guskintelligence

Dave's Thoughts and Plans

Posts Tagged plans

Philosophy of Mixology

Feb 17

Posted by davetron in Blog2012 | 1 Comment

Tonight I’m co-hosting a party with the amazing Paul Barclay and Erin Alexander, whereby they will make delicious tapas-style food and I will recommend and mix drink pairings for guests. It’s super exciting, and I am woefully underprepared! Just now I am sitting down to take a look at the menu (this stuff looks frickin’ delicious) and wondering about:

  • whether I’ll have access to the appropriate mixers
  • whether I should be pre-determining components rather than full drinks, to better suggest a pairing for the individual
  • what sort of drinkers will be at the party (I’m best at hard liquor mixing, pretty bad at recommending beers and wines)

My general philosophy with mixing drinks for friends is to ask simple questions that help determine taste. For example, do you like drinks on the fruitier side? Or more “fresh”/”clean” tasting (like a martini)? Using a series of these questions (usually no more than three), I can find a tasty drink for the person. Doing pairings will be trickier, since I want to recommend a good drink to go with the dish but I don’t want to be giving tequila-based stuff to a rum drinker. Haven’t quite cracked that chestnut yet.

One thing I know for sure – after about two drinks, everyone’s going to love the third, so that takes the pressure off. :) Also, I’ll probably be taste-testing my creations, so I’m sure I’ll de-stress pretty quickly too! :o

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2011, Here We Come

Dec 31

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | 1 Comment

Now that I have made the last decision I needed to make for 2010 (which New Year’s Eve party I would be attending) I now face my first 2011 decision: what resolutions should I take with me into the new year as noble goals toward self-improvement?  I’ve been reviewing my choices (from among the 23 or so I put down in the blog over the first part of December) and here’s what I’ve come to:

  • Designate a week where I will reply in the affirmative to every (reasonable) request to go out, hang out and otherwise get out (of my comfort zone).
  • Take Max on a camping trip at least twice, for a period of two or more days each, possibly with other friends involved on the trip too.
  • Track my spending for at least month to create a simple budget.
  • Plan no more than six meals “out” each week for a month, with a “these meals planned” calendar on my fridge at home.

There are a few others that are right over my horizon if I complete these satisfactorily.  Four goals that are relatively timebound should be a good start – we’ll see how it goes!

Finally, thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me during this very interesting and enjoyable year-of-blogs!  I’ll be back in the New Year with some different types of content and I’m sure a few regular-style blogs too.

Happy New Year, everyone! :)

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Year in Review: Resolutions 3

Dec 27

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I’ve been trying to kickstart this coding project I’ve been meaning to do, but man, the tedium of data access is really bogging me down.  I will probably switch to game designs tomorrow, although tomorrow might be JAM PACKED with ADVENTURE.  We’ll see!

5. Host three different out-of-town friends (or friend-couples) at my place for at least two days each.

Although I have once again spent some of the year taking friends up on offers to stay with them or at least come hang out with them, I was not successful in my plan to get some of them to come out here and stay with me at Casa de Guskin.  Looking back, this was kind of a bad year for friends to visit me in Seattle – not only did I end up doing a ton of travel for work, but I “canceled” our standing PAX plan by going to Amsterdam and I probably levied pressure to visit at my busiest friends – in hindsight, not the greatest plan to acquire visitors!  Overall, moderate failure.

6. Create a pros/cons document for each reasonable career path I could take.

This one is interesting – over the course of the year, I had a pretty major career shift from web developer to game designer (although I was tending toward game-designy projects while still a programmer).  I did spend time categorizing both of those potential career paths, but I didn’t treat a number of others – return to laboratory science, law, some other business role (like entrepreneur).  Still, I did manage to spend a fair bit of thought on this one in the course of making my career change.  Overall, minor success!

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Interlude: Blog… to the Future!

