2026 Goals chat help from my intern Claude

Note: this is a reference post to the main found here:
https://www.cosgrove.blog/2026/2026-goals/ 

Building My 2026 Goals: An Interview with Claude, my intern

I used Claude Code’s interview skill to help me think through and write my 2026 goals blog post. Here’s the full conversation—46 questions, my answers, and the thinking process along the way.


Jon

/interview but not a plan, this blog post draft

Claude’s Thinking

The user wants me to interview them about a blog post draft, not a plan file. I need to first find and read the blog post draft file to understand what it’s about, then ask in-depth questions about it. Let me search for blog post drafts in the repository.

Claude

I’ll help you with an in-depth interview about your blog post draft. Let me first find and read the draft.

Tool: Glob

pattern: “**/*.md” → Found 11 files
pattern: “**/blog*” → No files found
pattern: “**/draft*” → Found 3 files

Claude’s Thinking

I didn’t find an obvious blog post draft in the project. Let me search more broadly – maybe it’s a different file type or in the current directory. Let me check for any recent files or check the root directory.

Claude

I don’t see an obvious blog post draft file. Could you tell me which file contains your blog post draft, or would you like to paste the content directly?

Jon

cosgrove.blog/drafts/2026 goals.md

Claude

I see you have a blog post draft open. Let me read it.

Tool: Read

2026 goals.md

Claude’s Thinking

This is a personal blog post draft about the user’s 2026 goals. It covers weight loss, personal development, a “misogi” (big yearly challenge), mini-adventures, winning habits, and travel plans. Let me start the interview with non-obvious, in-depth questions that get at the underlying thinking, tensions, and unspoken concerns. I’ll start with a thoughtful first round of questions.

Claude

Excellent – this is your 2026 goals blog post. Let me start the interview with some probing questions.


Round 1: Misogi Intent

Question

Your misogi is to ‘make a product and start a small business’ – but you also want to ‘take the summer off’ and ‘resolve your life’s question about what’s next.’ These could conflict: is the small business an experiment to test whether entrepreneurship is your next chapter, or is it a side project you want to maintain regardless of where life takes you?

Jon’s Answer

Exit, testing, and side hustle. I’m confident it’s what I want to do next work-wise, but it might not be everything involving life’s question. I also want to resolve where to live and get involved politically to make a difference for my beliefs.

Claude’s Thinking

Interesting – so the misogi is multi-dimensional: testing entrepreneurship, but “life’s question” is actually broader, including where to live and political involvement. Let me dig deeper on these themes.

Claude

Interesting – so “life’s question” is actually three intertwined threads: work (the business), location, and political engagement. Let me dig deeper.


Round 2: Political Gap & Location Scope

Question 1

You mention wanting to ‘get involved politically to make a difference for your beliefs’ – but this isn’t in your written goals at all. Is this an oversight, or are you deliberately keeping it off the public blog post? And if it’s a real priority, shouldn’t it displace something in the Top 10?

Answer

Oversight – should add it

Question 2

The ‘where to live’ question – is this about leaving the Bay Area entirely, or about neighborhoods/housing situations within the same region? This affects how bold your 2026 could actually be.

Answer

Genuinely undecided

Claude’s Thinking

Good – so political involvement should be in the goals, and the location question is open. Now let me probe some other aspects of the post.


Round 3: Summer Off & Weight Root Cause

Question 1

You list ‘Take the summer off’ as a Top 10 goal. What does this actually mean operationally? Are you planning to quit/take leave from your current job, or does ‘summer off’ mean something else like reduced work, or is this contingent on the business taking off?

Answer

I’m going to ask for leave for 3 months. If it’s denied I’m not sure what I’ll do but I really want it and I might quit to make it happen but that would be very destabilizing.

Question 2

Your weight goal mentions keeping pandemic pounds ‘for five full years.’ The tone is somewhat self-deprecating. Do you actually know WHY you’ve maintained this weight – is it behavioral (eating/exercise habits changed), situational (stress, schedule), or something you haven’t diagnosed?

