Friday Inspiration 466 Honestly, it’s very hard for me to not share an episode of Hot Ones in this space whenever I find one I like (which is quite often). But I’m sharing this, which is not a full episode, but a 5-minute compilation of 2024 guests’ reactions to Da Bomb, the most vile of all the hot sauces ever used on the show. I actually laughed out loud when Sean asked Lupita Nyong'o the question about … you know, I won’t spoil it for anyone. (video) I have been very interested in the idea...
7 days ago • 3 min read
Here's A Nice Thing: Weekday Biophilia It seems like it always happens at the worst spot, but luckily, not this time: I was running, outside, and I needed a place to hide for about 90 seconds. The situation wasn’t desperate, but it was going to be desperate soon. I was on a multi-use path that paralleled a two-lane highway, not that busy, but busy enough. Luckily, I found a small bridge over a drainage, providing just enough cover for me to do my thing, and be thankful this hadn’t happened in...
8 days ago • 3 min read
Friday Inspiration 465 I just love Global Cycling Network videos—they do some serious stuff, sure, but mostly they seem to be sitting around throwing out ridiculous ideas to each other, and then filming them. (video) A quick note from me: I'm excited to share that Precision Fuel and Hydration is sponsoring this newsletter starting this week. It's a genuinely authentic partnership since I've been using PFH chews, gels, and electrolyte mix since May 2024, and I've been drawing illustrations for...
14 days ago • 2 min read
Friday Inspiration 464 I’m just going to preface this by saying you might not be the type of person who wants to deeply nerd out about wildlife crossings, but if you are, you will enjoy this, and perhaps even moreso enjoy this line: “I love a good federal highway administration handbook” (video) NEW YEAR, SAME DISCOUNT: Given that a lot of people like to use the beginning of the new year to try something new, we've decided to keep the $50/20 percent discount going on my How To Tell One Story...
21 days ago • 1 min read
Recommendation: Make Your Own 'Best Of 2024' List On my year-end list of “Best Meals of 2024”: a steel mug of maple-walnut instant oatmeal with a glob of peanut butter melted into it, eaten at a picnic table next to a not-quite-two-year-old kid eating his own bowl of oatmeal, next to his mother (also, of course, eating oatmeal). The campsite was nothing spectacular, really, just the first one we found open that May afternoon, but it was important: It was Jay’s first camping trip. He survived,...
22 days ago • 3 min read
Friday Inspiration 463 Some professional news from me: As of the end of this year, my Semi-Rad column will no longer appear on OutsideOnline.com. I found out on Tuesday and I’m still sorting out my feelings about the whole thing, but long story short: The money I was getting paid by Outside was partially supporting this newsletter. They paid me so they could republish, verbatim, my twice-a-month Thursday newsletter stories. So on one hand: I have to find a way to make up that income (not the...
28 days ago • 3 min read
Friday Inspiration 462 I cannot believe I haven’t seen this guy’s art before, but I love everything about his work, including the fact that he CREATED HIS OWN PAINT for these enormous, impermanent, outdoor murals. (video) I don’t know if this is the best time of year to mention this, or the worst, but: These Friday Inspiration newsletters take me several hours every week to curate and write. I am able to have the time to do that because people like my friend Don Laub support my work through...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Searching The Heart [For Coronary Calcium] My mom was the first to recommend it, but it was the close calls of a few friends that finally sold me on it. I watched the ceiling as I slid into the CT scan machine, and I thought about the “seven touches” principle of marketing, in which we need seven interactions with a brand or product to actually make a purchase or act upon a call to action—social media posts, ads, word-of-mouth mentions, et cetera. And that if one of those “touches” is an...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Friday Inspiration 461 Are you finding yourself less and less excited about what "The Algorithm" assumes you will like, because it seems like you're just getting served more and more of the same stuff? Me too. This short video, “The Algorithm Has Been Hiding Something From You,” feels right on. (video) This is the last Friday I’ll be including links to the stuff in my online shop at the bottom of this email, since—sorry for the all-caps here—but in order to receive orders by December 25th in...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
