Finished reading: A Series of Unfortunate Events #4: The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket 📚

My Last Hurrah

In March, I made the difficult decision to hang up my pads after the end of this season. I have been playing adult league hockey since 2011 or 2012. I forget the exact year I started, but I do remember us living in Nashville at the time, so it could not have been earlier than 2011. I had played roller hockey in high school and one year of ice hockey for the University of Louisville club team. There was a long lull between that season and when I started playing in an adult league here in Nashville. During that lull, I was very much out of shape and couldn’t imagine playing again. However, with lots of exercise and being smarter about what food I consumed, I slowly conditioned myself into playing shape.

When I started playing in the adult league, I signed up for the Lower C division, which is the most inexperienced division. My plan was to play a season or two, then move my way up to a higher skilled division. The problem became finding a permanent team in those divisions. I subbed some, even found a few teams that I would regularly sub for, but I never found one that was looking for a full-time goalie. I subbed all the way up to Lower A. Lower A was way too advanced for me and my skill level. I think I probably could have done a reasonable job in Lower B as I subbed there often in 2012-2014 and found success.

Eventually, life ebbs and it flows and I found myself, thirteen or fourteen years later, still playing in Lower C. During that time, while living in Nashville, I played for the Phantoms full-time. We were never the top team, but we had good camaraderie amongst the team and we had a lot of fun. In this league, everyone makes the playoffs; the game outcomes only determine the seeding during the playoffs. In the 2012-2013 season, we were at the bottom of the league which meant we would be playing one of the better teams in the first round. I remember being very anxious for that game. I remember wanting to win. I remember feeling a lot of pressure to perform well. The team we were playing chirped a lot and I was always annoyed to play them. It didn’t help that they were actually a really talented team, maybe even a little too talented for Lower C. Fortunately, I ended up playing a phenomenal game and had a shutout. One of their better players whined to the league coordinator and tried to suggest that I shouldn’t be allowed to play in the league. I have to admit, that felt pretty good. I followed up that game with another shutout in the second round. After two shutouts, I felt so much pressure to keep it going in the championship round. The championship round is a best of three series. Unfortunately, my tank was a little low and I was not able to repeat my previous performance. We lost in two games. I took that hard. I was excited that we had mad the championship, but I was disappointed that we didn’t win.

In the intervening years, I did not make another championship. I cannot recall if the Phantoms made a championship during my California years, but I would assume they did not. After I returned, we won a few playoff games, but just couldn’t make it all the way. When I announced my retirement to the team, this was a bit of a burr in my saddle. I didn’t bring it up, but I was a bit sad to think I wouldn’t have the chance to win a championship again. I thought of all the world class athletes who actually do this stuff for a career and to realize that some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game may never have the chance to play for a championship, let alone win one. I was fortunate enough to have made the championship round once. At least I had that to hang my hat on as we wrapped up the end of the 2024-2025 season.

I felt that our team turned a bit of a corner in the final few games of our season. Our games were closer and we were finding ways to score more goals (always helpful in a game where the objective is to score more than the other team). As we entered the final game of the season, we were in a position where we could play our way into the 5th seed (second to last seed). This would give us a more favorable path. Additionally, there were players on the Phantoms who would be unable to make the first round playoff game if we finished as the 6th seed. Fortunately, I was able to put together the last shutout of my career and we finished as the 5th seed. We followed that up with a nice win in the first round. We then followed that up with a nice win in the second round, which required a late game winning goal in the third period. We suddenly found ourselves in the championship. In a weird twist, we were playing the team that we played in the 2013 championship.

When we started the championship round, I felt fairly calm. I had a lot of confidence in our ability to stay in a game. I did not feel the pressure of needing a shutout for us to have a chance to win. Our defense was doing a lot of things right and they were taking away high probability scoring chances. Our offense was able to sustain pressure and they were making nice, clean passes. I just felt good. After taking the first game, I felt like I might be able to get my storybook ending. I didn’t want to presume, but I strongly felt that we had a good chance as long as we kept playing at the level we had been at over the last month.

