It seems everyone is doing a Super Mario 1 Speed Run or long play… Why not just a simple play with the warp zones? I don’t claim to be the master of Mario – I just like to have fun playing. Hope you enjoy!
Rolling With The Punches
A random thought flow for today:
This year has been one hit after another. In some way, shape or form we’ve all taken a hit. At this moment, I consider myself very fortunate it has not been worse than it has been. Everyone has had to make changes and sacrifices. The way I see it, if it doesn’t kill you, it can only make you stronger. But, at what cost? What do we have to lose from COVID, the related financial meltdown, a the last major world power ripping itself apart at the seams over racism and an election and an all around agenda driven news media. We’ve lost a lot.
What can we learn and where is the silver lining in all of this? The world is being tested. Every individual on the planet is being tested. Some say the light at the end of the tunnel is near, and perhaps it is. I can’t tell you because I can’t tell what direction we are moving and how fast. We’re operating in the blind, but I have faith about who is in control over all of this, and that will never waiver. If you, by chance, disagree with me, then you have a right to do so, however it won’t change the fact of my opinion. Apply your own faith and maybe this would make sense, some more-so than others.
I believe we, as a society, have lost our way with God. We have deviated away from the golden rule in so many more ways than one. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We cannot behave this way because of so many different, worldly pressures. We don’t listen, we don’t read, and we sure as hell don’t pay attention to traffic signs. Some believe and it has been stated it is in our nature to destroy ourselves. When we disobey the golden rule, they are right. We’re encouraged to do so, and have accepted blindly the ramifications of those decisions, in what is past, in what we see now, and in what is to come.
On an individual level, we have to look ourselves in the mirror and see ourselves. Do we like and respect what we see? We may need to take a long, hard look into those eyes for the cracks and faults. Rest assured they are there. If we could hit the “reset button” and start over again, what would we do different? Would we even be able to start from the same place we had before. What advantages and disadvantages do we have. Unfortunately, we’re not computers so we cannot restart 100% from scratch, we have to do the best with what we have been provided and given (or taken away) ourselves in life.
Believe it or not, we do this every breath we take. The cycle, the decision making process, happens consciously and unconsciously.
That being said, are we making decisions on what matters most? Are we doing harm to ourselves and others? Are we going to swing and miss, or are we going to swing and hit a home run? Are we going to be the negative nancy or are we going to give ourselves and others the benefit of the doubt? What can we do to make a Win, Win, Win, Win for ourselves, our family, our community and the world? This is the art or rolling with the punches. When in a crunch; a series of quick decisions that have to be made in order to survive the day. What can we do to alter the decision making process and make it better when we are not in a crunch?
My point is this. Don’t be a dumbass; Karma is a bitch; and Keep on Truckin.’ Obedience to your Faith and the rules of the road are not optional, but in Atlanta, the Speed Limit usually has a 20mph+ speed allowance, unless in heavy congestion or a construction zone.
We’re back up and running
I needed to make an update to the websites SSL security certificate and somehow that managed to bring the whole website down. It appears this was bound to happen months ago, as I was testing out different SSL connections it modified my nginx configuration file.
The good news is, with thanks to assistance from chrislhood.com I was able to figure it out.
Let it flow.
Mid- September Update
Life has been busy.
Despite all the hurdles thrown at me the past few weeks, some anticipated, most not, I’ve come through relatively unscathed. Or have I? I feel emotionally drained.
Each step forward prepares us for the next step ahead. When the time comes to move to the next step, are you ready? Are you truly, ready? Of course. No? Yes? What does your Fortune Cookie, your Horoscope or free psychic reading from Miss Cleo tell you? Does your Poker instinct tell you to fold, stand or wager? What are you going to do when it comes to making a big decision.
I’ve become an interested observer in life-decision skills lately. I’ve seen a number of success stories and not-so success stories. More not-so success stories during my post high school days up until around a decade ago. If you know me, you’ll understand why I was fairly hesitant. But for now, what do I have to stand to lose?
