Sorting through this website's archives recently, I wanted to look back to see what has changed, if anything over the past few years. Apparently some of the things I want to achieve are the same goals I had back then. But I was a different person at the time, my life was different, the world was different.
For me, I want 2025 to be focused on a healthy balance of creativity/consumption/curation. I want the things I consume and curate to reflect in my creativity. For this I need good material to digest, then curate for future use. Shortly after, the inspiration should kick in and the creativity flows.
I want to find a level balance on analog/digital input/output. I need to spend more focus on analog sources and later post here digitally for posterity. The new bookcase will be full of analog reading material soon. The book is a wonderful magic-based technology and no batteries are required.
This is my hope for 2025. Happy New Year!
Wildlife Camera
2025-01-01 08:25:43
Ever since we relocated to Florida I have wanted to set up a trail camera to capture the local, bountiful wildlife in the backyard. After receiving an Amazon gift card I have done just that. I set it up yesterday in a good spot and hoped for the best. The idea was to capture the highly active creatures by day and night.
The first results are in: good camera angles, poor execution on my part. It seems the only wildlife I caught, in vivid photos and video, was myself as I installed and removed the camera. Aargh! Time to check the settings to recalibrate the sensors and timing of the camera. Lesson learned? We’ll see tomorrow!
https://flic.kr/p/2qCZK43
https://flic.kr/p/2qCZK43
False Start
2025-01-01 14:28:42
What a crappy way to start the new year! I tweaked my anterior ligament on my right ankle again and am in a lot of pain as I hobble around. I have today off to recover quickly, hopefully, as I work again tomorrow. Ouch!
Annoyed
2025-01-01 20:29:44
There are so many things I had planned to do to start a new year off but laying in bed off of my foot was not one of them.
I had hoped to get a casual ride in this morning and a dedicated ride in the early evening. Maybe by this weekend!
Flyday
2025-01-03 21:47:41
A new photo project? Capturing a bird in flight during the week and post it on a Friday? I'll try this and see if it sticks! In the meantime, enjoy the grey heron in flight over Estero, Florida.
1 Down And 24 To Go
2025-01-05 15:57:29
I just finished my first book of 2025 only five days in and it was called the Hemingway Thief. This book is based on the true story of Ernest Hemingway's unfinished works that was stolen in Paris and then the book's story kicks in after that. The missing briefcase contained drafts of "A Moveable Feast" that Hemingway eventually did have published but...well, I don't want to give spoilers. An enjoyable read.
Up next is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes in 1605. I don't know what to expect but it has been labeled as one of the best books of all time. We'll see!
Video Bloopers
2025-01-05 20:30:03
Video filming is not a skill I have but at the same time I really don't want to pursue it either. I admire my little brother's ability to film, edit and make a final product worthy of showing everyone over an audience of one.
The second attempt at setting up a trail camera backfired again. However, it did manage to capture...myself when I was talking with neighbors as they boated down the canal. Not the wildlife I was hoping to capture.
https://flic.kr/p/2qDPooS
Another video attempt was made when I took the drone out for a few test flights. Remind me to pivot the camera out and not down. I have lovely footage of the ground that doesn't do me any good. Lessons learned.
https://flic.kr/p/2qDQH4t
From The Desk Of
2025-01-06 19:45:26
The self-inking desk stamp has finally arrived so now I will be able to add a little more personal touch to my correspondence. It'll look great inside the book covers as well.
Wild Kingdom
2025-01-08 17:54:37
Stuck in traffic on the way to the islands via the Sanibel Causeway this morning I had the pleasure of witnessing floating pelicans take off from the water because a pod of dolphins were swimming toward them. Four of them were swimming parallel to the shore and myself driving slowly until I lost sight of them as I went up the bridge. Wow.
On Captiva Island I heard a convocation1 of ospreys above me and went about my work. I then heard a loud "snap!" of a tree branch and looked up to see the seahawk carrying this large branch off into the sky. The branch was larger than it was and that is saying something.
I love nature down here.
Estero Gran Prix
2025-01-09 18:31:45
Driving along Estero Beach Ave this morning felt like I was in a Formula 1 race because a police car was setting the pace and leading a long train of cars behind him as we swung around from chicane to chicane down the strip. I wanted to weave in and out to warm my tires but not easy to do in a work truck.
One Thousand and One Amazonian Nights
2025-01-09 19:02:12
Amazon Unlimited offered me another free subscription and already, my 2025 To-Read list is being reorganized to squeeze in some insightful books.
FlyDay Part II
2025-01-10 07:16:57
A pelican flies parallel to the Sanibel Island Causeway while I was driving across.
Updates
2025-01-11 12:59:13
There have been some design changes to the user interface of this website. If you are reading this via RSS, the changes will obviously not be visible. For now, I am sticking with a color scheme that matches the Mercedes F1 team colors that also pairs well with the overall tropical logo too.