Before the start of the second game, I started to get very anxious. I felt those butterflies in my stomach. I forced myself to eat before the game, to drink plenty of water, to stretch, to listen to music, to relax. By the opening face off, I was comfortable. We fell down 0-2 in the first period. I took a few deep breaths. I put my faith in my team. I strongly felt that we were not out of the game. By the end of the first period, we were tied 2-2. In the third period, we found ourselves up 4-2. About halfway through the third, they were able to score and draw within one. With just over a minute left in the game, they pulled their goalie. One of my defensive players secured the puck, looked up, and made a perfect pass through center ice to a streaking offensive player who was able to calmly put it into the back of the net. We found ourselves up 5-3 with a minute left in the game. I steadied myself. I thought of my father. I hummed music to myself. I focused. The rest of that minute was a blur, a frenzy of passes and shots that we were able to turn away. As the final horn blew, the defensive players on the ice came back to hug me. I was ecstatic. Justin, who I’ve played with for my entire time on the Phantoms, was the first player back and we just yelled in jubilation. It was joy, pure joy.

I didn’t need to win. If we had lost, the sun would have come up the next day and life would have continued. I, however, wanted this win very badly. It felt like an impossible story, something that I’m sure everyone would want, the chance to go out on top (no matter how small that molehill actually is) and it just feels really good to have a win, no matter how big or small.

Went on a mountain biking ride for the global #CloseYourRings day at Calero County Park. It was a great way to be active today.

Excerpts from Becoming Steve Jobs

I recently went back and read Becoming Steve Jobs by journalists Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli. I really enjoyed the book. While reading it, I shared a few excerpts with friends. I decided to post those here as well.

The first excerpt comes from the period of time when Steve was in negotiations to buy what would become Pixar from George Lucas:

“At one point,” says Barnes, who helped with the negotiations, “the delays went on forever and he [Steve] just went and told one of their executives to ‘fuck off.’ One of the Lucas team said, ‘You can’t say that to one of our EVPs.’ ‘Yes I can,’ he replied. ‘And fuck you, too.’”

During the post hardware time at NeXT, the company pivoted to selling software, which included government information servers. This anecdote from Ed Catmull amused me:

One day, Ed Catmull read a NeXT press release about, he says, “how NeXT is really happy to be selling software to control government information servers, or data centers, or something mundane like that. I read this and thought, Oh, shoot, this has got to be killing Steve. So I called him up. We met at a Japanese restaurant in Palo Alto, and I said, ‘This isn’t you, Steve.’ And he went, ‘Ohhhhh, I know! I hate this so much. I mean, CIOs are nice guys, but God is this awful!’”

This anecdote is from when Neil Young tried to send a few remastered LPs to Steve to make amends. Neil had criticized the compression of tracks sold on the iTunes Music Store and talked about how it rendered the music unbearably “compromised“:

“Fuck Neil Young,“ he [Steve] snapped, “and fuck his records.“

Lastly, the book touches on a conversation between Steve and Andy Grove (a founder and former CEO of Intel) about whether or not he should accept the CEO position at Apple after Apple’s board decided to dismiss Gil Amelio. I cannot recall if the book includes this full anecdote, but I’ve always enjoyed it:

“I knew Apple was a mess [at the time], so I wondered: Do I want to give up this nice lifestyle that I have? What are all the Pixar shareholders going to think? I talked to people I respected. I finally called Andy Grove at about eight one Saturday morning — too early. I gave him the pros and the cons, and in the middle he stopped me and said, ‘Steve, I don’t give a shit about Apple.’ I was stunned. It was then that I realized that I do give a shit about Apple … That was when I decided to go back.”

