Category Archives: Personal

It’s Cold and Rainy. And I Need Something to Do

Posted by Andy in Human Behavior, Personal, Seattle and tagged with

It’s that time of year when we’re all going stir crazy. But this year, I have a little baby who needs constant attention, so any moments I can break free of the house need to be spent wisely. My good friend ChatGPT recommended some ideas to me. What do you think?

1. Explore the Kubota Garden

Tucked away in South Seattle, Kubota Garden is a hidden gem that fuses traditional Japanese landscaping with Pacific Northwest beauty. The rain enhances the colors of the trees and the ponds, creating a tranquil, almost mystical experience. Walk along the serene paths, cross arched bridges, and enjoy the sound of the rain on the leaves. Bring an umbrella and good boots, and you’ll have the park practically to yourself.

2. DIY Workshop at Ballard Reuse

If you’re into building or upcycling, Ballard Reuse is your spot. This architectural salvage shop is full of reclaimed materials, from vintage wood to old hardware. They host DIY workshops on creating furniture or decor from salvage items. Even if there’s no class that day, you can spend hours exploring the treasures and getting inspiration for a rainy-day project.

3. Catch a Cult Classic at the Grand Illusion Cinema

Skip the blockbusters and head to the Grand Illusion Cinema in the U-District. This small, independent theater shows obscure films, cult classics, and indie flicks that you won’t find anywhere else in the city. The theater itself is an experience—an intimate, old-school space that feels like stepping back in time.

4. Pioneer Square’s Underground Tour

Seattle’s famous underground is something most tourists don’t know about until they visit, but locals often forget about it too. The rain makes it an ideal time to dive into the city’s hidden history. Explore the old streets buried below modern Seattle, hear stories about the city’s past, and walk through spaces that are both eerie and fascinating.

5. Make Your Own Terrarium at Glasswing Greenhouse

If you’re looking for a creative way to bring the outdoors inside, check out Glasswing Greenhouse in Capitol Hill. They offer workshops where you can create your own terrarium or plant arrangement. Whether you’re a gardening pro or have never kept a plant alive, it’s a fun, hands-on way to engage with nature while staying dry.

6. Shop for Quirky Finds at Archie McPhee

For a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience, visit Archie McPhee in Wallingford. Known as the home of bizarre and unusual items, it’s the perfect rainy-day escape. From rubber chickens to quirky costumes, you’re bound to find something fun (or at least laugh-worthy) here. It’s also a great spot to pick up a weird gift for that friend who has everything.

7. Volunteer at the Bike Kitchen

For those who love tinkering, check out the Bike Kitchen in the U-District. It’s a community bike repair space where you can learn how to fix bikes, build your own, or help others with repairs. Whether you’re an expert or a total newbie, it’s a great way to spend a rainy day while doing something hands-on and helpful.

8. DIY Pottery at Emerald City Fired Arts

Unleash your inner artist at Emerald City Fired Arts. You can choose from a range of pottery pieces to paint, and they’ll glaze and fire them for you. It’s a calming and creative way to spend the day, plus you get to bring home your handmade art.

9. Indoor Mini Golf at Flatstick Pub

If you want to combine indoor fun, a little friendly competition, and local beer, Flatstick Pub in South Lake Union or Pioneer Square is the place to be. They offer mini golf and other games in a laid-back pub atmosphere, perfect for rainy-day entertainment with friends.

How did ChatGPT do? Like any of them?

Seriously, Just Get Vaccinated Already

Posted by Andy in Creative Writing, Personal

The only people who read this are friends of mine. And as far as I know, 100% of my friends are vaccinated.

But if you stumbled here from some random Twitter or Facebook post, please get vaccinated.

Look, I get that you may hate Democrats on principle. But there’s no reason to tank the economy and put the health of the nation at risk just because you want to make sure that the magical day you are sure will happen when you finally make $400,000 a year, your taxes aren’t higher.

Just get vaccinated. It’s safe. And look at it this way. If the vaccine ISN’T safe, you’re screwed anyway. Either 1/2 of us will be flesh-eating zombies and take you down regardless, or 1/2 of us will be dead and you won’t have a way to manage taking care of yourselves without any scientists or doctors. So you might as well just join us.

A Radical Idea for the MLB All-Star Game

Posted by Andy in Creative Writing, Personal, Sports

All-Star Games are notoriously boring from a competitive level. In football, there’s no real tackling or hitting. In basketball, no one plays defense. And in baseball, you have the oddity of having the least known players pitching and batting in the most important innings of the game while the stars sit in the dugout (if they haven’t already headed to the airport.)

