Category: Cool

Cool, Daily Life

Electric Robot AI Bulletproof Cars

I am generally not a fan of electric vehicles. They are a very purpose-specific application that doesn’t fit most peoples lifestyles. We don’t have the electric grid infrastructure to support large scale implementation. The environmental impact of sourcing materials for the batteries is huge. And the battery disposal problem… don’t get me started. If you live in a large metropolitan area with tons of charging options, and primarily use the EV for short errands or an easy commute, then an electric vehicle might make sense to you. For the rest of us, not so much.

Having said that, I am in love with Tesla Cybertruck and have been since the concept was first introduced. The technology, an outside the box design approach, the look… I love all of it. And come on – it’s bulletproof. Something that will come in handy during the zombie apocalypse.

Sadly, it just wouldn’t be realistic for our lifestyle. We live in a mountainous region with large amounts of snow all winter. The distances between towns can be significant. And those towns are often small – as in 400 residents. Not many superchargers are being installed next to “Tackle Tommy’s Bait and Ammo” shop. On top of that, the Cybertruck is huge. It wouldn’t fit in my garage, which means I’d be dragging a charging cable outside. Not ideal in winter.

So I’ve jealously watched all the preorders and the Tesla update events knowing it wasn’t for me. Last month Tesla had their Production Release Event where the first production Cybertrucks were rolled off the assembly line and delivered to customers. Every auto YouTuber started filming review videos of the production version of the truck and I watched every one of them.

And then Mrs Troutdog surprised me. She told me that she’d entered our name on the wait list for a Cybertruck! Of course at the rate of production, my truck will come available sometime in 2030 so I have plenty of time to decide if it’s something I want. But still, the idea is still fun and I’ll be watching all the reviews, like the fanboy I am, until then.

I continue to be a huge fan of Elon Musk. The ability to reimagine automobile design is something nobody else has done. Sort of like Apple used to be, there’s a level of thinking outside the lines that everyone else tries to copy. For example, independent of the Cybertuck, I’ve been researching new vehicles lately. My current truck is 14 years old and is not ideal for longer distance travel. As I look at all the features in new cars, everyone is now copying the large display in the center console that Tesla started.

The problem is that there’s no comparison. If you’ve ever interacted with a Tesla display, it’s a masterpiece in software engineering and user interaction. It just works. The displays in non-Teslas look like the software was outsourced to a random high school kid hired off of Gigster. Compared to the Tesla, the screens look like the AOL browser from the early 2000’s.

The rest of the automotive world is playing catch-up to Tesla. The typical “new model year update” for most cars these days is a change to the front grill and slightly redesigned cup holders. There is absolutely nothing new or exciting about most other cars these days.

Unfortunately, I don’t like the sedan look of the other models of Teslas. I’m a truck guy, always have been. I tow stuff, haul things to the dump, drive down rough fire roads to go fishing, throw skis and mountain bikes in the back, and cart around a muddy dog. A truck fits what I do.

But for the first time ever… I’m considering something other than a truck. I will admit, it would be nice to be able to easily park downtown and to get decent fuel economy. The only reason I can even contemplate this, is that we’d keep the truck I already have for all those “truck” applications. My everyday vehicle would be something much smaller.

I haven’t decided how I feel about this. Does this portend other significant changes in 2024? Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! (are you even old enough for that movie reference?) Anyway, not sure if we’ll pull the trigger on that one. That may be too much of a change for me.

Besides, if I switch to a small car for the next seven years I may not want the Cybertruck when my name comes up.

Decisions, decisions.

Cool

I Might Be An Earl

Genealogy has never been my thing. I vaguely knew that my fathers side was Swedish, and that my mothers side had something to do with Arizona in the early days. That’s it. I didn’t grow up in an environment with lots of relatives swapping stories so I never had an opportunity, or desire, to pay attention to my lineage. I was a mutt from California with no strong ethnic or heritage history to be proud of.

And then of all things, a Hollywood type got me interested in my history. The actor James Woods is a big history buff and is constantly posting details of events and battles of the American Revolution on X/twitter. He posted something the other day about a group called the “Sons of the American Revolution”. Its members are people who can trace their lineage back to someone who fought in, or materially supported the Revolutionary War. It triggered a memory of my grandmother and some of the genealogy research she had done when I was a kid.

