Falko#weeklyreview 46/2025
I finally gave in and accepted the aging of my body. Went to an optometrist to get my eyes measured for glasses for work. I noticed that my arms are getting shorter and it’s harder to read at short distance.
First I had tried the cheap reading glasses from the grocery store. But these only work at really short distance for me. Like 30cm from my face. I need something that improves the readability at arms length for me.
The guy at the Augenoptik Mitte measured short sightedness of up to 1.25 dpt and also warped lenses. So compensation glasses were in order. I tried several frames and had family and friends give their opinion. Eventually settled for 0.75 dpt and warp correction glasses and this frame as a compromise. I would have also gone with a more prominent, Colin Farrell Gentleman style frame. But the majority vote was on this more subtle model.
And what shall I say … the make a difference. Much less stress on the eyes watching computer screens and mobile phones now.
one frame that I like very much. But that frame unfortunately was as expensive as the lenses and alternative frame combined …VHS
On Monday I held a little AI introductory course at the community college (VHS) in Templin. 9 people showed up and were eager to learn how the most common tools work and what are the caveats and risks with these tools. The audience was mostly 50+ of age. I guess that’s the normal VHS audience.
Sloppy preparation
On Tuesday we had our monthly gathering of ye old greybeards (I’m actually the only one with a beard in that group). Our usual spot is the Pratergarten Restaurant which is usually empty at that time. But not this Tuesday… as it was Saint Martins day, they had goose on the menu and were fully booked. So we had to find an alternative place in walking distance. Settle for an Indian restaurant that had to bear with our tech rambling.
Indian food … yummyRibs at last
The feast continued on Wednesday at Chicago Williams BBQ in Charlottenburg. My best friend @slamr invited me for dinner at my favourite rib place. And of course it was delicious and juice and lovely. We rounded it up with Espresso Martinis.
Weird coffee based drinks
Speaking of coffee … the Espresso Martini was a first for me. Not too bad I’d say. I’m embracing some variety in my coffee consumption and also had a bulletproof coffee (Ghee, MCT oil, Coffee) and an Orangespresso this week.
Great stabbility
Thursday a “drama” unfolded. I was stabbed … in the arm… in a pharmacy.
But I had actually asked for it and eventually payed for it. It was my refresher for the COVID-19 vaccine that was conveniently offered at the pharmacy next door to the office.
That morning I did weight training in our gym. So my arms hurt evenly despite the vaccination was just on one side 😆
Party
On Saturday we had our annual year end party of the village society. Again friends offered their house to be the venue for the gathering and we enjoyed delicious food and conversations while reflecting on the past year. The society makes a difference in the village by taking an effort to bring people together at various events. This sparks conversations and often times brings new perspectives and a feeling of belonging.
My contribution to the buffet was a square version of my notorious New York Cheesecake. I caramelised the base with brown sugar and a torch on our terrace to make sure the filling doesn’t soak the base took quickly. It worked will.
Tinkering
I was playing around with Claude Agents this week. Idea was to help with generating a draft for my weekly blog posts. Normally I’d look at the photos I took in the last week to remember what was going on. Additionally I look at my Mastodon posts. That’s all stuff an agent could do for me and create a summarised draft. So I cobbled together some agents that would fetch my Mastodon posts, get my photos from my Immich instance, generate image descriptions for these images and out of that content generate a draft blog post.
I’m not posting these drafts verbatim as the LLMs are usually too chatty and not my style. But I might going to use it as an input for my own write up of the past week.
The state of the agent can be seen here: https://repos.mxhdr.net/maxheadroom/weekly-blogging-agent
The draft for this post that came out of the agent looks like this:
Drafttitle: “Week 46: November 9-16, 2025”
date: 2025-11-16
week: 46
year: 2025
author: Falko
tags:
- weekly
- cheesecake
- coffee
- vaccination
- uckermark
- social
summary: “A week of baking experiments, caffeinated adventures, vaccination humor, and quality time with friends”
stats:
posts: 11
photos: 54
locations:
– Uckermark
Weekly Highlights
Welcome to this week’s roundup! It’s been a busy week here in Uckermark, filled with baking experiments, interesting beverages, social gatherings, and even a medical procedure that turned into a comedy routine. Let me walk you through some of the highlights.
