Writer, musician, wizardly guide to platform independence
Usually a Christmas holiday break means spending time with family, dinner with friends, ice skating, nice conversations in cute coffee shops… but not this year.
That’s what makes getting “back to work” that much more difficult. There was no unwinding, no reprieve. No break from the tragedy. No break from being vigilant. No break.
So we start January with a Slack outage, which is about as on-brand as you can get for the state of the world we’re living in now.
Playing around with keyboard and synth “patches.” I’m not really well versed with piano-type instruments. Usually I just throw a few lines together, then edit the MIDI notes later.
Video by Stef from @Pexels
In James Gilleard’s series Japan By Car, you’re whisked away on an adventure of color and fun. I know these are just illustrations, but I swear I feel like I’m there, sitting in the passenger seat and experiencing each scene as if it’s passing by me.
Sticking to a new habit, especially one like running which isn’t exactly know for being enjoyable, is tough.
Think of other things you enjoy around running that you can work into your system. Treat yourself to a nice running cap, or maybe your favorite album in your earbuds. Make a playlist for Mondays, something you can look forward to. Schedule a reminder in your calendar.
In my latest Soft Run newsletter I talk about supporting your goals with systems, which I learned from Atomic Habits from James Clear.
“The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.”
My first reason to start running was because I had friends who were runners and I wanted to join them in their adventures. It’s the same reason why I started playing music – my peers in high school were learning to play music, and I wanted to be a part of that.
Eh, maybe that’s some peer pressure, but 30 years later I’m still making music. And this will be my fifth year running.
Now, I’ve always wanted to be someone who says they do 100 push-ups a day, but never had the motivation. It never stuck. I’ve stopped and started (I wrote about it here in 2018), but ultimately I guess I really don’t want do 100 push-ups a day.
Could I make it a habit? I suppose, but I just haven’t built a system to make it happen, and I’m just not in a big hurry to do it, either.
Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels
Snagged this guitar sound from my friend Gino DePinto’s Instagram story! Captured on my iPhone, transferred to my computer, then chopped up in Abelton Live. The drums are a little over the top, but I still think it’s a fun little loop.
Sometimes you just need to watch some trippy 10 minute long videos. This collection from Andrew Benson is a treasure.
I sat with them for many months, thinking I should find some way to share them, but I was torn by not really wanting to revisit and “finish” anything and not knowing when I’d ever have an opportunity to show these in an ideal way.
More samples from places I don’t remember, and more simple drum beats, but coupling this with stock video (from Pexel) makes things a lot of fun still.
First Goodnight, Metal Friend mix of 2021, and stoked that it’s mix #10. I started doing these after COVID-19 hit in 2020, just to learn more about crafting mixes, with everything from sourcing the tunes, performing them in real time using DJ software, and making all the promo assets for social media and the web.
This Goodnight, Metal Friend mix features tracks from Hypnagogue, 37735i6, Center Void, Moksa, and System Exile, clocking just over 29 minutes of menacing, spooky vibes.
This video was posted on 1/1/2021 on Twitter and Instagram, and even though I preach the “put your stuff on our own website” message, I forgot to put them on my own site. Better late then never.
Video is from Pexel, and the beat and boops and all that are from me. I’m a third generation musician, and have been playing music on and off (mostly off) for about 30 years now. These loops are the hook to get me opening up Abelton Live and stretch my musical muscles again.
How do you walk to Cleveland? One step at a time.
This 1,100 miles happened one day at a time, one mile at a time. Most runs were short, probably around 3-ish miles. My yearly pace was something like 10:45/mile. For me it’s just been about staying healthy, to run within my means, and not push myself too hard, too often.
My longest run was 18 miles back in February, and I hit four years running in July. Bought a GoPro, and switched back to a Garmin from an Apple Watch.
“At one point I saw a fox run across the road. At mile eight a random dog started running with me, and stayed with me for a bit until his owners drove up with their mini van and he jumped in and bailed on me.”
A year ago today I was in Philadelphia and ran myself into the ground. Ran four races, three virtual (the Golden Coast 5K, the Philly 10K, and the Truthsgiving 4 Miler), one in-person (new 10 mile PR).
The Golden Coast 5K and the Truthsgiving 4 Miler raised money for good causes, the Philly 10K got me a nice poster, and the 10 miler got me out of the house.
Bought a bike in 2020, which helped me keep up some fitness without being on my feet, but as the weather got cold I stopped riding as much. Biking in the cold is harder than running in the cold, so my bike has just been sort of sitting around.
I did a 100 mile week total to help raise money for the Running 4 Rivs fundraiser. That was a combo of biking and running, which I continued for a few weeks after just for the heck of it.
Back in April I tried running four miles (the fourth month of the year) every day, but managed only 21 days before some foot pain forced me to stop. Started a one-mile-a-day run stream on November 23rd, and as of December 31st hit 39 days in a row.
So yeah, I guess that’s how I hit 1,110 miles. Add some variety, some challenges, some spontaneous adventures, and take it slow. Staying healthy means you get to keep running, so I’m planning on more slow-time adventures in the near year.
