Month: July 2024

July 17, 2024 – Observing Problem Solving

July 17, 2024 /

I am a firm believer that the mind needs exercise. I think that as a lot of people age, they kind of give up and watching TV all day does nothing stimulating for the brain. I believe that watching a screen dulls the brain. This can be kind of good when you are sick, but too much of anything is not great. Heck, too much exercise is not good either.

While my wife and I were staying at family housing, she asked if I wanted to do a puzzle with her. I said sure, I like to do them and what else was I going to do anyway. This is something that I found very fascinating. It was how different we approached the activity.

I can’t say that what I am about to talk about is 100% accurate but it seems to fit. A few years ago I was having a conversation with a boss. He told me that there were two types of problem solvers and he used a football analogy. Some problem solvers use the long bomb method. Eventually enough attempts were going to score. When that happens, it seems like going from problem to solution without much work in between.

The other kind of problem solver is like the west coast offense. The goal for every play to get two to four yards. Enough of those plays and you will score every drive. You just continually moving the ball forward until the other team makes a mistake or you have run out of field.

Getting back to puzzles. My wife and I have two different tactics. I usually let her do the boarder while I sort the pieces into groups. The groups are by the different subject matters on the puzzle. She tends to pick the easiest stuff next whereas I tend to go toward the most difficult part of the puzzle. I usually do this to give us separation between what we are working on because it is hard. With two people trying to place pieces in the same place.

What really makes us different is how we go about the piece identification and placement. She picks up a piece and studies the picture deeply. She searches the picture until she finds where exactly the piece goes. If it is able to be placed, she will and if not she will put the piece in close proximity to where the finished location will be. It is the precision of a sniper.

I on the other hand group pieces by relative color. My technique is to look at the shape of the where the pieces go and match them to the possible options. I quickly sort through orientation and relative grouping until I find the fit. Often times, I place three to five pieces to her one. But sometimes I misinterpret where I am at with the picture and what pieces I have left causing handle pieces many ties more than necessary.

Both techniques work. Since we work on the same puzzle all the time it is hard to say what is more effective. In order to know, we would have to each do the same puzzle or time ourselves. I don’t think it really matters but I do find the subject matter interesting.

End Your Programming Routine: Honestly, if I had a choice to build a team I would like some of both types of problem solvers. My preference would be to have more of the west coast offense with a few long bombers. I think that is the best of both worlds. Each of us could learn to do both types problem solving if we want to. That is the great news of being aware of the different techniques.

July 16, 2024 – My Lastest Thriller…

July 16, 2024 /

I know that this is a big deal to me, maybe not to you. There is a lot to know and so this book is one of the first things the doctor gives to you. The good news is that I am not going to subject you dear readers to a lot of facts and figures about something you may never experience in your lifetime. There were however some either extremely interesting factoids or things that are universal that I want to talk about today.

I was in line at a local store the other day. The woman behind me said in a loud voice ‘how does someone take chemo and not lose their hair’? I didn’t recognize the voice and resisted the urge to whip around. The cashier said ‘you probably have to read the story to find out’. I slowly turned to try and see what was the specific subject. I couldn’t and I had something to say but I just didn’t want to get into it.

What I learned from reading the book was that losing hair from chemo is a form of alopecia. Doctors don’t actually know the reason or cause for most alopecia but it is thought to be an auto-immune problem. Trigger for those can be stress or environmentally induced. I am pretty sure that chemo covers both of those situations.

The second thing and probably the most surprising thing I learned about this process is that it is a reboot of the immune system. When I say reboot, I do mean reboot and all of the learned immune protection is wiped out. When I say that, this also includes vaccines. If you have kids in the millennium then you will be aware that children are getting twenty some vaccines these days. You need to do them all. I see a lot of sickness in the future.

I also read something that I have never heard before. As I said in the podcast that only people who had insurance cover the process would get it. The book talks about some strategies to raise money because apparently some health systems will work with the patient, not ours.

Get this, apparently there is a way to cash out term life insurance before you are actually dead. It seems that if death is inevitable you can work with at third party to pay the insured less than face value. They have to buy out the policy so this is one and done. I suspect that this is something more akin to a payday loan or an estate advance. But, it is an option if the straights get dire enough.

