One of my most favorite things about having a personal website, or using social media, is connecting with people who share your interests. This page is intended to help you figure out what interests1 we share in common—feel free to get in contact using the message form below!
I’ll continue to expand this, but it’s a good start. You might also be interested in my /uses page.
Travel
Road trips, questing and other travel goals, international travel, travel destinations, roadside oddities, historical and archaeological sites…I love it all.
Travel is a big part of my life—I’ve made many very consequential life decisions around increasing my ability to travel—and I enjoy chatting about it.
- If you travel often, you might like my concept of Return on Adventure (think ROI, but for travel)
- If you enjoy quests, check out #GoQuesting, my extensive (1500+) directory of travel quests. I also have a whooooole bunch of my own quests…
- If you enjoy looking back at your own travel or outdoor recreation photos, check out OnePhoto.Club
- If you enjoy exchanging postcards with other travelers, check out #OnePostcard
Outdoor recreation
Especially hiking, camping, kayaking, and backpacking. And recently, ebikes too (wow, they’re great!). I’m in a bowling league too, but I’m not sure that fits here.
- I wrote the first guidebook on Kayaking the Salt River (near Phoenix AZ)
- I’ve led a bunch of group trips for Sierra Club, Arizona and Beyond, and several friends groups for Arizona national monuments
- I was the “Local Trail Scout” for Backpacker Magazine for a couple years
Parks and public lands
Especially in the US. That includes National Parks (duh) and other Treasured Places, state parks, public lands, and other public spaces that protect natural and cultural heritage. They are all FUCKING AMAZING!
- I visited all the National Park units, and all the Treasured Places (Congress took notice!)
- My career has focused on public lands conservation
- I run a conservation organization called Arizona Conservation Partners
Productivity
Not so much about raw efficiency, per se, but about how you organize your life and accomplish the stuff you want to in life. I like having systems for organizing and doing things.
Some keywords: GTD, Obsidian, Deep Work, Slow Productivity, Notion, PKM, Things 3.
The social internet
The social web/fediverse (hey, I run my own travel/outdoors-only mastodon instance!), social media, personal websites, the indieweb, the slow web, the small web, the quiet web…all of those things.
I like how people connect via the internet around shared interests. (Hey, if we “know” each other online, why not hop on my people-to-visit list?)
Living with intentionality
Choosing paths (sometimes unusual ones) to optimize your life for the shit you actually care about, opting out of things you hate, and generally proactively choosing what your life looks like over following simple inertia (including lifestyle design). Big fan. Kudos if you are nodding your head right now.
Craft beer
It’s my only vice, but I enjoy some good craft beer. In fact, I’ve been known to get #LostNeededDirections regularly while traveling. If you’re a fan and use untappd, feel free to add me.
Stuff I’ve opted out of (aka, disinterests)
- religion
- parenting
- politics on social media
- pop culture: popular movies, popular tv, popular music
- status purchases
- celebrity culture
- magical thinking
- ad/outrage apps that others seem to call social media platforms
- communicating complex ideas primarily through memes
- turning hobbies into monetized side hustles
Things I know about, but am not “interested in”
Ok, so here are some things that I know about, but they are definitely not what I’d consider things I’m “interested in.” However, if you find yourself in a similar situation, I might be able to offer some advice or condolences:
- Caregiving for an elderly parent, including assisted living facilities
- Setting up a parent for “aging in place” in their own home
- Coming within one minute of a national championship for your fav college football team while you’re in attendance at the Rose Bowl in your freshman year but the quarterback from your high school—that you used to cheer for just two years prior, that asshole—gets a bullshit touchdown to rob you of this amazing capstone to an already incredible undefeated season ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!!!! [deep breaths…deep breaths]
Start a conversation about something above
- Hat tip to Chris Burnell’s post for inspiring me to finally get this live ↩︎