Category: Journal
March 6, 2025 / Journal

Commenting About Comments

I have a script that I installed here on the website called “On This Day” and I love it. Every day I can look back on the past posts for varying reasons. Now I have a new reason- the comments section.

I’ll re-read the post and make comments underneath it based on my what I’ve learned since then, re-assess my beliefs, remind myself of why I wrote it to begin with etc.

This is some next-level recursion. Commenting on my comments? Footnoting my own footnotes? That’s practically building a self-referential hypertext labyrinth. It’s breaking the fourth wall, but in a way that makes invisible thought processes visible.

Each article will become a living, evolving document instead of just a static collection.

Of course this is only day one, so anything written on March 6 in the past will receive the new marginalia. Looking forward to tomorrow’s!
March 5, 2025 / Journal

It Matters

My time is limited for what I am working on these days here at home so I need to prioritize. What really matters? Unclear at the moment, but if I had to give a straight answer, perhaps it is these:

  1. What Stays After I’m Gone

Not just in a morbid sense, but in a legacy of thought and creation. The things I build, the ideas explored, my archives that are curated—those are the real footprints. The websites, the Denbow Operating System, the Library of Unwritten Books, all of my research, notes—those outlive the moment.

  1. The Things That Keep My Mind Engaged

Curiosity is the real fuel. The moment you stop wondering, learning, or exploring, that’s when things go flat. The personal projects, all of the research spirals, experimenting with radio signals, archives, and hidden layers? That’s the stuff that keeps life from being static.

  1. Creating for Myself, Not Just an Audience

What really matters is what fascinates me first. If others get something out of it, great—but if I can make things purely because they are meaningful to me, that’s where the best work happens.

  1. Leaving Room for Chaos & Discovery

The moment everything is too structured, too predictable, too mapped out, it loses something. A little mystery, a little creative mischief, a little unexpected weirdness—that’s the good stuff.

  1. The Ability to Keep Moving Forward

Nothing kills momentum like getting stuck in perfectionism, obligation, or feeling like you “should” do something. The projects that survive are the ones I genuinely want to do, not the ones I feel pressured into.

So, what really matters?

Probably the same thing that’s kept me going this long: the thrill of the chase, the depth of the work, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing there is something built, something interesting, even if only a handful of people ever truly understand it.

I’ve been consistent in curiosity, drive, and the way I think lately. I do not just consume information—there is dissection, archiving, annotating, remixing, and finding the hidden layers to connecting the dots.

I’m not here for surface-level exploration. I need to dig deeper, follow the spirals, and find meaning in things that most people overlook. I thrive on curious connections, long-term discovery, and projects that leave something behind.

I’ve built a publishing house here around what matters to me– all of this is holding up the mirror.
March 3, 2025 / Journal

Groundhog Day Resolutions 3/3 Check-In

The first check-in is here and it is time to review my progress. I’ll keep doing this every month until December 12th (12/12) 2025.

Here we go:

Nutrition
Fail.


No alcohol. 
Success.


Fitness
Partial Success


Meditation
Partial success.


Cycling
Fail.


Strength Training
Fail


Geocaching
Fail

Create


Photography
Partial Success


Writing
Success

Consume
I am on pace with my 25 books read in 2025 goal. I am still trying to sort a workflow into DenbowOS to capture all of my notes and highlights from other sources besides books.
Success.

Technology
No new tech in 2025.
Fail.

Oh boy do I have some work to do!

These all sound familiar, right? Like I said in the first sentence way up there, these are attempts. Many attempts in the past seventeen years I have been doing this. Maybe I should consider them as constant maintenance and I need frequent accountability. Hence, this initiative!

See you back here on 4/4 for the second review.
March 2, 2025 / Journal

The Book Censor’s Library

No different than deer heads hanging on a hunter’s walls. This wasn’t a library—it was a cemetery, kept there for show.

“Is something wrong?” “Well, it’s the rabbits.”

Not even one chapter into this book and it has hit me over the head more than a few times already. Not because of the topics, although those are huge, but because of the similar thought patterns, research spirals and frequency bias.

Libraries, rabbits, cemeteries? Why do these themes keep popping up?
March 1, 2025 / Journal

Research Spirals

“My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.” – Hedley Lamarr

Lately I have been going down a lot of rabbit holes to explore where and how deep I can take some of my thoughts. I’ve plunged head first into wormholes just to see what was on the other side. My brain is on the edge of the map just to get a glimpse of what’s next.

