Hi folks,
Another year…
Hard to believe TOA is into its third calendar year and quickly approaching a two-year anniversary. Without question, it has been a slow, boring, and generally unexciting ride.
To all my readers who’ve been involved for part of the journey – I thank you for reading.
And to the small handful who’ve been along for the entire ride – my sincerest apologies.
Let’s get 2018 started!
It’s a real mixed bag today – some old friends come back, I hand out some gifts, and maybe, if there is time, I’ll mention a book or two on my list for January.
Oh, and uh, Happy New Year, and all that.
Gatorade is nice if you're hungover.
Tim
Proper Admin – revisited
Sure, why not? It’s been ages. Plus, I’ve done at least one proper admin in each calendar year of TOA. Might as well keep the streak alive.
Proper Admin? What is this?
Proper admin used to be a regular feature where I berated myself for several thousand words.
Editor’s note: I don’t do resolutions…
Those in need of a resolution might be interested to learn that I’ve basically stopped running any distance between three and eight miles. It is a semi-arbitrary rule of thumb, no doubt, but I’ve found it very helpful of late. As I run through the winter, I’ll see how this rule holds up. If I stick with it longer than just a few weeks, I’ll explain my entire thought process with a longer post sometime in 2018.
Here is a quick summary for today. I recognized how the four to six mile distance was too long to run hard but too short to build my stamina. The short run I do now – about 2.7 miles total, just shy of a 5k – is a perfect distance to finish at a near-sprint. The runs I do for eight miles or more challenge my long-distance capabilities and build up the stamina in my legs, my feet, and my lungs. The middle distance accomplished neither of my goals – I never ran hard and I never built up my endurance. When I realized these runs were only accumulating damage to my body without significant benefit, I stopped.
A special gift for my loyal readers
I often reference the ‘book notes’ I take down as I read. These often serve as the starting point for the long, pointless ramblings I post here.
Reader, if you are the sort who likes just a taste of the cookie dough before starting up the oven, you may find yourself intrigued by these notes. Just follow the link here:
CLICK HERE for a huge list of book notes I never intended for others to see...
I will add that link to the top of the blog’s main page, as well, for future reference. I look forward to your lawsuits!
An analogy nobody asked for regarding resolution #1…
It’s kind of like something I learned when managing a team: do things every day or do them just once.
One more analogy nobody asked for regarding resolution #1…
It also reminds me of a mentality I use when I find myself doing repetitive work: do it at a walking pace or do it at a sprint – never jog.
Another gift to my loyal readers
If you ever wish to search a specific website using the power of Google search, use the following method:
1. Go to Google.
2. Type 'site:' into the search box
3. Hit the spacebar
4. Type in the website name into the search box (but don't hit enter!)
5. Hit the spacebar
6. Enter the search terms
7. OK, now hit enter, you impatient...
So if you were interested in searching this blog for 'tales of two cities' (though for what possible reason is beyond me) the search would look like this:
site: trueonaverage.blogspot.com tales of two cities
And here's a link to the results of that search.
In the coming months, I’ll try to add this as a built-in search function on the TOA main page.
A final analogy nobody asked for regarding resolution #1…
It’s a lot like how I eat two meals a day.
Wait, what was the actual resolution?
Well, reader, I don’t do resolutions, so all you get is the facts: I either run less than three miles or more than eight. If you understand why I’ve done this, you might be able to craft a similar resolution for yourself.
You really won’t help?
Fine, either do something for two minutes or two hours.
Thank you.
Oh, don’t mention it.
I was being sarcastic.
So was I.
A problem I had in November…
My goal for November was to publish (‘publish’) one post per day. Reader, I assure you, I achieved my goal. However, my loyal email subscribers may have noticed (or not noticed, I suppose) an empty inbox on November 16! I’m not sure what happened.
On November 17, readers were treated to a TOA first – two posts in one email. I guess Google made it right in the end.
In case the double feature was confusing, here are the links to post #1 and post #2.
Editor’s note: I don’t do resolutions, part two…
One thing I’ve been trying to do recently is to say “you’re welcome” after someone says ‘thank you’. This is in response to a bad habit that I seem to have – saying something other than “you’re welcome” after someone says ‘thank you’.
Here are a few examples of what I’ve said instead:
-Oh, don’t mention it.
-No worries.
-It’s OK.
-No problem.
-No, thank you! (Editor's note: this is arguably the dumbest thing I regularly say.)
-De nada.
-Hey, it was my pleasure.
-For what? (Editor's note: this is also up there on the 'dumb-dumb' rankings.)
..and several thousand other things.
I don’t quite understand this habit. Why deny someone else the chance to show gratitude? Maybe I’m trying to show humility for whatever I did to merit the thanks. But there is a better way to show humility: be humble. Right, Mr. Lamar?
Plus – I could always just say those things after I say “you’re welcome”.
Books I’m excited to (possibly) read in January
-A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander
According to my library records, I first checked this book out in 2014. Let me tell you, reader, it was a beast – over one thousand pages! I got to page three, I think, before I gave in and returned it.
I think it is the right time to return to it, though. The main reason is admin-based. At this time of the year, I get a lot of books as gifts. These books do not accumulate overdue fines. Since I’ll likely ignore my other reading while working through a medium-sized brick of a book like A Pattern Language, I think I am going to experiment a little bit this month and see how starting up a new year with a long book goes.
Anyway, what is this book about, you ask? It’s all things design – architecture, interior layout, how to organize a town square, stuff like that. It’s considered one of the great books on the topic. More to come soon on this, I’m sure.
In the next month of...True On Average...
1. I buy everyone a banana.
2. I show off my scientific credentials.
3. We determine if this blog is true, false, or racist.
Anything else?
As regular readers are aware, I’ve just turned thirty. This means I’m officially old, or at least, too old to keep up things like daily posts. So, reader, enjoy the daily concept while it lasts.
I think the most sensible target for these parts is around three thousand words or so a week. This works out to roughly fifteen minutes of reading over a seven-day period (and about three to six hours of writing for me). I’m not sure on the exact details yet. But this is the general goal and, if I were forced to come up with a resolution, would probably have to be it. Not that I do resolutions, though.
See you in January.
