New Year Brings New Resolutions

I don't usually make yearly resolutions. Probably because I'm not one for traditions that seem baseless IMHO. I have a difficult time accepting that I have to do something just because everyone else is doing it and I thereby rebel against it. Like taking off your hat in 28 degree weather at an NFL game during the national anthem. Say what? How about we excercise some common sense here and show our love of country with caps on, eh? Whoa, tangential discussion.

NE-way, as the central theme of this blog is self-improvement, I think I will mark the start of 2009 with some resolutions. Here goes:

1. Put actual effort into finding a long-term companion. A lady and/or a dog. Online dating and the Humane Society here I come.
   Speaking of such, there is a beautiful, 1 year old, stray golden retriever at the city pound that might fill the second role. Either that or I may look into becoming a foster home for the Humane Society. (btw, I totally refrained from using the venacular for "female dog" in my and/or statement above. Although phunny (read again, insert venacular), it would have had an adverse effect on my finding the first of my list.)
2. Put actual effort into my career. I can not coast through a private industry career.
   What we believed, is true. Working in the private industry is much more difficult than working for the public good. It was easy for me to excel at the university with little effort. My perception of my performance out here in the private industry was shattered last week when I failed 1/2 of my job certification test by 1, single, solitary point. What happened? I thought that I knew it all. I thought that I would coast through certification. I didn't check my answers before blazing through to the next. Luckily, the first 1/2 (knowledge) and second 1/2 (practical) are averaged together. I am confident that I corrected this behavior on the second 1/2 of the test, but won't know until the instructor grades it.
3. Put actual effort into eating healthy.
   As I noted in an earlier post, I'm going to try to eat, mostly, sustainably. Can I block my predatory instincts and only...hmm, scratch that, "mostly" eat food that does not necessitate the death of the provider? "Mostly", because this resolution only applies when I eat at home. I will not be able to resist well seasoned meats when at a restaurant or at one of Steve's spring-time bbq's...damn you fatty, bloody, seasoned goodness. Hopefully, I won't be caught in a pasture munching on cow shoulder. What? It's still walkin'!
4. Put actual effort into flight training.
   I'm restless and need exhileration. I need to expand my horizons and see the country. I need to fly across Alaska and island hop in the bahamas. I'm starting flight training this spring. I have to budget $250-$500 a week for this though. Oishaboi. I'm going to start with setting up a flight station at home. I talked to the school in Nashville that I want to attend and the instructor says he definitely sees a difference between those that practice at home on a simulator and those that do not. One pilot friend of mine says that Microsoft Flight Simulator is so aerodynamically realistic that he would trust someone trained exclusively on it to take off and fly...but not to land. I have the rudder pedals. I'm going to buy Flight Simulator X, a flight yoke (with fuel/air/flaps levers) and an instrument switch panel.

Let's see, I'm sound financially, I'm content socially, spiritually I'm good, health I expect #1 will have an impact on. Hmm, just a few resolutions for now. There may be more as I encounter life's hurdles.

Truck Mod

The one thing I have always hated about my truck is the interior. There is hard grey plastic everywhere. It is just so *blah*. Here, take a look.


Sure, it's great if you need to pull in a hose and spray it down once a week, but i'm an "every-other-quarter type-of weekend-warrior". I need something softer, something to commute in luxury within. Here, take a look!


I'm wrapping this up at 1:30 am and I'm tired. Hopefully, it won't look as cheeky as I think it does right now. Some parts I really like, the center console, steering wheel, overhead bin and window/lock facings for instance. Other parts, not so much. Like the air vent surrounds. Still, it looks much better than the *blah* of before. Besides, the glue is soo strong that you are more likely to break the original interior before you would get the dash kit back off!

Landscaping In Progress

Due to having a sewer pipe crack within my basement cinder block, I had the opportunity to trim some bushes so that the excavator could get to it. I've been wanting to trim my spherical bushes into canopies for awhile now. Here is how it turned out! My next steps are to add mulch, some shade tolerant hostas, tall ornamental grasses, bulbs/perrinials/annuals and perhaps a japanese maple on the right.

The tricks of the mind

I got an amazing night's sleep and in my clarity of mind woke this morning contemplating life's mysteries. I've come up with some great conclusions.

Does the soul have fingertips? How might the spirit touch in absence of body?
Does the soul have vision? How might the spirit see without eyes?
Does the soul have voice? How might the spirit communicate without tongue?
Does the soul have ears? How might the spirit feel sound waves in absence of a tympanic membrane?
Does the soul have mind? How might the spirit process these senses?

Our perception of spirit is an after-image of the body, yet if a soul exists, the traditional form of flesh would serve very little functional purpose. Really any shape (such as spherical) would serve little purpose. Which is why I find it hilarious when ghost hunters claim they felt the touch, slap or punch of a hand.

What is the soul? Is it the self-awareness of touch, taste, sight, sound, smell? Why am I self-aware of only one body? What if self-awareness is a trick of the mind to preserve the body? One physical brain, one self-aware body.

Will another brain fool me into being self-aware again? I believe so. I'll be aware as me, as she, perhaps even as it. I'll be self-aware of here, of over there and perhaps even out there. I'll be self-aware of now, of later and perhaps...

Hating on Rollercoasters

I hate rollercoasters. Especially those giant wheel ones where you sit in a basket and it slowly rotates you to the top and then down the other side. I once told a friend that adrenaline is a benefit for most, but it just makes me nauseous. I feel the same about hot/spicy foods. For many people hot/spicy foods release endorphines. Not I. It just hurts.

Well rejoice! Today I noticed that I'm not totally impervious to endorphine releases/adrenaline rushes! While talking with another engineer about a corporate server issue, I surprised myself by verbalizing and realizing that my sub-concious has known and enjoyed them for more than 10 years. Tricksy sub-conscious, always hiding things from me.

I get my euphoric feeling when I am resolving computer issues. Everything else fades into the background and the issue becomes more focused. I get the warm blood rush over the skin, the increased heart rate, a lucid and logical thought process, the acute senses and fast reflexes. I can visualize the code flow floating just off my nose. I've done this several times in my current job and discovered software bugs with very little experience and no formal training. I now know what my super power is and what I must do. Now, what is my kryptonite (rollercoasters?) and who is my Lex Luther (Sam L. Jackson?)...

Postscript: Why Sam L.? Because I would look totally awesome sword fighting him in black leather on my rooftop during a stormy night.

As long as he doesn't strap me to a ferris wheel, I think I can win.