My friends, this post will be an aside from what I normally post in Skool. Some of you were alive for the first moon landing. Some of you don't pay attention to these things. My life has always been absorbed in focusing on the real progress of humanity. I'm obsessed with things that grow, and in my lifetime alone we have become such a capable species, though many would tell you this is not so. I created Bjorn to feed my family, yes, but also to improve the lives of the people in St. Lawrence county. I continue to work on this project in the hopes of learning how to build systems that foster life in extreme environments. The gym, "the Forge" is just such a place. We come to the gym to improve our bodies by the method of physical stress. We forge new muscle, greater bone density, and relationships with other people hoping to better themselves. If this project is successful, so many of you will be immersed in a system that dramatically improves your lives and well-being. I can't wait to see that for you, as I have for so many already. But there is an even tougher system other people far smarter than me have built on the Artemis II rocket, which will be launching humans to orbit the moon this evening. These "life support systems" allow life to survive or even thrive in extreme environments. Few of you know, but before I started learning foreign languages, my intended field of study was in engineering life support systems in space (for plants, it's a long story). Space is a terrifying place. Everything outside of this planet is hostile to life. The lack of gravity degrades your muscles and bones, the constant cosmic radiation destroys your DNA. The Astronauts who go into space do so at great risk to themselves. And yes, they work out a lot. While I'm not trying to get any of you to become astronauts, I wanted to share with you a passion of mine that comes along with some very exciting news for humanity. While we often get bogged down in the weather-like world-shaking events on the news, missions like this one afford us the opportunity to reflect on just how far we've come as a species, how much we've actually accomplished, and how wrong the mental models our favorite news sources provide to us may be.

This post is long overdue, but I wanted to extend a warm welcome to the adventurers who all started their journey this week! @Sue Theisen @Heather Truax @Pat Snider @Patricia Mccarthy @Janet Lomastro @Angelia M Bernard @Lori Snyder @marsha watson @Jeanne Tyo-Martin @Stacey Howlett @David Fisher @Caroline Dodge I'm so excited for this group. All of you have so much to gain, so much to learn, and such delightful personalities! I cannot wait to see what the coming weeks and months will bring for your health and strength!!!

I'm so excited to introduce the next group of wonderful people who've taken up the courage to get started on their goals of being healthier. Please welcome @Linda LaRue, @Marsha Akins, @Jen Harper, @Mother Sophronia Hofstead, @Christine Daggett, @Jo Ann Zenger, @Terry Lewis, @Donna Hall, and @Kathy Del Guidice to our adventure! The road ahead will be difficult, but you will get stronger with each day and those who fall in love with the journey get the most rewards in the end!

@Susan Dodds is the Hero of Yule 2026! She won a $300 airbnb gift card and if your Shapesmith is Maire, Joe, or Tyler then you will be getting the Hero of Yule t-shirts. Thank you to everyone who came to our party today. It meant the world to me to see you all.

Hi all, we are collecting RSVPs on who plans to come to the Yule Fest this week (Sat Dec. 27th from 12:00 to 4:00) It is a potluck event, and we ask that if you have chairs or folding tables please bring them. We will have games, karaoke, and we will be announcing the winning team and the Hero of Yule. If you're bringing something please leave a comment below. Family is welcome! If you haven't responded to our text, or you just wanna double RSVP you can RSVP here as well!