Larry Myers
mostly cycling and technology
Daily Note
November 28, 2024
My kids play virtually with their friends, frequently working on Minecraft worlds together. iPads allow Minecraft and FaceTime to run concurrently, allowing them to video chat with each other while playing Minecraft. On the upside, this allows them time to socialize with their cousins who live in other states, and see in person infrequently. When they do this with their friends who live no more than 5 minutes away I fear they are missing out on in person play.
The more I think about this though, I’m not sure I can blame this on the pandemic or the rise of personal screens. Thirty years ago I would play games online with my friends for hours, and the games were far less chill and educational compared to Minecraft. (See: Quake, and later Counterstrike)
I figure I should be thankful my kids are so comfortable with technology and can use it in a healthy way to socialize with their friends.
Articles
Own Your MX Record →
How to Create an Astro Markdown Plugin →
How to Run Your Own Minecraft Server →
We Can Have Nice Things →
The Downsides of Remote Work →
About Me
I'm a [Dad, Technologist, Cyclist] living in Chicago with my wife, kids, and cats. There are some ghost shrimp in a fishtank too, but I'm not sure I count them as members of the household.
When I'm not getting paid to code I'm usually playing outside and exploring the city.
Things I've Built
Cycling Weather Forecast
weather.larrymyers.comThere's plenty of weather forecasts out there, but none did a good job of answering the question: "When should I go biking tomorrow?"
So I built one for myself. It's an extremely lightweight traditional webapp with a Go powered backend.
Metra Train Tracker
metra.larrymyers.comMetra has never had a good train tracker, I doubt they ever will. This is a React app with a Go backend that is geared towards people who want to know when the next train is coming with just a quick glance to their phone.
Wordle Solver
wordle.larrymyers.comSome days you just don't want to spend the time staring at your 3rd guess trying to figure out a word that fits. I built this wordle solver to allow me to spend more time analyzing guesses and less time trying to think of words.
Chicago by Bike
Palos MTB Trails for New Riders
When you are new to mountain biking Palos can be both awesome and intimidating. With the right approach it's a great place to learn.
The Lake Michigan Ferry Tour
A self supported 5 day bike tour around the lower half of Lake Michigan.
Illinois Prairie Path / Fox River Trail
Endless miles of mixed surface trails through the western suburbs.
Sheridan Road
Ten miles on one of the best cycling roads through the North Shore.
2024 Ride Stats
Year to Date | 1952 mi |
Week of Dec 9 | 15 mi |
Week of Dec 2 | 12 mi |
Week of Nov 25 | 16 mi |
Week of Nov 18 | 10 mi |
Week of Nov 11 | 31 mi |