Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #56: Secret Lives, Exploding Oatmeal, Ruined Coats, etc.

1. You never really know who a person is behind closed doors. You might have met someone a few times. A friend of a friend who had a beautiful wife and daughter and you think to yourself ‘he’s a lucky guy.’ On the surface, he seems cool, fun, and to put it bluntly, normal. Then over time, he ends up being a cheater, so not cool. Last but probably not least so far he ends up being arrested for child pornography. So not normal. This is a real guy I had met on a few occasions and thought seemed like a decent guy. It turns out some are just better at hiding the disgusting truth of who they are. Now he has no wife, no mistress, and no freedom as he’ll be spending probably many years in jail for what he was arrested for. Good, serves you right scumbag.

2. I decided to open up an Etsy shop to sell some of my better New England photography. I have been asked numerous times about selling my photos but it always becomes too time-consuming. This probably will too but if it’s a chance to make a little extra money why not try, right? Time is a flat circle though. I went to Etsy to start crafting my shop. Google wanted to automatically sign me in which was fine. Then the craziness happened. It turns out I already created an Etsy shop for my photography in 2017. I just forgot about it. So now I am just cleaning that up and should be ready to sell photos before this blog goes live.

My Etsy shop logo

3. I’ve seen some stupid drivers but I saw one that is right up there with the worst ever. I mean I can deal with idiots that don’t stop at stop signs. You know the ones who just roll slowly instead of stopping? But this particular idiot then outdid themselves. They either missed their turn, or they were just a complete ass clown. Instead of maybe turning around in a driveway, or at a road, this jerk did a U-turn onto the sidewalk and drove the sidewalk a good hundred feet back to the intersection. Disgraceful and dangerous. Oh and before you go thinking it was some young kid it was a middle-aged mother in a soccer mom van complete with a bumper sticker touting their kid being on the honor roll. Definite Karen.

4. I was sad when I noticed a giant tear in the back of my heavy winter jacket when I hung it up at work. I think I caught it on a door handle that pulled and tore it open. I will end up getting a new one soon since winter is not over. The funny part comes from when I mentioned it to my family this week. My sister said she had noticed the ripped jacket last week but assumed I knew. That means I was going all over the place for days with a shredded jacket that probably made people think I had stolen it out of a dumpster or something. Nice.

5. After updating my iPhone I was surprised by a new app. Image Playground allows you to craft AI images from descriptions, or even better from your own photos. It is for iPhone models 15 & up. I have spent way more time choosing random photos to see how AI sees them. It is so much mindless fun. That is until AI decides that your photo from when you were 3 years old has you looking like a little girl with pigtails. Yay, sorry for my Dutch Boy hairdo, it was the early 1980s after all.

Thanks Image Playground

6. I went for a walk along the beach to get some nice sunset photos and videos. There was a house next to the beach parking lot that was being worked on. As I walked down the beach I repeatedly heard the sound of one of the guys working on the house just yelling and screaming. I kept looking back but there didn’t seem to be a commotion. Plus during my time there no ambulance came for the guy. I’m figuring he should find a different job if doing house repairs causes him to yell out repeatedly. It was made funny since he didn’t seem to be actually hurt.

7. A weird phenomenon that seems to happen to me a lot lately is the following. I spend several hours working on content at my desk. When it comes time for a break, like to go take a drive or something, I immediately get tired and start yawning uncontrollably. I notice it a lot when driving that suddenly I am yawning on repeat. Why is that? I feel like maybe my brain is so focused on work that as soon as I take my foot off the gas my brain is like ‘cool, time to crash.’

8. My goal for almost my entire adult life has been to make my living solely in some sort of creative field. Writing books or travel writing, podcasts, videos, etc. Having been on this path for so many years I feel like I put a lot of pressure on every piece of content I do. At times I believe it’s like a lottery ticket I’ve created. With every piece of content I release it’s like maybe this is the thing that gets the right set of eyes on it to make my goal of being a self-employed content creator a reality. Sure it keeps me motivated to keep going as the next one could be the big winner. It also casts a shadow of disappointment over everything I do when it inevitably doesn’t become my breakout creation.

