<p>Two months in and the year has been going relatively well. Bummed the Eagles couldn&#39;t pull off a Super Bowl win, but no complaints otherwise.</p>
<h2 id="sad-super-bowl">Sad Super Bowl</h2>
<p>I knew facing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs was going to be difficult, but the Eagles defense played an awful game and in the end, they couldn&#39;t maintain their lead. It was certainly a bummer, but alas.</p>
<h2 id="fitness-goals-coming-along-nicely">Fitness Goals Coming Along Nicely</h2>
<p>With regards to my strength training, my switch to <em>nSuns</em> is going well. I&#39;ve been getting back up to my previous highs and have broken my deadlifts PR by 5 lbs. hitting 1 rep at 390. Currently sitting at 965 lbs. towards the 1,000 lbs. club. Maybe March will be the lucky month. I might drop weights afterwards a tad to focus on getting higher reps, but I&#39;ll decide that later.</p>
<p>With running, the weather has been crazy warm and I&#39;ve taken advantage of that to run some longer distances. I&#39;d been focusing on running 3 miles per run, this month I was targeting 4+ miles. Managed that on all but one run, and even hit 5 and then 6 miles too. Getting some longer runs in earlier will hopefully help a bit when I go to start training for the marathon later in the year.</p>
<h2 id="traveling-to-hershey">Traveling to Hershey</h2>
<p>At the end of the month, Lauren and I drove out to Hershey, Pennsylvania to explore some of their distilleries and breweries, and to see a Lehigh Valley Phantoms hockey game against the local Bears team.</p>
<p>The hotel we stayed up was awesomely enough within walking distance of some great restaurants and distilleries. We ended up stopping by <a href="https://www.midstatedistillery.com/">Midstate Distillery</a>, <a href="https://www.hiddenstillspirits.com/">Hidden Still Spirits</a>, <a href="https://www.tatteredflagsupplydrop.com">Tattered Flag</a> &amp; <a href="https://troegs.com">Troegs</a>. It was a fun trip, and there were more places we would like to see next time we meander out that way.</p>
<p><PostImage
    src="/images/posts/2023-03-06-february-check-in/phantomsgame.jpg"
    alt="The Lehigh Valley Phantoms playing the Hershey Bears in a hockey game at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania"
    width={1920}
    height={1440}
    centered
    shadowed
    priority
/></p>
<h2 id="continuing-my-blazor-journey">Continuing My Blazor Journey</h2>
<p>I&#39;ve continued to work with Blazor in building my card organizer app. I&#39;ve been really impressed with the ease of which I can build out forms. I&#39;m making good progress and hope to have an MVP out in the next month or so.</p>
<h2 id="work">Work</h2>
<p>Work has been going well so far this year. I&#39;ve been working on getting several pages rewritten into React to make it a little easier for my team and the design team to work on them.</p>
<p>I&#39;ve also been immersing myself in the database project to help set it up for true integration tests. We&#39;ve been using mock data which is less than ideal. I&#39;ve been working with our engineering team to get a docker container set up to allow our integration tests to run as part of our CI/CD process. I&#39;m learning a lot and it&#39;s actually a pretty neat process.</p>
<h2 id="monthly-round-up">Monthly Round-Up</h2>
<p><strong>🏃🏼‍♂️ Running &amp; Biking</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Running:</strong> I ended up running a little over 31 miles. The upside is that I took advantage of the nicer weather to run longer distances.</li>
<li><strong>Biking:</strong> Still nope</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>🏋🏼‍♂️ Lifting</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Switched to running a program based off <a href="https://liftvault.com/programs/powerlifting/n-suns-lifting-spreadsheets/">nSuns</a> and ended up setting a new PR of 390 lbs. on deadlifts as well as some 2 and 3 rep PRS on Bench Press &amp; Squats.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>📚 Reading</strong></p>
<p><em>Finished</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/american-nations-a-history-of-the-eleven-rival-regional-cultures-of-north-america-colin-woodard/16638225?ean=9780143122029">American Nations</a> by Colin Woodard</li>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/liar-s-poker-michael-lewis/8855267?ean=9780393338690">Liar&#39;s Poker</a> by Michael Lewis</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Started</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/american-gods-neil-gaiman/6438874?ean=9780063081918">American Gods</a> by Neil Gaiman</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>✍🏻 Writing</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Continued my reading logs<ul>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/reading-log/17">Reading Log - February 3 (#17)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/reading-log/18">Reading Log - February 10 (#18)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/reading-log/19">Reading Log - February 17 (#19)</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Wrote about <a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/02/16/luck">Luck</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>🎮 Gaming</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/horizon-zero-dawn/">Horizon Zero Dawn</a> - Didn&#39;t game much, but still playing through</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>📺 Watched</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Started <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13991232/">1883</a></li>
<li>Started <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8806524/">Star Trek: Picard Season 3</a></li>
<li>Continuing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112178/">Star Trek: Voyager</a></li>
<li>Continuing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472954/">It&#39;s Always Sunny in Philadelphia</a></li>
<li>Continuing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118298/">Daria</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>🎬 Movies</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10696784/">The Harder They Fall</a></li>
<li><a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7657566/">Death on the Nile</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615147/">Margin Call</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5688932/">Sorry to Bother You</a></li>
</ul>


