34,752 pages read in total this year.
66 Books
17 Non-Fiction
39 Fiction
I didn’t write a review for all the fiction books I read this year because that would be an issue with how fast I go through them – it would cut into time I needed for other things, so I only wrote posts for the non fiction books but here’s a quick video showing all the books I read this year – enjoy!
I’ve always like sketching and painting – when I was a kid my favorite class was art. I actually was good enough to get a few different scholarship offers to art school but was talked out of going and instead went into technology and the rest, they say, is history.
I have a few sketch pads on my shelves filled with honest efforts to start drawing and painting again but they usually only have a few pages in them before life just gets too busy and I need to start prioritizing where I spend my time. I’ve always wondered if downplaying the need to create is leading to a more stressful life as it’s one of the things I truly enjoy doing. However, I find myself in a cycle where I pick it up again, I suck at it, I keep trying and get some skills back, then put it away only to repeat this cycle the next time I feel the need to start drawing again.
So I thought if I forced myself to create 50 pieces of art this year I’d kickstart those old habits and maybe pick up something fun again. I didn’t limit it to sketching or drawing, I included things like videos but only if they required something creative (like rotoscoping, green screens, etc.)
As to what to draw? That actually was a bigger challenge. I searched out daily sketch idea websites and they seemed OK. I had a book ‘sketch with dad’ where my daughter and I would take turns drawing in the book and I did a bunch of directed draw videos with my son teaching him how to draw by following along with him.
One old sketchbook idea reared its head when I was digging out some old art books – I had planned to draw all the creatures in the D&D Monster Manual (original version, TYVM)I don’t know how long that project has been simmering but I thought hey – I need some inspiration on days when nothing else is working so I’d randomly pick a monster and then draw it using the book/websites as a source.
Here’s some things I learned: I absolutely suck at drawing human faces. I mean, it’s embarrassing how bad it is – like a knockoff version of the uncanny valley. One of the things I want to work on after this 50 for 50 thing is done is just drawing faces one after another until I can make a person not look like a homunculus.
That being said – I did enjoy drawing and even when it didn’t turn out good I learned something about proportion, anatomy, and texturing.
Embarking on a culinary journey to explore global cuisines is akin to unlocking a treasure trove of flavors, traditions, and stories from around the world—all within the confines of your own kitchen. It’s an adventure that transcends mere cooking; it’s about immersing oneself in diverse cultures, understanding their histories, and appreciating the unique ingredients that define their culinary identities.
Diving into unfamiliar recipes can be both exhilarating and humbling. There’s a certain thrill in sourcing exotic spices you’ve never encountered before or mastering a cooking technique that’s entirely new to you. Each dish becomes a lesson, not just in culinary arts, but in geography, history, and anthropology. It’s a hands-on way to experience the world, one plate at a time.
I first thought lets make it 50 countries I’ve never cooked a dish from before but when I checked my notes I saw that would make this pretty much impossible as I’ve been picking various dishes to cook from other countries for years and if I limited it that way I’d be hamstringing myself. I did set a rule that where I could, I would make something new from that country instead of repeating a dish (I broke this rule with Italy since I’ve been cooking Italian food my whole life and I’d need to dig deep to find something)
The first 10-15 countries were easy as I zeroed in on the most popular cuisines globally and did some light research to find dishes that were representative of that country. It was fun learning about why each food was relevant and cross referencing different recipes to see if there’s a common consensus (ChatGPT is great for this task) once I got past those low hanging fruits I actually found a few websites that would let you randomly pick a country and I rolled the proverbial dice each week and tried to cook a dish from whatever country it landed on (hence some of the more esoteric choices)
Most of the time I was able to identify a dish that was representative and source the ingredients locally but sometimes I had to special order ingredients for more exotic dishes which was fun as then I’d have to try to find a use for those ingredients after I made the dish (Soups, it was all soups)
I kept track of the countries via a map API in my google sheet and it was fun watching the countries fill in as I made each dish.
In essence, learning to cook new foods and experimenting with diverse ingredients is a celebration of cultural diversity and a testament to the unifying power of food. It’s an invitation to step out of your culinary comfort zone, to taste the world, and to bring a piece of it into your home. So, don your apron, gather those exotic spices, and embark on a gastronomic adventure that promises to enrich both your palate and your understanding of the world.
