As part of my technical skill development I got my own AWS LAMP server and have installed WordPress onto it and am now using that as my live site
All new updates will happen there – so if you’re interested in any new developments or want to look at my backlog that’s the place!
Wow. That was quite a journey. I’m honestly still processing the fact that I managed to complete everything. Looking back, I’ve spent over two decades setting goals, and the highest I ever reached before was maybe 60% completion—and that was with a modest list of just ten goals. When I first considered taking on this challenge, I almost talked myself out of it, remembering past failures. But turning 50 flipped a switch in me. I figured I might not succeed, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t even attempt it. Maybe not the most optimistic mindset to start with, but if this experience has taught me anything, it’s that with discipline and structure, you can fundamentally shift how you approach things.
Coming up with 50 goals was an adventure in itself. The first few were easy—I pulled from old, unfinished goals and added new ones that felt both exciting and challenging. But once I hit the 30-goal mark, I struggled. That’s when I had to shift my perspective. I started thinking about what turning 50 really signified. I reflected on what I had accomplished, what I had always wanted to do but never got around to. And then it hit me: I had spent years assuming there would always be time. But what if there wasn’t? Shouldn’t I seize the moment now, while I still had the energy to truly enjoy it? That realization changed everything. Suddenly, the list filled itself. Visiting my father’s hometown in Italy. Buying my dream guitar. Sipping on really old Scotch. Once I reframed the process, it became much easier to round out the list. I even left a few open slots, which I later filled with “Explore AI” and “Complete a Bob Ross painting tutorial.”
As I got deeper into rounding out the 50, I found myself turning to the internet for inspiration. Seeing what others had on their goal lists helped me refine mine. Some ideas resonated, some didn’t, but the process helped me think outside the box. And ironically, one of my late additions—learning about AI—ended up being a game-changer. AI became an essential tool throughout the year. With a goal of blogging about my experience, I faced an immense workload, closing in on nearly 300 posts. Without AI’s help in researching topics, I would have been buried under the effort. I even used AI to critique my writing, offering an unfiltered, sometimes ego-bruising editorial lens that ultimately improved my work.
To keep myself accountable, I knew I needed rules. Once the 50 goals were set, I committed to not altering them to make things easier. But I’m also pragmatic—life happens. In the early months, I tore something in my shoulder, which derailed my fitness-related goals. So, I built in a contingency: I allowed myself to swap out five goals if necessary. This gave me a degree of flexibility while ensuring I didn’t just swap out challenges for convenience. I ended up using four swaps (documented on my website), and two of them were due to physical limitations rather than avoidance.
So how did I pull this off while managing a full-time job, two small kids, and a marriage? With structure. I built a framework that allowed me to make progress without compromising what truly mattered.
The first rule: priorities first. My family always comes first—no exceptions. I didn’t pursue these goals at the expense of time with my kids or my wife. I still coached my kids’ teams, played with them on weekends, and handled all the usual parenting duties. I made sure my wife and I kept our Friday lunch dates, giving us uninterrupted time together. And work? That stayed a priority too. I enjoy my job and wasn’t about to let this project interfere with my professional commitments. With those priorities locked in, anything else became negotiable.
The second rule: do something every day. Even on chaotic days—work was crazy, the kids had back-to-back activities, and my wife was out of town—I could still do something. Read a few pages of a book. Practice Italian on Babbel for five minutes. Write a quick gratitude journal entry. Even brushing my teeth at night, I could squeeze in a small action. The consistency was the key. After a few months, it became so ingrained that skipping a day felt like a glitch in my system. These small, daily efforts accumulated, creating momentum that accelerated progress over time.
The third rule: find hidden time. It’s there if you look for it. That hour-long commute? Perfect for listening to educational podcasts or checking off an album from my music list. Instead of doom-scrolling my phone during lunch, I’d read, write, or learn something new. Even waiting for my kids to finish practice became an opportunity—reading on my Kindle, researching goals, or sketching ideas. Once I stopped treating time as something to kill and started seeing it as something to use, my productivity skyrocketed.
The final rule: track everything. This was huge. I needed to see my progress at a glance, so I built a spreadsheet with progress bars and a dashboard to keep me motivated. If one goal was lagging, I’d shift focus to bring it up to speed. As the months passed and those bars turned blue, I felt the inertia pulling me forward. That visual reinforcement made a huge difference. I also used OneNote to collect ideas, notes, and drafts, which kept me organized and efficient. These tools gave me a comprehensive view of where I stood at any given moment.
