A good start to the weekend

I had difficulty earlier yesterday with getting some software working but it is a poorly documented prototype so teething troubles feel like a familiar inevitability. I finished off work by letting a collaborator know of a possible funding opportunity for them, and by causing a meeting later this month with a physical chemistry researcher about possible interesting projects, so that was a success. Nothing may come of it but I shall keep trying. I am good at software engineering but better at research; however, I have no research degree and much of my track record is not easily shown. Working on real-world projects that entail research challenges may be a way I can prove to my new employer what I can do when given the chance. And, if not, I do enjoy software engineering so I am also fairly content as I am.

This morning I awoke at a good time and my wet shaving went the best yet. Lessons I have been relearning include: use the sharpest razor known to humankind, keep it dry and out of humid air to help it to stay sharp, if the coarsest hair needs more than a couple of passes then the blade is now too blunt. Avoid any sideways movement, keep strokes straight and light and keep the blade at a shallow angle. When first starting, expect to take plenty of time, to cut oneself and shave badly, but the improvement that comes with practice is worth it. If God had meant us to shave our beards then our faces wouldn't be such an awkward shape, remember what the start of 2 Samuel 10 reports:

Whereupon Hanun seized David's representatives, shaved off half their beards, cut their clothes off halfway up, at their buttocks, and sent them away. When David was told, he sent someone to meet them, since the men were overcome with shame. Stay in Jericho, the king said, until your beards have grown again, and come back then.

I also worked out for the first time in a while, took a bath, then fried some onions, then tomato, then I scrambled egg with them. It came out reasonably and was probably fairly good for me.

A nice lunch surprise

The grocery store turned out to have both pesto-infused oil and snapper on discount so I rubbed the oil onto the snapper and baked it. To accompany it, I already had butter, garlic, pierogi, so I fried those.