The book itself was interesting enough. I enjoyed reading the historical evolution of the process. It definitely seems much safer, successful and refined than it was seventy years ago. That is a good thing. I call it a thriller because after reading the book, it is much clearer what was going to happen but not necessarily before that.

End Your Programming Routine: I didn’t need to go through this process to learn that you have to be your own advocate in the system. This time just reminds me how that is true. You cannot be your own advocate if you do not understand how it is supposed to go. Next time, I want to skip the thriller and have a love story instead. But, I don’t always get to choose the books to read.

July 15, 2024 – Supreme Court 2024 Top 10

July 15, 2024 /

Today I am giving a rundown of the decisions made at the Supreme Court level for the 2023 – 2024 session. A few of them that I care the most about I spend significant amounts of time. In a very minute way, the balance was tipped back to the way it should be. And that is freedom for the people and states rights outside of what is specified in the Constitution.

*Correction 1: I stated that bump stocks turn a rifle into a shotgun. That is incorrect and I meant to say a rifle into an automatic rifle.

*Correction 2: When referring to the 1986 National Firearms Act, I said that all manufacturing of firearms was banned from that point forward. I meant to say that all new automatic firearms were banned.

July 12, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto XIX – XX

July 12, 2024 /

On this level of Paradise, we are on Jupiter. This is the level of the ‘Blessed Rulers’. Those would be the infamous David of biblical fame but also Constantine and Phillip to name a few of the most famous. Most of the interactions in this level are with a lighted eagle figure caused by the dancing of the figures radiating light around Dante.

Since this was a pretty short and easier read than previous weeks, I breezed through this. I don’t have to much to say other than one subject. I am going to get to that in a minute. Sometimes it is hard to separate what I wanted and what is with this book. I wanted this to be a deep philosophical and theological experience. What I got was a work of fiction. I need to be OK with that.

Now, I am getting to the point. Amongst the Blessed Rulers were two that did not belong. That would be the Roman Emperor Trajan and also someone called Ripheus. These two supposedly predate Christianity and therefore we should expect that they would be in Level one of Hell, like Virgil.

As the story goes in the book, Trajan realizes the error in his ways after he dies and so God sends him back to earth for a couple of days in order to proclaim himself a Christian. Mind you, this was all done in the BC time period. So he was a Christian before it even existed in order to land in Jupiter. Ripheus was saved by Trajan and so there are two pagans that somehow made it to Heaven.

As I have stated before, I don’t necessarily believe that there is one true way to Heaven. Clearly Jews have made it and there was definitely a pre-Christian path. But, to have two pagans? That is just too much. It is one thing to be consistent with theology and belief but completely another to just add random characters.

Supposedly, this is to illustrate that God is the ultimate decision maker in all situations. Of course I believe that. But then it calls into question one of the ultimate tenants of Christianity. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). Both cannot be true and coexist with proper doctrine.

So, I rationalize this as fiction and a comedy. Like so much of the story, this is Dante’s take on the story with his personal vendettas and beliefs stirring the pot. With that, I go back to my opening, not quite what I was hoping for. In best form, this work could possibly stimulate those deeper discussions if you had a good command on such things. This is not a textbook.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week we will be on Saturn. That is Cantos XXI – XXII with another short week. As you can imagine, I am having a hard time drawing any meaningful conclusions with something as clearly skewed as this story. I don’t think perverted is an appropriate word here, but I think you get what I am saying. So, we will just keep moving forward to hopefully get to the end as soon as I can.

July 11, 2024 – Got Caught Again

July 11, 2024 /

Just like yesterday’s praise of internet shopping, today is my kryptonite. I have a penchant missing details or not getting what I expected. I recently purchased another PCIe tuner card that I was going to install in my Linux/Ubuntu machine. I don’t need it and I was toying with the idea taking the one out of my Windows machine as I mount my new ‘cheap tv’. But, I found one on eBay for $18.

When I looked at the description, it said for parts/not working. The seller description said, ‘untested’ but also said ‘looks great’. When the card arrived, I found that someone had snipped off the ends of the mounting bracket. I was expecting to gamble on whether the card worked or not, not if I could actually install the card.

If the card did not work, I would have nobody to blame, I gambled and I lost. It was stated for parts as well as untested. I went back a looked at the pictures. It was clear what I was looking at after I knew what I got. The thought never occurred to me that somebody would modify the mount. I never expected that I would need to scrutinize the photo with a seller provided description.

