Journal

Pause, Stop, Off.

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It is time for us to create a “television escape club” and it is past time to do whatever we want. During my work travels for the past 15 weeks, I rarely streamed any movies or shows. The hotel televisions gathered dust and I ignored the basketball and football games blaring at restaurants while dining out. ”Oh, there was a Super Bowl?” I remember the hotel concierge asking why I was not watching the match and describing me as she smiled as ”very un-American.” I will take this compliment with a smile of my own.

Do I feel a sense of superiority in all of this(?), not at all. This is simply a choice to remove myself from unproductive viewing. I’d rather read a book these days because my mind can generate those scenes far better than any special effects shown on a screen.

There will be exceptions of course such as the 2024 season of Formula 1 racing as they wave the green flag in Bahrain this next weekend. I’ve already been promised we will re-subscribe and enjoy each race as they travel the world until November. Side note: How the hell do you do better than Team Red Bull winning 22 out of 23 races in 2023?? It’ll be thrilling to find out this season.

Formula 1 racing in Abu Dhabi, 2023

There are several books with film adaptations I want to see soon.

Occasionally I’ll stream some brilliant but stupid television show as well.

The idea is to not plop down out of boredom and mindlessly scroll through the tv menu looking for options to waste my time or be lazy. No, the times I spend in front of the tube will be mindful and deliberate.

I would really like to remove a television from our bedroom in favor of watching the television in the living room instead, but I have been currently outvoted. Hopefully this changes soon, like say, during an upcoming move and oops, the screen has cracked or the unit dropped.

Other alternatives include not seeking out new things to watch or not subscribing to new streaming options.

Speaking of options, I am really looking forward to a healthier lifestyle soon and I cannot do this in front of a television.

While typing up this article I was enjoying this album:

Now What?

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My first day back from work travel has already been a pretty full day. Lately, when these precious unscheduled hours present themselves, I usually suffer from paralysis of choice in deciding how to fill them.

Hmm, what can I do…

Read and nap. Or it’s likely I’ll just read and never fall asleep.

Really do enjoy a long-overdue nap.

Write something for my website

Work on the design of my website.

Research some of the ideas that my books generate

Start working on one of 35 novels I have already begun.

I could/should unpack.

Catch up on streaming tv.

Rid my clothes of that travel funk and do laundry.

Delete my old Apple ID account and reclaim my HomeKit devices to the new account.

Rewrite my C.V. since I’ll need one soon.

Practice yoga and/or stretching since I was on my ass most of the day traveling.

Clear out the Inbox.

But first setup the MX mail records on my mail server to the new email address.

Build out my new Mac Mini aka “Minnie” as a web, file, RSS, mail and photo server

And then…

And then…

Obviously, I went with writing this article instead. So again, now what?

I wrote this article while listening to this:

On Meditation

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The time to start taking care of myself is past due. Now that I have some time to focus on myself (not selfishly), I want to start with the simplest option and one of the most rewarding- meditation.

A basic method is to focus your attention on your own breathing—a practice simply called “mindful breathing.” After setting aside time to practice mindful breathing, you’ll find it easier to focus attention on your breath in your daily life—an important skill to deal with stress, high blood pressure, and negative emotions. This also helps with concentration.

Time required:

Let’s start out with at least 5 minutes daily for a week, keeping in mind that meditation mindfulness increases with practice

How to do it

Preferably sitting in a quiet space either in a comfortable chair, the bed or even a car seat (great for those long traffic light waits.) Your eyes may be open or closed, but you may find it easier to maintain your focus if you close your eyes.

Mentally focus on your head, will yourself to relax the tension there, then go lower to your neck and shoulders. Keep going until your toes are relaxed.

Then just simply do what you’ve done since birth. Breathe. Relax and inhale the delicious oxygen.

Sure, your body may be calm, but your mind is all over the place because it isn’t use to peace, quiet and a lack of distraction. Just redirect your thoughts to the feelings of your lungs expanding and deflating rhythmically.

Keep it simple, don’t overthink it. Repeat this practice as needed, but definitely do it daily.

Breathing guide in Apple Watch

If you have an Apple Watch, there is an app dedicated to Mindfulness and specifically breathing. Set a reminder in the app to schedule this practice. I have mine set to 6am & 6pm.

Woosah,

Chris

I was listening to this while I was editing the article:

Off Road

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Or, why I am done traveling for work

Since October 2023, I have been traveling for work at a grand total of fifteen weeks. Fifteen weeks of lonely nights in cheap hotels, a measly per diem that allows for groceries and fast food only and a longing for home. From Cincinnati, Ohio to Houston, Texas and all points in between. 