I knew she had spent years compiling family records, all via letter writing and phone calls. This was the 1970’s and there was no internet or Ancestry.com to reference. She had to get copies of letters and notes from family bibles to piece together the history. When she was done, she put together a book documenting the family tree and gave a copy to all the immediate family. I might not even have been a teenager when I got my copy. I probably glanced at it and put it in the closet.

Fortunately I managed to hold on to it all these years. James Woods’ X/twitter post prompted me to rummage through boxes to find that book. Wow. The level of detail my grandmother put together is impressive. I spent hours pouring through it, reading accounts of gun fights in the old west, relatives that moved west via ox cart, attending early universities, and business success. It really is a picture of America.

On my grandmothers maternal side, the family left England and sailed to Providence Rode Island in 1645. Two family members then served during the Revolutionary War with the Orange County Militia, Fourth Regiment from 1777 to 1779.

On her paternal side, that family left Scotland for America in about 1790. Her great grandfather was a colonel for the Union Calvary during the Civil war. He went on to start the First National Bank in Phoenix Arizona. His son was Mayor of Phoenix in 1909.

My paternal, Swedish, side of the family came to the US in the 1880’s. Interestingly, they changed their last name when they got here because the original Swedish name (Erikson) was too common. So all in all – we’ve been here for a while.

Now that I have all this data, I’m in the process of applying for membership to the Sons of the American Revolution. I don’t know what I’ll do with it when all done… but I do think it’s pretty cool to know that your ancestors had something to do with the founding of this country. It makes me question what I’ve done for my country? But that’s a topic for another day.

Oh, and the Earl comment in the title? My grandmother was able to trace lineage back to the year 1050. One of the branches shows that someone’s daughter married the Earl of Northumberland somewhere around 1100.

So basically I’m royalty. And I expect to be treated as such. I wonder if I’m allowed to carry a sword around now?

Cool, Daily Life

Lists And Things

Too many random thoughts buzzing around in my head this morning to think coherently. We shall purge them in an attempt to clear the mechanism.

