Welp, I'm hanging up my hat for all things Denver tech community-related. After running Denver Devs for a while and now Denver Tech Social Club for a year, I've decided it's time to pack it in.

Thankfully, DTSC will be taken over by two wonderful folks: Zach Green is at the helm, and Brett Hazen is stepping in for the Meetup group. These two are amazing, and I couldn't be happier to hand things over to them. I predict some great things are going to happen when they do!

As for me - I'm done. No more meetups, Discords, Slack, etc. It's been a good ten years, but it's time I fizzle out and go do other stuff. Thanks to everyone who supported my little endeavors - Denver Devs, the social club, the meetups, all of it. I am happy to have met so many wonderful folks over the years.

Feel free to drop me a message on random social media or at my email (hi@dan-h.dev) if you want to keep in touch :)

(Inspired by Chris Coyier, who was inspired by Matt C, who was inspired by this post from rknight.me … phew, okay, I think we got it. Now for the apps… I keep it pretty damn simple)

📨 Mail Client: Mail (on both iOS and macOS)

📮 Mail Server: iCloud and Google?

📝 Notes: Apple Notes

✅ To-Do: Apple Reminders

📷 Photo Shooting: iPhone 15 Pro Max

🎨 Photo Editing: iOS Photos app, and occasionally Photomator

📆 Calendar: Fantastical (pro subscription) with both iCloud and Google calendars

📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive

📖 RSS: Reeder

🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: macOS Contacts

🌐 Browser: Safari on both iOS and Mac

💬 Chat: Messages, Webex (work), Discord

🔖 Bookmarks: Safari bookmarks

📑 Read It Later: GoodLinks… but I never read it later 😅

📜 Word Processing: Apple Notes and Grammarly Editor

📈 Spreadsheets: Numbers

📊 Presentations: Figma

🛒 Shopping Lists: Reminders

🍴 Meal Planning: Ugmonk Analog Weekly Cards and Mela

💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Copilot and Numbers

📰 News: Apple News, RSS

🎵 Music: Apple Music

🎤 Podcasts: None, sometimes The Bald and The Beautiful on YouTube.

🔐 Password Management: 1Password

🧑‍💻 Code Editor: VS Code

✈️ VPN: Work has a VPN, but my devices don’t.

I like to use a few extra apps, but I wouldn't say they're my default. Tripsy and Flightly are great when traveling. Swipewipe has started to climb up as something fun to check daily. Threads has landed as my chosen Social Media.

I used to have a lot more apps in rotation, but more and more, I just want things to be simple, and right now, the Apple ecosystem of apps works for me. Do you have any neat apps you like to use all the time?

Going from Tumblr anonymous messages, to emails, to texts, to talking nightly on the phone or over Skype for two years. Moving in together. Visiting a handful of states. Moving to four different apartments. A global pandemic. Five jobs for me, two for her. Two ER trips (that was my bad, but I'm okay!). Disneyland. Our first real vacation. Getting engaged. Waking up this morning going "Wow, it's already been 10 years?"

Sure has, and they've been an absolute blast.

What's next? We're still figuring out our wedding stuff because—gestures broadly—life has a funny way of working, but we'll get there. For now, we've got a cute dinner date planned for tonight :)

I'll get this out of the way first: Phoenix was hot. Constantly hot. Picture standing by the exhaust of a bus or a big machine as it blows hot air on you. That was Phoenix for us every single minute. It didn't matter if it was at 9 a.m. or midnight. It was hot.

The heat was honestly the only negative I could find for our trip to Phoenix.

Day One

We landed at Sky Harbor (which, what a cool name for an airport) at what looked like a newer terminal. It was modern and beautiful, and the airport experience there was nice. They claim to be "America's friendliest airport," and I'd believe it.

We took the Sky Bus to the city's light rail system from the airport and took that downtown to our hotel. All of that was super easy, straightforward, and cheap! The light rail only cost us $2 each. The dropoff point was about an 8-minute walk to our hotel, and that's when I realized once again: carrying luggage in 6 pm Phoenix heat is... not ideal.

We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Downtown Phoenix, and I have no complaints. It seemed like a more business-class hotel, nothing too fancy, but nothing awful. The rates were reasonable, and the rooms were clean and modern. I'd stay there again, but I wouldn't mind splurging on something a little fancier next time.