But that’s fine, because the purpose of these games is that they are EXHIBITIONS that are designed to show off the players’ skills, not games that matter. So if we are willing to consider the Major League Baseball All-Star game a true exhibition, here’s a radical idea to make it more interesting.

In a nutshell: Don’t have a lineup.

Now what does that mean?

  1. Each manager will have their roster of 23 field players. In this proposal, we would keep the tradition that the 9 starters are the players the fans chose, and let them have the grand introduction in the beginning. But after those first 9 batters and one inning in the field, anything goes (almost).
  2. The purpose of this proposal is to set up the highest number of the most interesting matchups between pitcher and hitter. So once the 1st 9 guys have batted, Managers get to look down their bench and send up anyone they want.
  3. We would set some limitations, such as: (a) No batter would hit twice in the same inning. (b) No batter can have a 3rd at bat until every field player on the team has batted once.
  4. Defensively, anything goes. Let’s put together really fun defensive alignments for an inning, such as old teammates playing together, the oldest group possible, the youngest group possible, players from all the 1st place teams, all the 1st timers, everyone with a gold glove, or whatever other combination you can think of.
  5. You could also make it interactive, by allowing fans to use the MLB mobile app to choose the next hitters one inning.
  6. Basically, the idea is to have the most interesting combinations of pitchers, batters and fielders for 9 innings, and make it the most fun for the fans to watch.

So all the stuffy old dudes will read this and say, “No I like it how it is.” And that’s fine. But this seems like an easy way to add some fun to the game.

Hopes Vs Goals

Posted by Andy in Human Behavior, Personal

I’ve been listening to a few more podcasts lately, and reading a few more thoughtful articles about how our mindsets may have changed since February 2020, and how they will change again as we re-enter “the new back to normal.”

Two words that I’m seeing a lot are, “hoping” and “goal-setting.”

Of course, “hoping” is when I do the same thing over and over and consider the idea that something better may happen. I can do the same routine at the gym and hope this week I lose weight. Or I can perform the same tasks at work and hope that I get a raise and promotion. Until recently, I hadn’t really considered how much simply maintaining my status quo makes me rely on hope.

Goal-setting, however, is a powerful thought exercise. If my goal is to lose 20 pounds, I need mini-goals to get there. A goal on how and when I eat, how and how much I exercise, if I walk to the grocery store instead of drive, etc… All these achievable little goals bubble up into a macro-goal that is attained as a result.

Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with hope when it circumstances that you have no control over. I hoped a vaccine would be discovered, that I’d be able to attend Sounders games again, and most recently, that I wouldn’t be attacked by a swarm of 1,000,000 cicadas. These hopes came true, and I am grateful.

But I’m not going to simply hope for those pounds to fall off. That’s going to have to happen by hitting some goals.

We Travelled to a Foreign Country and Didn’t Die

Posted by Andy in Covid, Personal

It’s been about a year now since we were introduced to COVID. A very long year.

Unfortunately, people are still dying and masks are still necessary. But I feel like we know a lot more than we did in March 2020.

For one thing, the death rate is not as bad as we feared it could be. And so far, we haven’t seen a predominance of devastating long-term effects on those who got infected and lived.

Also, getting tested now (at least in big cities) could not be easier. You can plan social events and assure your hosts or guests that you are healthy with a simple 20 minute trip to a testing center.

So with this information in hand, we debated and finally decided we could escape the dreary Seattle rain and take a vacation. We immediately ruled out places like Arizona, Texas, and Florida. They are free to live how they want, but they aren’t getting our tourist dollar while mocking the existence of a pandemic. Plus, Kelli Ward, Paul Gosar, Ted Cruz, Dan Crenshaw, and Matt Gaetz are pretty strong reasons not to support a state.

Mexico was quickly ruled out because visitors don’t need to be Covid negative to enter. That left Hawaii and the Caribbean. And we chose Exuma in the Bahamas.

The reasons: 7,000 people on the island, 100 cases, zero deaths. Mandatory testing not just for people flying into the island, but arriving by boat as well. And despite the lack of positive cases, hotel employees still have to wear masks.

The result was a wonderful experience. We enjoyed stunning views, warm weather, lovely beaches, friendly and attentive hosts, and a feeling of safeness that we can’t get at a grocery store at home.

