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Tag Archives: Reading

Daily Ramblings – Free Writing Friday – Reading

27 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by Dave Gardner in Free Writing Friday

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

BlackBirch 3, Diet, free writing, Gum Disease, Learning, Reading, The Carnivore Diet, The Keto Diet

I love the snowy months. We’ve gotten hit with about 6 inches with more in store for the next few days. Snowy days are great days for reading, writing, and all the other things I do from the comfort of my office chair. I finished a few books this week. The first was Blackbirch 3 from my friend and author in Australia, K.M. Allan. I also finished the book The Carnivore Diet. This book has been on my reading list for a while. I picked it up after seeing a YouTube video from Joe Rogan interviewing Dr. Jordan Peterson. He has been on the Carnivore diet for about a year at the time of this showing. His wife, daughter, and he have adopted this diet because of health issues in his family. Autoimmune disease, depression, and arthritis in his daughter. Remarkably, they have all come of anti-depressants, his gum disease has disappeared, and he has lost about 60 pounds.

I too suffer from gum disease and have also felt some other changes occurring that I’m not too happy with. So, I’m going to embark on my own adventure into the carnivorous diet. I don’t know if I’ll go as hard as the Petersons, which literally means they eat beef and nothing else, but salt and water, but I’ll definitely give it a go. Gum disease is incurable and is no fun. I was diagnosed in 2018 and have been dealing with it ever since. I had an appointment with a dentist to get to work on this, but when I found out the procedure would run me about $6000.00, and there was no guarantee that it would go away, I passed and have looked for more homeopathic solutions. Diet is one of them, since changing diet will also change the biome in my gut and mouth. The theory is: If you stop eating things that feed a certain type of bacteria that lives within you, those bacteria that are harmful will die off and the bacteria that is needed to digest meat will survive.

I’ve tried the Keto diet in the past and it was really effective at weight loss, but it was too hard to track. Fat is the primary food source Keto dieters use. It has been very effective for those with Diabetes, but the measuring of yourself for being in Ketosis is very difficult, not to mention, tracking all the things you need to track, so I gave it up as too unsustainable. The Carnivore diet, on the other hand, is easy. Eat meat. That’s it. So, I’m going to give it a whirl. My way of moving to a new diet is not a radical change overnight, but gradual. I’ll see what it does and how it impacts me.

I read a lot of books at the same time. I enjoy reading non-fiction, but also enjoy fiction and spiritual books. So, I always read at least three at a time. Currently I am reading: A Deadly Influence, The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad book 2, and I’ve got to find another non-fiction book to dive into. I don’t know what I’m going to read, but I’ll start looking today.

Well, I’m done for now. I hope all of you have a great Friday and weekend. Here’s to a hot cup of coffee on a snowy day!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Blackbirch 3, Crash Course History, and MS Excel

19 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by Dave Gardner in Reading, Watching, and Learning

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

BlackBirch 3, Books, Crash Course History, Curiosity.com, documentary, MS Excel, Office Newb, Reading, VBA

Many of you may be wondering why I tell you what I am telling you this each Thursday. It’s simple. I want to document what I’m doing publicly, so I have a record to go back to. Yeah, I know I could put all this in a journal, but there’s something about broadcasting it to others that helps me stay focused and accountable to myself. Anyway, that’s my reasoning.

Blackbirch is really exciting. I won’t divulge anything here, but have to say, it’s a great third book in the series. The reason I say this is that many “series” dry up and become really redundant, telling you what happened a book or two ago and rehashing what’s already taken place. I guess this is because they want each book to be independent of another in the series. This doesn’t work with me, however. If you’re going to write a series, explain to your readers that you need to read these books in order. If they still ignore that advice, it’s not your fault they don’t know what happened. Anyway, that my thought on that. The Blackbirch series is anything but that. It has been a wonderful ride and the author has indicated on her blog that book 4 is in the works. Hurray!

Crash Course History covered WWI, WWII, and now is addressing the Cold War. These 20-minute bites are terrific because they discuss many things about many topics, but continuously slip in information that is unique. The narrator is also hilarious. You can check them out on Youtube. If you’d like a more understandable format, you’ll have to watch them on Curiosity Stream, which will run you $19 a year. It’s well worth it, if you are a documentary geek like me.

Finally, MS Excel. We are working on a loop for a sum function that knows how to sum a column in a worksheet and will span multiple worksheets to total up the same column on each one. It’s really cool to learn how to logically work through a problem like this. It is also really time consuming. For those of you who would like to learn more about Microsoft Office, I highly recommend this guy’s courses on Udemy. Just do a search for Office Newb and you’ll see all of his courses, which are fantastic.

