Steve Holden's Blog

Walking Tour Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery - Part 1 of 4

This walking tour of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was filmed on Monday, December 18, 2023.

The cemetery is in the Point Loma area of San Diego, California, near the Cabrillo National Monument.

The area walked was in the Northern-Eastern section (Part 1).

There are three more sections that I plan to walk in 2024.

 This work is licensed under Creative Common's Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International.

Equipment Used >> DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo

The video was edited on my Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, 2nd generation) using DJI's recommended tool called "LightCut".

 

San Diego Zoo - Jungle Bells - Walking Tour

This walking tour of the San Diego Zoo was filmed on Sunday, December 17, 2023, during the Zoo's annual Holiday celebration known as "Jungle Bells."

This work is licensed under Creative Common's Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International.

Tags: #walkingtour #sandiego #sandiegozoo #holidays

Equipment Used: DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo

Limited editing was done on Windows 11 with the HEIC plugin and Photos Legacy.

Thoughts & Tips for June & July 2021

This photo is part of my Blurry collection.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

The last two months have been going well.  Mother's Day in May was great, and so was Father's Day in June.

We have been slowly getting back out to our favorite places to eat, visiting breweries, attending church in person without masks, seeing friends, and having more group events at our house.

Getting vaccinated has a ton of benefits!

Biggest news is that Carson graduated from High School:

Another nice piece of new news is that my niece Hayley and her husband Alex are having a baby girl in December:

I have also been able to teach two Getting Things Done (GTD) classes in-person at work which has been very enjoyable.  One class was in May and the other in late June.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

The epic D&D battle I have been DMing for several months has finally ended, and we are on to a new "underwater" related adventure created by our other DM Darren.

We have several mini-vacations coming up across July & August: one week in Mission Beach at a condo rental; a weekend retreat at The Oaks; a couple of days in Las Vegas for Def Con; and then beach camping at San Elijo. It will be nice to get out and about, but also not have to travel too far from home.

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

If I had to pick a single glass style to drink craft beer out of I think it would be this one (Amazon link):

Since May 20th I have been charging all my mobile electronics off-grid using this setup from Jackery (originally purchased just for camping):

This includes: cell phone; iPad (didn't realize what a power hog this was); Garmin watch; bike lights; Go Pro & other camera batteries; all the new Rode podcast/audio recording gear; and a variety of  smaller battery packs.  Hard to say the total impact to our home electrical bill, but kind of a fun experiment.  It will be interesting to see how long I can do it.  My cell phone does get charged when it is in the car, so that makes things a little easier. I am not charging my main personal Chromebook computer this way until we go camping this summer.

The solar unit is the SolorSaga 100W (Amazon Link), and the portable battery unit is the Portable Power Station Explorer 240 (Amazon Link). 

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

"Saying no saves you time in the future. Saying yes costs you time in the future. No is like a time credit. You can spend that block of time in the future. Yes is like a time debt. You have to repay that commitment at some point. No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility." - James Clear

Near Real-Time Tracking

You can find out what I'm up to in near real-time via: Twitter (@sholden) Instagram (@sholden), or Facebook (sholden). I also recommend checking out my AztecMedia.net produced sites: Chvrches Fan Podcast (@chvrchespodcast), ThePodCraft Beer Show (@thepodcraft, @techguysteve, Untapped, @techguysteven); Tech News Radio (@technewsradio), Air Gapped Networks (@airgapnet), Jersey Boys Podcast, and Veteran Stories. [Updated: May 9, 2021]

Thoughts & Tips for May 2021

This photo is part of my Blurry collection.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

All but one of us is vaccinated. Guess which one? Ha Ha! #stay_home_if_sick, #wash_your_hands, #social_distance, #wear_a_mask

Christy and I had a great 2nd retreat to The Oaks to celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary.  It was super reflective and restful.  Here are some photos!

I recently did a Getting Things Done (GTD) related presentation to Manager-Tools' M Conference attendees alumni group.  Here is more information about the presentation with an offer to present to other groups or organizations that are interested in productivity.

