BLAugust

2024-08-01 12:43:30

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.

On Hemingway

2024-08-02 23:18:42

When I was in college, I had an opportunity to take a break from the stress of a new marriage and my studies. My step-father swung by my home on the way up to his lake cabin for the weekend and asked me to come along. I was hesitant at first, but my wife insisted. I am grateful for the invitation and the encouragement on both their parts.

It was a literal breath of fresh air, in that I could escape my stresses and enjoy a relaxing, distraction-free weekend. While there, I perused the bookshelf and came across a vintage copy of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. After a few hours of reading, I think I was ready to finally go to sleep. But I didn’t sleep on the instant appreciation for where I was and what I had just read. Until the weekend was up and it was back to reality. And burrowed, in the back of my brain, was the spirit of Hemingway.

Not too many people can experience what he had experienced or live his lifestyle, but that doesn’t stop me from aspiring to. Years after that weekend at the lake cabin, I picked up a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” and that long forgotten spirit of Hemingway was renewed and inspired me again after it was read.

So, I’ve decided to do a deep study into the man and his influence when I set myself up to my digital typewriter. Hell, I want my old mechanical typewriter back just for the romance and nostalgia.

While living and working in Cuba, he set himself up in a fine home that was called Finca Vigia, or “Lookout Farm.” While doing research, I came across the letterhead of his stationary and thought to myself, I will have the same for myself as soon as possible. I used to have personalized stationary, complete with a custom seal press that read “From the Library of Chris Denbow.” Damn, why did I lose that? Why did I sell or trade off my entire library?

So, from henceforth until I leave this place, I am designating my new home in Florida as Coral del Cabo (Spanish). Eventually, the stationary will be printed and used. I have decided that while text and FaceTime are beneficial, nothing beats a handwritten or typed letter in the mail.

I could go on all night about the details and influences that Hemingway offers, but, as I finish my three fingers of Cutty Sark, I realize it is late. Perhaps I will dream about those short stories and unwritten novels and once again call on E.H. For inspiration.

— CJD from Coral del Cabo

iOS 18

2024-08-02 23:36:00

The beta version of the newest iPhone operating system has been installed on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. There is a lot of new features to unpack but for now, the custom icon tinting is my favorite. I love a uniform screen.

Bookmarked

2024-08-03 15:49:27

I’ve found a palm frond that fell after some heavy winds today and plan to clean it up then whittle it down into a palm tree bookmark with an engraving.

Sure, I can buy a bookmark or stick a note in between the pages, but this will palm will stay with me longer.

Problems Solved

2024-08-04 09:05:19

Here's a simple solution to the current pessimistic culture: read a book.

Even better: research and then write a book.

Three P's

2024-08-04 10:04:06

For digital documents you want to keep for a long time, I suggest the Three P’s:

• Plain text
• PDFs
• Printouts

While in college in the mid 1990's, and prior to purchasing my first computer, I utilized a word processor. Think manual typewriter but with a 3.5" floppy disk for storage. I wish I had known enough to preserve all of my writings. The floppy disks were formatted for the word processor but not the computer. It wiped everything off the disk to make room for the Windows formatting. The lesson here is to preserve your work and prepare by future-proofing formats. It was a hard learned lesson. All of my personal writing, studies and papers gone.

I was reminded of all of this when I read about how Hemingway's early notes and the beginning of a novel disappeared. His wife had gathered his works and left Paris by train to Switzerland to meet him and a publisher and somehow, the suitcase went missing from the train platform and they were devastated.

My loss was due to ignorance and in no way as significant as Hemingway's loss. But the pain was there.

My revamped workflow process is:

• Write and edit drafts in Ulysses (saved to cloud, backed up onto my file server)
• Publish from Ulysses to my website (saved to cloud)
• Copy/Paste to my own database in plain text format (cloud, file server)
• Migrate all of my work into the database in plain text, organize.
• Print to .pdf by year (saved to cloud and file server)
• Print to paper by year (saved to a dedicated yearly file folder or binder)

Interesting enough, while walking through the library's "read and return" section, the word "Hemingway" ended up in my peripheral vision.

Rabbits and Frequency Illusion!

I usually don't give them a glance but the paper spine was attractive. The fiction novel title is "The Hemingway Thief" and how the aforementioned luggage was lost. I haven't read it yet, but it seems to be a good yarn with a few secrets and twists. Looking forward to reading it as soon as possible.