Our fellow guests were all respectful; wearing masks in enclosed areas, standing a few feet away while chatting at the pool, standing 6 feet apart when waiting in line for coffee, etc… The staff was perfect. Wearing a mask for 8 hours in 80 degree weather can’t be easy, but they did it with a smile.

So my personal point of view here as we enter Year 2 is as follows. 1) We need to still be careful. 2) We still need to avoid people, cities and states that ignore the severity of the issue. 3) We can travel to and reward the people in the states who still respect the disease and take the time and care to protect you from it.

I think we can accept the risk of COVID now without fearing it. We know what it does and how we can get it, but we also know that we can stay pretty safe by traveling with those who share a respect for each other.

Stay careful. Be cognizant. Avoid idiots. Live your life. That’s what we’ll be doing the next few months.

What I Learned – Living Through a Pandemic

Posted by Andy in Creative Writing, Personal, What I Learned

It was about a year ago when we started to take the pandemic seriously. Sure, the White House continued to say that it wasn’t going to be an issue, but just about everyone who thinks squares have right angles and the world is round saw that there was an issue developing.

Companies began making people work from home, sports leagues began considering what they should do, and other countries to the west, south, and east of the United States considered ways to contain the disease from spreading in their nation.

So here we are, one year later. We all learned some things about ourselves and others. I’d love to hear your lists, but this is what stands out to me.

  1. Working from home is efficient: There are fewer 30 minute meetings that are wastes of time. And thanks to the miracle of “Stop Video” you can get work done during those meetings that are a waste. This alone adds time to your day.
  2. Not having to commute is wonderful: The average person living and working in Seattle proper could spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour trying to get downtown. And it was worse for anyone living in the surrounding areas. It’s like adding a whole extra hour to the day.
  3. However, people are fun, especially the ones who aren’t top of mind: COVID quarantine made me realize that being sequestered made me unconsciously filter my friends and colleagues the same way that Facebook and Google News filter my news feed. It’s true that I text messaged with friends about 2000% more than 2019, but the breadth of the number of people I spoke to narrowed significantly. Without Sounders matches, birthday parties, playing softball and soccer, or going to work, I missed out on hearing what huge swaths of the population were doing. That was a shame.
  4. Even with all the extra hours that I acquired during the day, I still didn’t complete everything I wanted to. I started the year with so many ideas – the book idea, the tv show idea, some startup ideas, learning a new language, studying technical analysis, getting in shape, etc… Some of these things I did well on, some I got started on and are in a holding pattern, and some fell by the wayside. So now I realize I shouldn’t listen to people who say, “They didn’t have time.”
  5. I like to cook: Man, I love to cook now. Give me a pile of books about NBA history or a pile of recipe books, and I know which one I’ll get through.
  6. Writing is harder when you don’t leave the house: No matter how hard I tried, I found writing to be more difficult during quarantine. There’s something about having external stimulus through the day to stimulate the imagination, or being able to sit in a coffee shop or bar with your laptop for an alternative work setting, that gets the words flowing.
  7. Twitter is a lens to the parts of the country I never travel: I was shocked this year to see how many people ignore facts, hypocritically contradict themselves from tweet to tweet, and in general, just make the country a worse place. I guess I’ve been lucky that my friends and colleagues are civil, rational people. Even the ones who I disagree with politically are grounded in reality. I had no idea there were so many people who could jump in a lake and swear to God that they never got wet.
  8. This year will not be easy: There’s some relief out there that with the vaccine, life can get back to “normal.” However, we’re going to have to redefine “normal.” It was not normal in previous years to have Congresspeople bring guns to work, people driving pickup trucks waving flags on the street, staying isolated for long periods of time, and implementing permanent work from home strategies. We’re going to have plenty of people who refuse vaccines, so the pandemic will rage on for years, hopefully limiting illness to the people who fail to take any precautions. But these continued illnesses will be a drain on our hospitals, tax dollars, and moral compass. When people without insurance who refuse a vaccine and refuse to wear a mask get violently ill, we’re going to have to suck it up and take care of them. That’s the way my cohort works at least.

I should add that of course I miss people, family dinners, travel, sports, conversation, great restaurants, etc… But I think we knew all that beforehand.

Would love to hear some of the things you learned.

A Super Bowl Chili Recipe

Posted by Andy in Creative Writing, Personal and tagged with ,

What a weird Super Bowl LIV. No parties, no going to bars, heck there will barely be anyone in the stadium itself.