9. It’s a strange thing. I make the same amount of oatmeal. In the same container. Same microwave. Same amount of water. Same time. Yet despite this every now and then the oatmeal decides to overflow the container. I can never predict it but it seems like it happens right when I let my guard down. Wham! Oats all over the microwave. Yay, good morning.

10. I created a video based on my most embarrassing race ever. It’s up on YouTube now. To sum it up, dehydration and beer combined do not make for a pleasant mix. Anyway, working on that video got me thinking about running and wouldn’t you know it I ended up signing up for a 5K race in May. My body is nowhere near where it needs to be to run but I do have about 10 weeks. You get 15 minutes after you sign up that you can cancel your order and I will admit I was watching the timer tick down debating it. In the end, I’ll end up doing it and just lowering, I mean really lowering my expectations. At least I know I won’t be drunk and crying after this race like I was after the race in the video I made.

My most embarrassing race, but a funny story now.

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #55: Being A Trainer, Goose Party, Sad Subs, etc.

 

1. My true passion in life is writing and creating things with my mind. However, in my daily life, I work as a personal trainer. I have been at it for nearly 10 years and I must know my stuff to still be employed doing it. I didn’t realize how much of an impact I’d had though. I had a person I’d trained for several years in their home reach out to me. They had a pretty bad injury and once cleared from PT they wanted to train with me again. I don’t do in-home training anymore though. They were perfectly happy to drive 20 miles from their home to my work if it meant I trained them. That really made my day to hear.

2. I have gotten to about a week of cutting my caffeine intake by roughly half. I can’t, and won’t, totally give up caffeine. That being said I do know that my intake level was way too high. I love energy drinks. I love pre-workout supplements and have for decades. My goal over the proceeding weeks is to get energy drinks back to a ‘few times a week’ deal rather than daily, or 2x daily. I ordered a nice stainless steel travel coffee mug so hopefully spending money on that will motivate me to drink more coffee.

3. I wasn’t paying attention at the gym. I went to get on a stationary bike for a few minutes of intense cardio. These bikes, especially the upright ones, typically have a pair of compartments to place a drink, towel, or phone. So I set up the seat and put my towel in the left side compartment. As I said I wasn’t paying attention so I went to put my phone in the right side compartment but instead my phone dropped onto the floor. My first thought was since I wasn’t paying attention I had placed my phone on the edge or something and it had fallen off. I put the phone back into the right side compartment and it dropped straight through to the floor. Why? Because there was no compartment, just a hole. I had to laugh at the foolishness of literally dropping my phone through that empty space twice before actually looking to see what was up.

4. An interesting event that keeps on occurring recently is the huge flocks of geese that fly past my window several times a day on most days. At first, I chalked it up to migration but it’s now the dead of winter. Usually, in the hour or so right before or after noon I’ll hear a flock of probably 20-40 geese honking as they fly by. Then it happens again. It’s typically 2-3 times if I’m sitting at my desk working. I wonder if I am in their typical flight pattern, or if they just think I enjoy hearing a chorus of geese honking several times in rapid succession.

Flock of seagulls this is not.

5. It was pretty funny to see an old man bargaining with an automatic door at a grocery store. He was pushing his cart toward the door to exit and obviously, the door should automatically swing open. It did not. If it was me I would have just pushed the cart into the door and forced it open. This old man decided to speak kindly to it as if that might make it reconsider not opening. Again, it did not. I am not sure if he had the strength to force the door open but he didn’t try. He ended up going out through the in door as that one was working without issue.

6. I had a hankering for a meatball sub. So I went to a nearby sub shop that I don’t typically visit. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if they were still in business. I stopped and the ‘open’ sign was lit. I opened the door and it was way too dark and quiet. I thought about turning around but a guy’s head popped up behind the counter. I placed my order and waited. I never heard a sound from the kitchen. No phone ringing, only the sound of the television playing. After 6-7 minutes he came back around with the sub wrapped. I felt a bit bad since he was seemingly all by himself so I left him a tip. He made sure to pick the tip jar up from under the counter before ringing me up. The sub was good though.