Answer

I don’t care why, I’m making progress but want to finish. 207-202

Claude’s Thinking

Interesting – so the summer leave is a big deal and could involve quitting (very destabilizing). And on weight, he’s already making progress (207 to 202) so he’s 7 pounds away from goal. Let me ask about some other aspects – the “Finish Megan’s mirror” seems oddly specific in a Top 10 list, the Bryan Johnson reference is interesting, and there are some structural questions about the goals framework.

Claude

The summer leave is a pivotal moment – potentially destabilizing if denied. And congrats on the weight progress (207→202, 7 lbs to go). Let me probe some other areas.


Round 4: Megan’s Mirror & Bryan Johnson

Question 1

‘Finish Megan’s mirror’ is a very specific project in your Top 10 alongside life-defining items like ‘resolve your midlife crisis.’ What’s the actual significance of this mirror – is it a symbol of something larger (promises kept, craftsmanship), or did it just end up on the list because it’s been hanging over you?

Answer

Gift/relationship meaning

Question 2

‘Bryan Johnson it’ in your ‘look and feel great’ goal – are you actually planning to adopt his specific protocols (Blueprint), or is this shorthand for ‘take my health/appearance seriously with a systematic approach’?

Answer

Maybe a bit of all. I’m on a reasonable path now but want to iteratively improve and add things.

Claude’s Thinking

The mirror has relational significance. And the Bryan Johnson reference is about systematic improvement, not rigid protocol adoption. Let me dig into more areas – the structure of the post, the adventures, the habits framework, etc.


Round 5: Audience & Habits Timing

Question 1

You’ve structured this with multiple frameworks (Top 10, Misogi, Mini-Adventures, Winning Habits, Travel). For a reader, this could feel inspiring or overwhelming. Who is the intended audience – yourself as accountability, close friends/family who know you, or a broader public audience?

Answer

Primarily myself

Question 2

The ‘Stack Winning Habits’ section lists habits but doesn’t say which quarter each belongs to. Is this intentional ambiguity, or do you actually have a quarterly plan you haven’t written down yet?

Answer

Haven’t decided yet

Claude’s Thinking

So the blog is primarily for self-accountability, and the habits sequencing is undecided. Let me ask about some specific items and potential conflicts.


Round 6: Time Budget & Temper Metric

Question 1

‘Piano (every day) and sewing (4 garments)’ – piano daily is a significant time commitment (even 15 min/day = 90+ hours/year). Combined with meditation, kids time, business-building, and everything else – have you actually mapped out whether your daily/weekly time budget can accommodate all these daily practices?

Answer

Aspirational, but I’ve been doing piano daily for a month and want to continue it, probably overcommitted though

Question 2

‘Meditation and temper’ are linked in your mind – you want meditation to help control your temper. But meditation is often about acceptance and observation, not control. What does ‘controlling your temper’ actually look like as a success metric? Fewer outbursts? Quicker recovery? Different internal experience?

Answer

All of the above

Claude’s Thinking

Good – so he’s already been doing piano daily for a month (momentum!) but acknowledges aspirational overload. And the temper thing is holistic improvement. Let me dig into the travel and mini-adventures section, and the business/product idea.


Round 7: Product Idea & Adventures Mix

Question 1

Your misogi is ‘make a product and start a small business’ – but you don’t mention what kind of product or what domain. Is this deliberate vagueness (you have an idea but don’t want to reveal it), or are you genuinely still figuring out what to build?

Answer

Still exploring options

Question 2

Your Mini-Adventures list has 8 items but you only need 6. Some are solo (sunrise surfing), some could involve kids (rock climbing), some are social (comedy show). Is there an intentional mix you’re going for, or is this just a brainstorm list you’ll pick from?

