That was the year that was...

Faced with the rapidly approaching end of 2023, I paused to reflect on everything that’s happened in my life. The result was a surprise, because while much of this year were a whirlwind, some early events seem so long ago I'd almost forgotten them!

For instance, in January the podcast I host with my friend CJ (AKA Elwood Scott) What's My Age Again? was born. The theme of the podcast is to discuss issues face by people over 50, and we've spent a year delving into those topics.  

In March my first book, Lightbulb Moments in Human History: From Cave to Colosseum was published. It’s astounding (and almost scary) to note that while this was the culmination of a lifelong dream, by December that accomplishment had almost slipped my mind.

About the same time, Chronos Books accepted my manuscript for Lightbulb Moments in Human History: From Peasants to Periwigs, the second book in the series (due for release in April 2024, but available for preorder now).

Much of the next six months involved promotion, appearing on podcasts, publishing book excerpts on ancient-origins.net, plugging my book on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and even TikTok. There’s really no depth too low!

Around August, I began my collaboration with Joel Hines on the audiobook of Lightbulb Moments in Human History: From Cave to Colosseum, which was a real labor of love. I’m very proud of the result. 

On a side note, Spotify analytics indicate that among many other listeners, two people have listened to my book SEVEN TIMES each! If either of those two people are reading this, thanks!

Then in October, I went overseas for the first time in many years. I wrote about my China trip in the last newsletter, so I won’t retrace old ground. However, for those wondering, it took three weeks for me to test negative to Covid. Even though the first week of Covid was equivalent to a severe cold, it really did a number on my lungs. The next couple of weeks were quite challenging. I’m almost 100% now, but sometimes I doubted I’d get back to full health. 

Despite all that, I’ve well-and-truly caught the travel bug, and am planning a trip to Europe next year. Hopefully, no Covid this time!

Back onto the podcast, in one of our final acts of the year, CJ and I have decided to put What's My Age Again? on hiatus and spin the popular segment What's My Beer Again? into its own show. So from now on, CJ and I will drink beer and chat about it... which is pretty much what we did anyway, but without the semi-serious pretext!

What could possibly go wrong?