07 Tuesday Dec 2021
Posted in Ted Talk
Tags
classics, Coffee, Dickens, Novels, Oliver Twist, Reading, Relaxing, Tale of Two Cities, tea
If you’ve never read Dickens, here’s a video to explain why you should. It’s a great time of year to cuddle up with a book and a hot cup of tea or coffee. I hope you have a great Tuesday!
Until next time…
Dave
06 Monday Dec 2021
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Adventure, Books, Boredom, Cycles, Excitement, Games, Gaming, Monotony, Movies, Reading, Writing
Sometimes life seems to be a little dull. We get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, we relax, go to bed, and then up again to start the whole cycle again. The days are the same, the weeks are the same, the months are the same, and so on. What can we do to break the cycle?
Many folks break up this cycle by doing what they enjoy. Maybe it’s quilting, writing, having an adventure in a local forest, or taking a long drive. For others, like me, it’s gaming, writing, and reading. Reading really helps me a lot. There are so many books and so many places to visit.
I read a book by Stephen King, titled On Writing. He wrote this book while he was in the hospital recovering from an accident, where he was hit by a delivery van while on his daily walk. In the book he described himself as more of an archaeologist. He “uncovers” stories that are already there. Each chapter strips away a little more dirt.
It’s a great analogy for story telling. Initially the story starts out at the surface level. We get to meet the main characters, the place they call home, and told about a problem these characters are involved in. As the story unfolds, we learn more about our characters. We learn how they react to stress, how they think, and what they do to solve the overarching problem. In the end, depending on the story type, the characters win or lose. If they win the story is a comedy. If they lose the story is a tragedy.
Reading can break up the monotony of day-to-day living. It takes us to far away places, and lets us explore another world “discovered” by the author. I truly enjoy reading a great book, regardless of where it takes place, what time period it is in, or what the characters are doing. Each book is an adventure waiting to be had.
One of the key lessons I’ve learned in retirement is the need for structure, and something to look forward to. I look forward to reading every day, writing this blog and working on my book. I also look forward to my game sessions, which are a lot of fun for me. Games have become so realistic that they act like books for me. They transport me to a war torn city, an outer space battle, or an adventure with friends who are part of my adventurers party.
As far as structure goes, I tend to chunk my time. One chunk I do my morning routine, the next chunk I read, followed by another chunk which is writing and the chunk I am in right now. After I have done all of my daily chunks, it’s game time. Even when I game, I have goals for each gaming session. It could be to finish a challenge or solve a particular problem to get to the next part of a story. This is what I do in a game I’m playing now called Far Cry 6. Far Cry 6 is set on an imaginary island, where a dictator uses his people to manufacture a cure for cancer. The problem-the chemical used to add to its chemical crop kills those who work in the tobacco fields.
In another game I play, Call of Duty Vanguard and Mobile (two different games), I work predominantly on leveling up weapons. Call of Duty uses camouflage to designate what level a gun is at. For example, when you complete all weapon challenges, the gold camouflage is opened up. When you get gold camouflage for all of your weapons in a particular class of weapons, you have access to the platinum (mobile) camouflage, or diamond camouflage in the version of Call of Duty for consoles or personal computer (PC).
Every game has these types of challenges or goals. It’s great fun for me to try and finish all of them, which can take quite a long time. I’m currently working on gold camouflage for the assault rifle class on Call of Duty Mobile. I’m not playing Call of Duty on console yet, because the next year’s season does not start again until December 8, 2021. That will be a great day!!
The key to keeping your life exciting in retirement is to have a structure to your day, along with some things that really excite you. Each day is a grand adventure for me. If you need some ideas on what to
read or what to play on a game console, here is what I’m up to in both areas:
Books:
Delta Force: A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military’s Most Secretive Special-Operations Unit
Deep Space: Star Carrier: Book Four
The Silent Wife
Games:
Far Cry 6
Call of Duty Mobile (iPad)
Call of Duty Vanguard
Mafia City (iPad)
Movies:
Apocalypse Now
Well, that’s it folks. Break up the drudgery of your day. There are many who blog who have all kinds of ideas for travel, crafting, writing, and all the rest. Use them. They are a great resource. Life is short. Make every day your best day, by doing things to break up the patterns or cycles in your life. You’ll look forward to each day. You’ll be excited to get up and get at it.
Have a great Monday, folks!
Until next time…
Dave
30 Thursday Sep 2021
Posted in Thankful Thursdays
Tags
Blankets, Books, Chili, cool, Fall, Leaves, pumpkin, Reading, Soup, Stew, Sweaters, Thanksgiving
Today, I am grateful for the fall. It is the season of colored leaves, pumpkin flavored everything, Thanksgiving, my birthday, and cooling temperatures. It is the time mother nature prepares for winter.
