Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Review your 40 before 40 list

A few days ago, (March 24,) my phone pinged me to review my 40 before 40 list.  I put off reviewing it until I could do it in front of a computer and here it is:

3.  Run a 6' mile

I'm not sure if this is going to get done.  I can run a 12 minute mile now.  I'm running again though.  I'm supposed to be in a 10k later this week.  I need to work on speed.  I should probably research cross training.

4,  Own a new car I really like

Tesla is announcing their new car later this week.  Maybe it'll be something I can afford.

5.  Read Appendix N

I just finished The Throne of the Crescent Moon.  More on that later.

6.  Learn to sketch

I think I need to incorporate this into my diary writing.  This is problematic.

7.  Find something I have in common with Alexander

This is probably video games.  I'm trying to push it towards board games or games in general.  We also both like Star Wars.  I'm still not going to click done on this until close to the end of everything else.

8.  Find something I have in common with Gabe

Gabe and I both like Star Wars, but he's two so no reason to rush this.

9.  Write something that gets published

I have a few ideas about this.  Two RPG companies are allowing you to publish your work, (for money!) on their web sites to make it official content.  More on this later.

11.  Plan a killer 40th birthday party

I don't have any ideas on this yet.

12.  Take Andrea to a ballet, a musical, and a symphony

Haven't gotten around to it yet.  I blame cancer, (because it's a convenient excuse, not because it's actually affected anything.)

13.  Learn to pick locks well

I need to buy a padlock and practice with that.  I think my front door has some extra security features that make it bad to learn on.

14.  Become fluent in a foreign language

I might get the Pimsleur Swahili stuff off iTunes and practice with that.  I'll have a language decided on by my birthday.  I'd be doing this in the car, so I need to catch up on my podcasts first.

15.  Drive to the west coast or up and down the west coast

Still far off in the future.

16.  Become proficient in a martial art

Maybe when my older son is in first grade we'll look into taking something together.  There are a bunch of dojos around here.

17.  Learn to fly a plane

I just need to make time.

18.  Learn to ride a motorcycle

Again, I just need to make time.

19.  Coach a team

I think I'm going to wait until Gabe's old enough for soccer and coach his first team.  I'm not a great coach, but he won't be great at soccer yet so there's that.

20.  Volunteer on a regular basis somewhere

I need to figure this out.  I really have no idea.  I keep thinking about the Delaware food bank.

21.  Become known to the members of a charitable organization

Same as #20.

22.  Make a will

Andrea and I were gung ho about this a few months ago, then we both forgot.

23.  Become proficient in an instrument

I'm getting better at piano.  Not great, but better.  Maybe in another year.

24.  Plan a Disney vacation

I think Andrea is going to handle this so once we pay, we'll be set.

25.  Six-pack abs

I need to start exercising hard.  There's a gym opening nearby soon.  Once they open, I'm going to meet a personal trainer a few times to get started.  They'll have day care so it shouldn't be hard to work out even while having a kid or two around.

27.  Triathalon

Next year.  Stupid cancer.

28.  Figure out your career

I need to set aside an hour to make some choices.

29.  Take Andrea to New England for the leaves

2017

31.  Read some Hemingway

Probably this summer.  It seems like the kind of stuff you should read outside.

32.  Read that book by Proust

Probably by the end of the summer.  I'm about halfway.

33.  Wine country with Andrea

Maybe next year.  Maybe 2018.

34.  Make a habit out of writing in my diary

I think I have done this.  I'm not really sure yet.  Maybe once I fill another one.

35.  Tough Mudder

2017.  Stupid cancer.

37.  Century bike ride

This will probably get turned back to, "really long bike ride," (the original name.)  I'll probably do Pelotonia this year.

38.  Court Street Shuffle

No idea.  My contact Phil.  (Best friend.)

39.  Grow some plants

Waiting for Julio to die.

40.  Get a sweet fish tank

Still a little ways off.  This might be my 40th birthday present to myself.

So, my immediate goal is to catch up on my podcast listening, then move on to a book.  Also, keep working out, practicing piano, and writing in my diary.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

I'm past 40

I've been doing some thinking this week about this blog, and I'm thinking about some changes.

I no longer have a big list to work through. So my ideas for articles are a little reduced. I'm still working on these goals, but when I started, I had 40 things to write about. I now have zero.

From here on out, I'm going to be publishing less. I'm not sure how much less, but less.

Also, I might start a new category of post. Something like, "meaning."  It'll be mostly about my hobbies and things that give my life meaning.

