How to study anything ✍️
— Prof. Feynman (@ProfFeynman) September 30, 2023
• Indulge in the joy of discovery
• Embrace uncertainty and doubt
• See every problem as an opportunity
• Be curious about everything
• Love the details
• Think constantly
• Focus deeply
• Reject the "genius" myth
Father’s Day – 2024
Enjoying the weekend with the Tiny Tornadoes.
Teaching myself how to write blog posts on a pad with my arthritic thumbs.
Memo to My Younger Self
Tommy Lundberg, an exercise researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden, and the author of The Physiology of Resistance Training, says that strength training is far more important than most people realize.
“You get improved glucose control, especially if you have Type 2 diabetes,” he says. “You feel better —which is a very important effect, as it can reduce stress levels — and you typically get better sleep. As you age, it helps you function better so you can carry out your daily activities for a longer period of time. It also helps reduce your risk of falls.” https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/strength-training-resistance-longevity/2024/01/24/id/1150856/
Quote for Today – 05.24.24
“We’re not born with unlimited choices. We can’t be anything we want to be. We come into this world with a specific, individual destiny. We have a job to do, a calling to enact, a self to become. We are who we are from the cradle, and we’re stuck with it. Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”
Steven Pressfield
Can Someone Please Explain This To Me?
Papa, Why Don’t You Celebrate Your Half-Birthday?
Today is my half-birthday on The Road to 70. The question came from my 6.5 year old granddaughter on her 6.5 half-birthday. My initial response was totally adult, something about not celebrating half-birthdays the older you get. But the more I pondered the question the more the real answer should have been why not? So for the first time in a very long time I am celebrating my half-birthday today. No party, no cake, no presents. I’m simply basking in having created the life I wanted and still being around to write about it.
I don’t feel old. I know I’m old. I felt old a few years back when this happened:
And unlike some of my relatives, I grew up.
I knew I grew up when I stopped buying/collecting guitars. I finally cured myself of the proper number of guitars equation.
(I think this one is still in a guitar bag somewhere in the house, forgotten until I saw this picture.)
Two I released into the wild that somehow ended up in Owasso Oklahoma.
After a four year hiatus due to The Great Pandemic I rejoined the Y and got back to some serious resistance training. It didn’t take long to discover various muscle groups of mine that had stopped working. Absolutely no surprises here since I sit on my butt for hours on end, working, writing, reading. So to commemorate my half-birthday and to prevent other muscle groups from withering away I started a new age-friendly exercise. Rucking.
There’s no denying rucking is an efficient workout. The added weight on your back strengthens your legs and trunk, while simultaneously giving you a low-impact cardio session. These benefits increase when you add hills to the mix. Heading uphill with a pack pushes your VO2 max, while going downhill challenges your stability and eccentric muscle control, according to longevity expert Peter Attita.
I Rucked Every Day for a Month—Here’s What I Learned — https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/30-days-of-rucking/
It was a short ruck, with maybe 15 pounds in my backpack and my calves are telling me I need to do this more often.
My half-birthday happened to fall on the last day of the NBA regular season. Although I wrote “no presents” it would be awfully wonderful if the Thunder finished the season with the number one seed going into the playoffs.
If any of my relatives in Oklahoma happen to read this post you can tell Tiny Human #1 I celebrated my half-birthday this year. And for the curious who would like to see a current snap of the 6.5 year old, here you go.
This Roofing Story is Better Than My Roofing Story
From the front page of this morning’s local newspaper – https://www.oklahoman.com/story/business/real-estate/2024/02/16/okc-roofing-company-mixup-leads-new-roof-homeowners/72577457007/
History Lesson for Today – Happy New Year!
When the Year of the Dragon arrives, birth rates in China tend to boom. Many parents believe that a child born during this year, a lucky dragon baby, will be destined for success. Though this perception is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, with parents investing greater resources in their dragon child, the extraordinary expectations surrounding the zodiac creature speak to its deep associations with intelligence, authority and good fortune. This year, the dragon will take the helm from the rabbit on February 10, ushering in a long-anticipated period of prosperity unique to the mythical being.
Why Is the Year of the Dragon Considered So Lucky? — https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-is-the-year-of-the-dragon-considered-so-lucky-180983764/
Year in Review – 2023
But make it again and The Tiny Human may change her mind. ”I don’t like that!” which no parent has ever heard from their child.
Another year, another championship.
Our grand-donkey got painted for the 4th of July.
These people were aggressive and called my cell phone. I told them I’d be very happy to sell them a property I don’t own.
RIP.
Ski Chile ! (mountains all look the same to this Flatlander)
Future artist.
If you live in the US or Canada quit complaining.
YouTube put this suggestion at the top of my For You list of must watch videos.
AND I also get this in my feed:
But at least I’m not Cody.
I didn’t go to Maine.
A quiet anniversary dinner at home on New Year’s Eve.
In with the new and out with the old.
Good or Bad?
garyskitchen.net 