As the year progressed, I started identifying areas of wasted time and replacing them with intentional actions. Little by little, I started to see myself as someone who followed through, rather than someone who set goals only to abandon them. That shift in self-perception was a turning point. Once I hit 75% completion, I could see the finish line. In the last 60 days, I went into overdrive, laser-focused on getting everything to 100%. I don’t think I could have sustained that level of intensity for an entire year, but as I neared the end, it felt like shifting from marathon pace to an all-out sprint.
But of course, there were downsides. Sustaining focus for an entire year was mentally exhausting. Between work, family, and this challenge, there were weeks when I was completely burned out. Fortunately, some of my goals—meditation, hiking, drawing—helped counteract the stress. On particularly rough weeks, I leaned into those activities, taking long hikes with my kids to reset. Still, there were stretches, especially in the summer, where I did nothing, and guilt crept in. Eventually, I realized that guilt was unnecessary. I wasn’t trying to become a productivity guru or a social media influencer—I was just a 50-year-old guy trying to accomplish something meaningful. And as I watched my goals falling one by one, I realized that even with breaks, I was still on track.
Another major downside? Free time took a massive hit. Movies, TV, video games—I barely engaged with any of them. I didn’t play a single hour of video games all year, missed most new film releases, and barely kept up with my sports teams. (Not that the Jets gave me much to miss.) These things might not be “productive,” but they’re enjoyable, and I realized I missed them. Sometimes, you just want to unwind and watch your favorite team blow a late lead.
Ultimately, I learned so much from this experience—not just about discipline and productivity, but about balance, adaptability, and what really matters. There were tough moments, but overall, I’m glad I did it. And now, looking ahead, I’m excited to see where these lessons take me next.
Blues 5, Rangers 2
I’ve always enjoyed watching Hockey at MSG knowing that a day ago it was a basketball court. It’s always amazing to me that they manage to switch over the entire arena in such a short amount of time. (https://www.wsj.com/video/quick-change-artists-transform-the-garden/86D21535-0721-4EB7-AB8F-DB3F9371921E)
For this game I scored some nice seats through my Chase visa card – they were in the upper area but they had a TV at my seat so I could watch the highlights and replays but then I noticed that I could change the channel and also get.. Monday Night Football?! What a great sports night! MSG is always a fun place to visit. Super easy to get to as it’s right off Penn Station and lots of food choices and upscale drink options (Why yes, I’d love a whiskey and soda to go with my Paulie G’s slice and hot honey chicken sando.)
The game started out great with an early Rangers score. This is only the second time I’ve ever seen a Rangers game and my favorite part each time is the crowd singing after each goal
However it quickly fell apart as the Blues kept up the attack – it was relentless and the Rangers just didn’t seem to have an answer for it. When they went up 5-2 I checked the train schedule and saw a train leaving in 15 minutes and made the executive decision to speedwalk out of the stadium back into the train station just making the train – walking on right before the doors closed. The only clutch performance in NY that night.
I’ll be honest – I’m not a hockey guy so I wasn’t expecting much from these games but I found I really enjoyed being there as the energy was electric and hockey fans are just.. Salt of the earth. Sometimes they are more entertaining than the game. The time flew by and I found myself invested in the game and cheering at certain points when the home team did something awesome. Not much of that here tonight unfortunately but I can respect the hockey arena experience more now for certain.
Seahawks 26, Jets 21
Life is tough as a Jets fan. The team hasn’t been to the playoffs in 15 years. They continually botch the draft and no premium free agents want to play for this clown show of a team. I thought that when they signed Aaron Rodgers and drafted Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall and Garrett Williams they would at least make the playoffs (I wasn’t delusional enough to have Super Bowl aspirations) but for Rodgers to blow up his Achilles 4 minutes into game 1 of the 2023 season was the most Jets thing to ever happen.
So cut to 2024 – Rodgers is back and they’re looking pretty good in training camp. Then Hassan Reddick decides to hold out leaving us without a premium edge rusher. He holds out until almost 3/4 of the season is over and comes in very rusty and has little impact at all. They fire Saleh 5 games into the season and elevate Jeff Ulbrich as head coach. That is not the move of a serious team. That’s the move of a petulant owner in Woody Johnson whose ego can’t stand the team continuing to lose.
