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Dave's Thoughts and Plans

Posts Tagged resolutions

#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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#15: Game On

Dec 15

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I wrote previously about the creation of game systems, but I haven’t talked more about the running of game sessions – your classic GM role for role-playing games, although I could imagine other ways to do this, like Mafia Narrator (the classic game of finger-pointing and betrayal), or some sort of Hero Quest-esque run where I set up playthroughs that “basically” play themselves with the group.  In some senses this is like setting up a game day with friends, but I do enjoy putting together stories and worlds in the “shared storytelling” way and I haven’t done it in a while, specifically not from the angle of GM/Narrator.

I think the best way to do this, for people with very busy lives (like me!) is to plan a series of sessions (like three) in what many of us have called a “manyshot” (as opposed to “oneshot” for a single session).  In a 3-4 session game, you can do quite a bit of story development, and play a significant amount of “game” too, for RPGs.  It also ends up feeling episodic if people like it enough – you can always bring back a world/story again later.  This is kind of convincing me to consider what an episodic strategy board game might look like.

15. I resolve to run at least one “manyshot” game campaign of my own design (probably RPG), with an eye toward doing it episodically (so like three-four manyshots over the course of a year).

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#14: Get Smart

Dec 14

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I feel like I used to know a ton more than I do now.  Well, not in terms of information (but some of that too) but in terms of expert knowledge, specifically in Physics.  I’ve tackled this problem before, and mused back and forth on whether I might return to school one day to finish a PhD.  I think now, upon reflection, that I am unlikely to do so in the near future, or maybe ever.  There’s a different place to start, however, in the manner of getting my groove back.  My Physics groove.

I think it’d be a good idea to sign up for a course or two, either online or at a “local” college (many in the area, up to and including the big UW), to re-familiarize myself with science and thinking scientifically about specific problems.  There was a post a ways back where I talked about relativity and Sam rightly pointed out I never even took general relativity – so maybe in addition to teaching myself old tricks again, I can learn some new ones.  I think dipping my toes back into Physics might be a good jump-start for further education, too, and I am just annoyed at myself for forgetting so much I learned.

14. I resolve to take one or two extension-type courses in Physics from a local college or university.

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#13: Dear Diary

Dec 13

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I don’t really keep a personal journal, which is immediately identifiable as a false statement, since you are reading my blog right now.  But my blog is, in many ways, a product for public consumption, and it is as much about my thoughts and plans as it is about the immediate experience I am having (that day, week, etc.).  In the past, I’ve considered trying to start and keep a reasonable daily journal, one that might let me have a record of my emotional and experiential state each day.  I even tried to make it a month-theme on this blog (June) but couldn’t because it’s really hard for me to “find” an emotion to post about if I don’t have one in my head at the moment I want to write a post and/or I have a hard time translating what I feel into words on the page.

I heard or read a pretty simple and reasonable strategy for raw emotional state collection – take a book of blank pages, and each day mark on the left side of the page my emotional state in the morning (good at the top, bad at the bottom) and on the right side my emotional state in the evening.  I think if I did this consistently, I’d also be motivated to write a few words (maybe not in narrative form, but some words nonetheless) about why there was a difference from morning to evening.

13. I resolve to keep a simple emotional diary for a period of a month, to review and think about afterward.

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#12: Great Outdoors

Dec 12

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | 1 Comment

Living in Seattle, I definitely feel like I haven’t taken advantage of “the Great Northwest” – by which I mean, going out into the wilds and enjoying the environment.  I really like going out away from technology sometimes (but not all the time – just a way to cleanse the pallet) and I also really appreciate seeing green in nature – having spent a lot of my early life in “brown” areas like Phoenix and California.

I also am really excited to take Max outdoors for long periods of time – obviously, he enjoys outside and I generally don’t have enough time to take him for more than an hour or so to the dog park.  Planning and taking a trip with him means he gets a ton of outdoorsy time and I don’t have to worry about where he stays while I’m on vacation.

12. I resolve to 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.

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#11: Financial Times

Dec 11

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | 4 Comments

As I kind of alluded yesterday, I wanted to kind of define where I went wrong with money this year.  I wasn’t really keeping track of how I spent what I had, so even though I didn’t particularly overspend (I mean, no more than my usual technology impulse buys) I wasn’t aware of the status of my finances at any given time nor was I really planning in any long-term sense.  My lack of planning is bad enough that I had an essentially empty bank account at the start of December (possibly because I bought stuff – like a new couch and plane tickets – at an inopportune time, but definitely because I willfully didn’t care about my money situation).

So, what to do?  Do I need to change this mentality at all?  As I have stated numerous times in the past, I hate thinking about money, but I think it’s worthwhile to come up with a general plan for a year (or at least monthly) so that indeed I can think about even less.  Plus, I will feel a lot better about my ability to take on larger projects and/or longer timeline plans if I have a solid underpinning in my head of where my money is at.

In my rough analysis, I think I’ll set a budget for “essentials” (food, bills, gas, etc.), for “electives” (travel, entertainment, etc.) and then try to track everything else in a simple way to be able to plan better.

11. I resolve to track my spending for at least month to create a simple budget.

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#10: Leaving on a Jet Plane

Dec 10

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

On the flip side of yesterday’s post (getting friends to come visit me), there’s a lot I want to do in terms of my own traveling that I haven’t done yet.  For example, if I hadn’t mismanaged my finances a bit this year (see tomorrow’s post), I might have been able to travel to mainland Asia, Africa or Australia like I wanted.  Regardless, although I do mostly travel due to work or friends, I think it would also be a good idea to travel on my own, to nowhere I know anyone.

There are a few benefits to this sort of travel:

  • I get out of my comfort zone, and as long as I am being social, I’ll meet new and interesting people.
  • I can spend as much time as I feel like I want to on the activities I care about (without compromising with others or feeling obligated to do anything I don’t want to)
  • I can see new places and things.

10. I resolve to travel at least once on my own, for a duration of about five days, to a new destination.

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#9: Stay, Friends

Dec 9

Posted by davetron in Blog2010 | No Comments

I had a resolution from last year that I liked, but didn’t really do much about – get some friends to come to Seattle and stay at my place.  As with most of my resolutions, I didn’t feel like I had the time or energy to do the work required to convince others to come and stay in Seattle, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t work – I just need to spend more planning energy, in the way that I might prepare a trip (but for them).

I don’t expect a ton of my friends to take me up on this offer, since a flight to Seattle from wherever isn’t the cheapest… but you never know when some might be thinking about coming into the area anyway, unless you get in on the planning level.  I’m down in Long Beach at Todd and Tory’s right now, and it’s awesome that they are able to let me stay with them… I’d love to be awesome like that with my place, too!

9. I resolve to coordinate with friends to make my home a place for them to stay for two weekends next year, or possibly for many friends at once (e.g. for a convention).

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