A Cozy Rabbit and Fitness Plans
A food-snapping app, spring races on the horizon, and a reminder to back things up.
Hey, that’s Phoebe! Is there anything cozier looking than a kicked-out rabbit inside on a blustery winter day? Welcome to what’s probably the last edition of this dispatch for the year. I hope you and yours have safe and happy holiday weeks ahead. And, where did 2025 go?
I wanted to start by plugging an app that Amy turned me on to: Zoe. It can tell you how healthy your food is just from a photo, and it’s been a surprisingly helpful companion to eating during a season where it’s easy to, well, overdo it. I seem to be snacking less because of it.
I’m not using it to count calories, no. What it is useful for is being an accountability buddy. It’s uncannily accurate at assessing what’s in a picture of your plate, and telling you whether it’s something you should enjoy infrequently or as much as humanly possible. One of Zoe’s jams is the concept of plant diversity, aiming to have at least 30 unique plants within a week. It sounds overwhelming, but honestly the app helps you realize just how diverse your diet may be. You may be as surprised as I was.
If you’re interested, give it a try and let me know what you think. If you already use it, and have comments, feel free to add those, too!
My early-year running calendar is coming together with the Winter Chill 5K Series and the Hartshorne Masters Mile, followed by the Syracuse Half, Skunk Cabbage Half (reduced entry before 12/31), and another year on YogOdyssey’s Seneca7 team. All roads lead to the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon—my key race of the spring. I must re-share a photo from this past year’s start line (and we’ll see if I can top last year’s colorful outfit). Interested in joining in? The Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon takes place Sunday, June 7, running from Trumansburg to Cass Park along the Black Diamond Trail. Registration prices increase after December 30 at 11:59 PM.
Speaking of running, YogOdyssey put on a class just for the Finger Lakes Running Club, and we had a wonderful time!
I passed the 300-class milestone recently, and the studio wrote a very kind commentary on my practice, too. If anyone wants to try this sometime, Amy and I are always happy to share our guest passes.
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Backup your work. Think about the data that means the most to you. How redundant is it? Keep a local backup using an external hard drive. Then, add more redundancy with a cloud-based backup service you trust. When you have data redundancy, you’ll be far less exposed when hardware fails (and it will).
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. That followed my first book, The Art of Working Remotely, about my experience working from home since 1998. Depending on where you work and which way the wind is blowing, these may be banned books or fan fiction. I hope it’s the latter.
Mail Bag: If you work remotely and have come across an issue that needs solving, a thorn that needs removing, or just an observation you’d like to share, hit reply. I’d love to hear from you.