Unusually Ordinary

2019-02-03 01:13:10

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.

Groundhog Resolution Day 2019!

2019-02-02 20:13:18

Its that time of year again. 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.

So the kickoff is today on 2/2! My resolutions, goals and life-changing habits are listed below. These are not to be confused with items on my “F*%k It List”.  I will check in every month and then review my progress. Next check-in is on March 3 (3/3). After that will be 4/4, 5/5 and so on. Here we go!

Physical

The immediate goal is to drop 25 pounds quick. Besides the typical motto of  “Eat clean, train mean, get lean”, I’m throwing in some activities that should help.

• Kickboxing/sparring with Tracy
• Dance lessons. Something fun like Swing? Sexy, like Bachata? We’ll figure it out.
• Disc Golf. Time to get back into it. Less expensive than golf and I don’t have to wear baggy, plaid pants. 
• Yoga/Meditation. I had some moderate usage last year but not enough to form a habit. I did appreciate the quiet time to breathe, relax and focus on nothing.

Technical

• Learn Python. Only one tech goal this year because I get scattered and end up not learning anything. No more. Time to learn and apply data science and machine learning applications.

Artistical

• Sketch/Draw/Doodle. I bought an iPad and pencil last year and I want to be more creative.
  
• Learn Spanish with Tracy.
• Learn Chinese. For myself. 
• Learn to play the ukulele. I grabbed one late last year but with the holidays in the way it took a back seat. 
• DAM- Digital Asset Management, or, where the hell are my photos from that shoot last month?
• Write short stories. I have a ton of ideas for these.
• Write micro fiction. One hundred word stories.
• Work on that novel. Its been ten plus years and I still can’t get all of this out of my head. 
• 52 week photo challenge. 52 weeks in a year = 52 photos

Financial

• Order a credit report and start settling some debts for less. 2017 was not a good year and it hurt me financially so I am slowly recovering. This year will be dedicated to resolving this and restoring my good name. 
• Build credit with a secured credit card.
• Automate savings and track investments. Yes, there is an app for that and it is called Acorns. 
• Cryptocurrency. This year I will dip a toe into these unknown waters. Bitcoin? Ethereum? Research is crucial here.

Knowing myself all too well, I may end up adding or subtracting this or that. Either way, I’ll check back in here on 3/3 for the first review of how I do!

None

2019-02-26 20:50:16

Explore More: Joshua Tree National Park, California

34.005809, -116.162646

Playlist: Joshua Tree by U2

Problem Solving

2019-02-07 07:56:13

1. Find a solution
2. If that doesn’t work, try another one.
3. Repeat step two or until luck strikes.

Offline

2019-02-07 07:30:05

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

2019-02-05 06:13:33

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

2019-02-05 06:08:23

Cock-a-doodle-do

2019-02-03 15:29:17

Cock-A-Doodle-Do

Woke up to the rooster and chickens from the community garden across the street. Awesome.

Limits

2019-02-03 04:41:39

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. 

7/52

2019-02-13 06:00:00