Weekly Summary #37

A relatively good week, though plenty mixed. I've been quite involved in action and with worry about the financial difficulty I've encountered, which has subsumed a large part of my thinking and chores this week, but still I managed to get a pleasant amount done, especially helped by my new way of managing to-do lists. The worst I can say is that I'm being agonized by leg cramps again, the kind that yank you out of sleep to stand up to undo them, so I hope this phase passes before I eat my legs.

The list:

1.) Research ReCAPTCHA: I did, but it took way too long and is above my understanding. Given how simple a function I want it to perform I don't think it was worth the time to scrutinize it, so I've taken the popular shortcut in posting my e-mail by typing it as Benpercent1 (at) gmail (dot) com at the top of my page. If you need to contact me privately about anything now you can, but please be unique; if it's about a blog post, then consider a comment instead.

2.) Read to page 100 in The Science of Chocolate: Failed, but I tried. I need a new reading strategy for this text. It's valuable, but has a confused perspective as to who its audience is, as some portions are written for knowledged chemists while others are accessible to the layman. I'll just need to push harder to make it to the end.

3.) Finish my spring 2011 spring edition of The Objective Standard: Shamefully, no.

4.) Read chocolate history book: Yes. About a chapter and a half in. Oh, and it's called The Chocolate Tree. Kind of dry, but very interesting. From this I've decided I'd be very interested in a botanical text about the cacao tree.

5.) Look up how to create banner graphics: Oh, a brief bit of fiddling and I gave up. It's intimidating given what little visual skill I have, but I have an idea for a design I might like, so maybe I should just go forth and play around with something in Paint or the likes.

* * * * *

As the days pass, I continue to grow more and more hopeful for the future, and have been experiencing a flaring up of my ambition towards my pursuits. It's a little fuzzy as to where I where I want to go ultimately, but the goals before me are immediately within my sight and aim. I've been working hard to improve myself at my job and keep myself roundly productive at home, and I've finally reached a satisfying balance in my blogging habits where I'm able to keep on top of things and yet not feel like I'm dedicating too much time to it.

There are some barriers to my improvement, but I think I'll be able to remedy them quickly. For one, while I've constructed a list to enhance my productivity at work I've been unable to afford a page protector to keep it from being destroyed, so I've been without it. Additionally, I've grown very proud of and confident in my ability to write good chocolate reviews, but being unable to afford a camera to post photos of the products continues to be a barrier. I anticipate being able to financially resolve these conundrums within the next two weeks, and I'm especially excited for the latter.

For this week I'd like to rush in and spruce up my blog a bit with a new banner and see if I can enhance my reading ability and concentration, the latter of which I intend to muse about in greater detail early next week.

1.) Try hand at creating banner: I have an utterly simple but fitting idea for a banner which I may be able to pull off with my limited skills, so instead of worrying about researching graphic techniques week after week I think I should just open up a program and experiment.

2.) Read The Science of Chocolate, The Chocolate Tree, Crash Proof, and spring issue of The Objective Standard: Reading continues to be a difficulty with me. On one hand I feel I read too little, but then on the other I tend to assign so much it leaves little time for digestion. Either new habits or strategies are needed, but I do have an idea for a strategy I call a scribble book. This week I'm mainly going to read as much as a I can without minimum requirements.

3.) Experiment with "scribble" book for reading: In short, this would be the practice of taking rough notes on whatever reading I do; not with the intention of going back for review, but rather for enhancing attention and concentration. Think of it as being similar to my old practice of writing repeatedly unfamiliar words I have trouble with, such as medical terms and foreign names. Again, I'll write more next week on why I'm doing this and for what problem.

4.) Practice tossing pizza with clothes at home: I know it ain't Paleo, but I work at a pizza restaurant which should sooner or later call upon me to take part in the baking. It isn't necessary to toss a pizza in the air, but it's a very practical and efficient skill to learn and master. (No, tossing pizza isn't for aesthetics. The centrifugal force applied to it while spinning in the air helps increase its size in a more symmetric circular shape. It's probably quicker than stretching by hand too.) My intention right now is to find some clothing of the sort, like a wash cloth or shirt, and practice tossing it around. First I have to find something that will act like moist pizza dough, however, so failing that this goal is sunk.

5.) Tidy up room: Self-explanatory. This place is a mess. I need to have designated spots for certain items.

That's all for now. Here's to working hard and earning a good future.