7. I’ve had the same pair of old-school over-ear wireless headphones for probably almost 7 years. For someone who used to break their headphones at the gym sometimes after only a few days it has been a luxury I’m not used to. However, it might be about time to put these out to pasture. The outlet to plug it in to charge is now so worn that I have to move the wire in a very specific way to get it to begin charging. I currently have the headphones plugged into my laptop with my mouse pad draped over the charging outlet as it’s the only way to get the dang headphones to keep charging. When you have to go through that much effort just to charge it might be time to 86 them.

8. The first real snowstorm of winter came this week on Cape Cod. We lucked out as we only ended up with 3-4” of heavy wet snow. The highlights were my Fitbit showing me in my heart rate zone for 35 minutes, meaning it was either really heavy snow or my cardio is terrible. The other highlight was me using the heavy wet snow as a makeshift car wash. I grabbed handfuls and rubbed it into dirty spots on my white car. Hey, it worked. Froze my hands a bit but saved the money it would cost at an actual car wash.

Real snow, but not a real lot of snow.

9. I’m addicted to the Playground feature on the new IOS update for my iPhone. It allows you to turn almost any photo into an AI-created animation. I spent way too much time going through my photos and having Playground turn people into animations. What I found particularly funny was that when I ran the program on several photos of me as a child they turned me into a girl. This wasn’t a one-off, no it was several different photos. I didn’t think my hair was that long when I was 4-5 years old, but I guess AI thought differently.

10. Although I didn’t have a favorite in Super Bowl 59 I will admit I was happy to see the Philadelphia Eagles crush the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. I like the Chiefs. I like Mahomes, Kelce, Andy Reid, and yes Taylor Swift. The thing is though the more the Chiefs win the more they can start to lay claim as being as good or better than Tom Brady’s New England Patriots were. We can’t have that. So I am not big fans of either team that played, but in terms of helping the Patriots’ legacy the right team won the Super Bowl.

Chris Unfiltered Episode 4: Landscaping Woes and Life Lessons

Television Show Episode: "Chris Unfiltered"

Title: Landscaping Woes and Life Lessons
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Logline: Chris recounts his one and only season in landscaping, sharing a series of mishaps and injuries that solidified his decision to pursue a less physically hazardous career.

---

Act 1: The Dream Job Turned Nightmare

Chris introduces his story, setting the stage for his short-lived landscaping career. He humorously warns viewers, “After this, you’ll understand why it was just one season.”

---

Act 2: The Rack Body Knockout

In a rainy and windy setting, Chris describes loading equipment into a rack body truck. A gust of wind slams a metal door into the back of his head. “Everything went white, then back to normal, but I’m pretty sure I got a concussion,” Chris recalls, laughing at the absurdity of working in such conditions while barely conscious.

---

Act 3: The Shoulder Shuffle

Chris details another incident involving a stubborn wheelbarrow. “I thought it was light—wrong! My shoulder popped out and back in, but not quite right. It’s been a little off ever since.” He jokes about his permanently misaligned shoulder, weighing the pros and cons of corrective surgery.

---

Act 4: The Tree vs. Chris

While rushing to finish trimming grass near a motel playground, Chris smacks his head into a thick tree branch. “It was like running into a wall,” he laughs, sharing the painful lesson of always keeping an eye on your surroundings, even when in a hurry.

---

Act 5: The Heatwave from Hell

Chris vividly recounts a scorching day in Sagamore. “No shade, no water, 100 degrees. I was seeing purple spots before my coworker returned with my water.” His attempt to cool down with a cold shower at home nearly leads to disaster as his body reacts to the sudden temperature change. “It felt like Andre the Giant was squeezing me.”

---

Act 6: The Final Straw and New Beginnings

By the season’s end, Chris is done with landscaping. He reflects on the experience, noting how it sparked his interest in travel writing. “Driving off Cape was the best part. I’d rather explore and write about it than rake and mulch.” He sarcastically thanks his former boss, a “straight meathead,” for inadvertently pushing him toward a more fulfilling path.

