Life Is Such A Sweet Insanity.

I have used the same “starter word” in Wordle since I started playing the game too long ago. My husband and I try to solve the Wordle puzzle every morning during our daily routine and we text the results to each other. It’s a fun little diversion.

There’s little chance this word will come up again but I’m going to continue to use it as my starter word because routine = structure to me, structure = stability for me, and most importantly, old habits die hard.

I have made a change with another game in my daily life and that’s deleting Solitaire from my iPad. For a couple of years I have played Solitaire on a daily basis, trying to solve four goals every day. That is, unless the one of the goals is “Complete a multiplayer game”, because I’ve never understood why Solitaire would be played in a multiplayer scenario but that’s something else to ponder at a later date.

While I was enjoying strategizing over my daily Solitaire sessions, it was becoming slightly obsessive for me. If I didn’t complete the goals of the day it would bother me and in this day and age I don’t need that added stress to my life. Also, I was noticing patterns in card distribution. Computers have no ability to be actually random, and that plays out when you’re playing games involving card decks and the like. They’re a bit more random than they were back in the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 days, but I could still see patterns in card distribution and that was a little bit frustrating to me as well, so I stepped away from Solitaire.

One other thing I’ve always been curious about is, what data are these companies deriving from my game play of Solitaire or Wordle? I mean, they must know a little bit about how my brain works as I work my way through these puzzles, but I don’t see anything that would think they could compel me to buying a certain brand of shaving cream or something.

Yesterday’s hike along Sycamore Reservoir Trail near Mt. Lemmon in Coronado National Forest was a lot of fun. It’s getting to that time of year where it’s going to just be too hot for hiking, but I think I can squeeze in one more hike before the storm chasing trip.

Here’s some photos from yesterday’s hike. Full resolution downloads are also available on Flickr. Full video is available in the previous post and/or on my YouTube channel.

Here’s a video recap of my recent hike along the Sycamore Reservoir Trail in Coronado National Forest east of Tucson, Arizona.

Film date:
2024-05-04

Equipment Used:
GoPro Hero 9
GoPro MAX
iPhone 13 Pro
Apple Mac mini M2 Pro
Final Cut Pro

We experienced our first Arizona in 2021. Mother Nature was impressive that year with all sorts of storms hurdled in our direction during Monsoon Season. During the first or second storm the tree in the decorative circle in the middle of our driveway came down.

We replaced the tree the following winter with something a little more appropriate to the desert climate. Here’s a photo of the tree in early 2023.

Apparently our new tree is quite happy because it has been growing and blossoming like crazy. It’s adding a good deal of color to the front of the house.

Every morning I look out my office window and see this tree thrive puts me in a sunny mood. It’s a good way to start the day.

It’s hard to believe this album is nearly 30 years old. Released in 1997, “ESCM” by BT is one of the most inspirational feats of music I have ever enjoyed. ESCM stands for Electric Sky Church Music.

The album was first sent to me when I was working in radio. The CD was included in a pack from the record company. They weren’t really pushing it hard, as I don’t think they knew what they wanted to do with the album. Was BT a pop artist? Trance? A new genre not yet explored? I don’t think Warner Brothers knew what they had in BT and his next album moved to one of the EMI labels. When I asked the record rep about “Remember”, one of the singles released from “ESCM”, they told me it wasn’t a priority.

BT (Brian Transeau) is a musical genius of the times. His combination of this genius with technology has produced impressive results for three decades. He’s been doing amazing things with music and computers when Apple and Microsoft were still figuring out where they were going.

If I’m remembering correctly, the CD single for “Remember” had a Quicktime file on it featuring the official music video.

I needed some inspiration today. I’m listening to “ESCM” as I write this blog entry and get through the workday. This quote from BT’s webpage has given me the kick I need.

I am a man who believes that sound can change lives, perform miracles, and bend the human condition towards good,. This belief has kept me getting out of bed every day for the last 20+ years.

– B.T.

Here’s the track listing of the U.S. edition of the album (from Wikipedia).

Best enjoyed on a solid pair of noise canceling headphones.

For those not interested in watching ads before my videos hosted on YouTube, I am now sharing my videos via Vimeo as well. Here’s last night’s video hosted from Vimeo; please let me know if you have any issues viewing it.

I just ran across this meme and I 99% agree with this. The exception is if you absolutely blow me away with your charm and service. Then I’ll put you in the 1%.

I’m trying out a new video style.