It has been almost a year since I stopped blogging. I outlined my reasons in the post Goodbye For Now. I’ve enjoyed the break and I’m not sure I want to resume blogging on a regular basis, but I did receive several emails this year that made me realize that I left several topics open.
If you’ve watched the TV series Breaking Bad or its equally good Colombian version Metástasis you know that near the end of the series the main character has to pack up and move. After a while he realizes he needs to return to town to complete unfinished business. I kind of feel the same way.
I don’t like walking away from unfinished projects.
I’d like to wrap up some of the topics I left open. At that point I may or may not continue blogging. Unlike Breaking Bad and Metástasis, I don’t know how this story will end.
Metástasis is a shot by shot remake of Breaking Bad filmed in Bogotá, Colombia. It is on Netflix.
Here is a list of topics and tasks I feel the need to conclude on this blog.
Potato DietWhat I Eat and Don’t Eat – UpdatedThe Peasant DietGluten/Wheat – The Final ChapterRemove worthless posts (ongoing)Update design. I like this one, except the search is relegated to the bottom.Left knee updateLearning Spanish updateChromebook updateWhy events in 2016 didn’t surprise meBlog Housekeeping: AMP mobile, broken links, CDNOpinionsNovelty and FitnessSeattle, Open Data, and CorruptionWhy didn’t I blog a lot more about economics?
I may have missed a few. If there is something you would like to see added to the list, leave a comment below. Also, don’t leave any Breaking Bad spoilers in the comments.
2017 UPDATE: The blog post for #14 is written, but I can not publish it at this time due to a potential conflict of interest. #12 is also written, but it isn’t that good, so it won’t be published.
2017 UPDATE 2: My potential conflict of interest for #14 does not exist, so it is now published.
BKK
Nov 16, 2016 — 10:20 am
Good to see you back. A calm voice of reason is very welcome in an increasingly chaotic world.
Johnny Paycut
Nov 16, 2016 — 10:33 am
Glad you returned, even if it’s just for a short stay.
Jim
Nov 16, 2016 — 10:46 am
MAS:
Feel free to go on an intermittent schedule. I think many bloggers lose enjoyment for blogging due to the pressure of having to post regularly, and then just quit completely. A few posts here or there, with no pressure to post, would probably be great for most followers.
The only thing I’d add to the list would be to know if you ended up starting any other online projects during the break from CMAS.
Stuart Gilbert
Nov 16, 2016 — 11:14 am
Good to see you back Michael, even if it is only occasionally. Your site was always one of my go to reads on the internet. I’m looking forward to your current thoughts on fitness, and also your thoughts on the events of 2016. I’m also curious as to which of your past posts you now regard as worthless.
Welcome back…remember we enjoy the quality, so don’t worry about the quantity.
Pauline
Nov 16, 2016 — 11:18 am
Since your last post, I have not listened to anyone out there consistently. Weird how those cycles just unravel. Good to see you are writing here again and look forward to seeing what you have to share from your time away.
Jeff Hansen
Nov 16, 2016 — 11:25 am
Glad I kept your blog in my RSS feed.
Ty
Nov 16, 2016 — 11:30 am
Has anyone out there ever done a really good series of posts on “the peasant diet.” I’ve searched around and never found anything online that was really compelling. Generally people just express approval for the concept then sort of side step it and promote more modern dietary ideas.
I’d really like to see something that answers the question of how peasants construct a several thousand calorie diet (probably big eaters given the amount of labor involved) that is nourishing and satisfying to them with limited money and resources. How did it work? Not just an abstract question for me personally, I’ve done genealogy that shows many of my ancestors back in Sweden living into their 80s back in the 1700s. Really would like to know.
Audacity17
Nov 16, 2016 — 12:38 pm
If you have any thoughts on de novo lipogenesis I would love to hear them. From what I can decipher, it’s practically nonexistent unless one eats 6-700 grams of carbohydrate for days.
DHammy
Nov 16, 2016 — 12:41 pm
MAS, I’ve always loved Breaking Bad and watched it from the very beginning…long before it became popular.
I’ve become more interested lately in a lot of one-off television shows that never would have or could have been produced until the recent age of internet streaming. Shows like Black Mirror (now on netflix) or Goliath on Amazon are great stuff just now getting the accolades they deserve. There’s a ton of other great shows out there that might make for interesting blog posts or discussion.