I love learning new things and I really enjoy reading fiction. I did not used to be a big fiction fan but have adopted it as a form of entertainment. I wanted to read fiction to improve my creativity, learn how others write their stories, and to improve my dreams. You got it right–dreams. When you have to engage your imagination to become part of a story, those muscles also improve the dream recall you will have–at least that is what has happened to me. Ever since I began fiction reading, my dreams are more clear, understandable, and more story-like. They are no longer broken pieces or a collage of images and sounds.

Learning is one of the key items I hit on each day. I love it. There is no purpose behind it, other than I am curious about things and like finding these little treasures on YouTube, TedED, and Curiosity Stream. I also keep my eye open for any good documentaries on Netflix and Amazon. Being curious and learning new things is a great way to stay engaged. I’ll be 60 this year, and never want to lose the child-like curiosity I have. I love waking up each day and looking forward to what I will learn.

Well, that’s it for today. I hope all of you have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Blackbirch, Crash Course, and MS Excel

12 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by Dave Gardner in Reading, Watching, and Learning

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Blackbirch, Crash Course, Curiosity.com, Learning, MS Excel, Reading, Udemy, Watching

A really nice twist hit the plot in Blackbirch 3 this week. I won’t divulge, but the story has really engaged me at this point. I can’t wait to find out what happens.

I’ve been watching a documentary called Crash Course World History on Curiosity.com. We just addressed WWII. I like this series, the host, John Green is hilarious. I think you can find this on YouTube, so check them out–they are really entertaining and informative.

I’m working through the VBA portion of the MS Excel course. This week, we are looking at working with multiple sheets and the logic involving working with various column ranges so your code can handle any length of ranges. It’s really cool.

These three things are very entertaining. I love a good story, watching documentaries, and learning new things. If any of you are looking to spread your wings a bit, reply in the comments and I can help you find what you might be looking for. I’ve utilized multiple educational platforms, read quite extensively, and enjoy the action and science fiction genres.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Happy Thursday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Free Writing Friday – Introduction

06 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by Dave Gardner in Free Writing Friday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Freedom, Gaming, Learning, motivation, Overview, Reading, Spiritual, Ted Talk, Topics, Watching, wisdom, Writing, Writing Schedule

It’s so nice to be back at my desk and creating content. I love to write, and this medium allows me to express myself in specific ways on a daily schedule. Over time, however, I began to get the nudge to write about anything and when you’re on a tight schedule like my blog requires it takes away a little freedom, which I crave. So, from now on, Fridays will be my free writing days. I’ll write about popular topics, but don’t be surprised if I go off on a tangent into other topics just to keep things fresh and interesting. Over the last 4 years, I’ve gotten very good at finding interesting topic areas that I enjoy that many of you have enjoyed too.

Today, I just wanted to explain what Fridays would bring, so you would not be surprised that my funny Friday postings had disappeared. I will still inject some humor or may drop a Youtube video here that I find funny, but wanted to have an opportunity to write about anything that comes to mind on Friday.

For those of you who are new to my blog, here is my weekly schedule of writing. If you see any topic that is interesting, feel free to visit me on those days.

Monday Motivation

Ted Talk Tuesday

Wisdom Wednesday

Reading, Watching, and Learning (Thursdays)

Free Writing Friday

Gaming Saturday

Spiritual Sunday

Well, that’s it for today. I hope all of you have a great Friday and have some nice plans set for the weekend. For me, it’ll be running some errands, going to the gym, reading my books, and GAMING! I’ll be exploring the DMZ this weekend on Call of Duty MWII. It’ll be great fun!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, Learning – Deep Mind, Blackbirch 3, A Deadly Influence, MS Excel, Discord, and Canva

03 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Reading, Watching, and Learning

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

A Deadly Influence, BlackBirch 3, Canva, Deep Mind, Discord, Learning, MS Excel, Reading, Udemy

I’m way behind on my reading goals for the year, so I’ve increased my efforts there to meet my goals by the end of the year. I didn’t watch much tv this week, since my sister was away. Now she’s back, so I’m sure we’ll be watching some cool shows to talk about next week. My learning is all about finishing an MS Excel course, diving back into a Canva course, and starting a new course on Discord a really cool technology for building online communities.

Deep Mind is book 7 of the Star Carrier series. Blackbirch 3 is the the third book in a series by my friend K.M. Allan, an author in Australia. She’s an Indy YA author and I want to support her all I can. A Deadly Influence is a thriller about a kidnapped young boy and the police who are trying to get him back. All of these are terrific books.

MS Excel is still going and is getting interesting. We are learning about user interaction with input and message boxes. The Canva course is covering creating a brand logo for your business. The Discord course is covering different ways of growing a community around a server I build. It’s great stuff so far.

Well, this is short, because I have a lot on my plate today. I hope all of you are having a great Thursday and week.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, Learning – Deep Time, Crash Course World History, Udemy Excel, Canva, and Discord

13 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Reading, Watching, and Learning

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Canva, Crash Course, Curiosity Stream, Deep Time, Discord, Excel, Learning, Reading, Udemy, Writing

So, it’s been a busy week. I took advantage of the holiday to do some research on some courses I need to take and found a great Canva course and Discord course on Udemy. There was a sale, so they only cost me $12 a piece. I just started Discord a bit ago and will start the Canva course today as well.

