./Now

(this is a now page). Input, output.

Last updated: April 5, 2022

Doing

• Continuing to Explore the USA
  After a year of road tripping across America, I've learned that there's so much out there. So we're continuing to move and explore the country, now New York --> Colorado --> Arizona.
• Running
  Training at high altitude is no joke, and after a year of Covid I was completely out of shape. I ran my first high-altitude half-marathon, hurt my knee, and barely finished under 3 hours (2:59:45). Now training to do it again, better, and hopefully work back up to marathon distances.
• Outdoors'ing
  We invested in a tent, two sleeping backs, new hiking shoes, and a lot of fire-starter. Spending time outdoors is the new playing video games.
• Business'ing
  In 2022, I quit my job to focus on Dragon Blood Balm and Recommended Systems full time. It's a wild ride full of learnings, and I plan on documenting as many as I can here.
• Reading
  I've been perennially guilty of buying more books than I actually read. This year, I've tried to be more "planned" and conscious in my book-reading habits. I'm putting together a personal learning course, and will be writing it through 2022.

Learning

In 2021, I had a chance to replicate and validate a lot of what I've learned about running product and engineering teams. One time is a fluke, twice is a pattern. In 2022, I'm stepping back from subject matter expertise there to focus on how other parts of a company operate, looking particularly at the finance and operations departments. And after a few years of not-really-learning anything in marketing, I'm going back to basics with a deep focus on growth marketing and building from zero.

Media Diet

A few years ago I made a conscious choice to pare down what media I consume. Rather than staring down a firehouse of unfiltered information, I prefer to get longer, curated, more thoughtful pieces from people whose opinions and perspectives I find interesting or challenging. Most of these are private communications.

Newsletters:

• "Radar" / Studio D Radiodurams Newsletter by Jan Chipchase (Thoughtful)
• "Commonplace/Commoncog" by Cedric Chen (Business, Thoughtful)
• Irrational Exuberance by Will Larson (Business and Technology)
• Stratechery by Ben Thompson (Business and Technology)
• Benedict Evan's Newsletter (Business and Technology)
• Andrew Chen's Newsletter (Business and Technology)
• "Of Dollars and Data" by Nick Magguilli (Finance)
• Collaborative Fund Newsletter (Finance)
• Roden & Ridgeline by Craig Mod (Thoughtful)
• "Things That Have Caught My Attention" by Dan Hon (Thoughtful)
• Robin Sloan's Newsletter (Writing, Thoughtful)
• Brand New / Under Consideration (Design, Creative)
• "Monthly Dispath" by Jarrett Fuller (Design)

Podcasts

• Masters in Business by Barry Ritholtz (Business, Finance, Thoughtful)
• Operators by Delian
• The Tim Ferris Show (Thoughtful, Self Improvement)
• The Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish (Thoughtful, Self Improvement)
• Infinite Loops (Business)
• On Margins (Creative, Thoughtful)
• Bandcamp Weekly (Music)
• Tiny Desk Concerts (Music)
• Song Exploder (Music)