So the Jets who up to that point were playing well and with a few lucky bounces would be 4-1 instead of 2-3 (These are facts – against my better judgement I watch every game) fall off a cliff. The defense which was good under Saleh starts to degrade. The offense is still putting up scores but not enough. They usually hang around in games but find small ways to lose (Well the bills put up 40 on them but that’s an outlier.. Oh wait the Steelers put up 37? My mistake)
Then they go full Jets and win a few of the final games to fall further back in the draft. That’s a classic Jets move that they pull out at the end of almost all their terrible seasons.
Take all this backstory and lets focus in on this game. It’s December and it’s really cold. Mid 20’s at MetLife feels like planet Hoth due to the constant wind. We were in the upper deck for this one and even chemical hand warmers weren’t doing much to keep the frostbite at bay.
The Jets go up early with a classic Rodgers to Davante Adams touchdown. The extra point is blocked (classic) They follow this up with a shovel pass for a touchdown. The Seahawks counter with a long drive for a touchdown then on the ensuing kickoff it’s returned by the jets for 98 yards and the touchdown. On the kickoff the Seahawks receiver fumbles the ball, picks it up starts to run and fumbles it again – Jets recover! So exciting.. I was pumped up – barely feeling the cold!
That’s when my friend turned to me and said “Hey man.. Hey. I know how you’re feeling it right now and yes this is exciting. But these are the jets and they will fuck this up”. I refused to let his negativity affect my good mood and told him “Nah man – this game is all Jets we’re gonna go up 28-7 here and that’ll be that”
Two plays later Leonard Williams picks off Rodgers and rumbles all the way down the field for a pick 6. Let me be clear: a 291 DE Picked off Rodgers and managed to return it all the way down the field for a touchdown. I mean – that’s peak Jets. He’s an ex-Jet too which makes it even more depressing. (To add a cherry to this insult Sundae Leonard Williams also sacked Aaron Rodgers late in the 4th quarter to end a pretty exciting comeback attempt. )
The second half was all Seahawks – they tacked on a touchdown and the Jets couldn’t muster any more points and the game ended on a 4th and forever that Rodgers had to launch early because the defensive line was about to murder him.
This game as an instant Jets classic and I mean that in the worst way.
At least we’re getting a new coach, a new GM, and probably a new QB unless Aaron returns from the darkness 20 years younger somehow.. But I doubt that’s going to happen.
Philadelphia 5, NYFC 1
Soccer shouldn’t be played in baseball stadiums. It should be played in stadiums designed for the sport. The sightlines at this game were poor and the seating was weird as some people were right on top of the action and others were too far away. They did close the upper deck at Yankee stadium for this however which was the right call. The game wasn’t that crowded and I think the stadium might be why (getting to the Bronx on a weeknight can be a nightmare sometimes)
That out of the way lets talk about the game. Philly took it to NYFC they scored early and often and it seemed like they had no answers for Philly’s attack. Philly’s keeper was unreal stopping some amazing shots and Freese made so many mistakes gifting Philly goals. I suspect my bad Yankees luck bled into this game as I was technically at Yankee stadium and for that I apologize to NYFC fans.
I did like the energy that the drum section brought to the game they were out there the entire game with chants and songs just pumping up the crowd – even when NYFC was down 5 goals. I was there with a Philly fan who was secretly cheering on their team and since I’m more of a Red Bull fan (if I had to pick an MLS team – my true fandom is SSC Napoli in Serie A) I just enjoyed that is was a high scoring game with a lot of action. I got a chance to go to field level to watch warmups which was a really cool experience. The food was good (I mean it’s the same food as Yankee stadium) but nothing that was a signature item like some teams have. I think aside from the weird configuration of stuffing a soccer pitch in a baseball stadium they took pains to make it a good fan experience and I appreciated all the little touches they made to try to imprint their brand on a place that wasn’t really theirs.
I read that NYFC is creating a soccer only stadium (https://www.newyorkcityfc.com/stadiumgallery) in Willets Point which looks pretty fantastic. It’s three years out but once it opens I may make the trek to Queens to check it out! (Hopefully on a day the Queens night market is active!)
