James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

[rottin']

I totally remember the White Shadow...Loved that show growing up, think it ran from like '78 to '82-ish? What I remember most was the character named "Salami" on this basketball team...I believe Tim Patten? is his real name...think he was a producer for Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire for a bit as well

 

[mattybfat]

Yeah I am still around in spirit. Been so busy that I speed read and not post much though. Trying to pull back on "being a dick post," it's a work in progress.

 

[rottin']

Yeah I am still around in spirit. Been so busy that I speed read and not post much though. Trying to pull back on "being a dick post," it's a work in progress.

@mattybfat is that similar to like a donkey punch post? It appears work is progressing nicely

 

[jmanic]

Trying to pull out on "being a dick post,"

FTFY

Edit: and don’t stop.
This board needs the color commentary from The White Shadow.

 

[Norm]

November is over. You can all shave your mustaches. With that, we button up month 11 of 12 on 2018.

Sleep
Average of 7.03 on the month, highest of the 3 months tracking. Stabilizing this right around 7 which is a good number. @seanrunnette convinced me to go in on a Whoop deal so I'll have more metrics than I know what to do with before long. It's a 6 month trial so it should be enough time to see how well it works. I really don't want to start it until after Louisville. I may activate it on 1/1 just to start things off at the top of the year.

Exercise
34.77 which is the lowest month of the year by far. I have been doing more sharp efforts and then taking more time off entirely, 6 days this month which is the most I've taken off in a while. The slide into Nats is going to do this, so no surprise there. Strava says 477 total bike hours on the year and 527 overall hours. I won't hit 600 total but it's been a good year regardless. The goal for December is to hit 500 on the bike which means 23 in December. I may or may not need to hit a bike of some sort in Seattle to round that out. After that I will rest as much as I can after Kentucky and get some skiing in when we're in Canada.

Blog
26 this month, took a few off when we went to Pittsburgh but my motivation on this one has been a little lower recently. 272 total posts this year, average of 25. I guess I could try and hit 28 posts this month to hit 300 on the year but honestly who the hell cares?

Book Writing, Writing
14 days, 71 total. Have not worked on the book since 11/17. I think my plan for the book is to print it out and take it with me to Seattle, and make paper edits then transfer them to the story then release it to my first reader/readers. I have a sort of vague short story in my head. I'll need to figure out what I want to do with writing in 2019 but with the new job title this will change things up a bit. I'll still be transitioning for a while and I may never leave the PS sphere entirely because it allows me to stay in touch with the client needs. In any event, I need to figure out what my aims are with writing. I may combine the blogging & writing into one entity and go from there.

Non-work
12 things, 239 on the year, 22 average. Another poor month in this regard and I am not sure why. As the daylight disappears there is always a lack of motivation and I think the kids being off school with the convention and school then settling into the routine somehow translated into us not doing as much this month. I think this also contributed to the lull that I may have experienced in November, something @jmanic noticed and asked me about. He wondered if it was the birthday and it definitely is not. Age is just some pseudo-arbitrary number as far as I am concerned. Really I think my lack of travel and doing things started to wear on me. The Pittsburgh trip invigorated me. I can't just stay in the house for months at a time without a break from that.

Some of the things I did:
* Went on a daddy-daughter date with Julia
* Swimming day with Julia
* Laser show at the planetarium
* Went to Duke
* The Northampton trip
* I turned 47
* Went to Pittsburgh

Weight
Stable, actually up .1 pounds on average which means no movement. I still have a month to get on this scale and see a 1. I would be lying if I said I was confident I would see that. This is mostly because December will be stupid.

Books
4 this month, 29 this year:
The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Punch Escrow
Britt-Marie was Here
You are Not so Smart

1, 3, and 4 are worth buying. 2 is not.

Movies
5 this month, 14 since I have been tracking over 5 months:
Dunkirk
The Adam Sandler Special
The Big Sick
The Post
Wonder

3, 4, and 5 you absolutely must put on your watchlist. Dunkirk is good but not amazing. If you like WWII then watch it. Adam Sandler was pretty good, also not amazing. I think for me The Big Sick will likely be the best movie I see this year.

