looking for heaven
feeling sunlight and a breeze
here amongst the trees
An Early Morning Haiku
Blog
Today’s haiku
into the spring sky
my gaze drifting into where
yesterday's clouds were
More Web Dev Projects
I didn’t post yesterday, so I’ll post about the project I did yesterday and the one I did today. Yesterday, the project was for an Animated Countdown timer. Using CSS and JavaScript to create this animation was pretty cool. My consternation came from a bunch of mistyped elements in my code. Finding those little glitches (like typing “igm” vs “img”) gets wearying after awhile.
Today’s project was an Image Carousel. I only made one code error, but it was a sneaky one. The images would not sit well in their frame. Turns out, I tried to set the size to 500px, but I had a stray “1” in there (1500px…opps). Once I found that, viola!
These are rather small projects, where I’m mostly trying to refresh my understanding of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I want to be far better than I am, even if I don’t end up becoming a coder. I really enjoy this and want to grow.
I also am working on Google’s IT Support Professional and Project Management certificates. Both of these are valuable skills, and useful things to understand regardless of role in IT.
Another of the 50 Projects In 50 Days
Ok, I got distracted from the 50 Projects In 50 Days Udemy Course. It’s been over a year since my last post with one. I’ve been working two jobs for the past year, so that’s my excuse. However, I want to get back at this as I still want to better my developer skills.
This project is titled “Notes App“, which is, well, a note-taking app with interesting elements. First, we use the “Marked” library to enable mark-down capabilities. Second, it uses local storage. So, this was a pretty cool project!
I still hope to eventually move into web or software development. This is fun, if often frustrating work. But, man, you feel like a wizard when you figure this stuff out. Once I’m done with this class, I’m leaning towards studying Python, though maybe I should dive into other web technologies (React or Svelte, perhaps?). One of my attractions to web development was the ability to continue to grow. There’s always something to learn. Always!
Spring berries, a haiku
glorious red drops
resting against the blue sky
sunlight after rain
Today’s Haiku, April 2. 2024
a burst of sunlight
feeding the new spring flowers
a break in the rain
A Meditation: Avoiding Bitterness
Nadia Bolz-Weber, one my favorite theologians/pastors, received this question recently:
How do I guard against being a bitter and mean old lady?
I love her response (and highly recommend reading it), but let grab a few lines that hold the essence:
‘Could you maybe, even though it’s super cringy, place your hand on your heart and ask it “What hurt you? And how can we move on together?”’
“But reader, I am hopeful. Defiantly so. There are a million forms of shit out there, it’s true. But what is also true is that there are always more forms of love.”
As a boy I often heard the refrain “you are what you eat”. Eating better might be the goal, but I hold this true for mind, body, and soul. Therefore, to avoid bitterness, seek the beautiful, seek out love and joy. Also, write down those findings. That cements them into your soul.
Gratitude is the most powerful medicine against bitterness. Seeking out the good in the world is the only antidote to the world’s bitter cynicism. And it’s just an arm’s reach away.
A Seattle Native Born In Rhode Island?
What do I mean by this? Well, I have a unique background. My father was in the Navy when I was born, which is the root of this situation. I was born in Newport Naval Hospital. My father was stationed there, however briefly. Thus, “born in Rhode Island”.
Native Seattleite, though. Well, my parents were both born in Washington. My dad was born in Seattle. His mom was born in Seattle. All my grandparents were born in Washington…you get the drift. Fun tidbit: I was supposed to be born in Seattle, but I opted to crash my mom’s trip to visit my dad. I like to be early.
My first and second birthdays were celebrated at my grandparent’s place in Edmonds (my mom was finishing up grad school at UW). That same place was “home”, as in “we’re going home for Christmas”.
So, yeah, my early childhood was spent living all over the world. Besides “greater Seattle”, I lived in Rhode Island, California, Virginia/Greater Washington DC, San Miguel and Subic Bay, Philippines, before we moved to Lynnwood when I was not-quite 10. A little over-complicated, but a key factor in becoming who I am.
March 23, 2024
while the raindrops fall
this day of rest progresses
into the night’s grace
Rain filled this day, and my energy level was, well, absent. But I clearly needed rest. So, I rested. A gift to myself, I guess.
Tonight’s Haiku
wonders of daylight as slowly the sun descends and spring now begins
I took this photo on my evening walk along the waterfront in Edmonds. Sunsets over the Olympics are some of my favorites.