Went to the dentist on Tuesday to get some cleaning, a filling (first ever!), and one of my wisdom teeth pulled. All I have to say is, kids, BRUSH AND FLOSS. Wow. Getting a tooth pulled -- even an "auxiliary" one -- is no fun whatsoever. And I have to get two more taken care of soon.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to that one. :-(
At least the anaesthesia was fun. My nose and my ear was pretty numb.
Thursday, October 26
Monday, October 23
Me vs. National Novel Writing Month
NaNoWriMo.org
It's almost November, and it's National Novel Writing Month! 50,000+ words, a finished novel by midnight local time on November 30. I'm getting set up and gearing up for this; with a huge deadline and the motivation to get it done, I have no doubt that I can succeed.
One of the main themes in my life is "apply myself", and I'm working on actually "applying myself" so I can continue to get good things done in my life, grow, develop, and oh yeah, not have 230948108 bazillion different unfinished projects laying about. It's time to still the needle of the compass.
It's almost November, and it's National Novel Writing Month! 50,000+ words, a finished novel by midnight local time on November 30. I'm getting set up and gearing up for this; with a huge deadline and the motivation to get it done, I have no doubt that I can succeed.
One of the main themes in my life is "apply myself", and I'm working on actually "applying myself" so I can continue to get good things done in my life, grow, develop, and oh yeah, not have 230948108 bazillion different unfinished projects laying about. It's time to still the needle of the compass.
Sunday, October 22
Me vs. Boggle
I am inching closer to completion of the Boggle program. It still has some behaviors that I'm unable to pin down, but I've been able to spend the past few days squashing bugs rather than just chasing them and scratching my head. I've already got a list of things to take care of, in true Getting Things Done fashion, thus keeping myself focused on a bunch of "next steps" rather than just sitting here scratching my head, wondering where to go next.
I'm excited for the completion of this, as it has helped me re-learn a lot of the stuff I've forgotten since "giving up" computer programming over 11 years ago, and is preparing me well for college in the spring. I'm also learning a lot of new stuff, and will hopefully get the hang of this Windows programming stuff. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the main engine bugs solved, and then I will be able to start on the user interface stuff -- which means porting the code to Windows, which means no more having to shell to a DOS window (aka a command prompt) so I can run Turbo Pascal 5.5 in emulation mode.
I'm excited for the completion of this, as it has helped me re-learn a lot of the stuff I've forgotten since "giving up" computer programming over 11 years ago, and is preparing me well for college in the spring. I'm also learning a lot of new stuff, and will hopefully get the hang of this Windows programming stuff. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the main engine bugs solved, and then I will be able to start on the user interface stuff -- which means porting the code to Windows, which means no more having to shell to a DOS window (aka a command prompt) so I can run Turbo Pascal 5.5 in emulation mode.
Me vs. my scripture reading goals
I didn't think "me vs. the scriptures" was an appropriate title. :-)
So, I figured out my scripture-reading goals for the rest of the year, and I don't really see how there can be a way that I come up short... well, unless I fail completely to apply myself. Don't really see how that could happen.
Anyway, since a goal isn't a goal until it's written down, I have to read at least one page in the Book of Mormon every day, and at least six pages of other scriptures every day, in order to meet my goal. That's actually not too bad... well, I'm about five or six weeks behind in "other scriptures", so that's disappointing, but let's face it, my old strategy of "do it all Sunday morning" failed miserably a few months ago, and I was rather loath to cast it off. So now, every day before work, read scriptures. That's the long and the short of it. And I will complete my goal!
So, I figured out my scripture-reading goals for the rest of the year, and I don't really see how there can be a way that I come up short... well, unless I fail completely to apply myself. Don't really see how that could happen.
Anyway, since a goal isn't a goal until it's written down, I have to read at least one page in the Book of Mormon every day, and at least six pages of other scriptures every day, in order to meet my goal. That's actually not too bad... well, I'm about five or six weeks behind in "other scriptures", so that's disappointing, but let's face it, my old strategy of "do it all Sunday morning" failed miserably a few months ago, and I was rather loath to cast it off. So now, every day before work, read scriptures. That's the long and the short of it. And I will complete my goal!