My work did a virtual Spring Break scavenger hunt (above are some of the photos).  It was super fun and collaborative with friends & family helping out. It was also nice to get out-and-about little bit more. I highly recommend doing something like this if you have the opportunity.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

Carson is going to be graduating high-school soon, and has decided to go to Long Beach State to study nursing.  We are very proud and excited for her upcoming college season.

Summer vacation plans seem to be coming together: Mission Beach beach house rental, back to The Oaks, Def Con (Las Vegas), and camping at San Elijo State Beach.

I am hoping that my friend's D&D session (mentioned in previous posts) will get us through this epic battle I have been DMing for months, and on to a new "underwater" related adventure created by our other DM Darren.

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

Here are some greate Windows 10 tips from ZDNET. The one about the new Clipboard History is especially useful as I have had to use a 3rd party tool to do this in the past.  To open Clipboard History, press Windows key + V. Neat!

I have been experimenting with these Rode Wireless Go Compact Microphone Transmitter & Receiver Systems for The PodCraft Beer Show.  So far they are working well, and they definitely decrease the amount of gear I need to drag to each recording.  I think they are also making the conversational style of the podcast easier to record, and edit on the back end.  I'll probably do a future full review, so standby for more information.

Engadget's article on "Google makes it easy to jump back to the search box by pressing '/' -- The new shortcut makes it easier to refine your search results." should enable you to quickly expand searches to include addition terms.

I knew how to schedule the release of emails, but this article from Wired describes how to do this on Apple iOS devices and on Google Android devices for text messages.  Super handy to know.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” - Peter Drucker

Thoughts & Tips For January 2021

This photo is part of my Nature Collection!

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

Over the past month we have been celebrating outdoors & socially distanced the Holidays, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. Best of all is that we continue to be blessed with a hedge of protection with regards to COVID-19 and health in general.

Unfortunately I do have some bad news -- on Saturday morning (December 26) we found out our elderly black lab Kaley escaped our yard, and we have not been able to find her.  We are all very concerned and sad.  But we continue to hold out hope she will be found:

SUPER FUN ADVENT CRAFT BEER CALENDAR

Chris and Charlie -- the hosts of ThePodcraft Beer Show -- gave me this awesome customized Advent Calendar filled with twenty-four excellent craft beers:

You can see photos, descriptions, and top 3 list here!

HOLIDAY SCAVENGER HUNT

The NAVWAR Enterprise had a fun virtual scavenger hunt for employees and their families over the weekend of December 18-20, 2020.  The family had a good time working on it.  We didn't finish in the Fastest Top 30, but we got everything done!

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

If you are looking for a great coffee mug, tea kettle, desk/garden creatures, or unique stickers/t-shirts/etc. then check out Skeletal Dropkick!  I am enjoying my new Bear Mug, and custom D&D stickers!  I also got an original custom drawing on my box! FUN!

If you are doing "family" tech support for folks on multiple platforms, then check out the free Chrome Remote Desktop tool from Google.  It works cross platform, and also works on Chromebooks.  I personally use this nearly on a daily basis to get from my Chromebook to my Windows 10 PC for Windows-based activities.

This site puts some things in perspective on what has changed since you were born - https://neal.fun/life-stats/. It includes a lot of positive data, and not so much on data that might be controversial, but definitive worth trying out.

This great calendar visualization of 2021 continuous year from Kairos Cognition (a productivity consulting & consulting firm associated with David Allen's Getting Things Done) inspired me to create my own version in Google Docs which I published in PDF.  This is what mine looks like:

In discussing this continuous year calendar on the GTD Connect forms, a fellow member shared his own horizontal version.  I copied it (PDF) and here is what it looks like:

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” — George Carlin

2020 Christmas Advent Craft Beer Calendar

I got the following Christmas Advent Craft Beer Calendar from Chris & Charlie who host ThePodCraft Beer Show (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook):Craft Beer #1:

"Centre" (Imperial India Pale Ale (IPA)) [untapped] from Other Half 

Craft Beer #2:

"Motueka Daydream" (Oak Cream New England-style IPA) [untapped] from Other Half

Craft Beer #3:

"Tropic Of Thunder" (Lager) [untapped] from Stone Brewing

Craft Beer #4:

