2024 in the rear view

2024-12-31 · 925 words · 5 minutes ·

I have started this post about 200 times.

2024 has felt like everything and nothing happened. I was recently looking at a Retro.app 2024 retrospective, and every 3rd photo I was sure was from another year. However, I don’t remember any of it. Kind of like high school - I am sure I was there, but can’t remember a thing. Lol.

Originally this post started out in this kind of melancholic sort of way: What a very strange year it has been. Almost over, and yet feels like it hasn’t yet begun.

2024 was a year that was so full of disparate experiences that it didn’t seem contiguous. It was like a vignette of AI hacking, raising a young child, health optimization, a bit of travel, a lot of computer programming, and much time enjoying music.

A couple notable changes in 2024:

Health

I started running and watching my caloric intake a bit more than I have in the past. Running has been really wonderful. It is very solid type-2 fun for me, and it has had good results. I feel better, I have lost a tiny bit of weight, I hurt everywhere - lol.

This intervention was started because I got a reading of my lipo(a) that was high. After talking to my doctor (highly recommend the Mayo exec physical, btw), it was clear that the best intervention for me at the moment was a lot of cardio and some minor caloric reduction.

Will check again in a bit.

Travel

I traveled almost zero this year. Wild. Five years ago in 2019, I did 95 flights. This year I did about 10?

This has been the hardest post-COVID change for me. It obviously started in 2020, but has continued since then.

This will be the first year where I will have almost zero status on United. Prior to 2024, I was Global Service since 2016! Going to no status is wild. I don’t even know how it works anymore. Hahah.

I imagine in 2025 it will stay roughly the same. We will go to Japan a few times, and I will travel around to the Bay for work - but probably nothing crazy.

I am not sure if I miss it or not.

Music

I listened to a lot of great music, mostly hyperpop and classic rock. One of the biggest joys has been sharing music with the kid. We have a playlist that has all the songs that he has liked on it. He seems to like Devo, hyperpop, and David Bowie. Not too bad! Hit me up and I will send you the playlist.

I am still thinking a lot about stereos (middle age, amirite), and I really need to get some new speakers for the basement. Thinking about some Klipsch Forte IVs. They may pair nice with the vintage Mcintosh amp I got from my dead uncle.

Photography

This year was fun because I got a new camera that changed how I shoot. I picked up a Ricoh GR3x after shooting with my M11 in Japan and being frustrated by its size and speed in certain situations. Normally the size and speed (slow) is a feature, but not always. The ricoh really unlocked some fun opportunities. You can see the magic of the ricoh in my notes section. It is quite fun to point, and shoot. Who knew!

I still adore the M11 and still use it often - but the convenience of having the Ricoh (literally) in my pocket is amazing. I can grab hilarious shots that I would normally have lost.

Where the Ricoh is weak, the M11 is strong. I do like a good yin yang situation.

I like the pairing of the snapshot camera and the slower, more deliberate manual camera.

2024 in Stuff

Here is my list of things and stuff and media that I really enjoyed in 2024

My favorite books

I loved these books in 2024. You can find my entire list of books I read in 2024 at reading.lol

My favorite TV shows

We don’t watch a lot of TV, but these were notable this year

Favorite Tracks (in no particular order )

These are tracks that have stuck out over the last year.

Backpacks I used

I love bags, and used the same filson tote for 10 years. I replaced it with a backpack(s) recently and used these exclusively

The cameras I shot with

These were my everyday carry

2025

I am excited for 2025.

The company that I started with my friends is really starting to get going.

Family is fun and will continue to be weird, wild, and exciting.

I will continue listening to terrible hyperpop and having a great time.

I will continue to work out and hopefully to run.

Let’s go!