I Just Like Standing On Summits My wife, Hilary, was essentially handing me a gift, and I didn’t know what to do with it: She was taking our toddler, Jay, to the Oregon coast for a week, and I was invited to not join them. Meaning: I had a full week to do anything I wanted, for the first time since Jay was born 14 months prior. No toddler wrangling, no constant vigilance to make sure he didn’t fall off something, or stick his finger in something, or eat something indigestible. I could stay up...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Friday Inspiration 455 This is the kind of stuff that YouTube doesn’t usually put in my feed, probably because it’s a very chill, short video about deciding to not take tent stakes when you go backpacking, but I love it (video) (thanks, Liesl) Note: I don’t accept many sponsor offers for this newsletter, but this week I was approached by AAA and it seemed like a good fit—I’ve been a AAA member since 2010. So midway through this edition of the newsletter, you’ll see their sponsorship message...
12 days ago • 2 min read
Friday Inspiration 454 I don’t know how to explain this video, but I saw a few people sharing it on social media last week and it is one hell of a story about a mural a guy saw in an old McDonald’s restaurant. Also his energy is amazing. (video) I HAVE A FAVOR TO ASK: If you read my book Ultra-Something, would you be so kind as to write a quick review (or even just rate the book) on Amazon? You don’t have to write a positive review, or a long review, just a review. It would help me out a ton....
19 days ago • 2 min read
How To Stay In Touch Kurt thinks of me when he thinks about baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett pooping his pants. He told me so a few weeks ago because that video of George Brett was going around again. Maybe you don’t know it, but you might: George Brett, at the time a part-time coach for the Kansas City Royals, telling a few increasingly uncomfortable players the story of a very abrupt bout of diarrhea he had in the lobby of the Bellagio in Las Vegas a few years before, and how he...
20 days ago • 3 min read
Friday Inspiration 453 I have been following Kraig Adams’ YouTube channel for a couple years now, but I don’t think I’ve ever put one of his videos in this newsletter. What I love about it is how anti-YouTube-algorithm it is—usually no talking, with very unhurried, long shots of hiking in beautiful places. Also he absolutely knows how to frame a shot. This one’s in Switzerland, and the actual hiking footage is just under 15 minutes. (video) If you’re not already following my wife, Hilary, on...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Friday Inspiration 452 I was really happy to see this episode of “PaddyO Sucks At” come out, especially given the ending, and was a little bummed that it would only exist behind the paywall at OutsideOnline, but then they randomly put it on YouTube for free, so everyone can watch it. (I do make a small cameo in it) (video) This is from 2015,but as a fan of old sports photos, I was definitely interested in why they all (at least the indoor ones of basketball and boxing) had a bluish haze, and...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Peace > Justice Bike Lock -- If you enjoyed this piece, please consider supporting my work.
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Friday Inspiration 451 This video is probably not for everyone, but if you like Oreos, it will be very ... informative. (video) I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon, and by the time you read it, the Chicago White Sox may have broken the record for most games ever lost in a Major League Baseball season. I’ve been a little interested in this for a few weeks now, not out of schadenfreude, but because people are writing about “losing” in really thoughtful ways, like in this piece. (gift link) I...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Friday Inspiration 450 My friend Mark made this video, and I love everything about it: A regular guy runs his own 100-mile ultramarathon in his backyard mountain range (his third attempt at it, BTW), films the whole thing, and gets them both done, with fast food, hallucinations, and a brief section in Crocs. (video) Organizational psychologist Adam Grant seems to be everywhere the past few years—most recently, inside my head with this tough love about “research” actually sometimes sometimes...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
