Month: April 2023

Daily Life, Health

Go Big Or Go Home

Today was a glorious day. It was the first night it didn’t freeze overnight. Sun. Clear blue sky. No wind. Snow has melted off all the roads. Birds are chirping and the chipmunks are going crazy trying to find their fall stashes. It’s hard not to be in a good mood with a spring day like this. So I decided to go for a run. Not a fast walk. I decided I would suck it up and actually run. It was the first time in two years.

It went about as well as expected. I felt like a gazelle for about two minutes. Then I realized my heart rate was maxed out, so I slowed down. I looked back and could still see the house. Well, that’s discouraging. I continued to plod along and ignored everything that hurt. I ran a route that I used to run way back when I thought of myself as a runner. All I remembered was that it was my “quick” route in town when the trails were too muddy. I managed to jog most of the way, but definitely had to walk from time to time. It took me a lot longer than I remembered.

By the time I got back to the house I was pretty tired. Once my heart rate slowed down, I checked the mileage. 4.6 miles. Hmm. That was probably a bit much for first time out of the gate. I guess my memory of mileage was a bit off. I’m going to pay for that tomorrow for sure.

Besides the beautiful spring day, why did I suddenly decide to go for a run? We have a new friend who’s in his early sixties. As we’re getting to know him, I just found out he’s a competitive bodybuilder. He frequently competes with guys twenty-plus years younger than him… and wins. We had a fascinating discussion about diet and workouts. He’s just about to go to a competition, so he’s just started his weight cut. It was hard to hear how easy it was for him to cut down to 8% body fat. He said, yeah I’m a little hungry but I have a formula that just works.

I found our talk really inspirational. If someone his age can do that, I have zero excuse. If he can have the rigor to work his job, workout at night, and dial in his bodyfat exactly where he wants it, I should be able to drop a few pounds and get my ass to the gym.

I found our talk super energizing. I counted calories all day yesterday and today. I went for a morning hike with the dog and then the run. We’re going to keep this momentum. If he can do it, I can do it.

After today’s bit of overdoing it with the run, getting out of bed tomorrow is going to hurt. Going to the gym is going to take some motivational self-talk. But we’re going to get it done. Go big or go home, right?

Daily Life

Spring Cleaning

In my part of the world, spring has been very slow coming. Winter just won’t let go. I love winter and winter activities, but you don’t realize how much you miss warm spring days until you don’t have them. It’s been day after day of wet, grey, and windy. But finally, it looks like sun and 70 degrees this week (hopefully I didn’t jinx it). Thank god, because I’ve felt my mood dimming a little more each day. There’s just something about that first week of spring warmth and sun to recharge and lift your spirits. I live in a very active town and the first week of nice weather usually prompts an explosion of hikers, mountain bikers, and runners. Everyone is generally in a better mood. It’s a tangible feeling throughout the city.

That improved mood motivates people to start working on their yards, to wash cars, and the inevitable spring cleaning. We went all in on this tradition yesterday. We’re having our hardwood floors sanded and refinished this week. To prepare, we had to move all the furniture. This meant opening drawers and removing contents to make things lighter for moving. As you start pulling stuff out you ask yourself, “why in the world am I still keeping this?” One thing led to another, and we decided to do a massive clean out of every room.

We were brutal. If it hadn’t been touched in the last six months or so, pitch it. Everything went. It’s amazing the crap you hold on to. I’m definitely worse than Mrs. Troutdog. I had multiple boxes of old phone chargers, cables, electrical fittings, pieces of Velcro, fasteners, and odd parts I couldn’t identify. Why? Because I might need to use them someday. You realize “someday” hasn’t happened in the last five years… no reason to think it’s going to happen tomorrow. Out it went.

It’s interesting. We never had to think about a massive spring cleaning because we tended to move quite a bit. We were sort of gypsies for a while. We’d throw tons of crap out simply because we didn’t want to have to move it. But we’ve now lived in one place for just about the longest we ever have. And with that comes the accumulation of stuff.

It reminded me of something I’d written about before. Our current house required a major remodel before we could move in. So we put all our belongings in storage and moved into a motorhome for a year. An entire year with nothing but a few pots and pans, a couple pairs of pants and shirts, a mountain bike, and some lounge chairs. And we were happy as could be. I didn’t miss all my “stuff” in the slightest bit. When we finally moved into the house – BOOM, we started buying and accumulating things. And then you have to buy shelving and bins to store and organize all that stuff. And then more furniture. And clothes. And more and more and more.

