<p>So I think for 2019, I&#39;m going to try something new. I&#39;m going to try to share a weekly list of various articles and podcasts I&#39;ve read or listened to over the week that I&#39;ve found interesting. So here we go.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190115/12230841398/techdirt-podcast-episode-195-eu-endangers-free-speech-online-again.shtml">Techdirt Podcast Episode 195: The EU Endangers Free Speech Online... Again</a></h4>
<p>The EU is working on a new law that could have many unintended side effects, especially with regards to free speech. While this is not US-centric, I can see something similar passing in the US.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/radiolab-punchline">Radiolab: The Punchline</a></h4>
<p>As a hockey fan, I can enjoy this story about John Scott, one of the NHL’s last enforcers being voted a captain for the 2016 NHL All Star Game despite the NHL doing anything they could to stop him</p>
<h4><a href="https://app.programmingfonts.org/">Test Drive Programming Fonts</a></h4>
<p>Check out some new programming fonts and see how they look. Download them if you like, they’re free</p>
<h4><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/01/the-linux-of-social-media-how-livejournal-pioneered-then-lost-web-blogging/">&quot;The Linux of Social Media&quot; - How LiveJournal pioneered (then lost) blogging</a></h4>
<p>I remember using LiveJournal back in the day…how times have changed</p>
<h4><a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3q45v/bittorrent-usage-increases-netflix-streaming-sites">The Rise of Netflix Competitors Has Pushed Consumers Back Toward Piracy</a></h4>
<p>I’m not surprised, the draw of Netflix was that it was inexpensive and easy to view content. Now with having to shell out money to more and more services to view the content, the cost is rising which pushes people away. It might not be right, but it’s also part of human nature.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/sports/football/the-nfls-obesity-scourge.html">The NFL’s Obesity Scourge</a></h4>
<p>Everyone (rightfully so) talks about the head trauma football players face, but the weight gains that linemen need to do their job often fall through the cracks.</p>


Reading List 1/17 - 1/27

<p>Since we’re now about 3 weeks into 2019, I figured I’d quickly see where I’m at in terms of my goals for the year.</p>
<h2>Losing Weight &amp; Improving Strength</h2>
<p>I’m down about 4 pounds so far, so that’s good. The bad is that I could still be a little stricter on what I eat. I have more good days than bad, but there’s still quite a bit in the middle I could improve on. I’m not about ready to completely give up burgers and the “less-than-healthy” options, but my self control to turn away the cookie, or slack off and order a pizza is a little higher than I would have preferred. I also haven’t been the greatest at sticking to a dry January, but I’m still drinking less than I normally do, so I’ll count that as a win.</p>
<p>In terms of my lifts at the gym, I finally crossed the 200 lbs. threshold on bench press, so I’m excited about that. Next bench press day, I’ll be going for 205 lbs. for the first time ever. I’m currently doing 3 sets of 5 for deadlifts, so that’s stalled a bit at 295 lbs., but I generally feel like I’m getting stronger.</p>
<h2>Reading More</h2>
<p>I am about 2/3 through <em>The Forever War</em> by Dexter Filkins which would be my 2nd book of the year. I could read more I suppose, but I’d say I’m on the right track.</p>
<h2>Working on my Side Project</h2>
<p>This one I’ve made no progress on. I need to continue on with the tutorials. I really just need to set aside some time for it.</p>
<h2>Writing More</h2>
<p>I’ve tried over the last couple of weeks to come up with an idea for a post or something to write, but so far I’ve been drawing blanks or have started something only to just delete it because I feel it’s not worth continuing for whatever reason. Again, I should probably just set aside some time and write, even if whatever it is I’m writing never sees the light of day.</p>
<h2>Other Things I Have Been Doing</h2>
<p>Some of the things that I have done in the meantime is start catching back up on my video game backlog. I finally played through Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and have started FarCry 5. The Lost Legacy definitely is worth playing. It continues the Uncharted series fantastic gameplay and story telling. FarCry 5 has been a lot of fun so far as well, but I’m not that far into it. I’m going to try to keep working and hope to knock out some more games.</p>
<p>Moving on, I’m hoping to continue working towards my goals and hopefully make some progress on just about all of them. The first 3 weeks weren’t bad, but I think I can do better!</p>