Cincinnati, Ohio
Galveston Island, Texas

This next week will be my last run before I turn in my truck and equipment back home into an uncertain future. 

I say uncertain because eventually, I will be back on the road but this time to move cross country to the gulf coast of Florida and a new life. I do not know where I will be employed, what I will be doing or if this is a smart move. It feels right and I want a new life with new opportunities and a launching point for another location out of the country. 

But first, I have five more days to get through. I was listening to this while I was typing the article.

Happy trails,

Chris

Reboot

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The idea of creating a brand new, anonymous digital identity was a good idea, until I decided it wasn’t. This wasn’t the first time I have flipped/flopped from a generic and private website, back to a domain with my own name in it. Currently it is silverfox.website. And now, I have decided that it is time to revert to what you see here, chrisdenbow.website. After recent price increases, subscription fatigue, privacy concerns and probably long overdue contentment, it’s time for a change. I’ll be withdrawing more from technology, technology blogs and restructuring everything to maximize privacy, reduce monthly subscription spending and pursuing avenues of personal interest.

I am heavily embedded into the Apple eco-system after decades of using Windows/Android. I have stuff scattered all over the internet, cloud storage and external hard drives with almost zero organization. That’s changing as of today.

I purchased a new web (chrisdenbow.website) and email address (hello AT chrisdenbow.website) to match it and then made THAT one the new/updated Apple ID. The hard part is switching everything from contact information to businesses and services I use over to the new account. Sure, I’ll lose a lot of subscriptions, but I am pairing them down and prioritizing anyway.

With iCloud+ services such as Private Relay and “Hide My Email” I can create generic, disposable email addresses. Apple then allows me to use random, generic passwords and will even store them for me using their KeyChain.

When all of this is sorted I need to discipline myself to keep it organized, unlike my previous attempts. Maybe then I can get back to enjoying what I love in peace such as photography, reading and geocaching.

This post was written with this song playing in the background:

Off Road

by

Or, why I am done traveling for work

Since October 2023, I have been traveling for work at a grand total of fifteen weeks. Fifteen weeks of lonely nights in cheap hotels, a measly per diem that allows for groceries and fast food only and a longing for home. From Cincinnati, Ohio to Houston, Texas and all points in between.

This next week will be my last run before I turn in my truck and equipment back home into an uncertain future. 

I say uncertain because eventually, I will be back on the road but this time to move cross country to the gulf coast of Florida and a new life. I do not know where I will be employed, what I will be doing or if this is a smart move. It feels right and I want a new life with new opportunities and a launching point for another location out of the country. 

But first, I have five more days to get through.

Happy trails,

The Silver Fox

Lunar New Year Photos

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Chinese dance troupe inside the Houston Galleria

Asia Town/International District/Houston/Texas

Red envelopes filled with small money bills are gifts to signify wealth & prosperity for the new year

Traditional Chinese dancers

street festival sights, sounds and smells

While writing this I was listening to:

Systems Diagnostic 2.2

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HARD RESET: DEBUG LIFE

  “Version 2024" type": "node"  "request": "launch 2024.02.02",  "name": "Launch Program",  "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"],  "program": "${workspaceFolder}\\app.js"

Debugging, in computer programming and engineering, is a multi-step process that involves identifying a problem, isolating the source of the problem and then either correcting the problem or determining a way to work around it. The final step of debugging is to test the correction or workaround and make sure it works.

Each month, and the corresponding day, I will run a systems diagnostic and report on either the overall performance or list any bugs that may still need to be addressed. The first diagnostic and reporting will be done on February 2nd or 2/2. The following will be on March 3 or 3/3, etc etc until December 12 (12/12.) Then one year from now on 12/31/2024 I will run more more systems check and prepare for another hard reset.

This is the first diagnostic check of 2024 on the personal operating system.1

There are a few known issues, or bugs in my personal life that I need to identify, isolate and correct the problem.

Bug #1: To maximize system performance, I need to focus on the overall health of the personal operating system and that is to stay physically fit. Sure, the outdoor work that I do does help but there is more I can do. Time to access the walking and yoga sub-routines. These will both be done on a daily basis. Yoga in the morning to stretch out and purposeful walking for cardio.

Bug #1 Performance Analysis: fail. Sure, the weather was too cold everywhere I went to enjoy walking but this is a flimsy excuse. Yoga practice was a total of 2 out of 31 days in the new year so far. 

Bug #1 Task prior to 3/3: Walk a minimum of five minutes daily to get the blood flowing. Yoga a minimum of 15 days out of February’s 29 days2

Bug #2: Nutrition is a crucial component to all of this because I have not eaten well the last quarter of 2023. 2024 will be a rocky start since I will be traveling for work but I will be mindful and look for healthier food options.