  • I’m thinking of taking up a musical instrument. Guitar was my first thought (I very briefly played as a kid), and then I saw this clip. Stop what you’re doing and take a listen. Seriously. I am now contemplating the harmonica. Is there an electronic version of the harmonica that I can hear via headphones? I fear that Mrs Troutdog would divorce me if she had to listen to hours of amateur harmonica every day.
  • I was able to resist a donut (doughnut?) last night. It was an apple fritter, which is hands down my favorite deep fried treat. That level of discipline is hard to describe. Probably close to what it takes to get into Navy SEAL selection. Full disclosure, I did have an apple fritter the previous night. But in my defense, that was the first one in at least a year.
  • It doesn’t happen that often, but I’m back in a weird sleep cycle. I fall asleep in about 30 seconds, always have. But recently I’m waking up at 3-4am every day, regardless of what time I go to bed. Done, no chance of falling back asleep. Leaves me barely able to keep my eyes open in the afternoon. Started magnesium bisglycinate last night to see if it would help. Dr Huberman suggests magnesium threonate as it crosses the blood-brain barrier easier. May try that next.
  • Abdominal surgery went well, recovery is going ok (I think). Went for an easy bike ride the other day and probably overdid it. Don’t think I’m ready for ski season yet.
  • Speaking of ski season – we don’t have one. As in, no snow. And nothing on the horizon. Yay El NiƱo. Probably for the best. If we had great snow I’m not sure I’d be able to resist.
  • I caught myself getting sucked into the X/twitter morass this morning. Someone I followed for a while has been posting nonstop anti-Israel hate since Oct 7. Like at least 10 posts a day. I actually wanted to see what his latest post was this morning – specifically so I could be angry. It was a weird feeling realizing that I wanted to be angry at this guy. It’s probably a feeling that if he just reads my one brilliant comment, he’ll see I’m right and change his mind. I suspect that feeling describes 70% of X/twitter commenters. I took a deep breath and unfollowed. No need to encourage that level of negativity in my life.
  • Following up on my fashion post the other day, I am ordering a new pair of boots today. No it won’t fix the hot fashion mess that currently describes me, but it’s a start. At least it’s better than the $20 cheap Amazon shoes I wear most of the time (when I’m not wearing Crocs or flip flops). Fun side note, once upon a time in the ’90’s I had a trench coat. It was actually kind of a pain because it was so big, but I thought I looked good (narrator: he in fact, looked like a dork).
  • I learned from my nephews that there is such a thing as a professional Esports league. As in, professional gamers. AND you can get a collegiate gaming scholarship. We are finished as a society.
  • The Ukraine comedian/mafia boss is back in the US today looking for more money. Can anyone provide a plausible scenario in which Ukraine defeats the Russian army, pushes them back to the original border, and Russia just simply gives up? Anyone? Anyone? Please tell me why we need to borrow more money to give to a lost cause? Is it just to see another couple hundred thousand people die?
  • The holidays are my absolute least favorite time of the year. Always been that way. I do my best to not be a grinch, but sometimes I can’t help it. I am also not drinking right now to help the fashion/weight loss scenario. Please send prayers.
  • I’m reading a number of books right now. The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam and The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic. Recommend both. They’ve spawned a huge jumble of thoughts that I want to capture, but have been unable to. It’s like I have a sense of what I want to say, but it’s just out of reach and slightly foggy. I guess I’ll just have to keep contemplating. I’m always impressed by people who can articulate complex ideas. We clearly don’t teach that any longer. We’ve moved into the University of Tik Tok phase of the empire.
  • We started watching the older series, Vikings. A few thoughts… A) I wonder if I could sport the viking haircut at my age. B) I cannot sport that haircut at this age or any previous age. C) What a brutal time to have been alive. D) Fascinating that the Romans in England were a more advanced society than the feudal/tribal times that followed them. Anyway, a good series. No spoilers please.

Ok, that’s enough purging. Time to move on to something more productive. Like arguing with people on X.

Cool, Daily Life

Am I A Slob?

Somehow I went down the rabbit hole of watching James Bond clips on YouTube. Sean Connery was the man. The definition of cool and toxic masculinity. Daniel Craig was also a damn good Bond. Anyway, my point was not a film review of Bond films or how embarrassing Rodger Moore was. What got me thinking was fashion. I know, weird.

What I realized watching those clips was two things. First, very low body fat. In the Daniel Craig films it’s easy to watch and think (in an odd man-crush sort of way), wow he looks good for a short guy. Someone who’s trim and fit today stands out. And then you watch the original Bond films and realize that back then everyone was trim. It was odd to see a fat person. What the hell happened to us? Seed oils? Gluten? Microplastics in the food? Sitting in a chair for 16 hours a day? It’s a mystery.

Anyway. The second thing you notice is the fashion. Mr. Bond is always put together. He looks damn good in a tux at the casino, in a suit while out and about, or even his beach attire. James Bond is never scruffy looking. He does not wear sweatpants or baggy shirts. If you are a bad guy about to get capped by Bond, at least you were offed by someone who took the time to put on a tie in the morning.

I do not have the James Bond fashion drive. I wear baggy shorts half the year, and old jeans the rest of the time. XXL is the general theme, for both comfort and hiding an ever expanding belly. A baseball cap is standard issue since I’m always in-between haircuts. I shave once or twice a week. Let’s just say I’m never going to make the cover of vogue.

I wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time I wore a tie to work every day. I had expensive leather shoes. My slide into frumpiness started with working at the evil empire (Microsoft). I showed up to my interview in a suit and tie and quickly realized the standard software engineer uniform in California was flip flops with a t-shirt and shorts. Later, as an RN, I wore scrubs which is basically like wearing pajamas every day. I’ve never recovered.

Watching those Bond film clips got me thinking. Maybe I should put effort into dressing well every day? Analogous to Admiral McRaven’s speech about making your bed every day, I know that if you look good, you’ll feel good. And if you feel good about yourself you’ll be more likely to go to the gym, eat better, and be productive with your day.

