Matching its 70 F forecast, yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day, especially as we are approaching Christmas. It was a time I had been looking forward to all week. I went outside, cranked up the tunes (the rock yacht-laden The 13th Expedition playlist) and...wielded my sledgehammer like Thor! OK, so most of my time was spent with a crowbar, but C'MON you WANT images of Chris Hemsworth over Joe Pesci's Home Alone!

Through the sheer willpower of these two hands, my workout that day was a few hours invested in tearing down the outdoor deck. My approach so far has been to preserve what wood I can in case I want to create something, though my recent return to...well, I don't want to necessarily say minimalism, I might call it optimization...well, my recent shift to whatever puts me at a crossroads: do I take the wood and define 2021 by craftsmanship and subsequently all of the new tools and upkeep required? Or, do I set ablaze the wood and get rid of the tools I already have and maintain my workout space for 2021?

I do enjoy woodworking, but I don't enjoy its scope creep: space, time, money, etc. Among the hobbies, I would think its the most needy, a gadget here; stains and oils there; clamps-a-plenty; and not to mention the workspace cleaning and filtering requirements! I don't think its payoff is worth all the money I've sunk into it already, so why keep chasing good money after bad? Perhaps I could be persuaded to continue if my soul was not of a Ramblin' Man.

No, my time is better spent at building me.

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster.