The Big Exit

Hi Dear Readers!

I'm initiating a HUGELY POSITIVE AND BENEFICIAL wellness challenge soon and I am humbly encouraging you to join me. It's a big one and thus I am calling it the BIG EXIT CHALLENGE.

It's a two-month wellness challenge and it has two parts: 1. From Monday November 2, 2026 through Monday January 4, 2027, I am disconnecting from the Attention Economy completely. Largely, this means no social or mainstream media (SMSM) consumption, including news curation/analysis podcasts. 2. During that time, I will instead engage in self care and wellness activities, incuding - but not limited to - reading several of the many books in my Libby cue, cooking vegan food, exercising daily, playing analog board/card games, going on dates with Deborah, practicing music, performing music, traveling to visit friends and possibly family, walking/playing with the dogs, and other positive activities I cannot think of right now.

I am aware that my disconnection from SMSM may cause me to miss important information that could impact my life. But nothing on SMSM has significantly impacted my life in a negative way, to date, though its use alone has...loss of time and productivity; a likely dip in emotional and intellectual intelligence.

The time frame was selected to coincide with the most dangerous time in America, between the Midterm Elections and the inauguration of the new US Congress at the start of the New Year. I want NO PART in any of that toxic vitriol and chaos. And you probably don't either. But you will be a part of it is you use SMSM during that time. You know the old saying about domestic abusers...the most dangerous time is when you decide to leave.

Join me in this challenge! Or, if not, at least support and encourage my participation and participate vicariously.

4 Days

Hi Dear Readers!

Happy Wednesday! I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, or action items for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). And if not, well...I still hope you are thriving in the midst of the chaos.

Here it is...Day 9 of the 12 Days to the Demise of the DFUs, a high holiday of the Church of Bike With Joe (BWJ). 4 days to go...including today (thus the title of this post).

Saturday is the last day of the 12 Days. It's a magnificent day of celebration and, if the prophecies are true, it is the day when the DFUs will be karmically disenfranchised from the world. This may correlate with the prophesied rising of a lesser known mythical religious figure who will lead the world to salvation. So, we shall see...

In any case, the predicted demise of the DFUs notwithstanding, Saturday is the first day of the Dane County Farmers Market on the Capitol Square in Madison WI. Deborah and I plan to attend. This weekend is also the observed weekend of Deborah's and my wedding anniversary (8 years, if anyone is wondering). A reminder that Memorial Day weekend 2025 is the 10 year anniversary of our chance but fortuitous meeting.

Today comprises at least three action items. Per usual, I will see several of my marriage and family therapy clients throughout the course of the day. Around noon, I will pick up our grocery order at Festival Foods before taking my parents to see another senior living home. I'll see a couple more therapy clients in the evening to round out the day. I'm also going to try to make a batch of this awesome falafel, time permitting.

Leave a comment below about how your 12 Days are going. Any obstacles? Any successes?

Take care and remain hopeful and vigilant.

Fin.

6 Days

Hi Readers.

Happy Monday! I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, or action items for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). And if not, well...I still hope you are thriving.

Here it is...Day 7 of the 12 Days to the Demise of the DFUs, a high holiday of the Church of Bike With Joe (BWJ). 6 days to go...including today. It just so happens to be a Monday, even though the holiday does not necessarily correspond to a day of the week or even care.

The social and mainstream media (SMSM) fast proscribed by the Church and the holiday are going well. I have been reading audio books and listening to fiction and radio drama podcasts. Truth be told, even when the 12 Days are over, I will probably continue to fast from SMSM, because it's good for the soul to do so. The holiday is really just a first order catalyst for second order change, if you follow my meaning. No? OK, well, it's not important.

Today is a lighter Monday than a typical Monday. But not by much. My Mondays are, by design, usually pretty light. But I am still going to see a couple of marriage and family therapy clients. That's about half as many as I saw last Monday. No one nows why. But we like it!

Shortly, I'll take the dogs out for a quick "walky walk" (as they call it...or at least as they respond to it when I call it that). Then a thorough Peloton workout in the mid-afternoon. Tonight, Deborah and I are slated to go to her son's house for board games. That typically always ends up being more of a s**t show than anyone anticipated, but we do our part and put in the effort.

Fin.

7 Days

Hi Readers.