I’m still watching the Crash Course World History course. It is really great. The host, Tom Green, is hilarious, and the format for these videos is about 10 minutes, so it’s an easy watch and doesn’t eat up much of the day. It is part of Curiosity Stream so if you want to watch it, you’ll have to pay your $19 for the year, which to me is an absolute steal.

I’m still in the Deep Time book. Currently the Marines are storming the Glothr orbiting space station to rescue some humans that were captured. On the surface of Invectus, one of the pilots is being rescued after being downed. Admiral Gray is still in charge and running the show from the space carrier America.

Oh! This weekend, I’ll be watching the second Venom movie called Carnage. It should be a great flick. My sister bought it and we’ll be watching it as part of my birthday weekend. I’ll be 59.

Well, that’s it for now, folks. Have a great Thursday!!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Holiday

10 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Chill out, Gaming, Holiday, Monday, motivation, Movies, Reading, Relax

Today’s a national holiday, so I’m taking the day. Have a great one, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Deep Time, House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, MS Excel, and Crash Course World History

15 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Reading, Watching, and Learning

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Crash Course, Curiosity Stream, Deep Time, House of the Dragon, Learning, MS Excel, Reading, The Rings of Power, Udemy, Watching

Well, folks. Here we are on Thursday, the 15th of September 2022. The year is moving along quickly isn’t it? We are experiencing some cooler temperatures and the trees are releasing their leaves.

So, I’m still reading Deep Time, Book 6 of the Star Carrier series. The America is currently in a huge space battle. It’s pretty exciting. Ships are exploding, they are currently searching for “streamers”. Streamers are fighters that have been crippled and toppling through space. To gather them up, the America has to send out tug boats designed to get these fighters.

House of the Dragon is another installment of the Game of Thrones series. This story happens 200 years before Game of Thrones. It is really good so far. The Rings of Power are a take off of the Lord of the Rings. It is on Amazon Prime. Both are terrific shows.

I’m learning Visual Basic for Applications in my MS Excel course. It’s pretty cool. There is so much to learn. It is really fun to learn the intricate details of MS Excel. I really enjoy this stuff, because I work a lot in Excel and it will help me in my position.

Crash Course World History is on Curiosity Stream. This is a service I pay for. It is a terrific service. If you are interested, it is in the Apple Store and Google play. It is literally the Netflix of Documentaries. For the $19 annual feel, it is an absolute steal. I am a huge fan of Documentaries and this is a daily experience for me, because I really love learning new things, while being entertained. I am not an affiliate, it’s just that good!

Well, folks, that’s it for this week. I hope you check out what I’m watching. If you are a GoT fan, House of the Dragon will not disappoint. The same goes for The Rings of Power for those of you who are Lord of the Rings fans. You may also want to check out Curiosity Stream for the hundreds of Documentaries that cover every topic you could imagine. Environmental documentaries, Science Documentaries, Historical Documentaries, and Biographical Documentaries. It’s all there and more.

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Dark Time, The West Wing, and Anne Boleyn

01 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Reading, Watching, and Learning

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Anne Boleyn, Curiosity Stream, Dark Time, Learning, MS Excel, Reading, The West Wing, Udemy, Watching

I’m still enjoying Dark Time. The crew of America has just sent three ships through a wormhole with the alien ship to their home world. Admiral Gray (the main character) is waiting to here back from them to make sure this was not an ambush by the aliens. It’s getting exciting!

The West Wing has the President delivering his third State of the Union. The conflict is between President Bartlett and his wife over reelection. The staff is also reeling from the news that the President has MS and has begun working on how to overcome this problem as they work on the reelection campaign.

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry the VIII. The documentary explains in detail how King Henry the VIII got rid of his 2nd wife because she could not produce a male heir. The intrigue and how things were in that time period is absolutely chilling. The series is presented on Curiosity Stream and is in three parts. I just started the 2nd part which details her trial.

I’m also plugging through the MS Excel course. I just started learning about Macros. From what I’ve seen so far, this is going to be really powerful. There is also a part about Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). I love learning this stuff!

Well, that’s it for now. Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Dyslexia

30 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by Dave Gardner in Ted Talk

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

brain, Communicaiton, Dyslexia, Kelli Sandman-Hurley, Mom, Reading, Spelling, Ted Talk, TedEd, Wife, Writing

I hope you enjoy this video. It’s an important topic to me, because both my wife and mother have it. It is tough for them to read, to write, and even communicate, because of the wiring of their brains. Enjoy!

It’s Tuesday, folks and I hope you have a great one.

Until next time…

Dave

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