The old adage is true… you will expand to fit whatever space you occupy.

So even though I need to be pushed into letting things go, I highly recommend it. It’s cathartic to start anew. And spring just feels like the right time to do it. The birds are chirping. The sun is out. So, take your next weekend and clean out your house. Top to bottom. If you haven’t touched something in six months, out it goes. Be brutal. Nothing is off limits. Clean slate. It feels good to be minimalist, at least for a while. Because you know you’re going to fill up that space again. It’s human nature.

Like a clean and empty desk to start a project or a blank sheet of paper – that emptiness is a new start. Anything is possible. It’s exciting. So just do it. You’ll thank me.

Daily Life

Use It Or Lose It

I went on a fun trip this weekend, exploring a part of our state I’d never really been to. With a group of friends, we utilized a travel/photography book that lays out a full day tour of an area and provides lots of quirky sights to see and explore. The book is semi-geared towards photography and makes sure to offer plenty of stops with scenic views or subjects. It was great fun and gave me a reason to dig out the camera again. Looking over the nearly 300 shots I took… the results are mixed. It highlighted how quickly we lose a skill or muscle memory if we don’t continually exercise it.

I think I have a good photographic eye and vision. I’m pretty good at composing a shot that’s interesting and slightly different than a standard cell phone snap. That skill seemed to be the same as it always was (probably because I still take a lot of pictures with the cell phone). What was off was the mechanical skill of photography. Things like trying to remember apertures. What the buttons I’d pre-programmed on the camera did. How to find a particular mode or setting. Because we were with a group, I was rushing a little bit to keep up and didn’t have time to experiment or hunt and peck through menus to find what setting I was looking for. A lot of time I was in spray-and-pray mode. Take a whole bunch of shots at random apertures and hope I got something.

I just assumed I’d remember what to do, so I did zero practice before we left. That lack of practice showed. A couple years of not using the camera and those skills were gone. The same is true of the photo editing software I use. I spent several hours just trying to remember my workflow and how to achieve what I wanted.

It’s a good reminder that you have to keep up with skills if you don’t want them to atrophy. It’s why it takes two or three days on the slopes at the beginning of each ski season to feel comfortable again. We’re at the start of mountain biking season and I haven’t been on the bike since last fall. These first few weeks will be awkward and tentative. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I hadn’t ridden a bike in years. It would be a frustrating and humbling experience.

On one hand I’m a little disappointed in the photo results. I had a grand vision in my head of how things would turn out. The reality was pretty mediocre. But I did get a few shots I was pleased with. And those few good shots were just enough to get me excited again about photography. I’m now going to spend some time to relearn my camera and do the slow and methodical experimenting to get those skills back.

If you have a skill, a sport, or an activity that you used to do and enjoy – it’s time to shake off the dust and try it again. Don’t forget to tell yourself that if it’s been a while, your initial results aren’t going to be what you remembered. Don’t be frustrated, just keep at it. That muscle memory will kick in before long. It’s never too late to bring back activities you used to enjoy. But the longer you wait, the harder it’ll be.

I wonder if I still remember how to rollerblade?

Government

They Know Everything

Way back in my tech heyday, I felt like I was pretty savvy. I had a good handle on most things tech. When I changed careers, I started losing touch with the latest and greatest goings on in the tech world. Now, I barely pay attention. So when I had to sign this years tax return electronically, I was taken aback at the verification questions I was asked. How do they know that? Clearly everything in your life is now online and available.

If you haven’t experienced this yet, the IRS and DocuSign use something called Knowledge Based Authentication to validate who you are. You’re asked a series of questions about your life. For me it was things like a car, an address, and a corporation. But not just simple associations… a question like, “have you ever been associated with one of these addresses?” Here’s the kicker – it was a former address of a family member in another state. It also asked me “Have you ever owned one of the following vehicles?” One of them was a car I owned in 1996.

