Author: jason

2026 is barely here and it’s already annoying. 

We woke up to a blanket of snow covering. It’s not bad, it’s just annoying. 

Sky, our 15 and half year old dog has trouble walking, and going to bathroom is already a chore, the snow just makes things more annoying. 

Sky will go to the door, I’ll take her out and nothing will happen. She just wanders. And it’s worse in the snow. 

All the while, the phone is going off and it’s an unknown number. Scpammers just wasting time and bandwidt. 

Not the end of fhe world, just annoying. 

As of now, I have no way of getting rid of either. Dog has to go to bathroom, and never sure which two out of 10 trips will be the one. 

My phone is always silenced and it does a good job of telling me when it’s a scpammer but it still gives me a little ping of annoyance. 

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert wrote a really interesting book about reframing, and  few thoughts from there helped me solve the problem. 

Interestingly enough, I mostly gave up alcohol all last year, only drank 3 times in December. I did it just by telling myself that alcohol is poison, a simple reframe. News stories came out recently talking about how no amount of alcohol is safe, it’s terrible for health, etc. 

I have no idea whether those stories are true or if they’re fear mongering and just cherry picking stats to make a more clickable headline. 

I guess I really don’t care. The belief that alcohol is poison was useful for me not drinking, so I went with it. It was an interesting experiment in belief, because I’m sure to a certain extent, we all build a belief and then hyper-focus on the news, stories, people, writing and evidence that props up that belief and makes it stronger. I could see it in real time happening. 

So how do I use this super power for the frequent trips outside in the cold and the constant downpour dinging of scpam calls?

Good question. 

I don’t check the news anymore during the day or email, I am laserbeam focused on several big projects. 

So now, instead of dreading going outside with Sky and standing there getting mad that she’s just wandering and not going to bathroom, I look forward to it. It gives me a break from long hours and I can read a book, look at headlines, or spend a minute or two scrolling on social media. Just a simple reframe into annoyance to “here’s a mini break.”

Sometimes I’ll even do the powerful sedative breathing technique I’ve been doing since finding it in an obscure book collecting dust in the library. Another story for another time. 

But I guygress. Point being, just changing the expectation you can reframe any experience. 

But what about those annoying phone calls?

I want to incorporate more bodyweight workouts, bursts of exercise throughout the day. 

Guess what happens often enough that it would make a great trigger for me doing these workout bursts all day long. 

Right now, it’s those scpammer calls. Every time they hit, instead of feeling my cortisol spiral, I drop and do 3 rounds of pull-ups, pushups and squats. 

That feels like a much healthier and sustainable response. And after a few sets, my mind now associates the endorphin spike with these calls instead of the annoyance. 

I am writing this while watching the dog wander. For the 5th time today. 

And so it goes, if you can’t beat’em, change the meaning. It is a glimpse into the matrix, shows you how much power you have over changing your experience just by changing the thoughts you have about that experience. 

All right, back to work. 

May your 2026 be more annoyance free than 2023. 

I am working on a pretty complex project. It is a series of very complex books, that needs to keep a strict mathematical structure. 

The thing is, I completely cracked the code 6 years ago, and had madly scribbled out the solution in a now lost notebook. 

To be clear, these aren’t fiction books but complicated “trick” books that perform a magic trick completely out of my hands and in the hands of whoever I’m showing the trick to. 

Like most things, the secret is simple, but behind the scenes there is a lot going on to both obscure the secret and make the amazing thing happen. 

I would now have to recreate the logic I’d already come up with 6 years ago and not only that but I would need to do it 100 more different times (I am working on 100 completely different versions, don’t ask it’s completely crazy).

I started digging into my archives for the original books so I could study the structure and maybe reverse engineer what I’d figuredout 6 years ago and then apply it to the new 100 books. 

That’s when something unexpected happened. Deep inside a hard drive, I found instructions written by my young self in the very probably chance older me would forget how to do it. I guess younger, more naive me hadn’t expected that I would also forget I had written up the instructions. 

They were a little vague, but after a few minutes of trial and error and finding a template (young me seems much wiser than old me) I was able to crank out the structure and template for a few more books. It will still take time, the best things are never easy, but at least I’m not starting from scratch. 

