I Have Not Been Waiting for a Friends Reunion
I am a big Friends fan. I was a saddened fan when Friends was removed from Netflix. Friends was our to go to series when we wanted something short, easy and fun at the end of the day. As Malcolm Gladwell captured in his recent book Talking to Strangers, Friends was satisfying because everybody was “matched”: their emotions, their thinking and their facial expressions matched.
I still use Friends’ analogies in my day to day. When I need to tell a story at work about an imaginary employee, I use Phoebe, or Ross, or Gunther, or another cast member’s name, not currently at our company. I sometimes name my team meetings cheekily with “the one about …”. For example, “The One about our development process”. We play Friends trivia on Christmas eve.
As you can tell, Friends left a lasting impression on me.
However I have never been a big fan of a Friends reboot or reunion. The magic happened in the late 90s. Actors move on: Rachel is no longer the klutz in Apple TV’s Morning Show. Actors get botox and plastic surgery. Hello Monica. And the most interesting anecdotes are well known among aficionados and owners of the special Friends trivia set. I do not believe anyone has been holding out on a bombshell revelation for a future potential reunion show.
But that was never the goal of HBO. The Friends reunion was HBO’s Hamilton. We signed up for Disney+ to watch Hamilton and are still a subscriber, a year later.
Since I have been very curious about The Mare of Easttown show, and still need to start Game of Thrones (yes, kill me now), I may take the bait and sign up.
The only problem is I don’t know which other streaming service to drop. Netflix is a staple. Apple TV+ came with our new iPhone. Amazon Prime is the kitchen sink plan. Disney+ has some great shows, including for the kids. At least I can avoid Hulu and Peacock for now.
June 2, 2021
It Is a Big Tree State
I have seen plenty redwood trees. From the State Parks in the Bay Area’s backyard (Castle Rock State Park, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve, Portola Redwoods State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Hendy Woods State Park) to the trees in the Boy Scout of America Boulder Creek preserve. Camping out among these giants is amazing. I even ventured up the coast to the Redwoods National Park. Most these trees have been coastal sequoias or redwood trees.
This week we visited the other type of sequoia: the giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park and Kings National Park with General Sherman and General Grant up front.
Even though I have seen plenty redwood groves, seeing these giants is amazing. Especially when you consider that these trees are more than 2,300 years old.
June 1, 2021
Cartoon and a Haircut
Friday night, I came across this great Netflix documentary, LA Originals, about the lives of Estevan Oriol and Mark Machado (Mister Cartoon). Quite frankly, I never had heard about either of them. And yet, I’ve been living in California for over twenty years.
Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 cent, LeBron James, sure all knew who Steve O and Cartoon were. And so did Mark who cut my hair yesterday.
After more than a year of growing out my pandemic luscious gray coupe, it was time to get a trim. Two weeks had passed since my second vaccination.
And with that, two seemingly separate events came together: tattoos, low-riders, Chicano culture in Japan, Los Angeles and a haircut.
May 23, 2021
Here’s to the Problem Solvers!
Here’s to the crazy ones,
The misfits,
The doers,
The gluers,
The fillers of both square and round holes…
The ones who hear the failing bearing and look immediately for the jar of grease.
The ones who carry duct tape and a pocket knife in their backpack.
They have no respect for complainers and they loath negativity.
You may not be able to quote them, and they may not say a lot of words,
but the one thing you can’t do
is ignore them. because they change things,
They fix things, They push us to ship software,
They push us to do the right thing.
And while they may not grab the microphone or spotlight,
they are the true enablers that allow us to change the world.
May 20, 2021
The Podcast Book
I’ve been a fan of Malcolm Gladwell. I enjoy his books, his masterclass and especially his Pushkin Industries’ podcasts. So when he recently released The Bomber Mafia, about the US Air Force during World War 2, I got the audiobook version.
The audiobook was billed as a crossover between an elaborate podcast and an audiobook, with interviews and other audio fragments spliced throughout. It did not disappoint.
I am currently “reading” Nomadland as an audiobook while I do chores around the house. What a difference the experience is.
The book is read in a monotone voice, devoid of any enthusiasm. No wonder they cast Frances McDormant in the movie version. No, this is not a critique about Frances. Her style of acting matches the emotions I get listening to the audiobook.
Gladwell is onto something here: abprairie home companion meets Revisionist History meets a good old book. Audiobooks will never be the same after The Bomber Mafia.
May 16, 2021
Meditation Rides
As a runner, my mind would wander and I would come home with tons of ideas. However the effort was typically rather intense, and required substantial focus on the exercise.
I would combine exercising with a more purposeful meditation practice later.
After a week of focussed cycling, it is clear how you can combine both. Unless you are climbing a mountain, the exercise is more repetitive, allowing your mind to wander easily. This is especially the case on separate cycling trails without the dangers of a public road.
Cycling is where exercising, sightseeing and Calm, the app, meet. Now I need to perfect recording thoughts while riding. Day One perhaps will do the job.
May 16, 2021
Back in the Saddle
It has been more than 10 years, if not 20 years, since I was serious again about getting on the bicycle. I grew up on a bicycle. I restored an old bicycle. I went on vacation throughout Europe on my bicycle. When I got to the US, I immediately when for the big challenges and climbed Mount Hamilton in San Jose. However, it has been a while. I got into running and other sports instead.
Throughout this period, however, my interest and love for the cycling sport has only grown. I became a fanatic spectator. I would wake up very early for the pro cycling races and follow many racers and teams. (Go team Wout, and team Remco!)
Now, I finally invested and got a nice ride: a Trek Checkpoint SL5 gravel bike, and cycling shoes.
I dusted off my cycling pants and still fit into my Vlaanderen 2002 Eddy Merckx jersey.
(By the way, that’s Johan Verstrepen in 1995 wearing the same jersey. Johan raced with the team, and was one of my neighbors in Belgium.)
During my 10 miles inaugural ride, I had to nibble at the mighty 9.4% 3.6 miles Sierra mountain in our backyard. Rather than take Sierra Road, I road up Suncrest Avenue - at least a decent part of it. Wow, what a view of San Jose and the Bay. But also what a %$#!! climb!
May 7, 2021
Overcast Out-Appled Apple
After a recent blogpost by MG Siegler about the stagnation of Apple’s Podcast app, I decided to try out Overcast.
I’ve been a very early podcast listener. No, not from the Odeo days, but not much thereafter. In recent years, Apple’s podcasting app served me well. Though that seems to be all relative. After spending a day with Overcast, it is clearly the better app to listen to podcasts.
The user interface is simpler. The controls are bigger and right there. It is easier to configure the number of episodes to keep. It is easier to set a sleep timer. I have a better overview of available episodes. Etc.
A lot of these things are subtle. For the same subtle beauty that we praise Apple, Overcast out-appled Apple.
If I have to point out a shortcoming, it is a lack of controllability of the episodes to download to my Apple Watch. When I go for a run, I don’t want to bring my phone with me.
May 1, 2021
