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 – 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 – 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

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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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CODM, Dark Time, Discord, Gaming, Learning, Reading, Reddit, Season 6, The West Wing, Watching

Call of Duty Mobile start season 6 today. There are new guns, the KSP-45 and L-Car. A submachine gun and machine pistol respectively. I completed the challenge last night for the L-Car and got the KSP-45 as part of the season’s battle pass. We’ve got a new map, new weapons, new character skins, and all kinds of challenges coming up. Oh, and did I mention they are adding jet aircraft to battle royale? HA!!! It’s going to be great fun!

For those of you doing the “Too Close for Comfort” Challenge, there is a slight glitch in the task list. The task of using The Purifier flamethrower 5 times wouldn’t work when I first started playing it. The key is to use the generic version of the Purifier, not the H20 version or even using a camouflage. You need to use the plain, generic Purifier and the task will count the games you use. This threw me for a bit, but I visited Reddit and the solution was there. I’d also like to pass on my thanks to CODM’s folks on their Discord channel. They directed me to Reddit, updated me that the glitch was fixed, and were terrific.

I’m reading Star Carrier: Dark Time. It’s a great read so far. I’m also reading my bible daily. I love a good story. Reading is what I call one of my “critical tasks” because it keeps the creative juices flowing. Each time you read, you are invoking your inner creativity, so that the scenes, characters, and story come alive. At least that’s what I do. I truly enjoy the escape that reading provides.

My sister and I are still watching season 2 of The West Wing. She’s been busy lately with her friends, going out and such, so we haven’t watched too much this week, but that’s ok. I’ve watched the entire show about 9 times. I just love this show. This time around, since it is no longer on Netflix, I am buying each season as we go, just like I did with The Sopranos. For those shows I really enjoy, I buy them, so I always have access to them everywhere. I don’t buy DVDs anymore. I really try to minimize the things I own, because there’s nothing like having access to everything I need digitally. I joke from time-to-time that I can literally survive with what’s in a backpack.

I’m watching a great documentary on the Civil War on Amazon Prime. I’m also continuing my studies on Udemy. This week I learned about the Index() and Match() functions. Today, the instructor is going to use both to show how powerful a combination these two functions are in Excel. I enjoy learning something new each day. It’s a real rush when you learn something you didn’t know the day before.

Well, that’s it for this week’s installment of gaming, reading, watching, and learning. I hope you all enjoy this posting. I’m thinking of separating gaming into a separate day, like Saturday, but haven’t decided yet. What do you think? Put your comments in the section below. I’ll listen.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Gaming, Reading, Watching, and Learning – CODM, Star Carrier, The West Wing, Udemy – Excel Course

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CODM, Excel, Hobby, Learning, Reading, Season 5, Star Carrier Series, Total War WW2, Udemy, Watching, West Wing

Happy Thursday, folks!

Season 5 of CODM is upon us. They have loaded up some new challenges, updated rewards and goodies for completing them, and I am continuing to work on Diamond Camouflage for weapons. The Clan Battle has started up again, where specific games are set up for clans to compete. It’s all great fun! To make this easier to understand, I’ll begin uploading photos next week of various screen shots within the CODM portal.

I’m still reading the Star Carrier Series. The story so far has our hero locked in battle with a new alien enemy known as the G’rdock. It’s a crazy story so far.

I started watching Total War WW2 on Amazon. It’s a new take on WW2 that covers themes of things, instead of battles, like normal documentaries. Topics like mobilization, the aerial war, and other topics. It’s great!

My sister and I finished Better Call Saul. Season 6 doesn’t come to Netflix until July, so we moved over to one of my favorite television series–The West Wing. I just bought season 1. It’s been a great ride so far.

I’m still in the MS Excel course offered by Udemy. This week we are learning about conditional statements, like IF functions. It’s terrific to learn about all these things I did not know and it will make me more proficient when I begin creating better spreadsheets that will help me be more organized and efficient in both my work and my personal life.

Well, that’s it, folks.

Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Gaming, Reading, Watching, and Learning – CODM, Star Carrier, Total War WW2, Udemy Excel Course

Tags

Better Call Saul, CODM, Gaming, Learning, Reading, Star Carrier, Total War, Tropical Vision, Udemy, Watching

I changed the title of today’s posting, because it failed to capture what I wanted to cover in Thursday’s posting. So, it is now what you see.

Season 3 of 2022 has started in Call of Duty Mobile (CODM). It is so exciting to start a new season. We have a bunch of new challenges, new characters, a new comic strip that encompasses the theme of this season (The Jungle), and it will be offering a new map, new weapons to camo up, and a continuing tournament from last season. I’m currently finishing up a submachine gun, then I’m going to shoot for Legendary status in both ranked multiplayer and battle royale. I’m stoked. It started yesterday. I played a bit, but my sister and I are still working through Better Call Saul and I take a break from that.

