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Dive Depth Meter and Watch

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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: For Sale

Published: 16 January 2019

Hits: 1726

Dive Depth Meter and Watch. I'm selling them because:

A) I don't dive and I'm generally above sea level and so it's not too exciting

B) I can't figure out the watch. It only shows me "N-S-E-W" like some sort of cryptic Magic 8 Ball and spins around every time I move.

Routines

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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: Miscellany

Published: 16 January 2019

Hits: 1738

And I'm trying to evolve a few healthier routines - to replace the old routines that weren't working. This is how it goes:

#1 - Wake up, boil water - go for cigarette while water boils - return, have coffee, peruse the inanity of the internet. This I'm trying to cut down on, Mebbe a half hour at most, nothing is new, the world still turns.

#2 - Go for brisk walk. Return. A few mental exercises, stretch. 

#3 - Read aloud. I'm working on some "kids" projects at the moment so I'm reading a selection of T.S. Eliot's Verse and from his Book of Cats. This is actually, despite sounding nuts, very helpful. To read something is one thing, to read it aloud - sound it out, try and find the rhythm, alliteration, it's quite another. And it's helpful, it slows down the brain, makes me read, speak and think slower. That's a good thing. 

#4 - Meditate. I've tried this before, it's without the best thing I've done for boosting productivity. If I can do it. Sitting quiet, eyes closed with an empty mind is surprisingly difficult. Which is weird because I tend to do this all the time when my eyes are open and I'm engaged in conversation...The best I've done, 20:18 - 20 minutes, 18 seconds. I was into the absence of mind. On a good day this could be addictive.

This is followed by what I would hope is "A period of Productivity.". And, overall, things are more productive than they were. I answer no texts or calls (unless it's to sell something off on Kijiji), my day was becoming easy prey to other peoples boredom.

In the evening, after dinner, normal digital relations resume. Put on some background music, Trip-Hop is the new favorite, lots to listen to. Unpack a few boxes, write a few postcards, list a few more items on Kijiji.

I've noticed - If I have a clear idea what I'm doing - a little background music or noise doesn't hurt, but it can get distracting - I'm prone to distraction.

This is how it goes. I repeat steps 2-4 a couple of times in the day, an ideal day would see me get in an hours meditation, but that's a ways away. 30 days makes a habit, lets do the experiment and see the results...

The Daughter beats me at chess

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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: People

Published: 16 January 2019

Hits: 1054

It was about time, really, the boy, he's never overreached, but the daughter isn't shy. 

She's been losing - she's won at Scrabble, until I started enforcing the rules - same for me as her, leveled the playing field, as it were, that wasn't a popular call...

Chess, well, I've never been a great player but with the kids I've taken it for granted I could not pay attention, play sloppy and worse, and recover from the worst of plays. 

The daughter's proved otherwise. A few moves in...a few moves, I recognize them after playing them, first a bishop, then a knight, then a queen, all left unguarded, and she's quick to pounce on them. I'm inattentive at best. It's good this, you don't want to beat your kids forever, you want them to be better than you, but still, maybe I have to slow down a bit, pay more attention, up the ante - I don't want to be seen as TOO easy...