Category: Leisure

September 13, 2023 – Once I Start, I Can’t Stop

September 13, 2023 /

This must be how addicts feel. Once I start doing a puzzle, I can’t stop doing it. I will literally skip eating, sleeping or anything else to keep looking for pieces. I have to physically force myself to stop. Sometimes even then, I don’t stop. Just one more piece turns into another hour.

Puzzles are something that we occasionally do (fortunately). It is usually a long weekend/holiday activity. In our climate, it is also a beach activity. I guess what I appreciate about them is that it is a family activity. Since I despise most TV and movies, I am not interested in sitting around for hours for little gain. So, it is also an activity that we can be in close proximity.

There must be some sort of connection in the brain between puzzles and programming. When I used to do that, I would get the same sort of feeling. I would start writing a routine and I couldn’t stop. Just one more time would turn into hours and pretty soon it was two in the morning.

I have to believe that it must be good for the brain. I know that my grandfather used to do a lot of puzzles. He was also a big reader and not much of a TV watcher. So, maybe it is in the genes. I was curious, so I did some quick research and here are some links.

https://fortune.com/well/2022/10/02/mental-health-benefits-puzzles/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-workout/200904/puzzles-and-the-brain

It also turns out that this kind of research can be a real rabbit hole. I started watching videos on how to do puzzles quickly. Back on topic! I observe that there are two kind of methodologies. I observe my wife doing a lot of brute force. I some cases, that may be all you can do when everything is the same color or you are just starting. I actually look at both the color and the shape. This allows me to automatically rule out certain sides of even pieces.

I have been accused of finishing the puzzle without my partner. For that reason, I try to focus on the most difficult aspects of the puzzle. I will do the sky or the water because it slows me down. Granted, it is not the most fun part of the activity but I feel like I can really dig into the lessor appreciated aspect.

One thing that I am getting more and more familiar with is that lighting makes a huge difference. I find that when it is daylight, I can see so much better than under artificial light. A lot of that is aging and over the last couple of years I have noticed a significant decline in my eyesight. Fortunately, it is not bad yet but I do have to strain a lot more than I used to. This isn’t great news for that rainy Saturday night.

I wouldn’t call it a tradition, but it is becoming something we routinely do during Christmas vacation. It makes a good family gift and we spend time working together. If your kids are ho-hum about it, the subject can be something that they are interested in to kind of get them going. At least, this is what we do.

End Your Programming Routine: It would seem like this is a good activity to keep doing considering what experts are saying. I am not really much into word games or soduku but maybe I should be as an aging person. It seems like puzzles along with games provide good stimulus to combat some of the worse effects of aging.

August 23, 2023 – It Is That Time of Year Again

August 23, 2023 /

So much for summer. We are a little over a week from school starting again. My younger son is off to Taiwan in a couple days and my older son will be home the day after that. We just registered my older son yesterday for school and the end of summer is eminent.

We drew tags to a new deer unit this year. I have been over there twice doing some preliminary scouting this summer. In fact last weekend, we spent a day driving around trying to get the lay of the land. We need to figure out where to camp, how to hunt and how to access the area.

I have always heard that serious hunters spend time with maps and photos before putting boots on the ground. I remember reading an article one time in American Hunter but it has been long lost. So, I have been perusing the internet on how to scout with maps. Maybe this is something that could help my usually poor outcomes?

I found this one that is a little dry, but I thought it contained good fundamentals. The presenters shows features on the map and talks about definitions of words in relation to the map. This is a good start for people that have no basis in maps and the vocabulary.

As a former Boy Scout, at least I understand the vocabulary, maps and compasses. But what nobody really tells you is the application of such. How do you read a map and find a deer?

I guess that there is no substitute for just trying. Now that we kind of know where we are going, I can look at maps to see what might be around and and look at some spots where I might want to look for deer or setup and observe. Maybe I will do a video on what and why I chose what I did and what I learned (don’t count on it).