Me vs. Making a Clean Sweep
It has not all been not reaching goals, however. I have made some progress on Clean Sweep, and although the progress bars aren't updated yet, I have made a good deal of progress. So, without further ado:
Physical Environment
2. My home is clean and tidy. (Vacuumed, wardrobes and drawers organized, desks and tables clear, furniture in good repair; windows clean). (Well, it was before my daughter came home from her visit to the grandparents!)
5. My work environment is productive and inspiring. (Synergistic, ample tools and resources; no undue pressure). <-- I've moved a bunch of stuff around, and most importantly, I've set myself up for success at work!
Well-Being
1. My teeth and gums are healthy. (Have seen dentist in last 6 months). (Yep, and I'm going to see the dentist again on Tuesday -- getting some work done, but other than that, and the other work I need to get done, I am complete on this, since having healthy teeth is a constant work in progress)
3. I have no habits which are unacceptable to me. (Fixed!)
5. I do not suffer.
7. I hear well and protect myself from loud noises / concerts / music. (I'm wearing earplugs at band practice, and try not to have the music on too loud in the car or at work)
Money
2. I know how much I must have to be minimally financially independent and I have a plan to get there. (Getting out of debt!)
4. I have written agreements and am current with payments to individuals or companies to whom I owe money.
Not bad, eh? I'll get the progress bars updated later today, between church meetings.
Physical Environment
2. My home is clean and tidy. (Vacuumed, wardrobes and drawers organized, desks and tables clear, furniture in good repair; windows clean). (Well, it was before my daughter came home from her visit to the grandparents!)
5. My work environment is productive and inspiring. (Synergistic, ample tools and resources; no undue pressure). <-- I've moved a bunch of stuff around, and most importantly, I've set myself up for success at work!
Well-Being
1. My teeth and gums are healthy. (Have seen dentist in last 6 months). (Yep, and I'm going to see the dentist again on Tuesday -- getting some work done, but other than that, and the other work I need to get done, I am complete on this, since having healthy teeth is a constant work in progress)
3. I have no habits which are unacceptable to me. (Fixed!)
5. I do not suffer.
7. I hear well and protect myself from loud noises / concerts / music. (I'm wearing earplugs at band practice, and try not to have the music on too loud in the car or at work)
Money
2. I know how much I must have to be minimally financially independent and I have a plan to get there. (Getting out of debt!)
4. I have written agreements and am current with payments to individuals or companies to whom I owe money.
Not bad, eh? I'll get the progress bars updated later today, between church meetings.
Tolkien vs. me
Three weeks... ah... well, figured I'd start with the shortest post, so I can get myself back in the swing of things. Life is catching up with me as I struggle to catch up with life.
Book-reading? I've spent the last... six? weeks trying to get through Lord of the Rings -- just the first book, mind you -- and I just can't do it. Granted, for the past three weeks I've been driving to work instead of walking to work, because I couldn't afford a bus pass this month, so I've lost my time to study Italian every morning, and I've also lost my reading time on the bus. I've tried taking some time at work, but really, I just can't get into this book, and it's the third time I've tried.
J.R.R. Tolkien 1, Me 0. And that's how it's going to have to be.
Book-reading? I've spent the last... six? weeks trying to get through Lord of the Rings -- just the first book, mind you -- and I just can't do it. Granted, for the past three weeks I've been driving to work instead of walking to work, because I couldn't afford a bus pass this month, so I've lost my time to study Italian every morning, and I've also lost my reading time on the bus. I've tried taking some time at work, but really, I just can't get into this book, and it's the third time I've tried.
J.R.R. Tolkien 1, Me 0. And that's how it's going to have to be.
Sunday, October 1
Book Review: Catcher in the Rye
I admit that before I actually read J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, I knew nothing about it, except that the book had something to do with the death of John Lennon*. Oh, and that it had been banned for a while, as well. But that's pretty much it; it was one of those rare pleasures for me: going into a book with a completely clean slate, not having any opinion of it, nor knowing in advance how it was going to end, nor any other details about the book. OK, so maybe I was worried about the whole Lennon thing.
Imagine my surprise when I found the book to be about Holden Caufield (I knew that), a teenager (didn't know that) who just got kicked out of another private school and now must face the music back at his parents' apartment in New York City, right before the Christmas holiday. As it turns out, the book is a wonderful study of the protagonist's mental state and progressive deterioration over the course of a few days, not into degeneracy as such a book today might be written, but rather into a nervous breakdown.
