Personal Tests

I just had an "Oh duh!" moment. I was going to create a web page for this, then I remembered that I have a blog. I must be tired.

I recently ran into an interesting idea. It is called Personal unit tests. Follow the link for more info. I'm not sure why, but I loved the idea, and decided to shamelessly copy it for my own ends. I was keeping a daily todo list, but never provided the feedback about how I was really doing over a length of time. Following this I can make a spreadsheet and track how I'm doing over a length of time. Plus with the todo list I would be tempted to fudge things so that they would match what I wanted, rather than what I truly did; with this it is either pass-fail, yes-no. And this seems that much more geeky ^_^.
I decide that I would attempt to post the results of this daily to my Jaiku account (it's just easier). Yesterday I did a measly 39%.

Here are the tests:

01 Brush Teeth (Health)
If I brushed my teeth twice yesterday
02 Deodorant (Health)
If I put on deodorant yesterday
03 Lies (Mind)
If I told five or fewer lies yesterday
04 Meditate (Mind)
If I meditated twice during the day
05 Shower (Health)
If I showered in the morning
06 Sleep (Health)
If I got a full eight hours of sleep the night before
07 Stretch (Health)
If I stretched twice the day before
08 Check Feeds (Computer)
If I checked my feeds the day before
09 Check all notes (Other)
If I checked all my notes the day before
10 Check eMail (Computer)
If I checked my eMail the day before
11 Clean (Home)
If I worked on cleaning the house the day before
12 Journal (Mind)
If I wrote on my journal the day before
13 Budget (Home)
If we stayed on budget the month before
14 Family (Family)
If *I* contacted family members anytime the previous week
15 Trash (Home)
If I took out trash on Monday
16 Blog (Mind)
If I posted to my blog in the last seven days
17 Track weight (Health)
If I tracked my weight on Monday
18 Replace razor (Health)
If I replaced replaced my razor head on Thursday

Not much

Boy, I use that title a lot - though, not enough for my tastes. After being woken yesterday about work, today has gone really well. No calls form work, didn't have to do a thing - it's nice for a change. The weather has been rather dreary, so neither Jana or I have felt like doing anything. I've watched a couple movies (since I have that working on my laptop now), played some music and been lazy - though I did some exercise earlier.

The only odd thing to report is that I have felt weird lately - not at all myself. At work I can't concentrate (messing-up) on the stuff that I should be able to do with my eyes closed. At home I feel more lethargic then I feel I should. All of this is broken by periods of feeling great (thinking that everything is great) only to find that something wasn't right after all. I just can't get it together - and it's hard to get it together when you can't focus long enough to do so... but I have no choice (and I would not choose any other choice even if I had one) - I have to get it together. But how? You know, I think it's time I made a doctors appointment.

Dvorak

Okay, here is the deal, I prefer to type in the Dvorak keyboard layout - it's just easier and quicker (once you get used to it). A couple problems with this though:
1) Work computers are not normally setup to use this layout - though you can normally change that if you are the only one using the computer.
2) In Linux (the version that I use), it is difficult to tell what layout you are using - if you are also using the US QWERTY layout - the few times I do. I'm hoping the ever helpful Linux community can help with this one.
3) In Windows if you start out with the US QWERTY layout then you have to change each separate program use dvorak (it doesn't change on the whole system).
Despite these few problems, I still prefer to use Dvorak, it even came in handy when I hurt one of my arms and had to type with one hand (it has layouts for people who have the use of one hand versus two. Plus it's fun to say.

Happy one month

Well, It's a bit late, but happy one month of blogging to this blog.
Not much going on in life right now. I finally got into the Yahoo Mail Beta (only been trying since I first heard about it) - of course anyone can get into now that it's a public beta. It's a good interface, runs well. I like it much better then the new Live Mail (Hotmail). The Yahoo interface is cleaner, easier to read, and much easier to use - plus half the screen isn't taken up with an ad (though I fixed that with the use of Adblock). As for which webmail I prefer to use, despite all the nice enhancements that have been made to Yahoo and Hotmail, I'm still sticking with my Gmail account. Gmail doesn't have as fancy of an interface (which is important to some people), but it is faster then either of the other two, I can use POP and SMTP access with it, plus I prefer the way it organizes the emails.

Now onto the question of the day, this one is borough to you by all the restaurants that Jana and I go to after normal dinning hours. Really this is a simple question, but one that I just can't answer. First a little background on this. Whenever Jana and I go to get something to eat after normal business hours (from about 10pm to 4:30am), if we go to a restaurant that has both smoking and nonsmoking sections, then Jana and I are usally the only ones in the nonsmoking section, while there can be two or three tables of people in the smoking. Why is that? If I recall correctly, about 75% of the US population does not smoke, but I seem to run into more smokers then nonsmokers, especially at night. Anyone have any ideas why?