Currently, with my new job and all of that, I am thinking that I will probably at best get a long weekend to hunt. So, I really don’t want to waste it on tripping all over myself trying to get oriented with the territory. If things go as I expect, then I will also have to consider what the rest of the party has already done before I get there. But, maybe if I do some advanced work, I can influence what they will do with or without me by providing strategies based on my map work. At least this is what I am thinking.

Lest we forget that there are some easier things to do to get ready besides like physical fitness. Truth be told, this probably should have started months ago, but maybe if you are young enough there is still time. And, just because you are not fit enough doesn’t mean that a little bit doesn’t help. I doubt that I will be fit enough as I should be. But, this is a reminder

End Your Programming Routine: I am excited that hunting season is coming around. That being said, this is also approaching harvest season. It is a crazy, manic and wonderful time of year. I think that it just might be my favorite time of year. The hope of a new school year, the gentle warmth of the last of summer, the bounty of the harvest and all of those things that need to get done. I just hope to take some time to enjoy it as well as participate.

August 15, 2023 – How to Entertain an Exchange Student

August 15, 2023 /

I guess that we have become exchange student hosts. For me, it goes way back to my youth where we first hosted a Japanese exchange student for a couple of weeks. A few years later, we had a French exchange student. Later in my married life, we had another Japanese exchange student for a few weeks. Then we had our Spanish exchange student for a year 2019-2020. And finally, we sent off our German exchange student a couple weeks ago (with my son).

It is hard to build connection when they are only with you a couple of weeks. Generally speaking we have lost touch with all of our short term students. Granted those were all pre-social media experiences. I am relatively sure that we have a lifetime bond with our Spanish student. It is because we were able to spend enough time to really build a relationship. Since he left, we have visited Spain and he has visited us.

I am not sure how I feel like hosting without kids. Plenty of people do it; we are already on the Rotary hit list for the next long term exchange. This year didn’t work out because the targeted student has pet allergies and one of the program coordinators is a veterinarian. But kids are able to relate at their level. They often have the same schedule (like summer vacations) and are likely open to showing off to make a new buddy.

When we were kids, we didn’t have a lot of means but we had kid ingenuity. We built forts, picked blackberries, rode bicycles around, shot basketball and sword fought with sticks. Our French student was a Boy Scout so he joined us for a week at summer camp. Those weeks really flew by and it was over before we knew it.

Our second Japanese exchange student had daily classes. That meant that we had to take her to school during the week so that part kind of took care of itself. But, what would you do if you only had three weeks to provide a crash course in your culture? Easy, do what you do.

First of all, all those kitschy or things you have seen a million times are new to an exchange student. So, while on any given weekend you may not pick these places spend your time, they are easy targets. For instance, we usually plan a trip to the beach which is only an hour away. A whale watching trip is $25/person and two hours long. That makes it economically approachable and even the motion sensitive people can bear that duration. And even if people are from some tropical location, our beach is very different.

Speaking of different. you usually get some sort of profile before accepting the student. It is a good if you can match some of your entertaining with their interests. If they like hiking, you can walk the dog around the neighborhood if you are not a hiker, but it is pretty likely you can find some sort of short arboretum trail or city park. If you interest are congruent, you need to consider that these are kids. I wouldn’t recommend a two week backpacking trip because you don’t know if their idea of hiking matches your hard core pursuit.

McDonald’s is not the novelty it used to be. I remember that we got a tour at the local McDonald’s with our first exchange student but now it is really everywhere in the world. Culinary experiences are great gateways however. Have them help cook, pick berries or even just suggest recipes that you can try to make. I also suggest planning meals that bring out Americana like barbeque and fruit pies. Since I like to cook, I am up for anything but I also try to focus on things that I think are American (or Mexican because my wife is Latino).

I would highly recommend not always cooking at home nor eating out. You want a mix of what is a restaurant experience and what is a home experience. When our Spanish student came a month or so ago, he had a list of all the places that he wanted to eat. Sadly, nothing on his list was our food, but it sure made the busy time go easier.

If permitted, I like to play into the world stereotype. A lot of people have visions of America being cowboys, especially in the west. That is running around and shooting things. Most programs have restrictions against any kind of risk behavior (this is for insurance reasons). But the Rotary does not. So we went on a boys camping trip that featured some target shooting. This is one of the few things that is nearly uniquely American.

