Instead of using Instagram, I prefer uploading pictures to my blog. Everyone can view them there without creating an account and visitors don’t get any ads or are tracked.
It’s been one week since I got my new walking pad, a King Smith WalkingPad Z1. I bought it refurbished on eBay with a couple of coupons, which brought the cost down to about 194 €, saving me about 100 € from the new price. In just the first week, I’ve already averaged more than 10,000 steps a day, all without even going for a walk outside. I think that’s pretty great.
Some weeks ago, I wrote about my first experiences with Proxmox, which I had been playing with to make use of an old, small-size desktop PC. I also considered virtualizing my home router. A few weeks later, a small “firewall appliance” (just a mini PC with an Intel N150 CPU and four 2.5 GbE ports) from the brand Topton arrived, along with a used 16 GB DDR5 memory stick and a 1 TB NVMe, both of which I had ordered separately. This was the setup intended to run my virtualized router.
Yesterday, while my fiancée was attending a work event, I decided to explore a cycling route around Braunschweig. It was approximately 53 km through relatively quiet areas, including many forests and fields. The paths were often bumpy and not suitable for high speeds, but I prefer enjoying nature anyway.
After four years without a car of my own, I am a car owner again. I just picked up this 2025 Hyundai i10 with about 4000 km on the odometer. I still dream of a world where individual cars aren’t necessary, but we’re not there yet. My fiancée needs a car for her job, which starts in August. In a few years, when there is better charging infrastructure, we might switch to an electric vehicle. Let’s see!
The only positive thing about this insomnia is getting out into nature for a bit in the morning. It reminds me of the time I deliberately woke up early in the morning to be in the office by 7 am after a 10-kilometer run and breakfast.
It was the first birthday of my favorite bike, my Cube Hyde Race! So, I used this Saturday, home alone, to do another long bike ride – 58 km this time. I took the Weser-Harz-Heide-Radweg (I’ve written about other parts of it before) towards the Harz low mountain range and the city of Goslar. The sun was shining, and it got up to 32°C, but I managed to finish without problems. For the way back, I took the train, which I just managed to catch in time.
New watch. My old one was still fine and will probably be on sale soon, but this refurbished Galaxy Watch 7 has LTE. I can set up fall detection and use the emergency SOS feature in case of an emergency when my phone is out of reach or broken. Safety first. I can also leave my phone at home and still receive or make calls.