Personal

Apr 7, 2022 ∞

After seeing three people make the same moving violation while out driving today I’m left to wonder if people are worse drivers now because of the pandemic or had I not been paying attention until lately?

Either way, it feels less safe than ever to drive.

Mar 23, 2022 ∞

I’ve collected my movie theater ticket stubs since 2001. A whole 21 years! I haven’t counted them all yet, but it’s easily several hundred tickets.

I used to pile them into a small black box, but they started overflowing. I’ve given myself a nice project: Organize and affix them to pages in a binder for a nicer presentation. It’s been delightful to travel back in time and relive all those memories of theater visits gone by.

I’ve also used this as an opportunity to log all those movies into my Letterboxd account. I think that thing is now as comprehensive as I can make it.

What started as a passive habit is turning into something way more interactive and personal. I like this little hobby.

UPDATE: I counted them all. There are 551 tickets.

Mar 14, 2022 ∞

NEW PROJECT:

Devote to memory every major winning lottery number in case one day I happen to wake up years in the past or experience some sort of Groundhog Day-type scenario.

Feb 28, 2022 ∞

If this last week has shown me anything it’s how valuable time away from news and social media sites can be.¹

There’s a fine line that can be tread between being informed and being obsessed. It’s far easier to fall into being obsessed.

Or just the internet in general. ↩︎

Feb 24, 2022 ∞

My very best wishes to Ukraine and its people, and to all the people in the world who are hurt by the selfish whims of murderous, heartless thugs.¹

To say and do the very least. To say more: Fuck Putin. ↩︎

Feb 17, 2022 ∞

In the Unlikely Event of My Death

Consider these my final wishes. My lawyer will not know what to do with them as he is a tech-illiterate nonagenarian with great amounts of ear hair and a cough that can best be described as bubonic. It will be up to you to ensure he sees these words. Fair warning, he believes a computer is literal magic and will wheeze “BAH!” whenever you try to bring it up.

Inform my closest family and friends of my passing. Do not dare tell my greatest enemies. They know what they did…

If my body is found headless, alert the Highlanders. If you can only find one of them in all your searching, then run like your life depends on it, because it will. This fearsome being will have become too powerful.

If I’ve been turned into a zombie, I’ll probably be ravenously hungry. Please offer your brain for my sustenance. We’re friends, right? A good friend would sacrifice themself for the benefit of their undead pal.

Otherwise, cremate most of me in the fire of a thousand suns. Take my ashes and mix them with gunpowder, deposit the explosive blend into an urn made of knotty oak, and shoot me straight up into the heavens out of a cannon. May the resulting fireworks delight the still-living down on earth and flutter my incinerated remains like snow on the heads of everyone in a 10-mile radius.

Bury the rest of me underneath the shade of a verdant ash tree on a hilltop that looks like the quintessential Windows XP desktop wallpaper. If he is dead, bury the corpse of Bob Barker next to my plot. If he is still alive, deaden him up some and refer to the previous sentence.

I wish to have a cadre of high-quality cats, dogs, and people of all types pay their respects to me before my momentous send-off. Should any of them feel the strong desire to give my waxen face a lick, then damn it, let them lick.

Include many impressive guns and swords in my ceremonial tribute so I might arm myself in the potential afterlife. You never know when one of the departed might have to take out a vengeful god.

I demand whatever living members of ZZ Top there are to play the songs of Led Zeppelin at my funeral. Zeppelin had better songs, but ZZ Top had significantly better beards. Alternatively, make the members of Zeppelin grow big, bushy beards. Those two things together would make for the single best performance in the history of music. You’re welcome.

All of my money is tied up in pickle currency. That is, I have amassed a staggering amount of antique and artisanal pickle jars, the majority of which once held dill gherkins. Much like Beanie Babies and any cryptocurrency, they will only be worth something for, conservatively, two and a half days. After that exhilarating time passes, they will become a burden.

Don’t clear my browser history.

I have a number of plain, monochromatic t-shirts. Please see that those go to any dull minimalist you know, along with the message, “With regards from one of your own.”

Whoever finds the hidden key in one of my desk drawers must find the lock it belongs to; this will be your new goal in life. Nothing else will be as important. Complete your momentous task, or I will never stop haunting your ass. I have no idea what that lock is locking.

I will have taken on a massive amount of debt before my demise. You’ll have to navigate hours worth of phone tree hold cycles with credit card companies to sort all that out. Hopefully, it’ll all get canceled, but I make no promises. As a reward for the hard work, enjoy your new jet skis and high-end stereo equipment!

Mount Seanmore. Get to chiseling.

I have always wanted to learn how to play the banjo but never put in the time. Mostly because I’ve never mustered up the courage to be seen with a banjo. Honor my memory by gifting my alma mater’s music department with 3-5 professional banjos. Encourage the creation of a bluegrass club.

