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30 May 07 – 30 May 07
I really don't like pressure.
19 May 07 – 19 May 07
Woke up this morning. Ran down to the nature trail and back. Showered. Drank some orange juice while my oatmeal cooked, then ate that. Saalon called and we talked excitedly about the giant robot idea we're working on. Ate some melon and a slice of bread for lunch.
Went shopping. Came home, unpacked, started some dough in the bread machine, and went for a leisurely stroll to a nearby coffee house. Ate a toffee bar while I sipped a cup of vanilla tea and read this month's issue of Fast Company. Stopped by a grocery store on my way home and bought a pound and a half of strawberries.
Hung a bird feeder to replace the one that the squirrels tore apart (that was fun; I clipped a heavy iron puzzle to one end of a metal chain and threw it over a tree branch. Took eight tries before I threw it hard enough). Removed dough from bread machine, shaped into rolls, and baked them. Cooked some pasta and ate dinner.
Finished polishing Giant Armors and sent to friends and writer's group for review. Started laundry. Finished watching Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. Finished laundry.
It's been a good day. And not because I've been trying, particularly. I'd planned a few things, and I'd wanted to finish a few things. And I mostly just did what was in front of me and made sense.
Which, I suppose, is best.
12 May 07 – 12 May 07
One of the most popular anime shows in Japan this season is Lucky Star, a screwball comedy about a couple of rather dense high school girls.
The opening theme song always makes me smile. You can ignore the nonsense lyrics and just enjoy the over-the-top, fun, completely celebrational animation.
10 May 07 – 10 May 07
Yesterday was the last day of my web design class. It was a test of my teaching skills, and of my willingneess to teach regularly again. Teaching can drain you incredibly fast.
I enjoyed myself. It was challenging, but I had plenty to say every night we met. Each week was different, which is almost always a sign of something worth doing.
I passed the test. I think I'll teach two courses in the autumn (no more than that, though): one on basic web design, and another on web programming in PHP and ASP.
9 May 07 – 9 May 07
You may have noticed that the "recently photographed" image on this site rotated amongst a few recent photos. That's because the battery door on my camera broke several weeks ago. I haven't had the money to buy a replacement, thanks my job hop.
So, I've removed the photo from the sidebar, until I can take fresh photos.
6 May 07 – 6 May 07
I seem to be mostly recovered now.
I've noticed a fair amount of extended blog activity about the Law of Attraction. If you haven't heard of it, to quote Wikipedia, "'Our thinking creates our reality.' In short, if one's consciousness is in tune with the 'whole,' creation becomes a resource from which we can manifest whatever we want; the fruits of our 'magical thinking' enter our personal lives in the form of synchronicity."
Which contains a nugget of truth. If we spend more time thinking about something, then that thing becomes more important to us and we favor it more in our actions. And there are usually many more opportunities to accomplish our goals than we initially expect. I saw that with Otherspace; I never expected to find as many artists as I did.
But I have two problems with how the Law of Attraction is presented by some bloggers. First, it's presented as though all you have to do is think. I've read bloggers who make it seem like you just have to sit in an easy chair and dream, and your dreams will manifest around you. That's a perversion of the Law, which implies that resources are available, but won't necessarily make your dreams happen for you.
Second, it's materialistic. It's a way of getting more. For millenia, sages have been saying that the secret of happiness lies not in having more, but in wanting less. So why spend all this energy on another method of consumption?
3 May 07 – 3 May 07
Ha! From the 1934 Fresno Bee: Gigantic Robots, Controlled by Wireless, to Fight Our Battles. If only.
(Not a Photoshop contest; this is from Paleo-Future, a site about early visions of the future.)