Category: Future

2026 Goals

2026 Goals

TLDR: Here’s the blog condensed to ~100 words:

2026 Goals

I turn 40 this year. Time to answer three big questions: What’s next for work? Where do we live? How do I make a difference?

My misogi: Build a product, start a small business. Not trying would feel worse than failing.

The priorities: Hit 200 lbs before my birthday. Restart meditation. Take the summer off—even if it means quitting. More 1:1 time with my kids. Monthly dates with my wife. Daily piano.

I’m probably overcommitting. But failure isn’t missing some goals—it’s staying stuck in the same place.

(98 words above)

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Weigh Under 200 Pounds by Age 40

On March 3, 2020, I weighed 190.6 pounds. I didn’t record my weight again until October 15 that same year—203 pounds. Plus 13 pandemic pounds. And I’ve kept them all for the last five full years.

Time for them to go.

I’m down to 202 now from a recent 208 around Thanksgiving. 2 pounds to go. I turn 40 end of February. This one has a hard deadline.

I actually want to get to 190 or so but sub 200 is the must do. I’ve been making good progress the last 5 week.

The Year’s Big Questions

I’m calling this my extended midlife crisis, and I mean it. Not the cliché kind with a sports car. The real kind where you get laid off, move across the country, get 2 new jobs in 6 months, move back across the country, look at the next decade and realize you don’t want to repeat what you’ve been doing the last 10 years.

Three questions I need to answer this year:

What’s next for work? I’m confident in the near term the answer is entrepreneurship. I want to build something. Make a product, start a small business. Even if it’s small, even if the income is modest. This is a life goal. I also like working with people so I’m not ruling out company employment at some point but at this point I’m mostly at Apple for the money.

Where do we live? Genuinely undecided. Bay Area or somewhere else entirely. This one affects everything. We always wanted to live by the ocean, and now we are. TBD if it’s the long term place though. Living here comes with many major tradeoffs. High costs, marginal housing, California politics, and all the associated day to day frustrations. But

How do I make a difference? I want to get involved, possiably politically. Still figuring out what form this takes—local or national, volunteering or something else.

The Goals

I started with a Top 10 list, but it grew. These are the things that matter. Continue reading “2026 Goals”

Laid off!

Apple leadership made the decision to “wind-down” the Titan program. All of us on T172 were told in an all hands meeting on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

Initially I had feelings of relief, some uncertainty, and excitement. Relief that the leadership finally made a decision and we had clear direction regarding the project’s future. Our project had been furiously working on short term deliverables while having no long term clear direction or vision for almost two years. While it wasn’t the decision I had really hoped for, at least it was a decision. Continue reading “Laid off!”

2021: Goals

Similar to previous years, here are my goals for 2021.

There is no update for 2020. Between buying our house last year in January and February and then covid I’m calling it a total loss in terms of goal achivement.

Maybe a total loss is a bit harsh, but very little was achieved: very little reading, too much eating, muscle atrophy…. it goes on.

 

Continue reading “2021: Goals”

2018: Goals

Here is a list of some of my goals for 2018. Some of these are already planned or in progress but its early still so no status reports yet. I plan to update this post throughout the year with progress reports.

  1. Build 2 pieces of wooden furniture
    1. Table
    2. TBD
  2. Ride my bike to work 150 days
    1. ~3/5 of the time assuming 260 workdays per year
  3. Complete a 60 day streak of duolingo practice
  4. Complete 2 kickstarter projects
    1. eBike project
    2. Additional TBD project
  5. Run at least a 10k race
  6. Obtain a sailing certification (certifications are for chumps) and spend an overnight on a sailboat
  7. Make at least 2 movies
    1. General documenting style movie with Megan
    2. Commuting movie (Sailing movie instead)
  8. Surf in a warm water destination
  9. Read 10 books
    1. Leonardo da Vinci, Walter Isaacson
    2. A fine mess, T. R. Reid
    3. Ready player one, Ernest Cline
    4. The selfish gene, Richard Dawkins
    5. The boys in the boat, Daniel Brown
    6. Bad blood, John Carreyrou
    7. Red mars, Kim Stanley
    8. Struck by lightning,  Jeffrey S. Rosenthal
    9. In praise of wasting time, Alan Leightman
    10. Einstein’s dream, Alan Leightman
    11. Space Barrons, Christian Davenport
    12. Sum, David Eagleman
    13. Draft No. 4, John McPhee
    14. Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
    15. Conspiracy, Ryan Holiday
    16. What do you care what other people think, Richard Feynman
    17. How to create a mind, Ray Kurzweil
    18. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
    19. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
    20. The boys in the boat, Daniel James Brown
    21. Capital in the twenty first century, Thomas Piketty
  10. Weigh no more than 182lbs at mid and end year points