Happy Sunday! I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, or action items for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). And if not, well...I still hope you are thriving.

Here it is...Day 6 of the 12 Days to the Demise of the DFUs, a high holiday of the Church of Bike With Joe (BWJ). So, we are about halfway through it. That could be a good thing or a bad thing or even a neutral thing, depending on your point of view and frame of reference. I'm quite enjoying it though, and so my point of view is that it is a good thing that it's still going. It will be a good thing when it ends too, provided the Cosmos sees fit to dish out some Karmic Justice in the DFUs. I have been quite enjoying the holiday's proscribed total fasting from social and Mainstream media (SMSM). While I have not idea what is happening in the greater world out there, the complete absence of the toxic SMSM from my life has significantly improved my mental, physical, and spiritual health and functioning. 

The plan for today is a simple one. I plan to exercise in the morning (ideally with Deborah), practice music all afternoon (honing songs for upcoming GUPPY EFFECT due gigs), and attend a film festival film with Deborah in the evening. Boom. Easy peasy.

Leave a comment and tell us how your nearly a fortnight of SMSM fasting is going. Or even if you have not been able to shake the SMSM addiction, let us know what are the obstacles. Maybe someone can help!

Fin.

The Cosmos

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, positivity, and/or insight. It's a dark time...and I don't mean that metaphorically. As I look outside, it's actually a dark time, with dusk fast approaching and a gray sky (currently unleashing something of a blizzard, which is not unusual for this time of the year). The daylight is waning fast. I just finished a solid Peloton workout and took a nice hot shower, so I am feeling great! Not only that, I also found the time and will power to shovel some snow off of the back deck, so that the dogs, Nyah and Ziggy, have easier access to the yard when they go out to potty. I think Nyah used to live in Texas, and so I don't think she has had much, if any, exposure to snow or cold. However, she seems to love it. Because, when I had her out in the yard a few minutes ago, she went into turbo mode, racing around the yard in apparent glee as she churned up the light and fluffy snow (light and fluffy bodes well for the marathon of snow blowing I very likely have to do in the morning. Although, we have "a guy" now...so there is a non-zero probability I won't have to snow blow at all...but I think it is very small probability indeed).

I'm not sure what to write about, beyond what I just wrote about, so I am going to simply jump right in. In the theology and traditions of the Church of BWJ, The Cosmos is the source of all positivity and the so-called power of positive thinking. The way adherents of the Church of BWJ harness and manifest this Cosmic power is through INTENTION - linking positive action with an OUTCOME. Sometimes, but not always, the intentional positive action is directly linked to the outcome. For example, by intentionally eating healthy and exercising daily, the desired outcome is positive health and wellness, and the cause and effect is well established. There is also a direct link between the intentional eating of a plant based vegan diet and the positive outcome of protecting the planet from climate change. This link, while supported by science, manifests on a more collective scale, because the output power of the vegan diet for individuals is fairly low. It requires a minion (aka, a lot) of people (ideally several million to a billion) to be vegan to really manifest a reduction in global warming and harmful climate change, perpetrated by the Diabolical Forces of the Universe (DFUs). Unfortunately, the Church of BWJ is a very individualistic religion, positing that adherents only have control over their own actions and the consequent outcomes of those actions. So, to summarize, eating a vegan diet has a strong positive effect on the outcome of individual health and wellness. It has a much weaker (albeit non-zero) effect on the scale of the entire planet and climate change.

I want to end this post by circling back to the intentional actions that are indirectly related to positive outcomes. For example, an indirect positive outcome is the disenfranchisement and demise of the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs) that make everyone's life worse. The intentional action used to manifest this positive outcome is adherence to the Three Tenets of the Church of BWJ, which have a collective amplifying effect on each other (the more of them you do, the better...and the more people that do them collectively, the better): 1. Eating a whole food (80%), plant based (100%) diet. 2. Aerobically exercising daily for a minimum of 30 minutes. 3. Fasting from toxins (including mostly toxic social and mainstream media). We encourage you to do these three things and help bring about the demise of the DFUs. Thanks!

Fin.

I Should Probably Post Something

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, happiness, and/or utility.

