Happy New Year – almost!

This week Andrew and Jim revisit some of the highs, the lows, and everything in between – including Jim's hair, which is basically a third host at this point – as we reflect on the pod's progress so far... and some of the exciting plans (and guests) we're cooking up for 2025!  

Here's what we cover in (a LOT) of detail this week:  
00:00 Happy New Year Reflections 
00:20 Reviewing Past Episodes 
02:24 Episode 55: Can Rest Be Productive? 
03:34 Episode 56: How to Simplify Tunes 
05:39 Episode 57: What's the Real Cost of Bagpiping? 
07:38 Episode 58: Freeing Up Your Piping Bandwidth 
10:11 Episode 59: Do You Own or Rent Your Piping Skills? 
12:31 Episode 60: The Tone Zone 
15:21 Episode 61: Getting the Most Out of Band Practice 
15:47 Episode 62: The Four Layers of Drone Reed Sound 
18:09 Episode 63: Constructing a Winning Medley 
20:06 Episode 64: Listener Q&A Mailbag 
20:19 Episode 65: Set It and Forget It Method 
20:55 Episode 66: Finding Your Perfect Drone Reed Setup 
21:55 Episode 67: Has Bagpipe Pitch Gone Too High? 
22:25 Episode 68: The Ultimate Secret to Being a Better Bagpiper or Drummer 
22:51 Episode 69: The Sticky Truth About Chanter Tape 
23:29 Episode 70: Play It Like You're Saying It 
23:33 Episode 71: Is Bass Drone Tuning Hard? 
24:39 Episode 72: Ten Clues Your Pipe Major Sucks 
25:58 Finding Your Ideal Chanter Reed Strength 
26:17 Reddit Q&A: Hardest Tune Ever Written 
26:54 Imagining a World Without Bagpipes 
27:24 The Importance of Embellishments in Bagpipe Playing 
29:59 Competing in Band and Solo Competitions 
30:33 The Bagpiping AI Revolution 
30:53 Portent Parade Principles 
32:55 Reviving Stagnant Tunes 
33:58 A North American Piper's Guide to Visiting Scotland 
35:56 More Reddit Questions and Bagpipe Topics 
36:40 The Intensity Equation and Finding Bagpipe Freedom 
37:35 How to Embrace Failure in Bagpiping 
37:48 Pipers of the Caribbean: A Bagpiping Cruise 38:19 Balancing Perfection and Fun in Bagpiping 
38:35 The Formula to Beat the Pipe Band Struggle 
39:26 Building Stamina and Hot Takes on Bagpipe Reddit Questions 
40:20 The Eleven Commandments of Bagpiping 
40:44 Writing the First Ever Podcast March 
41:06 Reflecting on 100 Episodes and the Power of Immersion 
42:08 Secrets of Ensemble Judges 
42:54 Daily Action and Upcoming Episodes 
44:46 Looking Forward to More Guests and Episodes