So what does that leave us to do on Super Bowl Sunday? Well, cook of course.

I’ve been dinking around with my own variation of chili recipes for a while now. So since I already have a pot on the stove and no place to go right now, I’ll spend some time sharing the recipe with you.

First things first… When I say I have been dinking around with recipes, that really means, “I start with a general idea and then throw a whole bunch of stuff in and then can’t remember what I did.”

The General Idea 
I like using two types of meat. Usually, I’ll season a Chuck Roast or something similar the night before and then brown it in the morning. (You know it’s properly browned when you set off the smoke alarm in the house and hear sounds of exasperation coming from your spouse as they open all the windows on a 40-degree day and have to wave towels at the alarm.) But I also add ground beef to fill out the profile. (We have also used ground turkey meat before and no one knew the difference if you want to go healthier.)

But before the meat goes in, I like to chop up an onion and let it brown at the bottom of the chili pot with a little olive oil, some garlic, and a chopped red pepper. I don’t know why I do this. It probably makes no difference taste-wise, but it serves the purpose of formally announcing the official start of the cooking process. We don’t have a royal trumpet to blow which would also serve the same purpose, and be more fun.

Once the big slab of meat has been browned it can be chopped up into bite-sized cubes, and added to the pot with the simmering onion, garlic, and pepper mixture. Then the ground beef goes in. Followed by some beef broth, one can each of tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes.

Now, this part changes around, and I know it’s not true Texas chili anymore when I do this, but I add a can of black beans. You can also use the bag of black beans which will keep a better consistency. I just like to have some fiber in there. And this next part is total chili heresy so I will deny it if anyone ever repeats it, but I sometimes include just enough red lentils to add depth and texture without anyone knowing they are eating lentils. The addition of lentils also makes the chili officially “healthy” without ruining the flavor. It might even qualify as being organic and vegan with this addition. I have to check the rules on that.

Then come the spices. And I would be lying if I could tell you what the exact mixture is. I have no idea the amounts or ratios of anything that goes in the spice mix. I can tell you that it features some combination of these: Salt (a smoky salt like Applewood is nice), black pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, regular chili powder, anejo chili powder, chipotle chili powder, fiesta chili powder, sweet smoked paprika, a dash of 50k cayenne powder, a cumin (up to you on that one), some herbs (usually oregano, basil, thyme), and then the secret weapons: chili cocoa powder and cinnamon. If I’m feeling feisty, I’ll also chop up a habenero and jalepeno pepper in very large chunks so that it can cook in the pot but is also big enough so that if it lands in your bowl you won’t accidentally eat it. 

Then the lid goes on the pot and it all gets to simmer for as long as you want it to, somewhere between 3 and 6 hours. Taste throughout the day, and use any spice in your pantry to make alterations through the process.

Sometimes it needs more tomato sauce or paste to thicken it up, sometimes more broth or diced tomatoes to thin it out, sometimes more spice to fire it up. And if you realize you have made something that will light everyone on fire, add some brown sugar. That will mellow it out and no, it won’t taste like candy at all.

That’s it! Super simple. And because everything is generally in one pot, it doesn’t cause any mess at all! The kitchen is always as clean as when I started. Every time. At least that’s what I think. My wife may have a differing opinion.

Let me know if you have any chili recipes of your own. Happy Super Bowl.

10 Things To Do On New Year’s Day

Posted by Andy in Creative Writing, Personal and tagged with ,

The New Year is upon us. For many people, New Year’s Eve means staying up past our normal bedtimes, drinking champagne past a reasonable hour, and awaking the next morning thinking that the year can only improve from there.

But the good news is that you have the day off from work. You could turn on Netflix, find a show, and spend the next 10-15 hours between your couch and kitchen. But you could also be a little productive with your spare time and dead brain. Here are some suggestions.