Jana and I set out for food and drinks on our first night in the area, scootering down to Wilderness DTPHX. They had great beers and even better food. We wound up sipping a few drinks and (ravenously) munching on some tacos, chicken & waffles. We stayed there for a couple of hours, shifting between the nice indoor AC and the massive patio blanketed with misters.

After Wilderness, our friends got into town, and we met them at the hotel. Scootering on the way, and that's when I saw my first Waymo. I nearly wrecked. If you're unfamiliar, Waymos are these new driverless cars. They're a fancy Jaguar loaded with all kinds of sensors and gizmos. I lost it and told Jana I had to get in one before we left.

After meeting up with friends, we headed to a little Irish bar downtown, then popped across the street into a bar quietly tucked into an alleyway called Valley Bar. It had a great vibe - a DJ was playing 80's Japanese pop, the drinks were themed, and it was nice and cool. We stayed for a bit and then called it a night.

Day Two

Thanks to the night before, we rolled out of bed late, looking for AC and some good breakfast. We wound up at Matt's Big Breakfast downtown — it was a nice simple diner, no booze though, but hey. After that, we took a Lyft to a wild store that is the "place where all Nordstrom Rack stuff in the nation goes before it goes away." — I didn't go in, opting to sit on the floor of the outdated '80s mall instead.

From there, it was go and get ready for part of our group. Jana and some friends were heading out to see Beyonce that night. We all putzed around in the hotel rooms while they got ready. We met our friend—who lives in Phoenix—and his boyfriend, too. His boyfriend wasn't going to Beyonce, and two of us had a night to kill, and he graciously offered to have us hang out with him.

We popped to a great cocktail bar called Sazerac and then hit a game of Loteria (with really great production quality) at another local bar I can't remember the name of, peaked into what used to be an old goth/alt bar (sadly, no more, now it's just a regular bar), and then headed to another local spot. Between the last two bars, I finally got to call a Waymo and lost it at how damn comfortable and relaxed that ride was. My friends were (understandably) making fun of me the rest of the trip with just how obsessed I became over those damn cars.

Denver, please, give me Waymo.

Day Three

On day three, Jana and I snuck away in the morning to grab breakfast at a cute coffee shop + coworking space called Kahvi Coffee and Cafe. Jana had fantastic matcha, and I had a nourishing protein bowl with quinoa, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, and butternut squash. 10/10 would go again.

After that, we stopped at the adjacent shop, Phoenix General, where we picked up a new pair of hand-crafted earrings for Jana that had a beautiful patina. They had some great art prints, too, that I will be ordering for the house.

From there, we walked over to The Churchill (walked, in this heat? ew), where we sought refuge under the shade, giant fans, and misters. Churchill is like this neat food hall. While waiting for friends, we picked up a few more drinks and little trinkets from the stores.

Up next on the agenda was a trek out to some giant mall in Scottsdale. It was airconditioned and fancy, that's all I can tell you about it. A mall is a mall, I guess.

From there, it was dinner reservations at Chico Malo. The food and drinks were fantastic (a little pricey if you plan on going!), but unfortunately, we could only get patio reservations. We thought we could make it, which we did, but at what cost? Sweating profusely while eating your food is a new ick I didn't know I had.

After that, we decided to chase some drinks and air conditioning. Popping into a string of bars from Cobra Arcade, Sazerac (again!), and finally landing at a cool place called Palma. Cheap drinks, fantastic misters, and comfy seats. All the bars were packed, but it all worked out fine.

We took one more Waymo back to the hotel and called it a (reasonably not late) night.

Day Four

Okay, I said three days, but we were there for four. Most of that was spent packing and heading to the airport, though. We did take one last trek out to Hula's Modern Tiki for a bit of food and a drink.

Finally, we took one last Waymo (I'll miss you) back to the airport and returned to Denver, greeted by a beautiful 73-degree summer night.

I have finally stopped sweating at all hours of the day.

I was going to write a monthly wrap-up for July, but July just whizzed by. Seriously, what's up with the flow of time this year? It feels like everything is just zipping by faster and faster. Some highlights from July were: time with friends, Barbie, a spontaneous trip down to Colorado Springs for a night, and... I don't know, avoiding the heat? Oof.

Anyway, that's not what this post is about. This post is about me turning thirty-five (five days ago). Like a good Leo (I don't believe in astrology stuff, but it's fun to use it as an excuse for bad behavior), I like to make things about myself. I also like seeing folks post their own cool "here was another revolution around the sun" posts where they jaw on about what went down in their year and what's coming up next — so here I am.

