March 2023

👋 Hey there!

Updated: March 1, 2023

February is a very short month, but it was jam packed with all kinds of good stuff in my world.  Especially as it relates to music – which, in my opinion, is the lifeblood of… well, life!

• Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, back on tour – I took my daughter Charlotte and it was a fantastic evening!
• I also bought tickets for several concerts for the rest of the year.
• Two of my daughters had major music performances this past month – those are fun to watch.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
  • I read this book twice in a row, and then thought hard about it in order to make a YouTube video.  After doing that, I did feel that I got way out of the book than just reading through it once.  It did take a lot more time and effort though.  I’m still deciding if I want to keep trying  
• The Humans by Matt Haig
  • This was a bit of an easy read – an alien visits Earth and notices that odd behaviors of humans and attempts to act like one while.  I was going to read it twice (like Gilead), but opted just to place it back on the shelf, for now.
• Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
  • We have a long line of ancestors – way back, past the first humans even – back to lizards, and even to fish! This book shows our connection to all these different animals, for example how fish fins evolved into our hands with fingers.

📗 Books I’m currently reading

• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
  • Short kids book that I’ve never read, so why not?

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Live in Tampa, FL, Bruce Springsteen
  • I started following the Springsteen tour as soon as it started.  This was the opening night and I pre-ordered it the night of the concert.  I listened consistently up until the Kansas City, MO concert was available.
• Live in Kansas, Mo, Bruce Springsteen
  • Pretty cool to hear a concert you attended, mixed professionally and available for download just 5 days after the concert.  It’s definitely different to listen to a concert live and then listen to it on your headphones, but very cool.

🎧 Podcast episode I thought was interesting

• What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health, Huberman Lab
  • I like drinking beer and other alcohol — this was sad for me to listen to — but maybe I’ll make some changes because of it.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Handle Hard Better, Kara Lawson
  • This was fantastic advise and it’s similar to what my wife tries to teach to her Junior and Senior students – it doesn’t get easier; it doesn’t ever get easier, it gets harder.
• The FedEx Guy that Changed the way I Spend Time with People Forever, Buddy Brown
  • This was a nice story and makes you think about how you interact with people. I think one of the key takeaways from this story is that it takes effort from both parties – the FedEx guy would never know that his kids’ fished unless he came forth with that information.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“The problem is no longer getting people to express themselves but providing little gaps of solitude and silence in which they might eventually find something to say.“

– Gilles Deleuze

February 2023

🌟A few updates since last time!

Updated: February 1, 2023

• I got a bit of a promotion in January, so I’m now the Payroll Practice Lead (Interim) at AspireHR.
• I’ve been trying out Twitter again – I had not used it for several years – we’ll see how it goes.  If you’re looking for me at @_joshuabest
• I tried my hand at making some YouTube shorts – I’m not sure that TickTick ‘How to’ videos are ideal for YouTube shorts, but I’m giving it a shot.
• My daughter has been making cakepops for all of our family gatherings for a couple of years now.  She’s decided to try her hand at making some money from it.  I made her a web-site: charmedcakepops.com.

📗 Books I’m currently reading

• Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
  • I’ve spent a long time with this book.  This is the first book I’ve read twice, right in a row.  It’s not particularly interesting or compelling, but it has been interesting to read it twice. 
• The Humans by Matt Haig
  • An alien visits Earth and notices that odd behaviors of humans and attempts to act like one while completing the task he was sent to Earth for. It’s pretty comical and really makes you think about some of our odd behaviors.  I finished reading this once, but I will read it a second time as well.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• N/A
  • I’m reading at a much slower pace than normal because I’m trying out/testing out reading books twice through rather than just once.  It seems it takes twice as long to read a book twice.  But I have found that I do seem to get get a little more out of the second reading that I missed the first time around – or maybe it gives it me more time to think about the story.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Midnights, Taylor Swift
  • This one is slightly embarrassing. But, I have to be honest – I’ve listened to this album a lot over the last few weeks, especially on runs.  Maybe it has something to do with the tempo of the songs that makes it a good running album? That’s what I’ll blame it on, anyways.
• For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver
  • Speaking of Taylor Swift, I was unfamiliar with Bon Iver except for his duet with Taylor Swift.  After watching a brief video on the making of his first album which was very interesting, I took a listen… and didn’t like it. Then after about the third listen through, I started thinking – hey, this is not too bad!  This is normal for me – I sometimes need 3-5 listens through before deciding that I like something.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• Don’t be a Cowardly Manager, At the Table with Partrick Lencioni
  • This could be titled, Don’t be a Coward. It’s about having tough conversations in a timely manner.  Good reminder.

