Journal

BLAugust

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I like to take on writing challenges for myself. Stop me if you’ve read this about me before, but every now and then I’ll finish a challenge. It’s rare. So why have I committed the month of August to writing a blog post for every day of the month?

For the hell of it of course. I have various interests and a lot to say about even more various topics. Thirty-one days- maybe I should be committed, so to speak.

How will I be able to publish something daily? No idea but it will be fun.

Anyway, welcome to August Blaugust, and check back daily for something new and hopefully interesting.

Blackout

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I’ve been experimenting with digital crossword puzzles and newsprint lately. With crosswords, I’ll solve the puzzle (entertaining in its own right) and then bonus(!) I will take a screenshot of it when complete. Then, in Apple Photos, use my Apple Pencil to markup the image to find words that stand out. After those are mapped out I will then cross out the rest to come up with some poetry. Although, that is limited to the words on the puzzle so they are more statement than poetry.

After reading an interesting article with Apple News, I will take a screenshot and do the same for the article- try to connect words and to form a new phrase or sentence.

The whole premise is ridiculous but it is mentally challenging and time consuming. I’ll see how long the fun lasts but for now, I am enjoying it.

After
Before

Cyclological

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I’ve been on a cycling kick for the past few months. Having access to a great road bicycle, dedicated bike lanes, flat surfaces, a patient trainer, a partner willing to try it and rides with me as well as finding a local group of other cyclists contribute to this.

Right now I am cycling every other day on an average of five miles. Group rides are ten miles and are encouraging. Weekly, I’d like to see myself at 35-40 miles and build from there.

An annoying setback, literally, is my lower back. I am doing a lot of pain management with ibuprofen and jacuzzi time. I am hoping that like any muscle after a good training session, that I can power through it to the point it is no longer an issue.

Psychologically, the rides are therapeutic in that I can relax and not think about anything other than taking in the sights and sounds as I breeze by them. I’ll ride by all sorts of flora and fauna then smile.

In the meantime, here is a half video of my most recent group ride in Naples as recorded in the Strava fitness app.

Changes

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As a result of some new changes in website design and future-proofing my database, I’ll have to resist the temptation to add images to posts. I want this site and the database to be lightweight and streamlined. In the near future, I will add blog-related images to a specific Flickr folder designated “Website Images” or something to that effect. Maybe even add links to both that are easily accessible to the public here and there. That was the original intent of the social internet after all.

From The Database of CJD

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The objective, or desire, in creating this personalized database is ultimate vanity. It is ludicrous that such a disorganized individual such as myself can even hope to maintain it properly. Since I am a ludicrous individual I will go ahead and make the attempt anyway.

I want to be organized, disciplined and to catalog decades of writing, reading journals and notes all into one location for posterity. My interests are varied, the desire is great, and I need to do this for myself, and just maybe, someone else may find it of interest in the future. A legacy? Is that what I want for this project? Something to pass on to someone who may or may not be interested in any of this? Perhaps this can be of some use to my child someday.

Now, how to organize all of my works into one location? That is the purpose of DenbowOS, the Denbow Operating System. That is a challenge, and as of now, I have the time.

  • Export and convert all digital files to either a .txt or .md format for future-proofing.
  • Migrate and import into my database
  • Sort/organize into YY/MM/DD folders
  • Add backlinks to each file and easily searchable based on tags, keywords and tags.
  • Export each year’s entries in a .pdf for safe-keeping
  • Print each year’s entries and store in a folder. Old school archiving.
  • Maintain the file structure discipline from then to the future.

Why?

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Do bursts of mental energy and inspiration come to me as I am ready for bed? Oh look, another rabbit hole to go down!

Goals Revisited

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I came across an old post from 2017 on some ongoing goals I wished to achieve. Let’s check in seven years later to see how it is going.

