“You have to be odd to be number one”
– Doctor Seuss
Chris
3/3 GHR Check-In!
Time to review my progress from this past month. This is the 11th annual attempt at creating life-long habits for myself. I’ve discovered that because of the after the end-of-year holidays I am not mentally or physically capable of sticking with resolutions for the upcoming new year. I need a break so I take the whole month of January off to reflect and plan.
Physical
Dance lessons. We’re leaning towards country dancing. I’ll see what I can do to change that.
Kickboxing/sparring: Can you believe my gym has only one class a week? Yep, I call BS too. Guess we’ll have to do this at home.
Disc Golf. Waiting on warmer weather
Yoga/Meditation: Still not a habit but I am enjoying this more. There is a yoga studio nearby and classes at the gym.
All of this with a goal to drop 25 pounds. My motto will be “Eat clean, train mean, get lean”. Three pounds so far. That recent road trip didn’t help.
Technical
Learn Python: Not the data scientist yet but there is some lessons learned.
///Print (“Hello World!”)
Artistical
Sketching, drawing, doodling: learned some tips and tricks on using the Pencil. Shading, pressure, etc.
Learn Spanish: “Mi nombre es Chris Denbow”
Learn Chinese: “Ni hao, wo de minzi jio Chris Denbow”
Learn to play the ukulele: I picked up the instrument once this month, tuned it and then moved on to something else.
DAM- Digital Asset Management: Progress! The new year allowed me to start fresh, purge and then organize the keepers into months. Granted, only two months but there were a lot of photos so far.
Write short stories. “He had seen a lot of incredible sights when working with his camera over the years. But nothing like this and certainly nothing he wanted to see ever again.”
Write micro fiction: Micro fiction or flash fiction? I’m on the fence as to what to call it. Haven’t done it though.
Work on that novel: Or not. Still overwhelmed.
52 week challenge: Number 9 out of 52 has been completed
Financial:
Order a credit report and start settling some debts for less.This has been done and am currently disputing some items that should not be on there. Got a few knocked off. Yay.
Build credit with a secured credit card: Done!
See you back here on 4/4 for the next review of how I do!
Explore More
Use photography as a chance to explore more. Go on adventures or a simple photo walk. Get out of the house and just shoot.
Explore More:
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
34.904996, -109.786871
Why Portraits?
Someone asked me the other day what type of photography do I like to shoot. Immediately my response was “portraits.”
Why?
Because people are fascinating!
Because people have individual personalities and expressions.
Because people have stories to share.
Because people are intrigued by other people.
Ever go to a museum and notice we are drawn to portraits more often than any other subject? Because people back then are just like us. In the future, they will appreciate and absorb content about us.
This is why I focus on photographing people.
Explore More: Joshua Tree National Park, California
34.005809, -116.162646
Playlist: Joshua Tree by U2
Problem Solving
- Find a solution
- If that doesn’t work, try another one.
- Repeat step two or until luck strikes.
Offline
Since I am no longer subscribed to an internet service at home, I have been relying on public WiFi and my phone’s hot spot. This has been challenging for me, especially since I need a connection for my continuing education.
I just remembered today that you can save a web page to your computer and still reference it…even when you are offline. I use Firefox because of speed and security so that will be the reference used here. Your web browser should be similar, experiences vary.
Click the Settings icon and choose “Save Page As…” (as shown above.) Then decide where you want to save it. When offline, locate and open. That web page is now viewable offline. It goes without saying…even though I am going to, but you cannot click or navigate this page while offline, only view. Neato.
Below is the saved web page. A tutorial I needed to reference while offline.
Feed Me
Why is it that we enlightened humans can’t figure out how to feed ourselves properly?
Every other species on this planet can do this except us.
Now Developing
Picking up the Python programming language is going smoother than most of the other languages I have attempted to learn so far. If I am going to become a full stack developer I need to get in the habit of using best practices such as…
1. Developing a working solution by solving a problem.
2. Work it out first either by using pen/paper or a mind map app.
3. Utilize an up-to-date Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
4. Master at least one language
5. Keep it simple
6. Ask questions. Reach out to others to learn from.
7. Utilize Github more often. Submit several more pull requests.
8. Brush up on my Linux skills (installed on my machine via VirtualBox.)
9. Look up terms I don’t understand.
10. Read up on current trends
Developing these habits, I believe, will allow me to…develop.
Cock-a-doodle-do
Cock-A-Doodle-Do
Woke up to the rooster and chickens from the community garden across the street. Awesome.
Limits
This past week I have relocated to a new home. A home without Internet service. For the first time since 1996 I do not have an ISP and it feels like I am in the damned dark ages.
How is it possible for me to learn the Python programming language without it? How is it possible for me to load processed photo images to the cloud and other platforms? By finding solutions and alternatives.
By choosing not to have internet service, I am discovering a more productive lifestyle, reducing mindless surfing and wasting time and with alternate resources.
Here’s what I mean: streaming entertainment is non-existent so we’re going old school videos by using a disc player. Quaint, right? Physical books as opposed to digital books. Neato.
The pros of no service are outweighing the cons so far because of limited distractions. I can focus on reading more and writing a short story. Heck, I may even get to that long overdue novel.The Python IDLE (Integrated Development Environment) works brilliantly off line. Photo processing can be done without internet as well. Speaking of photos, I took advantage of great weather for a long overdue photo walk. Offline and IRL. Another offline option is learning how to play that ukulele eventually.
When I do have access (thanks Panera, public library, iPhone XR hot spot), I can then upload, download as needed. In fact, I just downloaded some e-books for fun reading as well as a technical manual for Python.
By limiting myself I have found an opportunity. And just like my mother always said “Be prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.”
* This post was written offline and then later uploaded via hotspot.