One of my projects over the past few weeks has been to optimize and customize my new Mac Mini so that I can get everything I want from it. I do love the thing, but there are several areas where I “wish” an application would work differently. Or, where I find myself doing a lot…
We Can Figure This Stuff Out
One of the hosts of the Midlife Circus podcast said this on a recent episode: “…trust in yourself…we can figure this stuff out. That’s kind of our generational motto, right?…we’re the generation that had to go and figure stuff out. We were left to fend for ourselves.” He was referencing making big decisions about your…
Education Musings
I heard someone make an offhand comment on a podcast say that he neither he, nor anyone he knows, had ever used the quadratic equation to solve polynomials even though that was the focus of an entire year of high school trigonometry that every college bound student was required to take. I’ve been thinking about…
Sunk Cost Truth
Everyone knows about the sunk cost fallacy. It’s likely that we have all experienced it many times. I certainly have. I rarely get tied down to possessions anymore. Getting rid of everything we owned in preparation for living on the road after my wife died completely changed my perspective on stuff. That said, I am…
Don’t Turn Your Rocks Into Trophies
On a podcast, Dan John was asked how his religion faith influenced his work, coaching and life. As part of his answer, he spoke about forgiveness. He told the following story about a conversation he had with Pat Flynn. Pat says that when someone has harmed you, it feels bad – like you have a…
Dollars and Sense
Frugality is a core part of my life, my budget and my identity. I take pride in not spending money frivolously. Although I have loosened up my discretionary spending in recent years, it doesn’t come naturally to me. My initial instinct before making most purchases is to consider the cost and assess whether the purchase…
What Day Is It?
A surprising happened to me the moment I stopped going to the pool every day. I have no idea what day it is. I literally pay no attention to it whatsoever. Because I no longer have to navigate around swim team schedules, learn-to-swim classes, pool maintenance, traffic issues and holiday closures I only pay attention…
Naming Names
I discovered Dan John in the late 2000s while reading about training with sleds, kettlebells and sandbags. At the time, he was a college & high school professor, a strength & conditioning coach, a writer, a blogger and a popular kettlebell trainer. I watched many of his videos, read through his forum posts and purchased one…
To Not Do List
I am a list guy. I keep several lists on my phone that I refer to on a regular basis. Here are some examples: I have others that I keep as reference for occasional use: These lists help me not keep forgetting to take care of something only to be reminded of it later and…
Eye Yi Yi
About 14 months ago after seeing an optimist for the first time in 7 years, I learned my prescription had changed so I ordered two pairs of new glasses from Zenni. Even though Zenni has fantastic prices compared to local places, my glasses still aren’t cheap. I get high-end progressive lenses that lighten and darken automatically based…