Kevin D. Hendricks's Blog, page 4

Uncontested Elections Are Bad for Democracy: Worthington School Board

Interesting story from small town Minnesota about a school board forcing one of their only Latino teachers to remove his Puerto Rico and Pride flags. That’s a whole thing, and while I have feelings about it, I want to talk about elections instead.

Why it matters: Because Worthington School Board, like many of our local boards and councils, has a problem with uncontested elections.

The Debate

Here’s a quick summary of the story (offered because online stories often disappear, though...

Music Needs Tipping

Dear Bands and Musicians: I like your music and want to support you. How do I do it?

Solution: I think every band/artist/musician needs a tip jar.

The Music Listener Experience: Then

Back in the old days (1990s-early 2000s), I bought a lot of CDs. I mean, a ridiculous number of CDs—I shudder to think how much disposable income I disposed of on CDs). I also went to concerts and bought swag because I was young.

Supporting artists was easy. Today? Not so much.

The Music Listen...

2023 Reading Stats

I’ve shared my total reading numbers for 2023—184 total—and my favorite fiction and nonfiction books. Now let’s talk stats.

Raw Numbers

184 is certainly a ridiculous number. It’s my second highest ever.

Not bragging: But as much as I talk up the number (I even put it in the title of my own book), let’s be honest—that’s just clickbait. The number doesn’t matter. Don’t bother comparing. I know some people who love books but only manage a few a year. I know someone else who regularly tops...

Top 10 Nonfiction of 2023

I read 184 books in 2023 and here are my favorite nonfiction reads.

I normally don’t read a lot of nonfiction (only 18% of my reading in 2022), so this is usually a shorter list. But I went on a memoir spree and found a ton of good ones—with nonfiction hitting 43% of my reading!

So this year we get a top 10 list:

This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley – I listened to the audiobook and was initially put off by the author’s monotone,...

Top 10 Fiction of 2023

I read 184 books in 2023, and here are my favorite fiction reads:

Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes – Really fun and unique world building that just sucked me in. Very enjoyable.Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson – The best Star Wars book I’ve read, following a a broken Jedi who flips to the dark side after the fall of the Republic. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah – A really brutal and fascinating story that reminded me of the 1980s movie Run...

2023 Reading List

I read 184 books in 2023. I think it’s safe to say my COVID reading slump is officially over.

You can also check out my previous reading lists: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.

If you want to read more, check out my booklet 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading Again.

Reading Themes for 2023

So I read a lot this year. Second most ever (2014 gets the top pr...

2023 Biking

I biked 1,037 miles this year on three bikes:

Road bike: 558 milesMountain bike: 358 milesFat bike: 121 miles

I don’t have much other info for a frame of reference, except I know I did 239 miles on the mountain bike in 2022 (and didn’t start until July, when I got the bike).

For the mountain bike, I tracked individual rides:

2023: 358 miles, 45 separate times at 17 different places across 4 states2022: 239 miles, 37 separate times at 19 different places across 8 state...

2023 in Music: Spotify Unwrapped

This year I listened to 62,011 minutes of music (more than 97% of users), accounting for 7,645 songs, 3,550 different artists, and 118 different genres. My most played genres of 2023 were alt-z (huh?), pop, indie pop, modern rock, and rock.

Here’s 2021 and 2022 data to compare.

My Top 5 Songs of 2023

Kind of a girl-powered punk/pop vibe in my top songs. More of that in my 100 top songs of 2023 playlist, though it does start to diversify a bit.

“Say It to My Face” by Meet Me @ the A...

Colorful Days

Life has been full lately. In the midst of busy, it’s hard to appreciate the moments. It often feels like near misses when the stars don’t align like the perfect photo.

Fall colors came into full bloom and then it snowed. The world bursts into flame and people torch one another for not seeing it the same way.The colors are magnificent, but the day is overcast and gloomy. The “You Are Loved” yard sign in this photo was stolen the night the photo was taken by kids running down the ...

Turning on the Heat 2023

Finally caved today when the kid complained about her feet getting numb and turned the heat on. The temperature didn’t get above 35 today and it won’t until five days from now, so it’s inevitable.

Tied for longest holdout, so that’s not bad. It was tempting to go for the record, but you know what, it’s nice and toasty inside now so I’m OK with that.

2023: October 28 (inside temp: 57)2022: October 14 (inside temp: 59)2021: October 22 (inside temp: 63)2020: October 16 (insi...