Book Notes
2025-01-11 18:26:44
I was thinking about my annual reading goals and how to remain flexible in keeping them. For example, I recently started my second book of the year and I am not enjoying it as much as I hoped. Do I discard it and save it for later when I am more receptive? Yes, but why do I feel guilty? My book tracker app has the option to add titles to the DNF list that I make use of.
On keeping flexibility, I have no problem with this. I was listening to a podcast while driving and heard a discussion about a book I was interested in that immediately bypassed everything else on my to-be-read list. It’ll count toward the end goal so what does it matter?
Also, what about blog feeds, News app, magazines, short stories and poems and essays? How does someone quantify all of those? Sometimes these snippets are more impactful than a full-length book or a dozen books.
Moving on, I am oscillating on paper and digital books based on nothing else other than convenience. My new bookcase is full of material to occupy me all year, and yet the Kindle is a go to for a quick read before bed. I am digging the Kindle Unlimited trial. Way too many books to consume! Of course every book I read there has highlights and notes I jot down for later. These get sent to my personal database for later reference and inspiration.
Kindle Highlights and notes fed automagically into the Denbow Operating system.
From now on I am going to take it easy on myself. Yes, I will keep a list of my reads, but I want to go for quality and not quantity. I’ll pick up five “wow” books a year and not care how long it takes to enjoy, and then get through the rest of my list.
“The problem with reading is that I get distracted by other books.” - someone
FlyDay 2025-01-17
2025-01-17 07:00:00
Spooked this egret when I was working in the field under chilly, cloudy conditions.
GeoDenbow
2025-01-16 18:46:40
I've resubscribed to a premium Geocaching service and I am ready to go out and explore more. I was able to upload a few caches to my new Garmin GPS device named "Trekkie." When I am out working tomorrow, I'll try to find them on the islands.
Today and Yesteryears
2025-01-16 19:32:48
I am really digging the "On This Day" script I wrote and added to the Archives page. It prompts me about what I have experienced in the past and makes me reflect.
Well today I noticed that there were two themes from different years but all on the same date, today, January 16th.
This time last year I was sick in Houston, and ugh, that was the worst. Apparently I was sick on the same day way back in 2010. Thankfully this is not the case currently. Wait, is that a tickle in my throat? Better wash it down with Diet Doctor Pepper, STAT.
On this day in 2019 and again in 2022, I was feeling analytical about how I can utilize the iPad as a portable photo studio. For some reason and without intentionally doing so, I felt compelled writing those on the same day. Odd! I don't feel compelled to write an update today, however.
Creative Regret
2025-01-18 07:49:40
"The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time."
- Mary Oliver
What the Shell?
2025-01-18 16:45:43
If I had the time, desire or moolah to do it, I would create a comprehensive seashell identifier app that would help viewers discover what they have found and catalog them. Exhibit A: the long, black shell shown in the photo. Is it an angel wing shell? A mollusk? Shell if I know!
Recent finds off of Captiva Island
Bonita Día
2025-01-18 22:34:32
Enjoyed a beautiful outing in Bonita Springs and Estero today that did not involve work. First stop was the Everglades Wonder Gardens, host to amazing landscapes and animal encounters. I was introduced to a few species of animals and birds I have never seen before, and added to my list of birds observed while in Florida.
Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious Caribbean meal that included conch fritters and pineapple/mango/peppers shrimp served in a half cut pineapple. Those flavors were overwhelmingly yummy.
Bionic Ears
2025-01-18 23:05:09
Apple was generous with their software updates to the AirPods recently. In addition to the existing Spatial Listening they have added Active Noise Cancellation that works a little too well. I was driving down the road and only heard music, that is the point, right? But when I took them out, my ears were drowned in the surrounding car/road noises.
I’ve heard of people tuning the world out but now it is a reality for me, if necessary.
Expansion
2025-01-18 23:25:18
I was admiring the latest Mac mini from Apple with the new M4 chip and read amazing reviews on it, especially for its low price and thought HMM. But then I saw the storage space offered was MEH. My existing Mini is seven years old and has 1 TB storage space which will fill up soon because it acts as my file server and with all of the Time Machine backups as well. What's a guy to do?
Also, because of my desk and home office arrangement, I don't want unsightly cords in the way physically and visually.
It works. This screenshot is from my desktop dialed into the Mac mini file server and the Archives on the external hard drive. Problems solved all around with 8.92 TB left!
A geographical amendment, and some1 would say an improvement on the original recipe. This one is best suited for tropical environments and has a brilliant mixture of nuts, seeds, fruit and a little extra sweetness to balance the savory.