One can also imagine my surprise when I found myself relating a little bit to Caufield, his life experiences and his view of the world and the people who inhabit it. Essentially, he wants to help the world hang on to its innocence, thus protecting it from the negative influences that are becoming more and more pervasive. He also has a hard time dealing with other people, many of whom he perceives as "phonies" who put on a face for other people. Paradoxically, it should be noted that Caufield is an accomplished liar, although he justifies it as just messing around with other people, or having some fun.
Holden's desperation through the novel mounts, as does the tension near the end, as the inevitable finally happens. It's in the last few pages that I found the book to be the most compelling and gripping, actually deviating from the prearranged schedule of "reading this on the bus only" to sneaking reads at it around the house (again, with apologies to my poor wife). A very good read, with an interesting look at the character of people through the eyes of a young man. It can be imagined that many people today who feel disaffected for one reason or another, myself included, can relate very well to young Mr. Caufield, although hopefully it doesn't lead to a nervous breakdown, but rather to an opportunity to discuss feelings with peers and other like-minded people, and form a support network.
I'm about to start going completely off-topic here, so I'm going to stop. Highest recommendation for this book, as anyone who has ever felt disaffected with society or other people can get something out of it. With the way attitudes have changed-yet-stayed-the-same since the book was written, Catcher in the Rye remains a relevant, important work of literature in our day.
* Mark David Chapman was holding a copy of Catcher when he shot Lennon.
Imagine my surprise when I found the book to be about Holden Caufield (I knew that), a teenager (didn't know that) who just got kicked out of another private school and now must face the music back at his parents' apartment in New York City, right before the Christmas holiday. As it turns out, the book is a wonderful study of the protagonist's mental state and progressive deterioration over the course of a few days, not into degeneracy as such a book today might be written, but rather into a nervous breakdown.
One can also imagine my surprise when I found myself relating a little bit to Caufield, his life experiences and his view of the world and the people who inhabit it. Essentially, he wants to help the world hang on to its innocence, thus protecting it from the negative influences that are becoming more and more pervasive. He also has a hard time dealing with other people, many of whom he perceives as "phonies" who put on a face for other people. Paradoxically, it should be noted that Caufield is an accomplished liar, although he justifies it as just messing around with other people, or having some fun.
Holden's desperation through the novel mounts, as does the tension near the end, as the inevitable finally happens. It's in the last few pages that I found the book to be the most compelling and gripping, actually deviating from the prearranged schedule of "reading this on the bus only" to sneaking reads at it around the house (again, with apologies to my poor wife). A very good read, with an interesting look at the character of people through the eyes of a young man. It can be imagined that many people today who feel disaffected for one reason or another, myself included, can relate very well to young Mr. Caufield, although hopefully it doesn't lead to a nervous breakdown, but rather to an opportunity to discuss feelings with peers and other like-minded people, and form a support network.
I'm about to start going completely off-topic here, so I'm going to stop. Highest recommendation for this book, as anyone who has ever felt disaffected with society or other people can get something out of it. With the way attitudes have changed-yet-stayed-the-same since the book was written, Catcher in the Rye remains a relevant, important work of literature in our day.
* Mark David Chapman was holding a copy of Catcher when he shot Lennon.
Wow
Been a while...
Not a lot of stuff has been going on... which is interesting to note since it's obviously been a long, long time since I've updated the blog with anything significant. We're in the middle of General Conference again, and aside from the Saturday afternoon session being extremely difficult to follow, it's been exceptional. President Hinckley last night gave an excellent discourse on the Lord's charge to the men of the Church to improve themselves and their situation. It's really a topic that's been "near and dear" to me for this whole year, and it really hit home, especially with everything that's been going on recently.
Never did post that book review of the first book that I read, and although I'm going to have to renew the second book in order to finish it before it's due, I still feel like I'm making progress.
The writing has stalled somewhere in the middle of the second chapter. I just haven't had the time to write. It's a shame, really. I'd like to have more time, but other than depriving myself of even more sleep, I don't think that's going to happen.