Nobody wears a suit anymore except politicians and Wall Street financiers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be well put together. Could I wake up every day and put on nice slacks and a sweater rather than lounging in sweatpants until 10am? Morning shower, shave, and no more baseball hats unless fishing or playing golf? Fashionable shoes rather than Crocs or flip flops? I don’t know…

Part of the problem (excuse) is weight. I’d hate to buy clothes for my current stature because I’ll be losing at least twenty pounds any day now. It’d be a waste to buy stuff that won’t fit in a few months, right?

There’s also the public image I need to maintain. What would people think if I suddenly showed up looking like a GQ model? I’m afraid folks might think I’d won the lottery and ask to borrow money. Older men just don’t radically change their appearance unless they only have a few months to live, received a large inheritance, or are newly divorced. I’m not in any of those scenarios and would hate for people to start gossiping.

But then again, it might be fun to see if I could change my public persona. Maybe I should start dressing up every day? I’m never going to look like Daniel Craig (I’m much taller), but I could still look pretty spiffy if I tried. I’d probably start getting a level of respect more fitting of my age, rather than looking like a frumpy college student buying clothes from the Costco discount bins . (full disclosure, 95% of my current wardrobe comes from Costco)

Ok, I’ve convinced myself. I am going to become a fashionable older gentleman. Maybe grow a handlebar mustache. If I wear a hat it will be a fedora. Vests and sport coats. Women will swoon.

I think this might get expensive.

PS. Do you think I need to get rid of my Crocs? I really like my Crocs.

Cool, Daily Life

Do You Believe In UFOs?

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the subject of UFOs came up. The first thing I learned is that it’s no longer UFO, it’s UAP – Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Knowing the government they probably spent $28 million dollars to focus test the new name. Anyway, turns out there was a UAP hearing in front of congress this summer and a number of credible people testified that the government has way more info about sightings than they let on. Which got me thinking. Do I believe in UFOs?

I’d say I tend to be in the “no” camp, but I’m not willing to entirely rule them out. Here’s the way I think it breaks down:

Option One They don’t exist, or at least if they do they’ve never visited earth. I find it odd that the only “sightings” tend to be over the ocean and involve primarily the United States. Why don’t we ever hear about encounters and/or investigations in other countries? Wouldn’t aliens be equally interested in, say Japan, Saudi Arabia, or Sweden as they are the US? Also, similar to Bigfoot, for years now we’ve had the entire population of the earth walking around with cameras and video recorders 24×7 (cell phone). How come the only footage we ever see is from military pilots and airplane gun cameras? If we’re being visited I’m pretty sure we’d have captured more video/pics by now.

Option Two Why wouldn’t they exist? It’s pretty unrealistic to think we know everything about everything. For gods sake, we’re still discovering creatures in the ocean we didn’t know existed. To use a size comparison, imagine our Milky Way galaxy as the size of a tiny crumb. The known universe would then be the size of the Empire State Building. It’s estimated the observable universe contains between 200 billion to 2 trillion galaxies. To think we’re the only life form in something that vast is pretty naive. It seems reasonable that there are more advanced beings out there somewhere.

Option Three Not only have we been visited, but the government has an actual UAP crash recovery team and has biologic samples (bodies?) This was asserted during the UAP hearing. There are claims that many of the “sightings” are actually US (or other countries) objects from secret test facilities. I don’t buy this idea at all. I don’t think our government is competent enough to keep that sort of secret. Someone would talk. But then again, there are people who know the truth about the JFK assassination and that’s been kept secret for 60+ years. I will admit that it is odd how secretive the government is about sharing what it knows about UAPs. We have radar tracks and other data collected on sightings by military pilots. Why not share it?

Option Four I find it odd that almost all of the sightings are over the ocean. Many of the video footage we have show the objects rising from or diving into the ocean at speeds that would kill a human. Is there something going on in the ocean that we don’t know about? Maybe China or Russia has some sort of sub based hypersonic drone program? Maybe we do? There has to be a reason most encounters seem to be over the ocean. But… I’m still a skeptic about any government being able to keep that sort of secret.

