Deeds

I love Autumn in Sioux Falls as the weather is so inviting for outdoor activities and so much going on downtown. My wife and I spent our Friday evening listening to one of our favorite local bands, Sugar Daddy.  The band was playing at the downtown bar Wiley's from 7 PM to 11 PM and I was there for most of it. By the time we left the bar, the younger crowd was moving in to dance to some music via a live DJ.

Last week, my wife and I embarked on a thrilling adventure with our Can-Am Spyders. We joined a rally in Council Bluffs, where we spent the weekend with approximately a hundred fellow Spyder enthusiasts. Together, we embarked on a scenic tour of western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. In the attached image, you can see us participating in an exciting obstacle course game during the rally. Although we didn’t emerge victorious, the experience was enjoyable and will be remembered.

Image Source: © Sherwood Archibald, 2025.  Used with permission.

I uploaded a video on YouTube showcasing my initial reaction to the build and design of the WiiM Sub Pro after removing the subwoofer from the box. However, it’s important to note that this video is not a review as I haven’t even powered on the system or connected it to my WiiM Amp Ultra or WiiM Ultra. The video is embedded below or you can view it directly at YouTube.

Any opinions or information expressed in the video may change as I haven’t had the opportunity to review the product or write an article about it. While I intend to publish a comprehensive review in an article, I currently don’t have any plans to create a full review video.

Today, I got rid of an old reclining sofa that my wife and I purchased 24 years ago. At the time, it was an elegant black-blue leather sofa that reclined in a special way that it could be placed safely next to the wall. I say the color of the sofa is black-blue because I always assumed the color of the furniture was black, while my wife insists that it is blue. This debate on color was never settled, but I can assure you that family history rules will dictate that I was wrong and my wife is correct.

Within the past year, there has been a huge decline in articles written by me. Much of this is due to an intentional transition I've made away from writing articles focused on business, information technology, and information systems. I have written on those topics for more than two decades now, and it's simply time for me to move onto something different. The problem is that as I'm making my way through different, I've lost a bit of my writing voice. While I have plenty of new ideas and interests to write about, I'm finding that I'm hesitating to move forward for fear of tripping on my own two feet.

I just finished listening to Ray Charles' 1984 album, Friendship. As you can tell by the picture, I purchased this album at a garage sale a few years back for $5. This album has Ray Charlies returning to country music accompanied by a number of country stars including Hank Williams, Jr, the Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. To this day, my favorite song on the album is the the last song on the album, "Seven Spanish Angles" with Ray Charles and Willie Nelson just singing away.

The vinyl record for Friendship contains 10 tracks, each with a featured guest (listed below). According to Wikipedia, the 2005 CD version of the album contains two additional tracks featuring Tony Bennett on one song and Billy Joel included on other song.

My exploration for new and alternative social media platforms is coming to an end. Over the past couple years I joined dozens of social media platforms in search for the better ones for me. In my last post on this subject, I did a lot of editorializing but with this post I'll be brief and present the with the list of social media platforms and websites where I have a presence. This list may continue to shrink in 2025.

I will never miss an opportunity to ride at the end of December with temperatures peaking at around 50 F. I rode about 50 miles yesterday! It’s pretty warm for this time of year here in South Dakota. The ice is looking rather thin for safely ice fishing on most area lakes…I hope those I saw ice fishing this weekend stay smart and be safe.

My quest continues in 2024 to find better social media platforms! While Mastodon is currently my favorite social media platform for engagement, it's unfortunately not the platform many of those that I followed or followed me on Twitter. Many of these friends and acquaintances have either migrated to Bluesky, Threads, or stayed on Twitter/X. I've been busy looking at these other alternatives.

My new standing desk is requiring a new location for my cup of coffee. I will adapt...