After we got back from our trip Down Under, Deborah and I spent some time exploring the possibility of possibly moving to Melbourne to live for a few years, if Deborah can get a Partner Visa (I am already an Aussie citizen, due to being born there). There are numerous reasons for this. We did some research and met with an Australian immigration lawyer who told us we'd probably get approved, but it would not be cheap. We are not planning to act on this information just yet (many obstacles, including dogs and family constraints). But if America continues its current slide into ridiculousness and oblivion, we could execute The Plan, if things get just too far out of control. I'm ready to make the move now. I think it would be great, but I am respecting Deborah's wishes, because I can go either way (with my dual citizenship). I'd work through the obstacles methodically. None are insurmountable.

In the meanwhile, I am fully back into the flow of my marriage and family therapy practice now. I'm slated to play a jazz gig in a few weeks, on March 4th, and I need to establish some weekly rehearsal time on that. I'm excited for it. Stefan and I jammed GUPPY EFFECT v2.0 (semi-acoustic incarnation) yesterday, despite my limited vocal capabilities (due to oral surgery last week to fix a dumb thing with my gums). I've been maintaining social amd mainstream media (SMSM) abstinence quite well, and I cannot lie...it's awesome. Freedom from all that 24/7 unfiltered toxicity and vitriol is amazing. I still consume some news analysis - in a very curated form - through some of my favorite podcasts. But I manage it the way the media used to do it...exposure to curated news and analysis at defined times during the day (typically in the car or while exercising on the Peloton).

I have to take my mom to her piano lesson tonight, so I must sign off. But I'll be back soon. Thanks for reading!

Fin.

Contract

Hi Readers!

Happy New Year!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you some happiness or catharsis. I just wanted to share a global New Year's Resolution with all of you. Feel free to make it your own as well.

Resolution: My tacit agreement with the Diabolical Forces in the Universe for 2025 is this: You don't f**k with me and I don't f**k with you. Sound good? Good.

Fin.

In Earnest

Hi Readers!

Happy 2025!

I trust today's post finds you and brings you joy. Sadly, however, if this is the first post from this blog that is reaching you, it may be too late for your mental and spiritual salvation. As those who have been following along with this blog for some time well know, yesterday was the deadline to begin the 21 days of social and mainstream media (SMSM) fasting in earnest, in order to be cleansed and liberated before 1/20/25. While that date may seem arbitrary, it is not. For that day is the beginning of The End (Times?), and it takes approximately three weeks (21 days) to fully detoxify from the poisonous fear, hate, vitriol, and exhausting negativity of SMSM. For a brief overview of this toxicity, WATCH THIS: "Brain Hacking" on 60 Minutes (with Anderson Cooper).

That being said, all is not lost. For adherents of the Church of Bike With Joe who follow all three of the Church's Tenets religiously (in the secular sense), cleansing only requires about fortnight (14 days), give or take. The other two Tenets, besides SMSM abstinence, are engaging in 30+ minutes of aerobic exercise daily and adhering to a 100% plant based (80% whole food) way of eating. If you are reading this first thing on New Year's Day, you can effectively grandfather yourself into the three week detoxification, if you happened to aerobically exercise yesterday, have not eaten any animal based foods yet today, and SMSM has not yet invaded your day.

Unfortunately, I have no compelling and persuasive way to convince you that adhering to the three Tenets of the Church of BWJ are essential to your physical, mental, and spiritual salvation, other than to challenge you to try it for 2-3 weeks. If you can 80-100% comply (follow it at least 5.6 out of 7 days of the week) with the Tenets for that time period, I am confident you will experience the positive benefits.

That being said, not following or even caring about the Church of BWJ Tenets won't kill you. It will just deny you a joyful, happy, and positive life experience. Because a lack of the three Tenets in your life contributes to negativity, unhappiness, anxiety, anger, and grievance. In fact, grievance addiction is fostered by SMSM, which is why we at the Church of BWJ consider it the Core Tenet. If you don't eat healthy and exercise daily, you can still reclaim about 80% of your freedom, happiness, and positivity by simply abstaining 100% from SMSM. The Diabolical Forces in the Universe largely invade and infiltrate your life through SMSM these days. I never thought it was a good idea for Them to put all the proverbial eggs in that one basket (SMSM). I would have diversified a bit more to make disenfranchisement of their toxicity and negativity more challenging for folks. But it is what it is, and as a result of Their shortsightedness, disenfranchising the Diabolical Forces is much more straightforward and achievable. But it's still a choice and you have to decide to make that choice. Either way, you own the outcome, no one else. Just be aware that the Diabolical Forces will be expanding their reach and optimizing their toxic negativity with few guardrails in 2025 and continuing for the next 4+ years. The three Tenets of the Church of BWJ can insulate and protect you from Their toxic negativity. Science is unaware of any other strategy more effective than the three Tenets for disenfranchising the Diabolical Forces from your life. 

