It is pretty unusual, isn’t it?

Hey, since you’re a new visitor (I assume), can you cast a critical eye and give me some suggestions for improvement of my blog? I’m especially interested in narrowing my focus, but I’ll take anything I can get!

Yeah, his “work” scares me. I’m imagining there’s a few folks out there living inside houses that could fall apart at any moment. eek.

I’m actually rather fond of it. I’m going to be one of those 80 year old guys puttering around the house, spending all day sorting a coffee can full of assorted screws.

I have the same problem though. Too much to do, and not nearly enough time.

I could no more detach the computers and game consoles from my life than I could my left arm from it’s socket.

See you next year!

You touched on the whole point. I was out there for the solitude and quiet. I just got a bit more than I bargained for!

1. Make sure you use hardwood charcoal. It burns hotter, and you want temps in excess of 400F.
2. Let the coals get red hot!
3. Place the pizza on the side WITHOUT coals — otherwise you’ll end up with a charred brick.

Pizza dough works best if you prepare it the night before, or at least 2 to 3 hours before in a pinch. Since you’re trying to cut out glutens, try spelt or another non-wheat flour. The sauce… Use basic tomato sauce with sauteed onions, garlic, red pepper flakes. Add in a 1/4 cup of dry red wine and reduce. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and basil (for sweet) or parsley (for savory), and a tablespoon of sugar. Nom, Nom.

Use a good quality cheese, but have fun with it. Do NOT use a smoked or salty cheese, though. You’re going to get plenty of that from the grill.

Cook and enjoy!

Yeah, squirt gun. You know, if I’m in a dark alley, and I need to defend myself, a squirt gun can do in a pinch.

Whatever peg words work for ya ma man!

My memory technique?
There’s a joke about a Rabbi, and a neighbor observed him making the sign of the Cross as he left his house every day. So the Neighbor asks him about it one day: “Rabbi, I see you leaving and making the sign of the Cross. I didn’t think Jewish people believed in that.” The Rabbi responds, “No, no, I am just making sure I have everything before I lock the door:
Spectacles,
Testicles,
Wallet,
Watch!”

Guess I have to expand my peg word list…

@Chewie – Thank you! Every time I want to go off on some specific and hyper-focused tangent, I remember your advice on keeping it a bit more general, and I think it keeps me grounded. Keep the advice coming, please.

Finding a focus is good, I like variety myself. Let the comments be an indicator of what us common folk like. Polls can be an indicator, but as the Desoto taught us: the people don’t always know what they want. In the end, it is your blog and you can write about whatever the hell you want to.

Expansion: The only idea I have is those icons for Digg, FB, Twitter, etc. so people can easily get the word out. I forget sometimes, and am reminded when I see it on your FB page.

I like your blog, and I hope it is wildly popular. Mostly, I hope you continue to enjoy to write it. Thanks for your thoughts!

Great work, if you can get it.

Amirite?!

I’m actually pre-diabetic. I haven’t crossed the line yet, but my doc tells me I’m close. That’s one of the reasons for the diet.

The cravings will continue to decline, and knowing that (and believing it) really helps.

It’s just like “Hi, I’m broken, and now you have to take care of me for the next 45 minutes.” Ya know?

And I don’t always feel that way, just sometimes. I’ll refine the process, and get better with it over time I think.

And I know that the dogs are always so attractive, and fun to pet, and well…they’re just dogs. Who doesn’t like dogs?

The good part though is that the dogs are already having a great time. They get to be with their owner all day long, in close contact. They do the things their owner wants them to do, and that’s really what a dog wants. They get to ride in the car all the time, see new people, and go all over town to smell new and smelly things. Then, when needed, they get a much higher level of medical care and food then a non-Service Dog.

It’s really win-win for the dog. And I’m sure, in their little hearts, they’re secretly happy about the petting too. For just a second… Then it’s BACK TO BUSINESS!

And I came to the same realization. I was obsessively clicking each game, and waiting for my countdown timer to expire so I could do another round…

So, I dumped them too. Except I left my Vampire Wars game going so Blackie could use it as an ally. But she logs in and plays my account, not me.

I’m still on Facebook just as much, I’m just not playing the games any more. *sigh*

Thanks for the encouragement though! I enjoy your blog too, but I don’t get over there as often as I’d like.

Chad

And thank you for alerting me to my faux pas! This is an area where I don’t have much experience, so I’m not very current on the etiquette.

Because of that, I feel a little stress hitting the “Mark all as read”, like I’m leaving food on my plate, ya know? On the other hand, if you’ve seen me recently, you know I SHOULD be leaving food on my plate occasionally.

As I get older, I’m finding that my tolerance level for morons is wearing thin. I think that’s why I’m focusing on these values; once I can get them solidified in my head, I can start labeling people on The Good List, or the Not Worth My Time List.