Only one more day

Well, I only have one more day left of work, then I'm off for two whole days - maybe I will turn off my phone. I wasn't feeling too well the last couple of days, something weird with my arm, and I think I caught something. I've been feeling better today - feels good.
Now that I'm feeling better, and my arm doesn't hurt every two seconds, I think it is time to get back into the exercise habit. I need to get my body in shape so that I can get my mind there as well. Baby steps, but steps none the less.
Not much going on at work, computer went to down, took me three hours to get the OS back up - but I lost half my files. Of course the problem happened because of a bad backup - so I didn't even have a good backup to get my files from. I'm happy that my address book, calendar and task list were all backed up on a separate service then the one my company uses.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow night - freedom for two days!! Woohoo!!

Two part posting

Okay, todays post is a two parter (maybe three, I haven't decided yet) .

Part 1 - Sports
Okay, I know this is going to be sensitive one - so I'm going to do it first. Now please keep in mind I don't follow pro sports, I actually rather hate them, so this post is going to be a rant from that perspective. You have been warned, if you don't like that point of view, then I would not suggest reading on.
Now today was a big day in Iowa - a football (American) game; today was the day that the two major Iowa colleges played a game against each other. Not a big deal, and not something that I would normally rant about - but there is more. Since Wednesday, that has been all the talk, and starting Thursday I saw people in businesses wearing shirts to reflect which college they supported (I mean the employees). Friday that is almost all I saw, that and cars with an ever increasing number of stickers and flags on them. Today that is all anyone wanted to watch on the TV.
I don't understand this obsession with football, pregame shows, postgame shows, clothing, complete car makeovers, multiple TV stations only about that, and the such. People seem to spend way too much time worshiping a *game*. At least here in Iowa, that's how it is.
Today the satalite at work was having some problems due to some bad weather. Apparently peoples only complaint about it was - they could not watch their football game. Now I want everyone to take a step back, look how people treat this game, and
TE###33333333333333####################FW@gvbbbbbbbbbbbb (that's from the cat) tell me that it is not an obsession, and that people don't spend wholly too much time and energy on it.

Part 2 - Homework
I came across an interesting article today, it reflected a thought that I had when I was in school and even after I left school. The article was about the amount of homework that schools give to children. It's just way too much. In high school I was normally up till about 2:30am doing homework, only to get up at 5am, so that I had enough time to finish my homework before school started; granted I was taking more classes then most, but if you cut it down to a normal class load, it was still too much homework. I want everyone to look back on when they were in school, did homework want to make you go back to school, or to live a life of learning? If your answer was "yes", then I bet you are in the minority. Homework is tedious and normally rather pointless (at least to the extreams that it is given). Take the many many hours I spent on spelling words for class - I still can't do it, I use spell check or a dictionary to make sure words are correct.
How about, instead of giving children hours of pointless, frustrating work, why let them have more choices in how they learn? If you give them the option to learn what they want to learn - and relate the other subjects to that - then you will have sparked their interest and the desire to learn, wouldn't that be worth the extra costs? Maybe someone needs to start a school that does just that...
Here is the link to the article:
The Myth about Homework I also saw a book by the same title in Barnes and Nobel tonight.

Part 3 - I guess it was going to be three subjects after all
Never mind, it's hard to type with a cat in your lap.

Yesterday

Well yesterday was fun. I got off work the day before yesterday at 11pm, Jana and I decided to head to IHOP for a quick bite to eat so that I could head to bed after that, since I had to be back to work at 7am. Well sometimes things don't work out as they are suppose to. We got to the IHOP, and after a 20 minute wait we finialy left. The waitress sat us, got us some water, and never came back, she was at a table on the other side of the restaurant smoking and talking to someone. I guess we were not as important as that. Oh well, we decided on McD's drive though instead.
Well, I got up about 6, with a good 3 and a half hours of sleep under my belt. Jana said that when I kissed her goodbye that I felt a bit warm. I get to work, it turns out that the breakfast person called in (again) so guess what, I'm doing breakfast, housekeeping, sales, and GM... what a day. By the time I got home my feet were killing me, and I was starting to feel crappy.
After some food, and a good 7 1/2 hours of sleep, I'm feeling better, my feet still hurt and I feel tired - but better then I did yesterday.

Busy day, but good

Well, I had to work today (joy of all joys), but today wasn't too bad. Can't complain too much - so I won't at all (what a change). Things have really been going better since I got my sleep schedule back in order, and since I have started to exercise a bit each morning - more stamina for starters, I can't wait for what comes next.

I found out today that my old haunts in Iowa City have changed - I really should go for a visit and see what has changed - maybe run around the Ped-Mall for a bit. I miss Iowa City - it was so comfortable, and had a fun culture. Des Moines is nice, more to do, but the culture is different (not as diverse), and the down town area was easier to get around it (walking wasn't such a chore). Oh well, you make choices and you live with them. Maybe on my next couple of days off Jana and I can go down there for a look see (last time it was winter, and very cold so we didn't stay out long).

Tummy problems

For some reason I have been having tummy problems today. I have been on the toilet often (you wanted to know that - I just know it), and my tummy has been feeling queezy. I have felt fine otherwise, except for a bad headache earlier in the day. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day - I want to get on with my exercising and stretching (which I have postponed for today due to the problems mentioned above).

