Author: Nicolas Ward

  • Packed Lunch

    Packed Lunch

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    Consider this composition of my kid’s lunch for today as my audition to direct an episode of Severance.

  • Lentil Chili

    Lentil Chili

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    This is a Minimalist Baker recipe we used to make often but haven’t made in a while, I think because it’s a lot of chopping. Hearty and delicious though!

  • Dungeons Async Dragons

    Dungeons Async Dragons

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    I’ve been playing D&D for over 25 years. Something new I’m having fun with is playing RPGs asynchronously via Discord, mostly D&D. This is primarily a way to solve the Scheduling Problem (without using the recent DM-centric patch that was circulating) by largely avoiding scheduling in the first place. It turns gameplay into a “snackable”…

  • Balance

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    Recently at work I got two somewhat related questions from two different mentees: Before I dive into my answers, I should do a few disclaimers. As a formality, these opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer. I have almost 20 years of experience as a full-time software engineer, entirely at…

  • Spring Fog

    Spring Fog

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    A warm and moist March day yielded some interesting hilltop shots as the sun was just burning off the fog.

  • Peanut Butter Cookies

    Peanut Butter Cookies

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    Made some vegan peanut butter cookies.

  • Golden Spiral

    Golden Spiral

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    My fifth and final entry in The Composition Challenge is for using the Golden Spiral. This was definitely the hardest one so far; while I can recognize the Spiral or 𝜑 more generally, actually composing an image that uses it is not something I felt particularly happy with outcome wise. Apparently I need a camera…

  • Quick Bulgogi

    Quick Bulgogi

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    Had reduced time to cook yesterday evening so did a quick meal of sushi rice in the Instant Pot (1 cup rice, 1 1/4 cup water, 4 minutes, natural release) plus some of Trader Joe’s vegan bulgogi (basically premade seitan) and steamed broccoli. Very easy. Probably could make a larger batch next time.

  • Media — February 2025

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    Never mind that it’s halfway into March. I’ve been having fun with The Composition Challenge and family gatherings and online D&D and a rather busy work schedule so I’m going to have to declare RSS bankruptcy soon and catch up on what I’ve been enjoying. Reading AI Snake Oil At first I thought I wasn’t…

  • Contrast

    Contrast

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    My fourth entry in The Composition Challenge is for subject isolation and contrast. This one was a little harder to find good subjects as part of my daily routine. The other evening I was taking pictures of dinner prep for a possible recipe post that I haven’t yet gotten around to. With our stainless steel…