February Check-In

<p>It seems like a new year just started and already we&#39;re one month in...</p>
<h2 id="getting-back-into-fitness">Getting Back into Fitness</h2>
<p>Not that I really stopped last year, but I started a bigger emphasis on it this year. I&#39;ve made a concerted effort to drink less alcohol and try to limit my snacking. So far it&#39;s been working. I didn&#39;t do <em>Dry January</em> but I did a better job of not overindulging on the weekends.</p>
<p>With the nice weather, I&#39;ve also been getting more runs in. I managed 48 miles in January, somehow running in the high 40s and low 50s some days.</p>
<p>With regards to lifting, I switched back to running an <em>nSuns</em> based routine. I&#39;m putting in more sets and reps and have been getting back to my personal bests. I&#39;m 100 pounds away from my goal of joining the 1,000 pound club!</p>
<h2 id="picking-up-blazor">Picking Up Blazor</h2>
<p>As a .NET developer, Blazor has been on my radar for a little while now. I decided to play around with it and learn by building a web app to go through and organize my baseball card collection (because why not?). I haven&#39;t gotten that far and I&#39;m actually toying with the idea of streaming a little bit of it on Twitch or something.</p>
<h2 id="go-birds">Go Birds</h2>
<p><PostImage
    src="/images/posts/2023-02-04-january-check-in/gobirds.gif"
    alt="Mac from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia shouting 'Go Birds'"
    width={600}
    height={300}
    centered
/></p>
<p>The Philadelphia Eagles are back in the Super Bowl facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs. Grease those light posts!</p>
<h2 id="monthly-round-up">Monthly Round-Up</h2>
<h3 id="🏃🏼♂️-running--biking">🏃🏼‍♂️ Running &amp; Biking</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Running:</strong> I ended up running 48 miles this month</li>
<li><strong>Biking:</strong> Need to get on this</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="🏋🏼♂️-lifting">🏋🏼‍♂️ Lifting</h3>
<ul>
<li>Switch programs and have quickly started to get my lifts back to my all-time highs.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="📚-reading">📚 Reading</h3>
<p><em>Finished</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/snow-crash-neal-stephenson/7327954?ean=9780553380958">Snow Crash</a> by Neal Stephenson</li>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bond-king-how-one-man-made-a-market-built-an-empire-and-lost-it-all-mary-childs/15873505?ean=9781250120847">The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All</a> by Mary Childs</li>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bomb-presidents-generals-and-the-secret-history-of-nuclear-war-fred-kaplan/7774644?ean=9781982107307">The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War</a> by Fred Kaplan</li>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bomber-mafia-a-dream-a-temptation-and-the-longest-night-of-the-second-world-war-malcolm-gladwell/17377135?ean=9780316296816">The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War</a> by Malcolm Gladwell</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Started</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/american-nations-a-history-of-the-eleven-rival-regional-cultures-of-north-america-colin-woodard/16638225?ean=9780143122029">American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America</a> by Colin Woodard</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="✍🏻-writing">✍🏻 Writing</h3>
<ul>
<li>Continued my reading logs<ul>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/01/06/reading-log-january-6-13">January 6 (#13)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/01/13/reading-log-january-13-14">January 13 (#14)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/01/20/reading-log-january-20-15">January 20 (#15)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/01/27/reading-log-january-27-16">January 27 (#16)</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Wrote about <a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/01/02/2022-retrospective">2022 and Looking onto 2023</a></li>
<li>Wrote about the <a href="https://kpwags.com/posts/2023/01/07/books-i-read-in-2022">books I read in 2022</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="🎮-gaming">🎮 Gaming</h3>
<ul>
<li>Continued <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/horizon-zero-dawn/">Horizon Zero Dawn</a></li>
<li>Played a bit of <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/goldeneye-007/9n6639h7vgh4">GoldenEye 007</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="📺-watched">📺 Watched</h2>
<ul>
<li>Continuing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118298/">Daria</a></li>
<li>Continuing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472954/">It&#39;s Always Sunny in Philadelphia</a></li>
<li>Continuing <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112178/">Star Trek: Voyager</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="🎬-movies">🎬 Movies</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11564570/">Glass Onion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8041270/">Jurassic World: Dominion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10304142/">Amsterdam</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302006/">The Irishman</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109445/">Clerks</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14826022/">You People</a></li>
</ul>