Go to the Friday night concert in the park or the county fair. It is not all about creating one of a kind, whiz-bang experiences but the ability to compare and contrast what they think of pizza versus what we think it is. Especially sensory experiences such as food leave lifetime impressions whereas the history of the Alamo gets forgotten within months. Don’t not do the Alamo if it is close and convenient but just know that they are not likely recall every detail.

End Your Programming Routine: The Rotary program says don’t go out of your way to pack every day with fun. Do what you do. That being said, I would say that you want to try and make things a little special. A couple road trips and some local events provide a well rounded peak in a short term exposure. Hosting an exchange student is a very enriching process and I highly encourage doing it.

August 10, 2023 – Finally

August 10, 2023 /

Happy Father’s Day to me. We purchased a safe for Father’s Day and it was pretty cheap by all standards. It was already on sale and then we were able to by gift cards at 10% off. We used those gift cards to purchase the safe. So all told we bought the safe for $800. Buying it is one thing, but actually getting it in place is completely another thing. Today, I am going to talk about what to know when hiring a safe mover.

First of all, I never wanted the safe in my shop. This was an alternate choice. I wanted it in the basement where I currently store all of my sporting goods. While negotiating the delivery, I was told by the safe mover that it was too big to negotiate down the stairs and make tight turns. He told me when he showed up for delivery that safes of this size were too big to move up or down stairs (in general). Quite honestly, I don’t believe that. But, you should know that size matters when dealing with some individuals.

I think that if I had known this, I possibly would have purchased a smaller safe. The reason I bought this one was three fold. Conventional wisdom is purchase the biggest safe you can afford. The second was that this size was only $100 more than the one that was 20% smaller. The third is that I had no idea that people would say no. I assumed that I would say I want it here and the price would reflect the effort or manpower.

I wont go through all the gyrations that we went through to negotiate delivery. Suffice to say, I would not recommend this company to do further work. I mean, six weeks for delivery, who runs a business like this? I will comment on some of the more egregious parts of the process.

When he showed up to the store to pickup the safe, he called said that it wasn’t there. Mind you, because this was for Father’s Day my wife started the negotiations. Then he calls back five minutes later and said that she told him the wrong store. I had taken a picture of the receipt and sent it to him. But, my wife had already done that over a month ago. Since I wasn’t involved in the discussion, I don’t know who said what but the fact of the matter was that he already had the correct information. That wasn’t the worst part of it, he charged me an additional mileage fee because he got the wrong information.

He did do his best to position the safe where I wanted. He spent time to level the safe, check the door operation and give me some quick instruction on how to deal with batteries and change the code on the lock. I had assumed that this was full installation so I didn’t ask questions, but when he was done he said that we did not discuss anchoring the safe. He charges $25 per hole (and there are four bolt holes in this safe). By that time, I was so fed up with him that I said no. This is a job that I can easily do.

Another irritating thing was that when he drove off, he left all of the packaging in the driveway. Fortunately, most of it is cardboard and I can recycle it for free. But, I have never had an installation where they left stuff for the customer to deal with. This is poor business practice I would say. Here are my suggestions on what to know:

  • If you are hiring a mover, you might want to check with them before purchasing a safe on what they will or wont do in terms of placement.
  • You might want to look at more than one option if you have any. This was the company that the store recommended. I am sure they have no idea what this experience is like.
  • Make sure you get an itemized list of what you are paying for. I really didn’t appreciated getting sprung with extra costs on the spot.
  • I bought the safe at a farm and ranch store. Maybe you get what you pay for. They are not safe experts, just cheap, safe sellers. Probably had I purchased from a safe specialist, I would not have had all of these experiences.

This was a purchase that was long time coming. While I really don’t own that many guns, the current cabinet was at its full capacity. It is full of ammunition, accessories an all things shooting related. I even modified it when the kids were young adding a gate clasp with padlock for ‘extra’ security. It offered no fire protection and is always a chore getting stuff out that is not in the front. So despite the fact it isn’t totally what I wanted, I am happy for the extra security, protection and room.