---

Tagline:
“Chris unearths the comical and painful lessons from his brief stint in landscaping, proving that some jobs are best left in the past.”

Check out Chris Unfiltered Episode 3

Chris Unfiltered: Episode 3 - Parallel Calls, Heat Waves, and Life’s Curveballs

Television Show Episode: "Chris Unfiltered"

Title: Parallel Calls, Heat Waves, and Life’s Curveballs
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Logline: Chris navigates bizarre phone calls, jury duty frustrations, and nostalgic heat wave memories while pondering life's strange synchronicities and pop culture oddities.

---

Act 1: The Call from the Future

Chris receives a call from a number identical to his, save for the area code. He humorously speculates, “Was it me from the future with tonight’s lottery numbers? No such luck.” His imagination runs wild as he playfully contemplates the possibilities before moving on with his day.

---

Act 2: Independence Day Eerie Sync

On the Fourth of July, Chris and his friends watch Independence Day while listening to Pandora. The song “Hallelujah” plays just as the alien ships start obliterating cities. “It synced so perfectly, it was eerie,” Chris recounts to his friends, who agree it was both chilling and oddly beautiful.

---

Act 3: Shake-Weight Shenanigans

At the gym, Chris notices someone using a Shake-Weight. With his usual wit, he comments to a friend, “It’s basically a vibrating dumbbell. Watching someone use it is… provocative. Check out the ads, you’ll see what I mean.” They both chuckle at the absurdity of the product.

---

Act 4: Jury Duty Blues

Chris recounts his recent jury duty experience, complete with a cheesy instructional video reminiscent of Troy McClure’s from The Simpsons. “Got up earlier than for work, drove an hour in 95-degree heat, and got sent home by 10:30. I was steamed! I wanted a trial just to fry someone.” His friends laugh at his misfortune, sympathizing with the universal dread of jury duty.

---

Act 5: Internet Gold and Sports Lament

Chris shares his latest YouTube find: Drinking Out of Cups. “It’s the most random, funniest three minutes you’ll see. Guy locked in a closet tripping on acid—hilarious!” He also discusses the “Please Stay, LeBron” song from Cleveland. “Sad, funny, and filled with local ‘celebrities.’ Smart move, Drew Carey, staying out of it.”

---

Act 6: Celebrity Scandals and Personal Loss

Chris touches on Lindsay Lohan’s jail sentence. “Part of me says ‘good, maybe she’ll smarten up.’ Another part feels bad—our society loves to build people up just to tear them down.” He shifts to a more somber note, visiting his late Nana’s house. “It’s been six months, but it still hurts. Change often feels like loss.”

---

Act 7: Local Characters and Aging Realizations

Chris recounts spotting a familiar local character possibly with Tourette’s wandering the main street, humorously comparing him to his gym’s chinless regular from Episode 1. Later, buying beer without being carded, he reflects, “Cool until I realized the grey in my beard isn’t helping me look young.”

---

Act 8: Retro Impressions - The Heat Wave of 2002

In a new segment called “Retro Impressions,” Chris recalls a landscaping job during a heat wave in 2002. “Digging a 6-foot ditch in Sagamore, 100 degrees, no water—saw purple spots by the end. Got home for a cold shower, felt like Andre the Giant was bearhugging me. Heat exhaustion? Probably. Fun? Definitely not.”

---

Tagline:
“Chris delivers unfiltered takes on life’s oddities, blending humor with heartfelt reflections.”

Check out Chris Unfiltered: Episode 2 

Chris Unfiltered: Episode 2 - Snowball Fights and Stale Vomit

Television Show Episode: "Chris Unfiltered"

Title: Snowball Fights and Stale Vomit
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Logline: Chris battles the chaos of a snowstorm, a hilariously slow day at work, and a series of misadventures that redefine the concept of a "bad day."