My movie watch list has ballooned to over 900 items. It will surely continue to grow. Find one person to watch all of those films. Alternatively, find at least 900 people to watch one apiece.

Enact a successful campaign to have my death date recognized as a cherished holiday, local only is fine. Ensure that there are annual remembrances with balloons, cake, and lamentations of women.

Should the fabled Walt Disney cryogenic treatment exist, turn me into a meat popsicle. Do not hesitate to do this; who knows how long my brain will last after my heart stops. When the cure for death is discovered, as it must, revive me immediately. My reborn, immortal self will send your descendants a personalized thank you card from Trader Joe’s and a mid-tier Edible Arrangements fruit bouquet. The card will feature an illustration of French dogs riding penny-farthings and holding baguettes. The bouquet will be mostly cantaloupe.

That should cover everything, save for one last note: To my wife, I love you… and your butt.

Feb 14, 2022 ∞

I got some eyeglasses retainer hooks and now I don’t want to live without them. My glasses won’t fall down, even when I’m sweaty!

I’m thinking I should look into a glasses strap next. I can evolve into my final form of “old guy who’s sick of fussing with things.”

Feb 5, 2022 ∞

I wish I could explain why the last 10% of a toothpaste tube lasts as long as the previous 90%. I can’t seem to squeeze an answer out of that conundrum.

Feb 4, 2022 ∞

I got my free COVID tests in the mail today! I’m thrilled to have them on hand.

Getting them couldn’t have been simpler and took me all of a minute to do. U.S. residents can order four free tests for their household at COVIDtests.gov.

Jan 26, 2022 ∞

The awful thing about cold sores brought on by stress is they do absolutely nothing to help decrease the amount of stress I feel. I’m surprised I’m not made of cold sores by this point.

Jan 21, 2022 ∞

All you people can have your flying and turning invisible superpowers all you want. What I choose is to be able to eat as much pizza as my mouth can handle without any adverse effects.

I want to be crushed under a mountain of delicious pizzas!

Jan 15, 2022 ∞

Significant portions of my days consist entirely of adding films to my Letterboxd and Criterion Channel watch lists. I fully expect to reach a point where there’s more in those two things than I’ll ever be able to see in my lifetime.

Jan 13, 2022 ∞

In your Account page on Netflix,¹ there’s an option to “Download your personal information.” It’ll provide you with many files, most of them in CSV format, of just about everything you’ve ever done with the service.

It’s fascinating to see your complete history all collected in one place. It’s also a little terrifying to see how much of your activity is being tracked and stored by them. This certainly isn’t unique to Netflix, but is just something I happened upon recently.

A quick sampling of the exhaustive information they gave me:

What I’ve put on my watch list, going back to 2016. I’ve been a subscriber since 2012, but I guess 2016 is when they started collecting this data.
My entire search history, i.e., every single word or phrase I’ve ever used to look for something.
What devices I’ve used to watch their content.
What IP addresses I’ve used to access their site and content.

It’s remarkable. A lot of that information is necessary to serve me the recommendations and content I continue to enjoy. I don’t know that they’d be half the company they are without it. However, it’s always surreal to see proof that my personal activity is being stored in a place that I have no control over.²

I’m assuming that this is the same for everyone. However, I live in California and there are statues like CCPA and CalOPPA that may come into play here. Or not, and it’s available to everyone. ↩︎
Likewise, I bet there’s still information about me stored on servers owned by Facebook, despite me having deleted my account years ago. ↩︎

Jan 5, 2022 ∞

So long 2021, and thanks for all the memories!

i.

When all of this COVID nonsense became A Thing back in early 2020, a part of me felt like I already had it in the bag. Stay home most of the time? Distance from others and wear a mask when I do go out? Wonder why more people in the world weren’t taking it as seriously as they should? Heck yeah! Perhaps I’ve been well-suited for pandemic life this whole time and just haven’t had the opportunity to prove it. Now is the time for this introverted homebody to shine!

I think I did okay in 2020.

I wasn’t prepared for my quiet working days at home to become noisier when family members were instructed to stop going to their respective offices, but I adjusted. Moving in with my then-fiancée and then marrying her soon after helped a whole lot. I got into a groove and did all right for myself. 2020 was a success, all things considered.

2021 was a different beast.

At the beginning of the year, I resolved to understand myself better. I think I accomplished that goal, but not quite in the way I was hoping. I envisioned becoming the best version of myself that I could be.¹ Mostly, I now understand that I’m struggling. Whereas 2020 was a novelty, the following year was a whole lot more of the same. More isolation, more frustration, and more worry. It’s a lot for a person to take, no matter how much they like pajamas and staying home.

ii.

It’s been frustrating to see so many people suffer because of how a universal health emergency has been politicized, mocked, or otherwise ignored. I feel that my country led the charge in that respect, and that’s embarrassing, to say the least.