For example, I'm really bad at being patient.  If you ever want to see me have a minor panic attack, have me wait in line.

To teach myself patience, I found a hobby that requires you to be patient:  miniature painting.

After my first son was born, I started playing Dungeons & Dragons with a few friends.  (Nerdy as I am, I never played it before.  I heard a podcast where people played it and it sounded like a blast.)  One of the things the last edition of D&D had was the need to have little plastic people, (or monsters,) to fight.  The last edition, (4th,) was very much like a board game with a story tacked on.

The people at Wizards of the Coast, (the division of Hasbro that published D&D,) sold little plastic people but they got prohibitively expensive after a while.  Plus, if you didn't have enough, you had the problem of substitutions.  ("Is this green blob with all the mouths a skeleton or the evil wizard?")

Anyway, my friends that played with me often time had people they painted themselves.  They look crazy good.

I asked about how they did it and there are a lot of techniques you use to paint these little people that make them actually look like little people.

There's a company called Reaper that makes most of these unpainted little people and they had a Kickstarter, (you can still get it on it as of this publishing,) where you'd give them $100, and they'd give you like a thousand little guys.  (Plus some big guys.)  I went all in and started painting.  I also painted all the figures for a board game called Myth.

Over time, I got pretty good at it.

It's a slow process though.  Especially the last step.

There's a technique called dry brushing that brings out highlights in the pieces.  You dip your brush in paint, then rub it off on a paper towel, then lightly brush your model with the few molecules of paint left on the brush.

If you do it fast, it looks terrible.  If you take the time to set it up, and take your time doing it, it looks pretty amazing.

So, here's a gallery of stuff I've painted.  It's taught me to be patient, but, like the point of patience, it's slow going.

Friday, March 25, 2016

The blog of the future

I've been doing some thinking this week about this blog, and I'm thinking about some changes.

I no longer have a big list to work through. So my ideas for articles are a little reduced. I'm still working for these goals, but when I started, I had 40 things to write about. I now have zero.

Anyway, from here on out, I'm going to be publishing less. I'm not sure how much less, but less. (I'm thinking just Tuesday & Thursday.

Also, I might start a new category of post. Something like, "meaning."  It'll be mostly about my hobbies and things that give my life meaning. More on that later.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

40. Get a sweet fish tank

Much like the plants, when I was single, I had a different hobby, (hobby should be in quotes as you'll see in a minute.) I used to have an awesome fish tank.

It was 44 gallons. 

Here's something nobody really tells you: the larger the fish tank, the less work you need to do for it. If you build a decent ecosystem, you feed them daily, and the tank will clean itself. 

After we were married a few years, my wife got me a kitten. It was because her cat was a dick and she wanted me to understand that not all cats sucked. 

Also, after a while, the fish tank started to smell. We though we discovered a leak and the water was going rancid in the base. 

We put the fish tank on Craig's List and sold it to a student. 

As we were helping him get the tank into his car, I realized something about the leak. 

The leak wasn't coming from the tank. It was coming from Athena my cat. She had been peeing inside the fish tank's stand for a few months. 

The weird, rotting fish smell was the beginning of kidney problems which would drastically shorten Athena's life. 

So, I'm in the market for a fish tank. I'd like something even bigger than 44 gallons, but I'm not in a rush to get it soon. 

I don't know where in the house it will go. It may go into the den after I remodel it. 

That'll be a few years though. 

Anyway, this is an explanation of my 40 things. From here on out, every post will be about my progress instead of just why. 

Monday, March 21, 2016

39. Grow some plants



My mom was a great gardener. She loved working in the garden, and in the winter, she devoted a lot of time to her house plants.

I inherited a lot of her ability, but not much desire to do it. 

I used to have a few plants until I got married. However, when I got married, I had to get rid of most of my house plants as my wife had a cat. He was able to chew through every plant I had. (He would then proceed to throw up said plant.)

It's not worth it for me to get more because they'd suffer the same fate. 

Julio, (the cat,) is pushing 15 years old. He's not going to live forever, and when he does die, I'm going to get some plants again. 

I'm excited to have something growing that makes the house smell nice; instead of something that throws up constantly and bites me if I try to pet him. 

I'm not exactly excited for Julio to die, but I'm looking forward to all the things I'll be able to do when he goes. 

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

In the doctor's waiting room

I'm waiting at my oncologist's office.

I had chemo and it's been a little over three weeks and they're going to do labs on me. 

Today is Tuesday March 15. I voted today. 