I don’t know why this caught me off guard. We’re so used to the electronic world we don’t think about the ramifications anymore. It feels anonymous when we’re online. But in reality, the state knows everything about you. Everything you’ve ever purchased, searched for, and people you’ve interacted with. They’re using marketing data, credit reports, and transaction histories to create a profile of you. As the old saying goes, if you’re not paying for a product or service, then YOU are the product. Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc…

But who cares? If they want to gather info to create better advertising, fine by me. I’d rather see ads for mountain bikes than feminine hygiene products, right? (yes, I know women ride mountain bikes) If only it was that innocent. Time to get your tinfoil hats on folks…

If it was that simple to figure out something I’d purchased way back in 1996, what else could be done with that information? Here’s a (true) scenario – this past summer in the little town next door (population 517), there was a horrific murder. A motel guest snapped after being asked by the owner of the motel to stop doing something. The guest grabbed a gun, marched into the front office and shot the owner and his wife.

Now imagine if the government or a big tech company offered hotels a program that used Knowledge Based Authentication to make an instant evaluation when someone is checking in. Spent some time in a psychiatric facility? Sorry, not going to be able to rent you a room today. Seems like it would be in everyone’s best interest, right? Who wouldn’t want to be able to keep a potential nutjob from checking in? It’s for your own good.

Now sprinkle in a little of this newfangled AI that’s making news… and this fancy new program may decide a meme you posted in ’21 a little offensive. No hotel for you. You went to a strip club during your bachelor party in 1998? Sorry, we can’t approve this home loan. You drove over 12,000 miles in one year? Unfortunately, you no longer qualify to purchase a gasoline vehicle – only electric vehicles for you.

You think that’s silly? PayPal’s current terms of service agreement says they can fine you $2,500 if you violate their “acceptable use” policy. Shopify, Chase Bank, and Facebook shut down a popular YouTuber’s account overnight, destroying his business, because he was deemed to be putting out “prepper” content (he wasn’t). The Twitter files revealed that all the government intelligence services have a direct, online portal to every major social media platform. Credit card companies are now categorizing gun and ammo purchases separately (previously they were lumped in under “sporting goods”), allowing the government (or anyone who purchases that information) to know exactly who’s buying what.

The social credit system is a freight train barreling down the tracks at us… and we have no idea it’s coming. Just like the Patriot Act, AI/Knowledge Based Authentication will be forced on us “for our own safety”. It’s all good – until the system decides YOU did something that goes against the rules. Every single thing you’ve ever written, posted, or purchased will be analyzed. Every picture you’ve taken (posted or not), every single store you’ve visited, every trip you’ve made – all fair game. That fitness tracker that’s recording your blood pressure and heart rate? So sorry, your health profile doesn’t allow you to order from Mcdonalds. It’s for your own good.

Welcome to the new world. There’s no way to erase your past.

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”

– Benjamin Franklin

Daily Life, Health

I Can’t Sleep

I don’t know what to do. I’ve never really experienced insomnia before. I’ve always been an “early riser” and just accepted that was my circadian rhythm. I wake up early (typically 5-ish am) no matter what time I go to bed. Stay up too late and I’ll pay for it by being tired all the next day. It’s always been that way and I’ve just had to deal with it. But now I’ve been reading about sleep and am freaked out about how damaging lack of sleep can be. I have a Fitbit giving me nightly sleep scores. And lately… I’m waking up at 2:30-3:30 am every night and can’t get back to sleep.

I don’t know how to fix this. Mrs. Troutdog says not everyone needs eight hours of sleep. True, but you can’t function on an average of five hours a night. It’s what I’ve been doing for weeks now and I’m tired all the time. It’s hard to get through the day without a solid hour + nap. I try to read in the afternoon and my eyes won’t stay open. It’s frustrating.

I’ve stopped alcohol. No more caffeine in the afternoon. I exercise. I’m trying to keep the room cool and dark. I’ve started adding magnesium before bed. I have zero problem falling asleep. I’m out like clockwork within 5-10 minutes of going to bed. But at 3:00 am every morning… bing, eyes open up and it’s all over. Oh, I try to get back to sleep. I usually suffer through an hour-hour and half of tossing and turning. Hips will start to ache. Hot. I can’t get my arms comfortable. I’ll hyper focus on the slightest noise in the room. The thoughts in my head won’t shut off. I’ll lay there with my eyes closed for what seems like hours and then peek at the clock and five minutes went by. Somewhere around 4:00 am I give up and get out of bed.

It’s frustrating because I am tired. I don’t want to have to rely on a nap later to keep functioning. Mrs. Troutdog thinks I’m going to bed too early. My fear is that if I stay up later I’ll still wake up at the same time, just with fewer hours of sleep. At least a 9:00 pm bedtime gets me five-ish hours of sleep.