Giving my transaction rating, I was a little softer than I felt like. Because the modification was pictured and it was listed as for parts I didn’t do enough due diligence. I do feel slightly mislead however.

I was able to fabricate a mounting plate with careful measuring and drilling. Now I am on to thrashing with Ubuntu again. The literature claims that the driver is in the kernel so that eliminates the blacklisting problem that I encountered with my SDR. The program I chose to try out is called ‘MythTV’. This is a DVR program and requires me learning about MySQL and Linux. This is my next hill.

I have done a little research about eBay’s ‘for parts/not working’ disposition. Apparently, this means that there are no guarantees. Some people claim that people buy things, harvest parts and then resell the rest. You need to be very careful in these situations unless you are a true expert. Learn from me. By paying an extra $20, I could have gotten one with everything including remote control.

I don’t regret my lesson. I guess it just frustrates me when I get another thing that I wasn’t really expecting. I feel like this is one of those places that I really do learn by making every mistake in the book. I am sure it won’t be the last item I buy off of eBay.

End Your Programming Routine: All the way back to the Romans… Caveat emptor. Translated it means, buyer beware. No doubt that I could have done more due diligence. There is no way that I would have made the same mistake if I was looking at the card in person. I just need to keep learning the same lesson on buying on the internet.

July 10, 2024 – What A World We Live In

July 10, 2024 /

Maybe you are not like me. I like to think that while I didn’t share all the experiences of my generation, I grew up experiencing things that everyone did. I can remember getting a transistor radio for Christmas. As you probably know, radio has always been a part of my life. I would carry that radio around when I was doing stuff.

One time my brother and I were messing around. As we did, we were climbing a tree. I had the radio setup on a branch and it fell and snapped off 2/3 of the antenna. Maybe, I could have gotten a replacement through Radio Shack, that time has long passed. But the truth is, if we use our stuff at some time it is going to get damaged. Back in the 1980s, if it couldn’t be found in a store it didn’t exist.

A month or so ago, when I bought my scanner, it was missing an antenna. I purchased one that plugged into the BNC port in the back. After further inspection, I found that there was a second place for an antenna. One port is for the ‘factory’ antenna and the other is for expansion or a better antenna. I decided to order a second antenna for the factory replacement.

The first one I ordered was two for $8. What I didn’t realize was that the diameter of the antenna was 7mm and the hole was 5.5mm. I started my search again and found that most antennas do not list a diameter. This is likely because most devices don’t have a thickness restriction. In my case, the antenna is inset into the case. For a brief moment I thought about modifying the case just by drilling a larger hole but first I decided to find a better replacement.

I found an antenna that was listed for RC cars and toys that had a diameter of 4.5mm. Bingo, that works. I really wanted one antenna for $5 but I had to buy six for $8. Now, I have five spares. Not that I think I will be carrying my scanner around but I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up buying another used one at some point.

I have always taken care of my stuff. For instance, I still carry my pocketknife I purchased in high school. But stuff happened and my handheld radio fell because I was using it like it was intended. Too often, those events were the death knell without the ability to buy replacement parts. I was extremely sad when that happened and the radio got thrown in the junk pile.

Amazon in particular has become a boon for cheap and outdated accessories. As personal electronics have a lifecycle, you can’t just walk in and find a I-Pod Nano screen protector at a store. Especially not unless it is a specialty store. But, you can find that stuff on Amazon and cheap too.

I live relatively close to a mid-sized city. There is one electronics store that is pretty sparsely populated. It is kind of a mix of radio/antenna focused components and odds and ends. I would probably shop there more if they had what I wanted. The demise of Fry’s electronics took away the other semi-local options. So, really all I have is the internet.

End Your Programing Routine: If I had had the internet in the 1980s, it wouldn’t surprise me if I would be rocking that handheld radio today. That wasn’t the only device that was a victim of broken antennas either. As much as I would rather have a place to go to buy what I wanted, I am sure thankful there is a place to buy anything I can think of. It makes buying used viable.

July 9, 2024 – The Main Event

July 9, 2024 /

Tomorrow is Day 0. That is the day of the stem cell transplant and the beginning of the end. Hopefully, it is the lowest point in the entire process. I was thinking of writing about what the facilities look like when you have to move away from home but I think that is best for another day. Today is going to be more somber and vigilant.

