Page last updated: June 2025 | inspired by Derek Sivers and his Now project.Â
Key: 🆕 = newest updates
Optimizing for experience, enthusiasm and efficiency. Practicing Taoist.  Â
Education and new skills: 🆕past years' that aren't set to advance too much this year as I focus on others: riding motorbikes, wine and spirits education (WSET), and windsurfing. This year: kite boarding continuing (10-12 hrs training so far, standing up, now need to STAY up!), SLC (Sailing License and Credentials) - currently Crew Level I, and an additional SCUBA certification. Also need to level up my alpine touring ski skills (Nov and Dec). Hope to line up swift/whitewater rescue training and additional avalanche terrain travel (AIARE) if possible. Unlikely to fit in Wilderness First Responder training this year. I've been distilling the idea of language study abroad, almost certainly Spanish, in small doses - Central America seems like the best option with Guatemala, El Salvador, or Colombia (yes, I know that's S. America) consistently confirming the best basis (most transportable).
Travel: holistic goal is to have visited as many countries as my age (I have a lot of catching up to do) which is just a simple quantification. The specific goal is a qualitative list of places and activities. To that end, 2025 is more travel abroad and domestically seeking out some classic (rock) climbs. More at Travel. Also enjoying hosting travelers to Pittsburgh whenever I am home by way of the Couchsurfing platform.
Climbing: continuing to seek out new meccas of rock and ice (back to Yosemite this year). The last of the big mountain goals was Alpamayo in Peru in 2023. Along with that, since I've achieved the overall goal of 50 summits (back in 2022) I'm now content - no more mountains of serious interest, though I'm not ready to stop altogether - there will be more, just not burning desires (Forbidden/Torment Traverse, Mt. Sir Donald, maybe an 8K meter, etc.) More at Climbing.
Adventure/Exploration: one BIG new goal is in the works for 2026, more to come soon. 🆕
Reading: definitely back into reading now that I'm "retired" (rewired); trying to read at least 24 books per year and exceeding that goal currently. Good balance of fiction and non-fiction. More at Books.
Brainwork: the New York Times crossword puzzles (see 2 news items), 2+ years running now, still really enjoying them and getting better as time goes on. My best month with 21 solves: March 2025 and also contained my longest streak of 11-days. I decided I am officially a cruciverbalist - cause that's a cool word and I deserve it now :)
Financial Independence: volunteering with the Pittsburgh ChooseFI network to administer the group, have meetups for discussion, etc. to share my knowledge and learn from others.
Interactive Fiction (IF): dove back into this old passion of mine last year. Playing some adventures, small and large. Watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, coming up to date with the community. Re-developing my own, old adventures in new tools and code such as TAB, Twine, Adrift, and Inform. My second IF game called Xanadu is available on ThinBASIC Adventure Builder's (TAB) Catventure site. My first game called Palace of the Silver Princess is available upon request. More at Indoors/Interactive Fiction. 2025 I hope to get to recoding my third old game in Inform - AI tools are likely to lend a big assist.
Personal Pantheon / Tribe of Mentors:  If I could have regular get togethers, calls, drinks, or conversations with these people, they would be my set of mentors (big/broad thinkers, bright lights, mavens, polymaths, and modern day philosophers). As it is, I am resigned to virtual relationships by tuning into their conversations and creative work via the many channels available. Derek Sivers, Tim Ferriss, Kevin Kelly, Tim Urban, Ryan Holiday, Rolf Potts, Sam Harris, Oliver Burkman, David Eagleman, Morgan Housel, Esther Perel, Jamie Wheal, Peter Adeney and a few others living and dead (Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus). Send me your additional recommendations!
For more detailed, blog-like news, see...well...News!