THE NOT SO DAILY DUMP #10

New Posts To Consume

Got Resolve? A New Year's Beginning

Got Resolve? 2018 Goals Dissected

I've published a few new posts so far this year, including the two linked above. They are related to resolutions and my commitment to both making and following through on them this year. I actually have never made New Year's Resolutions before that I can remember, at least like this, where I'm resolving to DO something as opposed to NOT doing something. Sure, I've made vague resolutions in the past that were as easily forgotten as they were made. Not this year. Maybe, perhaps, these goals are more meaningful, more accomplishable?

One of my goals, and you'll have to read the second post for more information on it, is doing five minutes of karate daily. As far back as last fall, my wife and I thought it might be fun to watch The Karate Kid with our children. While watching a YouTube video that I was thinking about hyperlinking (and actually did) in the post mentioned above, I immediately noticed there was a lot of swearing. I didn't remember that part. Is the rest of the movie like this? I don't know if this will prevent us watching it with them, but maybe it will delay it a little longer.

Here's the clip I hyperlinked. I thought it may be an enjoyable addition to this issue of THE NOT SO DAILY DUMP and was appropriate to pair with this section. Enjoy! And, if the video isn't showing up (emailers), give this blue line of text a try. You know, click it.





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Cool Things

I have only brought this up once ever, and I did so in one of the posts I mentioned above, the one involving goal dissection. I started using Google Keep sometime last autumn and have been finding more reasons to use it ever since. I don't think Google needs my help promoting its software, and that's not why I'm bringing it up here.  I'm telling you about it because I think it's a "cool thing" that I am recently getting a lot of value out of and want to share that with you, reader. That's all.

I use Google Keep to make lists. I use the list function, although not necessarily as functionally intended, to track my daily goals and to keep track of things I need to accomplish weekly. Grocery lists work great with Keep's list option. It makes checking off items easy as you shop. Also, when you're ready to make another list, those past items can be added back by unchecking them.

You can use Google Keep to set reminders and make general notes as well. One disadvantage I've found with past note-taking software I've used is that it's always been native to my phone. So, when I saw Google Keep, I was immediately intrigued by the ability to access it anywhere and that it wasn't dependent upon my phone working or not being traded in. And, I'm not terribly worried about making too many notes due to the ability to sort them by the labels I create.

I started using Keep to write posts, since I stopped using the Blogger app. I posted about this in TNSDD #9 in more detail. Basically, I had issues with the app on my phone and the Blogger program in the cloud communicating properly. I decided to try out writing post drafts in Keep and still am for now. The only big drawback is the amount of HTML data that needs to be erased after pasting the post into Blogger. But, it seems, no matter what I use for drafts, there will be some HTML to remove. There IS a lot carried over from Keep, though; more than a Google Doc, I believe. So, that may be where I go in the future.

An amusing story (to me) I have to tell you is about the first time I used Keep as a grocery list. Normally, I would write a list on paper, because I don't go grocery shopping without a list. As I'm walking through the store wondering about who was scoffing in their mind-space that I couldn't "get off my phone long enough to shop," I saw another fellow, who looked to be close enough to my age, using his phone as his list. As I passed him to my right, I felt modern and hip, and then I looked over to my left as I passed an older woman who was holding a paper list. The first thought that came to my mind when I saw her was, "Neanderthal!" The voice in my head was in a bitchy tone, even though I was in a good mood. I cracked myself up as I continued walking through the aisle. I can't wait to tell this story to my wife, I thought.

This is how it happens. Someday, despite my sincerest attempts, I will be a neanderthal, too.

Here's an article that talks about Google Keep in more depth, if you're interested. Not Just Another Notes App: Why You Should Use Google Keep

Enough of all that.



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Picture This

In TNSDD #9, I included a picture I had drawn many months prior. I had also stated that there was another one I had done that I was planning on including in a future issue. Like I said in the introduction to that horrible picture, I feel like this addition of THE NOT SO DAILY DUMP feature to my blog has given me a space on my blog to experiment more and be more random at times. I can do what I want with my blog, but it has to make sense to me. I am who I am. You can go to that issue if you want a more thorough explanation.

The other picture was scanned, cropped, and placed into the post. For this one, I agreed with my wife that it needed color. However, I did not want to color the original picture directly nor color it completely. So, I traced it in pen, scanned it, and my wife colored it in Photoshop. I wasn't expecting the last part, but she offered, and I happily accepted that offer.

This picture may make you feel nothing, but chances are it will evoke some type of internal response. Good. Feel something, whatever that is.

Here is Horrible (but better because of my wife) Picture #2 entitled, "We Ain't Got No Tree Problem: A Lesson In Futility." Click on the image to make it bigger.

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Shine That Spotlight, You Crazy Diamond

I had an idea recently that in every tenth issue I could recap the previous nine. I liked that idea so much that I started working on it. But, I almost got about halfway there and felt that it probably makes more sense to do that every five issues or this section will certainly get quite long. Part of the point to THE NOT SO DAILY DUMP feature is to have multiple fairly short sections that, even though they may be related, are about different things. And then after writing up three, along with a lot of—mostly consensual—internal dialogue, I decided on a different approach. I will start the recapping process after each set of nine new 'Spotlights' and each recap will only consist of three past 'Spotlights.' Make sense? It will take three issues to do a full recap, so every twelve issues is like a set. Now you know how much I suffer with the brain I have. Why do I have to be so complicated, Avril?

So, here is a recap of the first three 'Spotlights.'

TNSDD#1
Christine Sedam, my wife, is many things. One of those things is a runner, and she has a blog about her races and some of the struggles that come with it. She's been training this winter to go even further and farther than she already has. She ran her first half-marathon last year and caught the bug. She'll be running three half-marathons (at this point) this year amongst 5 and 10ks and other variations of calculating distance. Read about her journey at ChristineSedam.com. You can also follow her fitness fury on her Facebook page as well at Facebook.com/RunningOnEmptyBlog.

TNSDD#2
Elisha Johnson is an incredibly talented photographer and graphic designer. She has coded her own website where she highlights some of the work she has already accomplished for her clients as well as her favorite school projects. She'll be graduating from college soon, and she is well on her way to a successful career. See her work and learn how to connect with her on social media by going to her website Elisha-Johnson.com. You can also follow her daring designs at Facebook.com/ElishaJohnsonDesign.

TNSDD#3
Stephanie Dehnel is a musician and a longtime vlogger. In issue #3, I focused on her vlogging and am reminding you of that here. Steph has been doubling-down on her vlog lately and seems to be releasing more content. She has been giving her vlog's web presence a general freshening and has done the same for her opening roll etc. If you're a voyeur at heart or I've peaked your curiosity, you can watch Steph's venturous videos at her YouTube channel, StephanieDTV. And, since I seem to be giving out Facebook pages, here is her vlog page at Facebook.com/StephanieDTV.



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