Tag: Journal
December 31, 2023 / Journal

Hard Reset: DeBug Life 

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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.

This is the last day of 2023 and tomorrow begins the hard reset, or rebooting the system for a fresh start. After that I will begin to run some routines to help debug my personal operating system.

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 #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 #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.

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.

Inputs

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

  • Reading
  • Creative writing
  • Journaling
  • Meditation

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

December 30, 2023 / Journal

Kindle Unlimited

Let’s ignore the fact that I already plotted which novels I am going to read in 2024 and have more than enough, but what if some of those picks were duds and I wanted more?

Well Amazon made me an offer I did not refuse and that was 3 months of Unlimited reading for $0.99USD. Right away I snagged three titles and added them to the list. It didn’t help that I received a paperback book 1 in the murderbot series, “All Systems Red” for Christmas and KU has the rest of the series listed there so consider that money well saved when I do get around to starting/finishing the series?

So many books and not enough time is a blessing/curse!
December 30, 2023 / Journal

Atari 2600+

So that happened this weekend. Time to dive back into 8-bit graphics and challenging game play.

December 28, 2023 / Journal

Novel Ideas

I have been an avid reader since I can remember, and that memory goes back quite the distance. And in that whole time I’ve always felt that there is a story for me to tell, something that hasn’t been written yet and it was up to me to tell it since no one else will. The trick is to tell a compelling story that is unique or maybe offer a small twist. I do not have lofty aspirations nor fancy myself as a brilliant writer- at all.

Now that the disclaimer is out there I can proceed.

The idea of a my first novel came from a photo book documenting the Angkor province of Cambodia from the Khmer Empire, a topic that hardly anyone knows anything about so of course I was intrigued and have been pursuing research and ideas on how to tell a story there. That has been burned in my brain for the past thirty years.

During this past month I was in a hotel room alone with my thoughts and there were plenty of thoughts for other novel ideas. Work by day then come back to the hotel at night to read and write. As I said, for one month I have generated almost thirty-five (35!) novel ideas and concepts. I have even gone so far as to come up with plot lines from start to finish on most of these. At least ten unique characters to be interjected as well.

To break them down I’d say at least 20 of these are novel sized with the remaining 15 are more like individual short stories that can/will be combined into one overall story with a common theme.

My brain and fingers are swollen from over use but I am pleased.

There are so many issues though with the most difficult being- which story do I want to start first? Which one do I invest my time in research and development? Should I start on a smaller series and build from those small victories?

All titles shown are incomplete, personal property and are subject to change
December 28, 2023 / Journal

365/2024

.I need a photo project and have always wanted to do a one photo of the day every day for a year. Well, with the new year coming up soon, it’ll be a great chance to launch this project.

The camera I will be using is the aforementioned Hipstamatic model 10 with a variety of lenses, film and flash gels to keep it interesting. 

I hope to do this project mindfully but on the off day when that isn’t possible there is always “snappy hour”, a prompt from the camera to shoot one hour before sunset to capture the best light of the day. Every day an image is snapped, the camera will stamp the photographic passport to keep me going. 

I’ll post some worthy images on the photography website and all of them will be on the Flickr gallery page.
December 23, 2023 / Journal

Play With The Toys You Have

Thankfully, after years of curating the perfect device and software setup I am content. I do not need the latest and greatest. With all of the “Pro” computing tools I have acquired, I can rely on years of use and design aesthetics to satisfy.

Gratefully the same applies to camera equipment. I have scaled down my digital cameras to a total of one with two lenses, two different film cameras for different uses and the iPhone.

With Christmas coming in a couple of days and an upcoming move, I am reminded of how much stuff gets acquired and not used. And why accumulate more when you don’t play with the toys you have?

December 21, 2023 / Journal

Apple Journal

It’s finally here and the hype does not live up to the anticipation. It is basic and definitely not a Day One journal killer yet but it is close. Will it take me away from journaling in my FoxOS database or field notes using pen and paper? Not yet, but its on the iPhone and convenient.
December 21, 2023 / Journal

Routine

I’m looking forward to getting back into daily habits such as:

  • Meditation- 10m
  • Yoga – 20m
  • Walking – 30m
  • Reading – 30m
  • Journal – 10m
December 20, 2023 / Journal

Believe In Doubt

“Life is complicated. It’s filled with nuance. It’s unsatisfying… If I believe in anything, it is doubt. The root cause of all life’s problems is looking for a simple f**king answer.”