Finished reading: Mickey7 by Edward Ashton 📚

Thoroughly enjoyed this. I wanted to read the book before I see the movie. I had only become aware of this book with the release of the movie, Mickey 17.

🎧 The RFK Jr. Problem | Revisionist History

There are many reasons to be disappointed, concerned, or scared about our current situation. The appointment of RFK Jr. as the Secretary of HHS is, in my opinion, one of the most potentially dangerous actions taken by the current administration.

Finished reading: Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender 📚

There were so many good anecdotes and quotes in this book. I am glad that I finally got around to reading this one and regret that it took me so long.

Take a look at this pheasant.

The Bravery of Sharing Opinions on a Blog

I was listening to the latest ATP member’s special, Our Websites, when I heard Marco’s observation as to why he prefers sharing opinions on a podcast as opposed to sharing opinions on a blog:

In a blog post, I feel like you are coming off much more seriously and matter-of-fact-ly, whereas in a podcast you can kind of hear that this a conversation, this is maybe “you’re shooting out an idea”, kind of “how you feel” about it. It’s a little more casual, a little more forgiving.

I’ve heard Marco share this opinion before, but for some reason it really struck me this time, that I believe the actual issue is that blogs or posts on the internet can sometimes become faceless, leading to more negativity. In my opinion, it’s something that really started with social media and has since become accelerated.

Finished reading: A Series of Unfortunate Events #3: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket 📚

Count Olaf can’t keep getting away with this!

Just because something is typed—whether it is typed on a business card or typed in a newspaper or book—this does not mean that it is true.

🔗 Daring Fireball: Did TikTok Swing the Election to Trump?

I worry that the liberal/left response to this will be to declare, with exasperation, that people shouldn’t be getting their news or forming their political opinions by what they see on TikTok. You need to meet people where they are, and craft messages for the media they consume.

Both of these things can be true: People shouldn’t be getting their news or forming political opinions by what they see on TikTok and you should meet people where they are.

Poaching Eggs in a Microwave

Weekday breakfasts should be quick and easily reproducible. I typically do not like to spend a lot of time preparing breakfast on for myself on days when I am hustling to get the kids to school and to begin my workday. I also do not have the patience for experimentation on these days. My standby is usually oatmeal, but there are times where oatmeal just doesn’t sound that good to me. Over the last few months, I have experimented with different egg dishes. It’s not too cumbersome to use the range with a skillet to fry eggs, but that becomes additional work later in the form of washing the pan. If I scramble the eggs, this adds a bowl and whisk (or fork if I’m trying to avoid washing the whisk). I could boil an egg, but that will introduce a pan to wash. I tried cooking scrambled eggs in the microwave (crack open an egg in a coffee cup, beat with a fork, add some ham, then microwave). This isn’t too bad, but cleaning the coffee cup actually becomes an issue since the egg mixture can stay caked to the inside of the coffee cup unless you get a scrubbing brush out.

A few weeks ago, I started experimenting with cooking poached eggs in the microwave. I would put some water and a splash of vinegar in a coffee cup, microwave (to heat up the liquid), drop in an egg, and microwave again for some period of time on a lower power level. No matter what combination of time and power level I used, I would either have under or over cooked poached eggs. If the egg is under cooked, it’s difficult to spoon the egg out of the coffee cup and too much of the egg white stays behind. If the egg is over cooked, the egg yellow is cooked all the way through and you lose out on a runny yolk, which I would argue is a benefit of a poached egg.

With a little experimentation, I think I finally cracked it (har har har) by introducing a new dish in which to microwave the poached egg: a ramekin. I’ve been able to reproduce my desired results a few times and I am now documenting this for posterity.

Steps

1. Pour water into a ramekin, until about 3/4 full.
2. Add a splash of white distilled vinegar.
3. Microwave on high for 90 seconds.
4. Carefully add the egg (the water will be hot!).
5. Microwave for two minutes on power level 30.
6. Carefully use a spoon to scoop out the egg.

