Truman ponders the status of the treats as he gazes out my office window. He enjoys looking at me, and occasionally the funny little humans that appear on the screen in front of the hooman. The others ask questions about the large cat.
He won’t answer questions unless there’s a treat.
I never thought I’d see the day that I would look forward to the sunrise. I’ve regularly been a night owl, but as I get older I find I can’t sleep in like I used to. I feel more productive after seeing the sunrise.
This morning’s sunrise was beautiful. Enjoy the sunrise is a reminder that our time in life is finite, and we must enjoy each moment.
Memento Mori.
I have used the Apple ecosystem (and recently web accessible) journaling app Day One for over a decade. Journaling is a practice I find very helpful in my day to day life. Day One allows me to look at my entries on this date in years past, and it’s interesting to see how much I’ve grown or not grown in some of my thought processes.
This past summer I started keeping a paper journal in tandem with my Day One journaling practice. My paper journal is focused on mental growth. I record interesting exerpts from my daily reading, thoughts I feel are outside of my “growth path”, etc. At the end of the month I go back and read all of my entries in this paper journal. I should probably write into my will that it is to be burned upon my death. I’m no Marcus Aurelius, but then again, I’ll be dead so what do I care what people think.
When I first read about the journaling practices of others, and how beneficial they found the analog approach to this activity, I was skeptical. However, seeing my thoughts in my own handwriting, versus typing it into Day One, has really contributed to living my life in a positive direction.
As an aside, I’ve also discovered that handwritten notes at work have improved my ability to remember things as well. There’s something about handwriting. It’s a shame the U.S. educational system is not as focused on efficient penmanship. There’s a lot to be said about muscle memory.
Even though I have worked from home for over a decade, I still strive to wear “professional” clothes while I am at work. Here in Arizona that usually means a decent pair of shorts and a polo shirt.
For the first time that I can remember, I just finished a zoom call I was leading where I was wearing a ball cap and a hoodie, with just a plain t-shirt underneath the hoodie. I still have shorts on.
The world kept turning.
On Monday I shall be back to my “corporate garb” because it helps with my mindset during the workday, but for today, I shall relax and just get stuff done.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. Not only do we normally have a most excellent meal, but we often have friends join us for the festivities. This year one of the best people I know in the whole wide world joined us for Thanksgiving for dinner. scott and I haven’t seen each other in nearly a dozen years, but we’ve kept contact via digital means. Our paths finally crossed today and it was like a day had not gone by. We are not going to wait another dozen years to see one another.
The family chefs made an excellent meal, we had great conversation, and it has been a most wonderful day.
I have a lot to be thankful for.
l to r: Mike, Chris, Jamie, Earl, Scott, Me
We have entered what I hope is the “quiet time” of the year at work. From now until the end of the year I hope to get all the little things I have not completed on my projects list to a final status that will make me want to sip a little more champagne as we welcome in 2025.
I let the team go a couple of hours early today so they could get a headstart on their Thanksgiving. In IT land we’re often required to work extra hours above and beyond and while the rest of the company is enjoying their time off. This is how we keep the bits and bytes flowing in the proper direction and with confidence.
A little extra time before Thanksgiving is a good way to give a little thanks.
So I’m writing this blog entry on my ThinkPad T460s. I purchased this ThinkPad as a used laptop a number of years ago and have used it on and off over the years. It’s always important to use old computers for as a long as practical, because it keeps them out of the landfills. Linux makes it relatively easy to do this; support may have been dropped for Microsoft Windows years ago but the Linux distro Fedora 41 (Cinnamon Spin), Cinnamon is a desktop environment, helps this computer run like new again.
I love it.
The ThinkPad series has some of the best keyboards I’ve ever used on a laptop. They are my absolute favorite, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve rebuilt this ThinkPad as a “distraction free” writing environment. I can type away without getting notifications from a ton of unrelated apps. Focus mode in MacOS comes close to achieving this, but it’s not 100% there.
Buying an old laptop on the cheap and turning it into a digital typewriter is the way to go.
Sometimes, you just don’t have the bandwidth to read the woes of other folks as they share their life experiences on social media, especially folks you’ve never met in person. That’s OK. It’s good to be there for other people but it’s better to take care of your mental health.
You are strongest for others when you are strongest for yourself. Always take care of yourself.
I have been focusing on the gratitude I have for my life. This is rather a broad statement, but in a world that seems to focus on the negative, in these times it’s important for me to focus on the positive. People voted in the U.S. elections for negative reasons. I figure the way to figure this negativity is to be thankful for all that’s right in the world and put as much positivity as possible out there.
Sometimes I find this a difficult thing to do.
As part of my daily journaling practice I’ve been specifically writing down a recognition of the gratitude I’ve felt during the day, no matter how big or small. Even the smallest steps forward are still a step forward.
I’m good with that.
Today I’m grateful for having this blog and having the fortitude to share my feelings out loud like this. I don’t know if anyone reads these entries, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than going to a therapist. But if my words make even one person smile today, then I’ve shared some positive energy.
And we need all we can get.
Last weekend I hiked up to Douglas Springs Campground in Saguaro National Park East. It was a great hike with some fantastic views. It was a long hike, clocking in at just under 14 miles.
The whole experience was definitely worth the effort.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!