📄 Article I enjoyed reading

• The Need to Read, Paul Graham
  • I’ve been thinking a lot about the question – why do we read?  What are the benefits? Can we get the same benefits from other mediums?  Anyways, this article I thought summed up a good point on one reason to read is so that you can write, and you should be able to write so that you can think.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Note Taking Basics – Fiction and Novels, Robin Waldun
  • I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of figuring out how to get the most out of reading the last few months.  This video was one that has convinced me to read novels twice.  I’m giving it a try.
• The election of George Washing was weirder than you think, Premodernist
  • This video explained a lot of concepts of early US History clearly, simply, and quickly.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“You’re under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.“

– Alan Watts,

January 2023

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: January 1, 2023

• I registered a new domain – https://joshua.best – and I’ve moved my web-site over there and also setup a new e-mail — josh@joshua.best
  • It’s just a little simpler, a little cleaner
• My wife, Pearl, received her Masters Degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • Despite the pandemic, despite taking care of her mom, despite raising 3 children, despite moving houses, despite teaching high school English full time. Despite everything.
• I spent a good amount of downtime during the holidays and am ready to have a productive 2023.

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
  • I received this as a Christmas present from my wife along with a few other books from some of the “top 100” books to read lists.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • The classic self-help book. There were a couple of good things in this. But also there were some things that made me question if people were just extremely rude back in the 1930’s when it was written – that someone would have to instruct people not to talk that way. This book got very repetitive by the end.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Country Coffeehouse, Spotify playlist
  • I frequently return to this playlist.  Something about slow, sad songs that make them very enjoyable.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• Civil War Excursion with JD Baker Pt.1, Jock Podcast
  • I listened to this first episode of this 6 part series and it was good.  I’ll try to make time to listen to the other 5 episodes.
• Mind Mapping, Focused
  • Mind mapping is a simple topic, but it was interesting to hear 2 people discuss it for over an hour.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Don’t Worry about Reading More Books. Focus on Reading Better., Jared Henderson
  • I’ve been doing a deep dive on the topic of reading and not just reading, but reading deep – and this is one video that stood out to me.
• How I Remember Everything I Read, Ali Abdaal
  • Some more thoughts on how to get more out of reading.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



Do you want to have a meaningful life? Everything you do matters.

That’s the definition of a meaningful life.

But everything you do matters! You’re going to have to carry that with you.

Or do you want to just forget about the whole meaning thing, and then you don’t have any responsibility…and you’re stuck in meaninglessness, but you don’t have any responsibility.

Which one do you want?”

– Jordan Peterson,

An alternative to the Light Phone?

The Light Phone has always appealed to me. A phone that really limits what it’s used for. The original Light Phone only had the ability to make phone calls and that was it – otherwise a dumb phone. This seems like a good idea for someone trying to use their phone less. But then you realize you can’t take a photo of something you see, you can’t text you brother, you can’t find your way if you’re lost. Our phones give us so many tools.

The Light Phone II gives some more functionality including GPS, Music, and Podcasts. After watching some video reviews, I think I’ll still stick with my Pixel for now. How would I call an Uber? How would I track how long I’ve walked? How would I play Clash of Clans?

But, I still like the minimalist aspect of it – so I set out looking for a minimalist Android launcher that might be used as an alternative to the Light Phone, still giving me the capability to do all of the things that you “need” to use your phone for. There are several minimalist launchers to try:

• Before Launcher
• Niagara Launcher
• LessPhone

These all seem to have a similar home screen as the Light Phone – minimalist, text only. However, the one I liked the best and landed on was the Olauncher. It is free and has a very minimal approach – it was exactly what I was looking for.

Here is a screenshot my homescreen:

This does add a very little bit of a barrier to getting to your apps… but not really enough to where I’m not going to play Clash of Clans. It’s pretty easier to swipe up and start typing in Clash of Clans:

So, I think I’m going to stick with the launcher – but mostly because I like it aesthetically. I don’t think it’s a true alternative to the Light Phone. I don’t think it adds any true barriers to actually using your phone for all the distractions it can provide.

December 2022

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: December 1, 2022

• It’s been 2 months since my last update, it’s been a very busy season for me and my family
• I’ve always liked the idea of the Light Phone, but don’t think I’d ever actually be able to make the switch – but I am trying out the Olauncher for Android, which is a little bit of a halfway point.
• I’ve decided I’m going to spend next year re-reading books I’ve already read – which I think will be an interesting exercise.

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • The only book you you need to lead you to success, or so the subtitle says.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • A classic that seemed interesting since it’s about that time of year again… and now that I’ve read it, would say that it doesn’t necessarily 
• Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
  • I read this as a kid and remember liking it.  This time we read it as a family and discussed it as we read.  It was still good the second time.
• One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch
  • I rated this one a rare 5 stars. This talked about basic methods for analyzing companies to determine if they might be a good investment and it was written in a way in which a beginner could understand.  It was exactly what I was looking for.
• The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
  • It’s been a few weeks since I finished this one, the quote that keeps popping in my head from it is that humans are a “weedy species” – I thought that was an interesting way to describe us.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Only the Strong Survive, Bruce Springsteen
  • I didn’t think I’d like this album, and like most albums, I didn’t until I listened to it at least 3 times. Now I’m enjoying it – and it’s made me appreciate some of the original Soul music as well.
• Year Of The Dark horse, The White Buffalo
  • Still trying to get into this one, totally.  The White Buffalo’s last album, On The Widow’s Walk I liked immediately – but that has not been the case with this album. But, I’ll give it a few more listens.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• 001. Rules of the game, Bedros Keuilian
  • This podcast is new to me, but I really enjoyed this one where he goes through 6 “rules of the game”, or rather 6 rules to live by.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Philadelphia, Neil Young
  • A great performance of a great song.
• Father and Son, Yusuf / Cat Stevens
  • A great performance of a great song

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“You get more out of reading 1 book that’s great 5 times than out of reading 5 mediocre books.

Books that are older, in general, tend to be better because the reason the reason the person wrote it was a different intention. They wrote it because they wanted to transmit knowledge to the next generation. Whereas the people who write books are now are writing for money, writing for notoriety, or writing to sell other shit.

If I read something once, I still don’t know it yet. I will read a book 2 times, 3 times, 4 times, 5 times – until I can teach the book.

If your behavior doesn’t change as a result of reading a book then it means you’ve learned nothing which means it was a waste of time. Many people that read books are just wasting their time, because their behavior doesn’t change“

– Alex Hormozi, 14 Life Lessons I Wish I Knew Earlier,

My reading plan for 2023

I’m wrapping up a strong year of reading – I’m already a couple of books past my yearly goal of 20 books, and there is still a month left in the year! I’ve also started thinking about what I want to do for reading next year.

I’ve always considered re-reading some of my favorite books – but I’m always torn because on the one hand, I think you’re wasting time re-reading something you’ve already read when there are so many other books to read – but on the other hand, I think there would be some benefit from it.

I recently watched a YouTube video by Alex Hormozi where he suggests,

“You get more out of reading 1 book that’s great 5 times than out of reading 5 mediocre books.”

I think this might be true. So that got me thinking, maybe I should just take next year and re-read the books I’ve already read once and thought were great or, at least, worth re-reading.

I didn’t take reading seriously until about 2015, which is when I started tracking my reading on Goodreads. And since then, I’ve obviously gotten better at reading and especially better at note taking and capturing ideas. I know not everybody believes note taking is beneficial when reading, but I have a hard time reading now without a pen and paper to go along with the book.

I’ve gone through my list of books I’ve read over the last 7 years and picked out the ones I either rated 5 stars or have an urge to re-read and I’ve tagged them with the year 2023 on Goodreads.

