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Category Archives: Bonus Content

Daily Ramblings – Final Post Friday – 2020

18 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2020, 2021, Blogging, Bye for Now, final post, Friends, New Year, Thank you

Well, it’s been a helluva year. I hope all of you have been safe, healthy, and happy. This will be my last posting for 2020, as I’m taking off the last few weeks in December to celebrate my favorite part of the year.

With this final post, I’m grateful to have made a few friends, including author K.M. Allan. So many stories of your lives, pictures and places you’ve traveled, and all the rest each of us enjoys talking about are truly a tremendous gift for me. Despite our lockdowns, we have a medium to write down our thoughts and share them with the world.

I’d also like to thank all of you, personally, for following my blog. I try to capture a bunch of different topics, unlike many out there that stick to one topic or idea. This year, I’ll be dropping some of my daily topics for others. I don’t know which ones yet, but I’ll be thinking about that before the New Year begins. As this blog grows, so will my ideas.

In closing, I wish all of you peace, happiness, and love in 2021. See you there!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Update – Bonus Content

01 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

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Tags

Adapt, Arizona, Brother, Chaos, Close the Year, creativity, December, Disruption, Improvise, Set Goals, Thanksgiving, Unexpected, Wife

I’ve been offline for a few days. My brother came out to visit for Thanksgiving, and we had a terrific time. I took a few days off from everything, to maximize my time with him.

I’ve also been busy helping my wife, who is in Arizona with some things, that took a lot of time.

Well, folks. Here we are in December. This is the month I use to begin preparing my goals for the new year, assessing where I ended up with my goals this year, and continuing to make adjustments to life and my daily rituals, in light of the unpredictable actions of our government in Michigan.

Like most states, everyone is freaking out about the second outbreak of COVID-19. What is the solution to all of this? It’s simple. Do not react to things you have ZERO control over. Can we do all the things we used to do? No. Can we go to the library, our gym, our coffee house, a sit-down restaurant? No. What can we do. We can follow the guidance we are given, be good citizens, protect ourselves, and continue to push forward with our goals.

It looks like going to the gym is going to be a hit or miss in 2021, so I invested in a professional set of exercise bands to use in my home. Daily exercise–check! Social activities are going to be on hold for the distant future, so now it’s all about digital social activities, whether they are ZOOM calls, phone calls, or various websites that allow one to interact with other people. Be flexible, folks.

So this year, knowing what we now know, will involve some creativity and improvisation to achieve what we set our sights on. Don’t fight reality. Accept it. COVID is not going away, and the likelihood of getting a vaccine is even more remote, since they only have about 40 million vaccines, which will likely go to government officials and their families, and those with underlying conditions and other folks with more susceptibility to COVID than others. Personally, I think everyone in a retirement or senior living facility should be given priority, followed by anyone with underlying conditions that COVID tends to kill, before the rest of us are given anything. I would then move to first-responders and teachers. I don’t know how the U.S. government will respond to this, but if 2020 was any indication, they’ll muck the whole thing up.

Plan on lockdowns in 2021. Plan on more disruptions in 2021. Plan on more unpredictability in 2021. All these things are now our reality. If you plan accordingly, you’ll succeed at selecting goals to shoot for that cannot be disrupted. That’s going to be my focus for December.

Well, that’s all I got today. Tomorrow, we’ll be back on track with postings. Have a great Tuesday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Exercise Bands

02 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

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Tags

Adapting, Bodylastics, Bonus Content, Exercise Bands, Home Workout, Improvising, Overcoming

All, as you know, the winter months in Michigan can be quite brutal, leaving our roads an absolute mess. To compensate, many of my exercise days are home. This year will be no different. I had some exercise bands (loops of rubber), but wanted to elevate my game, so I have the same access to exercises that I would have at my gym.

https://amzn.to/3mSoElb This is a link to the set I bought today, arriving this week. I’m not a sponsor or affiliate for this product, but Jim Stoppani, one of the fitness gurus I follow, recommended them. If you’re also in a tough spot because of gym closures or poor weather that disrupt the consistency of your gym workouts, I’d highly recommend these or an equivalent. They come with various attachments to put on a door or a piece of furniture and will truly elevate your home fitness routines. They cost around $160.00.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Documentary: The Bit Player

22 Saturday Aug 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

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Tags

Bell Labs, binary, boolean algebra, boolean logic, digital tv, information theory, MIT, technology

I just finished watching this documentary on CuriosityStream.com. It’s called The Bit Player, and it is about Claude Shannon, who holds the title of “The Father of Information Theory”. His work at both Bell Laboratories and MIT resulted in a paper in 1948 that contributes in great part to the technologies we take for granted today: telecommunications, digital art, digital music, cryptography, etc.