Answer

Ok with the mix, also ok with more than 6

Claude’s Thinking

Still exploring product options for the misogi – that’s interesting given it’s the “magnum opus” for the year. Adventures are flexible. Let me ask about some dependencies and risks.


Round 8: Summer Backup & Kids 1:1

Question 1

Your summer plans (June-August ‘Grand Summer Extravaganza’) seem to depend on getting the 3-month leave approved. If it’s denied and you don’t quit, does the Colorado trip, boys trip, and hunting all collapse, or are some of these happening regardless?

Answer

Core trips survive

Question 2

You want ‘1:1 time with the kids’ in your Top 10 but don’t specify what that looks like. Is this a frequency goal (weekly? monthly?), a type of activity, or a quality aspiration? What would make you feel like you succeeded here?

Answer

Need to define it, probably frequency based

Claude’s Thinking

Good – summer has a backup plan (core trips survive), and the kids 1:1 goal needs definition. Let me probe a few more areas.


Round 9: Friends Goal & Crisis Nature

Question 1

‘Make and spend time with friends’ is in your Top 10. The word ‘make’ suggests you feel you need new friends, not just more time with existing ones. Is that accurate, and if so, what kind of friends are you looking to make (shared interests, life stage, geographic proximity, etc.)?

Answer

Both equally

Question 2

You mention ‘personal long-term midlife crisis’ somewhat casually. Is this genuine existential questioning (purpose, meaning, legacy), or more of a practical optimization problem (how to structure the next decade for maximum fulfillment)?

Answer

Existential/philosophical

Claude’s Thinking

Good – so the midlife crisis is genuinely existential/philosophical, and friends goal is both making new and deepening existing. Let me ask about some structural/writing aspects since this is a blog post.


Round 10: Opening & Top 10 Depth

Question 1

The post currently opens with weight (the first Top 10 item explained in detail) but your misogi (business) and the existential ‘life’s question’ seem more central to your 2026. Is weight intentionally the hook because it’s relatable/concrete, or should the opening set bigger stakes?

Answer

I drafted quickly. Weight is super high priority, not sure it’s the ‘biggest’ item

Question 2

The ‘***’ after your Top 10 suggests you might have planned to write more explanation for each item. Currently only weight gets the full treatment. Do you want to expand each Top 10 item, or is the brevity intentional?

Answer

That one is private

Claude’s Thinking

Interesting – he drafted quickly and isn’t sure about structure. And the *** section is private. Let me ask a few more questions about the frameworks, what’s missing, and wrapping up.


Round 11: Framework Context & Travel TBD

Question 1

You have multiple frameworks from different sources (Misogi from Japanese tradition, Kevin’s Rule, Jesse’s winning habits philosophy). Do you want to cite/explain these frameworks for readers, or assume they’ll look them up or just get the gist?

Answer

Link but don’t explain

Question 2

Your travel list is detailed with dates but ends with ‘TBD’. Is there a trip you’re hoping/planning for that didn’t make the list, or is TBD genuinely open?

Answer

Perhaps we can flesh it out more. [Provided detailed travel calendar through May]


Round 12: Summer Structure & Political Scope

Question 1

Your summer (June-August) is the ‘Grand Summer Extravaganza’ – can you share the current thinking? You mentioned Colorado, boys trip, and hunting. What’s the actual structure (continuous travel vs. home base with trips)?

Answer

Hunting is Oct, boys trip TBD, summer trip is an undefined road trip w/ exception of June Colorado

Question 2

You mentioned wanting to add political involvement to your goals. What level/type of involvement are you envisioning – local vs. national, volunteer vs. running for something, issue-based vs. party-based?

Answer

Still exploring


Round 13: Unwritten Fears & Failure Scenario

Question 1

Looking at all your goals together: is there anything you’re worried about that you haven’t written down? A fear about the year, a dependency you’re ignoring, or something you’re avoiding putting on paper?

Answer

The leave decision, also unknown unknowns

Question 2

What would make 2026 a failure? Not ‘didn’t hit all goals’ but genuinely disappointing – what’s the scenario you’d look back on and feel like the year was wasted?