Social
8 this month, 68 in 5 months, 14 average
* Sean @ NoHo
* Parents for my birthday
* Alex & Mark, the Pittsburgh trip
* Oma/Opa coming through from Florida

Again, below average and maybe some source of the downness. The older I get the more I realize I need to hang out with other humans to stay happy.

Drinking
Today is actually day 600. Congrats to me, for whatever that means.

Looking ahead: December
This is going to be an insane month. I just plotted out what the month looks like. Here is the high-level:
* between December 12th and December 28th I will not wake up AND go to sleep in my own bed in any single one of those days.
* I will sleep in a bed that is not my own at least 14 times
* Will travel to/through: NJ, PA, WV, OH, KY, WA, NY, QC
* Already have ~19 social items on the plate
* Going to see Neal DeGrasse Tyson with @jmanic on Wednesday
* Next weekend is our last free one of the year and it looks like we've got a work party, a dinner party here, and maybe a bike or ski day next Sunday
* Oh yeah, that bike race thing

Looking ahead: 2019
I am starting to think about next year and I am not sure where my goals will go. Some things I will think about:

- Dropping weight will become a big focus in the first 3-4 months of the year
- Work will need to defined. How do I use that as a metric to limit/define? IDK if I can
- We are likely going to Europe this summer (note to @2Julianas here - we need to coordinate this date with a certain event at the end of June)
- Writing, discussed above
- I need to figure out/define my biking goals for next year
- Will I change Pearl's name back?

 

[jmanic]

He wondered if it was the birthday and it definitely is not. Age is just some pseudo-arbitrary number as far as I am concerned

I get that and feel much the same way.
However, these things- birthdays, anniversaries, events, etc are coded into our unconscious, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not, I think they still have bearing.
For better or for worse.

* Going to see Neal DeGrasse Tyson with @jmanic on Wednesday

FYI- I don’t put out on the first date.

- Will I change Pearl's name back?

Please leave it. At least until the end of the season.
He’s all high on his RB1- he don’t care what you call him.

 

[mattybfat]

Drinking
Today is actually day 600.

Day 20 for me, better watch out I am on your tail

 

[Carson]

Against all odds, I'm keeping the mustache until the holidays. If I can stand it myself. It's my tribute to Bohemian Rhapsody, which was fantastic if you didn't see it. Follow up by watching the actual Live Aid footage of Queen.

There's only 3 types of people that can have mustaches today: gays, cops, and gay cops.

 

[Patrick]

Against all odds, I'm keeping the mustache until the holidays. If I can stand it myself. It's my tribute to Bohemian Rhapsody, which was fantastic if you didn't see it. Follow up by watching the actual Live Aid footage of Queen.

There's only 3 types of people can have mustaches today: gays, cops, and gay cops.

Venn diagram flashback.

 

[rottin']

@Norm and @jmanic I just saw a news story this evening that NGT now has some accusations against him from a number of women stemming back to the '80s. Just FYI--make sure your program is still on this week before heading to see him...

 

[jmanic]

@Norm and @jmanic I just saw a news story this evening that NGT now has some accusations against him from a number of women stemming back to the '80s. Just FYI--make sure your program is still on this week before heading to see him...

Wow. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Norm]

On Death & Dying​

An epic saga.
Dedicated to @jmanic
Narrated by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Samuel Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot and claimed it had nothing to do with god. To me, it was a clear allegory about waiting for the appearance of a god that never comes. He later said that well actually, you know, a lot of what you write comes from the subconscious so hey, maybe it is about god? On that note, we can foray into the depths about life, death, the pursuit of happiness, and how much we love dark chocolate.

I think about death. I don't know when it started but it's something I'm sure anyone my age, our age, thinks about. I don't think about it much. And frankly it doesn't worry me on a daily basis. But I do think about it and wonder how long I'll be around. For someone coming up on 50 with a hobby like ours, we need to think about how long we'll be able to do this. I don't know the answer to this question but I think it lies in looking at the people older than us and how long they keep going. Once that ends we probably look around more and see what else we can do to keep ourselves occupied.