I love the fall, because one of my favorite seasons is fast approaching–winter. I love the winter, the snow, the warm indoors, a warm cup of coffee that steams up the window. I love sweaters, blankets, and looking at the pristine snow after it falls.
The older I get, the faster the time goes. Days whip by, months roll along, and before you know it, it’s a new year.
Another thing I am grateful for in the fall are the stews, soups, and chili that fill the menu at my home during the fall and winter months. I love a good stew, soup, or chili. I also love the bread that you dunk in it. Ahh…
I also enjoy the reading I get done in the last few months of the year. I get the bulk of my reading done in the fall and winter months. There’s nothing better than a great book and a warm cup of coffee, while I listen to calming music on my iPhone.
Well, that’s it for today, folks.
Have a great Thursday!
Until next time…
Dave
26 Thursday Aug 2021
Posted in Thankful Thursdays
Tags
Books, creativity, Fiction, habits, Learning, Reading, Scribd, Thankful Thursday
I enjoy reading. It is one of my hobbies. My favorite fiction genres are science fiction and fantasy. My non-fiction genres are history, military history, political history, and anything else that teaches me something. Books are a terrific getaway, particularly during the winter months and hot, muggy, summers of Michigan, when going outside is a no-go.
I am grateful to my parents who got me reading at an early age. That habit never left me and it came in real handy during college. Now, I read to keep my mind active and continue to learn new things.
Reading is creative, particularly when you are reading fiction, because you have to create the scenes in your mind. When I am reading a gifted author, the scenes are easy to create. For some self-published authors, it is a little more difficult, because they lack the craft of the greats. I read them anyway. I figured if someone takes the time to write a book, why not give them some of my time. I have come across some great books in the self-publishing space.
So today, I am grateful for Scribd. I am not an affiliate, but have been a Scribd subscriber for a few years. It has a great selection of books, magazines, audio books, and a whole lot more. You won’t find recently released works, as the authors need to make their money, but after a book has been in circulation for a bit, Scribd will get the title.
If you read voraciously like I do, you may want to check them out. Here is the link: https://www.scribd.com/home
It runs me 9.00 USD a month, but is really worth it, particularly if you find a great book that is still selling on Amazon. The savings are tremendous, particularly when you add the magazines you have access to, and the comics.
Well, that’s it for now. Have a terrific Thursday!
Until next time…
Dave
03 Tuesday Aug 2021
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Balance, Fishing, Fun, Happy, Hobby, Joy, Music, Reading, Relaxation, Relish, Video Games, Writing, Xbox
My sister has been “over-focused” on work for as long as I have known her. There is nothing wrong with that, provided you take time to do other things to balance it out. Balance is key to a happy life, in my opinion, so that you can do your work, have some fun, and not miss anything important. Important things like regular checkups for you and your pets, paying your bills, exercising, learning something new, and enjoying something that you do, because you enjoy doing it.
Hobbies could be coin collecting, antiquing, drawing/sketching, playing an instrument, or playing video games. It doesn’t matter what your hobby is, as long as it gives you a break from the things you have to to do. Another requirement: You have to look forward to it.
I love playing video games of all kinds. Whether these are on my pc, my iPad, or my Xbox. They are challenging, entertaining, and even educational. I look forward to my daily session, and laugh, yell, and have a heck of a good time. It is even more fun when I can link up with my brother and play together.
This is what I’m talking about. The passion for your hobby has to be there. You have to enjoy it, think about it, and relish the time you get to do it.
Think about people who enjoy fishing. These people can’t wait to get back out on their boats and fish again.
Think about those people who enjoy golf. They can’t wait to get out to the course. They even plan their vacations around it. Does that resort have a golf course?
I hope you get my point. The quote, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” rings true here. Spice up your life a bit with a hobby. It provides a great retreat from your daily routine of work, chores, bill paying, and errands.
In the meantime, I’m about ready to head down and fire up my Xbox.
Have a great Monday, folks!
Until next time…
Dave
28 Friday May 2021
Posted in Funny Friday
Tags
Bob Woodward, History, Honoring, Memorial Day, Military, Obama, Politics, Reading, Remembering, The Fallen, time, Veterans
Today, there will be no joke. Instead, I wanted to write a little about how fast time moves along when we are engaged with something. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and just fell off my to-do list because the book was so riveting. I’m reading one of Bill Woodward’s book, called The Price of Politics. The book is about the Obama administration, discussing some of the key moments where he and the Republicans were banging head. The current story is about the budget negotiations prior to the 2012 Presidential election. What a crazy story. Woodward is really good at describing the nuances and complexity of negotiations between the House, Senate, and the Obama White house.