But I guygress. This is all to say, don’t be like old me, be more like young me. Right now, open up a folder on google docs or in your notes on your phone, label it instructions and start writing down how you do things that are complicated or you don’t plan on doing every day. Anything that can help future you. Because that future guy might not be as smart, or memoryful as who you are right now.

Your future self will thank you. 

I’m giving myself a handshake as we speak.

When in doubt, write it out. 

I pull my car up our long driveway, looping around the back of the house when I see the big blue box, sitting on our patio.

At first I don’t know what it is, but when I realize, then I smile.

The only problem is, neither my wife nor my daughter know what it is. I told them a surprise is coming on Sunday and Tuesday. But even I’m surprised because today is Saturday.

And not only that, but I am just coming back from picking up a cake for my daughter’s 5th birthday party with her friends and we have to leave in 45 minutes.

Even still, I look at the box with happiness. If it works out and is and does what I hope it will do, I think it could revolutionize our lives.

I suspect my wife will scoff at first, but will soon see the madness to my method and love it. I don’t blame her for having a bit of a shield up, I sometimes shut down critical thinking and moonshot a lot of things. Sometimes I misfire, like with the bed tent (a cautionary tale for another time) but lots of other times my crazy ways wind up paying off in unexpected ways.

I walk by the box in a bit of a hurry. I have to bring the cake in, bring in some drinks and also take Sky, my every present and faithful 15.5 year old super geriatric half pit.

Then I can tackle the blue box.

After I’ve done everything I have to do, I haul in the box. It’s smaller than I expected, but it’s heavier than I expected. I grunt a little, because of it’s weight it’s an awkward carry.

I ask for scissors because I’m always using the “good” scissors to tear through boxed and almost always get in trouble for that.

Kim brings me the scissors and says “What is that?”

My daughter is up and saying, “He said a surprise was coming!”

I know my daughter is won over already, she shares my kind of childlike enthusiasm for many of life’s simpler joys. She’s going to enjoy this and see the value as soon as it comes bursting out of the box.

Kim, on the other hand, she may take some convincing.

I crack into the box, and it’s well packed. Inside is a big blob of grey vacuum sealed in plastic.

My daughter looks on in excitement. My wife looks on in amused horror. She knows this could literally be anything in this box and the chances of her predicting what it is are slim to none.

“Is it my cake?” my daughter asks?

I tell her yes, it is your cake. This is obviously not true, but she goes along anyways.

I rip through several layers of plastic with my bare hands, like a jabronie tearing through a plate of buffalo wings on Super Bowl Sunday.

After I pull the plastic over the remaining corner, it does a little pop open.

It’s almost like it is silently saying a little ta-da.

In slow motion it begins to take form, but is still wrinkly and needs to expand more.

It is a grey three seater. I’m posting pictures at the end.

Our office has a bunch of these chairs and a loveseat that are super comfortable and great for working or relaxing. I found them on Amazon, and was recently alerted that they were on sale.

So I pulled the trigger.

I’m lucky in that my family is big on couches and couch like entities. We are all about couch thrills, the life philosophy that we can have an amazing time surfing our own couch.

I have been having an amazing track record of couches up until the most recent one that sits idly in our living room. The one before it, which we got rid of most of we called The Sex Cult Couch. I had bought it when I was a batchelor but that is not the reason for the season.

You see, Kim and I had been watching a documentary about the cult leader Keith Raniere, who is a flubby, goofy, volleyball loving cult leader who wound up sleeping with all of these women at the same time even though he appeared to most people outside of the cult to be a major schlub. And he’s talking about something in some raw footage and I jumped up.

That’s my couch!

Neither of us could believe our eyes. The schlubby volleyball villain and myself had the same taste in couches. Oof.

Cut to the next scene, where I was sadly convinced to get rid of the cult couch and get a newer, longer more accommodating couch.

At first I loved this new couch. It had multiple sections to it, which is always what I’m going for. I told Kim that we will always have a couch that can seat 15 people.

