Seems to me this could be a very big deal. Unlike SpaceX and Amazon, which needed to get the infrastructure in place from scratch, Honda already has the assembly lines and facilities in place to accelerate a rocket series very quickly.

I rode that train from Seattle to Vancouver after I caught up with you and ButterflyEffect in 2023. It was bloody stunning. Best train ride I've ever been on (and a counterpoint to the one to Detroit).

I caught a train from Chicago to Detroit in 2019. We had tickets to watch Hamilton at the Fisher Theatre on the afternoon of our arrival at Detroit, so we left Chicago very early (6am-ish) with a view to giving ourselves a few hours after arriving to catch up with our brother in law (who at the time lived in Detroit) before heading on the theatre.

At some point during our journey, the train slowed to a glacial pace. It stayed that way for the entire journey. There was never any explanation for why this was happening. It added literally hours onto our commute. In the end we headed directly to the Fisher Theatre from the Detroit station on arrival and managed to catch the second half of the musical. No explanation. No refund. The attitude was "you're catching Amtrak. This is the train working as intended". It was excruciating.

The Governor of California says democracy is under assault and accuses the President of a brazen abuse of power. That was pretty interesting from way down here.

Looking forward to the update where you break through a cellar wall and discover a tunnel that leads... somewhere.

Also.

I loved Blood Meridian. Loved it. There's about 80 pages where the Kid diminishes into the background and the gang become the main protagonist, where it becomes a bit of a slog, but as far as prose style goes, McCarthy has very few peers.

Update on the settlement and move. It went well. Which is to say, it was conducted successfully. Barring unexpected massive windfalls, I am unlikely to welcome having to repeat the process at any point in the next few years.

Place is still replete with boxes. I find little in the way of time or inclination to finish the unpacking. Claude (our felid) refuses to talk to me. And the previous owners took the dishwasher as well as the shed (the shed! - out of the backyard) when they left.

Now is the time as the tension begins to unwind that I begin to notice the things I never spotted during the inspections before auction. Why does the floor on this corner feel strangely spongy and hollow under the boards? Why does this tile in the kitchen rock slightly when stepped upon? Why is there a gap between the earth and the wall of the house in the backyard? For now, I aim to pursue none of these concerns.