For some, reading political history is a little dull. I like to read history related to politics, prominent figures, and the military. I have to say that this book has been particularly engaging, because Woodward writes about something that occurred only a few years ago. By the way, his books on the Trump administration were also good. They are called Fury and Rage.
Anyway, time got away from me, as I ran down the Woodward rabbit hole the last few days. Am I done? No. There is still more to read. I’ll take advantage of the long weekend to do just that.
I hope all of you have a terrific Memorial Weekend. For those of you who are serving, or have relatives that are serving, I thank you for your or their service. I also would like to thank those who have fallen while serving our country. These people who made the ultimate sacrifice are those who we commemorate this weekend.
In light of this, I will not be back on here until Tuesday. Have a great weekend folks!
Until next time…
Dave
08 Thursday Apr 2021
Posted in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays
Tags
any.do, Apps, dark mode, digital reading, Goodreads, Kindle, Reading, Scribd, To-do List
Today, I’m grateful for the Kindle service of Amazon, Scribd, and Goodreads. I read quite a bit each year, typically gravitating to history, politics, military history, and other topics I can learn from. This year I wanted to mix it up with some fiction too.
Many of my friends still enjoy the smell of a new book. I have converted to digital versions of books. They are cheaper, and it is much nicer to read because I can adjust the font sizes. Many of the paperbacks on the market today print them in such a small font that I find it difficult to read.
I also like reading on my iPad, because it is so nice to hold in my hands. I just picked up the iPad Pro and got the 12.9″ screen. It is huge! I only use my iPad for three things–reading, watching movies, and listening to music. If I want to take notes, the Kindle lets me highlight them and keep them in a repository. If I am reading something on Scribd, I can use my laptop to keep track of anything I like and want to remember.
Goodreads is a terrific service. It is owned by Amazon, so any book I read on my Kindle is recorded on Goodreads. When you read 60 books or so a year, it is nice to keep track of what I’ve read so I don’t mistakenly reread something I have already read. It is also an easy way to track my reading goals. It tells me when I am ahead of my reading or behind. I schedule an hour of reading each day, and this synchronizes perfectly with my hour of meditation that I do at the same time. Many meditate with their eyes closed, but there are many meditations that can be done with reading, walking, or while riding on public transportation.
While I’m at it, I also have to announce my move to a new to-do list app. I used Toodledo for years, but became disenchanted with it recently because the interface between my pc and my devices is not the same and doesn’t synchronize well. Toodledo is not supported by the Apple Watch either. My new app is Any.do. It works the same on my iPad, iPhone, and laptop. It is also viewable on my Apple Watch, which is nice. There are some days that I have to get out an about in a hurry and it’s nice to have my todo list on my watch, particularly the grocery list, which is a part of the Any.do app. Another really cool thing is the ability to add the Any.do app to my gmail. Now I have access to all of my to-dos and projects in one place and can view them everywhere. Finally, Any.do can suck in anything from Apple, Google, or Microsoft (calendars) and automatically bring in your events as part of your to-do list for the day. I’m glad I made the switch. The final part is the dark mode you can move to. Microsoft office, kindle, Scribd, Any.do all have dark modes that are much easier on the eyes. Now that I have moved all my apps to dark mode, my eyes are so much more relaxed. Looking at white screen, like the one that we have to use here on WordPress is painful, so I write most of my articles in MS Word (in dark mode) and copy and paste them here.
Well, that’s it for today, folks. If you are looking to make a change to a new to-do app. Give Any.do a whirl. They have a trial period. Frankly, $30 a year is not a big deal, especially when you consider that most of these other apps run $60 annually.
Have a great Thursday, folks!
Until next time…
Dave
01 Thursday Apr 2021
Posted in Thinking Thursdays
Tags
Bolton, Book reviews, Goodreads, Ian Douglas, Kindle, Reading, Scribd, trump, Warren Murphy, Woodward
I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction. Here are a few books I’ve read that some of you may enjoy:
The Room Where It Happened – John Bolton
Fear – Bob Woodward
Rage – Bob Woodward
Singularity: Star Carrier Series – Ian Douglas
The Destroyer Series – Warren Murphy
The John Bolton and Bob Woodward books are political. They both describe the Trump Whitehouse. These were really good reads. I believe that every president is right for the times. Every president deals with the awesome responsibilities of their job in their own way. Many in the Trump camp disparaged these books before they came out, but after reading these books from two different authors, the feeling and descriptions both authors offered were pretty close. This leads me to believe that the descriptions in these books are pretty accurate. Anyway, I hope you take a look at these.
On the science fiction end, the Singularity: Star Carrier series is terrific. The Star Carrier series is 9 books. 8 of them are finished. I am currently on book three. I enjoy how this author delves into the scientific explanations about faster-than-light travel and all the rest he discusses in this story. They are very entertaining.