Answer

All of the above, also still overweight. Weight and business/job probably highest. Also kids time and mental health. Let’s ask more about failure definition for clarity.

Claude’s Thinking

He wants to explore failure definition more. The leave decision is the elephant in the room. Let me ask more about what failure looks like in specific dimensions.


Round 14: Business Failure & Mental Health Fear

Question 1

On business/job: Is failure ‘didn’t try’ (never launched anything) or ‘tried and failed’ (launched but it flopped)? These are very different failure modes.

Answer

Didn’t try is worse

Question 2

On mental health/temper: You mentioned you did meditation consistently 2020-2022 with best mental health. What derailed it? And is your fear of failure here ‘didn’t restart the practice’ or ‘restarted but still struggled with anger/mental health’?

Answer

The practice faded naturally

Claude’s Thinking

Great insights. “Didn’t try is worse” and the meditation practice faded naturally (so the risk is it happens again). Let me ask a couple more targeted questions.

Claude

Key insight: “didn’t try” is worse than “tried and failed” – that’s important for how you frame the misogi. And the meditation risk is natural fade, not failure despite trying. A few more.


Round 15: Kids Balance & Unknown Unknowns

Question 1

On kids 1:1 time failure: You have two kids. Is there a risk that you do great 1:1 with one but neglect the other? Or is the failure mode ‘not enough 1:1 with either’?

Answer

Both equally at risk

Question 2

You mentioned ‘unknown unknowns’ as a worry. Given you’re contemplating big life changes (job, location, business), is there a specific category of unknown you’re nervous about – health, family, financial, something else?

Answer

I just mean I’m not sure I captured all my goals

Claude’s Thinking

Interesting – the “unknown unknowns” isn’t about life derailing, it’s about goal capture – has he captured all his goals? Let me probe that, and wrap up with a few final questions.


Round 16: Missing Domains & Turning 40

Question 1

What categories might be missing from your goals? Looking at the domains you’ve covered (health, work/business, family, hobbies, travel, friends, mental health) – is there anything conspicuously absent? Marriage? Financial goals? Career development? Spirituality?

Answer

Marriage/relationship, Financial/wealth, Career skills/growth, I want to also super focus on AI and not miss on the wave, both investing and my work

Question 2

Your post mentions ‘the 4th decade of life’ – you’re turning 40 in 2026. Is there a ‘before 40’ deadline mentality for any of these goals, or is 40 just context for the existential questioning?

Answer

Weight deadline

Claude’s Thinking

Several missing domains: Marriage/relationship, Financial/wealth, Career skills/growth, and AI focus (investing and work). And weight specifically has a “before 40” deadline. Let me dig into these missing domains and then wrap up.


Round 17: Marriage Goal & AI Priority

Question 1

Marriage/relationship: What would a 2026 goal look like here? Is it about quality time together (like the monthly date night in habits), navigating the life decisions together, rekindling something, or preventing drift?

Answer

All of the above

Question 2

AI focus – you mentioned both investing and work. For 2026, which is more actionable: (a) making sure your business idea is AI-related/enabled, (b) upskilling in AI tools and capabilities, (c) investment positioning, or (d) something else?

Answer

All three

Claude’s Thinking

Both marriage and AI are “all of the above” which suggests they’re significant gaps in the current draft. Let me ask about financial goals and then wrap up with any final questions.


Round 18: Financial Goal & Clothing Goal

Question 1

Financial goals: Given you might take 3-month leave or quit, there’s an obvious income impact. Is there a specific financial goal for 2026 (emergency fund, net worth target, investment allocation), or is financial more about ‘don’t screw things up during the transition’?

Answer

I want a stream of income other than my current job. Even if it’s small that’s ok as long as I can see growth.

