It’s Sunday morning, February 1st. These are 10 things I’m thinking about.

1. It’s fucking cold here. It’s 19F (-5C) as I type this. I live in the South. I do not remember this kind of extended cold streak in my 28 years in Virginia. We are into the 2nd week of brutally cold temperatures. We are expected to at least get above freezing this week.

2. I spent the morning cleaning up the document directory on my PC. I create many spreadsheets. Are too many spreadsheets possible? I’m not sure that it is. My brain apparently works in columns and rows.

3. The federal government is a hostile adversary and should be treated as such until such time that we get new leadership that respects the Constitution and the rule of law.

4. It’s February 1, and there is still no healthcare deal out of the Senate. I’m sure that Schumer has written many sternly worded emails, though.

5. It’s an Indigo Girls morning. They are awesome.

6. I spent yesterday vacation planning for the fall or early winter. I was all set on a 7-day Texas road trip centered around camping at Big Bend National Park. Then, as I dug into looking at campground reservations in the park, I learned that the Chisos Basin area will be off-limits effective June 1 for construction that could last two years. Some of the most iconic hikes and sights are there, and it doesn’t make sense to plan a trip if we’ll miss so much of the park. I think we’ve settled on a 7-day birding road trip through Florida. Big Bend will have to wait.

7. Texas is a stupidly large state.

8. I’m feeling increasingly optimistic about my business this year. Stuff is happening, and it’s all good. Last year I wrote a business plan, and so far it’s all going according to plan. Now I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because the other shoe always drops. Also, I feel a little conflicted about feeling good about any part of my life with everything happening in this country.

9. I wonder how many non-US-based Drupal folks are passing on DrupalCon North America this year because they are afraid to cross our border? Catching up with Drupal community folks from far-flung locations is one of the best things about DrupalCon. I fear it’ll be almost 100% Americans this year.

10. I’m only working two days this week as we are going to a birding festival in South Carolina. I need the break. I worked every weekend in January. Hopefully I’ll see some payback in Q2 from the extra effort in January. Also, the weather looks nice for the festival: 50°F (10C) and sunny every day.

Posted on February 1, 2026   #Personal