I was raised pretty conservative and everyone says I'm pretty conservative, but I fear for the Republican Party, and ultimately the US. 

They stopped being the party that was fiscally conservative when I was in college. (Not that the democrats became that party, it's just that no one is.) They became the party of racists and obstructionists working really hard to espouse a very specific and kind of creepy version of my religion. 

I don't love democrats, but I don't think of them as dangerous. 

Anyway, today I find out if I'm really in remission. 

I'm really anxious. 

Monday, March 14, 2016

38. Court Street Shuffle

My undergrad was at Ohio U., a school known pretty well for it's party culture.  (It's about 100 miles from the next major city and there's not much else to do.)

During my freshman year, there were 36 bars in a two block area.  (Two of them were known for serving minors my freshman year.  Sophomore year, there was just one.  By my senior year, you had to be 21 to drink.  Luckily, I turned 21 the week before my senior year.)

After my freshman year, I didn't really party/drink all that much anyway and I've never done a Court Street Shuffle.

What is a Court Street Shuffle?  It's to go to every bar on Court Street, (the main street in Athens,) and have a drink in one evening.  I honestly regret this.  I regret it a lot.

When I first planned this one, it was when I was planning the bike ride.  I was thinking I could bike to Athens, then do a shuffle.

Now, this is in flux.  I'm not sure when I can bike down so I'm pretty bummed about this.

Still, I can do this and I'll probably do it in the next year or two.


Friday, March 11, 2016

Better weight loss with chemotherapy


The picture you see here is from my watch. (I'm a nerd with an Apple Watch.) It got sent to me after weighing myself this morning.

Since I had chemo, I've had a much different appetite. I had really bad nausea for a week, which thankfully went away. 

For a while, I'd try to eat what was my normal amount of food, and feel really stuffed. Not eating for a week can do that to you. 

Since then, I've had a low level metal taste in my mouth. It's not enough to make me feel like barfing, but nothing seems appetizing. 

Whenever I'm hungry, I used to walk to the fridge and grab anything. 

Now, I walk to the fridge, look at something, think it doesn't sound appetizing, then do that with 100 other things. I then get a glass of water. 

Chemo has forced me to think about my food choices. 

Anyway, I'm losing a fair amount of muscle, (my blood doesn't oxygenate like yours does, and won't for a while, so exercise is off the table,) but I'm also losing fat. It's from legitimately eating healthy. 

What I did won't work for most people as a weight-loss plan, but it did show me I have to think about my dietary choices for longer than it takes to reach for a little wheel of cheese from the fridge. 

I weigh ten lbs. less than I did a month ago. 

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

37. Century bike ride

This is one of those physical activity ones.  Also, this one got renamed from, "Take a really long bike ride."

The original plan was to do something like Pelotonia.  For those of you not from around Columbus, Ohio; pelotonia is a really long bike ride organized by Lance Armstrong's foundation.  (He started doing this before he admitted to doping/wrongdoing.)

It's run through The Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital.  (Full name:  The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University.)

It's a fund raiser/100-ish mile bike ride from Columbus to somewhere else in Ohio.

They've gone to Athens a few times and the last one was to a different town east of Columbus.

It's a few days, but it's over a hundred miles.

Oh, the name change!

A, "century," is a bike ride of over 100 miles.  There's a metric century, but that's only 100 km.  (62 miles.)

Anyway, with me having cancer, (doing much better.  Almost out of the chemo side effects.  I still can't run up a flight of stairs without passing out though,) I've decided to do Pelotonia.

I need to raise a crazy amount of money, (it's like $3,000 to join,) but I think I can probably do it.

Anyway, this is a goal I think I'm going to try to accomplish this year.

With my chemo side effects, I don't have much in my blood right now.  The lack of hemoglobin means there's not much oxygen in there, (which is why I can't run up stairs.)  I don't have clotting factors, so I could bleed out really easily.  I also don't have most of the stuff that makes up an immune system.

This should be fixed in two weeks, but right now, it's sort of at the forefront of my mind.

However, it looks like I'll keep my hair.  (Last Thursday I lost a bunch of hair, but it's not noticeable.  I haven't lost any since.)

That said, I might just go for a really long bike ride with my best friend.  It wouldn't benefit other people, but I give money to them anyway.  It might be better for my well being too.  My best friend is an adult as am I, and we hardly see each other.  Doing something like this might be really good for us, or at least me.  Partying in Athens for a weekend is probably something he'd be really into though.

