Steve Holden's Blog

Thoughts & Tips For September 2020

Photo by Steve Holden. MORE LIKE THIS!

CURRENT EVENTS

No big change for us on the COVD-19 front.  We continue to be vigilant and focused: #wear_a_mask; #wash_your_hands, #social_distance, and #stay_home_if_sick.  The good news is that Christy's school as been able to go back to teaching kids in person with a host of safe guards which is a blessing and an answer to prayer.

Tour de France 2020. Who doesn't want to watch 4 to 5 hours nearly every day during September seeing some of the best athletes in the world do what most people would consider completely impossible? I am all in. I am watching via NBC Sports via YouTube TV.

My candidate for President of the United States in 2020 is Jo Jorgensen (#letherspeak, #letherdebate). While I don't agree with everything she is advocating, she is in my humble opinion the best option for a President Of The United States who believes in and will fight for:

• right to life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness
• right to keep & bear arms
• right to live where you choose & how you chose
• right to privacy
• right to worship how, when, & where you choose
• right to be treated equally under the law

OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING WELL

• The PodCraft Beer Show just had episode 7 and next week is episode 8. I have had some super spectacular craft beers that have blown my palette away.  As a craft beer fan I have actually realized how much I've missed by not paying attention to the special releases that many breweries do and I had no clue how amazing they are.
• I am still playing D&D every week or so with friends from high school.  It is frankly one of the best unattended consequences of COVID-19 for me.
• I am still loving my water-proof MP3 player -- AfterShokz Black Diamond Xtrainerz.
• We were able to camp at San Elijo State Beach in August which was awesome ...

EXPERIMENTING WITH MEDITATION

The book "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works"
By: Dan Harris (#meditation) got me to do a little experiment over the last month since finishing the book. I've been doing five minutes of unguided meditation using the Apple iOS app Oak from Kevin Rose before I stretch in the morning.  Nothing bad has happened (Ha Ha!) I actually now think a little "mind exercise" is a good thing. My monkey mind is strong! More updates as time goes on.

If you are interested in guided meditations, then the only examples I've had experience with are Mike Foster's Guided Meditations. The Oak app has them but I haven't used them before.

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

I have just started using this new Google Chrome browser feature for organizing tabs.  So far it is an awesome new feature.

This what I've been listening to on Audible (you can try Audible for free for 30-days and get two free books if you want). Over the last month:

• "The Lions of Lucerne" by Brad Thor [Book #1 of The Scot Harvath Series] #fun
• "Path of the Assassin" by Brad Thor [Book #2 of The Scot Harvath Series] #fun
• "State of the Union" by Brad Thor [Book #3 of The Scot Harvath Series] #fun
• "Accelerate: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations" by Dr. Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, & Gene Kim #work

I am currently doing all my Audible listening on my cell phone Samsung Galaxy S10+.

I also managed to finish a few Kindle books (I am currently using a Kindle Paperwhite for nearly all my reading):

• "The David Rivers Series: Books 1-3 -- Greatest Enemy, Offer of Revenge & Dark Redemption" by Jason Kasper
• "Scars: John Dempsey Novella" by Brian Andrews & Jeffery Wilson #fun
• "American Operator" by Brian Andrews & Jeffery Wilson [Tier One #4] #fun
• "Red Spector" by Brian Andrews & Jeffery Wilson [Tier One #5] #fun

One of my "newer" (I've heard in the past that this isn't a word, but I still use it all the time) favorite bands is Lo Moon.  They opened last year for several shows that the CHVRCHES did, and I'm super impressed with them.  I recently bought their album Lo Moon on Amazon so I could load the MP3s on my AfterShokz Black Diamond Xtrainerz  as I really wanted to listen to them while swimming.  Other specific albums I listen to frequently while swimming are: CHVRCHES (Bones of What You Believe, Every Open Eye, Love Is Dead) and Maggie Rogers (Heard It In A Past Life).  I will also drag a lot of 80s New Wave to a folder for 'random' mode listening.

Def Con (the yearly hacker conference I've been going to since #18) was completely virtual this year.  A ton of solid cybersecurity content is readily available if you are interested.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

"We are what we repeatedly do, therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle

Some Interesting History: Entebbe

I found the following article on the "Entebbe Operation" pretty interesting reading from a historial and political perspective. More via Wikipedia.

As a Cold War history buff, I wish a similar in-depth article was written to expand on this short blurb about CIA efforts in Istanbul in the 1980s.

Newt Gingrich Outlines "Blunders" That Effect Us All

Newt Gingrich has some interesting thoughts on what happens when politicians with the right policy frameworks end up in within the DC Beltway for too long.  They have a hard time on implementation.

That part that resonated with me included:

He cited a series of blunders under Republican rule, from failures in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to mismanagement of the war in Iraq. He said the immigration bill passed by his former colleagues in the House of Representatives is unrealistic and too harsh toward undocumented immigrants, called congressional efforts to regulate lobbying "much too weak" and said the government has squandered billions of dollars in Iraq.

Solution For Those Not Romantically Involved

It looks like Google Romance is a new endeavor by the search engine giant Google to help those who looking for better match making options.  There is a beta supposedly being talked about on Slashdot and Digg.

USAToday.com - Federal Government Entitlements

This analysis chart by USA Today is pretty startling.  All this talk about smaller governement being a focus of Republican leadership doesn't appear to turn into policy implementation.

"Bush Sidesteps Senate, Installs Bolton as U.N. Envoy"

From Daniela Deane (Washington Post Staff Writer):

President Bush sidestepped the U.S. Senate on Monday and installed controversial nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, saying the post was "too important to leave vacant any longer." [Monday, August 1, 2005; 1:39 PM]

Funny Podcast - Mrs. Laura Bush

A Rip and Read podcast posted in early May has a great segment on First Lady Laura Bush's roast of the President and others at an event in DC recently.  It is very funny.

My wife is currently listening to it in the kitchen and she is laughing out loud.

FWD - ROGUE NATION LEFT FLAGLESS

 This seems a little strange to me:

The government has told Rogue Ales to lower the flag on its American Amber Ale. The Oregon brewery has been ordered to stop using the stars and stripes to advertise American Amber. According to U.S. Code Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8, Item I: "The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever." The company began brewing the beer 11 years ago, and uses the flag on beer taps, pint glasses, posters and T-shirts. Even the company's red, white and blue delivery truck will have to be repainted. The order came after an agent for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau who was visiting Newport with her family spotted a Rogue delivery truck with a flag painted on it.

http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-002520.php

No Hints Of Podcasts On President Bush's iPod

Online article examines what is "reportedly" on President Bush's iPod.

Hillsdale offers William F. Buckley Online

It looks like Hillsdale College is going to put a great deal of published work from William F. Buckley online for free access.  It doesn't look like it will include audio content just written transcripts.