Bottom line, I’m not sure what I think. I do think life exists out there somewhere. The universe is too vast for only one planet out of billions to have spawned biologics. Do I think life out there has evolved to the point that faster than light travel has been mastered? Doubtful.

How about you? Do you believe in UFOs? Do you think we’ve been visited?

Bonus points if you’ve been abducted and lived to tell the tale!

Cool, Daily Life

An Empty EDC Bag

A couple years ago I wrote a post about EDC and what I carried in my pockets as a nurse. I commented how much I like the idea of all the cool EDC gadgets that are out there, but I never actually buy anything because I hate carrying stuff in my pockets. My EDC is still a tiny minimalist wallet, three keys, a small pocketknife, a handkerchief, and my phone. I closed out that previous post by wondering if maybe I should start wearing a fanny pack. Fast forward to today and the past has become reality.

No, not a fanny pack. That I don’t think I’m ready for. What I did buy was a sling bag. Sort of a mini messenger-type bag. This came about after a discussion on carrying a weapon in today’s crazy times. I have been unwilling to so far for a number of reasons, one of them being weight. I suppose I could manage it during the winter with jeans and long coats and jackets, but summer would never work. I wear shorts every day and that’s not conducive to being strapped… if you don’t want your shorts to end up around your ankles. Although, I suppose I could always go the cargo shorts and suspenders route. Hmmm no, not ready for that yet. (wait, I’m now wearing Crocs and I swore that would never happen either)

Anyway, the discussion about summer carry evolved into carrying a bag of some sort, which is how we ended up with the sling bag. Me being me, I watched approximately 2,730 hours of YouTube videos on the best EDC sling bag. Decision finally made, I clicked the purchase button, and eagerly waited for my bag to arrive.

Of course once you have a bag, you’ve got to fill it with stuff! While I waited for my shipment, me being me, I watched approximately 5,280 hours of YouTube videos on EDC carry gadgets. Flashlights and knives, and carabiners. Key holders, water bottles, organizers, power bricks, and thumb drives. The amount of time people spend finding clever ways to carry stuff around is impressive. So many gadgets and doohickies! Oh my, I was in heaven.

Finally the day arrived. Yesterday my sling bag showed up. It looks to be everything I hoped it would be. I cut off the tags and explored all the pockets. I put it on, adjusted it, and practiced getting in and out of the pockets quickly. It’s a perfect holder for stuff that doesn’t look too much like a purse. But let’s be honest – it really is just a purse for men who don’t want to carry a backpack everywhere. We just say sling bag to avoid the murse label. It’s ok. I’m confident enough in my manhood to call it what it is. It’s a purse.

So there I am, admiring my new bag. I set it out on the floor and started thinking about what I wanted to put in it. And I drew a blank. I guess I could put some chapstick in there. And some breath mints. A pen maybe? I checked to see if my Kindle would fit. It does, but where am I going to go that I’d need that?

I sat there and stared at the bag for the longest time. All those hours of watching YouTube videos and I couldn’t come up with a single thing to put in there. I’ve managed to survive all of my adult life without carrying a bag of stuff around with me. How do you suddenly go from carrying a house key and wallet to becoming MacGyver with a Bat Belt full of equipment?

I promised myself that I’d at least commit to trying to carry the bag every day. We’re a week out from Thanksgiving travel. I’ll carry it every day this week, and then bring it for the holiday airline travel. That should be enough to figure out if an every day carry bag is for me.

I still don’t know what to put in it. Maybe some saltine crackers and my sunglasses? If you use one, what’s in your EDC bag?

Cool, Daily Life, Motivation

Take Action

A few days ago I was endlessly scrolling through YouTube. I’ve made several strategic mistakes lately. I made the unfortunate choice to search for some how-to videos related to stove downdraft vents, and an HVAC issue. Oh, and I watched a review of the best non-stick pans. What can I say, I’m a guy of diverse hobbies. Anyway, the end result is that my YouTube feed is now nothing but old guys extolling the virtues of half inch vs quarter inch corrugated pipe for venting and ads for the magic of diamond-copper-silicone infused cookware. Sigh. I need a separate YouTube account for research only so I don’t pollute my main feed.