I’ve broken even at the casinos for the year, so there goes my dream to win big by the luck of the draw. Now it’s better time to hedge up for a rainy day. Plans are put on hold because Covid. It’s mind-boggling frustration. Some things would be very much different right now having not the world turn upside down overnight. As upsetting as that is, at the same time, I get it. My patience is running really, really thin.
If letting ones’ actions speak for themselves, I’ve got a really mixed bag right now. Everything says I’m ready for the next step, but in today’s world, is it over the cliff?
Apologies in arrears for a rather vague, off-putting post. The devil is in the details, always.
Some days, you can’t win for losing
I think that’s a pretty common phrase. I was working on a game, capturing some footage when the recording app crashed. Two hours of footage, gone.
Forever.
Sometimes these things happen. We pour hours of our precious time into something, and one little foul up later… gone. But at least I know I tried. I’ll do it better next time, right? We’ll see. What does it matter anyway? It’s just a game.
Some days it is tough to focus on what really matters most. I need to get a bit of homework done. I’ve certainly got some things to do for work. The time Ive dedicated this week for fun – ehhh, gone. I know this post seems vague. It’s how I feel at the moment.
Quick Update: Stay Healthy
With some degree of difficulty, I wanted to post some sort of update. Any plans for blogging/ vlogging / general nerdery need to be put on a brief hold.
#1 I’ve resumed my online courses for my Masters Degree.
#2 I’ve not felt well for a minute now. In light of the pandemic, I am going to get tested to rule out the possibility, despite all efforts to avoid it by following the recommended protocols.
All that being said, I’ve got the ingredients together to make the goods. It’s just a matter of getting them done when work and school allows.
Making Changes
Good ideas are hard to come by. I’ve had a lot of great ideas lately, so it is just a matter of somehow bringing them into fruition. In the meantime, I’ve finally uploaded some new images to the site – Probably either taken with my iPhone or my Canon Rebel T2i or EOS 77D.
I’m cutting this one a little short today, as I wanted to continue working more on the site and some other creative ventures today. If the weather holds up I may take a camera out to shoot. Look out soon for some video and audio content coming soon as well!
Word of the day: Efficiency
According to the Merriam-Webster: the collegiate definition of efficiency is an effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with cost (as in time, energy and money) or the ratio of the useful energy delivered by a dynamic system to the energy supplied to it.
I am probably the least efficient person I know when it comes to certain things, yet I demand efficiency in others on those same things. In many ways we are spoiled by expectations, certain logic. and things that are quite ironic.
For example, last year I wanted to obtain a Peachpass for my new car so I could use the express lanes on an upcoming vacation in Florida. The act of obtaining an object that could make a more effective commute (time wise) – to be more efficient – is housed in one of the buildings of a place that is jokingly mocked as one of the slowest operations in government – the department of motor vehicles.
To be honest, I have to give the PeachPass Administration credit, at least they kept their operation in a separate area of the building and in person service was immediate. However, their computers were down at the time I made it there. They were kind enough to call when it came back up, which was just right at the time I was arriving back at my home – so I made another half hour trip to the DMV office- only to find out their computer went down again. “Just my luck.” I thought as I left again, only to be hunted down by a worker while I was still in the parking lot to inform me the computer system was back in operation.
All that being said, had I been a little more proactive and not waited until the last minute to order a transponder in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to put up with that hassle. Ultimately all turned out well in the end, despite my lack of effort. I would not call that particular effort to being more efficient an example of being efficient.
Any time I am in a rush to get something done, the example above is a good demonstration on how things usually turn out. It takes double the time, effort and money to get the task done.
What happens though, when we allow ourselves to budget the time to accomplish a task ahead of time? We can figure out all what we want, how we want it and when we need it by and what we need to do to get it done, efficiently, ahead of time. One would think that is what we all do, right?
Wrong. Why do we end up spending a ton of time in a drive-thru line – because the dip-wad in the yellow Mercury ordered half the menu and took twenty minutes to make up their mind on the order? And ended up behind them because we were being polite and had to yield to them in traffic, and we had to yield to them because we got stopped at a red light because the cement truck ahead of us is slow, and we got put there because, ultimately, we decided to hit the snooze button.
Why in the world would I even want to complain about any of that. I should be grateful for being able to wake up, own a car, drive said car, have a nice restaurant to go to, get there safely and return safely, all while being fuming mad while doing so?
This all happens when my expectation of others is not met. When others don’t operate my way, in my view in a way that makes sense, that becomes upsetting. I know I’ve done the same to others. I’m in a different mind set about the topic. I’m in no rush or just allowing myself a lazy, relaxing, carefree moment. Should I do that more often?
My personal philosophy is not to become lazy and carefree at the expense of others as much as possible. The hard part is – I can never expect that of anyone else. And honestly, some people may be operating as efficiently as they can, and yet still be slower than I would like. We have to get over that and let it be.
I also realize that in some cases, others cannot get over it so easily, other people may escalate a situation into a conflict, become angry, upset, explode into rage and turn a situation violent. I would hope that is not the case, however we live in a world where people do behave that way. They may be misunderstood and misunderstand the situation. And when someone intoxicates themselves, well we can only go downhill from there.
But honestly, quit being a dumb ass and get out of my way so I can get back home in time to catch the start of the ball game.
A little talk about Normalcy
What is normalcy? Again – according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (EDITOR NOTE: Auto Correct tried to respell it to Merrimack again – I’ve since correct the error in my recent post on “invest”) normal means “conforming to a type, standard or regular pattern” or “according according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule or principal.” When it comes to people – normal means “of, relating to or characterized by average intelligence or development” and “free from mental illness, mentally sound.”
A state of normalcy, at least in my opinion, never remains constant. I’ve hear the phrase – “A New Normal” quite a bit lately. When it comes to the drastic changes that people have had to make in their lives in the past 5-6 months in this world, is this new normal going to be acceptable by the masses of people. The simple answer to that is no. There are those of us who refuse to accept the new normal, and I am perfectly fine with that. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t abide by it for a short while if it means a temporary discomfort – or even if it may help save a life.
Are we going to abide by what is mandated or recommended to us by our leaders? Or is it that we must follow the orders dictated to us by our leaders? I see a difference in the way people are interpreting the messages being sent over the media and the laws and rules written – Unfortunately it’s a matter of perspective. We’re divided in society on what we see as normal. That’s bound to happen in our society – race, age, gender, culture – whatever the case may be.
I’d like to think about how different leadership, and a different perspective on our news sources and media would have handled the current pandemic and revolution. I’ll table that for speculation later.
Moving on – normalcy. Are we ever going to be back in the state or act of being normal, at least to the way what normal was just a year ago? No. Do not deceive yourself otherwise. Normal changes everyday, and even normal yesteryear is different than the normal 40 years ago (which by the way is 1980 and we are marking the anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back, ” but I digress. We can try, wish and hope things would return to normal, and some things may seem that way in time, but it will be the new normal, not the old normal.
Is it good for our mental health to grow and adapt? Will it mentally break us to find a balance to hold true to our beliefs and embrace the new normal? Are we physically, financially and mentally fit to adapt to the sudden change of normal. I do not believe a lot of us are. Do we adapt or die? Give it time and let a cooler head prevail.
Think about how the Industrial Revolution and the Technological Revolution and what it did for the way we live and work. The Civil Rights Revolution – in my opinion that has been ongoing since the 1960’s is now demanding even greater change after some blatant injustices fueled a firestorm. I’ve seen the cracks crumbling for years and some are trying to take advantage in these times to make their normal the new normal.
I don’t think this new normal will last long – many of us are fed up with it already. The question is – are we focusing on the right things now? I doubt it.
In the name of …
Starting something new takes time and money. And if you want the latest and greatest it will cost you.
To make it short and sweet I’ve put some financial investments in my amateur radio hobby over the weekend. I’ve had mixed success this past weekend – discovering in a new way that new doesn’t always mean better and that some things do happen for good reason. Also – Living where I live on a ground floor apartment doesn’t do too much good for antennae reception. Unfortunately – that I will have to dump more money on.
I’ve also put some money on some software to help with graphics and imaging for the site moving forward. I know I haven’t even really branded the site or modified the pictures – All the fun things you are supposed to do with a website. I’ll get there, so in the meantime, go check out Chris Hood’s website here.