"Yodale" (Coconut Lager) [untapped] from Creative Creature

Customized glass from Glass To Mouth

Craft Beer #5:

"Lilikoi Sour" (Sour Ale) [untapped] from Harland Brewing

Craft Beer #6:

"Dort" (Dortmunder-style Lager) [untapped] from Modern Times

Customized glass from Glass To Mouth

Craft Beer #7:

"Circle Of Hops" (San Diego Pale Ale) [untapped] from Burning Beard

Craft Beer #8:

"BCN Fog" (Double Dry Hopped Bi-Coastal Double IPA) [untapped] from Humble Sea

Craft Beer #9:

"Pseudo Sue" (Pale Ale) [untapped] from Toppling Goliath

Craft Beer #10:

"Tree Hugger" (Tart Ale with tropical dragon fruit, passion fruit, and coconut) [untapped] from Great Notion with Pure Project

Craft Beer #11:

"The Pupil" (IPA) [untapped] from Societe Brewing Company

Customized glass from Glass To Mouth

Craft Beer #12:

"Autumn Gold" (Murky IPA) [untapped] from Pure Project

Craft Beer #13:

"Smacker's Mango Passionfruit" (Fruited Sour Ale) [untapped] from Creative Creature

Craft Beer #14:

"Covington" (American Pilsner) [untapped] from North Park Brewing Co.

Customized glass from Glass To Mouth

Craft Beer #15:

"H-C (Hecto-Cooler)" (Fruited Imperial Sour Ale) [untapped] from Creative Creature

Craft Beer #16:

"Fingers Of Gold" (Murky IPA) [untapped] from Pure Project

Customized glass from Glass To Mouth

Craft Beer #17:

"Where Vultures Fare" (German-Style Pilsner) [untapped] from Burning Beard

Craft Beer #18:

"Blueberry vs. Lime" (Sour Smoothie Ale) [untapped] from Creative Creature

Craft Beer #19:

"Bluemeboshi" (Imperial Sour Ale with salted plum & blueberries) [untapped] from Pure Project

Craft Beer #20:

"SuperFun!" (Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale) [untapped] from Other Half

Craft Beer #21:

"Reality Maze" (Imperial Stout with Coconut & Vanilla) [untapped] from Modern Times

Craft Beer #22:

"Passion Pool" (Gose Style Ale with passionfruit & sea salt) [untapped] from MKSD (Mikkeller San Diego)

Craft Beer #23:

"Strata Rocket" (Wet Hopped West Coast IPA) [untapped] from North Park Beer Co.

Craft Beer #24:

"Larry's Latest" (Sour Ale) [untapped] from Bell's Brewery

Customized glass from Glass To Mouth

My favorite top three beers from this year's advent calendar:

1. "H-C (Hecto-Cooler)" (Fruited Imperial Sour Ale) [untapped] from Creative Creature
2. "BCN Fog" (Double Dry Hopped Bi-Coastal Double IPA) [untapped] from Humble Sea
3. "Motueka Daydream" (Oak Cream New England-style IPA) [untapped] from Other Half

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

Thoughts & Tips for June 2020

Photo by Steve Holden. MORE LIKE THIS!

CURRENT EVENTS

Basically all is well with regards to COVID-19 since the last update. Everyone is healthy. Maximum telework. Virtual school. Social distancing. Major home bodies with home projects in full swing. And a good amount of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) as an escape vice binge watching shows.

The ongoing justice crisis with #blacklivesmatter has left me sad, angry, frustrated, and motivated.  The horrible murder of George Floyd, and the peaceful protests turning violent with illegal rioting and looting have then been exasperated by some in law enforcement using unconscionable illegal force and tactics. And then we have some elected politicians and civil servants make things worse not better. Change must happen: 

• Love your neighbor as yourself -- treat and value others with the dignity, respect, and grace you would like others to show to you.
• Work towards a society based on justice, equality, liberty, and opportunities.
• Condemn and reject at-all-times covert and overt hatred, racism, bigotry, and discrimination.
• Realize and acknowledge that your place in life probably has more positives and privilege, than others who have suffered greatly, and do not have the hope that you have, or feel that their voices have been heard in the past or currently being valued or heard.

