I am more and more noticing a trade-off between a) spending my time doing awesome stuff . . . and b.) spending the time writing about awesome stuff. I'd rather use the time to get more awesome stuff done. Therefore, less writing for a while.
My plan is limit this blog to monthly updates for a while -- perhaps 12 months, perhaps indefinitely.
The house should be paid off in 5-6 months. After that point, I can start thinking about how one would define intermediate wood working skills, how to make a windmill, and things of that sort.
I have already proven that I can write a post every week. Now, I going to shift my focus to see what I can do this year.
Update
Shortly after writing this I saw this really good piece on not blogging. It makes a good case for the value of an essay, and how that helps you clarify your thoughts. But an essay is really not the same thing as blogging about what you are doing, or, still worse, writing ad copy. An essay is a humble attempt, but one a real attempt. at understanding a topic (which means it is thoughtful (which means it should take time)).
In addition to my monthly updates on goal progress, I will continue to think a lot, especially on beautiful walks, and write down my best thoughts, and questions, in my note books. During the summer, I may have the motivation to write to make clarify a stance on of the puzzles in my mind, which get revealed and preserved in my notebook. I will cut down on the quantity of my output and look instead at quality, particularly focusing on pieces only I can write, such as on my life and my father and grandfather.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
The Play List at My Father's Funeral
These songs were selected from artists my dad liked. It more or less fell on me to select the songs and put thought into the order.
1.) Where Do the Children Play? Cat Stevens
I picked this one because my father loved children, but also because, like my grandfather before him, he lived a humble life that I think is far closer to the solution than anything the Apple Geniuses are going to come up with. I think the song itself sets up ambition and the addiction to progress (at any cost) as what destroys the places the children will play.
I really didn't know much about Cat Stevens until I started researching the song list. My mom mentioned that my dad loved his stuff, and now I see why.
2.) Old Man, Neil Young.
I actually own the CD this one is from -- Harvest. I immediately thought of this as my Neil Young song. I was thinking about the threads connecting my dad to my grandpa, and how tough the late 60's and 70's really must have been. Also, of course, there are the threads between my father and I.
"Old man take a look at my life. I'm a lot like you were."
3.) Another Day in Paradise.
My parents once said that Phil Collins was the one musician they both really liked. That was certainly fine with me. As to the particular song I selected, that was more up in the air. Since I knew I couldn't get away with Sussido, I went with "Another Day in Paradise."
In a way these don't seem to be the songs of a Reagan Republican (who at one time was very active in Republican politics), but it is a beautiful and mellow song.
4.) Father and Son.
Upon hearing this for the first time, I knew this was the grand finale. It sounds great and it's just genius in that it gets both sides this father/son divide just right. The father's advice to the son is so good (and how my dad lived his life), but the way the way the dad in the song tried to force his son to listen and refused to understand him drove the child away (thankfully, not how my dad acted). I think seeing both perspectives at the same time is the key to getting all you can out of the song.
Now playing it as the final song at a funeral also did amazing things to the part where the son is saying he has to go away. The last words of the song (and functionally of my dad's funeral) are a sad, torn "I have to go"
. . . This song is always going to have a special place in my heart.
1.) Where Do the Children Play? Cat Stevens
I picked this one because my father loved children, but also because, like my grandfather before him, he lived a humble life that I think is far closer to the solution than anything the Apple Geniuses are going to come up with. I think the song itself sets up ambition and the addiction to progress (at any cost) as what destroys the places the children will play.
I really didn't know much about Cat Stevens until I started researching the song list. My mom mentioned that my dad loved his stuff, and now I see why.
2.) Old Man, Neil Young.
I actually own the CD this one is from -- Harvest. I immediately thought of this as my Neil Young song. I was thinking about the threads connecting my dad to my grandpa, and how tough the late 60's and 70's really must have been. Also, of course, there are the threads between my father and I.
"Old man take a look at my life. I'm a lot like you were."
3.) Another Day in Paradise.
My parents once said that Phil Collins was the one musician they both really liked. That was certainly fine with me. As to the particular song I selected, that was more up in the air. Since I knew I couldn't get away with Sussido, I went with "Another Day in Paradise."
In a way these don't seem to be the songs of a Reagan Republican (who at one time was very active in Republican politics), but it is a beautiful and mellow song.