Monday, March 7, 2016

36. Find the original song for the Star-Spangled Banner


When I was in middle school, I found out our country's national anthem was based on a drinking song.  My teacher said, "think about the highs and lows and it's really easy to imagine singing it drunk."  

Having not been much of a drinker in middle school, I was nonetheless intrigued.  

So, I did a little research, and found out the music to our national anthem was originally sung at meetings of, the Anacreontic Society, in England.  It was basically a group of people that hung out and partied together.  I think it was low key partying, (somewhere between modern foodies and a frat party.)  

Anyway, they sung the music to our national anthem before their meetings.  

Friday, March 4, 2016

35. Tough Mudder

I first heard of the Tough Mudder from the Slate Magazine Podcast.  I don't listen to it any more, (when they went from daily readings of their stories with a weekly discussion of the news to daily discussions of the news I stopped listening,) but it was pretty good back in the day.

Anyway, it's an obstacle-course race designed by former British Special Forces.  (I'm not sure if i needed to capitalize any of that.  Also, the Wikipedia article just mentions them being British Citizens.)  Doing this is hard.  It's just under a half marathon mixed with fairly punishing obstacles.

I was all psyched to do it this year, (I even found a team,) and then I got cancer.  I'm not sure I can run more than three miles at a time on regular ground, nevertheless deep mud.  So, I was all excited to check this one off for this year, but it's getting delayed.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

32. Read the book by Proust

Oh boy, this one is a doozy.

I first heard of Proust when I saw, Little Miss Sunshine.  Steve Carell's character is a failed Proust scholar.

I have an English minor, but I'd never heard of him.  (The reason for that, I found out, is he is French.)

Anyway, I found out he's been dead plenty long where his stuff should be in the public domain.

Then, I found out how long his book is.

This became an Audible task.

I've listened to the first two volumes of his work, (I'm not sure if there are five or seven.  Still, a lot.)

It's ok so far.  The main character is kind of a douche.  He expects everyone to exist just for him and he treats women terribly.  He's sort of an entitled 20 year old.

Sometimes it's painful to listen to.  (So I listen to it at triple speed.)

Still, I kind of get why it's great literature.  I feel like I'm getting more out of it than I'm getting out of reading Appendix N.

Also, just an update on all my audio books I'm, "reading."  Right now they're on hiatus.  I'm way backed up on the podcasts I listen to.

If you want an insight into my life, here's a list of the podcasts I listen to:

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps:  Podcast that is exactly what it sounds like it's about.  I've just started listening to this recently.  I'm only up to Plato and The Cave.  (Like reading literature, this is one of those things I listen to so I can be more worldly.)

The Ancient World:  I haven't listened to this yet, but I used to listen to a podcast called, The History of Rome.  The guy who did that recommended this.

Dan Snow's HISTORY HIT:  This is another one recommended by Mike Duncan.  (The History of Rome, podcaster.)  It's pretty good.  His interview of the RAF bombers who did the runs over Dresden is pretty heartbreaking and I get why he's won awards for this podcast.

The History of the Twentieth Century:  Also recommended by Mike Duncan.  There's a little bit of humor and some genuinely interesting stuff in there.

Lambo Goal:  Two guys who want to buy Lamborghinis talk about how they're going to achieve that.  They're incredible at getting you off your butt and working toward achieving more with your life.  It's because of them I started writing here.

10 American Presidents Podcast:  Also recommended by Mike Duncan.  He's incredibly important to the George Washington episode.  Super high quality, but very slow to publish

The Tome Show:  A guy talks about Dungeons & Dragons.  This is actually a bunch of shows.  There's The Appendix N Podcast, where two or three people talk about Appendix N; there's the original Tome Show, where they review new D&D products.  There's a videogame one, and there is one where people talk about their games.  If you're a nerd, it's pretty good, as far as podcasts about Dungeons & Dragons go.

Revolutions:  This is Mike Duncan's current podcast.  He's talking about important revolutions in human history.  He did the English Civil War, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and now he's doing the Haitian Revolution.  He's incredible.  His first podcast was The History of Rome.  It goes from Romulus and Remus to the fall of the western empire.  Truly amazing work.

The Dungeons & Dragons Podcast:  I sometimes listen to this to find out about new stuff coming out. The Tome is a much better show, but every once in a while, this can be cool.  The difference between this and The Tome, is The Tome is written by a teacher who is enthusiastic about games and stories, and these people don't understand there's other stuff than Dungeons & Dragons.

One last thing, yes this is out of order.  I'm ok with that.