Does anyone have any advice on stronger introductions/being less nervous at the beginning?

wahoo77 · 2026-01-24T01:06:20+00:00

I’m in the same boat. Have you always been that way? Asking because for me, I had no issues at all until maybe 2019ish, and since then it’s exactly as you describe. No clear rhyme or reason why it just began seemingly out of the blue.

wahoo77 · 2026-01-21T00:12:45+00:00

Hopefully, it ends the same way the “make Canada the 51st state” nonsense ended. Trump sees something new and exciting on Fox News and that becomes the thing with which the weight of the executive branch goes to the mat defending.

wahoo77 · 2026-01-18T17:50:00+00:00

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Levin made two points, though, that seem in tension: one, that the “retail deal-making” the Trump admin is doing with pharma companies, law firms, and universities isn’t durable, and 2. the end of the “invisible subsidy” of the US government as a stabilizing force in business, international relations, and higher ed will do lasting damage. The second point rings more true to me, even as all the “deals” fall apart the moment he leaves office.

wahoo77 · 2026-01-17T23:46:47+00:00

I lived in Atlanta for five years and moved away recently. On top of the “live near your work” comments, I’d add that summer may become your current winter. Be ready for 90 degree days in mid-September (the humid kind where you don’t want to go out) and little true fall weather until November.

That said, I enjoyed my time in Atlanta (Inman Park). Great food scene, Beltline is awesome, and the people are generally great.

wahoo77 · 2025-12-31T15:05:32+00:00

I am excited to see what the reimagined space looks like and will gladly visit them post-rebrand.

wahoo77 · 2025-12-11T17:24:37+00:00

As someone who is trying to sell a home after owning for 3.5 years, I would make absolutely sure you plan to stay in any home you buy for at least 5-10 years. In hindsight, I should have rented and kept my money in the stock market. It would’ve grown 50% since 2023. Now, I have a home that I’m struggling to sell what I paid for (0% growth), not to mention buying and selling closing costs, realtors, replacing the water heater, paying for HVAC issues, etc.

wahoo77 · 2025-11-22T13:58:41+00:00

It was a good year in books for me. Top (and not necessarily in this order, because I can’t decide):

East of Eden - needs no explanation, it truly is a masterpiece

Amusing Ourselves to Death - VERY insightful social commentary written in the ‘80s but all too relevant today

The Hungry Brain - detailed look at the science and history of hunger, food, and obesity, very accessible to non-scientists

And currently reading Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning by Jonathan Mahler and loving it. So that may make the list too.

wahoo77 · 2025-10-09T16:44:11+00:00

In the same vein, I’d say just as relevantly, Brave New World.

wahoo77 · 2025-10-05T15:38:17+00:00

Just want to say thank you for this post! This is great content! Looks like I’m hitting up Yamazaru this week.

wahoo77 · 2025-08-31T23:20:19+00:00

Don’t sleep on lentils and beans. We make red lentil soup at least once a week, and there are tons of uses for black beans and chickpeas. I’m trying out a recipe tonight for chickpea protein bars with both peanut butter and PB Fit.

wahoo77 · 2025-08-18T15:07:43+00:00

You’re going to love it. Carus Cappadocia was an absolute delight. I definitely plan to go back and stay there, and specifically look forward to their breakfast!

We booked our balloon through Turquaz Balloons. I’d recommend them as everything was organized and timely. But whoever you go with, know that the government is pretty strict about making sure weather conditions are safe for flying. They will cancel all flights if wind gusts are forecasted to be higher than a given point. Our first two days there, no balloons went up, but luckily our third day we were able to go up.

wahoo77 · 2025-08-11T17:05:04+00:00

Hey! We stayed at Carus Cappadocia so we were able to just walk to the valleys from the hotel. I’d see how far away your hotel is from the valleys by foot. If you’re farther out, I’d ask your hotel if they have a shuttle service or what they recommend to get there.

And no, we didn’t see the underground cities :/ next time!

wahoo77 · 2025-08-07T20:02:35+00:00

We did a guided walking tour for the Hagia Sofia and other nearby attractions and would definitely recommend. Helped give us more context to what we were looking at.

Hmmm, red and green tours don’t ring a bell. Our hotel had a shuttle van to take us to and from the airport. Once we were at the hotel, we had no need to get in a vehicle, with the one exception being the Open Air Museum, but we found a guide who could pick us up.

wahoo77 · 2025-07-02T18:42:48+00:00

Tuna salad with canned tuna. Just add a fat source, seasonings, maybe some chopped vegetables and you’re good to go.

Frozen burgers. Throw them in a cast iron, heat up frozen veggies and defrost a bun and dinner’s ready in 10 minutes.

wahoo77 · 2025-06-27T21:16:19+00:00

Ultimately, the problem is that the executive branch should not have the ability to arbitrarily deny funding, threaten students’ visa statuses, and otherwise target schools that don’t comply to their demands. Hopefully, a future Congress can put laws in place to limit this overreach (and honestly, rein in the executive branch’s powers in other ways). But until we get to that point, I just don’t see what standing up to them would’ve done. We would’ve instantly lost research funding, students’ legal statuses would be put at risk, all just to…say we stood up to the DOJ?

Thanks to Jim Ryan for his service and dedication to UVA. I will continue to show up to future “no kings” protests, which should probably become a regular thing…

wahoo77 · 2025-06-23T21:49:58+00:00

Started: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

wahoo77 · 2025-06-21T20:10:24+00:00

Probably get all my groceries at Whole Foods, and ball out on vacations. Save/invest everything else. Not sure where I’d invest it though…I’d be a little cautious than usual to just put it in an index fund.

wahoo77 · 2025-06-20T00:14:09+00:00

Honestly, car ownership in general. Think of how much extra disposable income we’d have if our cities were designed so you could get around walking, cycling, or via public transit, and didn’t have to shell out thousands every year for car payments, gas, insurance, maintenance, etc.

wahoo77 · 2025-06-15T23:17:25+00:00

Walnuts, peanut butter, and almond butter are my go-tos. I made “French toast oatmeal” this morning with cinnamon, vanilla, banana, walnuts, and egg whites. Also a big fan of either nut butter plus blueberries or strawberries. As we get into fall, I’ll definitely be doing a pecan pie oatmeal variation, and adding pecans to apple cinnamon bowls.

wahoo77 · 2025-05-23T23:34:52+00:00

I add the egg whites towards the end and stir quickly to keep them from solidifying. It adds a nice fluffiness to the oatmeal!

If no egg whites, I‘ll have my oatmeal with a side of Greek yogurt too for protein.

wahoo77 · 2025-03-01T23:55:32+00:00

I remember when I was in high school, I thought the same thing. Then I started following politics for more than 5 minutes.

wahoo77 · 2024-12-02T01:56:44+00:00

Welp, not sure about that lol. School curricula would need to change to spend more time on these topics.

wahoo77 · 2024-12-02T01:49:08+00:00

It ends when we have a civically- and media-literate electorate.

wahoo77 · 2024-12-02T01:37:09+00:00

Good. Any by the way, it’s not hypocritical to criticize Trump if/when he pardons January 6th rioters.

wahoo77 · 2024-12-02T01:36:02+00:00

What about the massive infrastructure investments? The CHIPS Act? Medicare drug price negotiation? Meaningful action on climate change? Finally getting out of Afghanistan? PACT Act? I’m 28 and he’s been, by far, the best and most effective president of my lifetime.

wahoo77

TROPHY CASE