I heard a Billy Joel song last month called "Laura" on Sirius XM that I had not heard in decades. It was never a hit, and few people would likely have ever even heard of it. But I knew it because it was the B-Side of the 45 single "Pressure" released by Billy Joel from his "Nylon Curtain" album.   It got me to thinking about the songs I discovered and learned to like just because they were on the other side of the record from the song I initially cared about.   In this episode, I muse a bit about my memories of this musical discovery mechanism and share a few other vinyl-inspired thoughts and stories.

Years ago, I learned a great technique for managing my anger when dealing with very frustrating situations - especially when it requires interacting with other people. I learned this valuable lesson somewhat by accident as I listened to how my good friend Rich handled a thorny travel situation as he held his phone off to the side with me on the other end.   I don't think that I ever told Rich about the lesson he didn't know he was teaching. But it has stuck with me and been a handy tool when I want to be sure I manage myself well in difficult interactions.   I hope you find it as valuable as I do.

Over the holidays, I decided to try my hand at making a custom frame bag for my fat bike. It was a fun project and great way to spend a day between Christmas and New Years.   Rather than purchasing new fabric, zippers, and all the other bobbles necessary to construct the bag, I decided to repurpose an old Columbia winter jacket that picked up at a local thrift store for only $11.   The idea was inspired by my friend Josh who make custom bike bags of various shapes and sizes with his small business The Nxrth.   I was also influenced by this article on BIKEPACKING.com:   DIY: How to Make A Simple Frame Bag   Check out the blog post for this episode at onmydrivehome.com for some pictures and a video of my completed frame bag.

In an effort to be somewhat environmentally conscious and serve my desire for drive and eat convenience, I once tried asking for something out of the ordinary at a local fast food chain and threw a wrench into the whole system.   Not long after that experience, I tried it again at a different establishment and experienced the briefest moment of cosmic connection and understanding.   Lesson learned? Some systems are optimized for conformity; others are not.

A few years ago, I tried calling an upstart organic foods company to give them a compliment. Apparently, sharing positive feedback via phone call was not accepted by this company.

We bought a mobile home back in 1995. But before we bought that one, we did not buy another one. This is the story of the other one. You'll understand why. Oh, I also mentioned the Meta Minute concept again not realizing that I already released my first Meta Minute episode in December. Ha! Oh well, these things are often stream of consciousness, and sometimes these kinds of things will happen. Enjoy!

With this episode, I’d like to introduce a new podcast segment I call the “Meta Minute” where I share some behind-the-scenes stories about the process of producing these episodes.   With this first Meta Minute release, I talk about my mild frustration with the episode release tasks and share my thoughts for some things I want to try in order to streamline the work.   Specifically, I use Libsyn as my podcast host and run a WordPress them using the Divi theme from Elegant Themes.  It’s a great theme, and I have been using it for years both personally and professionally.   But some of the mechanics for releasing each episode get tiresome, and I’m ready to try some things differently to make the whole experience more efficient.   I hope you enjoy this slightly different angle on this humble podcasting journey.

Big news on the fitness front: I finally bought a fat bike!     I have wanted a fat bike so I could start winter mountain biking for at least five years.  But every year, I have seemed to find other ways to prioritize my spending or just couldn’t convince myself it made sense.   But last weekend, the murky clouds in the overcast sky of another non-cycling winter season parted, and glorious rays of sunshine shone down upon me and led me to the fat bike sale post I have been waiting for all this time!   Less than three hours later, I was driving home with an immaculately clean used 2018 Specialized Fatboy.     Oh man…I am so excited! And in this episode, I share some of my enthusiasm about the newest addition to my stable.

I decided to pass on the Apple Watch Series 6 this week. Care to hear my rationale? Listen on!

In this episode, I revisit a podcast I recorded several years ago about my newfound love for Nordic skiing, a.k.a. skate skiing.     I change things up a bit this time by doing some recording from my studio as well as integrating the original audio from back when I recorded my skiing thoughts.    Also, during the episode, I discuss the book that really inspired me checking out cross-country skiing in the first place:  Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge.  Great book!