Am I not sleeping because I’m now hyper-focused on sleep, sleep research and the Fitbit sleep data? I don’t think I’m stressed. Nothing out of the ordinary has changed in my life. It’s a mystery why it’s gotten so bad lately.

Mrs. Troutdog has horrible sleep patterns and insomnia. Always has. She goes to bed in the wee hours of the night and then sleeps like the dead. She’d probably sleep until noon if daily life activities didn’t dictate getting up earlier. I’ve never had much sympathy for her late-night insomnia… until now.

So to all you insomniacs, do you just ride it out? Is it a phase that will pass? Do I start experimenting with different bedtimes? It’s so frustrating.

Or maybe I don’t need to do anything? Evidence shows that historically, humans often had biphasic sleep patterns. Also known as a “second sleep”. People went to bed early, then woke and performed chores, visited neighbors, etc… and then had their second sleep. For unclear reasons, this pattern began to disappear in the 17th-18th century. Maybe I just embrace it and plan on getting errands done at 4:00 am?

The other option is that I go the siesta route. I remember visiting Spain and being initially puzzled (in the smaller towns) why all the stores were closed for three hours in the afternoon. Everyone is busy taking a siesta after their midday meal. Rather than pretending to myself that I’m going to just “close my eyes for a few” most afternoons, maybe I just go all-in. Intentionally climb into bed and sleep a couple of hours.

I don’t know. I worry that anything I do is going to unintentionally reinforce a pattern. How do I fix this, or do I even need to try?

So… if you start seeing a flurry of random daily blog posts with topics all over the map in the next few weeks, it’s because I’m wandering around at 3:00 in the morning trying to figure out what to do with myself.

Government

They Deserve Your Scorn

Scorn noun “open dislike and disrespect or mockery often mixed with indignation”

It’s shocking to me that this even needs to be said. We’re a nation of mindless sheep, who somewhere along the way lost the narrative. We lost the point of this whole experiment. We’d be on a path of healing if you could just remember one thing:

“You do not owe any allegiance to a politician.”

In fact, it’s quite the opposite… they work for you. You elected them to represent you. They’re not better than you. They’re not more important than you. They shouldn’t be treated like celebrities or rock stars. They should be proving to you every day that they are worthy of keeping the job. And after a term or two, they should be exhausted and ready to return back to a regular job. Be suspicious of anyone who isn’t.

We forgot the basic litmus test for a politician:

  • Are my streets safe?
  • Have my taxes gone down?
  • Is the basic infrastructure in my city/state getting better?
  • Is my cost of living improving?
  • Am I more free today than I was yesterday?
  • Are we safer and stronger than our foreign adversaries?

  • And perhaps most importantly… is the size of the government shrinking?

Not much else really matters. Until the answer to all those questions is yes, whatever daily outrage you have on social media about trivial crap makes no difference. And if the answer to one of those questions is no, the proper question of your local/state/federal politician should be, “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?”

Not words. Not speeches on the floor that nobody will see. Not ads on TV. Not pithy statements on Twitter. Actions. What action Mr./Mrs. politician are you taking to solve the problem? Not “we’re introducing legislation next year”. Right now – what are you doing about it? And if you’re not happy with the actions, fire them. Get someone new in there who might do something. Rinse, repeat.

Politicians don’t think they work for you anymore. Whatever office they hold, it’s a steppingstone to the next higher office and more lobbyist money. Every single action they take is geared towards fundraising and staged optics to drive a narrative. All of them. Without exception. It’s a career. They’re carnival grifters looking to fleece as much money and power as possible. All of them. Period.

Oh sure, at the small-town local level there’s some folks who legitimately ran for office because they wanted a new crosswalk in front of the school or to stop a big corporation from polluting the local stream. But it doesn’t take long for power to corrupt. The pandemic quickly exposed how quickly little local bureaucrats became dictators and wielded their power with a heavy hand. How many politicians in your town were fighting for small businesses and questioning the idea of shutting down the economy or forcing vaccines to enter public spaces?

People forget that government, at all levels, is a semi-autonomous borg that mostly runs itself. Left to its own devices, it will continue to grow. People naturally want to protect and expand their jobs. Their departments will always need more money, more staff, and more power. It’s human nature. The private sector is no different. But the private sector is accountable to shareholders and payroll. Don’t meet expectations or can’t pay the rent and people eventually get fired, laid off, or the business goes under. The equation balances itself. The same is not true of government. There is no natural check on growth in the public sector.