Drinks Are On Me

2024-08-05 20:59:14

I’d like to experiment with a new, unique cocktail as soon as possible. We have a nice bar area in the dining room that needs to be filled. Okay, let’s try this:

Blue Dolphin Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Blue Curacao
• 1 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Coconut Cream
• 2 oz Pineapple Juice
• Ice
• Pineapple slice or a cherry for garnish

If vodka doesn’t work out, maybe substitute with clear rum.

Cutty Shark

Ingredients:

• Cutty Sark scotch whiskey
• amaretto
• ice

Cutty Shark Highball

Ingredients:

• Cutty Sark scotch whiskey
• sparkling water
• lemon juice
• Ice
• Lemon wedge for garnish

Palm Tree Cocktail

Ingredients:

• White Rum
• Coconut Rum
• Pineapple Juice
• Orange Juice
• Blue Curacao
• Splash of Grenadine
• Ice
• Lime wedges around rim for the palms

Metasyntactic Variables

2024-08-06 21:57:35

TIL 30

2024-08-07 15:29:32

Things I Learned In 2024 Week 30:

Hoopla- want to stream audiobooks, or movies? Read books and magazines? A perfect companion courtesy of your local library. I was able to find obscure movie titles to stream when everywhere else failed or charged $$ for such as: Metropolis (finally!), Hundreds of Beavers, Nosferatu (finally!) so far. All were silent movies and in the public domain but other streamers wanted a minimum of $6 to rent. Nope!

More frequency illusion, or Rabbits, was a re-occurring theme from the Metropolis movie:

Kleon had the same theme in one of his newsletters last week but it was regarding art. In that if you want to create good art, you need a combination of head, heart and hands.

Rosetta Stone- another service courtesy of the local library. The renowned language learning program is available. I need to polish up my Spanish and maybe take up Italian. They are similar so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

Hemingway- As if I didn’t have enough to consume lately, I’ve rented a 3-disc video series on E.H. By Ken Burns, as well as downloaded a few of E.H.’s novels courtesy of Gutenberg Press. Thank goodness I opted to get the larger memory chip for my Kindle.

Classical music- Masses, litanies, vespers, psalms, oratorios, cantatas, requiems, operas, concertos, sonata, symphony, string quartets, chamber music, Masonic, divertimentos, serenade, dances, marches, etc etc. Why do the composers have “k” or “v” in their music titles? 173dA? Okay, sure. I’ve always enjoyed classical but never understood the details. Too much to learn and I regret never have taken a class on music theory or appreciation. I am rectifying this now, slowly.

Reading- Adding to my infinite tower of books to devour will be a study of Dante’s Inferno. That’ll take a year, easily. Throw in some Don Quixote, mix it with Hunter S. Thompson as well as C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Then, read up on how well those last two worked and inspired each other for their fantasies from Middle Earth and Narnia.

Yoshiwara

2024-08-07 15:54:23

Frequency illusion pops up like…rabbits everywhere. While enjoying the 1927 film Metropolis, I saw a reference to Yoshiwara district in the huge fictional megacity. Now, why was a um, ahem, red light district from ancient Japan featured in a German film?

A few months ago, before watching the new series on Hulu, I re-read the novel Shogun, about feudal Japan where there was a reference to Yoshiwara. To this day, Yoshiwara red light district is in the city of Edo, the exact location that Toranaga-san had allowed to be built (next to the despised Catholic church.)

Revelations, Babylon, the Tower of Babel and the seven deadly sins were the pillars of the Metropolis movie. As it happens, I’ve been doing some background research on the Babel Tower so of course I would find it referenced elsewhere. I swear I don’t go looking for coincidences but they do happen in unsuspecting places.

Side note: Isn’t it interesting that we in America can speak and listen in the same language as our neighbors but no one understands each other? Babel indeed.

You’ve Got Mail

2024-08-08 12:29:39

Lately, I have been keen on sending out handwritten letters to loved ones after relocating to Coral del Cabo. It is a way to make correspondence personal and meaningful. I enjoy it.

Well, to my surprise, I received a postcard from Cuba sent from my significant other three months ago to the day that she visited and sent the card.

In the past I have received post from my friends in the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands. They were full of love and encouragement. Sadly, and to my shame, I have not kept it up over the years.

This gets rectified immediately, because I would be thrilled to have long-term pen pals to reach out to and share life with again. Eventually I will re-acquire personalized stationary.

