I believe I’ve found my blogging focus for April. 🙂
I had seen last year a lot of my fellow bloggers doing A to Z Challenge. This April I am giving it a go and have plans to finish all the 26 on time, with best possible hopes. The challenge is about…
Source: A to Z Challenge – April 2017
The Challenge itself: Blogging From A to Z April 2017 Challenge
Lately, I’ve thought that I don’t often do a thing that I see many bloggers do very often. That thing is: sharing other people’s content. I don’t just mean the link sprinkled here and there. I mean something like bringing attention to their stuff, driving interest their way.
OK, it’s time to do something about that.
I’ll start off with a blogger that has been super consistent for a very long time, John Saddington. The thing that first caught my attention was that he gets up, writes, and posts something, every single day. That’s super challenging.
Not only that, but his posts are often a peek into the mind of a software developer, human, dad, and lifelong learner. His currently visible project is a daily VLOG (video log). Making a video every single day (he still writes as well), especially if you’re learning along the way, is tough. When I think of giving up on any of my experiments, I remember this. John’s post (and video) today might have been a bit of a kick for that too. Check out the video:
How John sees and executes new projects:
1. Time box
2. Create artificial constraints to simplify your experiment
3. Create accountability
4. Invite others into your experiment and process
At this point, I think I understand the above, but I honestly need to get better at all those points. For example, I started the 100 Days Of Code challenge, but have fallen off on that, so my time box is broken. I can see now that since I didn’t force myself to stick to some artificial constraint (always do work at the same time, for the same amount of time, one hour), it became super hard to get motivated enough to do any work. I’ve got almost no accountability here, and I think only one person knows I even started this.
The last point, inviting others in, is the scariest part. Nobody wants to look like they don’t know how to do a thing that they’re public about, but I realize that that’s how you stay accountable: somebody is watching what you do, so you want to have something done, on a regular basis.
I feel like John is a person worthy of daily attention. I’m even using a piece of software he’s published, Desk, to type up this post. Subscribe to his VLOG, add his blog to your reader. It’s that good.
It’s another Friday, and that means it’s time to recap another crazy week.
I’ve decided to recap tomorrow in the #WeekendCoffeeShare post. That way, it’ll be a more meaty post. Also, because John Wick.
It’s another Friday, and that means it’s time to recap another crazy week.
This recap will include two weeks, but it probably won’t be super long since most exciting things happened on the weekends.
Let’s see. It’s been a couple of weeks. It was super raining in these parts a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad that’s let up quite a bit. The following week saw an indoor Saberguild practice in a gym again. That was fun.
The end of the month Dr. Who meetup also got together for a pub quiz night, and I got the lowest score on the holiday episode quiz. I will do better next time!
The Magicians next season has begun, and it’s even more fun. This time they are in Filory, and finding out it isn’t exactly like the books Q loves.
I got my loot gaming crate, and it was awesome (and for science!)
The POTUS kept another of his really un-American campaign promises, and a lot of people were affected and angry. It’s a bad trend. There’s one of the reasons he has the lowest approval rating any president has had at the beginning of his term.
The Super Bowl is coming up, and I’m actually going to a party for it. I don’t really have a team in it (or the NFL, for that matter, at this point), but it’s a deep-fry party, so that’s a welcome perk. Until next time!
Photo by Nathan Shively
A marathon is the very definition of a long race. The full length of 26 miles is a challenge for the majority of humans, and just finishing is an achievement.
I think that’s why, especially today, the day we observe the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, that when we reflect on the long struggle behind us, and still to come, it’s important to remember that progress will come. It’s never as soon as most of us might like, and will almost always be a very uncomfortable situation for all involved, but that the key to making it through is stamina and sheer determination of will.
Quitters don’t win and winners don’t quit. I believe that’s how that saying goes.
via Daily Prompt: Marathon, for MicroBlogMondays #125
Photo by Martins Zemlickis
If we were having coffee…
I’d realize that my weekly recap post should maybe be made on Saturdays. I’m still thinking about that. I just would need to find something else I could do every Friday, consistently.