Braves 4, Mets 0
The Mets were on a five game winning streak and looking great. Then I rolled into town and brough my bad sports luck with me, Goodbye 5 game win streak hellooo losing streak!
I had went with some Mets fans to the game as they were celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Mercury Mets. An ill-fated promotion in 1999 where the Mets pretended they were from the planet Mercury coming to earth to play baseball (https://www.mlb.com/video/taking-a-look-back-at-the-mercury-mets) – with some really awful uniforms and hilarious graphics on the big board.
Since I had no horse in the race I sat back and just enjoyed the nice summer day as Marcel Ozuna and Matt Olsen took it to the Mets back-to-back. Citi Field is really nice and I like that its walkable all around the stadium. Around the fourth inning we got up and went out to the center field patio which we discovered to our delight had a whiskey bar. We hung out there watching the game and enjoying our scotches for a while being entertained by the drunken Mets fans just doing their Mets thing.
After an inning or two hanging out with the people we went back to our seats (picking up some 40’s on the way) an caught the rest of the game which was quiet until the bottom of the ninth when the Mets started to rally putting a few men on base for Pete Alonso. My friends started to get excited – were they going to be present for an epic Mets comeback? Sadly no, as Alonso struck out stranding the runners Mets lose.
Overall the vibe at Citi Field was great I’d go to more games there but getting to Queens is a major hassle. After the game we popped over to the Queens night market and I highly recommend it. There was such a variety of different cuisines offered up at a reasonable cost. I sampled about 10 different cuisines while I was there taking furious notes for my ‘cooking around the world’ goals (although I doubt I could source Yak meat locally)
Tampa Bay Rays 9, Yankees 1
Let me start by pointing out I’m a huge Yankees fan. I’ve been one since I was a kid and I always try to go to a few games each year even after I moved pretty far from the stadium. I managed to get to three Yankees game this year and they lost every one. Not close games either – they got curb stomped each time and one of them was a world series game!
This was one of the few games I saw this year where I had a bunch of friends with me and I was hoping for an exciting game but was got was an epic meltdown by Nestor Cortes and a Yankee offense that completely disappeared. Now I’ll give Bradley his due – he was on fire leading up to this game and he continued that by shutting down the Yankees but they looked completely lost out there (a worrying trend that continued into the post season)
Watching the Rays tee off on Yankee pitching gave me Bugs Bunny vibes [insert gif] – It was frustrating to watch all parts of the team fail to show up. It’s like this all the time against Tampa – it seems like the Rays have the Yankees number. In fact – I usually try not to go to games when Tampa is in town for that very reason but when you are trying to coordinate the schedules of actual adults with actual responsibilities you take what you can get!
I mean it was still a day game at Yankee stadium with my boys so we had made our own entertainment since the product on the field wasn’t doing it for us and enjoyed the time we were there – anytime I’m at the stadium is a good time in my book and the Yankees did eventually end up in the world series…
Which they lost to the Dodgers in embarrassing fashion.
Nets 115, Pacers 111
I remember when the Nets were in Jersey – they were kind of a second class team for most of my childhood memory but I always kinda rooted for them as one of the two Jersey teams (them and the Devils) and they had a few good years that were exciting to watch (I really enjoyed how Jason Kidd moved the ball). When they moved to Brooklyn I stopped paying attention. They didn’t get a lot of TV time and the Barclay’s center was a pain to get to. They had a small resurgence in the first few years when they signed Durant, Irving, and Harden but while they were all transcendent players, as a team it just never clicked and after a few years that big three broke apart.
I was going to be in NYC for another event so I decided now’s a good a time as any to check out the Barclays center. I grabbed a resale ticket and hopped on the subway to begin my trek out to Brooklyn. I had to switch a few times but it was nice that the subway station is right under the stadium so all I had to do was walk out and it was right there.
I must say the arena really is beautiful – I really liked the curved architecture and the interiors were modern and had some really diverse food and drink choices. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to walk around and get to my seat (compared to some arenas where it felt like a cattle chute)
The game was pretty exciting – a back and forth affair that was fast paced and high scoring (a good palette cleanser for that awful sixers/knicks game). It was interesting to me how interactive the non-game elements were compared to more conservative teams. They had dance crews, flag teams, contests, and at the half they had some local rappers come out and spit some verses. I felt like they were intentional in making it a more local grounded product than those guys over at MSG. I felt like they understood that young fans need constant entertainment to stay engaged and they were leaning into it.
