I test drove the VanMoof S3 and X3 at their pop-up on Abbot Kinney in Venice yesterday. Today, I placed an order for an X3! Very excited, other than the fact that it won’t arrive until Feb/Mar.

Watched Pixar’s new film, Soul, with the family last night. It was beautiful. Highly recommended, especially if you have a soft spot for jazz!

For Christmas, I’ve been authorized to get myself an e-bike! Now, I have to figure out which one I want. Currently thinking about the VanMoof S3. Any recommendations?

I have ordered a Thunderbolt 4 dock from OWC to see if that will resolve the issue. Ideally, I'd like to move to a pro-level Mac Mini with Apple Silicon, but I want more RAM and ports than the current offering.

My 2017 MacBook Pro is having constant issues with USB peripherals randomly disconnect. Given that I haven't unplugged the laptop from its monitors in months, I am considering moving to a desktop, but timing isn't great right now.

Tonight, my daughter couldn’t fall asleep, and came into the living room to see me. She said, “one of the best parts about being a kid is when you can’t sleep, you can go snuggle your dad.”

My heart is so full!

Bedtime no longer exists. Children just randomly walk the halls of my home like feral beasts, ensconced in the same pajamas that they’ve been wearing for days. Partially finished craft projects litter every square inch of my home. Save me!

Made a lovely little holiday libation to enjoy this evening. Bourbon, orange peel, simple syrup, cinnamon stick, clove, and orange bitters. Mixed and stashed in the fridge all day, then strained over an ice ball. Tastes like Christmas in a cup!

The Mandalorian season finale just BLEW MY MIND.

Roasting some vegetables and duck carcass to make a duck stock. Spatchcocked duck is seasoned and resting in the fridge. It’s Lame Duck a L’Orange night!

Yes, my pug Eliza wears Christmas pajamas and loves to kiss me. It’s because she’s a perfect little princess. 🤷🏻‍♂️

When this is all over, I’m going to hug every single one of you so much. Hugs for all!

Speaking of food, this weekend I’m preparing a Lame Duck á L’Orange to celebrate recent events.

Because I was sick last week, I didn’t prepare any turkey for Thanksgiving. Well, tonight I made up for it by making an amazing sous vide turkey breast with roasted crispy skin and pressure cooker gravy. It. Was. Epic. 🦃

Anyway, no matter how chaotic the world gets, cooking has a way of helping me appreciate life. Cooking for others, in particular.

I used a pressure cooker to help everything break down and thicken into a very flavorful sauce. The beef was fall apart tender. I didn’t have any pappardelle on hand, so settled for spaghetti.

I made an extremely delicious pasta for dinner this evening. The sauce was made with mirepoix, garlic, Parmesan rinds, sirloin tips, diced tomato, wine, broth, a little cream, and lots of grated Parmesan.

Got a new Roomba today and the family named it Vactoria.

My biggest recommendation to help you enjoy the Big Sur look and feel? System Preferences ➡️ General ➡️ Allow wallpaper tinting in windows ⛔️🙅🏻‍♂️

My Big Sur upgrade went well. At least for me, everything is actually working *better* after the upgrade, especially Mail.app. I know there have been mixed reviews on the new look, but I like it overall.