3 Weeks In

<p>A year later, let&#39;s see what happened in 2018 and what I&#39;m looking at for 2019.</p>
<h2>Looking Back at 2018</h2>
<p>Let&#39;s look back at 2018 and see how I did with my goals.</p>
<h3>What I Wanted to Do</h3>
<h4>Lose Weight</h4>
<p>Unfortunately, no progress was really made on this front. I did shed a few pounds over the course of the year, but nothing to really write home about. That said, I did make progress in my lifts. I ended up hitting 315 lbs. on deadlifts, 250 lbs. on squats, 195 lbs. on bench press, and 130 lbs. on overhead press. A torn tendon in my groin has set my squats and deadlifts back a bit, but I&#39;m working my way back up. I do feel like I&#39;m in better shape but I could have done better.</p>
<h4>Reading More</h4>
<p>I did better with reading than I did with my fitness goals. I ended out the year reading a total of 13 books. I probably could have done better, but as I mentioned, I subscribed to <em>The Economist</em> which occupied some of my reading time as well. I think my three favorite books this year were</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079VDR6HM">The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States: A Speculative Novel</a> by Jeffrey Lewis</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1RRDMH">Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War</a> by TJ Brennan &amp; Finbarr O&#39;Reilly</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VTV2899">Vacationland</a> by John Hodgman.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Side Projects</h4>
<p>My recipe project has taken a pause right now as I was starting to struggle figuring out the best way to move forward with it. I decided to buy Wes Bos&#39; <a href="https://advancedreact.com/">Advanced React &amp; GraphQL Course</a> in hopes of finding the best way to do things, and I have to say that it was just what I was looking for. I haven&#39;t completed it yet, but it&#39;s given me a lot more insight into React and something completely new with GraphQL. I&#39;m hoping to finish it up soon and use what I&#39;ve learned to build out my project.</p>
<h4>Write More</h4>
<p>This was a bust. Not much more can be said other than I just didn&#39;t write nearly as much as I wanted.</p>
<h2>Moving onto 2019</h2>
<p>I&#39;m going to stick with the same four goals for 2019.</p>
<h3>Lose Weight</h3>
<p>Over the last two months of 2018, I was very good at making sure to hit the gym almost daily. I&#39;m going to continue to do that and move forward on my PPL (Pull, Push, Legs) routine. I&#39;m also going to try to hold myself more accountable with my diet. I&#39;ve created a spreadsheet to go along with my use of <a href="https://www.myfitnesspal.com">MyFitnessPal</a> to help me with this. I&#39;m color coding my calorie intake as well as my macros to help push me towards my goals. Three days in, and I already hate seeing numbers red. Fortunately most are green or yellow, but it&#39;s a small sample size. I&#39;m also going with a dry January. My alcohol intake isn&#39;t excessive by any means, but I&#39;m hoping that by kicking it out entirely, I can help shed some pounds in January and have the momentum carry over for the rest of the year.</p>
<p>With regards to fitness goals, I&#39;m hoping to hit 400 lbs. on deadlifts, 275 lbs. on squats, 225 lbs. on bench press, and 150 lbs. on overhead press by the end of the year. I&#39;d also like to hit the 300 mile mark running.</p>
<h3>Read More</h3>
<p>I&#39;ve already finished one book this year (ok...ok...I started it in 2018), and I&#39;m hoping to keep that going. I&#39;m trying to mix the fiction in with the nonfiction to keep things interesting. My goal this year is 20-25 books, so hopefully I can reach that goal. I&#39;ve done it before so I know it&#39;s attainable.</p>
<h3>Side Project</h3>
<p>As I mentioned above, I made some good progress with my recipe project, but my limited knowledge with React and Node started to limit me getting further. The <a href="https://advancedreact.com/">Advanced React &amp; GraphQL Course</a> has been doing a great job helping me get my head around some of the more advanced areas, so once complete, I plan on moving forward. Hopefully, by the beginning of February I can get back to my project.</p>
<h3>Write More</h3>
<p>One of the biggest limiters I felt last year was trying to come up with what to write about, and how to put those ideas into words. I&#39;m hoping to find ways of improving that this year, and maybe add some stream-of-consciousness posts as well.</p>
<p>Those are my four main goals of 2019. Here&#39;s to hoping that I do better this year than last.</p>


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Posts in Janurary 2019

Reading List 1/17 - 1/27

3 Weeks In

A New Year