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

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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 – Deep Time, House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, MS Excel Course, and Crash Course

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

Lots going on currently. I’m still reading Deep Time. My apologies for the wrong title. For the longest I’ve been calling this book Dark Time, but it is Deep Time. Oh, well!

If you haven’t started watching it yet, I’ve started two new series: House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power. House of the Dragon is the new Game of Thrones. It’s on HBO Max. Boy is it good. They bring a new episode each Friday. The Rings of Power is a new story in the Lord of the Rings saga. It is on Amazon Prime. Both are great so far, if you are into the fantasy genre.

I’m still plugging through the MS Excel course on Udemy. I’m learning MS Excel macros and Visual Basic for applications (VBA). I’ve just learned the Macro recorder, which will be a fantastic addition to my tool box. I get one report every month that I can use this to automate setting up my Excel worksheet for reporting purposes. I’ve also discovered a section of Curiosity Stream. It’s called Crash Course. I’m taking the World History course. It is very entertaining!

Well, folks that what I’ve been up to. I hope you have a great Thursday.

Until next time…

Dave

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

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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 – Motivation Monday – Learning

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Google, inspiration, Learning, motivation, Presentation, problem, Udemy, YouTube

There is an event I was supposed to give a presentation to, but had to back out because of my family situation. To meet my obligation, I created a PowerPoint presentation that I converted into a video. All in PowerPoint! How did I do this? I learned how.

Whenever we are presented with a problem, particularly one that we do not know how to solve, we tend to procrastinate. I know I did. But, I solved the problem by taking a PowerPoint course on Udemy. Here’s the link: https://www.udemy.com/share/102gUM3@UBmn5-rxpk4mJ0JGZ6ZORLDOZi4WjMZqTbztQLkb_ZxR2E8NJcUAXIZ8NbEYeZ3f/

Motivation to learn is sometimes driven by what we need to do. I had a presentation to give. Others may have other tasks, but not know how to do what they need to know. Where does one go? For me, my “go to” is either YouTube or Udemy. I always gravitate toward Udemy because I enjoy learning in a step-by-step manner, which most of the instructors on Udemy use in their courses.

You may search through blogs, search YouTube, or just do an internet search in general. My brother used a YouTube video to replace a bad garbage disposal once.

So, if you have a problem, which involves learning something, get online and start looking around. You’ll find the answer. Once you’ve learned what you need to, motivation to get the task done takes care of itself. I could not wait to put my presentation together. The folks running the retreat I was supposed to attend, got the presentation and loved it.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Motivation improves when we know what we need to do, and more importantly how to do it.

Have a great Monday, folks.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, Learning

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Call of Duty Mobile, Dark Time, Kyle Pew, Learning, Office Newb, Reading, Udemy, Watching, World Championships

I’m still reading Dark Time. It is getting really good. America boarded the alien ship and found some surprising information, particularly with the aliens, which are literally walking squids. Anyway, that’s what’s going on in the book.

I’m continuing to watch the West Wing. I’m rewatching season 3. My sister couldn’t be here the last few weeks, so I’m waiting to get season 4 until she is back here to watch with me. One thing I will mention that I am also watching is the Call of Duty Mobile Championships. We are in stage 4 and Japan and Europe are both finalizing the team(s) that will represent them at stage 5 where the entire globe competes for the number one spot. Last weekend was India and Latin America. It was great watching these players. Wow, are they good.

I had to put MS Excel on hold to brush up on PowerPoint. I have a presentation that will be recorded and I don’t know how to do it. I’ll finish the course tomorrow and be up to snuff at that point. Then I can finalize my presentation and get it into the gal who will be running it in my absence at a retreat. The reason I passed on going is we are still seeing COVID numbers spike and with my folks’ condition, it is impossible for me to get out. So, learn PowerPoint is what I’m doing. If you are looking to brush up on any of the MS office products, you’ll love the instructor that runs these courses. Here’s his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbCHkRl8AGEVmdF369Er7VQ He is terrific!

Well, folks. I’m still clearing out the cobwebs from taking some time off. It was a great week with my brother. We got good news yesterday. My brother and nephew (his son) are coming back in the first week of September for Mom’s birthday. It’ll be terrific!

Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Dark Time, West Wing, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint

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Dark Time, Kyle Pew, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Star Carrier Series, Udemy, West Wing

Dark Time is currently describing the America boarding an alien vessel, using a contingent of Marines. They’ve discovered an alien race inside the ship, and they are beginning to interact with it. The suspense is terrific.

I’m currently watching the “Ellie” episode of West Wing. This episode has Bartlett’s Surgeon General talking about drug policy and gets into trouble with some of her statements. Ellie is President Bartlett’s daughter who puts him in a tight spot, when she says to the press that her father would never fire the Surgeon General. It’s a great episode.

I’ve been learning MS Excel. I have a presentation to give at a retreat this month, and need to bone up on PowerPoint, So, I found a course taught by the same guy teaching the MS Excel course. If you’re interested, look up Kyle Pew on Udemy. I plan on taking all of his courses. He’s that good.

