2021 – Page 2 – Tao and Zen

Thursday, July 29th 2021…It’s been a while…

Hi All!

It’s been a bit since I last posted and while out on a bus coming home from a Cubs game, I was reminded (as i viewed the site) that I haven’t posted since May.

We went to one of those rooftop venues across from Wrigley field to watch the Cubs lose. This evening out was sponsored by my employer in celebration of a successful rollout of 2 projects, one to move our main legacy business applications to a managed service provider in Michigan and second, the successful move of our major business application to an external data center. These both were quite large projects and were a culmination of six months effort of planning, long hours, many people, and several companies. Not to mention almost flawless execution resulting in a minimal of downtime. Was it costly? Yeah, but the company is quite large and it affected all our North America operations and global connections. So it was pretty important.

I feel like I can finally breathe and relax a bit and focus on audit and our tickets that I have been putting to the side. Oh, and do a bit of training. I decided that I am going to go get my A+ again just for fun and not let it lapse, which is what i did the first time. Ideally I want to get the full suite of CompTIA’s certs. I feel like I have been so busy and have had no time to learn anything new that I could apply to business. Well, learn anything that I want to learn from a broad spectrum. I learn a lot of very specific, very targeted things all the time. And it makes me highly specific.

I’ve been riding road quite a lot lately and have really been enjoying it this year. I always wish I could ride more, but something always suffers since there are only so many hours in a day. I have been fascinated with trying to increase my power in riding and bought a relatively cheap power meter for a kind of baseline. My bud, bought me a new bike computer and I have been using it a lot. He gives me a bunch of crap for it since – really, what am I going to do with the numbers? Well, hell, my goal is to improve! Raise my VO2 max, raise my power. Kick some butt. I also bought some new clip pedals and new clip shoes. I’m going to use and install them on the air dyne in the basement and get used to them before I go out on the path and risk life and limb. I already have one reconstructed joint, I’m not willing to risk more just yet. Maybe next year 🙂

I have not taken any art classes recently (since late May) and have been dying to take one or two. I haven’t really had any disposable time. I still need to finish my painting i started. I feel like I’ve been neglecting my future.

I have a retirement class this evening. We signed up for a 2 part class through the local college. It should be interesting.

-Rat

Saturday, May 15th 2021… I got to ride for one week. I guess I should be excited…

Its been a month of toil. The weather has been crappy – only a week of rides. I got a new bike computer (thanks, buddy!) that pairs with my MyZone heart rate sensor, and bought a speed sensor, a cadence sensor, and a power sensor. And since its a Garmin and ant+ compatible, it gives a crap-load of information and integrates with GPS. On a related note, we will be going back to the gym in a bit (can’t wait to get back in some semblance of shape). I’ve been reading a book on breathing – again (a different book) and, am still trying to improve my breath. It’s hell getting older. Wim and Sam went right out the window after working almost a month straight. Projects at work will be slowing fairly soon for a couple of months.

Last weekend we went to Madison and finally got some R&R. I’ll post pix next week after I download them and finish my taxes today. My compadre graduates today with an Executive MBA! Way to go!

-Rat

Wednesday, March 10th 2021…got my lens today…

Ive taken a first step towards my future business, but I have to keep up with my current business. Lots of stuff to do tomorrow. My FOID card is expiring soon, ugh. The website is very simple but odd. Doesn’t anyone change their cell phone? This is the second time that I am having difficulties with a changed cell phone that is linked to my email address and 2 factor authentication. What a pain in the ass. I will have to suppress Legal Zoom tomorrow morning also. I never should have done that but whats done is done. Now i have to follow thru with getting rid of it.

I started meditation with Sam Harris and HOF breathing as a daily practice, in addition to exercise and finishing up with a cold shower. Now if can just incorporate the Star Spangled Banner in 😉 We shall see. I am going to have to get up earlier so i can get all my stuff in.

-Rat

Sunday, March 7th 2021…I’m still trying to figure it all out…

I have a camera that I’m trying to figure out. It’s complex and is not what I thought. I don’t know… maybe i have to watch a YouTube video or two. I’ve bought a couple of books and I’m no technical slouch, but wtf? You’d think it would be fairly simple. Maybe I’ll join a board and leverage someone else’s experience. It’s a beast for sure. I took a couple of pictures of tonight’s sunset. Very pretty. It really makes me appreciate the iPhone, it’s engineering and simplicity.

It won’t be long now, today was a high of 51. Come on spring. We are talking about starting to ride the trail this year. Below is my new, redesigned logo.

