I have to admit, I am just not the most organized person in the world. I make lists and don’t get everything done. I keep moving those tasks from one day’s list to next and they remain undone. I identify the large black holes in my life into which my time disappears never to return, and I eliminate those things from my daily existence. But the small distractions, well, those are the things that add up.
I discovered a little tool that I am finding to be quite helpful, at least during my time at the computer. It’s called The Action Machine. It is simple, intuitive, and seems to keep me focused on the job at hand. I like its ease of use. It’s the foil to Parkinson’s law, the adage that states “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
The simple design allows you to determine how much time a task should take, then the clock starts running. It’s amazing how much I can get done when there is a time limit on completion.
At any rate, I’m having a wonderful time and accomplishing more than normal using The Action Machine as my personal motivator. If you think you might need a boost in your productivity, at work or at home, you might want to check into it.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
I so want to write something positive...
…but, I’m having some difficulty here. River Road in Perry pretty much got buried. We are somewhere between 28 and 36 inches deep in the white stuff. When last we checked it was still snowing at about an inch an hour, somewhat preferable to the previous 2 inches per hour from this morning and last night (a huge negative).
On the positive note, I made an excellent pork roast for dinner (positive). Tomorrow we will be having tuna noodle casserole (positive).
Although my broken wrist seems to be healed (a positive), I blew the tendons in my right knee out last Wednesday (a negative). There is a reason, as in no hip rotation. Sooooo it looks like a total hip replacement is on the horizon (negative, but eventually positive).
I have been ordered to walk with a cane to relieve stress on the hip (a positive and negative) and promptly managed to break my toe…by whacking it into the cane (a negative). I had to consciously stop myself from laughing at the absolute irony of breaking my toe on the cane meant to help, before my ribs started to ache.
I will end on a positive, though. I just wrote this blog while sipping a nice glass of my homemade Amarone. Wow, this wine is smooth!
On the positive note, I made an excellent pork roast for dinner (positive). Tomorrow we will be having tuna noodle casserole (positive).
Although my broken wrist seems to be healed (a positive), I blew the tendons in my right knee out last Wednesday (a negative). There is a reason, as in no hip rotation. Sooooo it looks like a total hip replacement is on the horizon (negative, but eventually positive).
I have been ordered to walk with a cane to relieve stress on the hip (a positive and negative) and promptly managed to break my toe…by whacking it into the cane (a negative). I had to consciously stop myself from laughing at the absolute irony of breaking my toe on the cane meant to help, before my ribs started to ache.
I will end on a positive, though. I just wrote this blog while sipping a nice glass of my homemade Amarone. Wow, this wine is smooth!
Monday, January 2, 2012
I'm Listening to Amy Winehouse's...
…grammy award-winning CD, Back to Black. The CD was a gift from my nephew Sean. Of course it starts with Rehab. Too bad poor Amy didn’t treat herself better..another musical talent lost to drug abuse and its related health detriments. I don’t think Winehouse is any Janice Joplin, but the music is good, if a bit on the depressing side. She would have had a singular music career had she gotten past her issues.
I wonder if she would have resisted rehab had she known that her eventual outcome would be early death.
Those who do not learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them.
I wonder if she would have resisted rehab had she known that her eventual outcome would be early death.
Those who do not learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's Day - 2012
I know I haven’t written anything in a while. Just smack me! I resolve to write a blog at least once a week in 2012, starting today. Now that Mom has made a significant recovery from her heart attack, the broken wrist debacle is almost over, and typing is back to a degree of comfort I can live with, things are looking up. I’ve made significant progress on “Finding Quincy Michigan” and hope to move forward quickly with the remainder of the story. I’m attempting to do at least 1000 words per day. This is not a resolution, just something I’m working toward.
Of course, I also need to make significant progress on the Mr. Whipple’s Woodchuck series AND come up with a business plan, website, and other business type stuff for the postcard book. I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me for the next several months. What I mean by that is that I have to make time to do these things in the next several months. I foresee a writing escape trip or two in my future.
