YTD – April 2018

There is a lot to be said for taking a long view in your life. This certainly seems to be getting easier as I get older here on the threshold of my 32nd birthday, about a month from now.

Some things/projects I’d like to find time to work on more this year are:

  • Essays here on this site.
  • A django website project built on an existing (large) database
  • work on some fiction projects.
  • Upgrades to our chicken coop, notably a roofed-over run and automatic door
  • Beer brewing this summer
  • Notes on a podcast project I’ve been thinking about in fits and starts for a few years.
  • Hiking and paddling.

I hope I am getting better about forgiving myself about slow progress and trying to make steady, consistent progress.

Given that I’ve got my computer here at home set up well to work on points 1 and 2 above, I finished out today getting ssh access set up remotely with a DDNS and port-forwarding so I can log into the machine from anywhere.

I’m finishing this post sitting in the little cafe attached to Nori’s Villiage Market, our organic food co-op equivalent here in town. (mostly since our main coffee shop is closed for the week.)

Recently I’ve reread the first two books in Graydon Saunder’s Commonweal series and the third bok for the first time. I’ve really enjoyed those books and should write some reviews of them. Just started the second Terra Ingonita book by Ada Palmer, which I enjoy for its richness but which I ultimately feel sort of ambivalent about in ways I haven’t taken the time to articulate.

Looks like my Mom is getting a cabin for a week down in the southern adirondacks that I should have time to spend at. I enjoyed being on an un-networked vacation with time to read and write. Ought to work that sort of time into my life more often, not just on an expensive vacation. There’s some fiction projects I want to work on and get out of my head. I still daydream about being able to write enough to fund a writing workshop like Clarion or Variable Paradise. I did the math some time ago about how many words at what rates I’d need to publish to finance such a trip. My job allows enough time off that that wouldn’t be a problem, so I’m in a wonderful position to take advantage of that. Now, I just have to put in the time and the work, which is always easier to talk about than to do.

Time to go read a book, publish this post and head off to an appointment, haircut and errands before I go to work this afternoon for the evening.