I think it will be an interesting exercise to go through. One reason it will be good is because I seem to have a short memory, and likely don’t remember most of these books. They say you only remember 10% of what you read, but for me it has to be closer to 1% – especially after a few months.

And also because “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man” (Heraclitus), it will be interesting to see how I feel about some of the books I read several years ago.

Using a Mac and Windows PC… at the same time?

I’ve used a Windows PC since I was in 4th grade – all through high school – in college – through my entire 15+ years working. My company recently decided that I was due for a new computer and all new computers issued were going to be Macs.

I’m both excited and a little frustrated trying to learn how to use the Mac. Keyboard shortcuts have been the worst to try to learn/unlearn.

So now I’m using a Mac for work and a Windows for personal and I only have 1 desk. It’s annoying to use my keyboard on one computer and have to use the laptop keyboard on the other. I have a bluetooth mouse for my Mac and found an old USB mouse for my Windows PC. I only have 1 desk – so it becomes quite a tangle mess.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could easily switch my bluetooth keyboard and mouse to which ever computer I’m working on? Is there a way to do this?

There is! And it works. And it works good. And it does more than I hoped for!

Synergy by Symless costs a one-time fee of $29.00 and it might be the best $29.00 I’ve spent in awhile.

Not only does it make it quick to switch between your computers – it makes it seamless. Like moving your mouse between monitors. I was surprised at how smooth and slick it was – even between Windows and Mac.

If your mouse is on the Windows – you can use Windows keyboard shortcuts. If you move your mouse across over to the Mac – you can use Mac keyboard shortcuts.

It’s fairly easy to setup. You download and install the Synergy program on both computers. Pick one computer to be the server, or main computer and the other computer will be the client.

On the server computer, you setup where the computers are in relation to each other – similar to how you arrange your external monitors in a Display settings:

Then you connect them via IP address.

The best part, and most pleasantly surprising to me – even copy and paste works across computers – even between Windows and Mac!

October 2022

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: October 1, 2022

• Working on switching from a Windows computer to a Mac for work
  • There’s a lot the same and a lot that’s different – keyboard shortcut habits are tough to break!
• Went to Kansas City to watch The Gaslight Anthem
  • I have been a fan since about 2015, which was after they weren’t touring/making music – so I was excited for this one – and it was slightly disappointing.

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
  • Talking about the 5 mass extinctions that have happened in the past and asking if we’re in the next mass extinction currently.  Pretty fascinating to read about the people that first discovered the dinosaurs bones – that would be pretty frightening digging up a pterodactyl!

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• One Giant Leap by Charles Fishman
  • This was a great book that summarized all of the work that it took to get the Apollo space mission to the moon.  It’s an incredible lesson in hard work, dedication, innovation, and persistence.
• The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
  • This was an odd book.  I thought the initial setup of the story was good – the main character was about to turn 30, he had a good job and lots of dates with various women, but he was searching for something.  However, the end was odd and I didn’t really understand it.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Do I Love You (Indeed I Do), Bruce Springsteen
  • The first single from Bruce’s new album of old soul music covers.  This album seems to appeal to me a little more than his last few, Western Stars and Letter to You.  The album will be released Nov 11.
• Beguiled, Smashing Pumpkins
  • The Smashing Pumpkins also released a new song from an upcoming album that won’t be released until April 2023.  This sounds real heavy and I like it.  But it reminds me a little (or a lot) of Eye of the Beholder by Metallica.
• Not Today, The White Buffalo
  • And another single, this one from The White Buffalo who will be releasing his “headphone album” titled The Year of Dark Horse on Nov 11 as well.  Also looking forward to this one!

