The Weekly Short Stack for December 19, 2025

Each week, I pull together a short stack of the things that stood out – something I made, something I read or watched, an experience that left a small but noticeable impression in the week. Not a grand unifying theme, not a comprehensive recap. Just the bits that felt worth pocketing before the week slips away.

The Short Stack

1. As You Wish

After the tragic murder of director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer, apparently there was a social media trend going around this week to watch Reiner movies instead of the Trump presidential address on Wednesday. While I certainly wasn’t planning to watch the address, I had zero objection when April suggested we watch a Reiner film – the only hesitation was in deciding which one?

The Princess Bride seemed like the natural choice, a story of true love, friendship, and adventure. Still a five-star classic. If you haven’t seen The Princess Bride in a while, do yourself a favor and fire it up. Guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face and love in your heart.

2. Public Libraries To The Rescue

I nestled into my chair on Saturday morning to start a new book. I’d bounced hard off of the last book that I tried to get into, so this one had to be something that I knew would click. I picked Rachel Harrison’s Black Sheep off the bookshelf. I’ve read a few of her others, with Such Sharp Teeth being one I’d really enjoyed. Black Sheep was her next novel after Such Sharp Teeth, and I’d found her books to be getting more enjoyable as Harrison progresses as a writer.

Well, I got to page 54, and saw that the paperback copy that I had was mis-printed. It jumped from page 54 to page 119, then continues through to page 150, at which point it jumped back to page 87, leaving pages 55-86 missing.

Since I’d purchased the paperback a couple of years ago, and didn’t remember where or when, I didn’t have a receipt, so couldn’t return it. I emailed the publisher to report the defect, based on a little research that publishers will often send replacement copies out. But that would take time, and I didn’t want to dump the book so soon after starting reading. I considered buying a digital copy for Kindle, but I didn’t want to pay more money because of a printing error. I thought about going to the local Barnes & Noble to see if they’d swap it for me -- that’s probably where I bought it in the first place -- but didn’t really want to stick it to the bookseller.

So it was the San Mateo Public Library system to the rescue! I found that there were several copies of the book (in hardcover) available to borrow at some of the branches around the county... including the branch in the next town over.

Problem solved for now. I can continue reading, while I wait for the publisher to send me a new copy, which they've agreed to do!

3. Vanity Is Definitely My Favorite Sin

When I got the driver’s license renewal form in the mail last month, I could have filled out the form online and been done with it, lickety split. So why did I voluntarily and enthusiastically make an appointment to go to the DMV to renew it in person?

Vanity, that’s why.

In California, your driver’s license renews every five years. My previous license renewal was in early 2021, and if you may recall, we weren’t leaving our houses if we could help it back then, so I’d done an online renewal. But after that, when the whole REAL ID Act kicked in, I’d made an appointment to go in-person to the DMV in 2022 to get my license re-issued to meet the REAL ID requirements. At least at that point in time, you had to get a new photo taken... and that was when I was at my heaviest weight.

Fast forward to late 2025 for my January 2026 renewal, and I’d dropped at least 75 pounds since that last photo was taken. I wanted my renewed driver’s license to actually look the way I look now.

Honestly, getting an 8:30 AM DMV appointment on a Friday in December was easy, and I was in and out of the DMV in under 10 minutes. Totally worth it to assuage my vanity.

Now if only I could speed up the time until my passport needs to be renewed...

4. Swapping Signatures

I was browsing through the Pen Addict Slack a couple of weeks ago when I saw a trade request:

I have a cool nib trade opportunity if someone wants to take me up on it- If you have a Pilot 742 Fine-Medium or Medium (Gold #10) and want to try the Signature nib, I have the Signature nib and can trade you straight across.

Well, as luck would have it – or a compulsive buying habit, if not luck – I happened to have a Pilot 742 that I’d acquired second-hand. And, as luck would have it – or a compulsive buying habit, if not luck – my Pilot 742 had a Fine-Medium nib.

Since my Pilot 743 also has a Fine-Medium nib, and is one of the pens that I always keep inked up, I wasn’t really using the 742. I did a little reading up about the Signature nib (Brad Dowdy’s review, for example), and figured it was worth a try. So, why not jump on the trade and add a completely different nib to my collection?

The Signature nib is now in my possession, and while I haven’t spent any real time with it yet, my first sample writing experience with it was fantastic. My usual nib preference is Fine, and the Signature writes more like a Broad, so it’ll give me an opportunity to practice a different style. Don’t be surprised when I publish a YouTube video showing off the Signature nib in the coming days.

5. Winding Down 2025

As I write this on Thursday evening, tomorrow will be my last working day of the calendar year. I had a small holiday celebration with co-workers today, enjoying some tasty Thai food at Osha Thai.

I’ll be taking the last two weeks off as a staycation, hunkering down and resetting for 2026. I did the same two-week staycation last year, which was such a boon to my mental health. This year has been so full of positives, and yet I still want to take the time to do a reset in order to make 2026 an even better year.

You’ll hear more from me before 2025 fully wraps up, both here on my website and on my YouTube channel!

That’s the Short Stack for the week. If something from your week stood out, I’d love to hear about it!