I feel sad and angry that members of my own family have refused to get the COVID vaccine (and others).

I feel disgusted that the richest people in the world have only gotten richer when so many are struggling.

I feel a sense of desperation to find a decent job that can be both enjoyable and help provide for my wife and myself.

It’s tough to avoid the myriad bad things that constantly threaten to capture my attention and make me feel lousy. News is important, but mostly sensationalized and depressing. Social media is full of algorithmically cultivated nonsense, and sometimes outright falsehoods. The worst among us also tend to be the loudest.

It’s… a lot. The anxiety, sadness, malaise, and worry I’ve felt are not uncommon. I don’t wish those feelings on anybody else, but it’s safe to say that we’re all going through some shit right now.

iii.

In the last few years, I’ve tried my hand at The Theme System. If I had to choose a theme that I wanted to follow this year, then I think it would be the Year of Just a Little Bit Happier. I think that’s a reasonable theme/goal.

I’m going to strive to be just a little bit happier this year. Sometimes I’ll fail at it and be miserable. Sometimes I’ll be far more than just a little bit happier. Regardless, on average I want to try to bring more good things into my life so that I can feel just a little bit happier than the day, week, month, and year before now. That also necessarily means that I’ll need to get better at expelling the bad from my life.

iv.

COVID-related stress and its manifestations are being studied and talked about. It’s a relief to know that I’m not alone, and if you’ve been feeling how I’ve described, know that you’re not alone either. I’m struggling and many other people are, too. That’s okay.

I’ve found this article from the CDC to be helpful in identifying how I’ve been feeling. There are some actionable steps in there we can all take to help us cope with what’s happening. There are also some important crisis resources if you feel that you need them.

As for what I can do to be just a little bit happier, I’ve got some ideas:

Try to recognize how I’m feeling. Don’t hide from the stress. Confront my frustrations. Consider how I react to myself and other people when overwhelmed. Try again if I slip up.
Get better at respecting the limitations I impose on my social media time. Remove as many of those distractions as possible.
Learn and become adept at Swift. I took some tentative steps down this path late in the year and I’m going to continue with it. I believe that becoming a programmer is how I’ll be able to help provide for my wife and myself.
Continue watching loads of movies.² This has always been an activity dear to me. I shared it with my dad and I continue to watch a lot of diverse and interesting things. I’ve been enjoying them even more since finding Letterboxd.
Work on planning my honeymoon. I’m not certain when we’ll be able to go on our European trip, but it’s still nice to think about.
Read more fun books.
Devote more time to connecting with people on Micro.blog. Communication on social media, even when it’s full of great people, is an exhausting practice for me. My presence anywhere online fluctuates like crazy because it can feel tough to keep up with. However, I like Micro.blog and want to become a better citizen there.
Say yes to more things and, conversely, say no to more things.
Improve my sleep schedule.
Get more fresh air in my lungs.

Those all seem simple enough to accomplish. It’ll just come down to putting in the time and effort. Luckily, I’ve got many days ahead of me to practice.

I’m tentatively looking forward to what 2022 is going to bring. There could always be surprises or disasters. There could be Super COVID. An asteroid could hit the Earth. I could win a hundred million dollars. I can’t prevent those things from occurring,³ but I can choose how to respond to whatever happens. In that way, I’ll be just a little bit happier.

Let’s see how it goes.

That was a silly goal, though. We should always strive to be better than we were before. Self-improvement shouldn’t have a finish line. ↩︎
And tv shows, too. Let’s be real here. ↩︎
Fingers crossed for all that sweet money! 🤞 ↩︎

Jan 5, 2022 ∞

After a brief scare with my website regarding the theme plug-ins, I’ve gotten everything back to normal. It was touch-and-go for a moment. Totally my own misunderstanding of how those things work.

And now my day can actually start. Phew!

Jan 4, 2022 ∞

What the heck am I subscribed to now?

A new year is a time for reflection, anticipation, and starting a brand new financial spreadsheet. I’ve got a fresh and relatively rudimentary worksheet going in Numbers. It may not have all the bells and whistles that some financial documents might have, but it gets the job done.

What it does have is a list of all my monthly and annual subscriptions. Recently, I took a look at them to see what I’m paying for, and also what I can stand to stop paying for. Writing all this down can be helpful when it comes to making those decisions, so I’m going to hop on the bandwagon and use Maique’s recent post about the same topic as inspiration.¹

Categories of need:

Essential: it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Nice to have: the world won’t end if I get rid of it, but I’d miss it a whole lot.
Needs to go: working on the courage I need to get it out of my life.