I did make a resolution for the year...to learn how to use the camera I got for 20 years of service at work. I think I can accomplish that one small thing! I fail to understand how I can work my way all around a computer and all the software programs I use and yet become confounded by a new camera or a new phone.
All that aside, I bid a good welcome to 2012. May it be the best year ever.
Of course, I also need to make significant progress on the Mr. Whipple’s Woodchuck series AND come up with a business plan, website, and other business type stuff for the postcard book. I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me for the next several months. What I mean by that is that I have to make time to do these things in the next several months. I foresee a writing escape trip or two in my future.
I did make a resolution for the year...to learn how to use the camera I got for 20 years of service at work. I think I can accomplish that one small thing! I fail to understand how I can work my way all around a computer and all the software programs I use and yet become confounded by a new camera or a new phone.
All that aside, I bid a good welcome to 2012. May it be the best year ever.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Leftie on the fly...
I am a “rightie” as are the majority (70-90%) of people on the planet. I eat, write, and wave with my right hand. I can’t think of anything I do well with my left hand, other than type, which requires dexterity in both hands. Then again, typing is a learned behavior.
When I broke my wrist, not quite two weeks ago, I never imagined how difficult doing ordinary things could be. I seem to be able to eat with the splint in place, but I can’t seem to butter a piece of bread. I can wash my face and hands (with the splint off), but the motion of brushing my teeth is too painful, thereby forcing me to brush left-handed.
I have finger freedom to type, but I have to remove the splint to sign a check or a credit card receipt…otherwise my signature looks as illegible as most doctors. I can pick up a bottle of pop, but not a gallon of milk. Forget peeling potatoes. The motion is excruciating and the left hand is out on that score…delegation is the most practical solution.
But the things that are most difficult for me are bathroom and hygiene duties. I urge everyone who reads this to start practicing ambidexterity now. Cleaning and wiping with the non-dominant hand are very difficult and stressful and take twice as long to accomplish than under normal circumstances.
Like the learned behavior of typing, practice makes perfect…so start switching up hands now while you have the chance. Don’t wait until fate befalls you, because being a leftie on the fly is most definitely for the birds!
When I broke my wrist, not quite two weeks ago, I never imagined how difficult doing ordinary things could be. I seem to be able to eat with the splint in place, but I can’t seem to butter a piece of bread. I can wash my face and hands (with the splint off), but the motion of brushing my teeth is too painful, thereby forcing me to brush left-handed.
I have finger freedom to type, but I have to remove the splint to sign a check or a credit card receipt…otherwise my signature looks as illegible as most doctors. I can pick up a bottle of pop, but not a gallon of milk. Forget peeling potatoes. The motion is excruciating and the left hand is out on that score…delegation is the most practical solution.
But the things that are most difficult for me are bathroom and hygiene duties. I urge everyone who reads this to start practicing ambidexterity now. Cleaning and wiping with the non-dominant hand are very difficult and stressful and take twice as long to accomplish than under normal circumstances.
Like the learned behavior of typing, practice makes perfect…so start switching up hands now while you have the chance. Don’t wait until fate befalls you, because being a leftie on the fly is most definitely for the birds!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Penn State and Joe Paterno
Here are my thoughts on the matter. I don’t particularly care whether the state of Pennsylvania, or any state for that matter, doesn’t consider it a crime that you don’t report child abuse. For my money, if you see a crime being perpetrated on another human being, it is your moral duty to report it to the proper authorities, i.e., the police. Even if the terms of your employment state that you report it to your superiors, I would be making that call while on the way to the police station. If the employer tells you it will be handled internally, tell them that if they demand that you not report the crime, you will see to it that every newspaper in the country gets the story, and that they will be held complicit in the crime.