Dec 24

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I’ve mused a little bit on how I might continue my blog into 2011.  I may have intended this blog-a-day thing to persist for longer than a year when I started it up, but I think I’ll be a little happier if I don’t force myself to keep updating at that rate.  I do still expect to have things to talk about, but it’ll probably end up being a few times a week as opposed to once a day.  As I was pondering how to get myself on a reasonable blogging plan today, I realized that I might be able to leverage themes into the solution I need – “sub-blogs” for each theme, or sublogs for short.  (That makes them subordinate world wide web logs, I guess?  A lot of definition packed into a few letters!)

There are three separate themes I thought about today, each of which could become a reasonable, regular part of a total blogging effort.  The first was a project diary, kind of like what Alexis has done with her blog recently, to keep track of my thoughts, feelings and plans on a particular project, like a new website or a game.  The second was a memorable quotes/lyrics repository, in the manner of Rachel’s wonderful blog – you may have noticed I have a random lyric I enjoy near the bottom-side of this page, and I could use the blog space to talk a little bit about the source, the quote, or why I like it.  The third was newly created alcohol beverages – I happened to make myself a Black Sand Sunrise this evening, for example – that I could list the instructions for and then do a little review.  Such a sublog could also do new recipes for food dishes.  And these are just three possibilities!

Clearly, there’s a lot I still want to talk about as we roll into 2011.  I just need to make sure I put myself into the right mindset and make it easy to do it the way I want.

Oh, and btw, Merry Christmas!

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#23: Talk the Talk

Dec 23

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

One of the things I really enjoyed doing last year (that is, 2009) was taking some classes with Bill to learn Italian prior to traveling to Rome.  Granted, I didn’t put a ton into it – I enjoy learning, and did it relatively well, but I was/am far from fluent and I was barely able to hold conversations with folk in Rome about food.  It did teach me something valuable, though (well, more than Italian itself), which is that I am much more motivated to learn when there’s a goal for the use of the newly-gained knowledge in sight.  That goal was the trip to Italy Bill and I took in December, and when I set travel plans for next year, I could get a similar learn-test track going with a different language (or even Italian again).

So, I’d like to learn a language.  But more important than learning the language is being comfortable speaking it.  I made it all the through the Spanish series in high school, even passing the Spanish AP exam, but I could never really speak it (just read, write and understand).  It’s really important to me to be able to hold my own in a conversation with a native, so that’s my target.  I haven’t decided what language yet (that will probably be influenced by my travel plans), but I’ve got a good feeling about shooting to learn one next year.

23. I resolve to learn a language to the point where I could hold a reasonable conversation with a native speaker, and then apply my skills on a trip to a destination where that language is primary.

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#22: Yes Man

Dec 22

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | 2 Comments

So, I may have mentioned this previously, but two of my friends – Lee and Michelle – mentioned how much success they’ve been having with saying “yes” to going out / doing things pretty much all the time.  Both have also had an excellent year, by the sounds of it, so I am intrigued.  I tend to be a bit conservative with my time – I don’t go to every event I can, due to a variety of excuses, some of which are reasonable (need to get home to feed Max) and some of which are less so (I don’t feel like socializing that day).  I could definitely see a lot of benefit to “letting go” of my inhibitions in this way and just going with the flow, at least for some period of time – I don’t think I could do it indefinitely because I am genuinely afraid of losing that much control over my life.  (Maybe that’s crazy, but oh well!)

Anyway, I think a wonderful experiment would be to take a week and just show up for everything I get invited to, go out with any friend who asks, and say “yes” (within reason) to everything asked of me.  I am posting this publicly, so I’m putting some trust in my friends (*cough* you know who you are) who might take advantage of me during this period, but I guess I’m not saying when I will do it, so that point may be moot!  As I am well aware, you can’t meet new people unless you put yourself in a position to meet new people, and you can’t have new experiences unless you are out, well, experiencing.

22. I resolve to designate a week where I will reply in the affirmative to every (reasonable) request to go out, hang out and otherwise get out (of my comfort zone).

