the thinks I think
No, not in the biblical sense (or in the bedroom sense… boy, I should really rethink that title…) (This is actually a journal entry, but it felt like a blog post when I finished, so I copied it here too) I’m almost 50. Well, recently 49, and 49 is close to 50. And while I’ve been financially poor and financially ... Read more
Or at least that s what it sounded like to me when the orthodontist said I d be getting Power Chains on my braces. It turns out they re a bit less exciting than the name suggests. Power chains are just rubber bands that connect brackets together and speed up movement. So yeah, far less exciting. Today I got my braces adjusted. Traditionally ... Read more
I ve wanted a 3D printer for well over a decade. I never really had a reason to get one though, and, because it seems fun just didn t seem like a worthy rationale. But then Donna needed tiny skulls for a display at work. And I FINALLY had a reason!!! A few months ago I ordered the Bambu Carbon X1. I ... Read more
It s been almost 4 months since I got braces. So far, it takes longer than almost 4 months for me to adjust to braces. I wish that weren t the case. It s not the case for most folks. But like all the other ways I m a super special, unique little snowflake this way is really dumb. It s not that my ... Read more
I listen to audiobooks whenever I m doing something that doesn t require inner monologue. It took me a while to realize why I could listen to audiobooks while doing some things but not others. And I think it s inner monologue. If I m doing dishes, mowing, driving, walking, fishing, cleaning anything like that; I can listen to an audiobook. If I m prepping ... Read more
I mean, it was only a 40 minute drive, but still, today my son in law Niel took me on a fishing trip. He and Lydia got me a pair of waders for my birthday, and since the ladies were having a baby shower for my eldest daughter, it seemed a perfect day to wade up the river and hopefully ... Read more
I m currently reading an incredible book by Stephanie Harrison called, New Happy. Its findings on what makes us truly happy are similar to a few other recent books I ve read on happiness. Basically, one of the only ways we become happy is to help other people. Again, while this is a new way of looking at happiness science, it s not ... Read more
That s not really true. I have somewhere around 16 shirts. They re just all exactly the same brand, size, style, and material. I have the same shirt in multiple colors. But they all feel the same. They are a tri-blend fabric, no tags, and extremely soft. I wear the same thing every day. Since the shirts are different colors, it doesn t ... Read more
It annoys me how prevalent ADHD is in every aspect of my psyche. Really. I d like to have some qualities and faults which don t fall directly in line with how ADHD brains work. I used to think I was a special, albeit broken, snowflake. (Not in the political sense, I just mean in the special and unique sense) But nope, ... Read more
On Star Wars Day (May the 4th lol) of 2023, my wife Donna had the first of 3 surgeries on her heels. Donna has a genetic defect called, Haglund s Deformity , which is sorta like bone spurs that were exposed to gamma rays and became Incredible Hulk level angry. While sometimes physical therapy can alleviate the pain caused by the issue, ... Read more
For a while, I was doing a podcast with a group of friends, where every week we d take turns deep diving on a topic we found interesting. The Bench Ash Shirt podcast sorta died off as our lives got busy in different ways, but probably my favorite episode never happened. Or it did happen, but someone forgot to press record. ... Read more
And let s be honest, no one else wants it. I went fishing today after I dropped Donna off at work. This will surprise exactly zero people, but this particular fishing stop ended up lasting a lot longer than my normal 20 minutes of worm drowning. (OK, that s not actually a good description, since I almost always fish with lures, not ... Read more
I ve raved about my Lectric XP eBike for a while now. While I haven t used it this summer (until today, he foreshadows forebodingly), last year I put hundreds of miles on it. The thing is, an eBike, or a, pedal assist bike, makes riding a bike fun again. Remember when you were 12 years old, and you could ride your ... Read more
It s funny that we think of, middle age as somewhere around 50. Assuming a 100 year lifespan is pretty darn optimistic. Don t get me wrong, I d be happy to experience mid-life around 65 or so. But unless we make some major medical/robotic advances in the next 30-40 years, it s likely my mid-life is in the rear view mirror. (And not ... Read more
While my life has been one long string of weirdly-deep obsessions which fizzle out after I gain some level of mastery, only in the past few years have I realized why such things happen. As with so many of my weird quirks, hyper focusing on one weird hobby or passion after another is a pretty common trait of ADHD. Ayup. ... Read more