But one video did make its way through and caught my eye. It was about taking action. Now the specific video was geared toward general preparedness, but the message was universal. Want to make a change? Then you need to take action.

The videos point was that “taking action” didn’t need to be a huge endeavor. Been thinking about putting a first aid kit in your car? Stop what you’re doing right now and go gather some bandaids, medical tape, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and a few bottles of water and go put it in your trunk. Takes five minutes and is probably stuff you already have in the house. Done. You took action and made progress.

It doesn’t mean you can’t add more or get fancier with your kit later on. What’s important is that you didn’t let analysis paralysis get the better of you. You took action right now and made a change. You now have a rudimentary first aid kit in your car that you didn’t have twenty minutes ago.

Taking action on one small thing is better than doing nothing. So many of us (myself especially) have grand plans for a project or eating better or exercise… yet we never get to it because we’re waiting for it to be perfect. Researching the right gym to join or what the right exercise program is. What diet should I do? I need to do something with that corner of the yard that’s full of weeds, but don’t know what yet.

Just take action. Go pull weeds for ten minutes. Then do it again tomorrow. Stop worrying about what the right exercise program is – go do a 30 minute walk right now. Go pick one cupboard in the pantry right now and throw out all the crap food. Stop what you’re doing and go organize one drawer in your office or kitchen.

All of this takes a minuscule amount of time and accomplishes something. And if you do it again tomorrow, and then next day, and the next… suddenly you’re productive and getting stuff done. Bonus, I bet you’ll feel better about yourself for having done it. And that’s the secret sauce. The reinforcement of positive actions. That tiny little hit of dopamine that makes us want to do that again.

I’m way more likely to do something that takes ten minutes than something I know is going to be most of the afternoon. It’s human nature.

So that’s my new mantra. I’m going to take action on one thing today. Anything else is a bonus. What small thing are you going to take action on today?

Cool, Daily Life

The Men In Gray Suits

The dive boat was called the Leatherneck and she was bobbing gently at the dock. We waited to board and watched the crew getting gear together. Regulators attached to tanks and tested. BCs buckled and ready to go. Crates of weight belts waiting. Jokes were flying around in random accents as the crew was from the UK, France, and Australia.

I looked out at the ocean and was grateful the seas were calm. I had a few nerves which is not usual for me. I wasn’t nervous about diving, after all we’d dove with this same crew yesterday. What was different was the depth. I don’t have much experience with deep dives and this one was going to be to a hundred feet, down a wall.

This Caribbean island sits in the middle of nowhere, a product of tectonic plate upswelling. The end result is an island with lots of beautiful shallow water reefs that are prime for scuba diving. But if you go just a little bit further out past the reef… you reach an edge. Go over that edge and it plummets straight down thousands of feet. That’s where we were headed.

The ride out was uneventful. It was already hot and I was looking forward to getting in the water. We reached the buoy and the crew quickly tied up and started throwing out the safety lines and an emergency decompression regulator. One of the crew members gave the safety briefing and then discussed what the dive plan would be. We’d seen beautiful leopard rays yesterday and someone asked if there was a chance we’d see them again. The answer was no, they like the shallower water.

Gear on and adjusted. I shuffled to the stern and waited my turn. Received the all clear, regulator in my mouth, hand on mask, a giant stride and I plunged into the clear blue water. It’s always an odd sensation when you first jump in. Bubbles, sound, a little disorientation while you get yourself sorted out. Oxygen working. Mask clear. Octopus regulator in place. Make sure the BC is fully deflated. Check the dive computer to see that it’s working. Look around to see if I can find the rendezvous point on the bottom. I spotted the divers in front of me and headed down.

Descending down I took care to continually equalize the pressure in my ears. Checked the dive computer a few times to ensure it was tracking correctly. Once at the bottom I did another gear check. I recored a quick video with my camera to ensure it was working. We all sat for a few minutes waiting for all the divers to get down. The dive guide finally gave the signal and we all headed down towards the wall.