  1. Take a walk around the block: Yeah it’s going to be cold. Probably rainy. One walk around the block will get your blood moving and lungs working. Plus it will get your brain going again – not much, but just enough to accomplish the rest of the stuff on the list.
  2. Remember your successes from 2017: It’s easy to get hung up on what you want to do better in 2018. Be in better shape, lose weight, make more money, etc… But you did some things really well in 2017. You did some things other people admire. Remember those wins.
  3. Backup all your photos: Oh some of you are really good at doing this on the fly. But the rest of you have hundreds of photos on your phone that you haven’t put in a safe place for awhile. Sure, I know they all get uploaded to the cloud, but why not save yourself the heartache of wondering if Apple is hack-proof? Just get all your photos on a backup hard drive. It takes very little effort.
  4. Clean up your phone: While you’re backing up your photos, why not take a spin through the 346 apps on your phone and clean some out. That new cool app you read about on FastCompany or Geekwire probably isn’t even in business anymore. Take an hour and wipe out the clutter.
  5. Read your LinkedIn profile: Remember that profile you updated the last time you needed a job, or got a new one? Yeah, the world has changed since then. Probably a good time to go in and make sure your professional internet presence reflects who you really are.
  6. Call some old friends: Hey guess what your friends are doing on Jan 1. Lying on the couch! Give them a call.
  7. Put all your gift cards in a stack by the front door: Maybe you aren’t like me, but I often receive gift cards that I never remember getting, then have them scattered around the house, so I forget to use them. I like to find them all and put them in one place next to my keys, so I can’t miss them when I’m leaving the house.
  8. Cook something delicious: Are you hungry now? Debating the prospects of leftovers vs a pizza? The internet makes it easy to find recipes. You can type in something like, “Easy things to cook on New Year’s” and I bet you’ll get a variety of chili and crockpot recipes that are awesome. Spend 20 minutes off the couch, go to the grocery store in your sweats and baseball hat, and then slow cook something that makes you seem like a culinary genius.
  9. Clean up your bookmarks: You have 100 articles stores somewhere that you meant to read at some point during the year. Either read it or delete it or both. Get a fresh palette of reading material.
  10. Write down the gifts you wanted and didn’t get this year: In a few months people will ask what you want for your birthday. And you won’t know. But if you have a list of “Xmas Didn’t Gets” in Evernote or GoogleDocs or whatever, you can just email it to them.

Happy New Year everyone. Whatever you do on your own New Year’s Day, I hope it leads to a prosperous and happy campaign.

5 tips for a Non-Nutritionist’s Plan for Losing Weight

Posted by Andy in Personal and tagged with , ,

It’s almost time for New Year’s resolutions. And thanks to our 6-12 holiday parties, we’re all at our maximum weights and feel like sloths crossing a 10 lane highway.

You can read all the web sites you want, and pay to subscribe to all the diet programs that claim they  work. But you really need is advice from someone like you, not some egg head marathon runner. So here’s what I’m attempting in 2018.

  1. When you can’t go to the gym, just walk: Here’s the easiest thing we can do. If you are going to to grocery, mall, whatever… just park far away. That’s an extra 300 yards each way that is moderately useful. Will it drive weight loss? No. But it gets you to understand that walking is good.
  2. 100 pushups are awesome. 10 pushups are better than 0 pushups: You don’t feel like going to the gym. Me either. So we’re watching TV instead. But the commercials suck, so why not roll off the couch and do 5-10 pushups. Is doing pushups really worse than watching that lame iPhone commercial again?
  3. Stop with the sodas: If you buy some ginger, lemons, limes, cucumbers, and oranges, along with a decent citrus squeezer, you really never have to buy a sugary soda again. Choose your fruits and spices and make your own flavored waters.
  4. Research some recipes: I’m not going to tell you what you should eat. But I think we can agree that any restaurant that is making the most amount of money serving affordable food to as many people as possible, is probably cutting a corner somewhere in the nutrition department. The internet is your friend. Look for the things you love to eat, and make them yourself.
  5. Air Fryers work: I love chicken wings. They’re calorie hell if cooked in oil. But an air fryer cuts out 80% of the calories. Give it a shot.

The Meat-Free Experiment is Underway

Posted by Andy in Personal and tagged with , ,

I’ve never contemplated vegetarianism. And no matter how long I live in Seattle, I can never see myself paying an extra $3 for a “sustainable” sandwich.

But I like experiments, so I have one underway. From May 17 – May 30, I’m going meat free.

I’m trading the steaks for salmon, bacon for yoghurt, and sandwiches for salads. Just to see how my body reacts to a meatless diet.

I’m starting this experiment about 20 pounds above where I’d like to be. I’m not changing any other aspects of my diet or exercise plan, to truly see how meat affects weight gain or loss. I’m also curious what this will do for my mood, sleep habits, energy level and more.

So, if I seem grouchy in the next few weeks while you inhale a T-bone and I choose the Ahi salad, this is why. And if you have tips on how to replace meat with other protein, please let me know.