My Ancestry and 23andMe.

January27

I’ve been a big fan of 23andMe and tried it early on (and I’ve updated my results too). I wish they hadn’t pulled some of the medical studies due to the FDA, but oh well. Eventually, we will get them back as the data gets better.

Anyway… here is what they said about my ancestry on conservative.

And, here is one of my grandparents to 7th grandparents and where they were born (click to enlarge):

Pretty cool :)

posted under My Thoughts | Comments Off on My Ancestry and 23andMe.

Calico Turns 1!

January14

Wow, I can’t believe Calico is one year old (Dec 30th!)! It has been one of the longest and fastest years of my life, and somehow that makes sense. I love him and Lindsey so much, it was a fun year :). Definitely some challenging times, but we made it through.

And, here are two videos from his birthday muffin, and the next day playing with all his birthday and Christmas toys :).

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Calico Having Fun!

January13

Calico having fun at a friend’s birthday party :)

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Mountain Biking: Marshal Mesa Loop

January5

I had a good ride out at Marshall Mesa (which is only about 20 min away from my house!). A dude over at Boulder Cycle Sport suggested it and it is a great one for newbies like me :). I plan to do it fairly often given how close it is and it has a lot of good practice points.

There are some rocky parts, some technical parts, and a lot of just fun gravel roads and single track. It was good practice to stay on a line, do a little rock climbing stuff, and get in better shape. It is pretty exposed so if there are high winds I would avoid it. If the sun is out I think it will be fairly warm even in the winter. so here are a few from around the net

Total ride 16.7 miles with an average speed of 9.3mph and a high of 24.2 miles per hour. Ascent/descent of a little over 1000 feet.

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2018 Plans…

January1

2018 is going to be a pretty cool year :).

I am very lucky in that I have some free time and the resources to play with a variety of ideas on what I want to do next. For the last couple years, I have been thinking about how to help entrepreneurs “entrepreneur” better and also looking at ways to encourage people to start a business. It is a huge and ambiguous area, but one I am really passionate about and I want to see what I can do.

I really love what Vistage and EO offer entrepreneurs in terms of a face to face meetings, and I want to see what I can create online to provide some of those same benefits to the entrepreneur and their business. Plus I want to create some content sites that provide quality instead of the “top 10 ways entrepreneurs put on their pants” bullshit posts. I love INC magazine and the rest of that industry, but a lot of their online articles are utter shit.

Big 3 for the year?

1. Figure out what is next for me. To do that I need to ensure I have enough wide open time to try a bunch of things and see what feels right.

2. I want to help entrepreneurs “entrepreneur”, but I am just not sure how I want to go about that. I’ve got a bunch of ideas and I am going to spend my time exploring & testing those options. By the end of the year, I want to see what is resonating with me and others.

3. I want to spend a ton of time pursuing a new sport… specifically, mountain biking plus bike touring. I need a new sport since I gave up long-distance trail running in 2014 in order to keep my back healthy.

Onward to 2018!

posted under Life Planning & Execution | Comments Off on 2018 Plans…

2017 Book Summary.

January1

Since 2010 I’ve taken part in a yearly challenge to read 100 books. I love reading so this is not too hard. For 2017 I read 157 books! This is a new record versus my all-time high of 146 in 2012, and 141 in 2015. It helps when you sell your business in the middle of the year and have time off :).

91% of the books I read were fun books, and 9% serious.

I do a big book summary each year too, if you want to take a look at past years for some reading ideas check them out here: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. So what are my top books of the year?

If you only read 3 books this year I recommend the following:

1. The Red Knight series. This has become one of my top 10 all-time Fantasy books. The characters are amazing are amazing. Reading the last one was hard as I did not want to say goodbye.
2. The Bobiverse series… This is the best sci-fi series I read all year. I laughed so hard reading these :). Basically, this guy signs up to be frozen when he dies, then he dies, and then wakes up in a computer and the future sends him out into the stars on a mission. Bob is hilarious.
3. The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity. This book really hit home this year.

After top 3 of the year, my fav 3 Scifi / Fantasy:

1. Stiger’s Tigers and the subsequent series. This is military fiction about a Roman legion in the wild… with a little fantasy thrown in.
2. The Red. A military series about small unit tactics in the future. Great narrative.
3. Books 1, 2 and 3 of the Embers of Illeniel series. Not your typical hero and pretty dark which was a nice change. Kinda like Conan meets Seven Eyes with a weird ending.

After top 3 of the year, my fav 3 *Real* Books:

1. The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the World’s Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You. Fantastic book and the author has a great story about her own life straddling China and the USA. The book weaves together the macro and the micro for a really interesting picture. I love her overall message that China’s growth is not a zero-sum game, and together with the USA and other western countries, the two can work together to build a better earth.
2. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy. Frustrating content, but really well put together. Illustrates the fall of the middle class in the USA and why…
3. Capital without Borders . A really interesting read on how wealth managers operate as told by someone who joined their ranks. Fascinating read on a global group of people who do nothing but help the top 1% hang onto their money and keep it out of the hands of government and other entities. So weird.

After top 3 of the year, my fav 3 Honorable Mentions:

1. The entire Harry Bosch series. I finished them all this year. I can’t wait for the next season of the Amazon tv series.
2. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival – An insane story about a famous tiger attack in Russia. Crazy!
3. A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II. An AMAZING book about a pilot in the German air force in WW2 and an American bomber crew. This is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve read this year and incredibly moving / heartwarming story about combat.

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Workout Summary 2017 + 2018 Goals.

January1

For 2017, I did a total of ~363 hours of tracked workouts. I worked out 265 days out of 365 days in some form. This was a good year for working out and I smashed my old record of 181 days. Having a baby helped as I walk him everywhere in his stroller and in Boulder that is a lot of hills :).

Fun stats:

  • I hiked/walked ~741 miles this year in ~264 hours (even better than 2015 when I walked Hadrian’s Wall).
  • I ascended 71,506 feet while walking/hiking.
  • I did ~68 strength training / rehab sessions. My back is feeling so much better!

  • What are my workout goals for 2018?

    1. Go mountain biking a lot and see how I like it. I would like to find a sport to replace running.

    2. Finish my 50km bike training program and keep that going. Then look at doing a long bike ride in Europe or the USA… maybe the Danube trail or Silver Route in the fall.

    3. Keep doing my strength training/rehab 3x a week to keep my back injury healthy and get stronger to prevent future injury. Especially if I keep falling off my bike.

    Past years: 2014, 2015, and 2016 workout summary.

    posted under Fitness & Sports | Comments Off on Workout Summary 2017 + 2018 Goals.

    This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

    I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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