4.) Father and Son.
Upon hearing this for the first time, I knew this was the grand finale. It sounds great and it's just genius in that it gets both sides this father/son divide just right. The father's advice to the son is so good (and how my dad lived his life), but the way the way the dad in the song tried to force his son to listen and refused to understand him drove the child away (thankfully, not how my dad acted). I think seeing both perspectives at the same time is the key to getting all you can out of the song.
Now playing it as the final song at a funeral also did amazing things to the part where the son is saying he has to go away. The last words of the song (and functionally of my dad's funeral) are a sad, torn "I have to go"
. . . This song is always going to have a special place in my heart.
Obituary for My Father
Max Alan Huddleston was born July 11, 1957, to Virginia and Max Leroy Huddleston in Norman. To avoid confusion with his father, he went by Alan or “Al.”
Alan was dedicated to his family and his neighborhood, with a special gift for making children laugh. He worked a wide variety of jobs, including running several small businesses, managing restaurants, working in apartments and working briefly as a professional magician. Though often shy in crowds, he was always a character at work who found ways to make jokes and brighten people’s day.
He is survived by his mother, his wife Alison, his brother Ray and wife Connie, as well as his son, Keith and wife Beth. He was preceded in death last year by his father.
Alan was dedicated to his family and his neighborhood, with a special gift for making children laugh. He worked a wide variety of jobs, including running several small businesses, managing restaurants, working in apartments and working briefly as a professional magician. Though often shy in crowds, he was always a character at work who found ways to make jokes and brighten people’s day.
He is survived by his mother, his wife Alison, his brother Ray and wife Connie, as well as his son, Keith and wife Beth. He was preceded in death last year by his father.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Por versus Para in Spanish
This is from the youtube channel LightSpeed Spanish.
What a neat way to encode a really tricky distinction.
What a neat way to encode a really tricky distinction.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Get the Dao Where I Can
It is very safe to say that over the last 12 months I have been immensly influenced by Daoism. It has been my way of dealing with the loss of my grandfather, and it will probably be how I deal with the loss of my dad. It also made me want to take up Tai Chi and play Go.
Both are lovely activities, but neither are at this point my true path (pun intended). I order my time with Daoism by the following hierarchy:
1) Time in nature, with the right silence, openness, and stillness of mind. This is where perfect days should be spent.
2) Time with the Daodejing. Last year I copied passages by hand. This year I will memorize my favorite passages. In the future, I might take up calligraphy and really make some beautiful copies. Also, there is the possibility of copying it in Spanish, French, or other languages.
3) Tai Chi. I plan to pick it up in the winters, when the land has lost most of its scents and bird song. True story: I was doing quite a bit of Tai Chi in the winter and then one day I went out in February and I could just smell the spring. After that, I have not learned any new moves. I mostly just used it for stretches when we got out of the car during our vacation. I think when nature speaks to me less, I will take up Tai Chi again. It's a seasonal thing.
4) The game of Go. So in the end, I am not going with Go. A dozen games or so of Go forms the basis of some images that serve as metaphors for the Dao, but after that it just a game. Granted, an absorbing game full of tactics. Oh my, just in writing, I am getting an itch to play. But that is nothing that losing a few games to a computer wont fix.
Go as a metaphor can help in my spiritual enlightenment, but the actual practice of Go does not get past being a game. And as I get older, I find more satisfaction from getting things done in real life and progressing in useful skills.
I also find more purpose in spirituality. And I want the time I spend in my life to reflect that.
Both are lovely activities, but neither are at this point my true path (pun intended). I order my time with Daoism by the following hierarchy:
1) Time in nature, with the right silence, openness, and stillness of mind. This is where perfect days should be spent.
2) Time with the Daodejing. Last year I copied passages by hand. This year I will memorize my favorite passages. In the future, I might take up calligraphy and really make some beautiful copies. Also, there is the possibility of copying it in Spanish, French, or other languages.
3) Tai Chi. I plan to pick it up in the winters, when the land has lost most of its scents and bird song. True story: I was doing quite a bit of Tai Chi in the winter and then one day I went out in February and I could just smell the spring. After that, I have not learned any new moves. I mostly just used it for stretches when we got out of the car during our vacation. I think when nature speaks to me less, I will take up Tai Chi again. It's a seasonal thing.