In reality a lot of what I've done this year is an attempt to set myself up for the remainder of my life. Let me throw a number out here. 80. Let's assume I live another 33 years. This is a bunch of years. How can I make the most of those 33 years in terms of both being healthy, and then living life to the fullest. I'm trying to be as healthy as I can, to establish a baseline of healthy habits that will allow me not only to live 33-or-more years, but to do so in a manner that allows me to ride bikes and travel the world for most, of not all, of those 33-or-more years.

So maybe you're right. Maybe the turning of the scoreboard from 46 to 47 holds more weight than I realize.

When I came up on 40 I was looking forward to it, because I badly wanted to race in the 40+ class. I was doing that at age 38, so by the time I actually turned 40, I felt like I had already graduated to that age bracket. The same may be true for 50, assuming I keep my current trajectory on bike riding/training. One of my sort-of-ideas would be to race 50+ in 2 years from now, when I've regained most/all of the form from my younger days. If we are talking about a totally fantasy, I would do this in the Verge series. If you asked me today what my ideal goal in 2020 was, that would be it. Race the 4-double weekends as a 50+ in Verge in the fall of 2020. So again, I aim to graduate to 50 well before I actually get there. I think this helps bridge the X0 age barrier where X=4/5/6/7/8/9/etc.

The one issue I *do* have with my birthday, and father's day for that matter, is that deep down I feel like the kids don't really care about either of these events, so I typically don't look forward to them on that level. In the past it's more or less been a token "oh hey happy whatever day it is can I play with the iPad and what have you done for me lately?" This year was actually a pleasant surprise in that the kids seemed more genuine, and they seemed to care more than ever before. So either @Dominique is doing a great job behind the scenes or they're growing up or maybe a little bit of both.

The reality is that the time between being born and dying is not consumed in increments of one year. You don't wake up one day and find yourself 365 days older than the day before. Each day you wake up, you're 1 day further from being blasted into this world with piss & shit all over you connected to a tube that's keeping you alive, and 1 day closer to...ok well being taken from this world with piss & shit all over you connected to a tube that's keeping you alive. There's gotta be a better way to say that. Anyway, if we lived on Mercury I would be 195.2 years old and wouldn't be celebrating my birthday until Feb 5, 2019. Likewise, if we lived on Pluto I wouldn't even be .2 years old and would never see a single birthday, which would take a total shit on the birthday candle industry. So it's all a matter of 100% arbitrary perspective. From here on in I will celebrate my age in days. Happy birthday to me, today I am 17,178 days old. That sure makes 601 days without a drink seem pretty short.

So no, I am not waiting for god. But then, I guess who knows, maybe I am.

 

[rick81721]

This comes immediately to mind, George

 

[rottin']

525,600 minutes until the next birthday. Well, really a few less since your actual birthday and now. Your commentary on how the kids are starting react to this and what it means to you was interesting,,,seasons of change,,,

On Death & Dying​

An epic saga.
Dedicated to @jmanic
Narrated by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Samuel Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot and claimed it had nothing to do with god. To me, it was a clear allegory about waiting for the appearance of a god that never comes. He later said that well actually, you know, a lot of what you write comes from the subconscious so hey, maybe it is about god? On that note, we can foray into the depths about life, death, the pursuit of happiness, and how much we love dark chocolate.

I think about death. I don't know when it started but it's something I'm sure anyone my age, our age, thinks about. I don't think about it much. And frankly it doesn't worry me on a daily basis. But I do think about it and wonder how long I'll be around. For someone coming up on 50 with a hobby like ours, we need to think about how long we'll be able to do this. I don't know the answer to this question but I think it lies in looking at the people older than us and how long they keep going. Once that ends we probably look around more and see what else we can do to keep ourselves occupied.

In reality a lot of what I've done this year is an attempt to set myself up for the remainder of my life. Let me throw a number out here. 80. Let's assume I live another 33 years. This is a bunch of years. How can I make the most of those 33 years in terms of both being healthy, and then living life to the fullest. I'm trying to be as healthy as I can, to establish a baseline of healthy habits that will allow me not only to live 33-or-more years, but to do so in a manner that allows me to ride bikes and travel the world for most, of not all, of those 33-or-more years.

