Weekend Wrap 2/22/2026

Each weekend, I like to pause, reflect, and look back on the past week. This isn't a deep dive or grand reflection—just a quick review of a handful of things that brought me joy, made me think, or challenged me.

Music

I’ve long been a fan of Sylosis. Their blend of thrashy, death-tinged, aggressive metal really clicks for me. Many times on every album of theirs, I find myself drawn in by some groovy, crunchy riff that clicks with me.

Honestly, I haven’t disliked an album of theirs since I started following them in 2015 with Dormant Heart. And while I heard some complaints about 2023’s excellent A Sign of Things to Come, I continued to be impressed by the band.

The New Flesh is no different. This is an energetic, vital statement from one of metal’s best secrets. Seriously, these guys should be huge, and I hope that The New Flesh helps to push them in that direction. I have been loving this since it dropped Friday, and it is the only thing I have been listening to.

Games

Oh Diablo, how I love to loathe thee.

I remember playing the original Diablo decades ago. And getting frustrated and not finishing it. Diablo II came out, and the same thing. Finally, with Diablo III and Diablo IV, I found it to the end of the game and kept coming back. I was never a min/maxer, though. I wasn’t turning the difficulty up to the highest Torment levels. But I had fun.

I also would often find the meta of the game supremely frustrating and would bounce off, often for months at a time, and play some other ARPG. Recently, this translated to finally giving Path of Exile a try.

And it was glorious.

For about 3 hours.

And then I was reminded of the many frustrations of these games: inventory filling up too fast, useless gear galore, repetitive environments, and running back and forth (and back and forth and… you get the idea) to town to sell gear.

I was loving it this weekend, and then I got sick of it. Oh well. There are plenty of other games out there.

Books

Finally.

I finally finished The Dark Forest, the second book in the “Three-Body Problem” series. As it was drawing to a close, all I could think was that I needed to take a break. It was too bleak, too grim.

Then I reached the end, and there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Interestingly, I have no idea where the third book goes. I also have no idea if I am going to jump right into it, or if I am going to take a break and read something much more light and frivolous.

Still, it was a masterful move to pull at the very end. I was completely convinced it was time to move on to something different, and now I’m not sure.

TV

I just want to say that, again, Peacock did a really good job with the Olympics. I enjoy them, and love to see people performing at the top of their sports. There are always moving and inspiring stories (and some rough moments).

The last couple of Olympics, Peacock has done a great job of making it possible to just see every event you want. I always am a little sad when the Olympics are over, but look forward to the summer games in another 2 years.

Refinement

Oof.

That is about all I am going to say. There are reasons, but they are just going to come across as excuses. My evening routine needs more work. It hasn’t been what I had hoped it would be, yet. And that is on me. More work to be done, more refinement. This one may extend beyond a month.

It needs to be dialed in, and so far, 22 days haven’t been long enough.

Quote of the week

Looking inside hurts.

It just does. We find things maybe we didn’t want to see, or even know about. Looking within, however, is essential if we want to become the fully actualized versions of ourselves. Over the last few weeks, I have had to look within myself, and haven’t loved what I have seen.

It has caused me to refocus. To recommit to working on the person I want to become. The version of myself I see when I am being generous.

I also admit to finding that exceedingly difficult—being generous to myself. I think we all fall into that trap. It is one of the reasons I think looking within is so essential. The more often we are willing to do that, the more we grow in our skill of being generous with ourselves.

It is the only way to really get to know ourselves.

Wrapping up

I’ve been working on a few experiments I hope to share here in the near future. I also have a big piece I am working on. It feels both overwhelming and essential. Overwhelming in part because it is a lot of information. Essential because it is an experiment that has made a huge difference for me, and I want to share it with others.

Stay tuned.