The Destroyer Series is also another great one, if you enjoy action and adventure, mixed with some of the funniest prose I have read in a long time. If you like action and writing that will make you laugh, these are terrific. This series is composed of 140+ books, but all are really quick reads. Usually I finish them over a weekend.
I’ll provide these book recommendations once in a while. For those of you in my audience who are avid readers, feel free to reach out to me on Goodreads. I use Goodreads because it helps me keep track of all the things I’ve read. I also recommend Scribd, if you are ok with reading books in digital form. Many of the books on Scribd are pretty recent and are part of the subscription. I read enough that Scribd pays for itself. The Woodward and Bolton books by themselves cost about 45 USD. I pay 9 USD a month for the subscription, which also includes audio books and magazines.
Here is my Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/60448547-david
Send me an invite if you wish. I’ll accept.
Well, folks that’s it for this week’s Thinking/Thankful Thursday.
Have a great day!!
Until next time…
Dave
04 Thursday Mar 2021
Posted in Thankful Thursdays
Tags
Goodreads, gratefulness, Gratitude, Happy, Kindle, Learning, Productivity, Reading, Scribd, self-improvement, Studying
Today, I’m thankful for the Scribd app. If you aren’t familiar, the Scribd app gives you access to tons of books, magazines, and audio books. I read a bunch of books each year, and this saves me a lot of money. I am reading two books right now that retail for $15 each on Amazon right now. So the $8.99 I pay each month is well worth it. I like reading a few books at a time, so this service is terrific. Here’s a link if you’d like to check it out. https://www.scribd.com/
If you are an avid reader, who wants to save a few bucks, I’d highly recommend Scribd. I read about 60 books a year, and most of them are on Scribd. I am not an affiliate and get ZERO dollars if you join up, but trust me, this is a terrific service. You can also download this app to your tablets and phone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten my reading done sitting in a dental or doctor’s office. For a really good combination, you can listen to a song or two on Apple Music or Spotify, if you get these music services. I enjoy reading with either a focus or some other purely instrumental genre in the background. From time-to-time I’ll listen to classical, but for the most part, calming instrumentals that aren’t too “busy” work great for me.
Another great companion to reading is the Kindle and Goodreads apps. Most of my friends and colleagues use both of these, and it’s a great way to track what you’ve read, and share it with friends and like-minded folks, who enjoy the same genres you do. If you have a Goodreads account, it’ll automatically track what you read on the Kindle, but you can add books manually, particularly those you read on Scribd if you choose to try it out.
Well, that’s it for today, folks. Happy Reading!
Until next time…
Dave
04 Thursday Feb 2021
Posted in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays, Uncategorized
Tags
Consistency, Exercise, huge results, Learning, Reading, small actions, Udemy, Writing
Photo credit: CallofDuty.com
Over the last few years, as more of my schedule has come under my control, I have found that doing a little each day compounds into huge results. A little exercise, a little reading, a little writing, and a few minutes watching, listening, or reading some educational material can go a long way.
Some of you are working from home. The beauty of working from home is you can get a lot of things done in a more efficient way. You are not forced to work only for your boss and then look at that pile of laundry, dirty dishes, or snow-filled driveway on your own time. Now you can work on both sets of priorities simultaneously, other than those ZOOM conference calls that eat up a good portion of the workday. Why not take an hour a day and knock out a little in each area: reading, writing, exercise, and learning? It doesn’t take long.
The average length of a session on Udemy is roughly 5-6 minutes long. If you take a few courses, you’re looking at 20-30 minutes each day. You’ll get your graduation certificates in no time, and if you take the right courses, you’ll be adding some critical skills to your toolbox. If you select the 4+ star-rated courses on Udemy, you’ll also be entertained by popular instructors that make the material fun and interesting. 30 minutes a day for 6 days (assuming you subscribe to my “do nothing day” policy) is 3 hours of learning!
If you take the time to analyze what you do each day, I think you’ll be amazed at how much time you spend watching television or streaming videos, and other activities, that although entertaining, don’t build anything. I’m a huge video game fan. My current favorite is Call of Duty, Black Ops, Cold War. It’s a great game and very popular (over 100 million players worldwide). I could play that game for 10+hours a day and still have more energy to play even more. Balance is the key. We all need our downtime to relax, recharge, and rejuvenate. Watch those shows, play those games, get some of that “me” time, but balance this out with some productive activities that will keep your mind working. It is really exciting to me when I pick up some new skill that I can apply immediately to what I do every day.
That’s all I got today, folks. Have a great Thursday!
Until next time…
Dave
Daily Ramblings... 