So maybe you're right. Maybe the turning of the scoreboard from 46 to 47 holds more weight than I realize.

When I came up on 40 I was looking forward to it, because I badly wanted to race in the 40+ class. I was doing that at age 38, so by the time I actually turned 40, I felt like I had already graduated to that age bracket. The same may be true for 50, assuming I keep my current trajectory on bike riding/training. One of my sort-of-ideas would be to race 50+ in 2 years from now, when I've regained most/all of the form from my younger days. If we are talking about a totally fantasy, I would do this in the Verge series. If you asked me today what my ideal goal in 2020 was, that would be it. Race the 4-double weekends as a 50+ in Verge in the fall of 2020. So again, I aim to graduate to 50 well before I actually get there. I think this helps bridge the X0 age barrier where X=4/5/6/7/8/9/etc.

The one issue I *do* have with my birthday, and father's day for that matter, is that deep down I feel like the kids don't really care about either of these events, so I typically don't look forward to them on that level. In the past it's more or less been a token "oh hey happy whatever day it is can I play with the iPad and what have you done for me lately?" This year was actually a pleasant surprise in that the kids seemed more genuine, and they seemed to care more than ever before. So either @Dominique is doing a great job behind the scenes or they're growing up or maybe a little bit of both.

The reality is that the time between being born and dying is not consumed in increments of one year. You don't wake up one day and find yourself 365 days older than the day before. Each day you wake up, you're 1 day further from being blasted into this world with piss & shit all over you connected to a tube that's keeping you alive, and 1 day closer to...ok well being taken from this world with piss & shit all over you connected to a tube that's keeping you alive. There's gotta be a better way to say that. Anyway, if we lived on Mercury I would be 195.2 years old and wouldn't be celebrating my birthday until Feb 5, 2019. Likewise, if we lived on Pluto I wouldn't even be .2 years old and would never see a single birthday, which would take a total shit on the birthday candle industry. So it's all a matter of 100% arbitrary perspective. From here on in I will celebrate my age in days. Happy birthday to me, today I am 17,178 days old. That sure makes 601 days without a drink seem pretty short.

So no, I am not waiting for god. But then, I guess who knows, maybe I am.

 

[Patrick]

you haven't bent time like that in a few years....look out, just don't call it a come-back.

 

[stb222]

Well that was a deep dive

Happy birthday!

This was definitely a post that made me think, "people actually think this way?" I have a bunch of years before I think I approach this, but who knows. Most of the people I ride with weekly, just happen to be in there 50's and 60's and some of them are dropping 20 hours weeks, week in and week out. So the partial answer to that is, when you want it to end, maybe.

Regardless, the things I went through 9 year ago changed my outlook, but it isn't the dying to think about, it is the living. I think you are saying the same thing...

 

[rick81721]

Most of the people I ride with weekly, just happen to be in there 50's and 60's and some of them are dropping 20 hours weeks, week in and week out.

You ride with other people? Since when??

 

[stb222]

You ride with other people? Since when??

Since I moved to PA, group out of Newtown at 6am daily. Depending on whats going on and what route is planned, ill jump in if I am riding road.

 

[rick81721]

Since I moved to PA, group out of Newtown at 6am daily. Depending on whats going on and what route is planned, ill jump in if I am riding road.

I ran into 4 old coots at a Pizza place in Ringoes today. Talk about unfriendly roadies - jayzuz, they wouldn't say boo, barely smiled. I guess they were miserable that the grim reaper was right on their ass (see how I turned this around on topic?).

 

[Carson]

@Norm

Maybe with kids, this answer is easy. But try it anyway. Theoretically, which of these would you choose?

You live until 80, but you can never drink again, you have to exercise 8-10 hours a week, sleep 7 hours a night, maintain your weight religiously, and can only drink 2 cups of coffee a day. Oh and yearly colonoscopies.

OR

You live until 70, but you can eat and drink whatever you like, live under power lines, never wear a seat belt, be sedentary if you choose, stay up late, and never visit a doctor again.