But something wasn’t quite right. When we would watch a movie, our bodies intertwined, I would almost always tweak my neck or have a sore back.

After many body wrenching sessions on the couch, I realized the problem. I realized what the chubby bump set spike sex leader’s couch had that this one didn’t have.

The seats were way wider then the current. We went from parachute pants of a couch to skinny jeans couch. In theory, the current skinny jeans couch looked good, but in experience it just didn’t have enough cushion.

Cut to the present moment, a little three seater slowly growing to full strength. A nice wide seat, legs dangling comfortably on the floor. Perfect for movie nights together with the three of us and our faithful old pup Sky. The 3 of us can fit perfect, Sky is on her bed right next to us, but she’s too far away if she’s on her bed, or even on her blanketed spot on the couch.

I know Sky loves being as close as possible to us, so this is a win in itself.

And we all love being together, especially for our movie nights. This mini couch will revolutionize the way we get our couch thrills. The way we can enjoy a movie. I’ve moved it right in front of the tv, giving us a better view, and since we’re on the ground, we’re looking up so it feels more like being in the movie theater.

The other benefit is, if someone wants to sit on the couch and/or if we have a big scene over here watching TV, then we now have actual stadium seating.

It’s only been out of the box for 3 minutes, and I explain all of this to them. They get it. I’ve just about won them over.

Except. There’s just one catch.

“I’m very happy you guys like this couch. Because I also have a loveseat and a one-seater coming.”

Sure, initial resistance, but just wait till these expandable sponge-based bits of heaven arrive scrunched up in their little blue boxes.

You really gotta sit on it, to fully appreciate it.

Here you go, you filthy animals. Grab one if you like. These words themselves were written on location.

Class up your sitting situation now – amzn.to/4r4vV33

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The above Amazon link is an affiliate link. Make any purchases with that firmly in mind.

So the book is coming along, but slower than I had anticipated. It may be an OctoberWorld Christmas, which I’m ok with, because:
-I’m actually adventuring along with the nameless main character (that character is YOU) and finding out what happens in real time. It’s part of a my version of pantsing, writing in the dark, etc that I call real-time writing or spontaneous writing. It has all sorts of useful applications for business, storytelling and even speaking (I use the same technique when having to present to heads of big companies).

-The book is harder for me to engineer then I previously thought it would be, simply because each pathway opens up exponentially more options, and I’m going gun blazing down each corridor to see what’s there. There are some, how can I say, some easter egg side quests if you know where to look and do certain things.

-I’m trying to capture the old retro gaming feel, in other words I want it to feel like you’re a kid at your friend’s house one summer night, it’s late and dark and you’re all huddled around the glow of the tv screen trying to beat the game. During the writing of this, I realized that is one of the engines that motors a lot of what I write and create. More on that later.

-A long time ago, I met the great Peter Max at an opening of one of his galleries. He asked me if I was an artist. I said no, I’m a writer (I was barely). He said, “well you know it’s the same thing as painting, the more you paint, the more you paint, the more you write, the more you write.” He was famous for painting multiple paintings at one time and was super prolific. And so it is the same here, the more I write and go down dusty dark hallways, the more I wind up writing.

-Finally, I want this to be the best interactive horror adventure book ever. Sincerely. And, unlike a lot of folks out there these days, I don’t think you can accelerate it using AI, or even really want to. I am a firm believer that the good is never easy and the easy is never good.

-The next update will include a publish date, promise. But I guygress.

The leaves by me have not quite started there little fall fireworks display, they haven’t quite turned. But make no mistake, OctoberWorld is here, and it’s here to stay.

For many of us OWs, OctoberWorld is not a time or a place but a state of mind. Maybe I’ll write about this at length at some other time. But there is a feeling that the cool mornings with hot drinks and skeletons dancing on lawns brings.

That feeling, you can have it all the time. You can bring that feeling to everything. It’s kind of a sense of adventure in the everyday, that everywhere and everything thing could be hiding a little bit of supernatural magic inside of it, and just when you look away it will sneak out.