Subscriptions I’m keeping

Apple One: I use just about everything in this bundle and it’s shared with my family. It’s probably the most important item here. Essential. $29.95 a month.
Backblaze: If you’re not backing up often and automatically, you’re using a computer wrong. Essential. $70 a year.
Carrot Weather: I could probably use Apple’s free weather app, but this one can be customized to my exact desires and it’s a lot of fun. Nice to have. $14.99 a year.
Castro: I listen to podcasts probably more than anything else. I love them and I love how Castro works. Essential. $8.99 a year.
Drafts: I don’t know that I would call Drafts itself essential, but I think an extensible text editor is. I’m growing to love this, but I’ve always got my eye out for other options. Essential-ish. $19.99 a year.
Fantastical: There’s a free Apple alternative, but I’ve never enjoyed using it. The natural language support alone makes Fantastical a necessity. Essential. $39.99 a year.
HBO Max: It’s just entertainment, but I think that’s an important thing to have, especially when we’re all stuck indoors. It’s still too expensive. Nice to have. $14.99 a month.
Hover: Domain hosting and email for Dandy Cat. The email bit could go. Essential. $50.17 a year.
Hulu: Same as HBO Max. There’s so much on here that I enjoy. Nice to have. $12.99 a month.
Letterboxd: Letterboxd was the best thing I discovered last year. I don’t have too much interest in the social side of the service, but I love everything else about it so much that I became a patron. Nice to have. $49 a year.
Micro.blog: This is where Dandy Cat lives. It’s where I’ve met some lovely people. It’s cared for by people who truly care. I love it. Essential. $5 a month.
1Password: I wish I could start using Apple’s improved password manager, but my wife also depends on this. Still, a password manager is a must for any computer user. Essential. $59 a year.
Parcel: I don’t have to have a package tracker, but when I order things online it’s nice to know where my stuff is in the world. Nice to have. $2.99 a year.
Patreon - Do By Friday: This show has always brought me joy. Good enough to support, but could go away. Nice to have. $5 a month.
Relay FM - four supported shows: Like the Do By Friday membership, the shows on Relay FM make me happy. I want them to continue existing. Nice to have. $20 a month (four shows for $5 apiece).
Sleep Cycle: I’ve started using my Apple Watch for sleep tracking, so this one is sure to go soon. Somehow I was grandfathered into only paying two bucks a year for their premium service, so that price is hard to give up. Needs to go. $1.99 a year.
Widgetsmith: Totally inessential, but it makes my phone look nice, so I like it. If needed, this can easily go away. Nice to have. $1.99 a month.

Amount spent on monthly subscriptions: $89.92.

Amount spent on annual subscriptions: $337.10.

Annual total for all subscriptions: $1,416.14.

Subscriptions I’m letting lapse

Google One: This was being used only as a backup solution, but there are other ways to do this that don’t involve Google. Was $19.99 a year.
Mindnode: This is a stellar app, but I don’t use mind maps nearly enough to make this worth the expense. Was $19.99 a year.
Paste: After finding Pastebot, this one became superfluous. Was $9.99 a year.
Ulysses: I love Ulysses, but my needs for a text editor started to outpace what it was providing this year. I also wasn’t too pleased with some of their recent design decisions and slow feature updates. Was $29.99 a year.

Hi, @maique! 👋 ↩︎

Jan 1, 2022 ∞

It’s good to have a project to focus on. This year, perhaps I should write my memoirs. My working title is: “It’s So Nice to Be Lazy: The Sean Anderson Story.”

Jan 1, 2022 ∞

Happy New Year to the world! 🎉

It’s impossible to promise that 2022 will be empirically better than previous years, but I can still wish for you relaxation, success, contentment, love, and lots of cute animal cuddling.

Also, happy first anniversary to my wife and me!

Dec 24, 2021 ∞

All I don’t want for Christmas is finding rain water leaking into the house through a window frame and under the eaves of the roof.

I’d like to send this terrible present straight back to the North Pole, thank you very much!

Dec 22, 2021 ∞

As it happens every year, the confusion and stress of trying to schedule a holiday visit with everyone in my life are enough to make me not want to do any of it. A quiet day with my wife (and some cozy blankets, Christmas music, and maybe gingerbread cookies) sounds way better.

Dec 19, 2021 ∞

If the company that makes my eggless mayo could stop adding an incredibly rich and noxious artificial egg smell, that would be great.

Dec 17, 2021 ∞

If I could get paid for rearranging my desk, I’d probably be on par with Bezos and Musk right about now.

Dec 12, 2021 ∞

So it’s a universally held truth that calories don’t count during the holiday season, right?

…Right?

Dec 10, 2021 ∞

With the purchase of Farrago, along with all the other Rogue Amoeba apps I already have, I feel like I now have absolute control over my computer audio.

Music, sound effects, heck, even the sounds of the birth of the universe! It’s all at my fingertips.

Nov 25, 2021 ∞

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates the holiday!

I’m thankful for new directions to travel and all the wonderful people in my life, including you!