We elect representatives to be that accountability monitor. They’re seizing our money (taxes) by force. Via printing and spending they control the value of our dollar. We have a right to expect them to be good stewards of that money and our economy. And if they’re not… we have a right, a duty, to be angry. And we’ve forgotten that. We’ve been taught a Pavlovian response – always blame the other party. It’s always the other guys fault. No! It’s your representatives fault. Hold them accountable. Stop the stupid party vs. party nonsense. That game is rigged to deflect blame and create more fundraising. If your elected official is failing the basic litmus test, then fire them.

I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on. Stop the stupid party allegiance. I don’t care what the pundit on whatever clickbait news channel you watch says. You have a responsibility to be extremely critical of all politicians. Don’t ignore the flaws of your politician simply because you hate the other guy more. Don’t settle.

It’s your money. It’s your freedom. You are giving someone the responsibility to represent your voice in this republic. Be angry, be demanding, and be critical. The status quo is not your friend. Like fish and guests who stay too long… ALL politicians quickly begin to stink. Throw ’em out before that happens.

Health

A Record High Score

As mentioned in a previous post, I purchased a Fitbit almost a month ago. I only wanted a cheap way to see heartrate but discovered the sleep tracking feature and have been obsessed ever since. I thought I was a good sleeper. I tend to go to bed fairly early and always fall asleep within 5-10 minutes. I wake up pretty early, but figured that was ok since I go to bed early. Turns out the data shows that I’m a horrible sleeper.

I have yet to sleep eight hours. With a sleep scale from 0-100, I rarely crack the 70 mark, which is only considered “fair”. Most nights I’m sleeping 5.5 to 6.5 hours. My REM and deep sleep cycles average 45 minutes to an hour. That’s pitiful. It also partially helps explain why I constantly need a nap and always feel low energy.

It’s no secret that you need a good nights sleep. But we are also bombarded with sayings like “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” and seeing Jocko’s daily 4:30 am Instagram post, shaming you to get up and work out. So just how important is a good nights sleep? Well, I just finished Dr Peter Attia’s book on longevity titled “Outlive”. I highly recommend it. He considers sleep the number two item to combat chronic disease (exercise is number one). He goes through great detail about why the REM and deep sleep cycles are so important. I’m sold. I am now fully convinced that I need to teach myself how to get a good nights sleep.

At my age can I really teach an old dog new tricks? I’m not sure. But… last night I scored my highest ever sleep score. I scored an 87 with 7 hours and 40 minutes of sleep. I was in REM for two hours and 10 minutes, deep sleep for an hour and 27 minutes. I don’t know what voodoo Fitbit does to figure this out, but the studies I quickly looked up show it’s reasonably close to an EEG test. Good enough for government work I figure.

I’ve noticed another few data points that are interesting. Specific to sleep there are two measurements it tracks – heart rate variability (HRV) and temperature. You want as high a variability as possible. Mine is pitifully low and probably reflects a poor overall level of fitness. Temperature shows how much your body temp drops from it’s baseline when you sleep (dropping is good). Here’s the interesting thing… when I drink alcohol, my HRV gets worse, and my body temperature rises instead of dropping. I knew that alcohol is not good for sleep – but I’d never seen it so dramatically illustrated. Not specific to sleep, but after a night of a handful of drinks, my resting heart rate goes up for much of the next day. Crazy how impactful it is.

I’m not sure how to improve my sleep score further. In my part of the world, it’ll soon be light until 10:30pm and light again at 7am. Starting at 2-3am every night the dog gets restless and starts going in and out of the room. A sleep mask would be too claustrophobic and runs the risk of being suprise attacked by zombies in the middle of the night. Ditto earplugs. It’s a challenge.

It’s a challenge I accept however. Among my many other goals this summer, I want to get to the point where I am regularly hitting the 8-hour mark for sleep and averaging high 80’s for a sleep score. My HRV needs to improve drastically, and my resting HR can stand to drop another 10 points.

It would be nice to not feel like I had to take a nap every day. It would be wonderful to pop out of bed and feel refreshed. It would be fantastic to not end up with dementia my last decade of life (poor sleep is one of the associated factors). Good goals to have.

