Microposts

Great video from Casey Neistat. I too, somehow, continue to get older and am trying to hold on to some goals.

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Mostly trails on today’s run

Trail through forest with a sign saying β€œStay on trail” to the right. Run statistics overlaid: 17.64 km 1hr32min

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Nice to see some sun on today’s run along the Leslie Spit

Toronto skyline from across the lake. Overlaid with running stats: 23.54 km in 2h11m

πŸ“š These Wheel of Time books are long! I only got 1/3 of the way through The Shadow Rising before the library loan ended

πŸš΄β€β™‚οΈ Great crew for a ride up both sides of Achterbahn

Strava map of a 51.6 km virtual ride

Finished reading: System Collapse by Martha Wells is another fun book in a great seriesπŸ“š

Finished reading: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is rather strange. Some really lovely, poetic passages about the tranquility and beauty of Mars, coupled with buffoonish characters from Earth. I totally get this could be intentional, though it is jarring πŸ“š

Finished reading: The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1] by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn is a remarkable book. I’ve never really comprehended the Stalin-era purges. Solzhenitsyn’s dark humour and extensive narrative details really helped make them feel horrifyingly real πŸ“š

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Found some company on today’s run

Two swans floating close together in a lake with a yellowish sunrise behind them

New books for the new year πŸ“š

Stack of books: Midlife, Make it So, The Future of Us, The Rise and Reign of Mammals, My Effin’ Life

πŸ₯Ά Shortest and coldest swim of the year

Group of people standing in front of a lake. All bundled up and getting ready for a swim

Finished reading: Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a good end to a fun series. I enjoyed the world building and premise of the trilogy which doesn’t get too serious πŸ“š

Finished reading: Against the Grain by James C. Scott is a really interesting exploration of the links between agriculture and state building. Definitely changed my mind about early state formation πŸ“š

We had a fun family night out to see the Candlelight Tribute to Taylor Swift at Longboat Hall. Interesting to hear the music reinterpreted by these talented musicians

A string quartet up on stage holding their instruments while surrounded by candles

🎡 Will Butler + Sister Squares - Will Butler + Sister Squares

I’m enjoying this one

Will Butler + Sister Squares - Will Butler + Sister Squares poster

The new Apple Watch integration with Training Peaks is really nice. Like my Garmin friends, I can finally just roll out of bed and do what my watch tell me to without having to manually create workouts πŸŠπŸš΄β€β™‚οΈπŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ

DayOne has integrated Journaling Suggestions already. A nice addition and now there’s no compelling reason to use the new Apple Journal app. I liked the promised simplicity of the new app, only to find it too simple. My journal is extended memory, so I rely on search, which isn’t in the new app.

Lucy tried the gecko food. Didn’t work well with her system, but she has no regrets

Chewed up package of gecko food in the foreground and a guilty looking black lab in the background

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Forgot to turn off the workout before getting back in the car. Got some impressive running paces! πŸ˜€

Screenshot from the Fitness app showing 1:17/km and 1:29/km paces

Nice addition to HealthFit: a visual summary of training load to see if you’re optimizing stress and recovery

Screenshot shows a coloured bar from blue to green to orange to red that indicates training balance

🏊 πŸš΄β€β™‚οΈ πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Alright, signed up for the Ironman 70.3 in Muskoka. I enjoyed the race last year and look forward to a repeat

πŸŽ„ Tree is up and decorated

Charlie Brown novelty tree. Very spindly with a single drooping ornament

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ Light rain, wind, and NIN playlist made for a gloomy ambience on today’s run

Waves crashing into a rocky shoreline with trees in the background under a cloudy, grey sky

I don’t understand Apple’s algorithms. There’s no way I listened to 100 Gecs Boiler Room Session 51 times. Once was fun, but it is 1 hour and 26 minutes long. I would remember listening to it that many times

Screenshot from Apple Music Replay claiming I listened to the album a lot

πŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ A bit gloomy on today’s off the bike run

A boardwalk covered in rain through trees without leaves

Trying out a new home screen with my personal focus.

Screen shot of the home screen

Finished reading: I’ll admit that I was hesitant to read Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson. The original Mistborn trilogy came to a satisfying end for me and I knew that reading this book would open up to the whole Cosmere universe. I’ve simply decided that I don’t need to be a completionist. And, I’m glad, because this was a fun story that paired well with the trilogy πŸ“š

In a pleasant surprise, my cellular carrier just boosted by monthly 4GB to 20GB at no cost. I’m not accustomed to this kind of good customer serviceΒ from a carrier

Finished reading: All Souls Lost by Dan Moren is fun. Has the same lightly humorous tone as the Bayern Agenda series with a supernatural, rather than sci-fi, plot πŸ“š