-Rat

3saintsartstudio.com Orland Park, Illinois (URL coming soon)

Monday, March 1st 2021… it came in like a lamb…

Today I started my metamorphosis at 5am. I started with my breath training, riding the octane with my mouth closed. I am trying to lower my resting heart rate by not exceeding my aerobic/anerobic threshold (it was a total pain in the ass trying to keep my heart rate at 121 bpm) during exercise and its especially difficult because I am motivated by my “MyZone” heart rate monitor. I finished up my pre-work morning with Oatmeal and a shower, ending with cold water for 30s (it really sucked). Oh, and I wasn’t so hot with my diet on my way into work – thank you very much… (I’m still human). I will admit I did have a boatload of energy. I went in to work today to send a tape to our VAR, I designed my logo for my new Photography business and even created a tag line for it. I’ll put it below. I have my camera ready, I’m downloading firmware updates for it, my everyday lens will be in soon. I still think I need another subject lens. I have to get my light setup ready too.

This is what I had envisioned for my business logo. We shall see where it goes. I worked till noon, drove home, stopped for 5$ Sushi Monday at a fav store of mine, ate lunch, and worked again till 5:30pm. My Day.

-Rat

Sunday, February 28th 2021 … Gnomebody gnome’s the trouble I’ve seen…

A friend of my wife’s came over yesterday and we celebrated my wife’s birthday. She is one year younger than me and takes every opportunity to let me know it. Anyway, she got a couple of gnomes as part of her gift. I’ve always liked the little guys. We put them on the fireplace rocks. I’m tired. Stick a fork in me – tonight I’m done.

-Rat

Friday, February 26th 2021… Received my 2nd COVID shot yesterday…

Well, I was told under no uncertain terms that I will feel like crap today (due to the COVID shot) so don’t plan on doing anything. Luckily or unluckily I feel pretty good thus far. We shall see going forward. Since not having any initial side effects the first time, I should expect them this time. I am expected back in the office on color rotation in 2 weeks. There are 4 colors and they will be rotating in and out to limit the amount of contact at work. Ah, the joys of a lack of trust. I personally am looking forward to it since it will mean less hours working for me. When I am leaving, I will be gone. Not available 🙂

I missed my Watercolor class with John Wednesday evening. Bummer. I thought it started next week. It was dropped due to low enrollment. I felt like crap so I texted him an apology. He called me back. It was good to speak with him. He was busting my chops about the trail (he always does that) and bike riding. Last week, I was watching one of Dale Popovich’s watercolor painting workshops. Whether or not he knows it, Dale had a huge influence on me in my career directions. I don’t know if he would remember me but I also went to the American Academy back in 79-80. There was a few of us that congregated between classes (we had hourly 10min breaks) throughout an 8hr day of Art immersion. There was a guy from the south-side that he hung with who wanted to be a professional illustrator. I don’t remember his name but he had dark brown hair, wore glasses, had a chipped tooth, and rolled a mean cigarette. He was really good at illustration and i could see he looked up to Dale with a bit of skill jealousy. They were taking a class with Irving Shapiro who was a premier watercolor artist in Chicago and the dean of the school. He used to say more than once “If it was just Irv and you (Dale) in the class asking questions, he would be happy…”. Dale would reply: “He doesn’t want to hear from me…”. Anyhow, Dale and this other kid (whose name I cannot remember), met me in the hallway for one of our many breaks, and I was considering a different career choice. I was burned out, disgusted with myself, full of anxiety, and truly rudderless for the first time in my life. I had no direction. I was always going to be an artist. Now, I was going to be a disappoint to my folks, and myself. There was a community college (COD) that i was considering – it was a fledgling college of trailers next to a swamp, a 40min drive from my house . I asked them the question “What is the furthest thing from art?” Mathematics, electronics, physics… Dale replied, and that’s the direction I went. There was a few more guys I listened to. A hyper-realist named “Arno” who was a second year illustration student, and 2 second year artists named Scott and Mario and a big, tall, bushy, black haired guy named Royce (I think he was related to Sasquatch). But it was really Dale and the other guy who I listened to. Dale was one of the “cool” kids who would spend his lunch hour in the spring and summer tanning himself at the lake front. That was the Dale I remember. Wow, reflection – what a trip.

