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10 For 2026

Another year, another list. I know it seems passe to care about New Year's Resolutions and the like these days, as no one keeps them, but I like this format. I get romantic about the possibility of 365 more days to do something different. To try and be better. To move the needle forward on whatever it is that is important to you. Here's the 2026 Edition:  1. A completed, working draft of Book 4 by the end of the year. I've got 40K words and it's time to figure out what to do with them. It needs a restructure. I know how it ends. I sort of thought I knew how it begins, but that might be changing, and I need to figure out the rest in between.  2. Built-in bookshelves! (Also: fix the gutter, fix the window, privacy strips for the fence, get new doors hung in the back hallway, fix the van bumper.) 3. Being Present: I know that's a buzzword these days, but I want to unpack it a little bit. I want to get into the habit of putting my phone down rather than having it with m...
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10 For 2025: The Final Verdict

  1. Look, I've been saying it for years now, but this has to be the year of  Book 4 . It's grinding away, little by little but at minimum, I'm going to get this damn thing into a workable draft format this year. If I'm very lucky and write very well, I might be into revisions by the end of the year and beating into shape for a final draft and a release. I have no idea why this is taking so long. I have no excuses to offer. I just really, really want to get this- at a minimum- closer to the finish line this year.  VERDICT: FAIL-- though not for lack of trying. I'm going to work on restructuring this one and turning it into what it needs to be in the new year. I've got about 40K words, so I've gotta start molding and crafting and making this into something.  2. Let's Get Some Vinyl: I finally got another tattoo and will probably get another at some point this year, but I really want this year to be the year I expand and actually use/listen to our...
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10 For 2025: 3rd Quarter Update

   1. Look, I've been saying it for years now, but this has to be the year of Book 4 . It's grinding away, little by little but at minimum, I'm going to get this damn thing into a workable draft format this year. If I'm very lucky and write very well, I might be into revisions by the end of the year and beating into shape for a final draft and a release. I have no idea why this is taking so long. I have no excuses to offer. I just really, really want to get this- at a minimum- closer to the finish line this year.  Book 4 is officially on hold for now. Doing some more reading and a lot of thinking about where to take this one, but hopefully I will have a solid plan by year's end.  2. Let's Get Some Vinyl: I finally got another tattoo and will probably get another at some point this year, but I really want this year to be the year I expand and actually use/listen to our vinyl collection more. We need more storage for it and I'd like to make purchas...
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Albums2010 Revisited: Led Zeppelin III

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I haven't done a complete dive into Led Zeppelin's 1-4, but I might have to after this because I'm curious to see if my opinion changes. Prior to really giving III a good listen, I was very much a Zoso/IV fan, but now I think I might have to shift. I might have to lower the boom and say it: Led Zeppelin III is the best of the first four albums. (A full dive into Zeppelin's catalogue might change my opinion still further. I was surprised at how top-to-bottom excellent, no skips, Houses Of The Holy is as well.) Dipping back into the Albums2010 Archives , it looks like I did Led Zeppelin II (#20) and Led Zeppelin IV. (#27) in the original run-- #68-#80 were lost to the Unfortunate Wordpress Experiment, so it's possible I got more Zeppelin in the original run, but I don't know if I did Led Zeppelin III- so, without further ado: III: It feels like a tone shift from prior Zeppelin albums, and after consulting with the interwebs, that turns out to be true because tha...
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Just Lower The Flags

Look, I'm just going to say it, because someone who lives in this county should: just lower the flags . I don't know what it is about Progressives, but something just unhinges their brains in moments like these and they choose to pick fights over the stupidest fucking shit. This, this is the hill you're going to die on? You're going to defy an unpopular Governor who is not running for re-election? I'm stunned at the bravery on display. I marvel at the profiles in political courage it must have taken to decide to chase some Progressive internet clout in a moment that demands, if nothing else, basic human decency . Do I have a very high opinion of our county board of supervisors? Not really. But I am disappointed in Jon Green. Progressive though he was, he struck me as a dude who had his head screwed on straighter than most of the rest of the local Progressives, and it turns out, I was wrong. He's exactly as myopic and clout-chasing and small-minded as all the ...
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50 Before 50: Three Year Overhaul

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Ok, I'm three years in, and I'm going to start expanding some of these and defining them a bit more clearly. You'll notice some blank spaces because I'm still thinking about what to do for a lot of them and will add them over the course of the year to hopefully be fully updated by next year. (Also, I'm not sure I did this last year at all? So if I skipped a year, I'm sorry.) My 42nd revolution around the sun began with a trip to Colorado to see Brandi Carlile in concert with the Missus. We went to see the sunrise over Rocky Mountain National Park. We did some hiking. It was a great way to spend a birthday. 50 Before 50 Self Improvement 1. Run a 5K: I honestly don't think I'll do it more than once, because I'm not a runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd like to do it once, unless there's a walking challenge or something I can do? 2. Ride the whole week of RAGBRAI:  Again, I did a day, so why not the whole week? (Plus, I know it mig...
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The Reasonable Test

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This was going to be a completely different post, but as usual, the never-ending slurry of chum that is the political feeding frenzy in this country changed all that. Originally, I was thinking I would chip away at this notion that the internet seems to be convincing itself that the Democratic Party's approval rating is somehow indicative of their impending doom. Arguably, the generic ballot at this point in the cycle paints a different picture, and a lot of the disapproval of the Democratic Party is coming from their own voters, angry at the party's general impotence and the fecklessness of the DNC in general. So, it's a talking point I don't particularly rate all that much. At this point on Twitter, it's essentially clickbait/ragebait more than anything else. (Ditto with any tweet that ends with THIS IS HUGE-- I assure you, it's not particularly HUGE. So, calm down... and stop inventing Tweet genres. It's annoying.) That got me thinking, though: are we in ...
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