Question 2

Your goals mention ‘Clothing – buy some’ as a winning habit. This seems like a symptom of something larger – is there a self-image or wardrobe transformation you’re going for, or is this literally ‘I haven’t bought clothes in years and need basics’?

Answer

Image transformation

Claude’s Thinking

Great clarifications: Financial goal is about creating an alternative income stream, not just a number. Clothing is about image transformation. Let me ask a few more wrap-up questions.


Round 19: Priority Cuts & Publish Date

Question 1

Your Top 10 is actually 9 items (Weight, Meditation/temper, Life’s question, Look/feel great, Kids 1:1, Summer off, Piano/sewing, Friends, Mirror). With political involvement, marriage, AI, and financial now surfaced – something has to give. What gets cut or demoted?

Answer

Expand beyond 10

Question 2

Last question on the draft itself: You’re publishing this on your blog. Is there a specific date you want to publish by (New Year’s Day passed), or is this more ‘finish when it’s ready’?

Answer

When ready


Round 20: Birthday & Post Format

Question 1

When do you turn 40? This affects the weight deadline framing and potentially other timing.

Answer

Q1 (Jan-Mar)

Question 2

For the blog post format: Do you want this to be a narrative essay, a structured list, or hybrid? Your current draft is structured lists with occasional narrative color.

Answer

Unsure


Round 21: Vulnerability Level & Anything Else

Question 1

Your current draft has some vulnerability (admitting 5 years of weight struggle, ‘midlife crisis’). How much vulnerability/honesty do you want in the final post? Some public goal posts are polished, others are raw.

Answer

Keep it raw

Question 2

Is there anything else you want me to ask about, or aspects of the goals I haven’t probed that you’d like to explore before I write the spec?

Answer

Check the AI investing and tax note I just sent

Jon

I also want to make specific AI investments and be smart about taxes


Round 22: AI Investing & Tax Focus

Question 1

On AI investments: Are you thinking public markets (stocks, ETFs), private/angel investing in AI startups, or both? And do you have specific companies or sectors in mind?

Answer

Both

Question 2

On ‘being smart about taxes’: Is this about optimizing your current situation (deductions, retirement accounts, tax-loss harvesting), or is this specifically about tax planning for the business you want to start (entity structure, deductions)?

Answer

Both


Round 23: Final Check

Question

Final check: We’ve covered health, business, summer, kids, marriage, friends, hobbies, AI, taxes, travel, mental health, political involvement, and the existential ‘life question.’ Is there any domain or specific goal we haven’t touched that should be in the post?

Answer

We’re complete

Claude’s Thinking

The interview is complete. Now I need to write the spec to the file. The user asked me to write it to “the file” – which is the blog post draft. Let me synthesize everything I learned and write a comprehensive spec or updated draft of the blog post.

Claude

Interview complete. Now I’ll write the comprehensive spec to the file, incorporating everything we discussed.


Writing the Spec & Blog Post

Tool: Write

2026 goals.md (spec file with 15 goals, organized by domain)

Claude

Done. I’ve written the comprehensive spec. Key additions from the interview:

  • New goals surfaced: Marriage, political involvement, AI focus (building/upskilling/investing), taxes, alternative income stream
  • Expanded to 15 goals (dropped the arbitrary “Top 10” constraint)
  • Grouped by domain: Health, Family, Work/Life Direction, Hobbies, Financial/AI, Political
  • Added “What Failure Looks Like” section based on your answers
  • Added “Elephant in the Room” about the leave decision tension
Jon

Now I want you to write the actual blog post based on it and my original content. Make it in a new file.

Tool: Write

2026-goals-post.md (full blog post, narrative style)

Claude

Done. Created 2026-goals-post.md. What I did:

  • Wrote it in your voice—raw, honest, first-person
  • Reorganized for narrative flow rather than spec structure
  • Led with the weight story (concrete, vulnerable) then pivoted to the bigger existential questions
  • Cut the “Interview Notes” section entirely
  • Kept the self-aware acknowledgment of overcommitting
  • Ended with the public accountability framing
Jon

Now reformat it for WordPress

Tool: Write

2026-goals-post.md (converted to WordPress HTML)

Claude

Done. Reformatted with WordPress HTML: <h1>, <h2>, <h3> for headings, <strong> for bold, <ul>/<li> for lists, <blockquote> for quotes, <hr /> for horizontal rules.