Now this may, on its head, seem like an odd goal. But I’ve always wanted to do this and part of this 50 for 50 thing was to realize this dreams and goals that have been subsided by bigger things in life.
I need to preface this by telling a story. My mother was a painter – she used it as therapy after she had a stroke and she’s the one who taught me how to draw and paint and encouraged me to create and explore art. One thing I knew each week was that Bob Ross would be on the TV when I got home from school and we’d watch it together and I would be absolutely fascinated how he’d just create a stunning landscape out of nothing – just slapping paint on the canvas and *bam* clouds! Pallete knife? *bam* mountains.. It was like magic.
Even at that young age I wanted to try, but we didn’t have oil paints and the things we needed so I kind of just shelved the idea but I still watched the show each week with my mom and tried to guess what Bob would be up to that week.
I didn’t think about it for a while until I was looking at something else online and saw that they released a bunch of Bob Ross videos onto YouTube and I was immediately taken back to that 1980’s couch (you know the one – we all had it in fact if I googled 1980’s couch it’s the FIRST RESULT) eating my after school snack and watching bob on the ol’ 32 inch color TV
I knew I wanted to try to recreate a Bob Ross painting and this goal series seemed like a good place to make that happen. I had some canvas and brushes and some oil paints so all I needed was the ‘magic white’ and a few colors I was missing and I followed along with a Youtube tutorial and I learned very quickly that Bob Ross makes it look easy, but it isn’t. I struggled so much with the mountains that they look terrible but when I tried to fix them they ended up looking worse than when that one lady ‘fixed’ that Jesus painting
The rest of the painting wasn’t too bad actually – I had to pause and rewind frequently but I managed to get most of the process down. Other than the horrid mountains, the rest of it was adequate.
But you know what Bob ross would say?
Thanks Bob – I think I’m going to try again but do some research first – maybe watch some tutorials or something that can give me more pointers but I really enjoyed the experience of painting this and will definitely try a different one
So I had this idea that had been percolating in my head for a while for a story and I always wanted to sit down and write it out to see what form it would take. I actually had a one note page with some idea snippets and overall themes and worldbuilding but never sat down and stared at the blank page.
I struggled with this goal for a while because I either had so many ideas I didn’t know where to start, or my brain was hiding all it’s good ideas deep down where I keep all the names of my grade school teachers. I didn’t waste all the time though as I added more notes and ideas to my notebook trying to kickstart some good ideas.
I think it was tongue in cheek when the first words I wrote were that the main character was lost as I self identify with that character in a lot of ways. But something happened once I put those words down – the story just started flowing onto the page as all the various parts I had in my Lego bin of a brain started clicking together. I had written chapter one and two, and once I had some sort of progress I knew I needed a bit of a prelude to explain what set all these events in motion. That also led to another flashback chapter which provides a bit more context as to what he’s doing wandering around lost in the mountains to begin with.
I got a few more chapters in before I started having to map out where the plot was going so I didn’t write myself into a corner. That’s when I started exploring various writing tools and worldbuilding apps (some even AI based) to help build out the world a bit and have a sketch of an outline. As a discovery writer I sometimes create entire new sections because I think the idea is cool and trying to lockstep that to a hard outline would feel constraining.
The only issue was that I blasted past my 10,000 word goal and I have no plans on stopping. While I don’t fancy myself a professional writer by any means, I really feel like there’s a book here that I should finish writing if only to prove to myself that I can. I’m actually really excited by some of the worldbuilding I’ve created and the characters so even if I’m the only one who reads it I kind of want to see how this plays out.
So I’m marking this goal as done – I wrote the short story in my head and then expanded it to a much greater idea and will be posting chapters on this blog as we go.