Freedom is hard work and not to be taken for granted -- FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

EXERCISE UPDATE

I continue to enjoying my two mornings a week (Tue & Thu) riding this bike trainer while watching YouTube cycling videos using this iPad stand, and listening to audio books or podcasts.  On Sunday mornings I am completing a route around Fletcher Hills that is about 10 miles.  I have noticed that my time to complete the route keeps getting shorter so overall my biking has improved during COVID-19.

So the pool at our house has been open since last month's post.  I am doing mini-laps and training with a DIY bungie-harness setup.  Very nice to be back in the water.  More info here.

I also did pick up a recovery tool that I've been meaning to get -- Theragun recently came out with the mini.  I've only had it for a short time but it has really given me some relief on parts of my left leg that is still giving me some issues since my bulged disc two years ago.

TECHNOLOGY AND TIPS

• If you are a new protester, then you might want to check out these tips from Wired.
• My friend Derek has a long post on what he has learned in transitioning to an Apple Mac OS laptop.
• I recently started drinking Smith Teamaker Portland Breakfast Tea in the morning.  I really enjoy it.

SOME MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS

I have been listening to a lot more music recently.  Here are some suggestions from YouTube:

• Sparks - "Music That You Can Dance To" (official video)
• Dave Brubeck - Take Five
• Ocean Between - Lies (CHVRCHES Cover)
• CHVRCHES - Forever (Separated But Together Version)
• Mad World performed by Curt Smith of Tears For Fears
• Fiat Lux - Blue Emotion
• The Three O'Clock - Jet Fighter
• George Gershwin - Rhapsody In Blue
• Jim Croce - Gunga Din
• Journey - Separate Ways
• Blancmange - The Day Before You Came & Don't Tell Me
• Depeche Mode - New Life
• Howard Jones & Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't It Be Good
• Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing

OTHER TOPICS

• I am prepping for a 9 person David Allen Getting Things Done (GTD) class at work in June but it isn't confirmed yet.  The wheels of purchasing stuff at work have been going slow, and I still don't have digital licenses, but I am told that could change any day now.
• I am still playing at least one day of the week Dungeons & Dragons with some friends online.  The main books that I bought were the: DM Guide, Player Guide, Monster Manual, and DM Screen.  The tools we are using to play online include: Zoom, BeyondD&D, and Roll20.  I am trying out some mapping tools.  More about that next month.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." - Bruce Lee

 

Thoughts & Tips For March 2020

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON?

I did do a Sprint Triathlon hosted by the UCSD Triton Triathlon Team on Feb. 16, 2020.   It was tough but good fun:

Feb. 16 was also my son Conrad's 21st birthday.  We had a good time celebrating:

I've also enjoyed a few great IPA-ish beers this month. Here are some recommendations:

Thanks to one more day in February (aka the 29th), I was able to get our 2019 taxes done, and see one of our favorite 80s cover band -- Resurrection Radio at the awesome Helix Brewing Co. in La Mesa, CA. This is a setlist from a previous show.

TECHNOLOGY AND TIPS

One of my favorite authors -- Mark Greaney -- was in town on Feb. 18th promoting his new book "One Minute Out" (this is book #9 of the Gray Man series) at Warwick's in La Jolla.  It is highly recommended this new book and the overall series in general. Here is a picture from that evening:

Last month I mentioned that my new HP PC only has USB 3.0 ports on the front of the computer.  I ended up getting this 4-port HUB so I could move more of the high-speed connections back behind the computer.  So far it is working out pretty well.

Some great tips here on how to correctly wash your hands! [REDDIT]

FUTURE STUFF THAT I AM EXCITED ABOUT

• I have scheduled David Allen Getting Things Done (GTD) classes for work (via VitalSmarts) for March, April, and May.  I might also teach a class in the DC area in April for a program office.
• Christy and I are going to see Jersey Boys star John Lloyd Young in a couple of weeks.
• We are planning a weekend camping trip to Joshua Tree at the end of the month.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“Each moment is a place you’ve never been.” — Mark Strand