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• The Obsidian Deep Dive, Mac Power Users
  • Obsidian is an app I’ve been watching for a while.  This podcast was a good in-depth review of the features and functionality, albeit a little outdated.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Houston, We’ve Had a Problem, Apollo 13
  • Every once in a while YouTube amazes me on what you can find on it.  As I was reading about the Apollo missions I started looking up these recordings of the radio back and forth between the astronauts and Mission Control.  This one from Apollo 13 is pretty cool and I thought it was cool at how much the movie got right from these recordings.
• Planting the American flag, Apollo 11
  • Another interesting video that’s amazing to me that we can just search for and pull up.
• Lunar Liftoff, Apollo 17
  • And just to round this list out, the last time humans were on the moon.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.“

– Steve Jobs, Apple ad

September 2022

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: September 1, 2022

• School is back in session!
  • Fall always seems like a great time of year to me and school getting back in session is the beginning of the fall season.
• We ran a Marathon Relay as a family

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• One Giant Leap by Charles Fishman
  • This is about the Apollo missions to the moon.  I’ve read a Charles Fishman book before and liked it, and after reading the first few chapters of this book – I’m really enjoying it.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
  • This one was tough and I made use of the online Cliffs Notes to review and confirm what I read after each chapter.
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
  • I had never read this before – and I probably could’ve gotten by without reading it.  I guess in some ways it teaches about friendship, but I was expecting a few more morals from the story.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• LIVE DRUGS, The War On Drugs
  • I had never listened to The War On Drugs before.  When I find a new band to listen to, I usually go right to any live albums they have.  This live album is one that I haven’t been able to stop listening to since I found it – it might be my favorite album I discovered this year.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• John Moreland, Songwriters on Process
  • This was an interesting podcast on how John Moreland writes his songs.  He likes to watch YouTube Tokyo walking videos.  This was the first episode of this podcast I’ve listened to – I’ve added a few others to my queue.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Maynard James Keenan Interview, Rick Beato
  • I’ve been following Rick Beato on YouTube for a few years now – he’s very knowledgeable about all things music.  More recently he’s been able to interview some bigger names – Maynard James Keenan is a hero from my late teenage years.  Most interviews he gives are not great, but this one was very enjoyable – maybe because he’s getting older.
• Wake Up Right, Steve Harvey
  • As we’ve gotten back into the swing of school, I’ve been playing this video for my children to remind them to wake up with a good attitude.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“But why, some say, the Moon? 

Why choose this as our goal? 

And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the Moon… We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too. “

– John F Kennedy at Rice University in 1962

August 2022

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: August 1, 2022

• I’ve been travelling to Arkansas for work – last month I drove and the family got to come with me.
• The kids went to summer camp for a few days and Pearl and I got a chance to do a few fun activities together:
  • Watched Othello at Shakespeare on the Green
  • Took a tour of the Joslyn Castle
  • Went to Beyond Van Gogh

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
  • Still working on this one. I found it a little tougher than I though and I had to go check out the Cliffs Notes after reading each chapter.  I took a break while reading What Makes Sammy Run, but finishing it up now.
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
  • I’ve never read this, so why not?

📕 Book I finished reading last month

• What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
  • This was something different than what I usually read.  It’s a novel about a guy who will stop at nothing, and do things that most of us would not be proud of, to succeed in early Hollywood.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Spotify Sessions, John Moreland
  • John Moreland came out with his new album last month, Birds in the Ceiling.  But nothing beats his old, sad songs that he plays on the live Spotify Sessions.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• Time Management for Mortals, Making Sense with Sam Harris
  • This was quite a different perspective on time management and task management.  It was a refreshing take on this topic.
• Episode 225: Joy Oladokun, Song Exploder
  • We watched Joy open up for Dermot Kennedy last year in St Louis.  Dermot was having an off-night, it seemed, so Joy was the highlight.  This podcast was interesting to hear how she wrote her song, Look Up.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Neil deGrasse Tyson explains Starry Night, Joe Rogan
  • I had watched this once before, but after going to the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit, I revisited this video.  I think he explains art, in general, pretty good.
• Cemetery Scene, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  • I’ve never watched this movie, but I like this scene.  Movies moved a little slower in the 60’s than they do today.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“When we say that our lives are short; short compared to what?

Certainly short compared to the life of a hypothetical immortal being.  But it might make more sense to compare our lives, not to a hypothetical immortal being – but to all the countless hypothetical people who never got to be born in the first place. From that perspective, it’s not really cruel that our lives aren’t longer – rather it’s a staggering, stupendous bonus that we get any time on the planet as conscious creatures at all.“

– Oliver Burkeman on the Making Sense podcast