This week brought together 11 original posts (plus 29 shares of interesting content I found), and my camera captured 54 moments worth remembering. From the fog-shrouded landscapes of rural Brandenburg to the warmth of friends gathering around food and drinks, it’s been a week rich with experiences.
The Great Stabbening: COVID Vaccination Edition
Wednesday brought what I can only describe as a medical thriller told in four acts. It started dramatically:
November 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
I was stabbed today
The tension built:
November 13, 2025 at 8:49 PM
… in a pharmacy … in the arm… with a syringe.
The reveal:
November 13, 2025 at 8:50 PM
… To get my COVID vaccination. The doctor didn’t cry.
And the punchline:
November 13, 2025 at 8:51 PM
frankly I got great stabbility
This thread got some great engagement, with folks sharing their own vaccination stories and appreciation for the wordplay. Sometimes the mundane moments of life become the most entertaining when you approach them with the right attitude.
New York Cheesecake: A Square Adventure
Saturday morning brought the revelation of my baking experiment – my first attempt at making a square-shaped New York Cheesecake.
November 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Tried to make a square shape New York Cheesecake for the first time yesterday. It was meant to be shared at a party and I thought it would be easier to share in smaller pieces. It came out good I think. The base was solid enough to get the out of the pan. I also properly caramelized the top of the base so it doesn’t soak as quickly #NewYorkCheesecake #foodporn #foodpornofmastodon
This turned out to be my most engaged post of the week with 8 favorites! The square shape idea actually worked surprisingly well – easier to portion, and the caramelized base held up beautifully.
Caption: The finished product – note that perfectly caramelized base!
From the Department of Weird Coffee-Based Drinks
Friday brought an exploration of unconventional caffeinated beverages:
November 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
From the department of weird coffee based drinks we present: the #Espresso Martini, the #Orangepresso and a bulletproof coffee #tasskaff
The Espresso Martini stole the show this week. There’s something magical about the combination of coffee and cocktail culture.
Caption: That perfect foam top – the mark of a well-made espresso martini
Caption: Another angle of the evening’s caffeinated cocktails
The Orangepresso and bulletproof coffee were interesting experiments too, but there’s something about that espresso martini that just hits different.
Social Moments: Friends, Food, and Good Times
Throughout the week, I captured several moments of friends gathering together. Whether it’s at a bar, in someone’s living room, or around a table full of food, these moments of connection are what make life rich.
Caption: Cheers! Good friends, good food, good times
Caption: Cozy evening gatherings
These casual moments – the toasts, the laughter, the shared meals – they’re the fabric of a well-lived life. Saturday was particularly social, with 17 photos captured in just one day.
Honorable Mentions
A few other moments from the week:
- Pastpuzzle battles: Two attempts this week, with mixed results. Some days you nail it, some days… you don’t.
- Uckermark in the fog: “I set render distance to 20m #Uckermark” – when the weather gives you gaming jokes
- Music sharing: That Tyrone track on Spotify deserved a share
- Forest facts: Germany’s forests are only about 10,000 years old – fascinating tidbits from the datawrapper folks
Closing Thoughts
Looking back on this week, it’s been a delightful mix of creativity (that cheesecake!), humor (stabbility!), and connection (all those social gatherings). The fog that rolled through Uckermark this weekend feels like a fitting metaphor – sometimes we can’t see far ahead, but that doesn’t mean the journey isn’t worthwhile.
With 54 photos and 11 original posts, this week was more active than I initially realized. The best moments weren’t always the planned ones – sometimes they were the spontaneous wordplay about vaccinations or the casual photos of friends just being together.
Here’s to more baking experiments, more weird coffee drinks, and more moments worth capturing. Thanks for following along!
Generated with assistance from the Weekly Blogging Agent System
#espresso #foodporn #foodpornofmastodon #newyorkcheesecake #orangepresso #tasskaff #uckermark #weeklyreview
Uckermark MacGyver 