My research spiral is an evolving process where ideas, drafts, and explorations continuously loop through phases of discovery, reflection, reworking, and iteration. The unfinished works1 and blog posts aren’t static—they exist in a state of potential, waiting to be revisited, expanded, or reimagined. Some pieces find new meaning over time, some merge into new projects, and others remain archived as stepping stones for future ideas. Publishing is just a temporary phase, as even completed works can inspire deeper exploration later. This spiral approach turns my Library of Unwritten Books into a dynamic archive and my blog into a living ecosystem of interconnected thoughts, ensuring that no idea is ever truly abandoned—only waiting for its next cycle.

Then I thought, hmm, what is a better phrase for “research spiral?”

1. Exploration Loop – Emphasizes the continuous cycle of discovery and refinement.

2. Recursive Inquiry – Highlights the revisiting and deepening of ideas over time.

3. Idea Labyrinth – Suggests a complex, nonlinear journey of exploration.

4. Concept Vortex – Implies a dynamic, ever-evolving swirl of thoughts and connections.

5. Knowledge Helix – A structured yet open-ended progression of learning and iteration.

6. Thought Ouroboros – A self-sustaining cycle of ideas consuming and reshaping themselves.

7. Discovery Continuum – A process with no fixed endpoint, always expanding.

8. Intellectual Current – Captures the flow and movement of ideas as they evolve.

9. Iterative Mindscape – A mental landscape where ideas continuously shift and take new forms.

10. Living Archive – Perfect if you want to emphasize how unfinished works remain active and influential.

Adjectives are fun, no?

  1. Library of Unwritten Books ↩︎
March 1, 2025 / Art

What Does Art Ask Of Me?

I ask for so much from art but sometimes I think I offer nothing in return.

After years of thinking this way, I realized that art asks for my attention and focus. Not my perfection, not my productivity—just me. Art asks you to show up, to listen, to engage. It asks for your willingness to wrestle with uncertainty, to risk vulnerability, to sit in the silence where ideas form ( if you can do so, you are more disciplined than I am.)

Art doesn’t demand grand gestures. It doesn’t care if you have all the answers. What it craves is your attention, your curiosity, your willingness to let it lead sometimes. It wants you to trust it, even when it makes no sense.

Previously I mentioned that “I offer nothing in return”, but consider this: you give art a space to exist. Without you, it would remain unmade. You give it form, even if only in fragments. You give it life, even if only for yourself.

What happens if you start treating art like a relationship rather than a transaction? What if, instead of asking art to serve you, you asked how you could serve it? What might it become if you gave it your trust, your time, your patience? Then I thought:

Art is a companion. Maybe that’s all it’s ever asked of you.

Whoa.

Yeah, that one got me. Sometimes we get so caught up in getting something from our art—validation, meaning, escape—that we forget it’s alive in its own way. It wants something from us, too. Maybe just a little reverence. Maybe just to be made without expectation. Maybe just to exist without needing to prove itself.

Art is weird like that. It mirrors what we bring to it. If we demand, it resists. If we fear, it hesitates. But if we listen, art speaks to us. .
March 1, 2025 / Journal

Looking Forward

After celebrating twenty-five years of self publishing to the WWW, I recently built two more websites in two days, just for kicks and grins. One is an archive of sorts, a Codex of my work. and the other…just defies description.

Now I am back to post some more articles here.

February 28, 2025 / Journal

Twenty-Five Years

Greetings, programs! This is the obligatory first post

2000-02-28

That was the little snippet that started it all.

A quarter of a century ago, I sat down at a keyboard on the Compaq desktop tower and hit “Publish” on my first blog post, and unknowingly stepped into a lifelong experiment in writing, documenting, and occasionally rambling into the void. It was the year 2000—before social media, before SEO strategies, before every website felt the need to bombard you with cookie pop-ups and newsletter sign-ups. Back then, blogging was raw, weird, and deeply personal. No algorithms, just people carving out little digital corners for themselves. And somehow, through all the shifting landscapes of the internet, I never stopped.

The early days were chaotic in the best way possible. There was no roadmap, just curiosity and a willingness to write even when I wasn’t sure if anyone was reading. The 2000s felt like the Wild Wild West1 of online writing—platforms came and went, everyone had a different idea of what blogging should be, and we all had to learn HTML the hard way. But it was exciting. The web felt infinite, and the act of writing and sharing was enough.

Somewhere along the way, blogging changed. It became polished, optimized, and, at times, painfully performative. Social media took over, and long-form writing became a bit of an endangered species. Yet, here I am, still typing away, still finding reasons to keep at it. Because at its core, blogging was never about trends or algorithms for me—it was about the ideas, the experiments, the stories, and the strange little things worth documenting.