Politics

Predictions

The 2024 elections seem like a long way off and it feels silly to speculate on what might happen so early in the process. I’m probably going to be wrong, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we’re going to have another four years of Biden. Here’s why…

The democratic primary has the concept of “superdelegates”. Because of this, the party establishment controls who will win the nomination (see Bernie Sanders, x2). The democratic party elite are perfectly happy having a useful idiot as a placeholder to do their bidding. As long as he doesn’t decline much further, he’s their man.

The man waiting in the wings is Gavin Newsom. He’s already traveling the country and putting fundraising and staffing feelers out. He just launched a PAC with 10 million dollars from his existing campaign funds. He won’t challenge Biden but is poised to jump in if the establishment decides the current commander in chief can no longer follow instructions.

Trump (A.K.A the bad orange man) is the dream candidate for democrats. There is no other republican candidate who can turn out the democratic vote better than Trump. While I don’t believe for a second that Biden received 13 million more votes than Obama, the sheer democratic turnout for someone who campaigned from his basement should scare the pants off of republicans.

Nothing sparks more outrage for democrats than Trump. And what is the democrat-controlled media and justice system currently doing? Everything possible to stir up more Trump outrage. Indictments, court cases, rehashing scandals, and never-ending analysis of every perceived horrible thing Trump has ever done. This will continue ad nauseum for the next year. And Trump, being the thin-skinned narcissist he is, will rise to the occasion and spend this year name calling and chanting about stolen elections. It’s a dumpster fire the democrats will keep pouring gasoline on.

The problem is that Trump voters don’t realize it’s already a lost battle. Trump barely won in ’16 and got spanked in ’20. Virtually all the candidates he endorsed in the ’22 midterms lost. The GOP does not know how to counter the democratic vote gathering machine and spends their time issuing pithy statements about virtue while the democrats clean their clocks in every big population city. It’s like Groundhog Day and Lucy with the football all wrapped up in one. Why does this keep happening to me? (see RNC chair Ronna McDaniel)

If Trump wins the nomination, there aren’t enough MAGA votes to overcome the democratic machine. And, there’s probably a reasonably large number of republican voters who will sit out rather than put up with four more years of Trump chaos. The establishment GOP leaders hate Trump and won’t lift a finger to help him. The deep state will do everything possible to further torpedo his chances. The DNC will hammer home the message of Trump chaos, scandal, racism, and abortion. Game, set, match.

The obvious wildcard is DeSantis. Trump is already attacking him nonstop, and I saw the first MAGA funded anti-DeSantis attack ad the other night. Trump is clearly worried. It’s unclear if DeSantis can win the nomination. To do so, he’s going to have to go hardcore against Trump. He’ll have to be nasty and hammer home Trump’s flaws. But if he does that, he’s going to piss off all the MAGA sycophants big time. If DeSantis eeks out the nomination, will all the butt-hurt Trump supporters turn out for him? That’s a big maybe.

For DeSantis to win the presidency, he’ll need to destroy Trump, win back the support of the MAGA crowd he pissed off, thread the needle of gaining GOP establishment support, and then win over the suburban soccer mom crowd. With the media already crafting him as the “don’t say gay” and book burning guy… he’ll have a tough job to gain any crossover support from any of the centrist liberal crowd.

My gut feeling is that DeSantis would emerge from the nomination battle with Trump too bruised to be effective against the DNC machine.

My sense is that the only chance of a republican winning the presidency in ’24 would be some sort of Trump scandal that comes out in the next few months that’s so egregious, even the MAGA faithful couldn’t stomach supporting him. If that happens soon enough, DeSantis can cleanly win the nomination and have enough MAGA support to have a sporting chance of defeating the DNC.

The democratic party is in good shape. They own the media and the deep state. They have a useful puppet already in place. If he screws up or has a massive stroke, pretty boy Newsom is ready to go. The democratic faithful already kept Newsom in place with an overwhelming majority vote in his failed recall effort. There’s no reason to think he’d do any differently on the national stage. He’s bulletproof.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, (nuclear exchange, massive financial melt-down, etc…) I give the democratic party an 85-90% chance of maintaining the presidency.

So there you go. My official prediction. Let’s see how off base I am. And yes, I’ll publicly eat crow if it turns out I have no idea what I’m talking about.