This was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be as using social media is an ingrained habit and something that I kind of did unconsciously. I don’t really post much (although when I first started I was posting a lot) I just read posts and laugh at memes but I found myself doing it for blocks of time that were just way too long. I did a bunch of research (written up below) and made some stark changes to the way I access my electronic media in order to go this 30 day thing. I deleted the apps from my phone, I black holed the sites on my router for all my devices and blocked the sites on my mobile browsers. I found a neat extension for FireFox that nukes YouTube’s algorithm to stave off that video rabbit hole that algorithm sometimes sends you into. It seems a bit extreme but in the first week I found myself with my phone in my hand and me staring at it wondering when I decided to take it out (I didn’t, spoiler: My dopamine fiend brain did)
After 30 days I started to have a clear delineation of harmful vs harmless social media. FB and IG weren’t bad as sharing mechanisms but the stuff that was being fed to me seemed deliberate to make me angry and research has shown that’s by design. It keeps you engaged and on the platform where they can feed you more ads. The biggest contributor to anxiety is Reddit – Even if I filter for just the subreddits I’m interested in they keep serving me up platters of hate in fact that’s the only platform I still haven’t returned to in some form. I simply just don’t need to endlessly doom scroll and fill my mind with all that is wrong with the world for hours on end each day. That’s just not healthy.
I still go onto FB every now and then to see what my friends are up to and log into IG once a week or so to look at all the memes my wife sends but I just don’t have the same drive I used to. It’s probably because I’m older now and just don’t have time for that bullshit anymore.
[Research]
Taking a 30-day break from social media can have profound effects on mental, emotional, and even physical health. Research increasingly supports the idea that stepping away from constant digital engagement can lead to improved well-being, increased focus, and better social connections. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that limiting social media use to just 30 minutes per day significantly reduced feelings of loneliness and depression in participants. But what happens when you eliminate it altogether for a month? The effects can be even more pronounced. Without the constant influx of notifications, comparison traps, and algorithm-driven content designed to keep users engaged, individuals often report lower stress levels, improved sleep, and an overall boost in happiness. Another study from the University of Pennsylvania reinforced these findings, showing that those who took breaks from social media experienced decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression, largely due to reduced exposure to unrealistic portrayals of life and fewer opportunities for negative social comparison.
Beyond mental health benefits, a social media detox can also improve cognitive function and productivity. The brain thrives on deep work and focus, but social media platforms encourage fragmented attention, pulling users into an endless loop of scrolling, clicking, and responding to stimuli. A study from the Harvard Business Review highlighted that frequent social media use diminishes attention spans and reduces our ability to engage in complex problem-solving. Without social media interruptions, individuals often find themselves more engaged in work, creative pursuits, and meaningful conversations. This kind of sustained focus has been linked to higher levels of personal satisfaction and professional success. Furthermore, stepping away from social media reduces the addictive dopamine-driven cycle of instant gratification, allowing the brain to reset and regain a healthier relationship with digital consumption.
The physical benefits of a social media detox are also worth noting. Excessive screen time, particularly before bed, has been linked to poor sleep quality due to blue light exposure and mental overstimulation. A 2019 study in Sleep Health found that individuals who used social media late at night took longer to fall asleep and had poorer sleep quality compared to those who disengaged earlier in the evening. Removing social media from daily habits can lead to deeper rest, increased energy levels, and even improvements in physical activity. Many individuals who take a break from social media report spending more time outdoors, exercising, or engaging in hobbies they previously neglected. This shift not only boosts physical health but also contributes to improved mood and emotional resilience. A study by the American Psychological Association suggests that time spent in nature—rather than in front of a screen—reduces cortisol levels, the body’s primary stress hormone, leading to a greater sense of calm and well-being.
Emotionally, a break from social media can foster healthier relationships and a stronger sense of self. Social media often fuels feelings of inadequacy, FOMO (fear of missing out), and the pressure to constantly share curated versions of one’s life. By stepping away, individuals can reconnect with their own values, develop a greater sense of self-worth independent of online validation, and strengthen real-world relationships. A study from Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found that excessive social media use correlates with decreased face-to-face interactions, which are essential for emotional well-being. Many participants who took a month-long break from social media reported deeper conversations, improved relationships, and a greater appreciation for in-person connections. The detox period allows people to re-engage with life in a more present and intentional way, free from the pressures of digital self-presentation.
Ultimately, a 30-day break from social media is more than just a temporary detox—it can be a powerful reset for the mind and body. Whether it leads to a permanent reduction in usage or simply provides a new perspective on the role of digital engagement, the benefits are well-documented. Improved mental health, enhanced focus, better sleep, more physical activity, and stronger relationships are just a few of the scientifically-backed reasons to give it a try. With social media becoming an increasingly dominant force in modern life, stepping away—even for a short time—can serve as a reminder that true fulfillment is often found offline.