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#20: Snail Mail

Dec 20

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | 3 Comments

I kind of loathe receiving mail in the mailbox.  Like, we are in the future now – why waste all that paper?  I appreciate the occasional postcard and envelope from friends, and I definitely enjoy packages that are shipped to me, but there’s a ton more junk in my mailbox than those things… what the heck?  All of the notices that I am receiving because they are important would be better served by being in my email inbox (which I check compulsively) and all of the ads and credit card offers would be better served by being on fire.

So, I want to take on a small mission to eliminate the junk in my mailbox.  It should theoretically be possible to contact and pester the various places that are sending me things and tell me to either (a) send it electronically (where my “spam” filter is much better!) or (b) discontinue sending it at all.  I realize that this will likely be an uphill battle, where even being on the phone with various marketers is likely digging me into a pit, but maybe I can trick them into dropping me from their mailing lists or something.  It may take some thought, but oh how nice it would be to receive only useful mail.

20. I resolve to reduce the waste in my mailbox to as close to zero as possible, while still receiving important mail from friends &c.

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#19: Cleanliness

Dec 19

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

It’s no secret that I don’t keep my place spotless.  But a lesser known fact is that I don’t clean much (vacuum, sweep, dust, etc.) at home unless I know I have company coming.  Scandalous!  In the past I have made a good effort to get things reasonable before friends arrive (most of the time) but I feel I could do a lot better if I get myself into a new routine of cleaning up a bit each day.  A lot of these resolutions are about routines, actually – I have never really formed a good habit for habit-forming.  Repetition will have to be my guide.

As for what I want to do:

  • Mow the lawn myself (I had a service do it, but more than the money or time, I just need to get in the habit of stuff like that)
  • Keep all my working surfaces (desk, sink, kitchen counters) as clean as I can at all times
  • Schedule laundry and a more robust cleanup on a regular basis (bi-weekly?)

19. I resolve to keep a more rigorous and methodic cleaning schedule, including the tasks described above, for at least three months.

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#18: Media Blitz

Dec 18

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I figured with all these resolutions that require a ton of work, I should consider ones that I might be almost already on the path to completion, that just need a little nudge in order to be useful self-improvements.  One such resolution is consuming media that I have intended to consume but haven’t – either because I have been lazy or I haven’t had time.  I figure I’ll make a list of all the movies and books I really feel I should watch or read, and then, you know, do that as opposed to reading/watching random other stuff.

Conservation of time is important here – right now, I read a ton and I also watch a considerable number of movies.  For this resolution to work, I need to not be shirking my other responsibilities (which I am sometimes wont to do) because I am absorbed by too much to read or watch.  In addition, I really like writing reviews that my friends can use to judge the merit of a work before they have to go out and purchase/borrow it, so I think I’ll include that in the resolution.  I don’t think adding in television shows or games is a good idea because (a) games and TV series take a huge amount of time and attention compared to books and movies, and (b) I don’t have as long or as relevant a list for those media.  (Although I am considering spending a portion of my winter break getting into video games I never played but should have!)

18. I resolve to make a list of books and movies I haven’t consumed but really should, and then I will read/watch them and write some number of reviews on those works.

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#17: Making Things

Dec 17

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | 1 Comment

I think these days, with so much of my job going into computers and not much physical to show for pretty much anything I do (a few pieces of cardboard, or the rules of a game on a shelf), I am under where I’d like to be in terms of creating useful things in the physical world.  I’m been inspired by what my friends have made in the past – everything from fancy clothing to huge mechanical elephants – and I don’t think I do enough to hone the Macguyverish urge to put together something useful on my own, something that lasts and stands on its own, apart from other people’s systems.

I’m leaning more toward something of grand scope, like an arcade console (which I’ve made abortive efforts to do on my own in the past) or a fixture/piece of furniture.  A few random ideas I had:

  • Two-tier couch or seating area
  • Transportable hammock chair
  • Gaming table
  • Clock or wall-mounted “organizer” with digital components

Regardless of what idea I end up trying to execute on, I do think I should spend more time working with materials to make something that lasts.

17. I resolve to spend a month planning and then building something out of physical materials, like a piece of furniture.

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