In the family housing building, there is a tree with a bunch of blank tabs representing the leaves of the tree. The building shares facilities with the Ronald McDonald house. If you have been fortunate to not know much about Ronald McDonald, this is a place to stay when children are sick. I assume that the tree is for anyone to add a leaf to, but it looked to me that these were wished primarily to kids.

I took a random photo of a book that contained former hanging leaves. Talk about perspective… I don’t care what is going on in the world, some people have much bigger problems. While I consider what I do important and somewhat cathartic, there is nothing that compares innocence stolen by disease.

This tree is kind of my version of the Vietnam wall. While some of the leaves made it, some did not. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Whatever happens in my journey from this point on, we have had 26 years married, fought and loved, raised children to adults and made the world better together. While I hope for the best, I go into the process knowing that there are risks.

End Your Programming Routine: I want to keep it short and simple today. There are greater powers at work here. Because this was just a random picture, there were some leaves that were just heart breaking on that tree. It can almost always be worse. I am thankful that there is still a good chance to move beyond this.

July 8, 2024 – In the Middle

July 8, 2024 /

What do you think about when you hear the term ‘Middle Manager’? I will bet that the gut reaction is not positive. Admittedly, mine isn’t either. I am going to try and convince you differently. Let’s see how I did.

July 5, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto XIV – XVIII

July 5, 2024 /

Mars is now the fifth level of paradise. Dante takes the path of the Roman world and Mars is home to the warriors of god. There is some talk about the knights or fighters of the Crusade era but most of the conversation is with one particular spirit named Cacciaguida.

As luck would have it, Cacciaguida is the great, great grandfather of Dante. It is pretty fortunate that Dante has become a special interest of God but even more so that his distant relative is one of the saviors of Florence and very pious. My research has not been able to substantiate this claim. But the truth is I didn’t look very hard either.

Since Dante serendipitously has this encounter, he gets a lesson in his family tree. Another advantage of heaven is being able to see the future. After Dane’s history lesson, he is informed about the fact that he is going to be exiled from Florence. This of course is very concerning and takes a couple of Canto’s for him to get over the news.

The ironic (or obvious) thing is that his exile has already occurred. So, this is a story that is written in the future about events that have already occurred in the current time. I don’t know that all that really mattered and surely most of the people reading or watching this would not have all of that knowledge. No suspended belief is really necessary from that standpoint.

Things have kind of run their course for me. I am ready to move on with this story and book. The story is so heavy and obscure that I am having a hard time keeping my interest. I find that when I start reading that my eyes become pretty heavy. I have to fight with all I have not to fall asleep. Each Canto is becoming a slog.

You all remember that this epic began in January. I am going to save my final analysis for a few weeks from now. But, I cant help to lay out where I am now. I would say that eight plus months is just too long to do something like this. I have already purchased three or four books in the meantime that I am looking forward to getting to. But, I have to put this one to bed.

From Dante’s perspective, I can see why the likes of Charlemagne or Roland is a hero. I have a lot more difficulty buying into that. History is history but it reminds me of the saying “the ends don’t justify the means”. The reality is, the acts of the Crusade is not that much different than teaching the Taliban a lesson. My own empire is just as complicit as the Holy Roman empire in the imperialism.

There is an argument to be made that true believers must put their money where their mouth is. Hence, for a Catholic king, there is only one true religion and all others are sinners or at least heretics to said religion. I don’t believe that. All monotheistic religions follow a similar core set of beliefs. I have a hard time believing that a good and righteous God would only favor western Europeans in the one true light. And so salvation depends on your birthright.

As a Christian my entire life, I do subscribe to the tenants of the religion. But, they are pretty bad when it comes to the edges of theology. As an example, when does turn the other cheek turn into abuse? Surely Jesus doesn’t mean love your neighbor as you are getting raped. Even the act of accepting we are sinners while we keep on sinning is a real dichotomy. I have found very little comfort when it comes to the transition points of the religion.

Canto XVIII is more on Jupiter than on Mars. I made a decision to cover the entire level even if it bled into the next. That means that next week is Canto XIX and XX. This will be the level of righteous rulers like David (of Goliath).

End Your Programming Routine: My end you programming recommendation is get out of your head. Just because we believe that we are anointed by God doesn’t mean that we are. We are fond of saying love the soldier, hate the war but we are turning a blind eye to our politicians. Ukraine, Russia, Israel and Iran are not worth fucking around to find out. We didn’t learn a thing in Afghanistan.