This will be a cakewalk, I said to myself, I make pizza all the time how hard can it be to make 50 different pizzas? Let me tell you dear readers – it was very hard. The first few were easy as I busted out crowd favorites like Neapolitan, Pepperoni, and even a meat lovers. It was about 10 pizzas in when I started to wonder if just coming up with new toppings was a good way to accomplish this.
I did some research into topping combos and came up with a few that looked interesting but as part of my research I started seeing more regional pizzas pop up and it got me interested in how pizza can change as it travels across the world or even across the state. So I did a deep dive and became a pizzaologist. Tracking pizza as it went through all its different iterative changes.
These regional pizzas were still dough, sauce, and cheese but the way they went about it changed and I used my handy research assistant (ChatGPT) to do a deep dive into how Pizza was introduced to these regions and what the history of the style was (you can find these in the individual pizza posts) and it was some fascinating stuff.
Now there are some that argue for one style of pizza as being ‘real pizza’ and I get it. For me it’s a two way tie between a classic NY/NJ slice and true Neapolitan pizza. I get the appeal of Chicago deep dish and the buttery crust of a real good pan pizza and to be honest, I love them all. I’m not an elitist in that way (No, don’t take my NY Pizza card!) but I always come back to the classics when I’m in the mood for a good pizza that scratches that itch.
It was an educational journey and introduced a few new pies into my rotation (such as Apizza or pizza fritte) and there were a few that were just not great such as the steamed pizza. It’s like.. A bao bun with sauce and cheese. The texture was just not what I want from a pizza. The flavor was alright, but man I like steam buns and pizza but not this unholy fusion.
I’m glad I did this and I feel like I can talk about regional / international pizzas with a much more informed opinion having made and tried a lot of them. The only drawback was I always felt like I needed to be making a new pizza even if I wanted a classic pie. Now that it’s over I expect classic margheritas are on tap for a few weeks to make things simple!
I’m not going to lie – this sucked pretty bad. I’m partially to blame, as I waited to long to do this and had to do it in the middle of winter when it was pitch black at 5am and the house was freezing. This whole idea stemmed from the five am club book that was making its rounds on social media. The book had a whole structure on how to utilize the time breaking it down into discrete segments which might have worked if I had done this in the summer.
I did do some planning however – I made a pitcher of iced tea from some high caffeine tea and had it ready to go so as soon as I woke up I drank a glass of that and a glass of water to help wake my body up. I stumbled down into my office, the only place I could make some noise without waking up the kids. I did some light stretching to try to get some blood flowing then started working on my curated to do list.
That’s where I started to see some issue – my brain just wasn’t ready for structured work and it took the tea about 40 minutes to really kick in before I felt awake enough to trust what I was doing would be accurate. So I switched to more creative tasks where accuracy wasn’t that necessary. Notably the short story I was working on – in fact during this week I wrote about 10,000 words which was almost double what I had so far (writers block can be a real pain sometimes) – I settled into a habit where I’d sketch out the next few plot points that I needed to hit then just wrote for an hour or more letting the words just come out. I’d spend the last 30 minutes reviewing what I wrote and making some light edits to strengthen the structure (mostly due to changes made later in the story)
I actually felt really productive in those two hours but getting up at five was a real struggle as I’m not a morning person but oddly enough I never felt the spark to write late at night so I really did have better results with that five am wake up call. I just couldn’t see myself continuing it for any length of time as I really like staying up late – those few hours after the kids go to bed are the prime hours for me to be creative or get tasks done or even relax with a baseball game or even some video game time. It’s hard to do all that at five am in the morning (possible, but not easy)
I’m glad I gave this a shot – in fact my body adapted pretty quickly and by the third day I was waking up on my own before the alarms would go off. I tried hard to get to bed by 10 each night but sometimes I got distracted with something and looked up and realized it was 11:30 which means I wasn’t falling asleep until at least midnight – those few times were particularly brutal.