Alright...well, if you have read this far, bless your soul. I don't think I could have suffered through that diatribe above, if I'm being completely honest. But then, I already follow the Tenets of the Church of BWJ, so it's kind of a no-brainer, so to speak, for me.

I'm curious to know what 2025 has in store for you. What are your goals and aspirations for this brand new year? Leave a Comment below and share, if you like. I plan to continue the positive actions I implemented in 2024, which include the three Tenets. I aim to have a more profitable year for my marriage and family therapy practice in 2025. 2024 was a bit more profitable for Palm Tree Family Therapy than was 2023. I was also able to squirrel away some retirement savings in 2025, despite some considerable business and personal expenditures in 2024.

Today is a holiday. I am going to do a bit of administrative work and pay my quarterly business taxes. Then it's Chill City for most of the rest of the day.

Fin.

Lapse

Hi Readers!

As many of you know, I'm on a short vacation in Colorado, with family. It's been alright. Tonight, we went out to eat at the Burrowing Owl vegan cafe. The food wasn't as great as I remember it being on past visits to the eatery. It was very comforting to be at an exclusively vegan restaurant though. No anxiety about any items on the menu.

I got an hour long aerobic workout in this morning. I have been adhering to the daily exercise Tenet of the Church of Bike With Joe whilst on vacation. However, I have lapsed considerably on the other two Tenets. On vacation, I am OK with some free days regarding caloric intake and social and mainstream media (SMSM) use. Notwithstanding, I plan to get back on top of the other Tenets here soon.

Tomorrow, I fully plan to go hike around at the Garden of the Gods nature park in the late morning. Then I'm taking my folks to Adam's Mountain Cafe for lunch. They have a few vegan items, though they are not an exclusively vegan eatery. They should be!

Fin.

Progress on SMSM Fasting

Hi Readers!

Checking in...how is everyone doing? Leave a comment below this post, if you'd like to share with the group and get some support from the tribe.

I wanted to use my free writing time today to briefly update you on the progress of my social and mainstream media (SMSM) fasting challenge. Before I do that, I'll give you a quick rundown and reminder about what that even is. In early November, for reasons beyond the scope of this post (but quite obvious to all), I decided to embark on a spiritual and mental wellness challenge to completely abstain (fast) from all SMSM, due to its divisive negativity and vitriol (and unethical use of humanity for its own profits). It essentially boils down to a boycott of SMSM...a boycott of one (me), although I encourage anyone reading this to join me in this "general strike" against SMSM. The complete awfulness and destructiveness of SMSM is hiding in plain sight, and if you want any more proof of that, go HERE: VIDEO - Brain Hacking (60 Minutes). You can also watch the documentary film "The Social Dilemma" for a more detailed exploration of SMSM's takeover of society. I know, it sounds like a conspiracy theory, and I am the first one to be skeptical of any conspiracy theory, but this appears to be grounded in truth. [Also...side note...did you know that you can not have a conspiracy without piracy?].

So, you may be wondering how my SMSM fast is going. Thanks for asking! It's actually going great. I have been 100% compliant with it. I haven't even checked the news headlines on NPR (still the most neutral, unbiased, and non-toxic news outlet, although that is not saying much, and its quality of news reporting has declined significantly over the past few years) even once. There have been a couple of passive intrusions of SMSM into my life when I accidentally walked into a room where there was SMSM present. But I was able to quickly either neutralize it (turn it off) or remove myself from the situation. A good way to look at SMSM is to think of it as an unwanted house guest. Sometimes it shows up and asks to hang out. I tell it "No...and off you f**k." And you should too. But that's up to you.

Anyway, I've got sh!t to do today, so I need to wrap it up here. The first order of business on my agenda for today is a 30+ minute Peloton workout. Then I have some marriage and family therapy work prep to do. I'll be seeing clients for most of the rest of the day after that. There may be a date night in store for Deborah and I this evening.

Fin.