It’s that sense of adventure, you can bring it into every experience. Because the world can sometimes be scary no matter what time of year, no matter where you are or who you are. And if you only focus on what you can get, if you let your guard down, it’s a lot easier to fall victim to the monsters that lurk in the night.

So instead, it’s better to bring the good time, always focus on that. Always focus on doing the honorable thing. And the monsters, you might not beat them every time but over the long run, they wlll fall.

This month, I’ll be talking about all the amazing things that October brings. It started a few years ago with some short stories but now has grown into universe. A living breathing universe. I don’t really have to do anything anymore, there is a little motor that keeps on running, keeps on self-generating stories and the sense of adventure and the mindset.

Just as I was falling asleep last night, a line for a story came to me. Popped out of the ether, and down through my fingertips on to my trusty notepad. Then, on the way home from dropping Livi off at school, I heard a song and knew exactly how the book I’m writing ends. Like saw the scene in full-blown 4K clarity right in front of my eyeballs. I think Sky in the backseat might’ve seen it too, she let out a small chirp-bark.

And so it goes, OctoberWorld is rearing its beautiful head and infusing itself into every moment of life. It’s kind of like how you can get pumpkin flavored deodorant and pumpkin-infused tires and pumpkin smelling toilet paper. Except not as annoying.

Oh yeah, that book I’m writing, it will be available soon. In case you were wondering, it’s a OctoberWorld story called The Haunted House. It’s a weird kind of thing. Half fiction, some parts non-fiction and other parts completely interactive. So you can have the experience of walking through the candle-lit halls of an old, maybe haunted house. And depending on which doors you open, depends on the story you’ll be in. But everywhere an adventure with some scares thrown in for fun.

What you bring to it, well that’s all up to you. And fair warning. This is probably not for everyone.

But if you like stories that take some chances, that give you a heightened sense of thrill and adventure and some jump scares, then you might not want to sleep on this.

Just me, you and who knows what creeping around that door that’s creaking open. The sound of an old TV with rabbit ears playing in the distance, almost like it’s a hundred miles away and very close at the same time. The flicker of light.

Come on knock on my door, we’ve been waiting for you…..

In the meantime, be sure to check out what’s come before, there are currently 4 OG OW stories available for immediate download – //www.amazon.com/dp/B09HR4Y85Q?binding=kindle_edition

In this episode – //www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-_yz3tGVZA

• The stunning fashion statement Jason’s coworker used to make on a daily basis. You’re free to steal this technique, if you so dare
• Could this possibly be the last Last Show? You’ll find out.
• The shocking reason why there is no mailbag this episode
• A tribute to the late great Richard Lewis -Why you should write a book, no matter who you are or what you do?
• Is Leap Year Lunar? Or something else? Lunar?
• The difference in different thread/yarn based activities and what BriBo’s -wife is making that will be soon be available to listeners
• The price of fabric and what it takes to make a pair of PJs
• Diet and exercise secrets that are easy to implement and have the potential to change your life
• The Aha Moment that took 3 years for Jason to realize -How BriBo averaged 27000 steps a day (yes, you read that right) and the impact on his health
• The condiment you can find that is completely delicious and completely salt free
• One important reason you may consider quitting coffee
• Why hypochondriacs need to know before they get a calcium score
• The only book you need to read to quit smoking
• How to turn any meal, no matter how close to dirt it tastes, into the greatest meal you’ll ever eat
• If you had to eat one kind of bread for the rest of your life, this is the Blue Zone approved bread and here is the one place to buy possibly the greatest bread on the planet (and did we mention Blue Zone approved)
• The greatest life tip BriBo has ever imparted on the show and he can give it to you in two words (these two words confused Jason for a little bit but once he understood the wisdom of them, he was knocked over)
• Thoughts on the Wonka debacle and why it needed more prep then a haunted house setup by high schoolers -The one thing that is never spread by humans, but should be – scientists take note please ….and believe it or not, much much more listening enjoyment

Sign up for daily fun here – //mailchi.mp/1cbb3379052a/jason…

WHY I’M SITTING OUT THE ECLIPSE
Everyone is fully hyped about the eclipse today.

Everyone except for yours truly.

I’m sitting this one out.