I’ve also become interested in the idea of grading the quality information on the internet. There are tons of fake news sites and everybody has a racist asshole uncle who is constantly linking to them on facebook. We need some sort of peer rating system to grade the quality of information on the internet. I’d love to have a setting in my browser that I can set that will warn me before taking me to a site that has a rating below a 5 of trustworthiness/truthfulness. There are lots of areas to explore here including a deep dive into what journalism means in the age of the internet. What are the roles of factchecking sites? What is bias and what role does that have in journalism? I firmly believe that many people are actively misinforming themselves and actually making themselves more stupid by feeding on a diet of garbage news.
Sorry for rambling.
D
Michael (J) Smith
Nov 16, 2016 — 2:39 pm
Nice surprise to get your mail, and the RSS feed story.
Al
Nov 16, 2016 — 2:40 pm
I really enjoy your blog. Glad you are back, stick around.
Ginger
Nov 16, 2016 — 3:38 pm
So happy you are back! I was sitting in my kitchen drinking a bad cup of coffee and thinking that i need to try a new brand of beans, plus lamenting the fact that regardless of what happens in politics I still have to do the dishes, and had this thought that recent events might have prompted you to revive your blog…so glad to see it’s true:)
Mal
Nov 16, 2016 — 9:30 pm
Fantastic to see you back Michael. I left you on my list of favourites and had been checking in regularly to see if you had resumed your postings. Great to get you email confirming your return today!
Chris Highcock
Nov 16, 2016 — 11:42 pm
Yes – good to see this and I look forward to your updates on a few things. You have got me addicted to Duolingo and it was on your recommendation that I switched to a Chromebook… I’ve also tried the potatoes….
T-Bone Walker
Nov 17, 2016 — 5:26 am
Ahhh…joy! Return of the MAS!! No other musings on urban hiking?
Fabian
Nov 17, 2016 — 6:07 am
Very good news!
Jim
Nov 17, 2016 — 9:19 am
Looking forward to any updates/posts!
Joe Crawford
Nov 17, 2016 — 1:13 pm
A writer writes. Good for you!
Rebecca
Nov 17, 2016 — 2:23 pm
Looking forward to having you back in the blogging world!
MAS
Nov 19, 2016 — 1:57 pm
@All – Thanks for the all the welcome back messages! I’m having technical issues with the comment emails, which I hope to fix soon.
@Jim – I didn’t start any new online projects, but I have been doing a lot of coding to manage audio files on the site Clyp.
@Stuart – When it comes to fitness, I’ve mostly been thinking about novelty, which I will post about. The worthless posts are mostly from the 2006-2010 era. Things that don’t stand the test of time. They read more like a Facebook status than what we think of as a blog post today. Also anything that comes off as health advice where my references aren’t solid and current.
@Audacity17 – I don’t know anything about de novo lipogenesis.
@DHammy – The problem with any system that filters is it can be gamed by the most sophisticated and powerful players. I don’t know the answer. I get most of my news from CNBC and BBC/BBC Mundo, because I like their fonts and layout the best. 🙂
@Ginger – Actually the primary reason for my return was not the election, but that I was responding to emails on some of the topics above. After several, I began thinking that other readers might have the same questions and be interested in the contents of those emails.
@T-Bone – I was interviewed about Urban Hiking for a Seattle newspaper and they didn’t use most of my answers. Perhaps that might make a decent post.
Geoff
Nov 20, 2016 — 4:38 am
Welcome back. Mas MAS is a wonderful thing to see. Your list of “unfinished business” looks intiguing.
Can’t wait to see more of the next season of Critical MAS!
Mike Brown
Nov 21, 2016 — 6:53 am
Kept your blog in my FeedBlitz setup and so glad to see your posts. I’d be interested to hear about your current diet/exercise regimen — assuming you’re in maintenance mode now? Also interested in any updates on your sleep, higher body temperature, and fasting experiments.
Like your other readers, I prefer fewer, denser posts. “As the spirit moves you” is also an excellent guide for when to post.
MAS
Nov 21, 2016 — 7:07 am
@Mike Brown – I will definitely cover diet and touch on exercise as it relates to my knee issues. I almost never fast these days and I have no new wisdom on sleep or body temps. My sleep is a solid 8+ and my body temp is high. Maybe not fasting plays a role? Maybe not focusing on it so much has also helped? No idea.
MAS
Mar 27, 2017 — 7:57 am
@All – I think I’m done. The unfinished topics I listed in this post have all been posted.