1 cup of raw macadamia nuts
1 cup raw almonds
½ cup pumpkin seeds unsalted
½ cup dried mango unsweetened
1 cup dried pineapple, unsweetened
1 cup shredded unsweetened toasted coconut shreds
1 cup white chocolate chips
Pinch of salt to taste
Things I Learned This Week
2025-01-19 07:21:12
The popular wayfarer style sunglasses started off as optical glasses in the early fifties and has been iconic ever since. My shades are this style for this reason - iconic. May have to look into getting my eyeglasses in the same way.
Backronym ,noun, an existing word turned into an acronym by creating an apt phrase whose initial letters match the word, as to help remember it or offer a theory of its origin. For example, rap has been said to be a backronym of “rhythm and poetry.”
Why do alarm clocks only allow you to snooze for 9 minutes? Due to the mechanical limitations of the late 1950's alarm clocks, it was possible to mechanically have a gear set for 9 but not 10, which would complicate the gears. Smartphone alarms could help you to snooze as long as you want, but in homage to the clocks, will only allow 9 as a neat throwback.
The Fake Book was a self-printed composition in the 60's of famous jazz song sheet music made by two students and a professor due to the fact that other students could not afford the expensive sheet music. Apparently every jazz musician and jazz wannabe has an underground copy so anyone could join in on a jam session. And yet somehow, no two jazz musicians ever sound the same.
Abandon Ship
2025-01-20 16:58:33
Remnant of 2022’s hurricane Ian
FlyDay 2025-01-24
2025-01-24 07:05:59
Pelican flying overhead on Ft Myers Beach
PhotoDenbow.com
2025-01-25 09:13:32
...is back online. I have finally reacquired the rights to the domain name. I have even given it a new coat of paint and worked the backend so it should render quickly and smoothly. You can find it by clicking the link or visiting the Photographing section of this website.
A phosphene is the phenomenon of seeing light without light entering the eye. Thanks, Ms. Optometrist.
Apophatic translates to negative theology, or teaching beyond reason or language.
The global ship tracking website is great for spying on all of the marine vessels in the area. I've been observing a lot of watercraft in the bays and gulf and wondered where they were coming from and going to. This helps.
It's quite possible the Game, colloquially named "Rabbits" has been going on for centuries and from China.
Also while driving up and down southwest Florida, I was curious to know how big my work responsibilities actually were. Apparently I am responsible for approximately 270 square miles from the tip of Captiva Island down to North Naples. Wow,
Amazing how Rabbits always manages to pop into my life. I first discovered this phenomenon in 2023, the year of the RabbitI have a large office with an ocean viewShip tracking view from the Gulf
Web Tides
2025-01-25 19:32:33
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.
Changes and Improvements
2025-01-26 10:24:50
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...
Version 3.0
2025-01-26 21:29:20
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.
Kindle Colorsoft
2025-01-26 21:41:59
The new E-reader is an improvement on my Kindle paperwhite in only a few ways. Obviously, the color addition brings a new dynamic. The display feels more like a tablet as opposed to an e-ink reader. The text and images render better, the colored highlights and notes are easier to see. The screen size is the same but the tablet itself is a little larger, easier to grip.
Sure, I can have the same quality on the Kindle app displayed on the phone but for my purposes, I need a dedicated reader.
The fact that Amazon threw in 3 months of Kindle Unlimited reading and 1 month of Audible audio books were very nice incentives too.
The 2025 Reading list is now out of whack with all of the new additions I'll need to finish.
Images
2025-01-26 21:31:00
The one disappointing aspect of rebuilding the website is due to the images and photographs not populating into the correct posts. I have all of the images but there is zero chance of me going back to each post and assigning those pictures to them.
In the future, I will need to discipline myself not to add images to the posts here. Perhaps I can due an embed from Flickr since they are my photo host. Or, just display those images on the dedicated photography website I haven't finished building out yet.
Either way, this website is going to be predominantly text-based.
Undelivered
2025-01-27 04:59:52
Apparently when switching virtual servers, I failed to consider switching the private email's MX records to match. That involves changing host name servers, CNAME records, MX records blah blah
This actually took more time to correct than switching servers.
Not sure if it is resolved because I need to go to work and it can take up to 24 hours for the corrections to propagate. I'll test later this evening.
**UPDATE** MX records rebuilt, redirected to the proper protocols and restored.
About That New Kindle...
2025-01-30 19:56:16
It is going back. Amazon promises easy returns and trade-ins, but failed to deliver. After a week of hassle I decided that you know what? You don't get any more money out of it. I'll just hold on to the capable Paperwhite edition and use the Kindle app on my tablet.
FlyDay 2025-01-31
2025-01-31 23:06:14
I am trying not to add too many images on to this website's database and possibly lose them in the future. Want to see an osprey on Capitva Island for this week's Flyday? Better go check out the new photography page of this website!