As much as Halliburton annoys me as a fan he was on fire and pretty much carrying the Pacers. There were a few really standout plays – notably the fake pass/windmill dunk by Claxton and the full court alley-oop that Toppin slammed down. The score was close at the end and Halliburton tried to bring them back but a long three pointer clanged off the rim and the Nets got the board sealing the win and stopping the furious comeback attempt.
I enjoyed my first visit to the Barclay’s center – it is a good place to watch some basketball. Too bad it’s such a pain to get to from where I live.
Sixers 79 – Knicks 7
I’ve been a Knicks fan since the 90’s with Ewing, Oakley, Starks, and Mason. I’m sure if it wasn’t for Michael Jordan they would have at least one chip from those years. Frustrating as those losses were, the team was so much fun to watch. However, once that team all retired the Knicks proceeded to trot out terrible teams for over 20 years (other than the brief Linsanity period of time which was fun) so I stopped watching them especially when we cut cable and it was difficult to watch them on TV.
So it as surprising to me when they started to get good the last few years. Hiring Thibs as a coach turned out to be inspired and then assembling an all Villanova team was fun (while it lasted) and Brunson turning into a superstar was really great to see. They were exciting again and the team of Brunson, Hart, DiVencenzo, OG, and Hartestein showed amazing chemistry. I started watching games again (When they were streamed on TBS / Max) and when they tore off 10 wins in a row I decided I needed to see them – this could be the year they go to the finals! So I bought good seats for what should have been a premiere game – the 76’ers coming into MSG and a battle for the East.
What I got was the most godawful game of basketball I’ve ever seen. I’ve see better play at my old man’s pickup league. The score was the lowest total score in the NBA in 15 years. There were more bricks than the third little pig’s house. Airballs all over the place, turnovers, bad fouls and overall poor play dominated the floor like MJ dominated the Knicks in the 90s. The people next to me in the seats started making bets on who would manage to actually sink a basket. I’m sure Fanduel probably had a prop bet open you could wager on.
Some would say “What a defensive game!”. They would be wrong – there was no defense shots were going up uncontested and they were still clanging off the rims with disturbing frequency. I stayed to the bitter end because the score, as low as it was, was pretty close.
So not only did I witness the bad kind of basketball history – the Knicks lost on top of it. That’s OK though because come playoff time they bested the sixers and this sequence will live on in my memory forever (also damn you for trading the Italian GOAT)
Viking 28, Giants 6
I don’t even know where to start with this game. It was the first game of the season and there was much pomp and circumstance for the Giants 100th season. They had on.. What could charitably be called a throwback uniform and I’m not sure what was worse the play on the field or those uniforms.
I suspect Metlife stadium was cursed at some point in the last few years by an angry witch or warlock because it defies belief that the JETS and the Giants are this bad. I’m not even a Giants fan and I was getting angry at how bad the Giants were playing. I mean that pick six from their own 5 yard line was just a signal of how the season was going to progress (although in true Giants fashion they won a few games at the end to drop out of the top of the draft)
In this case I had nicer seats so at least I could enjoy this debacle from the comfort of a padded chair and with an open bar and free food but man was the football product on the field terrible. Watching Jets castoff Sam Darnold tear it up was adding insult to injury – what could have been if the organization wasn’t so inept.
We did a bit of tailgating – hanging out in the lot and enjoying some fresh cut Philly cheesesteaks and some craft beers to help get us into the mood to watch terrible football. Metlife stadium continues to be the most boring stadium in all of sports and seeing it decked out in Giants blue instead of the Jets green I’m used to was pretty neat but overall it had nothing notable about it at all. It’s amazing to me how they decided that THAT was the design they were going to go with.
I remember seeing architecture mockups of what a new Jets stadium in Manhattan would look like and being really impressed with the designs. They opted to not do that, return to a partnership with the Giants and build a stadium with all the panache of a soviet housing block.
Still – it as a nice day and we were watching a football game with lots of food and drink so it still was a good day. I mean most of the fans left in the third quarter to beat the traffic and I kind of wish we were one of them as getting out of the stadium lots is a 40 minute endeavor sometimes.
https://www.nfl.com/games/vikings-at-giants-2024-reg-1?active-tab=highlights
50for50tony.me 