End Your Programming Routine: In retrospect, I should have paid the $75 delivery fee and looked for movers that would do what I wanted after it was delivered, especially when I didn’t get a good feeling early on. I my case, I paid a third of the overall cost to have the safe delivered and positioned. I did learn a few things watching and so I will definitely not pay for this service again, especially to not get what I wanted. I have a few more things to accessorize before I start seeing how everything looks. I am eager to get started.

June 29, 2023 – New Rules in Baseball?

June 29, 2023 /

I used to love baseball as a kid. I used to play it, watch it and listen on the radio. I was never good and so I quit before high school because I couldn’t make the ‘A’ team as a youth. I still like it, but I just don’t have the time to dedicate to it. If I could listen to it on the radio and do something else, that would be my ultimate. Maybe when I will retire, I will be one of those that catch every game while I sit on the porch.

I have been following the College World Series. As you know, I am a Oregon State Beaver fan and at least in this sport they are a perennially a good team that makes it into the playoffs most years. The Beavers were a good team, but I knew that they were not the best. They got beat in conference tournament before the finals. This is never a good thing because you want to end the season hot. Actually, in the regionals they lost to LSU (the future 2023 champion) so I don’t feel too bad.

When I was in Minneapolis last week, we had a team outing to the Minnesota Twins. I was excited because this was the first major league game I had been to since 1980. My dad spent some time in Milwaukee on a project and we went with him. So, to date my first and only MLB game was with the Brewers who instantly became my favorite team.

Incidentally, 1982 was the last year they went to the World Series. They have only made the playoffs six times and lost in the first round each time. Not a lot to get really exited about. Nevertheless, I was ready to enjoy this game.

Since I lost ultimate touch with baseball, I forgot that the Twins used to play in a dome. I was reading and in fact it actually closed in 2013, ten years ago! I thought that this stadium was new, but really it is not.

I was always kind of Twins fan. I rooted for them when they played the Cardinals and Braves in the World Series (1987,1991). I guess I have always been a American League guy since my dad was a Yankees fan and the AL Central has been a powerhouse of good baseball in recent history. Since I have been following it, Minnesota, Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City (formerly the Brewers as well) have all made multiple World Series appearances.

The first pitch was at 6:40pm. The game went pretty quickly with a 20 second pitch clock between pitches. I didn’t notice the exact time but by 8:45pm we were headed to the tenth inning. I could hardly believe that the game went so fast. The clock I knew about but I had not seen it in action. I think it made a difference in the speed of the game.

When we got to the tenth inning, I saw something odd. A runner started on second base. I looked it up and it is called a ghost runner. This is an attempt to put a runner in scoring position and speed up the end of the game. This really isn’t much different than what college football is doing. It is not sudden death if the visiting team scores but it is when the home team does first.

As it turns out, the Twins held the tenth and scored on a sacrifice and won the game. This is the way that you always want to end a pop in experience. It was fun, quick and my team won. Despite traffic, we still got back to the hotel by 10:30pm. I would call it a good night.

Before our kids were born, we had more time but less money. We considered buying season tickets to the Salem Volcanos. This was a San Francisco Giants Single A club. For those couple of years, we caught a couple of games a season. Nevertheless, we saw some good teams. For two years, they dominated the league with the likes of Buster Posey and Tim Lincecum. Fast forward a few years and this was team that was crushing the World Series.

The league collapsed in the Covid years and I am sad about that. They ended up replacing the team with a non-affiliated, four team league (all based out of the same stadium). In comparison to the glory years, these teams look like they could be beat by higher caliber high school teams. It is not really what you would want to watch in a semi-professional environment.

End Your Programming Routine: Now that experience is over, I will resume ignoring baseball until the fall comes. I wish that I could follow it more closely but I won’t prioritize sports over important things. I feel a little sad because I think that people used to really enjoy baseball. I know that I did. I guess the silver lining is that there are a lot of games so it is not impossible to catch one.