July 3, 2024 – The Gear List

July 3, 2024 /

Those of you that have fantasies of hiking the PCT like I do may have a disconnect with reality. As it pertains to gear, we can spend a lot of money on getting outfitted and can easily get lead in the wrong direction. As an example, my wife used to be fairly active in a local kayaking group. Almost without fail, you would see new participants show up with the cheapest possible kayak. They would struggle, get discouraged and quit soon after.

I don’t necessarily think that inexpensive will lead to failure. Nor do I believe that trying something for the first time warrants buying the top of the line. But, what it does mean is like all things in life, you need to apply critical thinking about it. Start small or reasonable. Maybe even borrow things rather than investing in a failure to launch. Once you get to know what you like and not, then you can start personalizing the things you want versus what you really need.

I have or can find any of the gear that I really need for my trip. I have been on a weeklong hike before. That part I am confident in. But, now that I have some means I am likely in line for some upgrades. I would say that we had top of line gear in the early 1990s. But there have been some significant technological advances since that point, primarily in weight.

Most of the trips included my brother. We had a two man tent. One of us would pack the tent and the other would pack the stove as an example. That tent probably weighed ten pounds and strictly speaking a tent is not required. But, I want to be able to get out of the weather if necessary and I am a little worried about being eaten alive by bugs. That puts the tent on my list of wants.

Part of the reason for me to put this gear list together is that I need to start practicing. I want to know if my current gear is adequate or not. I want to start planning so that I don’t end up buying things all at once and give me some time to practice and make decisions. I want to know what doesn’t work as well so I am not stuck out in the wilderness with something I have never used.

My existing pack is an external frame pack from the late 1980s. At the time I purchased it, it has a lifetime warranty. My recent research has revealed that the company has gone out of business. Not from making poor products but from having poor company management. It is an age old story of company sold and run into the ground by the new owners.

Now that I am freed from that life long warranty, I can admit that newer designs and materials may have advantages. But, I want to take some hikes with this old pack. It has seen plenty of use but I want to determine if this fifty year old can tolerate 1980s technology. My son has also been using it for Boy Scouts. I may want another pack if he decides to go. But, at this point, there is no reason to rush out and spend $300 on a new pack without determining if what I already have will serve. Even if my boys decide not to go or they cant, I still might want to have some practice hikes including them. Upgrading my pack remains to be seen.

Certain costs on my list are unavoidable. I am going to need to eat on my hike. I might be able to mitigate some of that cost by bringing my own homemade granola or trail mix or dried fruit. I figured that I would put worse case scenario down and have an entire menu of freeze dried food. For budgetary purposes, I have a cost of my meal plan.

That of course will be purchased before the hike. But again, it may be worth trying some of this stuff out. I remember that I thought freeze dried food was pretty good when I was a teenager. But the stuff that I have eaten lately has been terrible. I want to try some different brands and entrees to determine what I like best.

I came of age in an era that believed ankle support was necessary. If you look at the NBA today, nobody wears a ‘high top’ shoe. Hiking boots with heavy waffle souls were the trail preferred footwear. But plenty of ultramarathoners wear a trail running shoe for a 100mi race. It is no wonder that Cheryl Strayed threw her boots off the mountain as they were the cause of the pain, and not the resolution of it. The most important footwear is the one that you can walk all day and be comfortable.

In my running days, the common mantra was about 200mi per pair of shoes. I found that after a few months, the padding started to break down causing me knee pain. When my knees started hurting, it was time to get a new pair of shoes. I want to make sure that I am comfortable with my footwear before my trip. The last thing you want are blisters foot pain for a week on the trail.

As with all things, all gear is in degrees. I could choose a much cheaper water disinfection rather than filtration. I probably want some wardrobe upgrades with specialty clothes. I even have some optional items that I haven’t totally settled on. This trip isn’t about how much I can carry but to be comfortable with what I am taking.

End Your Programming Routine: All things considered, outfitting for $2500 is not an outrageous vacation. That would be if I bought all of the options. Plenty of people have a $1500 rifle for hunting and then add all the other gear you are probably topping $5000. As you should know by now, I don’t want to buy stuff just because I can. I have plenty of useful gear already, let’s see if it still works for me.