Weekend Wrap 3/22/2026

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

Holy crap.

I mean, seriously. Holy freaking crap.

I thought this would be a discussion of why I was sort of disappointed in either the new Exodus or Gaerea albums. Or maybe I'd had a chance to really check out the new Holeum, Hanging Garden, or Ethereal Darkness albums. I'd been listening to those Friday morning during clinic as well.

Then I got home and opened my email.

To the "new release" email from Bandcamp. About a new album from Neurosis. I clicked the link. And my day changed.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hyperbole much? No. Not about this.

I won't go into everything about the album (brilliant as it is). I had to write 750 words about all the feelings it evoked. But here is the deal: Neurosis has been my favorite band for 20 years. They changed how I listen to and think about heavy music. And they haven't put out an album since 2016. Abuse allegations against and the immediate firing from the band of one of their vocalists left the future in doubt.

I had fully come to peace with the fact that Neurosis, this groundbreaking band, was finished making music.

And then I found out they were not. It's been a lot to process. I'll ask forgiveness for going long here, but I will end the music segment by quoting myself:

When I say I have been on a roller coaster for the last hour, I mean it. I can't describe all my feelings; there are too many, and they are too complex. But mixed all up inside me in a confusing stew was fear, relief, disbelief, shock, excitement, hesitation. But more than anything, I felt joy.

Joy that a band that has been so influential to how I approach and appreciate music had more to share. Joy that there was new music to digest, to enjoy, to experience. Those who know, get it. Those who don't, never will. That's okay. But for some of us, music is an essential, almost spiritual, part of our lives.

That's it, folks. The biggest music news of 2026 has already happened. Wrap it up, nothing will even come close for me.

Games

I'm gone next week for Spring Break. Heading to Southern Utah. It will be bloody hot. We'll spend time in the pool, amongst other things. But I expect there will be some downtime in an air-conditioned condo. So I was prepping my Steam Deck for the trip. I saw Satisfactory in my game list. I installed it.

And lost 5 hours yesterday running around an alien world, finding resources, mining them, and then automating the hell out of my production.

Yep, that's what Satisfactory is. Part Minecraft, part Sim City, part No Man's Sky, but something totally intriguing and addictive. I'm having a blast.

Books

I was in Boise last weekend for another swim meet. That meant driving home at 8 pm Sunday night. G was tired, I needed to stay awake, so I fired up Gate of the Feral Gods, the fourth book in the "Dungeon Crawler Carl" series.

The story continues to increase in scope. It is getting more wild and whacky, while also more serious and dark.

I continue to enjoy the books. I expect I should be done with the series in the next week or so (particularly given I have 12+ hours of driving this week). I won't recommend them to everyone: I think they don't work if you aren't already into sci-fi and fantasy.

But I get why they are so popular. I am loving the journey.

Refinement

Funny story: If you don't sync something with Supabase (the free sync system I am using for my dashboard app) over the course of a week, it pauses your project!

I found that out the hard way. So, yeah, I haven't really been using my dashboard app much. Until it paused. Then I reactivated it and have been using it more. The planning is easy. The execution is more difficult. I am still trying to find a good cadence for my creative projects.

But I have been using it.

Quote of the week

I bet you can guess why this is such a resonant quote. I'll leave it to you to draw the line. Just know, it is a short, fat line that you can't possibly miss.

The world needs to remember this idea. America needs to remember this truth: bad, evil, and immoral people can't make good leaders. Ever. It is impossible.

But I can't fix the mistakes of millions. I can only remember it personally. We can all do that.

We are all leaders, in some small way, in our lives. Whether it is at work, at home, with our family or friends, or even just as the leaders of our own lives. We need to strive to be good people first. We need a moral compass, empathy, and compassion. If we start from there, the chance that we are better in other areas of our lives increases.

Exponentially.

It doesn't guarantee we will be good leaders, workers, or whatever it may be.

But it starts us off on the right foot. It opens that door.

Area of improvement

This week, I am keeping it simple.

Since we will be out of town, my area of improvement is just to enjoy the time. To let stress float on by. To be with (part of) my family, enjoy a change of scenery, a change of pace.

I struggle with that. My brain is always worried about something else. Playing scenarios over and over in my mind. Stressing about something it probably doesn't need to be stressed about.

I aim to improve on that.

Wrapping up

I continue to struggle with a lot of areas of my life. Personal ones. I am working on that. I am trying to find the focus that I need.

Some days, I think I am doing pretty well. Other days? Not so much. All we can do is try again. Over and over.

I have to believe that, as long as we keep trying, we will get there.

Let's all keep trying.