A mini 2016 review

2016 was a year of change. And if you measure the year by mental health, then the year was a successful year.

Many things to be grateful for:

• While I am bleeding money, I still have enough left that I could AirBnB for another couple of years
• My poker journey has left me with another years experience. And while it was a losing year monetary wise, I feel much better about my skill set than at the start of the year
• AirBnB.  Much like Forest Gump's quote that "life is like a box of chocolates".  AirBnB has much the same sort of lucky dip feel to it.  I am particularly grateful for some of the contacts I made during my journey, and some of the life skills that were passed along.
• Andrew Denton's podcast "Better Off Dead". I just love Denton's work. Listening to Denton explaining complex issues in a way that makes them seem easy to understand is a joy.
• Tim Ferriss's podcast. Lots of life hacks. Some of which I've ignored.  And others that I've experimented with. And best of all, after the intellectual desert that was New Zealand's media environment, intelligent conversations with inspiring people.
• Alexander Fitzgerald's podcast. Positive poker coach who spruiks the virtues of hard work rather than innate talent. I enjoy, at the age of 57, taking inspiration from a 28 year old who has put the hard yards in to improve his poker skill set
• The intermittent emails that I receive from #1 son. I sometimes re-read them and quietly marvel at what excellent written communication skills he has developed. For someone who is pursuing an engineering degree, having his level of written skills will be a great asset
• son #2's mid-year job acquisition. And his continuing employment
• Being able to increase my regular meditation sessions from 30 minutes per day at the start of 2016 to around 60 minutes per day by mid-year.
• Being able to attend Vipassana Blackheath for over 60 days. A significant improvement in my meditation practice in 2016
• The person who introduced me to magic mushrooms. The first trip. And how to identify the species that has Psilocybin present
• The research into Psilocybin in 2016 that showed Psilocybin has great potential as an anti-depressant, anti-anxiolytic and as a treatment for existential angst in terminal cancer patients
• Tim Ferriss's interview with Dr James Fadiman
• The Psychedelic Explorers Guide by James Fadiman
• Sacred Knowledge by William A Richards
• The Spotify playlist that plays the music mentioned in the book "Sacred Knowledge"
• Having lost some weight. Started the year at around 95 Kg. Ended the year around 88Kg. 
• Implemented some of the strategies mentioned in the Tiny Habits Ted Talk to allow me to a) establish a regular push up exercise habit and b) increase the number of push ups completed on a regular basis to around 50 push ups per day around 5 days per week.
• My aero press coffee plunger and portable coffee grinder. With roasted coffee beans readily available for sale at many places through out Melbourne, having self-ground coffee most mornings is both a pleasure and a cost saver.  And is a tool that I use most days. Great value for money
• The Tim Ferriss show episodes with Dom D'agostino around the ketogenic diet. And a pubmed review article on fasting. The ongoing effect for me is that I've started adding coconut oil to my coffee as a way of getting Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) into my system. And thus adding another way of avoiding  "white death" (aka sugar) to my kitbag.
• People who I have met through AirBnB who have made my life more interesting
• Shayne from Brighton who I met at Crown Casino and invited me to some poker home games
• Konrad from Box Hill who allowed me to store my recently acquired Hiace Van when the transport company unexpectedly delivered the van 3 weeks before I was expecting it. 
• The Thai barber who buzz cuts my hair. Just an over all nice guy who makes me feel better every time I sit down in his chair
• My new MSI laptop. Still less than one month old and still loving having it
• My new telstra $80 smartphone. After living with #1 son's approximately 5 year old hand me down it is a joy to have this new device.
• Public transport in Melbourne. Cheap as chips. And a great way to get around for me. 
• Not having to use a car as a means of getting around Melbourne. If I can avoid being stuck in Traffic I will.
• Catching up with George McIvor and family in Sydney
• Catching up with Jenni and Geoffrey in Sydney

And probably a few other things I've forgotten about.