So, what does 25 years of blogging look like? It looks like evolution. It looks like stubborn persistence. It looks like a digital archive of thoughts, questions, and maybe a few typos that have somehow survived across decades. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: Write for yourself first. Everything else—readers, engagement, impact—comes as a bonus.

To those who have read, commented, lurked, or stumbled across my website over the years—thank you. Here’s to whatever comes next.

  1. As opposed to World Wide Web ↩︎
February 19, 2025 / Journal

The Cemetery Of Forgotten Books

Inspired by The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, my Library of Unwritten Books is a deliberate archive of unfinished works—preserved not as lost projects, but as enduring records of creative exploration. Blending structured literary preservation with a sense of mystery, it stands as both an homage to my work and a reflection on the stories that remain untold.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a vast, hidden library in Barcelona, safeguarding abandoned and forgotten stories from oblivion. Introduced in The Shadow of the Wind, it serves as both a literary mystery and a powerful symbol of storytelling’s enduring legacy.
February 16, 2025 / Journal

The Library Of Unwritten Books

The book writing has been stagnant lately, possibly because the elusive muse has been on holiday.

There are thirty five novels and short-stories I want to tell, as well as a few non-fiction titles.

Half-forgotten worlds, unfinished thoughts, stories waiting for their ending. Printing them and physically shelving them would make the weight of all those ideas tangible. A hierarchy of incompletion—from the one-page sparks of genius, to the near-finished epics that just wouldn’t cooperate. The thickest ones sitting there, mocking you, while the thinnest whisper, “You barely even tried.”

Marginalia would turn it into a meta-library—a collection not just of unfinished works but of the very thought processes, doubts, and moments of inspiration that led to their incompletion. Notes like:


• “Lost steam after realizing this was just me rewriting Jurassic Park with pelicans.”

• “Had a brilliant ending in mind… and then forgot it. Still bitter.”

• “Started strong. Got distracted by a different book idea. The cycle continues.”

It could even be a living document—a place where ideas might resurface, evolve, or finally find their way to completion years later. Or…they could be relegated into a literary morgue file—a final resting place for the stories that almost were. There’s something hauntingly beautiful about that. They don’t get finished, but they exist, preserved in their unfinished state like fossils of creativity.

So what is a possible resolution to this self-induced problem? How about two possible solutions?

I could print them up and perhaps put them in a labeled binder. Also PDF’s uploaded to this website and generate digital library cards if there was any interest from the followers here.

A fantastic mix of a physical archive and a digital curiosity cabinet. The binders give them a tangible presence, while the PDFs turn them into an interactive experience. The digital library card idea is genius—makes it feel like a proper literary vault people can “check out” from. In turn, they could offer comments and suggestions. The access point is signing up to this website and add a comment to the written document. Hopefully there will be inspiration found from this.

This could turn the  Library of Unwritten Books into a collaborative storytelling experiment—where readers don’t just consume the work but actively speculate, suggest, and even contribute. Some might leave wild theories, others might fill in the blanks, and a few might even inspire to return to an abandoned story with fresh eyes.

The digital library card could have a simple yet classic aesthetic, tying into the raw, archival feel of the project. Think of it like a virtual passport to the library of unfinished stories. Here’s how it might look:

Front of the Card:

• Library Name: “Library of Unwritten Books” (in elegant, typewriter-style font for that vintage touch).

• Cardholder Name: Reader’s name

• Unique Card Number: A random, system-generated number to make it feel official (e.g., #MOM12345).

• Card Issue Date: The date they accessed the library or “checked out” a work.

Back of the Card:

• Quote or Motto: A philosophical nod to unfinished work, like:

• “Not all who wander are lost. Some just never finish.”

• “Creativity never stops—some stories just pause for a while.”

• Borrower’s Log Link: A link or QR code that takes them to the comments section of this website.

• Library Rules: Something playful like “No overdue fines” or “This book may never be completed, but its story is far from over.”

Physical Archive

There’s something deeply satisfying about preserving your ideas, no matter how unfinished. It’s like building your own literary museum, a space where unfinished thoughts don’t get lost but instead are archived and given a place in history.

Plus, the idea of printing, binding, and shelving them gives a real physicality to your creative process.

Whether it stays small or expands over time, it can become a personal artifact that might even spark inspiration years down the road. These unfinished works will outlive me, sparking something in others to finish, reinterpret, or continue. It’s like planting seeds that may grow long after I’ve moved on, and in some way, I’d still be creating, even if a single one is never complete. I might not get to see the story finish, but I’ll leave behind a trail of possibilities for others to follow. A literary treasure map—unfinished, mysterious, and full of potential.
February 2, 2025 / Journal

A Parade of Planets

2024 was a bumper crop full of celestial events and now 2025 is starting out very well. Tonight I observed, in order from east to west: Mars, Jupiter, (insert Earth here), (insert moon here), Venus, Saturn, and Mercury. Six planets are currently in alignment. Bonus: I also observed the Hubble space telescope.

