Pete's January 2025 update
A new short story, an odd dog, and a bold choice of font.
Hot air balloon sightings are a weekly occurrence. We saw them floating over the MCG when we stayed in Richmond. Now the same fleet lights up the sky near our house, the burners flaring against the grey clouds, the bright panels catching the sunrise as they drift overhead. They even made it into one of Lucy’s paintings. We still get excited to see them, glimpsed through a gap in the trees. “I count four? Oh wait, there’s another two behind them.” Sometimes they sneak up on us and it’s the roar of the burner that gives them away.
This morning they looked like they were struggling for altitude. One looked like it wouldn’t clear the hill. There’s a church at the crest that Lucy and I call “The Horns” 🤘, and the tips of its devil fingers could probably have plucked the balloon out of the air. Or maybe strummed its tethers.
This time last year we were probably dodging sealions on our morning walk.
Nutmeg update
Meg is doing really well, especially since she had a big day at the vet and got serviced from top to tail. (All fine, lump removed, no cancer.) She’s really gotten back into playing with toys this month—probably spurred on by new Christmas presents.
Lucy goes into the city most Sundays, which makes Nutmeg a little bit sad / bonkers. That means I get to spend a few hours watching Nutmeg try out all the sleeping places and positions around the house.
Startups and work update
Had another startup column published the Otago Daily Times, this time on uncertainty and experiments in startups. Because of the headline and choice of image it looks at first glance like McDonald’s is giving money away to startups? Alas, not so.
Yesterday I ran a Startups 101 workshop for Build Club co-workers in Melbourne. The group were experienced, mostly in tech, and had been working or playing with AI for a while. I was surprised that a lot of what I covered was new to them—a benefit of getting outside my bubble and sharing my knowledge. I made a bold font choice and have no regrets.
The hunt for work continues. Lots of productive conversations, many more cover letters written, and I’m in discussions with a handful of places for jobs or gigs. In the meantime, Operation I’m-Great-Hire-Me continues.
Fiction update
A NEW PUBLICATION! The first story that I sold was published on 1 January 2024. On 1 January 2025 I sold my second original story, which went live a couple of weeks ago. My quick and dirty logline for it is: The Big Bad Wolf is dead, but the memories remain.
All the Better to See is a 4-minute read, and you can read it for free right now!
“Do you think your fear is rational?” the psych asks. I imagine her sitting, legs crossed, in a swivel chair, with a pen poised over her notebook. I know it’s a swivel chair because of the swish and squeak as she pivots her body back and forth. The notebook smells leatherbound, but it’s not cow leather, it’s something vegan. Kelp, maybe.
Nine days blind and already my senses are enhanced. More refined.
“Is it fear?” I ask.
The year kicked off quite well, fiction-wise. Not only did I have a story accepted and published, but I got about a solid week of butt-in-chair writing done and smashed out 7500 words of a shitty first draft. What was going to be a short story looks like it may be novella or novel length. Oops. Unfortunately I’m going to miss a few deadlines for submissions because I don’t have new/finished stories (in the right genre) ready to submit. Bummer.
I submitted 16 stories in January 2025; up from 14 in Jan 2024, and 0 in Jan 2023. 🦾 One of these submissions was to The New Yorker on the suggestion of an editor who thought my story deserved more eyes than a genre publication. 😮
Read / Watch / Listen
[Watch: TV series] Extraordinary Attorney Woo (Netflix) is a Korean drama / comedy that is mostly light and fun, though a few double-episodes left the tension hanging. We needed a light break after season 1 of Chief of Staff (Korean drama), and Woo Young-Woo 🛶🏎️ delivered.
[Watch: 4 minutes] This video on where to place your bed in relation to the door is rapid, funny, and quite interesting!
[Watch: 2 minutes] Disappearing prank in public. You really only need to watch a little bit of this video to get the flavour, but you can watch to the end for some great reactions and the reappearance trick. Interesting that he spoils the “how” for us right at the start.
[Listen: album] The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band is a good album. Play it loud while you’re plotting a heist.
“And the monkeys can attack me in my sleep.”
— Dear Modern, Where to place your bed in Fung shui
You are absolutely great- I love hot air balloons- and I’m so glad your pup is recovering ❤️🩹