Sort of a tangent, but I've always enjoyed attaching meaning to arbitrary dates. January 1st resolutions? Sign me up. The beginning of a month? Oh boy. My birthday? A Monday? What better magical dates to start some random initiative from (instead of just starting, ya know, gotta wait until the stars align)?

Let's get back on track. I'm another year older, now heading closer to 40 than not.

How do I feel about that? I'm not sure.

On paper, it's kinda freaky, but I don't feel much different. Maybe it's because I've been exercising and eating a little better, so my physical health is improving. Or maybe it's because I'm finally financially stable, so I'm not always stressed about money. If anything, I feel better heading into 35 than most other years.

One of my old bosses did tell me that your thirties and forties are some of the greatest years of your life. Hopefully, that holds up. I've been incredibly fortunate to find myself wiggled into the position I'm at— content, comfortable, safe, and supported. I'd like that to continue.

It's not all sunshine. I still get hits of anxiety from time to time. Waking up at night disoriented and confused, and then getting hammered with adrenaline for no reason. Seeing ambulances on the road still freaks me out a bit. Yadda yadda, but the good thing is those feelings are slowly dwindling. They aren't as common, or I have better tools to tell myself, "Hey, it's okay, calm down," and ways to work through it.

I still get bouts of depression when I don't feel like doing anything. Not even playing a video game. I still get a little bummed out about the shape of my body. How much closer am I to recomposing this little meat mech I'm piloting around? Not sure, but I still hit the gym three days a week and sweat my ass off while pushing and pulling heavy things. It feels good, even without visual changes.

One nagging thing I've been feeling lately is how much content I consume vs what I create. I'm on Instagram, I'm on Threads, I'm on Bluesky, I'm on Mastodon — scrolling and scrolling, entering a wormhole of consumption and coming out on the other side feeling like I just mindlessly woofed down a bag of chips. Sure, it was "fun," but I don't feel satiated on the other side. I want to create things but don't know where to go. Photography? Drawing? 3d Modeling?

The lack of creation is a big shift for me from my younger years. Growing up, I'd make things. I'd be painting or drawing all the time. Then I went to college for design, so I had my days filled with various art classes. After college, I still drew, took photos, and so on. Slowly that's become "just sit on your butt and look at what other people are making."

I know writing is "making" something, but it hits different.

Where the hell am I going with this? I'm not sure. But hey, I'm older, so maybe I'm being self-reflective and wise. No, not likely.

"Not everything deserves to be content!", they cry.

But then, I'm proud of — after years of having a messy entryway closet — finally tidying up the space so I'm gonna share it. All it took was a (somewhat expensive) purchase and about 15 minutes of work. Putting stuff off is neat, isn't it?

One of the projects I've been thinking about tackling for... probably too long... is our office space. I don't mind it, but it lacks personality, cohesion, or comfort. It's just a space where I go to work throughout the day, and then I'm out at night.

So, in the spirit of writing more, I'm jotting down the process as I walk through it — starting today by taking stock of what I have, what I like, and what I don't. I'm also opening it up here to crowd-source some thoughts, so feel free to comment below or on whatever site you find this post on!

Let's start with some pictures:

What's working for me:

• The desk is great. It's a big, Fully standing desk, and I love the light-tone wood.
• My chair is also great. Big fan of that thing.
• The tech I use works — I went from two monitors to one, and everything else gives me no problems.
• Lots of storage space! Which... also isn't working. More on that below.
• Overall cleanliness. I get overwhelmed in maximalist spaces. I love it for other people, but it's not for me.

What isn't working for me:

• As I mentioned above, it's cold and lacks personality or cohesion. I've got various knick-knacks scattered about because I just wanted to put something on the shelves, but they don't mean anything.
• It's also not very "mature," which I'm definitely not, but the gamer stuff and the Nanoleaf lights near my monitor are kinda growing old to me. I don't mind the Nanoleaf lines on the back wall, they're subtle enough to work for an interesting backdrop when I'm on camera.
• Speaking of, I'm on camera often, so I like having something behind me that's interesting in some way.  
• My Destiny stuff could probably stand to be put in storage. I stopped playing the game.  
• I'd love more artwork on the walls.
• Also, while being great, all the storage space leads to me pack-ratting stuff. Pretty much every drawer looks like the shot below. Or the drawer is almost empty except for a few random things.