The reef is beautiful. Covered in colorful fans, sponges, and all kinds of bizarre looking stuff I can’t identify. Fish of all sorts were feeding and swimming by in small schools. The reef is like going through a series of hallways that kept getting deeper and deeper. Eventually at about eighty feet you could see it. The reef ended and there was nothing but dark blue water. I could see the edge.

Swimming up to it was such a strange feeling. You look down over the ledge and it’s just never ending darkness going down. Just like you’d feel on land, going over the edge goes against common sense. I’m floating and know I’m not going to “fall”… but my brain tells me something different. Took a deep breath and over I went and headed further down.

We continued down to about ninety-five feet and then began traversing across the wall. I was filming everything, while also checking my dive computer about every minute out of paranoia. The dive guide motioned us over to a crevice he was floating near. Once we were all around he took his speargun and speared a lion fish (an invasive species). I was thinking to myself, that was kinda cool since the video camera was running. The guide then pointed behind us.

I turned around and there it was. A shark slowly cruising about 15 feet away.

My oxygen intake suddenly went up about 200%. The guide then flipped the dead lion fish off the speargun and he kicked away. It took about two seconds and the shark came in at mach 2 and devoured the fish. And then suddenly, three more sharks appeared.

I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but when something out of the ordinary happens to you I suddenly have a narrator appear in my head to add running commentary about what’s happening. The conscious part of my brain was in survival mode. Check my gear. Check the depth and how much oxygen I have left. What direction is the boat? Where are the sharks? Scan behind me. Check my oxygen again.

Meanwhile, there’s a voice in my head going “am I really seeing this? am I actually diving at a hundred feet surrounded by sharks? is this real?” I couldn’t believe that this was actually happening and not something I was watching on TV.

Now if you’re a big time diver, this all sounds pretty silly. Obviously the guides deal with sharks all the time and were not worried at all. But for us part-time, every once in a while vacation divers this was a big deal. Kind of like running across a snake – the reptilian part of our brain tells us this is a situation you probably shouldn’t be in.

As we returned to the boat the sharks followed us the entire way, clearly waiting for another tasty fish. I have no idea what fabulous coral or fish we saw on the way back because I was too busy scanning for Jaws who I was convinced was right behind me.

As I neared my decompression stop, I noticed something on the inside of my mask. It looked kind of like an oil slick. Then it dawned on me. My nose was bleeding! I sat at my decompression stop watching the dive computer count down the minutes I had to stay at that depth. Meanwhile my mask was filling up with blood. Normally you’d simply clear your mask, but I knew there were a bunch of sharks swimming around somewhere below me. The last thing I wanted to do was dump a bunch of blood in the water.

I’ve never been to war, been shot at, or have been chased by an angry mob. I have to imagine this feeling was somewhat similar. Your brain is screaming at you to panic. To do something, anything. To get the hell out of Dodge as fast as possible. I could see the boat above me. I still had a few minutes of decompression to complete. The blood in my mask was now covering my nose so I was having to concentrate on not inhaling the blood – I’m sure that would not have been good.

Deep, slow breath. Check the computer. Check for sharks. Check the computer. I could feel blood going down the back of my throat. That coppery taste was making me a bit nauseous. I’m proud of myself. Those few minutes waiting were an eternity. It took every bit of willpower I had to not bolt to the surface and rip off the mask. I kept telling myself that if the navy seals can do this, so can I.

The computer finally gave the all clear and I slowly ascended to the surface. I held on to the boats rear ladder and took off my fins and handed them up to the crew member waiting for me. As I took off my mask he had a surprised look and said (in a heavy Australian accent), “ah hey mate, you’ve got a bit of a bleeder there. You may want to rinse that off.”

And that was that. I survived. No great whites attacked me. I got some great video footage of the sharks. I kept my panic under control. All in all, a successful dive. And… I did another dive an hour later. I’m a regular Jacques Cousteau. Ok, that may be a bit of a stretch. But I had an adventure and a good story to tell.

And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. You’re only here once. Might as well have an adventure or two.

Cool, Daily Life

Wanna Have Dinner?