Anthony Bourdain

No simple answers- just finding, discovering, wandering.

Lost and stupid sounds great if I can get out of my own head where I frequently feel sure and smart.
December 20, 2023 / Journal

Tesla

My first exposure to Tesla was a shop in the Galleria Mall featuring shiny new cars. At the time I thought this will never work because they can’t afford to have their own dealership lots and whatever orders they sold, the buyers would have to wait and have them delivered without a test drive. Well I was wrong and happy to admit it. Since then, I’ve watched Tesla expand and become the name brand synonymous with electric vehicles. 

Flash forward 15 years later and I finally had an opportunity to drive a fully electric sports car this past weekend. I love this technology and would absolutely own a Tesla given the chance.

One of Tesla’s claims to fame is an instant, seamless, and silent surge of power when you stab the accelerator. The Model 3 is a thrill ride, and on the Gulf Freeway stretch from the airport to the beach, I went from 0-100mph in about 5 seconds. With no combustible engine and no gears to shift the Tesla, silently sliced through the speedometer. I even raced a Porsche down the seawall and it wasn’t even close. Sorry, Porsche. 

Tech amenities for this rented model was pretty stocked and did not have the self-driving feature but it did include an eight-speaker audio system; a 15-inch touch screen with a web browser and navigation capabilities; and a wireless charging pad for two smartphones. Driver assists such as adaptive cruise control; automatic emergency braking; blind-spot warning; lane-keeping assist; and front and rear parking sensors are standard.

The interior has a very modern, almost austere feel because Tesla doesn’t use traditional gauges and includes only a few physical controls. The 15-inch touch screen handles nearly every vehicle setting, and you use the steering wheel’s scroll and push controls to change settings such as audio volume, as well as to adjust the side mirrors and headlights. This control setup is a departure from traditional switches and dials, and requires a bit of an adjustment. It took me twenty minutes in the rental agency lot to get the driving setup settings the way I needed which is not bad because new owners have guided instructions through the sales people. 

When it came time to recharge the vehicle all I had to do was push the “charging stations” button on the large screen and it suggested over 20 locations near me. I picked the closest one as it told me how much energy I had, how much it would use to get there and then to my final destination. Charging was a cinch and very quick with the Tesla supercharger stations. 47% charge to 100% capacity took 15m. There were 8 other Teslas parked and sipping electricity so we all hung out and chatted up our cars and how brilliant they are. 

In a short time and with advancements in already brilliant technology, I see Tesla as a threat to any competitor including the traditional fuel-powered cars that manufacturers are still putting out. The model 3 is a technophile’s dream with it’s range, performance and technology.
December 8, 2023 / Journal

51

Damn.

November 3, 2023 / Journal

FoxCast

Since the migration to the new accounts are almost complete, I did have to start fresh with a new Apple ID and recreate the FoxCast channel on Apple Podcasts. I am also podcasting on Spotify if you are so inclined. 

The FoxCast is updated every weekend and covers photography, book reviews, geocaching and more. 

For back episodes, you can always click on the FoxCast page here. Thanks for listening!
November 2, 2023 / Journal

Grey Matter

I just successfully migrated all of my digitized notes into a new personal database which I used to call “Grey Matter” as a second brain, or pensieve. A second brain is a system where I can collect, refine and process ideas that hopefully will lead to future insights or research. 

It’s like adding additional RAM memory to your own brain to help me connect and visualize my thoughts. Every note is linked to another and if there is a general topic such as, photography, it creates a node for other notes to connect or backlink to. 

Now that my clean slate initiative is almost complete and have removed my personal name offline, I’ve renamed the database as The Fox Operating System or simply FoxOS.

A photography node on a graph view of my notes in Grey Matter
October 30, 2023 / Journal

Success

The clean slate protocol I initiated a few days ago is a success. After creating a new domain name and building a new website, with a new e-mail account and a new Apple ID, I am slowly migrating some of my crucial data from backups. 

I have yet to delete the old Apple ID for fear of missing a few crucial pieces of correspondence from companies I do business with but all that should be wrapped up by this coming week. For now, I can breathe a sigh of relief as I start building good organizational and privacy habits to ensure nothing gets out of control again.
October 27, 2023 / Journal

Reboot Redesign ReDo

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.

First up, a new identity. I will no longer be using my personal name online. I don’t need to “brand myself” anymore since I am done playing the game. I created a new Apple ID that is generic and not personal. Then I created an iCloud account to go with it. Next, I purchased a new web domain (silverfox.website) and email address 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.