To wrap it up:

My office is fine but could use some attention. I plan to drop some things (the knick-knacks, gamer stuff, lights, etc.) and add others, like artwork, meaningful objects, etc. I'll also tidy up my drawers with a solid purge of junk.

I'd love some light behind my monitor if I get rid of the Nanoleaf. Some days it gets dark in that little corner, and having something bright there is good.  

See anything that stands out? Want to rib me for my utter lack of personality in the office space? Have any suggestions? Hit me with a comment or shoot me an email. Thanks for reading! See you back here for part two.  

Favorite things this month:

• Relaxing. Finally, getting a chance to shut off my brain for a bit and chill (when not at work)
• Our bird friends and how they'd wake me up in the morning with chatter
• Seeing my folks
• The beautiful weather in Colorado and how everything is turning green

Photos from the month:

In the spirit of writing more, I thought I'd take a crack at jotting down my thoughts on some of the games I've been playing lately, starting with Horizon Forbidden West™: Burning Shores. If you like this content, let me know in the comments or by emailing me!

The latest DLC for Horizon Forbidden West hit a few days ago, and in that time, I sat down and completed the main story and all the side quests. This new DLC introduced some updates regarding mechanics & gameplay, and the story. So let's dive into my thoughts on each below.

Heads up, there will be some spoilers here — particularly in the Story section. So if you don't want spoilers, get out of here and play the game!

If you want to skip some finer details, here's a TLDR: I enjoyed most of the story but wanted more. I felt somewhat neutral about the new mechanics & gameplay and left the burnt-out L.A. landscape wondering, "Why?" — and maybe a little burnt-out myself.

Mechanics & Gameplay

Horizon Forbidden West™: Burning Shores introduced a handful of new bits to fiddle with in the skill tree for each focus (warrior, hunter, and so on) — down at the bottom of the stack. While nothing particularly stood out to me as a total game-changer, I did have enough points to pick up all of them — but I didn't feel like I had much of a reason to employ any of these new mechanics. So I stuck with my " shoot things until it dies" or "just fling explosives at it" strategies. I'm not saying the new toys were terrible; I didn't feel like I got much of a chance (or reason) to use them.

We did get some new gear and a new currency — though I can't say why the new currency was introduced other than to make a little bit of a progression gate for those already wealthy at the end of the game. But, look, I already spent 60+ hours beating the game; let me go down to L.A. and buy all the new threads I want without having to hunt for some shiny new stones, please.

A few new robo dinos were introduced, one being a big frog-like thing that hops around and spits out flying eggs. Fights with these were fine, but all too often, I would get pegged against a wall or obstacle while the frog boy hopped around like mad and kept spitting out eggs (and eventually sticky glue) — leading to some frustrating and frantic fights.

The theme of "frustrating fights" could be my main takeaway from the DLC mechanics. Enemies felt like arrow sponges, and some more dramatic boss fights felt awkward and forced. There's a chance to take on a big Horus, and that fight felt like an exercise in patience more than an accomplishment or a big cinematic moment.

Overall mechanically & gameplay-wise, I'd say there were some neat new toys to fiddle with, some enemies to beat up, and intriguing boss fights, but aspects in each area fell a little flat for me.

Story and setting

I'll preface my take on the story with the news that, unfortunately, the story is getting review-bombed by the less-than-intelligent crowd. Any guesses why? Big spoiler here: Aloy finally has the option to find love with the new character introduced, Seyka, a woman — which upsets some people. Ah, bigotry.

I dug most of the smaller story beats introduced in Burning Shores while the plot felt rehashed. Some rich ancient person threatens the planet, Aloy (and her new pal Seyka) have to roam around the area figuring out why and how to deal with it, and then there's a showdown at the end, and the crisis is averted... which... is basically what happened in the base game.

Like I said, though; while the overall plot felt a bit flat, the new characters and subplots were where the DLC shined for me. Seyka is a character I love; she is headstrong, intelligent, and compassionate (just like Aloy) but in a unique way. She'd have my vote if they ever did a spin-off of Horizon with a new character.

The Quen are also intriguing, and we got a better glimpse into their structure and vibe. It took me a second to realize their "Compliance" officer was quoting some ancient corporate employee handbook to enforce their views, which had me chuckling.