Well, it’s Thursday. We’ve been getting a lot of rain and we have thunderstorm warnings until 9 am tomorrow. Have a great Thursday, friends.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – Dark Time, The First American, MS Excel, and The West Wing

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Amazon Prime, Dark Time, George Washington, MS Excel, Star Carrier Series, The Revolutionary War, The West Wing, Udemy

Dark Time has the Star Carrier America closing with an alien ship and getting ready to board her with a contingent of marines. This is after the alien ship “swallowed” a USNA ship that got too close. It’ll be interesting to learn what happens next!

All, I just finished the Civil War series I’ve been watching. Now, I’m learning about George Washington, in “The First American” on Amazon Prime. It’s one long movie, so I watch about 10 minutes a day. So far, they are describing the difficulty with writing about a man like this, who was very quiet and did not say too much, compared to the others like Franklin, Jefferson, and Madison.

I learned about auditing an Excel worksheet. It’s pretty cool. You can see all the formulas, you can see which cells are impacted, and you can even use what is called a watch window to validate that a formula is actually working the way you want. Good stuff!

I am purchasing the West Wing season by season. In August, I’ll be watching season 4. I finished season 3 this month. My sister’s arrangement for work changed, so she is not living with us during the week. She started a new role at her company and this move required her to work onsite. I’m not sure if she’ll be fully remote like she was, but at some point, she may be back here during the week. Who knows? Anyway, I’m watching the series myself, and I just love the story. Season 4 will continue with the President’s reelection bid, and the fall out from assassinating the defense minister of another country who attacked America.

That’s it this week, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning

Tags

Civil War, Dark Time, Ian Douglas, Learning, MS Excel, The West Wing, Udemy

I’m really enjoying the Dark Time book. The main plot has just begun to take off and it’s great. I enjoy well-written sci-fi books, particularly the ones written by this author. He presents a technical background to the story, explaining concepts like near-light travel, and is also really good at breaking his story down into bite-size chunks. It makes it easy to read, and it is a great way to describe multiple stories, which overlap each other from different sides of multiple galaxies.

Sis and I are still enjoying the West Wing. We’re in season 3. This is a show I’ve watched about 8 times. I just can’t get enough of it. The acting, the writing, and all the rest is just superb.

West Wing Episode 10 – Bartlett for America

This week I learned the Left(), Right(), Mid(), Search(), and Len() functions. These are really helpful functions in Excel. Particularly if you are trying to break up an entry in a cell to accommodate setting your data up for sorting. The example the instructor provided involved a cell with first and last name. If you’ve ever tried to search through a list with first and last name combined, it can be problematic because searching is ineffective if your data is not configured well.

The civil war documentary I’m watching is also fascinating. We are at the part of the war, where Grant and Lee are going at it. Interestingly, the battles that were fought were named after landmarks or farms where the battles took place. Names like Spotsylvania, The Wilderness, and Shiloh are all familiar now. Great documentary!

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

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning

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Ian Douglas, Learning, MS Excel, Reading, Star Carrier, The West Wing, Udemy, Watching

Well I’ve done it. I’ve decided to focus a gaming post on the weekend, and pull it from this posting. That way, those of you who are interested in hearing about the games I am playing can get some exclusive content. The new posting will be on either Saturday or Sunday (I’m leaving that option open), and will start out with what I’m doing in the games I’m playing, and then add in some pointers and things I’ve learned playing them.

I’m still reading Dark Time. It’s in the sci-fi genre and is about a space carrier called America and a whole host of characters that have developed over the previous 5 books. I don’t like giving away the story, but if you enjoy the sci-fi genre, you will enjoy the Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas.

My sister and I are on Season 3 of The West Wing. What a great show. I can’t speak enough about it. I’m also watching a great Civil War series on Amazon Prime.

Daily Ramblings – Gaming, Reading, Watching and Learning

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Amazon Prime, Call of Duty, Civil War, CODM, Dark Time, Diablo Immortal, Grand Master, Ian Douglas, Star Carrier Series, The West Wing, Udemy

The Call of Duty Mobile saga continues. I am currently at the Grand Master level in both Battle Royal and Multiplayer and have a few more levels before I hit legendary. It’s a real grind. For those of you who do not know what grind means in this context, it is the literally playing and playing and playing until your objectives have been met. I grind to get ranked and I grind to get my diamond camouflages for my weapons.

I have also started a game called Diablo Immortal. Boy, that is a great game. All kinds of things to do, all kinds of weapons, gear, gems, and gold to collect. I am really enjoying the Role Playing Game (RPG) genre again. These guys at Blizzard really know how to create great games.

I’m started reading Dark Time, another book in the Star Carrier series. It’s another great read so far. The way Ian Douglas writes is terrific. The characters are awesome. The weapons and military craft descriptions are the best. I highly recommend this series if you are a SF fan.

My sister and I are in season 2 of The West Wing. It’s terrific. I never grow tired of The West Wing. The characters are so terrific! Sam, Toby, Josh, Donna, CJ Craig, Danny, President Bartlet and Leo are terrific. I won’t give away any spoilers, in case any of you are interested. The entire show is on Amazon Prime Video, but you’ll have to pay. It’s about $25 US per season.

I’m watching a new documentary on the Civil War and continuing with my Excel class on Udemy. Yesterday I learned about HLOOKUP. Today it will be INDEX(). I enjoy this class because of the short session lengths and the easy example files to work with.

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave