, the highest of any privately held startup in America, and more than either Facebook or Uber before they went public. The online payments processor raised $600m of new equity from investors including Allianz, AXA, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity and Sequoia Capital.

I think Stripe is a great company and one I would love to invest in. Rather than getting into the public markets, the upside potential here will be locked in even longer to only those limited VC’s and those with access. 🤨

Final day of driving today with the home stretch to Minnesota! 🙌

Apple Maps showing driving directions from Liberty MO to Edina MN, fastest route 5 hr 57 min via 420 miles

2:00a Daylight savings time takes an hour.
6:31a Left Liberty, MO.
7:58a Entered Iowa!
11:09a In Minnesota!
12:34p Home! 🏡

Family of four smiling in a selfie in front of a white farmhouse-style home with black trim

Today is the longest segment on our drive back home.

Apple Maps navigation showing 11 hr 45 min fastest route of 768 miles from Moriarty NM to Liberty MO with tolls required.

Over an hour driving through extremely dense fog.

Semi-truck barely visible ahead on a two-lane highway in extremely dense fog with near-zero visibility

5:31a MT Left Moriarty, New Mexico as of on Central Time.
5:55a Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show. 🎶
8:55a CT Entered Texas.
9:58a Gas stop at Loves with crazy wind.
11:49a Enter Oklahoma.
4:19p Enter Kansas.
8:10p Drive-thru at Culver’s in Liberty, MO.
8:15p Check-in at Home2 Suites in Liberty.

Long day! One final jaunt tomorrow to home!

I can’t wait to sing Wonderwall with my fellow MN United fans soon! ⚽️🎉

Today we end our Arizona Escapades and start the long trip back home to Minnesota! We have had a great time here. 🤩 445 miles today.

Apple Maps navigation from Scottsdale AZ to Moriarty NM showing fastest route of 445 miles in 6 hours 37 minutes

Honda Pilot is packed!

Packed SUV cargo area with suitcases duffels and bags stacked to the roof, Minnesota United FC sticker on bumper

9:48a Left Scottsdale.
Kids doing classes on Google Meet while driving.
1:55p Entered New Mexico.
2:30p Stop for gas in Gallup, NM.
5:00p Dinner at Green Jeans with Amore Neapolitan Pizza and Nitro Fog ice cream. 🍕🍦
6:30p Check into Best Western in Moriarty, NM.

Vecina

For our final dinner in Phoenix we went to Vecina and had an incredible meal. The food was so flavorful and incredibly presented. We shared everything and did a tasting dinner. We started with the SalsaTrio which had an incredible Habanero salsa. We also had the Karaage which tasted amazing. For a salad we had the Shaved Brussel which tasted amazing and was super finely sliced. We also tried the Mesquite Grilled Cauliflower which was packed with flavor and a little kick. For mains we had the Skirt Steak Tacos, Carnitas Empanada, and the Tylauda. We were honestly expecting the portions to be smaller. We simply had too much food but it was all so delicious. Challenged with stomach capacity we still wanted to try the famous Banana Bread which is served warm with a sauce and a peanut butter ganache. Wow. 🤤

Family of four smiling at an outdoor patio restaurant table with a desert mountain backdrop, place settings and water bottles on the dark stone table. Tortilla chips in a black cloth-lined basket beside a white plate holding three dipping salsas: green tomatillo, orange habanero, and dark red chile Crispy fried Karaage chicken stacked on a yellow sauce-smeared plate, garnished with cilantro, lime, and chili, with three dipping sauces alongside. Two skirt steak tacos on yellow corn tortillas topped with microgreens and cotija cheese on a white speckled plate, with a fried empanada on a second plate behind Slice of warm banana bread topped with crushed nuts and two caramelized banana slices on a white ceramic plate with gold rim