A few weeks ago, I updated my about page to move away from a weirdly detailed biography that I'm sure nobody read over to a simple, bulleted list of the things that currently make me feel like "me".¹

The list is the mix of the familial, professional, and personal aspirations that I am working toward right now toward the end of July 2025.

But a bulleted list of stuff that I'm really into feels like ripe content for a blog post, and I'm feeling bloggy lately... so without further ado, here's all the stuff I'm really into at the moment.

My family

This is the most crucial to me right now. I want to build memories with them that'll bond us together forever. We've been kicking this summer's butt with tons of soccer games, zoo visits, swimming pool evenings, early morning walks, parades, camping, all that good stuff.

I do, however, need to set up a date night with my wife. There's never enough one on one time for the two of us to relax and enjoy some laughs together. We've got some good concerts coming up in the fall, but an evening alone (maybe a trip up to Cheapo?) sounds ideal.

Software engineering

I've been building websites for nearly 30 years now, but I can't say I've ever expressly focused on getting really good at engineering.

I find myself at a job where I'm surrounded by exceptional engineers who challenge me daily, and my actual engineering chops have greatly improved since starting. I'm looking forward to deepening my understanding of how machine learning works in a production environment.

I'm also continuing progress on the Kneescraper project. Kneescraper is an LLM-powered tool that grabs data from unstructured post-operative surgical reports and structures it for use in centralized registries. We've received a grant and are finishing up our first published report on the progress, and I am absolutely floored with how cool this tech is.²

Get buff as hell

For decades now, I've said I've wanted to see how it feels to have a six pack.

Shortly before Christmas last year, I decided I was going to do 100 sit-ups every single day. As a result, I've done 22,000 sit-ups, which is pretty damn cool.

On top of that, I started getting into strength training. My first idea (because I'm cheap by training) was to just do 100 burpees a day in my garage. I'm up to 5,500 burpees since May, and again, I think that's pretty damn cool. Almost as cool: my family joined the gym that just opened in our town. I've completed 15 workout classes and have spent nearly every day at the outdoor pool with my wife and kids. (Bonus points!)

All of this exercise results in a physical reflection of the change I want to begin to embody more completely. I'm walking more upright, I'm not groaning when I sit up, I'm able to carry my kids for longer and keep up with them in the playground, which I've always said I want to do.

Now, to progress further down the physical health rabbit hole, I've learned that if you want to have a cut physique, exercise is roughly 25% of the work you need to put in.

The other 75%? Nutrition, of course. (They say abs are made or broken in the kitchen.)

So, for August, I'm going to try a cut. I want to see if I can simultaneously focus on my protein intake and eating healthy. My cut will mostly be cutting sweets and alcohol and all the stuff I know is obviously bad for me. I think that'll be more sustainable than holding to a calorie max.

Oh, and we also bought a blender, so I'm gonna become a protein shake bro. I dunno, why not?

Rebuild the back patio.

My friend Paul has been helping me figure out how to destroy and re-build my back patio.

Long story short: the pavers on my back patio have been busted up and crumbling for years, and the wooden retaining wall that surrounds the pad is rotted. So I decided to do it.

This is a huge step for me, because it's been the first time since moving into this house nearly a decade ago now that I feel like I'm making this place my own. It's exhilarating!

So far, we've removed the old patio and shipped it off in Bagsters. Right now, there's a big mound of sand and gravel in my backyard.

Next up: we're going to build a small retaining wall out of big cinder blocks, and then we're gonna fill it in with more paver base, and then we're gonna lay the pavers.

I want all of this done before the end of August, so let's go! I just need to order the materials, which I will do tomorrow.

Curate the perfect digital garden of music

I decided today (for some reason) that it is time to sink myself back into this.

The actual folders and files which represent my music library of 2400ish albums are all randomly labeled, mistagged, missing album art, all of that... thus beginning the arduous task of going through each album and (a) deciding if I want it anymore or not, and (b) properly tagging it with beets.

I started tonight but got slowed down because I figured I should make a zip backup of everything as it exists right now.

Eventually, I'm hoping all this work makes my janky, vibe-coded music library website project better. Because that's only 10% of my library, and I think I should really approach this with the mindset of "I stand by everything in this library". I really want a bad ass garden where I can both explore new music and find respite in comfortable music. I can't do that with how janky things currently are.³

Read more memoirs

When I head into the office, my commute is one hour either way. Because I listen to a ton of music at work, I like to use my commute time to switch it up and listen to audiobooks.

For whatever reason, I've been entertained by musician memoirs, specifically those narrated by the author. I've completed books from Deryck Whibley (Sum 41), Dave Grohl, Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), and Geddy Lee (Rush).⁴

I might be ready to move beyond musician memoirs though, so I'm gonna start Stone Cold Steve Austin's next. We'll see.

If you have any recommendations for really good memoirs that are in audiobook form (and narrated by the author, preferably), let me know!

Turn the garage into a 70s UFO/alien-themed chill zone

I spent a week carefully going through the garage and cleaning it out back in May/June.

I still have a handful of items that need to be donated or sold or whatever, so I should really prioritize that for next week.

But after that, I have one more corner of the garage to clean up: the kid's corner. This contains a mess of balls, bikes, toys, and all sorts of random junk.

I have a vision for the corner, but I've been so consumed by the patio that I find myself without energy to devote to that.⁵

Anyway, all of that work a month or so ago paid off because the garage is usable now, and we've been using it a lot! I enjoy setting my camping chair at the edge of the door and watching the rain come down. I also do my burpees out there every morning around 6am.

The next project (after the patio, and after organizing the front corner of the garage) is to convert the projector screen we have into something with a motor so I can mount it to the ceiling and automatically raise and lower it.

Cool, so that's what I've got going on in my life right now. If any of that sounded interesting, please reach out! I only talk to my journal about this stuff, so getting to nerd out with others about any of this would absolutely make my day.

I find that having a list like this makes it a lot easier for me to focus. I think these broad categories represent the maximum number of different areas with which I can make meaningful progress. If I have a new opportunity come into my life, I’ll have to first decide what needs to come off this list.