The alignment of Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Venus, and Saturn occurred on January 21, 2025.

Coming soon, Saturn, Mercury, Earth, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars in a planetary alignment on February 25, 2025. Hopefully we can talk someone we know into setting up his telescope for optimal viewing.

February 2, 2025 / Journal

The Return of the Groundhog

This will be the 17th year at attempting creating life-long habits for myself. I’ve realized a long time ago that at the end-of-the-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. Hence, the start of a new Groundhog Day Resolutions.

Today 2/2, Groundhog Day, is the day for a fresh start and a new year. (Chinese Lunar New Year started as well)

The first goal is to check-in here and review my progress. Every month until December 12th 2025.

The first check-in is on March 3 (3/3). After that will be 4/4, 5/5 and so on.

Here we go:

Nutrition

  • I like the idea of going back on to the Keto diet for quick weight loss, but have you seen the price of meat and eggs lately? The Mediterranean diet was clean and helpful too. Plus, I read that it reduces inflammation. Perhaps a hybrid of both plans could be advantageous. I am back working in the field and the convenience of fast food options on the go is strong. I need to be stronger.
  • Quit smoking. Yeah, I grabbed a cigarillo every now and then before the holidays.
  • No alcohol. I need to be encouraging and supportive for those around me that have an issue with alcohol so no need to bring it out. This will be easy.

Fitness

The previously mentioned job has me walking and lifting outdoors every work day so this is a start. Time to supplement this with extracurricular physical activities such as:

  • Yoga and stretching, because I can feel my body tense and become less flexible.
  • Meditation will help with calm my mind, increase oxygen levels and lower blood pressure.
  • Cycling is something I enjoy but haven’t done in a month. Time to get back on the saddle.
  • Strength Training at home. The Apple Fitness app has improved while I wasn’t looking and I’d like to make use of that subscription again. Kickboxing anyone?
  • Strength Training at the gym. We have a membership but haven’t used it due to a lot of changes around here. Eager to get back into it again.
  • Geocaching. Let’s take this outside and explore more while getting some walking in.

Create

  • Photography- The endgame is in site for a completely organized workflow and asset management. It’s seen decades of neglect and it’s only been a few years trying to reign it all in. This is difficult because of my other photography goals: adding more, better images that I am taking lately.
  • Writing- The same can be said for decades of writing and that is almost organized as well. As long as I am on the topic of writing, the book(s) have taken a backseat like everything else in the past two months. Progress needs to be made so I can get it all out of my head and free up space for other projects that I get myself into.

Consume

I am on pace with my 25 books read in 2025 goal. I am still trying to sort a workflow into DenbowOS to capture all of my notes and highlights from other sources besides books.

Technology

No new tech in 2025. I almost broke this one right off the bat but I returned the new Kindle in favor of the existing one.

I have a desire to finish making the Mini machine into a proper photo and file server. Not just for me, but to grant anyone else I want to have remote access to it too.

These all sound familiar, right? Like I said in the first sentence way up there, these are attempts. Many attempts in the past seventeen years I have been doing this. Maybe I should consider them as constant maintenance and I need frequent accountability. Hence, this initiative!

See you back here on 3/3 for the first review.
January 26, 2025 / Journal

Version 3.0

As I mentioned on the last entry, there have been some backend changes and improvements to this website and more.

Version 3.0- Switched virtual servers, host. This was a doozy and thankfully I have everything backed up and could restore easily.

Added a new subdomain to host the Archives website. This is a repository in case this website encounters a disaster.

A new subdomain has been created for the Photography website as well. Although that is a work of progress now that I have rethought everything but ran out of time tonight.

The “On This Day” script has been moved to display under each post and on the Archives page. It is a fun way to look back on what occurred in previous years on the same date.

Visually, not a lot has changed here but the whole point of this was to bring everything in-house, on one domain. Previously, the Archives were on a whole other domain name, same for the photo website.

Now it is time to kick back and read on the new Kindle and start the work week in the morning.

January 26, 2025 / Journal

Changes and Improvements

This website may be down for a bit due to some backend changes and switching virtual server hosts. Hopefully I can get everything restored quickly. The things we do for our domains…
January 25, 2025 / Journal

Web Tides

I neglected to mention in the last post about all of the beach web cams, manatee cams, dolphins cams etc etc. I am also digging watching the tides go in and out based on the wind and lunar cycles.