---

Act 1: Snowy Beginnings

The first snow of the season blankets the town, and Chris, our sardonic main character, trudges into work at a small diner where he's been employed since 1993. The diner is eerily quiet, and Chris notes that it’s the slowest day he’s ever seen—except for one in 2002 when a couple cross-country skied into the parking lot for breakfast.

Chris's co-worker, Tom, ribs him about his bad luck, joking, “You’ve got a talent for attracting weirdos in snowstorms.”

---

Act 2: A Symphony of Mishaps

With little to do, Chris tries to help out in the kitchen, only to cause a series of disasters:

1. The Hot Box Incident: He puts a hot box in the dishwasher upside down, flooding the kitchen with water. John, the eccentric dishwasher, squeals in frustration, muttering in Creole while singing bass lines like lyrics.
2. Salt Mismanagement: Chris uses three entire boxes of table salt on the walkway before Tom informs him about the rock salt. Chris mutters, "Guess our food costs will snowball too."

---

Act 3: Snow Shoveling and Strange Visitors

Outside, Chris struggles to clear the icy brick walkway with a warped metal shovel, repeatedly jamming the handle into his stomach. He mutters sarcastically, “Another win for modern tools.”

Later, as he’s salting the lot, two strange men emerge from the dining room. Chris panics, assuming a robbery is imminent, only to learn they’re photographers updating the diner’s website. He quips, “Good thing I didn’t grab the mallet… this time.”

---

Act 4: Pain and Peanut Butter

Back inside, Chris attempts to grab some peanut butter to fuel up, only to slam the 5-pound bucket on the counter, smashing his pinky. He winces, muttering, “Guess I didn’t really want it anyway.”

Tom laughs, reminding Chris of the time they used to pelt their former co-worker, a man resembling Drew Carey, with snowballs. Flashbacks show Chris misfiring a snowball that hits a clock, sending it crashing off the wall.

---

Act 5: Slippery Splits and Holiday Hopes

As the day winds down, Chris spots a car pulling into the lot. Wanting to avoid a customer interaction, he turns to dart inside, only to slip on the ice and fall into a near-perfect split. John squeals with laughter, making the moment even more humiliating.

That evening, Chris reflects on the absurdity of the day while sitting in his favorite chair. He jokes to himself about installing a dumbwaiter to hide in during slow shifts. Looking out the window at the falling snow, he wonders aloud, “Could tomorrow top this madness? Here’s hoping.”

---

Tagline:
“When life gives Chris snowstorms, he finds disaster—hilariously, of course.”

Check out Chris Unfiltered: Episode 1

Chris Unfiltered: An AI TV Show Based On An Old Blog

While recording the next bonus podcast episode for my Patreon subscribers I laughed at just how wacky and all over the place the blog post from February 2011 was that I was sharing. I joked on that podcast that I might enter all of that text into ChatGPT and have it turned into a television show. That is just what I did. The results? I know I was dying laughing, you be the judge. You'll have to supply your own laugh track but I can share the title card and embed the theme song. Enjoy!

Television Show Episode: "Chris Unfiltered"

Title: Swollen Meatheads and Raspberry-Melon Dreams
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Logline: Chris navigates the chaos of gym culture, personal epiphanies, and unexpected life lessons in a single whirlwind day.

---

Act 1: Gym Woes

Chris, a witty and slightly cynical protagonist in his late 30s, starts the day with a trip to his local gym. As he works out, his internal monologue is relentless:

• The "swollen meatheads" grunt through deadlifts, their exaggerated movements resembling primates.
• The "gym rats", as Chris dubs them, parade in club-ready outfits. While aesthetically pleasing, their presence distracts Chris to the point of frustration.

After a failed attempt to focus, Chris decides to leave, his thoughts drifting to two attractive gym-goers walking home. Imagining picking them up, his mind spirals into a darkly comedic fantasy where they rob him of his car and organs. Shaking his head, he drives off, muttering, "My life is not a Skinemax thriller."