Electronic mail is rare to receive but no less welcome. If interested in either digital or analog correspondence, you can first reach out via e-mail by clicking here: hello@

Interesado

2024-08-09 21:54:42

I have way too many interests and for some reason they just keep expanding. The bitch of it is, obviously, always, not enough time.

I am not known for disciplining my personal time and interests, in favor of allowing my free spirit to come and go as it does.

Apparently the need for using a calendar to organize could be of some use.

Right now my intake is overloading my throughput. I am consuming more than I am creating. Need to find a balance here.

Soma

2024-08-10 21:44:39

“People will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.”

— Aldous Huxley

Huxley’s words from 1932 are truer now than when he wrote it. His novel Brave New World deserves a re-read.

The Wisdom of Solomon

2024-08-11 16:00:08

“I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.”

• Ecclesiastes 1:13

Perseid Showers

2024-08-12 05:29:07

4:50am EST:

I am awake in the middle of the night for a nature break and remembered there was supposed to be a celestial show in this morning.

The best time to view these meteor showers is between 8/11 and 8/12 before dawn and look to the northeast from my position down south.

So I laid down in a chaise lounge on the lanai and thankfully the sky was clear. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and soaked in all the stars and planets. Okay, it’s time for the light show and I didn’t have to wait long because a few streaks of burning rock burned up in our atmosphere.

Okay, I am tired, but I’ll snap a photo of the glowing planets of Jupiter and Mars. Excuse the crude image. It’s early, my hands are shakily extended over my head and I had to do that for 5 seconds to get a decent exposure in low light.

I’ll be better prepared in December for the Geminids meteor showers. Back to bed for now knowing I caught yet another astronomical event and I am happy.

5:24am EST: Zzz

Fan Mail

2024-08-12 16:49:25

I love receiving unexpected mail that is not bill-related. Thank you!

Definitely time to send out more letters!

Write Out

2024-08-12 17:03:49

We all know the benefits of regular exercise for our bodies—strengthening muscles, improving endurance, and boosting overall health. But what about our minds? Just like our bodies need a good workout to stay in shape, our minds crave daily activity to stay sharp and creative. That’s where "Write Out" comes in. Think of it as a mental workout, a daily exercise routine that strengthens your writing muscles, sharpens your thinking, and enhances your creativity. Whether you're jotting down a few thoughts or crafting a full essay, each day you write is a step toward a healthier, more agile mind.

Writing, as in fitness, benefits from consistency. Even on days I don’t feel like it, I will get out to the gym and do it. Even on days I don’t feel like it, I’ll sit down and crank something out. Not every day, but enough to build habits.

A routine, without being a routine, can be challenging. This month, I committed to writing a post every day for thirty one days.

I feel a need, or have a desire to sit down and write on one of my short stories, or that pesky novel I’ve been stewing on for decades. Typing for 15-30 minutes a day should do it. Crap or no crap, it’ll get done. As Hemingway put it: “Write drunk, edit sober.”

Just as a daily workout builds a stronger body, “Writing Out” could be a path to a more resilient and creative mind. It’s not about perfection or waiting for inspiration to strike; it’s about showing up, putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), and committing to the process.

Damn.

2024-08-14 16:00:29

My child starts her senior year of high school today.

Damn.

Seal of Approval?

2024-08-13 16:02:51

I am designing a stamp for later when I am able to mark up one of my books and send out on stationary to a pen pal. Not sure if I am happy with this proof or not.

Unlimited- For Three Months

2024-08-15 20:43:51

Amazon was kind enough to offer a three month trial of Kindle Unlimited. So I installed a few books to the Kindle for reading, because, I.Don’t.Have.Enough.To.Read.As.It.Is.

There are a few titles on the waiting list from my libraries but those will take weeks to deliver and borrow. Thankfully Kindle had them so immediately all of this paid off. Time to speed read the previous two books I borrowed. Zoom Zoom.

Also, how great is it that if there is a word I am not sure about, I can long press the screen and a dictionary will pop up with a definition. Love that feature. With a paper book has a word that needs defining, I’ll have to break out the paper dictionary, you know, like our ancestors did.

Another feature that doesn’t get enough credit is the Highlights and Notes options. When I highlight a word or passage, Kindle sends the meta data to my personal database for later reference. Don’t ask me how because I don’t want to explain all of the heavy scripting and API codes I needed to script to make all of that magic happen.

Should I Buy More Books?

2024-08-15 21:13:26

• Bank Account: No
• Bookshelves: Uh Uh
• Books I own but haven’t read: Really??
• Me: …so now I own 5 more books

BOGO

2024-08-16 21:59:07

Call me old fashioned, but forward thinking as well; a physical book purchase should include a DRM-free digital copy as well. It costs the publishers next to nothing.