I’d also let you know that I’m finally getting around to seeing Moana this afternoon. I’ve heard, from so many friends, that it’s splendid. I’m sure they’re all as young at heart as I am, so we’ll see.
I’ve started multiple relatively intense challenges, such as one for coding, and one to post every single day in 2017. Today marks 7 days in so far and is part of a bit of a longer streak I began in December. The latter I’m hoping will snowball into a permanent habit. So far, the streak is unbroken for a couple weeks. Whether these posts will be worthy of reading is another matter entirely, but I’ll work on that as well.
To that end as well, I do intend to try not to put out super short posts, except on Mondays. I’ve reserved that day specifically for “microblogging”. It’s pretty tough to spew out the recommended 500 words sometimes, though, so I know I’ll slip up from time to time.
I’m learning what it’s like, what it’s really like to be in a serious relationship. I mean that I’d heard stories and even consumed some romantic content, in various forms over the years, but I used to think, cynically, that a lot of the “mushy stuff” was artificial, and a bit contrived. Over the years, and especially recently, I’m seeing that some traits that are not, and all it takes to fall into the habits that couples get into is to find somebody you really “click” with.
As an example, sometimes, I’ll have a crazy thought slip into my mind, and, just before I’m able to vocalize it, my significant other will ask about it. I’m trying not to over think this, however, and just going with it seems fine, if not a bit scary sometimes. I just thought I’d share some of that thought process here as well.
It’s another gray, somewhat rainy morning, but I’m still looking forward to going out today. I’ll be very careful to take care of the tickle in my throat. I also plan to stay well hydrated since it generally also helps with my well-being in general. I’ve got a large umbrella handy and also a very solid coat. It’s going to be a very fun day, and evening, full of snuggles and some warm beverages. I do hope that, for whoever is reading this, that your weekend is also a cozy one (for northern hemisphere folks) or, at least bearable, while in the company of loved ones.
Before I forget, Happy New Year!
One of the richest men in the world now has God as his personal assistant.
Source: [Mashable]
I like how the article says that it’s unclear if Freeman was paid. Yeah, I think he got paid, and probably handsomely. That’s definitely a good choice of voice for a personal assistant. I was using the Waze voice for quite a while. I would also consider Susan Bennett (the voice of Siri) as well. Knowing that Susan was only paid for her initial recording sessions (before Apple acquired that company), and no royalties, I doubt it’ll be anything beyond his recording fee.
We’ll probably never know for sure.
Prompt: The News and Paper Challenge
Hi. This is an Apple Watch. Yes, I do like it. Besides being a pretty good watch, it’s also an extension of my phone and replaces quite a few situations where I’d have to dig out my phone, such as a quick tip calculation, or sending a call to voicemail. 😉
More: Adult Show And Tell
Hi, my name’s Ryan.
It’s my middle name, for those that don’t know. It’s also what my parents have called me, since shortly after naming me after my dad (I’m a Junior!) It’s been a fun ride since it sounds just like Brian if I’m not careful when giving it to people in noisy places, like cafes.
It’s also super common, so I’m often turning around when similar-sounding names, or even my own, are called, when another Ryan is intended.
I’ll have to find out how it was chosen since that story is one I don’t recall being told.
Is there a story behind your name? What does it mean and how was it chosen?
Managing time is a bit like a game for me. I have a work calendar, which stays relatively simple, and a set of personal calendars. Some of the personal ones are basically like the old paper ones many used to use: they store things like birthdays and anniversaries.
Some calendars, such as the social ones, are automatically generated- there’s one for Facebook, another for a travel site. Even Google now detects events in emails and creates calendar events on the same account’s calendar. That feature is pretty neat because I sometimes forget to go through my emails and create calendar events for social engagements, like concerts and conventions.
I’m not the best at time management, but I’m getting better at it.
prompt: Time Management
Photo Credit: the ryan king via Compfight cc