  1. Eating clean food. Better.
  2. Exercising every day. Much Better.
  3. Using your smartphone less. No data plan, so yes!
  4. Getting off Social Media. Left them by 2019
  5. Journaling. Hit and miss. Does this website count?
  6. Coding daily. Only recently and not daily.
  7. Reading a book a month. Yes!
  8. Spending quality time with loved ones without any distractions. Yep!
  9. Sleeping 8 hours every night. Not quite

Phylum

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Today I learned group names for some of the fauna I’ve seen around the Southwest Florida area and they are a lot of fun. The group names for:

  1. Iguana = mess
  2. Raven = unkindness
  3. Ibis = congregation
  4. Flamingo = flamboyance
  5. Owl = parliament
  6. Pelican = flotilla
  7. Sandpiper = fling
  8. Rabbit = colony
  9. Alligator = congregation
  10. Osprey = kettle

Parliament is in session

Critical Mass

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Twelve years ago I was driving through the River Oaks area in Houston at night and came across 200 cyclists with their rigs all lit up, and their flags flapping in the breeze. It looked fun but annoying because cyclists are always preaching “share the road!” But they were not. The group was a local chapter of the national Critical Mass cycling group. Think Hash House Harriers but on wheels.

Last night I participated in my first ride with a local chapter on Sanibel Island for a ten mile night ride along dedicated bike trails. The island is known for its luxurious homes, golf courses, yachts, beautiful trails along brackish water and we were in good company. Absolutely looking towards another ride with this fun, relaxed group.

Type Art

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There are many reasons as to why I was looking forward to utilizing my typewriter after I relocated. One, was to make art from it. I’ve been a long time fan of ASCii art but there are people out there that have taken it to the next level and then some.

After nerdscrolling and falling down a few internet rabbit holes, I’ve discovered so many type-art resources out there.

Such as a pamphlet from 1979 turned into a pdf from the Internet Archive entitled Typewriter Mystery Games.

Obviously this would utilize multiple ribbons, paper and practice but I’d love to explore this further.

Until next time,

Between < and >

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I’ve had a pretty shit week. If I wanted to sugarcoat anything, I’d go buy a beignet. The amount of stress-induced breakdowns and resulting physical ailments I had these past seven days is taking a toll. It was mostly job stress, but also a lot of living in my head. Thinking about the what ifs, the whys, and the why nots. On top of it all, insomnia decided to pay a visit too.

Despite me resigning back in February, the relocating and the waiting, I need a day off from my thoughts. I need to relax and enjoy something but it isn’t possible.

I need someplace to call my own, where I can relax, be surrounded and feel grounded. A feeling I have not enjoyed since 2008- sixteen years!

I look around other’s homes and began to notice that there was stuff, art walls, tchotchkes, mementos, clutter, decor, unneeded items, cozy blankets, pillows, flowers, mismatched mugs and chairs, books, and photos – everywhere. I guess things make a home look lived in. Then I thought, Maybe I am over the essentialism and minimalism. Maybe I need something, or something’s to make me feel at “home.”  

I thought about my own places that I have lived in the past 16 years and my own things. And I noticed that today, I have very few of these little mementos in my home, or none at all. Hell, I donated all of my furniture before moving. People barely collect things of worth anymore, I know I haven’t.

And why should we? All we need to revisit our memories is in the cloud. All photos are there, with a click of a button.

Not only does not touching a photograph, and not having any physical presence of it in my home makes it lose its value and to a degree its meaning, we also cannot derive any happiness from digital media without actively looking at it. How often do we look at those digital photos? Digital dust is all that they are.

Music, books, movies, and past memories used to be tangible things in our homes that ”sparked joy” without actively interacting with them. Digital media doesn’t do that. Digital Media creates minimalism

We were told that we had too much stuff, and that having said stuff was bad. Getting rid of all of my stuff, however, would make me free and happy.

Does it? Will having more stuff make me happier or sadder?

Art used to be visible, tangible, tactile, and it made a home feel like a home. Now art is small and fits on one tiny device, as if it isn’t allowed to take up space anymore.

I am rambling here, but to wrap it all up, as soon as I have the opportunity, I am going to fill my space with things that make me happy. Things that remind me of people I love and miss. It’s time to turn our house into a home. Now where is the nearest Ikea?