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Climbing Back: Small Wins, Heavy Packs, and Real Progress

Rebuilding Fitness One Session at a Time Today I met my dad for a walk, and for the first time in twelve weeks my training status finally nudged its way back to maintaining . It’s wild to think how long it’s been stuck in detraining and recovery, but that back pain really knocked me off my feet. I’d been pushing so hard—nearly a thousand intensity minutes in a single week, day and night—that it’s no wonder my body demanded a timeout. There are only about 10,080 minutes in a week, and I was living most of them in the red. So I held back, let myself heal, and trusted the process. Getting out there today felt like reclaiming a piece of myself, a reminder that progress doesn’t disappear—it just waits for you to catch up again. Back at it today, and already planning how to climb my way back to better fitness. My VO₂ max took a real hit over these twelve weeks, dropping down into numbers I haven’t seen in a long time, so the goal now is to work it back toward that 44 range. That’s the ...

From Smoke-Free to SSD: How Tech Goals Keep Me Motivated

41 Days and Counting — Staying Quit, Staying Focused Setting Goals, Staying Quit, and Dreaming in Terabytes Forty‑one days into the year and holding steady at 11% smoke‑free. Three hundred twenty‑four days left on the calendar, which means 88.7% of the year is still ahead of me — plenty of runway to keep building this streak. Numbers help me stay grounded. They remind me that quitting isn’t just a feeling; it’s measurable progress. Last year I made it 259 days out of 365 — about 71% quit. That’s not failure. That’s a foundation. This year I’m stacking on top of it. And part of staying motivated is giving myself things to look forward to. Not random impulse buys, but earned rewards — markers of progress. The Xbox Goal — My Quit‑Smoking Birthday Gift I’ve been thinking about next September, my “quit‑smoking birthday.” A full year. A milestone worth celebrating. And honestly, an Xbox Series S feels like the right kind of reward — not because I need another console, but because...

An Hour 5.3 km Ruck Through West Lethbridge

59 Minutes, 14 kg on My Back, and a Heart Rate That Never Backed Down Ruckering 5.3 km in an Hour Today’s ruck was —5.3 km in 59 minutes with a 14 kg pack, moving through West Lethbridge. The kind of day where the air bites a little, with a long sleeve and a vest. The low temperature kept most the sweat away. On the walk to my in-laws for a viewing of the Superbowl and get treated to ribs. I was sort of tired from the walk and Kim came home afterward to get ready for the week of work. total steps today is 12,000 and about 10 km walked today Despite the temperature being decent, the pace settled in nicely. I averaged 11:11 per kilometer, with moving pace closer to 10:38. Nothing rushed, nothing sloppy—just steady, deliberate work. My heart rate mirrored that rhythm: 140 bpm on average, peaking at 171 during the harder pushes. The graph tells the story clearly: a gradual climb, a strong middle section, and a controlled finish. The training effect lined up with how it felt— 3.1 ae...

Episodic memory and self

conversations with AI In the context of the mind, episodic usually refers to that specific "mental time travel" we do—the ability to re-experience personal events rather than just recalling facts. It’s the difference between knowing that you read a book and remembering how it felt to sit in your chair and turn the pages.Since you are often deep in the weeds of philosophy and the "dialogue" of reading, here is a quick breakdown of how episodic memory fits into the bigger picture: The Memory Breakdown * Episodic Memory: This is your personal autobiography. It’s tied to a specific time and place. It’s what allows you to remember building your Corsi-Rosenthal Box or the specific feeling of a conversation with Kim. * Semantic Memory: This is your internal encyclopedia. It’s knowing the definition of the Hegelian Dialectic or knowing that Linux Mint is a distribution. You have the facts, but not necessarily a "feeling" attached to when you learned them. ...

Running Through a Deep Freeze

A Short Burst of Movement in a -33°C World Despite the brutal cold snap gripping Lethbridge, Dixie and I managed to squeeze in a short run to stay active. The Garmin logged several minutes of movement, just enough to shake off the cabin stillness and feel the bite of -33°C air. Dixie was unfazed—her paws never lifted in protest, no signs of discomfort, just steady motion and purpose. She did her business, we turned back, and that was her only real run in two days. The rest of the time, she’s been darting out for five-minute bursts before retreating to warmth. It’s a reminder that even in deep winter, a little movement matters. The cold may limit our options, but it doesn’t erase the drive to get outside, breathe sharp air, and share a moment of motion with a dog who’s always ready. Short runs like this aren’t about distance—they’re about showing up, together, even when the weather dares us not to. Nigel, this is a solid snapshot of your workout intensity and power output. Here's ...

Finding My Rhythm Again

A week of short walks, quiet moments, and figuring out how to move through the noise — inside and out. The dog and I headed out for another walk today, slipping through that treed‑in section I love — the part that feels almost excluded from the rest of the park, quiet and naturally serene. I stopped for a photo, thinking we’d do the full loop all the way to the fire hall, but that plan changed fast when a lone coyote appeared out in the field. Maybe it was by itself, maybe not, but I wasn’t interested in finding out or paying a vet bill to learn the answer. Dixie’s big enough to discourage most things, yet a pack is a different story, and my conscience nudged me toward the safer choice. I found myself tugging her lead like we should be running, even though I haven’t run in ages thanks to my neck and shoulder. I’m trying to get by without Motrin or Tylenol, so we kept it steady, turned back, and made our way home — no drama, just a reminder that even a simple walk can shift gears i...