Brain Dump

Sometimes, I just need to unload the brain.

I'm improving and not. I'm getting better at some stuff and others I'm not getting any better at all. I've been better about keeping the apartment clean and cooking here lately. I only went out once this week and that was with a big group of friends and I only spent $5. I don't feel guilty about that one. However, I think I need to find some ways to make what I eat healthier. Problem is I don't like the taste of half of that sort of food and it takes a long time to make. That's all BS though. I'm sure I could find stuff that I would like that wouldn't take too long. But is the effort of finding that stuff and incorporate it worth it? Are my current eating habits that bad? They're not amazing but I know plenty of other folks who are healthier but eat worse than I do. Am I just fooling myself? (Probably) Am I just saying this because I can't give up my tasty, savory meals? (Yes.) Can I get away with it without giving up the stuff I love? (Possibly.) And when am I supposed to get the time to find out? (Cop-out) Is this my number one priority? (...Maybe.)

I also have two projects that are me, myself and I that I want to move on. One is Tasky Tools, a group of tools to help me (and whoever else wants to use it) keep track of my time, energy, improvement and the like. Building this has a lot of upsides: I learn new technology (now that I've established that I'm gonna try to stay close to the hardware as the Web allows, letting me really learn Web Services, JQuery and the like.) It adds a lot of value as tools that I can use (I know, from previous experience, that I enjoy using tools I make for myself just because I made them.) I can spread the use of these tools to others and hopefully they can get value out of them too. Maybe even monetize someday. I used a lot of parenthetical statements.

I have a problem getting absorbed in threads of discussion that are tangential to what I should be doing. These other things are important too though, so I need a tool to be able to keep track of them and ensure I'm doing the right stuff at the right time. I think a list of 'things to read and do' would be helpful, so long as I continue to attack it every day.

Would TaskyTools work better as a portal? (Possibly, but it makes free deployment impossible. Design Tasky Tools so that they can be later incorporated into a portal more effectively. Research Portal tools? Maybe.)

The other is a SBI site that would explore all of the fun stuff to do in Atlanta and the surrounding area. The idea here is it forces me to get out and learn more fun stuff to do. Stuff like rock climbing, bowling, shooting ranges, bars, clubs, gaming spots, dojos, etc. All the stuff I like to do. Then I can share the value of my research and reviews with others. (This one is definitely an intent to monetize) I like this one a lot because it really forces me to push outside my boundries and really try some new shite. The only problem comes in the funding for this one yet, I don't know if that's even really a huge issue. Can I be successful in this endeavor without much funding? (Probably) Can I seek out funding? (I could but it's a bad idea) There really isn't any reason besides laziness that I haven't gotten into this one.

I've also started gaming more. On the one hand, this is good because it's something I enjoy and it makes me happy. On the other hand, it takes up time and it's not empowering. At least, not the games I've been playing. Like anything else, I need to schedule it in and be diligent about my gaming time. (Yes!)

I think stopping and writing what I should be doing, taking a 10 minute walk and focusing back on what I should be doing will help. Cycle time? Think about this later.

...Time to get back to work...

Intention and Manifestation

I've been playing an old game called Deadlock lately. In this game, there's an alien race called the Cht'cht. Whenever they send you a message, one of the random voices that gets played is this polyphonic female voice saying...

"Here, read this."

This is a blog post by one Steve Pavlina. He blogs on all sorts of self-improvement and growth topics. Some of it is too new-agey for me, but over all I like his stuff.

Go read it, since it's tasty but it makes a lot of sense. I'm not (but that may change) doing it as deliberately as he proposes but I've found myself doing it unconsciously, now that I think about it.

For instance, I want a more active social life with people who make me feel empowered, inspired and whole. I've recently been examining getting a subscription to NetFlix. It wasn't until I read that article that I finally saw something of a connection...

In my experience, a fair majority of shared culture of my generation is bound around movies. That and video games. However, I don't watch many movies and that comes up pretty often. It's rare that someone says, "Oh have you seen movie X?" and I get to say, "Yes." That, and I know I'm an analytical kind of guy and I would have great fun discussing a movie in detail.

So, although sign up for NetFlix never entered into my mind as a actionable step to growing a better social life, yet my brain was like... "You should go do this. You can afford it. It makes sense."

It certainly isn't a sudden and passionate interest in movies but there is an undeniable urging for me to do so. It makes sense that it may be my subconscious's attempt to give me more interesting things to talk about.