I recently bought a few, morning meditation type books. I m not really someone who actually goes through the process of proper meditation, but I wanted a short snippet that I could read and reflect on first thing in the morning. These types of things tend to be uplifting, encouraging, and generally just positive vibes all the way down. I kinda ... Read more
For some odd reason, the weather in late February decided to go on vacation for a day. Today, we have several inches of fresh snow, and below zero windchills yesterday it was in the mid 60s. And even though I m behind at work, it seemed like an opportunity I shouldn t pass up, and so I took a walk in ... Read more
There are so many weird quirks that come with ADHD. Mind you, I was only diagnosed with ADHD a couple years ago. And while it explains so many oddities about me, some personality traits which I always attributed to being eccentric end up being pretty common for ADHDers. That both annoys and fascinates me. It s annoying, because I hate that ... Read more
It’s currently mid-January in Northern Michigan, and last week, we had green grass with temperatures in the 50s. (Fahrenheit… we weren’t cooking eggs on the sidewalk or anything) Then this week, we got several feet of snow. And the brakes on my truck failed. And I’m housesitting for my daughter. So it’s been a week of almost zero productivity at ... Read more
If you’re not a car buff, the notion of a, “master cylinder” might not immediately scream, “brakes” for you. But the master cylinder on a vehicle is the place where brake fluid goes. It’s the plunger mechanism that converts pressing the brake pedal into hydraulic pressure that applies the stopping power. The master cylinder is also where the reservoir(s) for ... Read more
If you re anything like me, well first off, I m so, so sorry. But if you re like me you appreciate sparkling water, especially now that it comes in a plethora of delicious artificial flavors. I m not a snob, either. I like the LaCroix, the Bubly, StoreBrandica it s all delicious. But, it s also a bit spendy. It hurts me every time ... Read more
I m not going to lie, it does feel a little silly when people in my meat-space life find out that while I do have a day job, the vast majority of my energy goes into creative endeavors. Being a YouTuber at 48 years old smacks of midlife crisis, and being a small YouTuber feels somehow even sadder. This is probably ... Read more
Intellectually, I understand the importance of Open Source licenses. The nuances of GPLv2 and GPLv3 can change the entire way a piece of software is used, developed, and shared. But I don t really care all that much. Sure, I lose a lot of cred when I dismiss licensing so offhandedly. How can I call myself an Open Source evangelist, or ... Read more
A couple days ago, I tweeted about ADHD. I do that kind of often, because I was only recently diagnosed. That doesn t mean I recently developed ADHD, that s not how it works. It means that a condition I ve had my whole life was diagnosed after a long (and expensive) battery of tests and interviews. There are people who think ADHD ... Read more
I ran across a tweet someone had screenshotted and shared on Facebook recently, and is often my practice, I looked it up so I could give proper attribution to the original author. It turns out the tweet was from 2019, but it s one of those tweets that only improves as it ages, proving its worthiness by how true it remains. ... Read more
It s been a couple weeks now, and my green hair is starting to fade. My light brown roots are peeking through, and since I don t go many places, most people who will see me have seen me. And while I tweeted a short explanation, I haven t gotten too detailed when explaining why my hair is green. Mostly because I was ... Read more
I think empathy is one of the most valuable skills or traits that we can master as human beings. It allows us to see beyond ourselves, and function as a group in a way that allowed society to develop. At some point, however, we started seeing empathy as a weakness. I m not sure when it happened, or the exact mechanism ... Read more
Just don t do anything at all? Yeah, I m pretty sure that s not a healthy motto to live by, but it sure does resonate with me. I ve always struggled with perfectionism, and it sorta ambushed me this week. It s been a while since I ve been paralyzed by it. That s mostly because my creative efforts of late have all been on my ... Read more
Before I start, it s important to know that I m not writing this to convince anyone to send money. We ll be OK, truly. I m writing this because much like depression, shame withers in the light. I don t want the specter of what if someone finds out to live in my brain, rent free. And perhaps hearing our misfortune will help someone ... Read more
Five years ago, my wife Donna and I invested our entire nest egg into buying an old farm in Brutus, MI. We refurbished the old barn, and created a young adult ministry, because there wasn t one in the area. It turned out almost exactly like we pictured it, but then when it was still in its infancy, Emmet County shut ... Read more