I wanted to share this, in case any of you are interested in this sort of thing. I found it fascinating. You’ll need a subscription to CuriosityStream.com (it costs $20 US) if you want to watch it, but this is one documentary on this streaming service that makes the subscription worth it.

If you see any documentaries that interest you, feel free to drop a comment with a link or a title. Thanks for reading.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thank you!!!

31 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Comments, Friends, Interaction, Likes, loyalty, Thank you, yearly goal

Well, folks. I hit my 800 follower goal 4 months early. Thank you so much for following my blog. It started in 2016 and I’m so glad that I hit this goal. Thanks for spreading the word, hitting like, and responding to my posts with a comment here and there.

I’ve made some great friends on this platform, have been excited, pissed off, saddened, and experienced every other emotion reading the works of others. The talent I see in book writing, poetry, video making, photography, and just outstanding writing is what brings me back every day to this special place.

If any of you would like to see other content, different categories, etc., feel free to leave a note in the comments.

Again, Thank You so much!

Here’s to 1,000 followers.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – The Land of Confusion

13 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

1984, Arguments, bias, Confusion, Investors, Orwell, Propaganda, Research, Sources, Truth

I try to avoid politics in this blog, because it is so divisive. The days of two politicians fighting it out on the floors of their respective houses, and sharing dinner and drinks afterward are long gone. Today, we watch two political parties (in America), eviscerate one another on television, radio, the print, and digital media.

Today, trusting the news you receive is a fool’s bet. One side says the other is evil; the other side reciprocates. Today, we need fact checking on our social media so we can feel good about the information we get on our social media feeds.

Are eggs good for us? Are carbs bad? Are fats bad? Is there climate change? Are the police racists? Is there such a thing as systemic racism? Use any of these sentences for a google search and you will read many arguments claiming one side or another. There are no definitive sources of information anymore. There is nowhere you can go to that can be considered the final authority on anything.

If you are in the U.S. or not, it is likely you have read about the riots, the police brutality, the racism, present in America. You can read about statues being torn down, people being killed, businesses burned, whole sections of towns being taken over by radicals, all while politicians watch and do nothing, leaving the helpless citizenry to fend for themselves.

You can read about strategically placed pallets of bricks, metal bars, and other “weapons” in areas where “peaceful” protests are being conducted. You can read about local governments pursuing campaigns to defund the police. You can watch radicals burn and loot businesses, destroy historic statues and monuments, all while the police watch or are “magically” not available. Insane?

What can you trust? Who can you believe? Is there any information source you can trust? Unfortunately, no. Today, you have to dig a lot deeper to get at the truth. If you lack the time or patience to seek out truth, you’ll be fooled on a daily basis. Because that is what it is about today. Fooling you to push a narrative. Deceiving you to support one political plank over another.

You can watch a video of a policeman brutalizing a citizen, only to find out later, that the original video was doctored. You can read about a particular cause you have, only to find out later that the supporters of that cause, paid off the scientists to get a result they wanted. You can follow a movement, thinking you are doing the right thing, only to find out that the money you donated is not going toward the cause, but toward political races that have nothing to do with your cause AT ALL.

There is a quote in George Orwell’s 1984. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Many folks who have never read 1984, don’t understand these quotes until they are put into context. These quotes are slogans for the totalitarian government Orwell describes.

Pay attention to the last quote and think about what I’ve described. Ignorance is strength. When you overwhelm the public with seemingly contradictory information, you gain strength over them. You gain strength because you divide them. The United States is the most divided I’ve seen in my lifetime.

How do you solve this problem? Read books. Read philosophy. Read history. Read all of it broadly. Follow arguments that are supported by facts, not feelings. Go to the source. Do not depend on anything labeled “News”. There is no news anymore. People’s opinions are not news.