I typically add this to a piece of toast and I top with a little freshly ground black pepper and a splash of hot sauce (I prefer Cholula).

📺 NeXTSTEP Release 3: A Demonstration with Steve Jobs

I never had the opportunity to use a NeXT machine. I really enjoy watching these demonstrations though, seeing how so much of what we take for granted today was groundbreaking back then.

Finished reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 📚

Ashley’s recommendation upon me revisiting classic works that I have never read. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was surprised by how many laughs I got out of it.

Looking at the weather forecast, tonight will be one of those nights where I question why I choose to live here.

My slow progression into farsightedness has become very annoying. I have been very fortunate to not have vision problems throughout my life, but as I approach forty, farsightedness is catching up to me.

Happy Daredevil: Born Again premiere day, to all those who celebrate. Looking forward to watching the first episode this evening.

Grateful

Over the course of last summer, Dead & Company entered my regular rotation on Apple Music. I had never been a huge fan of Grateful Dead. In my youth, I maintained an unwarranted distaste for their music. I remember a visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, in my twenties and I skipped the visiting exhibit, which was dedicated to Grateful Dead. I now regret that I skipped the exhibit. I cannot actually put my finger on why I disliked the Dead’s music so much, but for whatever reason, I was not a fan.

Dead & Company entered my rotation due to the presence of John Mayer. I am aware that John Mayer has had a few controversies throughout his career, but I have always really enjoyed his music. His talent on the guitar is remarkable. When he started touring with Dead & Company, I read an interview with him on how he became obsessed with the music of Grateful Dead. Some of their music started playing on a Pandora radio station and he could not get the music out of his head. In a later interview, he suggested that if one was not a fan of Grateful Dead or did not like their music, that the time was not right. In other words, everyone will eventually come to like at least some of their catalog when the time was right for it in their life. I feel like this describes my relationship with Grateful Dead to a tee.

Dead & Company has only published live shows. There are no studio albums or EPs to their credit. They are a true jam band. This can make listening to their catalog a bit daunting. Where should one start? I do not have the answer to that. I simply picked a few shows and just started listening. I chose the first few shows based on location or album artwork. After a few months of this, I eventually found myself listening to the original works by the Dead. I came to appreciate the evolution of the music, the different styles. I came to appreciate both versions.

Grateful Dead is, of course, a jam band as well. Their concerts are epic. Their followers are legendarily devoted. There are so many live recordings of Grateful Dead. There are websites devoted to tracking fan opinions on which shows are noteworthy. Honestly, every one I hear is good. There are some, however, that do stand out. Typically, it’s the feeling of the music. Maybe the atmosphere you can hear through the recording, the audience response. You can just feel when the band is really grooving.

I have been dealing with lower back pain since early 2020. I do not recall a precursor to the pain. I just remember waking up one day and being in quite a bit of pain. Initially, I received a recommendation of rest with pain medication. After a few months, I found that the pain was still present. Then I received a physical therapy referral. After a few months of physical therapy, the pain was still present, but less severe if I followed through with the proposed exercise regimen. I tried a chiropractor, which did not yield any significant change to my situation. During this time, I had fallen out of regular exercise. I typically ran or walked for cardio, but that proved difficult. I did not trust myself with lifting weights. Instead, I had only been stretching and doing exercises prescribed to me by the physical therapist.

After a bit of research last year, I decided to try riding my bicycle as exercise. My bicycle had been collecting dust in my garage for months. After some light cleaning and maintenance, I started riding. I needed music for my rides. It was only natural that I turned to Grateful Dead and Dead & Company, which were heavy in my rotation. The Dead kept my rides enjoyable and kept me motivated to keep on Truckin'. I event invested in cycling attire, complete with a Grateful Dead cycling jersey (the eBay seller even threw in a pair of Fare Thee Well sunglasses too, which I now always wear on my bike).

