2024 was about acceptance

Today, 2024-Dec-31, is the last day of 2024. This year in particular involved emotional things that I've accepted.

I'm close to reaching the fifth decade of life, which happens next year.

Part of my brain says meh, age is just a number. But another part says hey, pay attention to it, because it matters... although I can't rightly figure out why it would matter. So when my brain says hey there, pay attention when that age rolls around, I think okay, pay attention to what, specifically? I don't have an answer. Weird.

I don't have a problem accepting the age I am, but there's some infighting going on in my mind about whether the number is supposed to matter or not. I'm thinking not.

Certain things are as good as they're ever going to get

That DriveSmart 76 I bought? Yeah, about that..

I've been trying to find a perfect car navigation solution for years, but it simply doesn't exist. Out of all the nav systems I've tried, the DS76 is as good as it gets since all nav apps for the phone are trash. While the DS76 isn't perfect, chasing perfection with a nav system is a fool's errand. I accept that now, use what works, and if I encounter little annoyances, oh well. It's not like there's anything better.

Letting go of chasing perfection is a thing I had to do a few times in '24. Here are a few examples:

There's no such thing as a perfect pen, so I settled with Zebra Z-Grip Retractable ballpoints because I got sick of buying pens. Good enough.

There's no such thing as a perfect guitar string, so I just use Ernie Ball Super Slinky in .008 size.

There's no such thing as a perfect computer mouse, so I bought a few wired USB optical mice spares. The Microsoft Basic Optical wired USB works for me. I very much appreciate "wired, plug it in, no drivers or control software required, just works" computer mice.

The two main advantages to letting go of chasing perfection is that it makes things easier, and opens up paths to happiness not ordinarily seen otherwise.

It is totally okay to stay within certain bubbles

This one actually concerns what I write here.

I need to remember that you can't please everybody.

There have been times I've written full articles (long ones, mind you), but then scrapped and never posted them solely for reasons such as uses old popular culture references only people over 45 would recognize, overly technical and may go over the heads of some readers, assumes foreknowledge the reader may not have, and so on.

I accept that I have self-imposed rules for what I post here that I really need to let go of.

This may mean more free form stuff will appear for future articles with a decidedly "for people that grew up in my time" and/or "this is for nerds" vibe to it...

...and there's nothing wrong with that. That's the thing I need to both accept and remember. I suppose that's one for the New Year's Resolutions list.

Published 2024 Dec 31