This article leads me back to my post about critical thinking. Think. Read. Think. Read some more. Go to the source. Find out who supports that source. If you read an article that states that eggs are wonderful for you, find out if it was a scientific study supported by the egg industry. If someone says sugar is no problem for your health, find out if it is supported by the sugar manufacturers. You see? You can do this with any topic, be it racism, climate change, nutritional benefits of eggs, sugar, etc.

Every scientific study is supported by donations and grants. Who provided the money? What stake do they have in a given study’s results? Who gains from one result over another? Where is it published? What is their editorial process?

If you do watch the news (I don’t anymore, I only scan the news now in digital form), do your homework. Watch multiple sources of the news from both right-leaning and left-leaning sources. Typically, the truth is in the middle of these two extremes. You’ll be amazed how informed you really feel, when you think about the sources of information you are using, and how the author derived their arguments. Are their arguments based in reality or pushing some political narrative?

Here are some more examples. We were told to avoid large crowds to avoid spreading COVID-19, yet now we are seeing large crowds without social distancing protesting in our streets. If you protest the lockdown, you are wrong. If you protest police brutality and racism, you’re exempt. If you like guns, you’re a nut, unless you are taking over six blocks in Seattle or Portland. Then the guns are OK. If you think putting up a wall to curb illegal immigration is OK, you’re racist, unless you are a group of radicals putting up a wall in Seattle or Portland to protect their newly found Utopias. Welcome to the Land of Confusion. This is outright insanity, right?

In our information saturated world, we all have to be more discriminating. We have to read broadly. We have to take a look at the arguments being posed by all sides and then make a decision about who we think is right or wrong. Arguments that are not supported by fact are weak and untenable. Arguments supported by junk science or biased studies are weak and untenable.

Listen to your gut. If you read something and it is filled with emotion, insults, and outrageous claims, it is likely false. If it is filled with verifiable facts, it is more likely to be true. But don’t stop there. What facts are being used? Where were they derived from? How were those facts and figures determined? Who paid for the study that produced the facts? How are these facts being used?

It’s a lot of work to get at the truth. You have to dig, and dig, and dig some more. When you have completed this hard work, you will begin to understand how important it is to get at the truth, by thinking critically.

You can circumvent the Land of Confusion by doing this hard work. Stop accepting what you are “told” is true. Verify, dig deeper, and weigh the arguments carefully. Then make your decision. If you can’t, dig some more. You don’t know enough yet.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – SpaceX Launch Today

30 Saturday May 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Astronaut, Elon Musk, Historic, Launch, Liftoff, SpaceX, Today

In case you missed this today, here is the video of SpaceX’s launch of two American astronauts. To avoid the wait, skip to 52:34 or thereabouts to see the takeoff. I wanted to post this to my blog to record this historic moment.

Enjoy!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Book Review: The Success Principles

24 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content, Book Review

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Tags

Goals, habits, Jack Canfield, Janet Switzer, Principles, Roadmap, Strategies, Success

The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

I’ve been a fan of Jack Canfield since I read my first Chicken Soup for the Soul book. This book was a terrific read and provides some great ideas on things we can do to improve our lives. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it to you, my readers. You can find it on Amazon, iBooks, Google Books, and Barnes & Noble.

Until next time…

Dave

43.038618
-82.476888

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Book Review

23 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content, Book Review

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Tags

Best Seller, Bonus Content, Book Review, Denise McAllister, Goodreads, Reading, Sunday

 

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My review

Click on the link above to read my review. I just finished it today and boy, is this book the right book at the right time.

Have a great Sunday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

43.038618
-82.476888

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Thank you!

09 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by Dave Gardner in Bonus Content, Thank you

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Tags

Bonus Content, New Followers, Posting Schedule, Surprise, Thank you, Weekend

It’s always a nice surprise to check in on Daily Ramblings and see new comments or new followers. Thanks so much for making my day. We gained a few followers over the weekend and I appreciate it.

For those of you who are new. Here is my posting schedule:

Monday – Motivation

Tuesday – Ted Talk

Wednesday – Wisdom

Thursday – Thankful

Friday – Funny

Saturday – Spiritual

Sunday – Spread Your Wings

Bonus Content – Whenever I get the nudge

Thanks again for following Daily Ramblings. I hope you continue to enjoy my content.

Until next time…

Dave

42.997350
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