Ren Faire

Well today was a good day. Jana and I went to the Des Moines Ren Faire. We had a great time. I must say that the DM Ren Faire group has a great setup there, many wooden shops, nicely laid out, a wooded area for some groups, and just plenty of room. The portajohns were even put behind a wooden fence so that they were not in plain sight (a nice touch I must say). I have three complaints, 1) Parking was difficult 2) The roads were muddy in some places (thought is to be expected with so many feet and rain the week before) 3) The building did not seem to be completely done, you could see the modern technology in the back of most of them (thought that can be hard to hide).
The people were great, many people in costume. Many of the people that I have met at a Ren Faire were nice, and just fun (I don't get to meet many people like that in my normal life). Jana and I got stopped by a couple of people selling pickles (I don't know what it us, but people like to sell her pickles), and she told them no, she even went so far as to tell them that she would bite their dragon (since they threatened to have one attacker for not buying their pickles) - that caused some laughter around us.
We went and saw the jousters, they are good (amazing they aren't dead by now). We saw the Scurvvy Dawgs, a pirate comedy troupe, who hardly ever failed to get a laugh. During the second show that we saw with them, Jana tried to get one of the cast members stabbed with a tiny plastic sword.
We also saw the Muddy Misfits, they are funny, but in a very different way from the Scurvvy Dawgs. They (two of them) like to retell common stories (we saw Goldilocks) - but with much mud added in. Needless to say we got dirty (time to wash the kilt). Oh, Jana decided that the girl didn't have enough mud on her, and was very vocal about it. Jana almost got even more dirty then she already was.
In there, we go some good food. I got a bottle of root beer (okay, two). I did some archery (I need some practice at that), and threw some knives (I need a lot of practice at that). We got to see some neat items for sale.
As I already said, it was a great time. I would love to go again. Can't wait for next year.

Vet trip

Guess what today was... nope, that wasn't it. Today was the day Jana and I had to take poor Fozzy to the vet. It all started when we had to get him into his travel kennel. Needless to say, Fozzy wasn't too happy with that, he whined from the moment he got in the kennel, till about halfway to the vet - about 15 minutes. The actual appointment didn't go to bed, when I took him out of the kennel to get him weighed (13 and some odd pounds) he put himself as close against me as possible. Then when we got into the exam room, he deiced that hiding under the bench would be the best course of action.
The vet was very good with him, and he behaved (except for when they were getting the facial sample). The vet said he has a clean bill of health - go Fozzy go.
We then had to wait for Bev to get off work so that she could come see Fozzy. While we were waiting for her, a little dog came in. Once Fozzy heard that dog, he thought the far corner of the kennel would be the best place for him. By the way, the dog weighed less the Fozzy - by a pound.
Once Jana opened the front door, Fozzy started to whine, he knew he was home and wanted out of that kennel right then. After a couple minutes of getting used to being back home, he got some treat. Now he's bathing - his little rear end seems to be a popular place to lick.

What a day

Not much really happend. Got up too early - after going to bed early because I didn't feel well. I played on the computer for a bit before I relized that I was still tired (I can't wait till Wednesday when I can sleep all I want). Jana and I then went and got a sweet treat - yep that diet is going great. Then I went to work for 12.5 hours - it was very slow there.
Now I'm writting the message as Jana is threatening Fozzy because he is being hyper and she wants to sleep. Better get to bed, I have to be to work by 7am. Another fun day when I work with only 4 hours sleep.
I don't need a sleep study, I need a predictable sleep schedule - that doesn't go against my natural sleep schedule (where to find a good paying job that would allow me to go to bed at 5 or 6 am, and still get enough sleep).

Not much to report

Well, not much going on. It's been slow at work - I can finialy get some work done.
Life has been fairly normal at the house.
All in all, it's been very nice lately. I'm happy for it being normal and not changing from second to second - I don't like change that much (unless I'm directing it, and even then it sucks).

Long sleep, short sleep

20 guesses what this post is about...If any of your 20 guesses involved sleep, then you would be right - more on that later.
Today went pretty well, didn't do much - it's nice for a change. Jana made sloppy Joes for us, they were good. Other then that, I played on the computer, and worked on another one.
Well, Jana and I are planning on our diet to start Friday - after I get paid so that we can afford real food. This is going to be a joy. As I think I said before, I will need to make a checklist - information sheet - I need that kind structure to make sure it works for me - I think Jana might too.
This week has been kind of rough on me, the previous week I worked the overnight shift, then this week I went back to working the morning shift - well, it's not an easy change. So the first part of this week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday), I didn't sleep well - you know, can't fall asleep due to being used to the overnight shift, keep getting interrupted with the bloody phone when you do fall asleep, etc. Well I had yesterday off, and I literally slept 14 hours - so naturally I could not fall asleep all night. I slept about 30 minutes so far - and I have to be to work in 1.5 hours. Ugh.
On the positive side, it gave me the time to finish fixing the computer that I was working on. I must say one very simple thing - I have Windows, what kind of OS gives people access to a root account first thing, and doesn't ask them to make another more limited account? I also must talk about Windows Defender talk about a useless program. I installed Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware, both of which were detecting problems long after Windows Defender said everything was perfectly fine.