Been there, burned out my irises and came back to talk about it.

Let me explain.

Like many of you, I was jazzed the last time the great eclipse show came into town. I was out there with the rest of the jabronis in the parking lot at work, peering up at the heavens. Someone handed me a sheet, some kind of film, and I looked up, saw a very non-exciting circle with part of it shaded it and the rest of it blazing bright.

In hindsight, it might’ve been Saran Wrap I was looking through.

My eyes began hurting immediately. In my head, I could hear a voice of a news person saying “whatever you do, make sure you are looking through approved filter to view the eclipse.”

There is no way the person who handed me the sheet made sure the sheet was NASA approved. They could barely do their job.

The thought of this made my eyes hurt even more. Like a deep soreness I’d never felt before. It’s possible I did permanent damage to my eyes. And for what? Was I a better person after watching the eclipse with my own two eyes? No, I was still a mostly horrible human being.

Then I read about a rapper, an up and coming rapper who stared at the eclipse with no protection, and did permanent damage to his eyes. And my eye pain went up a few notches quickly. I was going to be blind soon.

And all of this because I didn’t stop to make sure the filter was a NASA approved space safety sheet of plastic.

The panic reminded me of a time when someone I worked with offered to take me up in a plane. He was training to be a flight instructor. I was younger and dumb. The same dumb I was when watching the last eclipse.

I remember getting up to cruising altitude and not feeling safe or stable. The window was open and there was a screen between me and the earth. And the pilot, I remember thinking this guy can’t even space out his appetizers to come out before people’s entrees, why did I trust him with my life.

I have not been in a small plane since. But it was that same panic that set in.

But I guygress.

I went to my optometrist. He examined my eyes. And he gave me the bad news.

“Your eyes are fine. You’re just nuts.”

He went on to say they had been talking and trying to figure out how long it would take someone to stare at the eclipse and do permanent damage. I think he had estimated at least a few minutes. But still, any kind of exposure could be potentially blinding.

When I was just a kid, my mom and I watched out our kitchen window and saw Haley’s Comet. It won’t be back for another 72 years and I remember crying that my Mom might not be around when it comes back. But you know what, if I hadn’t seen Haley’s Comet, my life would be no different. Regardless of whether I saw that really rare cosmic event, no change in my life. It wasn’t even that spectacular, it was just a ball of white light in the sky. To be honest, I’m. not even convinced what we saw was even Haley’s Comet and not a cloud. But at least we weren’t sacrificing our sight to watch it.

The idea of possibly hurting your eyes to watch something that isn’t even that interesting in the first place is bonkers. Don’t do it. Don’t be another sheep, flocking to the bright flame of cultural vapidity. Regardless of whether you look at the eclipse through Government Issued and Approved glasses or some NASA gamma ray tested filter, trust me, you will still be the same old horrible person you were before.

I’d always heard about a village of little people houses somewhere in New Jersey. 

Late at night we’d drive around and try to find the community of extra small houses. 

We were disappointed by the neighborhood near Annie’s Grave. The houses were not small small. 

One time we found a very small house in a normal sized neighborhood of houses down by toward the shore. Someone explained it was a small house built for someone’s granddaughter. It was cool but not exactly what we were looking for. 

But still we’d hear rumors. There is a village of tiny houses near the George Washington Bridge. Or Ringling Brothers has a small community of little houses in Jefferson down a dirt road. 

Eventually, life got busy and our weird NJ Adventures came to an end. 

Until. 

About 10 years ago, I was at work and somehow the topic came up. A woman I worked with had actually been to the village by the GW Bridge. We went on Google Maps and she pointed her finger on my screen to the exact location. I couldn’t believe it. 

The next day after work I aimed my GPS towards the spot. It was a small community of normal size houses but smallish roads. I slowly drove up and down each road looking for the legendary community. 

I was just about to give up when I saw it. A very small house that looked like it might be about to be demolished. Is this the last of the little houses near the GW Bridge?

You can see the difference in size between this house and the house behind it. I have no idea if it was demolished or is still there….if anyone knows would love to hear.  

