Mark Paxson's Blog, page 7

A Thought

From Paolo Coelho’s Veronika Decides To Die: Normal people at some point find themselves in an abnormal situation — such as depression, panic, etc. — occasionally use illness as an alternative to life. That is, they choose to be ill because being “normal” is too much like hard work.

A VRBO Tale

Seven years ago, we started spending a long weekend with a group of friends every Fall. We’ve spent time in Gualala, Mendocino (Albion), Dillon Beach, Bodega Bay, Truckee, and Santa Cruz. This year, we went to Cambria. There are seven of us and these days we need five bedrooms to keep everybody happy. Which means […]

Spotify Wrapped 2024

It’s that time of year … when Spotify provides its users with info regarding their listening habits for the past year. I listened to Spotify for a little more than 33,000 minutes, which somebody pointed out is about 1 1/2 hours per day. As with every other year, I feel like this isn’t accurate. That […]

A Cosumnes River Preserve Walk

I went for a walk with a friend through the Cosumnes River Preserve a week or so ago. I was thinking of leaving my camera behind, but took it … just in case. I wasn’t expecting much because the migration season is just about over. I didn’t even know if there would be water in […]

My To-Do List

In response to my last post, Maddie suggested I write about my to-do list. So, herewith and forthwith … First, I’ve stalled about getting our assets into a trust. Part of that delay was due to not having enough assets to justify a trust. Part of it is the cost. Part of it is just […]

A Book I Just Read

In my 20s, I went through a serial killer phase. I loved reading books about serial killers. The Zodiac Killer. Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. The classics of the genre — The Executioner’s Song and In Cold Blood. And much more. I eventually tired of that. One of the story types I’ve enjoyed in recent […]

What’s Up?

Not much. It’s been quiet around here, hasn’t it? I’m feeling very disillusioned after the election. While I took politics out of this blog about 18 months ago (I do politics over at substack now), the impact of that disillusionment is affecting my desire to blog over here as well. I just don’t have much […]

Melbourne — Our Final Stop

And so after almost four weeks of traveling, six flights in-country, having to pack and relocate every 2-4 days, and contracting what was likely COVID, we landed in Melbourne for our final experience. Although Melbourne is more than twice as big as Adelaide, the inner city experience is similar. Old buildings and new. A free […]

Cambria

This weekend was our annual weekend on the coast with some lifelong friends. We’ve been to Gualala and Bodega Bay and Dillon Beach and Santa Cruz and Albion. This year we spent a few days in Cambria.

Kangaroo Island

Located near Adelaide off the Australia coast, Kangaroo Island was my favorite stop of the entire trip. It is the third largest island in Australia, measuring approximately 75 miles long. Fewer than 5,000 people live on the island, with more than a million sheep. In 2020, there was a fire that destroyed around half of […]