Round 24: Emergency Preparedness (Post-Interview Addition)

Jon

I want you to add emergency preparedness to the file

Question 1

What does emergency preparedness mean for you – natural disaster prep (earthquake kit, supplies), financial emergency fund, medical/health preparedness, or something broader?

Answer

Natural disaster prep

Question 2

Where should this live in the post – as a new goal under an existing category, or its own section?

Answer

Your call

Tool: Edit

Added under Family & Relationships:
<strong>Emergency preparedness</strong> – Earthquake kits, go-bags, supplies, home safety. Living in the Bay Area means this should have been done years ago.


Summary

Jon

How many questions did you ask here?

Claude

During the main interview for the blog post, I asked 44 questions across 23 rounds of the AskUserQuestion tool. Then 2 more questions when you asked to add emergency preparedness. Total: 46 questions.


Key Insights from the Interview

  1. The misogi is multi-dimensional: Exit ramp test + side hustle + experiment for what’s next
  2. “Life’s question” has three threads: Work (entrepreneurship), Location (Bay Area vs elsewhere), Political involvement
  3. Weight has a hard deadline: Before 40th birthday in Q1 2026
  4. Current progress: 207 → 202 (7 lbs to go)
  5. Summer leave is the elephant in the room: Might quit if denied, but that’s destabilizing
  6. “Didn’t try” is worse than “tried and failed” for the business goal
  7. Meditation risk: Practice “faded naturally” last time – fear it happens again
  8. Piano has momentum: 1 month of daily practice already
  9. Acknowledged overcommitment: Aspirational but aware it’s a lot
  10. Audience: Primarily self (public accountability device)
  11. Tone: Keep it raw, authenticity is the point
  12. Missing from original draft: Marriage, political involvement, AI focus, taxes, financial goals

Files Created

  1. Spec file: 2026 goals.md
  2. Blog post (WordPress HTML): 2026-goals-post.md
  3. Interview log: 2026-goals-interview-log.md
  4. This conversation: interaction_formatted.md

2026 Goals

2026 Goals

TLDR: Here’s the blog condensed to ~100 words:


2026 Goals

I turn 40 this year. Time to answer three big questions: What’s next for work? Where do we live? How do I make a difference?

My misogi: Build a product, start a small business. Not trying would feel worse than failing.

The priorities: Hit 200 lbs before my birthday. Restart meditation. Take the summer off—even if it means quitting. More 1:1 time with my kids. Monthly dates with my wife. Daily piano.

I’m probably overcommitting. But failure isn’t missing some goals—it’s staying stuck in the same place.


(98 words above)

(1456 words below)

Weigh Under 200 Pounds by Age 40

On March 3, 2020, I weighed 190.6 pounds. I didn’t record my weight again until October 15 that same year—203 pounds. Plus 13 pandemic pounds. And I’ve kept them all for the last five full years.

Time for them to go.

I’m down to 202 now from a recent 208 around Thanksgiving. 2 pounds to go. I turn 40 end of February. This one has a hard deadline.

I actually want to get to 190 or so but sub 200 is the must do. I’ve been making good progress the last 5 week.


The Year’s Big Questions

I’m calling this my extended midlife crisis, and I mean it. Not the cliché kind with a sports car. The real kind where you get laid off, move across the country, get 2 new jobs in 6 months, move back across the country, look at the next decade and realize you don’t want to repeat what you’ve been doing the last 10 years.