Harsh, I know, but absolutely necessary. My world is full of people and things demanding my attention. Without some way to filter them, they all get equal time. Obviously, THAT’S not the way to go.

I’m going to check out the Crossover Linux and Crossover Gaming you mention above. There are still a handful of Windows apps or games that I simply don’t want to give up.

So are you saying Crossover Gaming should replace the idea of a virtual machine for running MS apps, for instance? I’ve actually just installed VirtualBox on my Ubuntu side, and I’m searching for my XP disk to install.

Jumping off the North Slope!? That sounds like fun! How did you get into that?

Backups with BackupPC — works beautifully. Backs my wife’s Mac up without any problems. If you need Windows apps, Crossover Linux or Crossover Gaming. Much better than trying to do VMware or virtual hosting on the same hard drive as your primary OS. I still host email at home, but I’m also tired of worrying about that; I do enough of this at work every day. I’ll probably move it to Google or Gandi.net hosting. There’s enough hosting apps and environments out there that I don’t need to have a server any more.

Good luck!

Another good list is the 7 Virtues of Bushido: http://www.theartofcalligraphy.com/seven-virtues-of-bushido.html.

I think you’re right. It’s all about the trade-offs and the path.

Chad

The question is, are you looking for a Path, or a Google Map?

Don’t worry about Picking a path, just take the one you are on, and figure out if it works for today and tomorrow. Nail down the trade-offs you are making by each step forward. If those trade offs are not worth it, start looking for the next branch. When you get to that branch, take a hard look at its trade-offs.

Larking off on the next fork is no better than doggedly rejecting alternatives to your current direction.

Very few of us are graced with the ability to define our destinies, but all of us have the option to recognize and value the trade-offs we make each and every day. If we view our trade-offs as things that are forced upon us by an uncaring universe and we will never have the ability to mitigate or choose how we perceive, than we doom ourselves to the slavery of our self inflicted ruts.

In recognizing the trade-offs and valuing them as something we acknowledge, and will take steps to mitigate if we choose they warrant it as appropriate, we gain the ability to shape our own course. It is all in the small steps forward.

The problem in my local Culver’s has always been the pickles. I like me some pickles, but not on burgers, and not when they make the bun soggy. So I say “No pickles, anywhere on the bun or in the basket or any other place on my order.” And my food comes back with pickles on it, every single time, without fail.

And the manager is usually very nice about it, and sometimes I get a free Shake Of The Day out of it, but it still happens consistently.

Hope you resolve your BSoD soon…

There’s a bunch of things I CAN do, or that I would LIKE to do.

I just can’t shake the feeling that if I don’t narrow this down, I’m going to waste a lot of time looking.

Plus, tearing off on some existential snipe hunt doesn’t get my mortgage paid.

I know there’s no guarantees in life, but I’d at least like a hint.

I think I’ll stick with the generalities for a while. Thanks for the voice of support!

From what I’ve seen, it’s a vast wasteland out there in public education. I know every generation since the dawn of time has said that about the following generations, but it’s usually true.

The public schools are teaching to the lowest common denominator in an attempt to deflect lawsuits or negative press, because every child these days has to feel special and empowered. Consequently, the kids at the top lose out by having to go purposefully slow. Boredom breeds behavior problems, and there we are.

When my daughter was going into 9th grade, we looked around, and were appalled. Our choices were Marshall ($7000/year, it’s since increased) or Central (she’d get beat up every day, and be pregnant by 16). With options like that, I actually got to the point where I was going to quit my job and homeschool her. We found an awesome charter school (Harbor City), but only just barely.

My point is, public school is guaranteed to fail the kids at the top, and at the bottom. Parents need to consider other options, and I’m not sure that’s happening.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein”

Ryan is just as sharp. We have a Spiderman Laptop child’s game that has the alphabet and numbers on it. There are simple letter finder games, fill in the letter, and spelling games. Ryan, I swear on my grandfather’s grave, can SPELL three letter words! He knows his entire alphabet. “Find the P.” Within a second, he’s slamming the “P” button down. It’s absolutely crazy.

I remember being that geeky know-it-all kid. School was tough, but I think school was tough for everyone. I always wanted to be in the popular crowd, but I never was willing to give up my individuality and interests completely to do it. I was still playing with Transformers and Legos into my mid teens… O.K. I still play with them. :)

Let’s hope we can find a challenging and rewarding elementary school for these kids.

The hardest part though is actually discovering what my passion or bliss actually is. I know it's locked somewhere in that head of mine. It may be covered by years of “keep your nose to the grindstone and stop horsing around” types of negative thinking, but I'll find it eventually.

Good luck in your search also!

Let me know how much the points work out to!

It’s an honor to have you on my blog! You’re one of my favorite bloggers.

I’m still trying to find my way in the blogging jungle, so the topics here bounce around a bit. Any suggestions?