Cool, Health, Motivation

End Of A Season

And just like that, it’s over. The last day of the ski season. It happens every year. Most years, by the end I’m kinda meh. Ready for golf and mountain biking. But not this year. This was a fantastic ski year for me. The snow was amazing – more powder days than I’ve ever had. And close to record levels of snow (global warming, of course). But it wasn’t just the conditions that made it great. I made a fundamental leap in my skiing ability this year.

Interestingly, it wasn’t my skill that improved – it was my confidence. Up to this point, I’ve often let fear control what sort of runs I ski down. I’d look at a line through the trees or a black diamond run on the map and manage to talk myself out of trying it. I’d spend most of the season skiing the same runs over and over. The only exception would be when I’d ski with someone better than me who’d assure me, I would have no problem skiing a new run or line. That would be the only time I’d try something unknown.

But something happened at the beginning of this season. After thinking about, contemplating, and worrying about a new area I’d wanted to try – I finally told myself, fuck it, we’re going to do it. What’s the worst that could happen? And sure enough, I had the skill to do it and had a blast. That boost in confidence opened up a whole new world for me.

All season long I’ve been on a mission to ski the entire mountain. Every time I tried a new line through the trees, I’d discover an entire new area I never knew existed. It’s been an absolute blast. Probably the most fun I’ve had skiing. And with each new run, my confidence soared.

I’m ending this season with the knowledge that I can ski the entire mountain (with some crazy exceptions involving cliffs and chutes). There isn’t any place I don’t have the confidence to go. It’s an amazing feeling. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not always pretty. There’s been a few lines that were more survival than skiing. But I got down. And there’s been a few yard sale wipeouts for sure. But I did it.

And now for the first time ever, I have goals for next season. I want to make that next big jump in ski ability. It’s time to move from average intermediate skills to expert. I’ve never before felt like that was possible for me. Now I do. If I work hard physically this summer to get ready, I’m sure I can make that leap in ski ability. The plan is to start next season in the best shape possible and take some lessons right away.

It’s exciting to have a new goal. Skiing has always been just something I do. I enjoy it, but it’s been routine for as long as I can remember. Like going for a hike. I enjoy it, but I certainly don’t get excited about it. This year changed it for me.

I finished my last day of the season with a powder day. Amazing to think we’re still having powder days in April. I spent my day skiing all my favorite lines. I tried one steep new line through the trees. I joked with a few of the lift operators. The resort was mostly empty, so I was often the only one on the run. It was quiet in the trees. Towards the end of the day the clouds rolled in, snow started falling, and visibility dropped.

I stopped halfway down my last run and just listened to the wind. I looked around at the mountains surrounding me and watched the snow falling. I’m grateful I live in a place where I can do this. I’m super stoked to see what I can accomplish next year.

205 runs and 298.1K vertical feet skied. It was a good season.

Health

A Vague Diagnosis

If you’ve been following along at home, you’ll know that I’ve been suffering from some odd stomach issues recently. Bothersome enough that I started down the path of seeing my regular provider who ran a bunch of tests and then referred me to a gastroenterologist. That spawned more consultation and tests. Finally, we recently did the thing with long tubes in multiple orifices and cameras. And the results are… mixed.

The gastroenterologist did find some things, but nothing that clearly explains everything that I’ve been feeling. I hate that vagueness. At least if you blow out your knee or break a bone it’s clear what the problem is, and you can construct a plan to repair things. With this stomach thing it’s a whole lot of you can try this, or this, and sometimes this works. Oh, by the way, this other thing sometimes helps.

I hate that. I want a pill, a surgery, or a specific food to avoid so I can get back to feeling normal. I don’t want a year of experimenting with Himalayan bee extract heated to exactly 98.7 degrees and only eating while reclined on my left side. I don’t have the patience for long term experimentation.

But alas, it’s now clear I’m going to have to become a gut health expert. I’m going to have to be a master of the microbiome. I will know more about poop than any single person should have to know. I promise to do my best not to become that person who chimes in with “helpful advice” anytime food is mentioned.

“I went to the most amazing BBQ place last weekend!”

“Well, you do know that the carcinogens from burning fat are 83% more destructive to your cellular mitochondria than drinking pure ethyl alcohol, right?”

If you ever catch me doing that, you have my permission to whack me upside the head with a 2×4. Meanwhile, excuse me while I go take my latest batch of supplements, medication, and fiber. Sigh…