In August, my father passed away after a short bout with pulmonary fibrosis. I was devastated. In my grief, I once again turned to Grateful Dead and Dead & Company. The meaning of He’s Gone did not quite fit my situation, but the chorus resonated with me deeply, in particular the Dead & Company version which comes across as more somber:

Now, he’s gone, now he’s gone, Lord, he’s gone He’s gone, like a steam locomotive Rolling down the track, he’s gone, he’s gone And nothing’s going to bring him back, he’s gone

I would occasionally listen to Touch of Grey and just cry. I feel that whenever we are grieving, we just want something to bring us comfort; for whatever reason, the Dead brought me comfort.

The last unexpected turn in my journey with the Dead happened at the rink. I’ve been an ice hockey goalie for many years. I usually listened to heavy metal or hair metal before playing. Last year, I noticed how angry I felt while playing. I still had the metal music stuck in my head and I felt aggressive and, unfortunately, this aggression was not translating into better play. On the contrary, it was actually taking away my enjoyment of the game. At some point, I changed my pregame routine and, you guessed it, started listening to the Dead. It completely changed how I play and, more importantly, how I feel when I play. I typically remain calmer and I am usually in a better mood for it.

2025 Pinewood Derby

Our Cub Scout Pack, Pack 2301 held their Pinewood Derby tonight. Max finished first in his den, but did not place in the pack championship. I was honestly a bit bummed for him. I feel like I should have added additional graphite to his wheels and axles before the pack championship races started. I felt that he responded well to both the highs and the lows. I did not know how I’d feel about this Derby. Max is now an Arrow of Light and this was his last Derby. I’m happy that I got to experience three Pinewood Derby events, but a little sad that I likely will not experience another (unless Adelaide changes her mind about trying Cub Scouts).

We had a scare before the race even started. Max placed his car on the table and it rolled off onto the floor, knocking a wheel and axel out. Unfortunately, the fall also damaged the actual wood around the axel notch. All this happened while I was trying to help Ashley with handing out pizza. I was incredibly flustered. Luckily I had some glue, found some scotch tape, and got to work. I had to avoid a test run with his car to give the glue time to set.

Today was a very stressful day though. I placed the main order for our pizza last night. After submitting the order, I realized I had missed a pizza. I placed a second order this morning, but received a cryptic error message, requesting that I call the store. I called the store and discovered they did not have my order. After some back and forth, I noticed that my Amex was refunded yesterday, meaning the website silently cancelled my order. I drove over to the store after lunch and placed my order in person. An hour or so later, I received a phone call from Papa John’s online tech support telling me that my online order had been cancelled. I thanked them and let them know I had already placed an order in person after discovering the cancellation.

The joke ended up being on me, however, when I arrived at the store and discovered that my order had been cancelled. The tech support person wasn’t talking about last night’s order; he was talking about today’s order. I laughed and asked how quickly they could make pizza. It must have been the manager, because she laughed and said she can make pizzas fast. She then proceeded to discount my order 50% and she got to work. Fifteen minutes later, I was loading eleven pizzas and two orders of breadsticks into my car. I am somewhat surprised by just how calm I remained and how well I handled the situation. I was also relieved at how helpful the people in the store were.

🔗 My Open Letter to Elon Musk - Democracy Docket

🔗 Here at DOGE, We’ve Streamlined Every Aspect of America’s Collapse - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

I promise, America will soon be the Cybertruck of countries—uglier than you could have imagined, built for rich chuds, borderline inoperable, and on fire.

Finished reading: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney 📚

🔗 The LBJ the Nation Seldom Saw

Any jackass can kick a barn down. But it takes a carpenter to build one.

Finished reading: If You Can’t Take the Heat by Geraldine DeRuiter 📚

Out of my wheelhouse, but I enjoyed the book. There is humor (and it hit me just the right way) and seriousness (that is thought provoking). I enjoyed the book.

Finished reading: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket 📚