Couldn't afford a bus pass this month, so Italian is going to be on hold for a while as well... I suppose I could listen and practice in the car on the way to/from work, though.
Back to improving myself: I found a bunch of links via Lifehacker for free online college courses. I looked them over, and since I am taking a Statistics course on Fridays this month (courtesy of my job), I've decided that, if I like the course, to review my decision to stop taking Computer Science courses. I mean, I've always liked telling computers what to do (they're often the only thing that will listen - ha!), and there are some good courses online for me to take and get myself up to speed with programming languages. I then would like to post an online resume at some of the webspace reserved for me, maybe work on some open source projects (I know there are some things I would like to see added to Gaim and MS Outlook!), and get my name out there in the programming community. Then, from there -- an entry-level programmer's job? Freelancing part-time? I know that I can't imagine myself working for Intuit for the rest of my life, as good as they've been to me, even though it's been largely a case of "right place at the right time" for me, and I couldn't be more thrilled with it, I can also feel that ennui setting in already with this job, which is a darn shame. Who knows, maybe once things pick up again, I'll be able to start taking on more work at that job, because I missed a lot of opportunities due to being away for a couple of months, and still with things hectic around here, I'm missing a lot of opportunities, I can tell. Not that I should be given the option to take on every new responsibility that comes the team's way, but there are things that others are doing that I would at least like to learn how to do. Maybe.
OK, that was a long paragraph. Let's see, what else is going on? I'm still catching up on scripture reading. I need to read about two pages per day in the Book of Mormon in order to finish it by the end of the year, which is an awesomely realistic and manageable goal (especially since I find it impossible to read ONLY two pages when I do read it). Still catching up with the Doctrine and Covenants, but I only have maybe 20-25 pages to read in there to get myself caught up. I'm either caught up or two chapters away from being caught up on the Old Testament reading I'm doing, as well. So, good.
I also can't not talk about last weekend, when I had the marvelous privilege of baptizing one of my Primary students, Olivia, and then on Sunday blessing Stephen. It was a very spiritually powerful weekend for me, as baptism and confirmation of someone who is not family was interesting, as I really found myself listening to the Spirit to make sure Olivia got the blessing that she deserved, and that the Lord wanted to give her. And Stephen's blessing is almost impossible for me to describe. Dustin returning from his brain surgery, Jeff and Daniel assisting, as well as my home teacher Jason (whom I've given many opportunities to magnify his calling as of late), Josh, a recently-ordained Elder who I worked with a lot in my calling as Priests' Quorum Advisor, and Bishop standing in the circle... it was all very comforting. The microphone not working wasn't as comforting, but I was confident that I could use my dormant theater skills to project my voice to the congregation. The actual ordinance went well, and much smoother than Elizabeth's (when I forgot how it went), however, once I got to the blessing portion, it was as if something hit me out of nowhere. And I know what that feeling was: it was a feeling that after all the time spent in the hospital, away from home, at home, dealing with doctors, nurses, specialists, and so on... after all that, Stephen was here to stay, and we could go to bed at night without fear of whether he'd be there in the morning or not. I was able to release my very closely-held feelings and actually unwind a bit, finally. We know we're not done with his special care, not by a long shot, but we also know that it's going to get a lot easier.
Another long paragraph... this is what I get for not posting for a week and a half. I think I'm going to stop here. I'm pretty sure I've done some stuff on the Clean Sweep that I can talk about, but that merits its own post, and I can finally update those status bars, too. Same thing with the book review. I have it all set, however, that too merits its own post.
I've tried starting an opinion blog ("My Opinion of Everything") to help me with the writing, but as you may have guessed, I have little to no time to keep that maintained, which is a crying shame, because I'm pretty sure I've got some good stuff in there. Pity dailyblastoff.com isn't still up, with all my article archives on there, I could just mine that for material until things picked up.
Until later...
Not a lot of stuff has been going on... which is interesting to note since it's obviously been a long, long time since I've updated the blog with anything significant. We're in the middle of General Conference again, and aside from the Saturday afternoon session being extremely difficult to follow, it's been exceptional. President Hinckley last night gave an excellent discourse on the Lord's charge to the men of the Church to improve themselves and their situation. It's really a topic that's been "near and dear" to me for this whole year, and it really hit home, especially with everything that's been going on recently.