Of course, the new setting was great; if one thing is consistently a treat in Horizon games, it's the world. Seeing familiar landmarks in a post-apocalyptic treatment the way Guerrilla Games does hasn't gotten old yet. I wish we had more reason to explore those areas, though.

Let's wrap up

You might be wondering if you've read down to here; wait, Dan, did you even like Burning Shores? Overall, it was decent and worth picking up for just $20. While I didn't walk away from the Burning Shores with a newfound love for the Horizon series, Guerrilla Games did a solid enough job with some incremental updates and experiments with where Horizon could go — I just wish we had a bit more time, or incentive, to also invest in those new... horizons.

Note: I'm republishing this because my Digital Ocean instance crashed, and my last droplet restore point was six days ago. Thankfully I had a backup of this post in my feed reader. Lessons learned!

As I mentioned in an older post, My 2023 Priorities and Goals, I would start breaking down priorities and goals into quarters, looking at what went well, and planning how to adjust things in the future, so let's hop right into it!

Breaking down goals and priorities into quarters

I hadn't set any goals or priorities for the first quarter beyond what I had set for the overall year, so the second quarter is where I'm starting. I can count this a success since I'm doing it right now, so we'll see how it goes in the 3rd quarter.

Spending more time with folks

I put more social-outing events on my calendar in Q1 than I have in a long, long while. Some days all I want to do is go out and meet new folks and chat all night; others, I want to hide away at home. I might be an introvert or an ambivert; honestly, I'm not sure anymore. Regardless I pushed through, even on days when I didn't want to get out of the house, and I am happy I did so. Hopefully, as the weather warms up in Q2, I'll see even more opportunities for getting out and about with folks! My goal in Q2 is at least two social outings a month!

Recomposing my body

With a trainer, I've jumped up my training regiment in Q1 to three times a week. While I'm not visually seeing major differences, we did do a body scan with a fancy machine at the gym, and that's reporting a gradual uptick in lean mass. Still, I'm maintaining the same amount of body fat. Is that a good thing? My trainer says it's not bad. Either way, I know that diet is my big holdup. I'm putting in the work at the gym, but now I have to put in the work at home. For Q2, I aim to hit at least 140g of protein daily, cook at least four meals at home, and reduce my sugar / empty carb intake overall.

Branch out at work

This one's coming along slowly but surely. While I haven't taken the time to put any important meetings with important people on the calendar, I am chatting and working with new folks. For Q2, I'll aim to pop at least one meeting with a higher-up if their schedule permits.

Reading 40 books (and reading some that aren't just sci-fi or fantasy)

I've read ten books in Q1 so far, so if I hold that pace, I'll be right on track for 40 in a year. I also picked up Sarah Drasner's Engineering Management for the Rest of Us and have been slowly combing through that. I struggle with non-fiction — but it's worth it to push through. My goal for Q2 is to finish Sarah's book and either start or finish another non-fiction book, too.

Planning a wedding

We had some healthy discussions about what we want from a wedding in Q1, mainly around timing and the overall experience. We know we want it to be outside in the sunshine, so we're taking this year to see when Denver starts to get pretty and green, which means we might have to push the wedding into 2024. Since it will be pretty small, too, the planning is a little easier. At least we're nailing down what we want, communicating, and figuring it all out now. Jana's a wonderful partner for that! There's nothing on the roster for Q2 other than observing when the trees get green and pretty.

Visiting new places in CO or the surrounding areas

No progress on this one! Q1 flew by, and we had little time or headspace to escape. We have plans to head to Pheonix in August, so that'll help check a box in Q3. In Q2, I'll look at planning a day trip to somewhere in the area, have any suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

Help others create meetups, communities, and more in the Denver tech space

One way to do that is to shut down the community chat you've been running for eight years and tell others to make their own. But seriously, two fantastic community spaces popped up from that move, and I couldn't be happier to see some new life get injected into the space. For Q2, I plan on nudging my own space, DTSC, into more action through incentives or good old-fashioned badgering.

Write more

Well, here I am! I didn't write as much as I'd liked in Q1 — it slipped by, and with DD shutting down, my head wasn't in it. I've got a few neat articles planned for Q2, but maybe I should set a pace for myself. One post a week sounds doable.

That's it! Thanks for reading along. Be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Ghost CMS powers the comments and sign-up features, and they're free and not a massive invasion of privacy. There's also a fancy newsletter feature if you'd like to get my posts sent straight to your mailbox.

I'd honestly love to hear your thoughts, though!

See you in Q3!