The search for the Jefferson village continues, I believe that is where the famous Weird NJ b&w photo of the man standing in the doorway comes from. I have a pretty good idea where it is but it seems like it’s private property. If anyone has any info would love to hear it…..and the adventure continues.

My daughter did not feel like getting her socks and shoes in for school. 

I told her, part of growing up is doing things you don’t feel like. 

She’s 3 and a half. 

Me, I’m a lot older. I only just realized this thing about doing what you don’t feel like doing.

I guess you could call me the opposite of an early adopter. 

I followed up with telling my daughter, you should be more like your Dad. Cause pretty much everything I do these days I don’t feel like doing. 

That’s right, I missed my calling as some kind of holy man who just sits around all day, absorbed into some fancy sofa. That’s what holy people do right? Just hang out on furniture being holy.

I actually love just sitting. Not thinking or doing anything. Just relaxing. It’s one of my favorite things in the world.

But I guygress. 

Lately, I’ve embraced the feeling of not wanting to do something. Actually, I read somewhere recently that it’s a good idea to do things only when you don’t feel like it. You start to train yourself to become insanely productive because the feeling that used to stop you then becomes associated with doing stuff rather than evaporating into the couch.

It’s gotten to the point where I look forward to the feeling of not wanting to do something. To like when things feel difficult.

Because difficult is good. It’s so much better than easy. 

Easy makes you soft and weak. 

Comfort is best after a long, ass busting day of hard work. 

In fact, relaxing feels way better after you’ve busted your ass all day. Relaxing after you sat on your ass all day is kind of meh.

Trust me, I know firsthand. 

So take the hard way, the uphill, the hard thing. It’s so much more fulfilling. And it makes the opposite thing feel so much better.

I started walking every day. I started with two miles. 

I’m so out of shape, and a recent bout of Covid set me back even farther. 

It was 9:30 at night and I didn’t feel like doing it. 

What’s cool about being an adult and not a 3 and half year old is sometimes I don’t have to do something if I don’t feel like it. 

Instead of bailing, I put some sweats on, my noise reducing headphones and tried to convince myself that after a little bit, I’d actually enjoy the walk. 

Any kind of lie to get me out the door. 

And sure enough, as I was rounding the 2 mile mark, me-of-little-motivation felt so good, I kept going. 

I went for another two miles. 

If it wasn’t 10:30 at night, I probably would’ve kept going. For how long, I have no idea. Probably at least another two miles.

At one point, I felt so euphoric, I closed my eyes. The primary sensation was the music in my headphones. 

It felt like everything disappeared and I was just a field of energy moving down the street. I felt like I completely disappeared. The entire world, all the stress, the past and the future all melted away as I effortlessly strolled down the street, eyes closed. 

It was like absorbing into a treadmill.

I love it. I love walking. It’s so almost immediately feel good, I’m mad I didn’t start doing it every day sooner. 

My only gripe is it’s not anymore as hard to get started. It’s getting too easy. So maybe somehow soon I’ll need to start increasing the mileage, speed or something else to get that edge back. Make myself uncomfortable. Make myself not want to do it so that I want to do it.

If you want more ideas that will put you into the effortless flow state like this, push your foot down on this link before you stroll down the street. 

//mailchi.mp/1cbb3379052a/jason-messina-sign-up

If you’re like me, you’re exhausted by politics.

Already.

Things are only just getting started.

I don’t know if this is helpful, but here is how I look at it. If you have two candidates you need to decide who to vote for, there is only one way to decide.

It works almost every time.

You pretend you have to interview both of them for a job.

The person you would hire is the person who gets your vote.

Makes the whole process a little more manageable. Instead of picking someone based completely on how you feel (that will always be a factor), you’re now using criteria that is tangible.

The problem of course becomes, what if you wouldn’t hire either jabroni?

Yeah, if you wouldn’t hire either one, then this won’t help you. If you find yourself downloading ZipRecruiter after the last interview, then this tip isn’t going to work.

The biggest question then becomes, where are all the good people? Why aren’t they one of the options.

And maybe you realize, you’re the one for the job. After all, if you want something done right, sometimes you gotta roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

Send me your resume and I’ll take a look.