Never did post that book review of the first book that I read, and although I'm going to have to renew the second book in order to finish it before it's due, I still feel like I'm making progress.
The writing has stalled somewhere in the middle of the second chapter. I just haven't had the time to write. It's a shame, really. I'd like to have more time, but other than depriving myself of even more sleep, I don't think that's going to happen.
Couldn't afford a bus pass this month, so Italian is going to be on hold for a while as well... I suppose I could listen and practice in the car on the way to/from work, though.
Back to improving myself: I found a bunch of links via Lifehacker for free online college courses. I looked them over, and since I am taking a Statistics course on Fridays this month (courtesy of my job), I've decided that, if I like the course, to review my decision to stop taking Computer Science courses. I mean, I've always liked telling computers what to do (they're often the only thing that will listen - ha!), and there are some good courses online for me to take and get myself up to speed with programming languages. I then would like to post an online resume at some of the webspace reserved for me, maybe work on some open source projects (I know there are some things I would like to see added to Gaim and MS Outlook!), and get my name out there in the programming community. Then, from there -- an entry-level programmer's job? Freelancing part-time? I know that I can't imagine myself working for Intuit for the rest of my life, as good as they've been to me, even though it's been largely a case of "right place at the right time" for me, and I couldn't be more thrilled with it, I can also feel that ennui setting in already with this job, which is a darn shame. Who knows, maybe once things pick up again, I'll be able to start taking on more work at that job, because I missed a lot of opportunities due to being away for a couple of months, and still with things hectic around here, I'm missing a lot of opportunities, I can tell. Not that I should be given the option to take on every new responsibility that comes the team's way, but there are things that others are doing that I would at least like to learn how to do. Maybe.
OK, that was a long paragraph. Let's see, what else is going on? I'm still catching up on scripture reading. I need to read about two pages per day in the Book of Mormon in order to finish it by the end of the year, which is an awesomely realistic and manageable goal (especially since I find it impossible to read ONLY two pages when I do read it). Still catching up with the Doctrine and Covenants, but I only have maybe 20-25 pages to read in there to get myself caught up. I'm either caught up or two chapters away from being caught up on the Old Testament reading I'm doing, as well. So, good.
I also can't not talk about last weekend, when I had the marvelous privilege of baptizing one of my Primary students, Olivia, and then on Sunday blessing Stephen. It was a very spiritually powerful weekend for me, as baptism and confirmation of someone who is not family was interesting, as I really found myself listening to the Spirit to make sure Olivia got the blessing that she deserved, and that the Lord wanted to give her. And Stephen's blessing is almost impossible for me to describe. Dustin returning from his brain surgery, Jeff and Daniel assisting, as well as my home teacher Jason (whom I've given many opportunities to magnify his calling as of late), Josh, a recently-ordained Elder who I worked with a lot in my calling as Priests' Quorum Advisor, and Bishop standing in the circle... it was all very comforting. The microphone not working wasn't as comforting, but I was confident that I could use my dormant theater skills to project my voice to the congregation. The actual ordinance went well, and much smoother than Elizabeth's (when I forgot how it went), however, once I got to the blessing portion, it was as if something hit me out of nowhere. And I know what that feeling was: it was a feeling that after all the time spent in the hospital, away from home, at home, dealing with doctors, nurses, specialists, and so on... after all that, Stephen was here to stay, and we could go to bed at night without fear of whether he'd be there in the morning or not. I was able to release my very closely-held feelings and actually unwind a bit, finally. We know we're not done with his special care, not by a long shot, but we also know that it's going to get a lot easier.
Another long paragraph... this is what I get for not posting for a week and a half. I think I'm going to stop here. I'm pretty sure I've done some stuff on the Clean Sweep that I can talk about, but that merits its own post, and I can finally update those status bars, too. Same thing with the book review. I have it all set, however, that too merits its own post.
I've tried starting an opinion blog ("My Opinion of Everything") to help me with the writing, but as you may have guessed, I have little to no time to keep that maintained, which is a crying shame, because I'm pretty sure I've got some good stuff in there. Pity dailyblastoff.com isn't still up, with all my article archives on there, I could just mine that for material until things picked up.
Until later...
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