I also have a bit of great news. My sleep schedule has finally normalized. I’m back to midnight to 7 AM. I think it may have had to do with getting back to the gym and getting back on track with a steady workout routine. I don’t know what it is about going to the gym, but my workouts are so much better in the gym, than they are in my home. Now that COVID poses a little less of a threat, I have started hitting the gym again and it’s great!

The Star Carrier series is what I’m currently reading. Earth is in a civil war, and there are two groups of aliens that are threatening her. The crew of the America (which is the key ship in the series), is headed off to meet one of these alien groups head on, and it will be exciting to see what happens. I won’t give you more than that, but wow, what a ride!

What am I watching? I’m watching a series on Amazon Prime called Total War WW2 and my sister and I are still plugging through Season 5 of Better Call Saul. For those of you who are interested, Stranger Things season 4 has just hit Netflix. My sister is not a fan, so I’ll be solo watching that one. I’ve watched all of them and love the show.

My learning is dedicated to becoming better with MS Excel. The course I’m taking is terrific. I cannot tell you how much I did not know about Excel before taking this course. Wow! It is great. We are working through connecting multiple sheets and consolidating data using the consolidation tool in MS Excel. Again, this is a tool I never knew existed.

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

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Treatment of Others

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Abigail Van Buren, Actions, Character, Friends, Listening, Seeing, Watching

Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay 

“The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” ― Abigail Van Buren

Have you ever been in a restaurant and watched someone treats a waiter or waitress with disrespect? Have you seen someone taunt a homeless person?

I have learned that the adage ‘actions speak louder than words’ is true. I’ve learned that people say a lot of things. They say them to make themselves feel better about themselves. Then you watch them act and in some cases it is exactly opposite. This is wisdom. It will help you negotiate who your friends are, who you do business with, and protect you from the people who lie to you and themselves all the time.

Wondering if you should go out with that guy or gal? Wondering if you should be friends with this person or that person? Watch them. Listen to them. If they walk their talk consistently, you’ve probably made a good choice. If not—run!

Let’s say you like a guy or gal. You set a date with them to go out. At the last minute, they bail. Then you set another date with them to go out and they do it again. This is probably someone you should avoid going forward. You can be friends or acquaintances, but they have shown you they don’t care about your time or you. Cross them off your list.

Let’s say your “friend” starts talking about another one of your friends behind their back. Again, another character issue. If they talk about your friends behind their back, what do they talk about behind your back? Cross them off your list.

Let’s say your friend commits to helping you out on one of your projects. They commit to doing something that is crucial to your project’s completion. They drop the ball and avoid you for weeks. Cross them off your list.

Actions speak louder than words. You want to know someone? Stop listening to what they say and begin watching what they do. You’ll soon learn who your true friends are.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Truth is never hidden

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answers, Golden-Tongued Wisdom, Listening, Patience, Truth, Waking Dream, Watching

The principles of Spirit are embedded in the literature and in the life of our culture. Truth is never hidden. It is always available for the Soul who wants to take the next step. —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

I find that the answers I seek are always available. Some come as nudges from within, while others come in the form of a message on a radio, a conversation I overhear, a magazine article, website, or even a novel. In Eckankar, we call these insights the “Golden-Tongued Wisdom” or the “Waking Dream”.

Try this out for yourself. Ask a question (write it down or say it to yourself). Then wait. Sometimes the answer will come quickly, while other times it will take a while to come in. When you get the answer, test it, confirm it, really make sure you have what you were looking for. This “intuition” will be right more often than not.

I had to make a life-changing decision in December 2016. My Father has been struggling with Dementia for more than a few years and it has begun to get worse. In conjunction with my Dad’s illness, my personal situation was collapsing to the point that I had to make a move one way or the other. I decided to come home to help out my folks.

As I drove from Arizona to my home state of Michigan, I began doubting my decision. I was saying to myself, “Dave, what are you doing?” These doubts ran rampant over my mind as I trudged along the highways between my old home and my new. Since I could not quiet my mind, I decided to ask for a confirmation. I really wanted to know that I was making the right move.

On the highway, on the way home I looked to the right as I talked with my Dad and a billboard had a message on it that confirmed my decision. A day later as I was crossing the Michigan Ohio border I saw another billboard off to the left of me as I moved slowly during a traffic jam. This was the second confirmation. I would like to keep these messages private, but you get the point. I asked and received two confirmations in the form of billboard messages. Crazy? Maybe. But the solution that presented itself has been good for me and good for my family, particularly my Mom who was having more difficulty taking care of my Dad.

I have found in my personal life that these truths or answers are out there for the taking if we only take the time to formulate what we are looking for and being patient for the answer. They always come. The key to this whole process is being open to the source it comes from. It could come from anywhere and anything. Just listen and watch.

Well, we’re fast approaching Memorial Day! I hope all of you are having a great weekend so far!

Until next time…

Dave