---

Act 2: Hot Takes and Epiphanies

Later at a coffee shop, Chris sips on a decaf latte, marveling at how less caffeine has somehow given him more energy. He shares his hot take on baseball with the barista:

• "First the Yankees jerk Jeter, now the Cardinals with Pujols? Top five player, hands down."
  The barista nods politely, clearly uninterested, while Chris continues his rant.

Chris then reflects on a recurring dream involving an ex-girlfriend. His best friend, Max, calls it a “sign from the universe.” Chris scoffs but makes a mental note to reach out to her—just in case.

---

Act 3: Hiking and Hip Pain

Chris decides to tackle Great Blue Hill, ignoring a nagging pain in his hip. The hike starts strong, but midway up, he pulls something and collapses dramatically. A group of college hikers helps him up, laughing at his "old man" complaints.

While recovering, he imagines Chinless Fat Guy, a caricature from the gym, as the villain in a future novel. He chuckles to himself, thinking, That guy’s a goldmine of comedy.

---

Act 4: Car Metaphors and Cheerios

Back home, Chris films a vlog for his small but loyal online following.

• He compares relationships to cars: “If it keeps breaking down, you don’t keep pouring money into it. You get a new car!”
  His subscribers flood the comments with agreement and car-related breakup stories.

Later, Chris rants about Count Chocula’s disappearance from store shelves. “We’ve got Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, but no Count Chocula? Madness!” He holds up a bottle of raspberry-melon Gatorade and concludes: “At least some things still make sense.”

---

Final Scene: Unexpected Connection

As Chris winds down for the night, he dreams of his ex again. This time, the dream feels less like a memory and more like a resolution. When he wakes up, he decides to message her, keeping it simple: Hey, just checking in. Hope you’re well.

The episode ends with Chris sitting on his couch, sipping Gatorade, and smiling as her reply comes through.

---

Tagline:
“Life’s a mess, but Chris has opinions—and Gatorade—to get him through.”

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #40: Frozen Mouse, It Was Our Destiny, Bees Like My Car, etc

 

1. Before opening a new document to begin this week’s blog I spent several minutes trying to diagnose what was wrong with my wireless computer mouse. It had the green light on so I knew it was working. On-Off, On-Off with the power switch, nothing. Finally being super smart I looked and realized the adapter was not in the USB port, it was on an end table. This blog begins with that foolishness, hopefully, it will get better.

2. In what was a fun adventure I went out to Race Point Beach in Provincetown this week. I was meeting my friend Frank who is a film producer and his friend Bryan. They were replicating part of Henry David Thoreau’s hike along Cape Cod’s outer beach. We were meant to hike the final 2+ miles out to Race Point Lighthouse together only that didn’t happen. After they had hiked about 7 miles their bodies gave out. I got a call from Frank and had to drive to where they had crossed from the beach to the main road and pick them up. We plan to finish the hike in March.

3. Skipping out on the hike to the lighthouse freed us up to do something else. As we have done many times before we paid a visit to St. Peter’s Cemetery in Provincetown. Here is where Ruth Marie Terry, aka the Lady of the Dunes, is buried. In what could only be described as a wild coincidence we happened to arrive at the cemetery as they were having a ceremony for the unveiling of a new marker. Ruth Marie’s son was there and I got to finally meet him. In a fun twist, he is writing a book about his experience and he said that Frank and I walking up during the ceremony was the perfect ending to his book. For those who have no idea, Frank produced the Lady of the Dunes documentary that helped spur law enforcement to finally solve the nearly 50-year-old cold case. It was a full-circle moment that wouldn’t have been possible if the original hike hadn’t fallen through.

The new marker for Ruth Marie Terry

4. Hey, what kind of idiot gets a sunburn in late October? This guy. So I guess being out in the bright sun for 5 straight hours with no sunscreen is not good, even in mid-Autumn. I honestly thought once the calendar flipped to October that sunburns would be on hold until summer returned. Only when I got home and looked in the mirror did I see how red I was. So there, you can get sunburned in October. The more you know.

5. LED headlights on vehicles should be outlawed. I bet that in 5 years we’re going to have loads of people with vision issues from having to stare into these terrible inventions coming at you on the road. It’s like either make them illegal or make it legal to coat your windshield with an extra tint so you can drive at night and not feel like you’re staring into the sun.

6. I am now in the ‘do a big overhead stretch and pop a rib out’ stage of my life. I stepped out of my care at work in the morning did a big stretch and breathed in the fall air. It was a great moment until I felt a pop and immediate pain. What felt like an ice pick under my left shoulder blade turned out to be not 1, but 3 ribs out. Luckily my boss is a chiropractor among other things and he was able to adjust me and get those ribs back in. Getting older is not my favorite thing.

Me in a few weeks trying to train someone after more of my body explodes.

7. Having to ‘prove I am human’ on the ChatGPT website is an irony that is not lost on me. I guess it’s to make sure that AI is not conspiring together to end the human race. Of course, that’s what AI would want you to think, that you’re protected.

8. An interesting phenomenon that has been happening to me recently is that a collection of yellow jackets has started hanging out on my car at work. I am thinking it is due to pollen or other goodies being dropped onto my car from the trees I park under. Typically there are a dozen or so walking all over my hood and windshield. The other day once I was in my car I shot a video of one of these bees walking on the windshield and it was then that I got such a cool closeup video and it looked like the bee was licking the windshield. Also when I start my car and leave I don’t use my windshield wipers or anything to kill them. I drive until the wind blows them off. The last time I had the bee experience one of them hung onto my windshield for close to a mile while I was driving, most impressive.

Objects might appear larger than they are.

9. In a shocking admission I am not a fan of people who drive fast and don’t pay attention in a parking lot. I know, it’s crazy. You’d be amazed at how many times I see people flying through a parking lot, driving diagonal through parking lanes, looking at their phones. One night this week a woman nearly ran me down. I didn’t dart out in front of her but I was slowly walking. Luckily I kept my eyes on her because she didn’t stop. She had this look on her face like I had jumped in front of her on the highway. I might have shared a few 4-letter words as she passed.

10. As my birthday grows closer and I drift into my late 40’s I feel like a saying I heard somewhere is getting truer each day. As you get older you have to work twice as hard to get half as far. 10 years ago the thought of redesigning my diet and training regimen would have been easy, or totally unnecessary. However staring that prospect down now is daunting, and very necessary. It’s a weird feeling to see yourself slipping backward. It’s like I know exactly what to do and have the tools to do it but there is some sort of a disconnect. It’ll be a battle but I’ll figure my way through it.

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 162: 1980s Fitness Fad Fails, Me v. AI Top 5 90s TV Shows, New England Road Trip Part 1, Otzi the Iceman(9-18-2024)

 

Details from a breathtaking road trip to Northern New England. 1980s diet and exercise fad fails. Another Top 5 with an AI challenger.
Episode 162 runs the gamut of past, present, and future.
It begins with Part 1 of a recent 3-day road trip into New Hampshire, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. What places are worth visiting? What places might need to be skipped? We'll uncover all of them.
It is common the 'fall into fitness' at this time of year. Whatever you do make sure you don't try any of these 1980s diet and exercise fad fails. Some are harmless. Some are bizarre. Some are downright dangerous. All will be discussed.
This week features the return of Me v. AI Top 5. It will be a battle between man and machine to see what were the best TV shows of the 1990s. Whose list will be better?
Of course, there is a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule featuring the discovery of Otzi the Iceman.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon!

Helpful Links from this Episode

• The Lady of the Dunes.com
• Purchase My New Book Cape Cod Beyond the Beach!
• In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide(2nd Edition)
• Hooked By Kiwi - Etsy.com
• Wear Your Wish.com - Clothing, Accessories, and more
• DJ Williams Music
• KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
• Christopher Setterlund.com
• Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store
• Subscribe on YouTube!
• Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog
• Shelter of the Monument Book - Yvonne DeSousa.com
• UPDATE: Bonnie Bickwit and Mitchel Weiser Case - Rolling Stone.com
• Pemi Cabins
• Kancamagus Highway
• White Mountain Bagel Co.

Listen to Episode 161 here