demanding my trust
grinning that sinister smile
I remain wary
“Benevolent” is today’s Word of the Day challenge. As I spent part of today reading the news, my trust in self-stated benevolence has evaporated.
Benevolent, A Senryu
Category: Personal Reflections
Lessons learned about life; pearls of wisdom I’ve gleaned through pain, failure and honest reflection
DNA, Technology and Unintended Consequences
From Wired Magazine: “There’s No Such Thing as Family Secrets in the Age of 23andMe”
This looks at the fascinating intersection of biological tech with democratized data, laden with so many “unintended consequences” in the DNA market (is it right to call this a “market”?).
I believe there was no way to guess these issues would come up when humanity first developed medical insemination. DNA databases and the commodification of DNA data: I doubt we could’ve guessed this coming about 10 years ago, much less in the 1970s.
Many, many questions, so few answers. The way forward seems murky. I guess it always is.
My Music Mood, August 7, 2020
Music, a deeply critical part of my life. I use it to reflect my mood or change it. It gives me energy, focus, feeds sadness. Such a powerful thread interweaving my whole life.
I’ve been streaming Kaki King the past few days. Her music covers such a wide range of topics and styles. She has plenty of pieces that give me energy and focus, important things since my studies are demanding plenty of both lately.
Pieces like this have been today’s loops:
Explore more about my relationship with music here.
Here’s my daily playlist built on my current interests and foci.
Plans and Connections
I spent the morning going through my contacts, cleaning out and updating things. There were so many folks in there who I had for some random project, many from my time in Real Estate, who I haven’t contacted in years. I felt puzzled by the number of contacts with limited information and no memory of them. One nice thing in Google: looking at the email threads. For many of these folks, there was simply nothing. I spent many years as a chronic collector of contacts. Here’s the end result.
My intent: get my list down to those I know, and build a plan to maintain connection. There are so many great people I’ve met over the years who I really wish I was still in contact with. I intend to fix that.
I understand that many contacts I’ve kept are people who have moved on from me. And that they may have no interest in reconnecting. I’m good with that, though I’ll be a bit disappointed. However, I recognize that none of us can do everything. All of us need to focus.
Also in my plans are to use this site to communicate better, too. Post more regularly and with those life updates. Multiple channels for connection and all of that.
I hope all is well with you during this time of COVID. What are you up to? What are you most proud of? I’d love to hear.
Haiku, July 30, 2020
walking in sunlight life’s
beauty singing to me
the scent of the shore
Another day in the summer sun. Most of it spent in front of my computer. More visual basic into my skull. I try to focus deeply, for coding is a key part of my future.
Exercise and health are other parts. Ones I’ve neglected, sadly. I’m slowly clawing that back. Slowly.
Walked in the early afternoon sun. After a few hours of exploring code, went down to Edmonds to run a few errands then go for a short walk. Always a happy thing for me, downtown Edmonds.
I hope you find your bliss and tranquility these fine summer days.
Wednesday Night, July 29
night descends
streetlights flicker awake
stars above the trees
Another summer night in Seattle. The end of a productive day. I’m happy with things. Glad it’s cooler than earlier this week. 90F is not agreeable with me any more. Not sure it was with the beach boy from the Philippines I was all those years ago.
My focus right now: Visual Basic programming. It’s been years, and I’m enjoying the reboot. I’m also studying command line interaction with Windows, and second quarter graphic design.
Graphic design has been a challenge this summer. Compressed timelines often bring lower quality work. This does help with the perfectionism. I hate having to submit “good enough”. Yet it’s good. Positive comments from my instructor and fellow students reinforce that.
How’s your summer going?
Om Malik: How Do We Look At The Present?
I always appreciate the wit and wisdom of Om Malik. Today he tweeted this, which gives me great pause:
I don’t know how to look at the present – 56 percent of 2020 is over or that 44 percent of 2020 is still left. What do you think?
— OM (@om) July 24, 2020
2020, a year of havoc and confusion, of transition and destruction, forcing to face our histories against our deepest resistance. Such a dramatic and violent reaction? Will we survive?
Half done or half over? Perhaps a question of optimism: half-full vs half-empty? In this time of pandemic, optimism seems myopic. But, I believe the opposite. Humanity holds what it needs to overcome our destructive tendencies. So I hold on to hope.
Quote of the Day: Stan Lee
I struggle with putting too much stock in the opinions of others. I guess it’s natural to want friends, etc, to support and validate your thoughts.
However, if you are seeking to do something new and innovative, you will come up against natural human resistance to change. No matter how good an idea, some well-meaning people will challenge it.
Take their critique, analyze it, then make your own decision. You have to live YOUR life. Ensure that you won’t face regret.
On the other side of this coin: I seek to ensure I’m not “some idiot”. I don’t want to reflexively crap on the ideas of others. What do I know, anyway? I’ve made many wrong predictions in my life. I’m not clairvoyant!
When I’m asked my opinion on such things, I try to focus on details and on what challenges I perceive. I seek to help clarify and refine a vision, not damage or destroy them.
I want to help people achieve their goals and dreams, not damage them. “Leave people better than you find them”.
Life Change Update: July 17, 2020
I’m well into the second quarter of my education to become a web application developer. Last quarter I took the first of two graphic design classes, along with a Management class (introduction to Human Resources) and the 100 level Computer Information Systems class. The HR and CIS classes were fine. I learned a lot, and they helped bring me back to speed (it’s been decades since I’ve been a full-time student). However, it was the design class that pushed me hardest. It’s been ages since I studied design. And I value it, so I really want to do good work.
I’ve posted many things I did on my portfolio page. Below are a few I feel the most proud of.
- I created a logo for my imaginary (sort of) business Setzer Digital
- Here’s another logo that I created with my poetry blog in mind.
- Here are a few posters I created for made-up events, for a made-up company…you get the drift.
- And here’s a mood board that I did for an actual local company.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.
Reading Recommendations for May 25, 2020
I spent my Memorial Day morning catching up on email and reading. The scope of “keeping up” overwhelms me at times. The only solution I found to not letting this stress me? Accepting the lack of a solution, and that I must choose my focus. So, most of the stuff that comes into my inbox gets deleted.
Here are a few things that caught my eye today:
- “My Dad and Henry Ford“, a comic on The Nib. There’s been a lot written lately about Ford’s antisemitism. I appreciated this story’s personal touch.
- As I’m committed to continuous self-improvement, I found “9 Questions That Will Help You Make the Most Out of Every Day” enlightening. I created a daily checklist in Evernote based on these questions.
- “Four Hard Facts That People Need To Swallow” provided a reminder to accept people, especially flawed people, as they are.
- I’ve long struggled with comparing myself to others, and to the inner misery that this can create. Sinem Gunel wrote this article over on Medium, “Happiness is Found on The Other Side of Comparison“.
- “A 3-Minute Hack for Focus You’ve Probably Never Heard Of“. I’ve long used music to create focus. Calm, tranquil music that is. There’s now a label for a specific type of focus music: “Binaural Beats”.
- Related to the above, I have yesterday’s Pacific Notions (via KEXP) playing this morning to help create focus. I’m unsure if this falls exactly under “binaural beats”, but it has a similar effect for me.
That’s where I find myself this morning. How about you? Anything inspiring and insightful come into view for you?