4) The game of Go. So in the end, I am not going with Go. A dozen games or so of Go forms the basis of some images that serve as metaphors for the Dao, but after that it just a game. Granted, an absorbing game full of tactics. Oh my, just in writing, I am getting an itch to play. But that is nothing that losing a few games to a computer wont fix.
Go as a metaphor can help in my spiritual enlightenment, but the actual practice of Go does not get past being a game. And as I get older, I find more satisfaction from getting things done in real life and progressing in useful skills.
I also find more purpose in spirituality. And I want the time I spend in my life to reflect that.
Improvised Workout . . . Again
Sometimes you just have to improvise.
My dad passed on Friday, so I have stayed the last two nights at my moms.
I had planned on lifting on Friday, but it was certainly a case of life getting in the way. Yesterday was a blur, with people coming to visit mom's house a time for depressed torpors.
Today, I decided to get some exercise. First, I did some body weight stuff at my mom's -- push ups, glut raises, etc. I find the hardest muscle to work this way to be my biceps. Today I lifted first a basket with some potatoes, trying to use a slow cadence, but found that to not be quite enough, so I used my dad's air machine (sorry if that seems morbid).
Later in the day I went on to the Sutton Trails, planning on a lovely nature stroll. Instead, when I followed a new side trail, I found a new, lovely spot that opens up to the pond. I also found a nearby tree branch that I know could work as a pull up bar. I used it for hanging leg raises. And I was just pleased to know that I never have to go to a gym, or even use my free weights, if I don't want to.
The philosophy of this workout was based on a blog post on the site Critical MAS. Like he reported, this workout kicked my butt, but I felt less guilty about all the over eating I continued to do today because, hey, you've got to feed the machine.
All of this really helped to clear my head. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day since the body will be shown to family. I needed today for sanity.
My dad passed on Friday, so I have stayed the last two nights at my moms.
I had planned on lifting on Friday, but it was certainly a case of life getting in the way. Yesterday was a blur, with people coming to visit mom's house a time for depressed torpors.
Today, I decided to get some exercise. First, I did some body weight stuff at my mom's -- push ups, glut raises, etc. I find the hardest muscle to work this way to be my biceps. Today I lifted first a basket with some potatoes, trying to use a slow cadence, but found that to not be quite enough, so I used my dad's air machine (sorry if that seems morbid).
Later in the day I went on to the Sutton Trails, planning on a lovely nature stroll. Instead, when I followed a new side trail, I found a new, lovely spot that opens up to the pond. I also found a nearby tree branch that I know could work as a pull up bar. I used it for hanging leg raises. And I was just pleased to know that I never have to go to a gym, or even use my free weights, if I don't want to.
The philosophy of this workout was based on a blog post on the site Critical MAS. Like he reported, this workout kicked my butt, but I felt less guilty about all the over eating I continued to do today because, hey, you've got to feed the machine.
All of this really helped to clear my head. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day since the body will be shown to family. I needed today for sanity.
Monday, August 17, 2015
New Game: Yoga
When I combine my strength training to one day, I will need to put running more into the mix to have it so I workout every day.
I live in fear, therefore of injures and pain from over-training. To correct this, I need to give myself an optional out. On days that I feel like I can run, fine, do it -- it is great. But on days that I my legs feel messed up, I will take up yoga.
I like, in fact love, the tai chi that I have done, but it doesn't really feel like a workout, so for now I am not going to count it as a workout. I reserve the right to reverse this opinion, of course. Most likely, I will combine moves from both and call it a flexibility-based-meditative workout day. This might also be a good day to work in some more grip work
Here is a vides of "full spectrum" yoga over at expert village:
Bonus: Since I look at Spanish content reasonably often, searches came up with this Spanish yoga channel. I can look up a pose in English and see it reinforced, while practicing my Spanish. Fantastic.
I appreciate how clear the diction is in this video.
I live in fear, therefore of injures and pain from over-training. To correct this, I need to give myself an optional out. On days that I feel like I can run, fine, do it -- it is great. But on days that I my legs feel messed up, I will take up yoga.