January Check-In

<p>A scary moment in the NFL Monday night. Also lots of podcasts this week.</p>
<h2 id="link-blast">Link Blast</h2>
<h3 id="👨🏼💻-software-development--design">👨🏼‍💻 Software Development &amp; Design</h3>
<p><a href="https://matthiasott.com/notes/transient-frameworks">Transient Frameworks</a> <em>(Matthias Ott)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.jamesmichaelhickey.com/how-to-structure-your-dot-net-solutions-design-and-trade-offs/?utm_source=csharpdigest&amp;utm_medium&amp;utm_campaign=1462">How To Structure Your .NET Solutions: Architecture And Trade-Offs</a> <em>(James Hickey)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2023/01/04/what-does-it-look-like-for-the-web-to-lose/">What does it look like for the web to lose?</a> <em>(Chris Coyier)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://stackdiary.com/css-media-queries/">A Practical Guide to CSS Media Queries</a> <em>(Alex Ivanovs)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://davidwalsh.name/get-promise-status">How to Determine a JavaScript Promise&#39;s Status</a> <em>(David Walsh)</em></p>
<h3 id="🖥-technology--the-internet">🖥 Technology &amp; the Internet</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2022/12/21/anker-highlights-what-not-to-do-when-your-crappy-security-standards-are-exposed/">Anker Highlights What Not To Do When Your Crappy Security Standards Are Exposed</a> <em>(Karl Bode)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2022/12/28/lastpass-tries-to-bury-the-full-scope-of-its-disastrous-privacy-breach-behind-the-christmas-holiday/">LastPass Tries To Bury The Full Scope Of Its Disastrous Privacy Breach Behind The Christmas Holiday</a> <em>(Karl Bode)</em></p>
<h3 id="📈-business--finance">📈 Business &amp; Finance</h3>
<p><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/12/remote-work-is-poised-to-devastate-americas-cities.html">Remote Work Is Poised to Devastate America&#39;s Cities</a> <em>(Eric Levitz)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/12/homeownership-real-estate-investment-renting/672511/">The Homeownership Society Was a Mistake</a> <em>(Jerusalem Demsas)</em></p>
<h3 id="🔬-science">🔬 Science</h3>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/headed-to-space-today-test-hardware-for-a-solar-power-plant/">Space-based solar power hardware ready for actual testing in space</a> <em>(John Timmer)</em></p>
<h3 id="⚾-sports">⚾ Sports</h3>
<p><a href="https://theathletic.com/4055531/2023/01/04/damar-hamlin-nfl-emergency-plan/">For Damar Hamlin, NFL activated Emergency Action Plan. How does it work?</a> <em>(Jourdan Rodrigue)</em></p>
<p><a href="https://theathletic.com/4062586/2023/01/06/damar-hamlin-nfl-contracts-benefits/">Damar Hamlin situation rekindles questions over NFL player contracts</a> <em>(Daniel Kaplan)</em></p>
<h3 id="🎧-podcasts">🎧 Podcasts</h3>
<p><a href="https://changelog.com/podcast/489">The Changelog #489: Run your home on a Raspberry Pi</a></p>
<p><a href="https://changelog.com/podcast/491">The Changelog #491: Stacked diffs for fast-moving code review</a></p>
<p><a href="https://changelog.com/jsparty/227">JS Party #227: JS logging &amp; error handling</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.dotnetrocks.com/details/1793">.NET Rocks #1793: Secure Open Source Practices with Jillian Ratliff</a></p>
<p><a href="https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2022/05/18/technical-debt-with-lee-atchison/">Software Engineering Daily: Technical Debt With Lee Atchison</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.dotnetrocks.com/details/1794">.NET Rocks #1794: Using Web Components with Jemima Abu</a></p>
<p><a href="https://shows.acast.com/the-new-bazaar/episodes/finance-portrayed-in-arts-and-culture">The New Bazaar S1 Ep 39: Finance portrayed in arts and culture</a></p>
<p><a href="https://timharford.com/2023/01/cautionary-tales-double-header-when-a-plague-struck-world-of-warcraft-and-blood-on-the-tracks/">Cautionary Tales: When a Plague Struck World of Warcraft, and Blood on the Tracks</a></p>
<h3 id="🎒-everything-else">🎒 Everything Else</h3>
<p><a href="https://brooker.co.za/blog/2022/11/08/writing.html">Writing Is Magic</a> <em>(Marc Brooker)</em></p>
<h3 id="🎵-a-song-to-leave-you-with">🎵 A Song to Leave You With</h3>
<h4 id="the-menzingers---america-youre-freaking-me-out---from-exile">The Menzingers - America (You&#39;re Freaking Me Out) - From Exile</h4>
<p><YouTubeEmbed
    id="Xn8p_18vN9g"
    title="The Menzingers - America (You're Freaking Me Out) - From Exile"
/></p>


A scary moment in the NFL Monday night. Also lots of podcasts this week.

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