Bug #2 Performance Analysis: Critical. I am back on the road and do indulge in fast food. But to note, I have consumed a lot of salads, grilled meats and healthier choices.

Bug #2 Task prior to 3/3: Maintain or improve current intake of greens and meats.Limit sugar. I do need to watch the salt intake as it corrupts the personal OS. 

Bug #3: Smoking pipe tobacco and drinking alcohol is inserting bad code into my system and so, once again, I will work towards debugging those substances to enhance system performance.

Bug #3 Performance Analysis: Critical. Back on the tobacco pipe while on the road, but also drinking no alcohol. 

Bug #3 Task prior to 3/3: …

Inputs

Other applications will be used to maintain the mental health of my personal operating system such as:

Reading (finished 3 books in January!)

Creative writing ( writing almost daily!)

Journaling (maybe 3 times a week)

Meditation (daily!)

Overall, these benchmarks for analyzing and evaluating overall performance will help maintain my personal operating system for years to come.

Next Systems Diagnostic will be on 3/3. 

While writing this I was listening to: 

Systems Diagnostic 2.2

by

HARD RESET: DEBUG LIFE

  “Version 2024" type": "node"
  "request": "launch 2024.02.02",
  "name": "Launch Program",
  "skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"],
  "program": "${workspaceFolder}\\app.js"

Debugging, in computer programming and engineering, is a multi-step process that involves identifying a problem, isolating the source of the problem and then either correcting the problem or determining a way to work around it. The final step of debugging is to test the correction or workaround and make sure it works.

Each month, and the corresponding day, I will run a systems diagnostic and report on either the overall performance or list any bugs that may still need to be addressed. The first diagnostic and reporting will be done on February 2nd or 2/2. The following will be on March 3 or 3/3, etc etc until December 12 (12/12.) Then one year from now on 12/31/2024 I will run more more systems check and prepare for another hard reset.

This is the first diagnostic check of 2024 on the personal operating system.1

There are a few known issues, or bugs in my personal life that I need to identify, isolate and correct the problem.

Bug #1: To maximize system performance, I need to focus on the overall health of the personal operating system and that is to stay physically fit. Sure, the outdoor work that I do does help but there is more I can do. Time to access the walking and yoga sub-routines. These will both be done on a daily basis. Yoga in the morning to stretch out and purposeful walking for cardio.

Bug #1 Performance Analysis: fail. Sure, the weather was too cold everywhere I went to enjoy walking but this is a flimsy excuse. Yoga practice was a total of 2 out of 31 days in the new year so far.

Bug #1 Task prior to 3/3: Walk a minimum of five minutes daily to get the blood flowing. Yoga a minimum of 15 days out of February’s 29 days2

Bug #2: Nutrition is a crucial component to all of this because I have not eaten well the last quarter of 2023. 2024 will be a rocky start since I will be traveling for work but I will be mindful and look for healthier food options.

Bug #2 Performance Analysis: Critical. I am back on the road and do indulge in fast food. But to note, I have consumed a lot of salads, grilled meats and healthier choices.

Bug #2 Task prior to 3/3: Maintain or improve current intake of greens and meats.Limit sugar. I do need to watch the salt intake as it corrupts the personal OS.

Bug #3: Smoking pipe tobacco and drinking alcohol is inserting bad code into my system and so, once again, I will work towards debugging those substances to enhance system performance.

Bug #3 Performance Analysis: Critical. Back on the tobacco pipe while on the road, but also drinking no alcohol.

Bug #3 Task prior to 3/3: …

Inputs

Other applications will be used to maintain the mental health of my personal operating system such as:

Reading (finished 3 books in January!)

Creative writing ( writing almost daily!)

Journaling (maybe 3 times a week)

Meditation (daily!)

Overall, these benchmarks for analyzing and evaluating overall performance will help maintain my personal operating system for years to come.

Next Systems Diagnostic will be on 3/3.

While writing this I was listening to:

  1. 1if you haven’t sorted it out by now it is me. I am the personal operating system operating system ↩︎
  2. leap year! ↩︎

Behind The Wall

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If you know me at all, you know that I have always been a fan of public art, especially mural or wall art. From early on we’ve been painting in caves, on the ceilings of chapels and now on city streets. Big cities like Houston have art initiatives and institutions that support local artists to come out and create these murals to beautify city streets and create outdoor museums for everyone.

I won’t name the institution here but I do appreciate their work for the community and also discovery of these works with an interactive app that provides a map of installations and allows you to scan the art and it will provide backstory and artistic bios. Love to see it. I wish I could do more with my images of murals. Inspiring.

You can see these images and more on the photography website.