I like, in fact love, the tai chi that I have done, but it doesn't really feel like a workout, so for now I am not going to count it as a workout. I reserve the right to reverse this opinion, of course. Most likely, I will combine moves from both and call it a flexibility-based-meditative workout day. This might also be a good day to work in some more grip work
Here is a vides of "full spectrum" yoga over at expert village:
Bonus: Since I look at Spanish content reasonably often, searches came up with this Spanish yoga channel. I can look up a pose in English and see it reinforced, while practicing my Spanish. Fantastic.
I appreciate how clear the diction is in this video.
Monday, August 10, 2015
How I Work Out Every Day
I am experimenting with working out every day. This is probably a duh moment for most regular exercisers, but it is easier to form the exercise habit if it is every day. I find myself also increasingly moving in the direction of running -- what seems to me, anecdotally, to be the exercise most able to get every day adherence.
For now here's what I currently do:
Strength A -- concentration curl, hanging leg raises, static holds to engage pecs
HIT training -- a Tabata set, mostly of jumping jacks, but some side jumps and grapevines
Strength B -- tricep kickback, one-hand planks, kettlebell swings. bridging
HIT training again, or a barefoot run in the greenbelt behind my house
And it goes in a cycle something like this. I try to never repeat the same type of exercise two days in a row. In two weeks, I will change the set of strength exercises I do, staying with them for 8 weeks, then changing again, all to prevent over training.
For strength training, I will go back to 15 minute blocks of Escalating Density Training, pairing antagonistic groups.
15 minute PR zone
hanging leg raises
bridges
rest 15
23 minute PR zone
push-ups
bench rows (with towel to make "fat bar")
The workout schedule, starting in two weeks:
15 minute PR zone
hanging leg raises
bridges
rest 15
23 minute PR zone
push-ups
bench rows (with towel to make "fat bar")
The workout schedule, starting in two weeks:
M run (or yoga, if fried or the outside sucks)
T HIT
W run (or yoga, if fried or the outside sucks)
Th HIT
F lift weights
Sat run (or yoga, if fried or the outside sucks)
Sun HIT
T HIT
W run (or yoga, if fried or the outside sucks)
Th HIT
F lift weights
Sat run (or yoga, if fried or the outside sucks)
Sun HIT
The running is for the joy of it. I checked out the book ChiRunning from the library and am going to work on, noting similarities and differences between it and the Pose method. It seems that the mechanics of running can work to lower injuries. Also, since I have a bit of a diversified portfolio of exercises here, I think I minimize injury.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Update (Dvorak Has Taken Over)
Looking back over the summer, I might not have cooked quite as much I planned (though I have started again in earnest lately), and I might not have done as much work in Spanish either, but some things have gone right.
This summer saw me work out regularly and now I work out every day. I have been much better at keeping up with household chores, which doesn't impress others, but does make life better.
But most of all, Dvorak has ingrained itself to the point that I cannot set down on a qwerty keyboard and touch type. Instead my instincts, at least on the most common keys, are Dvorak. On a Qwerty key board, I hunt and peck with my head down looking at the keyboard. It keeps the two keyboard patterns separate, and encourages me to do more Dvorak, and in fact to improve at Dvorak, because it looks like it is now as easy to go forward in Dvorak as it is to go back to Qwerty.
Looking forward six months, it looks like I can have the house paid off. That goal opens up work on several others on the list. If I was hungry enough, I could finish the million word Spanish challenge.
Though I doubt I am hungry enough. (Update: I wasn't.)
This summer saw me work out regularly and now I work out every day. I have been much better at keeping up with household chores, which doesn't impress others, but does make life better.
But most of all, Dvorak has ingrained itself to the point that I cannot set down on a qwerty keyboard and touch type. Instead my instincts, at least on the most common keys, are Dvorak. On a Qwerty key board, I hunt and peck with my head down looking at the keyboard. It keeps the two keyboard patterns separate, and encourages me to do more Dvorak, and in fact to improve at Dvorak, because it looks like it is now as easy to go forward in Dvorak as it is to go back to Qwerty.
Looking forward six months, it looks like I can have the house paid off. That goal opens up work on several others on the list. If I was hungry enough, I could finish the million word Spanish challenge.
Though I doubt I am hungry enough. (Update: I wasn't.)
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