I’ve been reading the book Tucker by Chadwick Moore. In it, Tucker Carlson gives his thoughts on Donald Trump. One of the things he says is that hands down, Trump is one of the best people on the planet to have dinner with. It has nothing to do with politics he says, but instead it’s that Trump is the perfect host. Carlson calls him the ultimate maitre d’. He says that’s he’s hilariously funny, vulgar, and just has an innate sense of how to read people.

So that got me thinking. What would be your top five list of people to have dinner with if you could?

I had to think hard about this. I’m making the assumption that it’s just a normal dinner. No guarantees that you’ll get any sort of inside scoop or information from whoever it is. They might be standoffish or very closed and reserved. Since we don’t really know these people, you’ll never know. Dinner might be a bust or might be an amazing experience. With that in mind, here’s my list in no particular order:

  • Tucker Carlson I think he’s one of the most interesting people around right now. Funny, energetic, asks good questions, and seems genuinely curious about the world around him.
  • Joe Rogan There’s a reason he’s the number one podcaster. He has a way of engaging with his guests that makes conversation effortless. Someone who’s equally at ease with top scientists, thinkers, and fighters is going to be interesting as hell to sit down with.
  • Lance Armstrong I’ll admit this is more of a fanboy thing. Hands down one of the greatest cyclists ever. To have a chance to hear what it was like to be in the peloton back in the day would be amazing. His podcast The Move is worth watching to get a sense of his personality.
  • Elon Musk This one might be a bust. You watch interviews with him and he has an awkward, slow speech pattern that probably comes from overthinking each answer. I’m not sure I’m smart enough to grasp most of what he’s thinking about. Hard to guess how this would go, but worth a shot.
  • Donald Trump I struggled with this one. I don’t care for Trump and I’m not sure I could take an entire dinner of his ego. But if Tucker says it’s worth it, then so be it. If nothing else it would be worth it for the novelty factor.
  • Runner-up: Anthony Bourdain If he hadn’t passed away, he absolutely would have replaced Trump in my list. A fascinating guy who loved street food carts just as much as Michelin star restaurants.

A few other notables that I considered… James Carville, Michael Yon, Col Douglass Macgregor, Bill Maher, and Adam Carolla.

So there’s my list. What would your list be? Would it be sports stars? Musicians? Politicians? It’s an interesting thought experiment to do. So if any of these folks are reading this, DM me. Let’s do dinner.

Cool, Daily Life, Motivation

I Crashed

I crashed this weekend. I don’t really like the word crash. I prefer “a spontaneous, unplanned, rapid dismount”. More than one of those happened. And I was happy about it. Why? Because it was in training and practice conditions, and I got over the fear of dropping my motorcycle.

I took a three-day adventure motorcycle class this weekend. It’s designed to help develop skills needed to ride these ridiculously large motorcycles in offroad terrain that they probably don’t belong in. I already knew I didn’t know much about proper offroad riding techniques – I just didn’t realize how much I didn’t know. Kind of like the Donald Rumsfeld quote, “there are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns”. This weekend gave me a peek into the unknown unknowns.

We spent hours working on slow speed turns, balance drills, weight transfer, and traction management. We then took those skills and (attempted) to apply them to varied terrain. Deep sand, obstacles, and steep hill descents were all thrown at us with varying degrees of success.

The class also reminded me of a truism I’m learning every time I take any sort of lesson. What I think I’m doing and what I’m really doing are rarely the same thing. For example, I was convinced I was leaning and rolling the bike underneath me like a boss in corners. Like, Instagram and magazine photo level form. One of the instructors pulled me aside and helpfully pointed out my lean was approximately 5 millimeters and that I was going to have to be just a tad more aggressive if I wanted to see any improvement. Ego crushed.

It was a good weekend of learning new skills and pushing past fear. I walked away with a few bruises and the realization that dropping the bike wasn’t the end of the world. Assuming I continue to practice what I learned, I’ll be a much more confident rider moving forward.

Everyone needs to push their limits every now and then. Fear is healthy. It (usually) keeps us from doing really stupid things. But unchecked fear can limit learning, or even prevent you from experiencing life. So go out there and find a way to push past whatever your fear is. You’ll come out the other side a better person for it.

A spontaneous, unplanned, rapid dismount every now and then is good for the soul.