> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.joeyplunkett.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # February, 2026 - URL: https://www.joeyplunkett.com/february-2026-2/ - Published: 2026-02-12T17:31:46.000Z - Updated: 2026-02-13T16:13:08.000Z - Author: Joey Plunkett - Tags: recs ## **On The Nightstand** [**The Terror – Dan Simmons**](https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316486094?ref=joeyplunkett.com) Was brought to this author by the fantasy novel [*Hyperion*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77566.Hyperion?ref=joeyplunkett.com) which I really enjoyed so I figured I needed to see what else he's written. This book is also right up my alley. It’s a historical fiction imagining of what might have happened to the real ships HMS *Terror* and HMS *Erebus* on their ill-fated voyage to discover the Northwest Passage. It becomes a dark, inverted version of the hero story I read as a kid about [Shackleton’s escape from the Antarctic](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128717.Endurance?from%5Fsearch=true&from%5Fsrp=true&qid=1fD2C1VAib&rank=6&ref=joeyplunkett.com) ice, just set at the opposite pole. It dips into horror with some fun mythic / fantasy elements creeping in at the edges. The Cold that feels endless and the story kinda beats you down. Love it. Looking forward to reading his book *Drood* at some point in the future before diving back into his more straightforward fantasy / sci-fi books. --- ## **On The TV** [**The Sopranos**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMwNkEzR6Lg&ref=joeyplunkett.com) Turns out it’s really good. Who knew? My wife and I love it equally, which is also fun. We’ve burned through the first five seasons since late summer and are now approaching the end of Season 6. It’s basically a family drama about marriage, balancing work and family, and trying to reconcile the person you think people expect you to be with who you actually want to be. They just dress it up with the whole mob thing. I love the intentionality of the writing, and the performances are amazing. If you’re one of the tens of people who somehow still haven’t watched The Sopranos, I give it a thumbs up — which you can toss onto the pile of millions of other thumbs already pointed in that direction. --- ## **In The Grinder** [**Tropical Weather – Onyx**](https://onyxcoffeelab.com/products/tropical-weather?variant=31862710173794&ref=joeyplunkett.com) With the move, we left behind easy access to our favorite coffee in our neighborhood in Denver — [Middlestate](https://www.middlestatecoffee.com/?ref=joeyplunkett.com). Still learning how best to keep great beans stocked at the house for the machine, but a subscription to get the two-pound bags of Tropical Weather from Onyx seem like a winner so far. Light and fruity and almost summery — nice to drink on cold days. Makes great espresso too, not just our normal and beloved americanos. --- ## **On The Record Player** [**Night Time, My Time (2013) – Sky Ferreira**](https://open.spotify.com/album/1bvCVYPVl445mO690M2dOr?si=R-QAmr14QdqhqiV0kbmrTQ&ref=joeyplunkett.com) One of the best pop albums of the early 2010s and probably my favorite. I think the album feels timeless in a way that it could have been dropped anytime in the past 20 years — or yesterday — but it also has the emotional pull to put me right back into that stretch in the mid-2010s when I was finishing my master’s, moving to New York, and trying to become a real adult. So it feels fresh when I put it on now, but it also still drips with nostalgia at the same time. Powerful combination. It’s also interesting because it feels like a standalone album. It came out in 2013, and we’re still waiting for the follow-up, *Masochism*. Check out: - “[You’re Not the One](https://open.spotify.com/track/0Px73m5ACfeYHYsAo9YTfP?si=1fb967a2ecf84ce3&ref=joeyplunkett.com)” - “[24 Hours](https://open.spotify.com/track/2XPxacir3WoMtJ2pbTd240?si=c0965689445c4315&ref=joeyplunkett.com)” - “[I Blame Myself](https://open.spotify.com/track/0i62I5HJlzIVu2FALBmBPx?si=646636ba05e64a13&ref=joeyplunkett.com)” And bonus Sky track not on the album: “[Everything Is Embarrassing.](https://open.spotify.com/track/70v5mCvyPRquTyU7qTIU81?si=3e190db4c6ef4416&ref=joeyplunkett.com)” --- ## **On The Radio** [**Lantern Rouge Cycling Podcast**](https://open.spotify.com/show/6SgAvOJ2kOpswpe0aOMgDH?si=5517d2f60594445e&ref=joeyplunkett.com) Cyclocross season is winding down and the pro peloton is starting to eye early races, so it’s time for me to dip back into the world of cycling and figure out what’s going on this season. I’ve gotten into following pro cycling over the past few years, and this pod is a big part of it. Cycling isn’t the easiest sport to follow — tons of riders, weird team names, races that are rarely on normal TV channels, and everything happening in European time zones, which makes it even harder here in North America. But Patrick and Benji make following the sport fun and approachable. The best sports podcasts pack in a lot of information but still feel like a hang. They do that really well. Oh, and Patrick does the best breakdowns of the sport: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXn9I0058q0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXn9I0058q0&ref=joeyplunkett.com) --- ## **Periodical On The Table** **“**[**Antarctica’s Newest Research Station Holds a Lesson for Snowy Cities**](https://www.fastcompany.com/91487302/antarctica-newest-research-station-holds-a-lesson-for-snowy-cities?ref=joeyplunkett.com)**”** Maybe it pairs with reading *The Terror*, but I’ve always been fascinated by research stations and permanent buildings in Antarctica and the far north. The design constraints. The isolation. The fact that right now there are just people going about their day in *Antarctica*. Ohh also, did you know ou can actually [play basketball](https://youtu.be/b1ZMsOJ7lWg?si=2mkv710MTdnShWDz&t=1094&ref=joeyplunkett.com) at the South Pole? It's all super cool. --- ## **Thought I’ve Been Pondering** > [“Two simple rules: You get better at what you practice. Everything is practice.”](https://jamesclear.com/quotes/two-simple-rules?ref=joeyplunkett.com) > — James Clear I keep my [Braun battery-powered alarm clock](https://us.braun-clocks.com/collections/alarm-clocks/products/bc02x-braun-classic-analogue-travel-alarm-clock-black-white?ref=joeyplunkett.com) on top of a dresser I can’t reach without getting out of bed. I’m a big believer in old-school alarm clocks so that the first thing you interact with in the morning isn’t your cell phone. And theoretically, putting it out of reach means I have to physically get up and start my day to turn it off. Problem is, I’ve been practicing something else. For too long, I’ve gotten out of bed, slapped the top of the thing to shut it up, and then crawled right back in for “just ten more minutes.” I’ve been practicing ignoring my own signal to wake up and start my day. And practice has made me very efficient at it. So good, in fact, that it’s been difficult to break the habit. Thinking about everything you do as practice — as something you’re getting better at whether you mean to or not — is an interesting shift. Which, at least for now, has helped me not go back to bed for just ten more minutes the last few weeks.