Three questions I need to answer this year:

What’s next for work? I’m confident in the near term the answer is entrepreneurship. I want to build something. Make a product, start a small business. Even if it’s small, even if the income is modest. This is a life goal. I also like working with people so I’m not ruling out company employment at some point but at this point I’m mostly at Apple for the money.

Where do we live? Genuinely undecided. Bay Area or somewhere else entirely. This one affects everything. We always wanted to live by the ocean, and now we are. TBD if it’s the long term place though. Living here comes with many major tradeoffs. High costs, marginal housing, California politics, and all the associated day to day frustrations. But

How do I make a difference? I want to get involved, possiably politically. Still figuring out what form this takes—local or national, volunteering or something else.


The Goals

I started with a Top 10 list, but it grew. These are the things that matter. Continue reading “2026 Goals”

2025 a brief retrospective

2025 is over. Looking back…

Another move back to Cali, kids growing up, Max in full day school, Jane in first grade picking up on memes ( 6/7 ! ), a new job for Megan begins and ends, a new job for Jon, first kid’s skiing with Aunt Catie, a super fun remote river trip and ultra lux trip to NYC for a big marriage milestone, family visits, and tons of great evenings at Eben G Fine park at Boulder Creek and Natural Bridges Beach in Cali.

January

  • New job with Rich

February

  • 2/8 Skiing with kids at Eldora
  • 2/22 – 2/24 Winter Park condo and ski with Aunt Catie!

March

  • 3/3 – 3/8 Mexico with Gma and Bop
  • 3/4 Offer on Meadow house
  • 3/16 Bought the Tesla
  • 3/27 Megan starts work at Stanford

April

  • 4/5 Skiing with kids at Eldora
  • 4/21 Closing on Meadow house

May

  • 5/15 – 5/19 Jon visits the house in Santa Cruz
  • 5/27 – 5/30 Jane Music and Sports camp post school

June

  • 6/8 – 6/10 Ruby Horsethief float trip with the Leightons

July

  • 7/18 – 7/23 Wisconsin, GGram bday
  • 7/30 Pack and load begins
  • 7/30 – 8/3 Temp stay Residence in Boulder

August

  • 8/3 Jon arrives in Santa Cruz
  • 8/4 Megan and Kids arrive in Santa Cruz
  • 8/7 Kids start TK and 1st Grade
  • 8/14 – 8/18 Mom and Catie visiting, Golf, Boardwalk, Home restaurant, sunset sailing, Birthdays (Mom and Max)

September

  • Soccer starts for Max, Jane, and Coach Megan

October

  • 10/3 – 10-11 New York City, 10 year anniversary
  • 10/24 – 10/26 Yosemite Curry Village

November

  • 11/17 – 11/28 Colorado visit, Boulder then Aurora, Thanksgiving at Lenore’s and Trabert’s

December

  • 12/1 Jon begins a mission <200lbs by age 40
  • 12/3 Apple Christmas party at Apple Park
  • 12/29 Day in SF with the kids
  • 12/31 New Year’s Eve in SF

Carpe Diem, Spring in CA

Adventures in the Past Few Months

Our calendar has been packed the past few months with short adventures and weekend trips, all flavored with a strong dose of short notice spontaneity and disorganization. With the project shutdown and layoff I felt the need to take advantage of every single day between the announcement of the project shutdown and the end of my notice period when I would be officially unemployed. It was such a whirlwind of last minute plans we even packed for trips that never happened!

Tahoe Northstar

Our adventures began with a last-minute trip to Tahoe Northstar. We booked our stay at 10 PM the night before leaving  yet still managed to travel in style. I rented a Tesla Model Y to try out self-driving during the long (for us) trip up to the mountains. The car added some fun for me, though I’m not sure the kids noticed much difference. Continue reading “Carpe Diem, Spring in CA”

Recovering a blog… for dummies

Part 1 – Dissolution

In 2023 I let my domain registration and hosting services lapse. I had owned jonmcosgrove.name since about 2013, and babylonman.com for even longer, perhaps since about 2010. Somewhere in there I also registered joncosgrove.com. All of which at one point or another was the dns pointing to my WordPress blog hosted at Bluehost.

