Can We Talk?

Taking stock of my Stack…

I came over to the Internet from the publishing world.

First email, then blogging, then Instagram, now Substack. I fiddled a little with Twitter, and found Facebook fingernails-on-the-backboard from the start — never used it.

I’ve been struggling a bit with Substack in this regard.

The Substacks that I admire (and read) are pretty well-crafted, as well as nailing-it informative and/or amusing — a pretty high standard. I feel like I should be doing a photo essay with each post (which is my M.O of communication).

But I’ve got thoughts running through my head all day, and things that I see all the time, and want to communicate, which was a lot easier to do on my blog.

I would put up a song, or a photo or two with a paragraph on the blog (over 5,000 of them), or some photos just shot on the road. Short bursts.

I guess what stops me from doing that on Substack is the email that subscriber/followers get with each post, and I don’t want to be emailing people three times a week.

For example, this afternoon:

I haven’t been paddling (with my new Joe Bark paddleboard). it’s like having a Ferrari in the garage, and not driving it.

Joe Bark 12’ carbon fiber paddleboard. Weighs 19 lbs. Was used in the 2024 twenty-two mile Catalina race by 15-year-old who placed 2nd in the 12’ category. I got it in LA from Joe in September, on my way home from a trip to Crestone, Colorado and the Southwest.It weighs 19 pounds and goes through the water like a waterskeeter.. Today when I paddled hard, it was throwing up a wake, like a couple of spurts on eqch side of the nose.

Today was sunny, and after I finished a bunch of computer work, I put on a shorty wetsuit and went paddling in the lagoon.

The thought came to me, as it always does, why don’t you do this more often?

I paddled about 4/5 of my usual route, then beached the kayak, and went for a five minute swim — water maybe 56 - 57.°

I came home and took an outdoor solar-heated shower. The water was hot!

There’s something about water heated by the sun — I think the molecules are different. It feels different. Plus the thought that you’re burning no fossil fuels in getting this water heated.

Why don’t I do this more often?