It Never Ends

2024-08-18 08:03:22

"Education isn't something you can finish"

- Isaac Asimov

Third Grade Word Building

2024-08-18 08:32:09

My first attempt at an analog collage, with an added bonus of blackout poetry. Thanks to my number one fan for her encouragement and supplies!

18/24

2024-08-18 11:41:05

I just wrapped up a sobering re-read of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. A cautionary tale of what happens when books are outlawed and burned upon discovery by firemen. This novel carried more weight for me today, then when I first read it back in junior high.

“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door...Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

This completed book takes me to 18 out of my goal of 24 novels read in 2024. Only 6 more to go for the next four months. Hell, I’m sure I can beat 24 and go to 30 by then. But then my desire is more than a goal because there is too much out there I want to consume. None of these include all of reading I have done from the RSS feeds, Substack or magazines offered in the Apple News app!

On the last day of 2023, I mapped out which books I wanted to read this year and it fun to see how it is flexible. The titles changed based on whimsy, discovery, availability and finally, how one book’s theme can affect the next pick. Example- I’ve read mostly fiction this year but have a desire to switch to non-fiction for the next one.

My issue with non-fiction books are that the recent offerings are lacking. I don’t care to read someone’s opinion on a war, politics, historical biographies with “new” information to sway my bias. Self-help books are en vogue for a few months but cannot stand tall over time due to another new craze on the topic.

Under the Library page of this website is a list of the previous readings for the past few years. At the top it will say “Currently Reading.” This is blank for now, purposely.

Super Moon

2024-08-19 20:45:00

Beautiful. On a separate note, when will Apple’s Intelligence adjust for metering the light of the moon for clearer images?

Sunrise Moon

2024-08-20 06:56:22

Contradictory

2024-08-26 11:50:25

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes."

- Walt Whitman

At Ease

2024-08-29 21:49:44

Being at ease with himself put him at ease with the world - John Steinbeck

The WayBack Machine

2024-08-31 17:11:10

Have you heard about the Internet Archive? I have but somehow always forget that it is available. It is a library of books, software, music, websites and more. A perfect blend of old and new knowledge. This is truly a national treasure.

Did I mention websites? It’s true- the WayBack Machine deploys spiders across the world wide web to take snapshots of websites. They send them out everywhere and my old websites were caught at least two times a month. This is how I discovered a problem with my own personal archives.

There are missing records.

I verified this when I searched the Archives Page on my own site. From September 2013 until November 2017, FOUR YEARS of my writing cannot be found.

I did a cursory search on one of my hard drives just for the year 2015 that turned up 37,000 results, none of them were my writings. I’ll need to check the rest but for now I am bummed. No idea what happened but hope I can find them, post them, back them up online and in print.

Before/After

2024-08-30 21:55:32

Before/After Part 2

2024-08-31 07:26:29

Before/After Part 3

2024-08-31 07:30:29

While making good use of the chrome spray paint, I grabbed two black canvas and a few fasteners lying around the garage and made a wet, metallic collage.

I like this project and plan to follow up with seashells and various spray colors

#17

2024-08-28 10:51:00

She is seventeen years old today.

Damn.

Offline

2024-08-21 10:54:00

It has been a full month since I told my phone carrier I want to remove the data package from my mobile plan. The monthly bill for just talk and text is $20 monthly.

To prepare myself for this, I ripped a lot of music from compact discs, then realized Apple Music has download features so I did that to all of my playlists. Next, I downloaded an offline version of maps so I can still navigate around this new area. The same goes for other media such as podcasts and e-books.

Truth time- the first week offline I was reaching for the phone to look something up but was unable to. Time to panic? I did, but got over it quickly. I cannot send or receive photos via Messages app, again, just text.

Sure, I am not able to use the Geocaching app to discover hidden caches, but eventually I’ll get another hand held GPS unit for that. No e-mails either, but wait, is that so bad? It isn’t.

I may be “off”, but I am content for now.

Only One

2024-08-22 11:05:00

Bring back job interviews that consist of only 1 interview

BLAugust Wrap-up

2024-08-31 23:13:15

Thirty one days ago I decided to write a post to this website every day in August, hence- BLAugust. But didn’t you post only photos or quotes on some of those days, Chris? Yes, because this site has my name on it and I was busy re-decorating a master bedroom and bathroom.