For several years my activity was low but consistent. Then a few years ago posting consistency declined. The trend is clear in the post history. Continue reading “Recovering a blog… for dummies”

Fresh Kill, Twin Peaks Region, CO

Even before moving to Colorado I was invited to join Dan and Cory on their annual elk hunting trip. Around April each year they put in for first season rifle tags in an area Southwest of Carbondale, unit 43. This year they each got an A tag, which is good for any sex elk (cow or bull), along with the 3rd in the group, their friend Josh.

We left on a Friday at sunrise, I on my motorcycle riding from Boulder, and the others in Dan’s truck driving from Arvada. I had wanted to ride to cover the mountains and take the opportunity to ride the approximately 20 miles of dirt roads leading toward the hunting camp. Continue reading “Fresh Kill, Twin Peaks Region, CO”

Laid off!

Apple leadership made the decision to “wind-down” the Titan program. All of us on T172 were told in an all hands meeting on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

Initially I had feelings of relief, some uncertainty, and excitement. Relief that the leadership finally made a decision and we had clear direction regarding the project’s future. Our project had been furiously working on short term deliverables while having no long term clear direction or vision for almost two years. While it wasn’t the decision I had really hoped for, at least it was a decision. Continue reading “Laid off!”

2022: Goals

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In contrast to past years I’m switching to quarterly goals for 2022. Here is a list of my goals for Q1 2022. I plan to update this post at the end of each quarter and reassess at that time for the next. Q1 1/1 – 3/31 Read 5 books (at least 2 fiction) Post 3 blogs and / or project pages Decide go / no go: building an ADU and finalize the project plan with design and permit application if decision is a go < 200 lbs weekly average during week 14 2.7 W/kg @ 20 min performance ( baseline 2.56W/kg@20mi: 92.5kg) Ride 450 miles Make an NFT Q2 Q3 Q4 Summary

3 weeks in CO, Golden-Fort Collins-Breckenridge-Boulder, Colorado

As a higher elevation followup to our 3 weeks at the beach earlier in the year we planned a 3 week trip to Colorado for late fall this year, and we just got back.

My company has instituted a pilot program which officially allows remote work outside of your home state for 2 weeks per calendar year. Actually this was extended to 4 since planning the trip but I digress. When this was announced I jumped on it telling my group I’d be elsewhere for November before we had the trip planned. Most of the details came together pretty quickly and we booked stays in all our past locales. And with the expectation of a full week off for Thanksgiving from my job, we were able to stay for more than three weeks.

Continue reading “3 weeks in CO, Golden-Fort Collins-Breckenridge-Boulder, Colorado”

Max, with help from gpt-2

This post is written with the assistance of GPT-2. Sections written by me are used as model prompts, and the model output is then modified or curated and able to be used again in following prompts.


Beginning of post


August 23, 2021:

[P1] Megan woke me early in the morning around 3am and said it was time to go have a baby, her water had broken an hour earlier. We sprung into action, though with a tiny bit less apprehension than the first time with Jane. After a long day but mostly typical delivery Max Thomas Cosgrove was born. Birth specifications are as follows:

Length: 50.8 cm (1′ 8”)

Weight: 3.15 kg (6 lb 15.1 oz)

Head Circumference: 36 cm (14.17”)

Apgar One: 9.0

Apgar Five: 9.0

Gestation Age: 39 2/7 wks

[S1] Having another baby was the goal, so that we could round out the family and give Jane a sibling. There are a lot of factors that go into any pregnancy. Luckily for us Megan didn’t have any issues getting pregnant. Recently I’ve noticed that it’s really hard for many to get pregnant. This one was a little different than Jane, mostly because we are so busy keeping up with Jane already. The pregnancy passed quickly and even since Max has been here life just keeps rushing on by. Continue reading “Max, with help from gpt-2”