I may spin up a photography studio dedicated to stained glass windows in the Midwest. What I would really like to get is Cardinal Cupich’s blessing on my work and start building a photography portfolio. It’s still a concept but it’s gaining momentum and clarity in my mind. I think I’ll call it 3SaintsArtStudio.com (I had the domain name anyway) and link it to RedSky as a linked art studio. It would allow me to separate my painting and drawing from my photography. Now all I need is time, some drive, and a little luck

-Rat

Wednesday, February 17th 2021… “Glad I bought Dell…”

Had my first experience with Dell Customer Support this morning. Now, being an IT guy and having dealt with all manner of experienced and non-experienced types all over the globe, I had a low bar and lower expectations. I have a laptop that I purchased last January for my business. I wanted something portable that i wouldn’t have to mess with very much, easy to use, because my wife would also need it for her things. I have had good experiences with Dell at work so I went with that. Ive had my fill of building stuff at home and I’m at a point in my life where I know what I want from a number of technological perspectives. I didn’t just fall off the truck – I’ve dealt with all manner of computers and programs. I want something that can be wireless and wired, can be used for graphics programs, for manipulating photographs, create websites, program, do email, run all standard Microsoft software, run all Adobe software, run a myriad of VM’s if I should need it, and play games. In other words, “a jack of all trades”. I want a large hard drive, I want it fast, and I want horsepower. Now, all of those things together are really a hardware juggling act. So the PC that I got, is a laptop, has a SSD – which is kind of small in the grand scheme – only 200Gb. So I bought a second SSD that is 1.8Tb which requires a bit of juggling data. I have a RAID 5 NAS that’s somewhere on the order of 12Tb if I should want or need it. Hey, some day I may try recording. 🙂 A Core i7/10th Gen with 4 Cores, 8 Logical processors later.. Sorry, I went off into the weeds. Anyway, I called the Tech Support number, and was walked through a bunch of well thought out troubleshooting steps. Problem was eventually solved. What I found out was that my Bluetooth is integrated to the motherboard but has hooks into the network adapter. So I had to reinstall some drivers, restart and hard-restart the laptop. Problem solved. I think Nino, who is from the Philippines is very knowledgeable and patient. I had to kind of chuckle. I could hear a rooster crowing in the background every once in a while (he may be working from home in Hawaii). I would definitely buy Dell again. Thanks Nino and thanks Dell!

My watercolor class with John is over for this period, so its time to figure out what I want to do next from an art class perspective. Supposedly Beth Leahy was teaching a “master the method” class which focuses on artists, their lives, motivations, techniques, and history. You then mimic their technique to see what you will come up with. Sometimes, its eye-opening the hoops they (the artist) jumped through. Anyhow, I still have a ways to go on this watercolor. The color harmony is much better than my usual. I am still learning. My drawing is decent, my composition skills need some work, my color skills are lacking, my color mixing skills are decent, my color identifying skills are decent, I just need time.

-Rat

Tuesday, February 2nd 2021 …6 more weeks of winter…

Started the PowerBreathe training today. For whatever reason, I cannot for the life of me find the instructions. Spanish instructions, yep. English, nope. I decided that I am so gassed after the Octane in the morning, ill substitute it for the morning workout and use the PowerBreathe in the evening after dinner. The Octane is a recumbent elliptical. I try and push myself when I can.

Laid off the painting tonight. I think I’m going downstairs to clean and straighten for a bit.

We made Enchilada Cream of Chicken Soup tonight in the Instant Pot. It tastes yummy served with tortilla chips. So, you take the chicken out and pull it. Blend the contents, and put the chicken back. No actual cream involved – uses squash, tomato paste, a tin of hatch peppers, some beans, onions, a potato, and a hand blender for creating the “cream”.

-Rat

Monday, February 1st 2021… Lots of balls in the air…

HEY! It’s a reference to juggling, smart ass. I’ve been busy lately, not that I’m not always busy, I received my “PowerBreathe” in the mail yesterday. I bought this hoping to increase my lung capacity. Hopefully, it can help me on my bike this year. It’s a 4 week course of twice a day. I am supposed to not over-train like any other muscle and give myself enough recovery time. When the hell am I supposed to get my high-intensity training in? I’ve got to figure this thing out. On a similar note, I purchased some more weight to make working out at home more feasible. Yesterday, when I was snow blowing the driveway, I was using my neighbors snowblower and for a time and i actually felt that I was hurting my shoulder or bicep tie-in. I was a little tender this morning but not too bad. Today, I also began to just sit with my back against the wall, stretching my psoas. Trying to undo the damage sitting and working from home for long hours has caused.

One other thing that i have been working on is creating a book of watercolor paints and values of my limited pallet and all my convenience colors. It’s been interesting seeing what mixes with what and what the paint values look like.

With all the snow that we got yesterday, I had to walk around to the back of the house today to knock the hanging drifts off the roof. We got between 11 and 13 inches. I refilled some of the bird feeders and added some water to the bird bath.

-Rat