No decent human being should tolerate the covering up of such heinous behavior. Reporting to your superiors does not absolve you of moral responsibility. I think of that poor child, being raped in that Penn State locker room. He should have been immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, counseling, and collection of evidence. Instead, he has had to live with the mental anguish of that and other incidents perpetrated on him by Jerry Sandusky…for years! It will be a miracle if the boy is ever mentally “right” again. How many more boys were similarly abused because Sandusky was free to abuse. That would not have happened if he was in jail.
Everyone at Penn State that saw or was told must therefore be considered complicit. It is a shame that Joe Paterno was as reluctant to become involved as everyone else. They all deserve punishment, but no punishment will be as physically or mentally painful as the abuse those little boys endured.
Shame on all of you.
No decent human being should tolerate the covering up of such heinous behavior. Reporting to your superiors does not absolve you of moral responsibility. I think of that poor child, being raped in that Penn State locker room. He should have been immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, counseling, and collection of evidence. Instead, he has had to live with the mental anguish of that and other incidents perpetrated on him by Jerry Sandusky…for years! It will be a miracle if the boy is ever mentally “right” again. How many more boys were similarly abused because Sandusky was free to abuse. That would not have happened if he was in jail.
Everyone at Penn State that saw or was told must therefore be considered complicit. It is a shame that Joe Paterno was as reluctant to become involved as everyone else. They all deserve punishment, but no punishment will be as physically or mentally painful as the abuse those little boys endured.
Shame on all of you.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Elections: Don't be a Sheep. Educate Yourself before Voting!
It is that time of year again. The kids tripped over all the election signs as they made their Halloween rounds. What the heck, kids are durable. So what is frustrating me…the endless phone calls from individuals, and agencies, and organizations all telling me how and why I need to vote for them or their issue.
I suppose this is a good way to sway those who otherwise just don’t give a damn, but I do give a damn. I read, I watch the news, I weigh the pros and cons, I make up my mind. I don’t vote the “party line” either. I vote for what makes sense to me.
Don’t just listen to one side. Go read about the issue. Each side has a vested interest in having it their way. You need to figure out which way is most beneficial to the community and then vote your conscience. Issue 1, Issue 2 and Issue 3 are incredibly important. Don’t take someone else’s word for what’s best. Go the Ballot Board website, read the issues and the arguments for and against. Then make up your own mind. Don't let some lobbyist or neighbor or acquaintance make it up for you.
I really do not want someone else’s ideas, or ideals, or beliefs shoved down my throat. Calling my home to tell me how to vote is quite akin to that. I can choose not to read, I can turn off the TV, I can toss those political ads and flyers in the trash, but turning off my phone in my own home denies me the right to receive those calls I actually wish to have invading my personal time and space.
It is too bad that we don't have an Issue 4, a constitutional amendment that forbids campaigning by phone in Ohio. Perhaps next election. Count me in for a “YES” vote on that one!
I suppose this is a good way to sway those who otherwise just don’t give a damn, but I do give a damn. I read, I watch the news, I weigh the pros and cons, I make up my mind. I don’t vote the “party line” either. I vote for what makes sense to me.
Don’t just listen to one side. Go read about the issue. Each side has a vested interest in having it their way. You need to figure out which way is most beneficial to the community and then vote your conscience. Issue 1, Issue 2 and Issue 3 are incredibly important. Don’t take someone else’s word for what’s best. Go the Ballot Board website, read the issues and the arguments for and against. Then make up your own mind. Don't let some lobbyist or neighbor or acquaintance make it up for you.
I really do not want someone else’s ideas, or ideals, or beliefs shoved down my throat. Calling my home to tell me how to vote is quite akin to that. I can choose not to read, I can turn off the TV, I can toss those political ads and flyers in the trash, but turning off my phone in my own home denies me the right to receive those calls I actually wish to have invading my personal time and space.
It is too bad that we don't have an Issue 4, a constitutional amendment that forbids campaigning by phone in Ohio. Perhaps next election. Count me in for a “YES” vote on that one!
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