 

UPDATE: 3/17/18

My first piece of furniture for the year is underway. I joined a furniture design class Thursday evenings in Santa Clara and am building a corner table for our kitchen which will have a base of poplar and an alder top.

I’m on track for reading 10 books, and have completed one Kickstarter project, although it wasn’t funded. I’m also more or less on track for my biking goal, but haven’t actually been logging this. I got a new commuter without a motor since I’m getting fat and am at risk of not meeting my weight target.

The other goals haven’t been started, but I’m confident I’ll get to them.

UPDATE: 5/1/2018

I’m on track for commuting still. I love my new bike. I also finished one movie, which I’m really happy with. The table is partly complete, and the class is mostly complete :/

I’m not on track for weight. The other day I clocked in at 194 in the morning!

UPDATE: 11/24/2018

Still on track for commuting. I’m not really tracking this but I’ve been riding a lot. Yesterday and today we got the first rain of the season, but I already have some fenders in the mail in order to continue biking.

Weight… not on track. I’m fat. I really need to loose some weight.

Warm water surfing looks like its not going to happen. We have just over a month left and since Megan is pregnant she would be too jealous if I booked a trip now.

And my running goal for 2018 will go unmet. I plan to run at least 10k during 2018 training. I am signed up for an event (as of a few minutes ago) but it is on 1/12 of 2019.

I’m on track for reading which I’m happy about. I’ve read some good books this year.

A 60 day Spanish streak isn’t happening. I completed more than 30 days in the first part of the year but since then I haven’t been practicing. It’s difficult to make myself do considering there is no actual use case for it right now.

I also completed a second movie, although it isn’t the commuting movie. To be posted still…

UPDATE: 01/01/2019

2018 is complete. Summary:

  • Build 2 pieces of wooden furniture
    • Fail – I made most of a table and it is sitting on my shelf about 85% complete. I did complete 1 picture frame, which isn’t furniture.
  • Ride my bike to work 150 days
    • Pass – I didn’t track this but know that I crushed it.
  • Complete a 60 day streak of duolingo practice
    • Fail – I completed a 32 day streak in June and haven’t done much since then.
  • Complete 2 kickstarter projects
    • Fail – 1 complete, 1 not complete. I have two ideas which I may try to do this spring.
  • Run at least a 10k race
    • Pass – I ran 5 miles on 12/31/18 and am registered for a 10k trail race in less than 2 weeks. I’m claiming victory here since on the 31st I definitely could have run 6.4 miles but I’m saving myself for the race.
  • Obtain a sailing certification and spend an overnight on a sailboat
    • Pass – I certified myself and spent many nights on a boat.
  • Make at least 2 movies
    • Pass – Chile movie and SF Bay Sailing Movie
  • Surf in a warm water destination
    • Fail
  • Read 10 books
    • Pass:
      • 16 books read
      • 4 books listened to
      • 1 book judged to be a waste of time
  • Weigh no more than 182lbs at mid and end year points
    • Fail – Utter fail – 201.8 lbs this evening. This is a problem.

Using the information above the year looks to have been pretty bleak.

Considering its the holidays and I’m feeling generous, I could give myself partial credit for the following items:

  • Furniture = 33% since I did spend many hours woodworking
  • Duolingo = 53% (32/60 days)
  • Kickstarter = 49% (1 complete, but unsuccessful campaign)
  • Weight = -11% (-1 * 1-(201.8/182))

And some bonus credit for going above and beyond:

  • Books  = 200% (20/10)

Adjusting with the holiday values and weighting along with the unadjusted items which were either completely fulfilled or not we arrive here.

Not bad for the year. Here is to hoping for a better 2019.

 

Not originally included but this was also in fact ‘Vanished without a trace’ –> recovered 20260907