Ciao! Come Stai? Io vorrei studiaro il parlaro Italian. Stavo Andado Italia in maggio e Io Volevo imparare molto Italiano.
Ok, that’s about as much butchered Italian as I’m going to subject you to. It’s a lot easier for me to read and understand than to write or speak as conjugating the verbs correctly is easier to do when you are looking at them in front of you.
This one was a slog at time as learning a new language is a tough thing to do – there’s a lot of rules you need to be sure of and in the beginning it was pretty easy as everything I was learning was in present tense but when we started looking at all the tenses it got complicated very quickly.
I was using a mixture of learning methods for this. The primary one was the Babbel app as it allowed me to learn in 10-20 minute increments and was really good for vocabulary reinforcement. I mixed in a few Youtube teachers focusing in on structure and grammar as those things aren’t as focused in the app and listening to Italian content (even in the background) helped my brain normalize the language (this trick I picked up from a few different teachers)
It did actually help me a little when I travelled to Italy as I could navigate the shops and pay for things using Italian which felt like an accomplishment as small as it was. I could read most of the signs and figure things out using context clues so I felt like I was putting my learning to use. Once I got back I kept at it figuring if I keep learning the next time I go back, I’ll be even better prepared!
I felt like using multiple sources of learning was the right approach as each offered a different perspective and where they crossed over, the learnings were reinforced. I started working Italian words into my daily life to entertain my kids and I made sure to pronounce them as Italian as possible to annoy my wife.
This is one of the things I’m opting to carry over into the future as I really want to strengthen my language skills and it’s still a challenge to me which means I’m engaging that learning process that I’ve worked so hard to develop this year.
Ciao Tutti!
I’ve been playing guitar for years and in the last five or so I’ve been mixing in vocals and learning new songs but they’re all someone else’s song. I’ve always wanted to write my own songs but never really went through the process. I did have a notebook (electronic) where I jotted down ideas, snippets of a verse, a few chorus lines, even just some ideas or rhyming words that I thought might be interesting. However, I never really did anything with it.
I decided that one of my goals this years was to sit down, sort through these ideas and come up with at least one full song. It was a struggle sorting through those notes to find ones that spoke to me and even more of a struggle to fill in the rest of the song. I watched some songwriter videos on YouTube and studied the structure of a lot of my favorite tunes and as inspiring at they were I still struggled to write a song that flowed the way I wanted it to.
The first song was one I wanted to write for my daughter for years – from the viewpoint of a father telling his little girl that no matter what happens she will always have a home with him. I had a handful of lyrics I’ve written over the years and with a little cleanup and polish I had a few verses I thought were pretty good and the chorus was where I struggled then in my notes I saw a line that just said ‘flying or falling’ and from that line the entire chorus was born and the name of the song ‘Flying or Falling’ (This turned out to be a common theme as there are a LOT of songs on Apple Music with that title) – the bridge came easy as well, I think once I had momentum on this song whatever creative blocker there was just vanished. Since my voice was in rough shape due to an ongoing fight with some sort of illness I wasn’t happy with the vocals as they were – however in my other goal of researching AI and various tools I found a site that lets you upload a melody and create a song using AI singers to ‘cover’ your song and while it was a long process of trial and error I finally got something I thought was the exact sound I was going for- they even added a full band accompaniment which was really awesome.
A few weeks later I wanted to work on another song – feeling inspired from this one. I had just one idea jotted down in my notebook “You say we’re like ships passing in the night, we’re on the same sea’ and I built an entire song from that idea weaving in elements of being lost at sea, the light finally breaking and being able to navigate again. I mixed in references to the sea and nautical terms but tried to not overdo it and this song came really easy to me because it was just me talking to my wife after she had a hard day really – just in lyrical format. I wanted it to be a slower tempo song with some piano work (of which I am not very skilled at all) so I worked out the melody line on guitar and then had the AI transpose it to Piano and went with a female singer because after a few hours of trial and error trying to get it right whatever combo I hit gave me something haunting yet powerful. I really love this song and am proud of it and my wife cried when she heard it (well to be fair she cried at the song for my daughter too)
I gave them both the songs as a valentines day present which went over well. My son wanted to know where his song was, so I’m working on my magnum opus – a song about dinosaurs dance battling in space.
