I rose late, as many do on the first day of a new year. I did my usual things, including reading my email (which mainly consists of deleting), doom-scrolling the news (Outrages to cover for crimes and control the news cycle), and downloading my transactions in Quicken (to ensure everything is safe and sensible). Then, I showered, dressed, and all that to get to the industrial breakfast at my IHG hotel’s lobby before it closed. Kurt (I mistakenly called him Keith) wished me a happy New Year as I helped myself to the bounty he prepared for us.
The coffee is from machines that produce not-quite-awful coffee, but not great. I have the potatoes every morning, red-skinned with rosemary, and even when coming from a frozen pack and baked, they are still good with some ketchup. I often go for a bagel-like bread product, toasted, and with cream cheese. Other days I have yogurt.
I wrote the blog in the lobby, and we have gone for quieter days for a while during the holiday, so it is shorter, and I am done quickly. I am back in my room before 10, and the cleaning crew arrives. Deborah finds me in the lobby waiting for the room to be ready.
For lunch, Deborah and I go for simple and healthy: Panera Bread. We have the ‘pick two’ option, and except for the soup, we match. We looked, and we could have saved a few dollars by sharing a whole sandwich and ordering an extra soup. Next time.
Next, we head out, with a coffee for Deborah and bring a hot chai for Danni, Deborah’s father (he married her mother). Danni is happy to have guests and has stayed out of the snow and cold. He was doing some experimental baking when we arrived.
We talked about some travel, but mostly about my years in international trade and how different countries manage their transactions. He also asked me how AI software handles new NVIDIA hardware, since he sees large purchases of the latest gear in the news. He wondered how AI absorbs the changes.
I have done some basic coding on this and know that we use a series of libraries (called CUDA) to detect the hardware and take advantage of the powerful in-chip technologies when available; otherwise, when they are not present, it simulates them (or ignores them, if too new or faulty). NVIDIA, having early knowledge of the new features it is releasing, updates its libraries to incorporate the latest features and (usually) makes them backwards compatible. This revised code contains checks and runs the legacy code when it detects legacy hardware. This means that existing AI software, for example, will now run and soon incorporate new features as hardware is updated. Often, new features are first enabled by setting a ‘switch’, as there are frequently mistakes in the initial software, and it is best to let tested and working code continue to run as-is. No surprises!
Though I did not cover this, I have written code on Arduino and other small-footprint machines, such as Raspberry Pi, that check their location and hardware. For example, Europe and Asia often use different frequencies and standards for radio signals, and for available hardware (GPS hardware is detected before I try to use it). Internally, some Arduinos (a user-friendly DIY hand-wired device that is used for education) do not have real-number math built in (!?), so it must be simulated, which slows the code. The math libraries have built-in detection, so I can use the same code without changes, though I often have to recompile it with new settings.
We left Danni with New Year’s good wishes and headed to Deborah’s house. Donovan was there. We decided to get some chicken from the local chain Chicken Shack. Deborah and I got in her mini (covered with some ice, salt, and snow from a Michigan winter) and tried the local place for a to-go dinner. Twenty minutes later, we had a load of food that smelled wonderful in the mini and returned to Deborah’s house. We shared this chicken heaven with Donovan and then watched more of Elsbeth Season 2 (Deborah has seen all of this, but is enjoying rewatching them with me).
It was nice to just do the homebody thing and relax and watch a show. The cold (in the teens, -8C), snow, and darkness made us sleepy, and it was nice to just pet the dogs and watch shows. My TRIPIT app says I have traveled more than 51,000 miles in 2025, and my status is Silver or Gold in many of my other apps. A little relaxation is good.
Deborah, in her mini, got me back to my hotel at 9ish, and I was asleep by 10ish, but I did wake often and rose early, before my 6:30 alarm. I did dream of AI and coding solutions for ancient languages to English. Most of the dreams have faded to only a hint, and there were some tears on Friday for those who did not join us in 2026, but it is good to be here in 2026, with Deborah, and well, Chicken Shack was good!
I wonder where we (including Deborah when she can join me) will go this year! How far will we go together, dear reader, and will I keep or improve on those Silver and Gold ratings? Will I need that platinum AMEX to get those extra miles and status? I apply for Social Security soon. How will that go? Like the Dr. Seuss book title “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” I look forward to the future. Deborah was looking at Costco travel to Ireland, Scotland, and other various ‘lands.’ Excellent!
Ignoring President Chaos-Battlship, I am already enjoying 2026.
Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 