Football Epilogue

It's been a struggle lately. Going to bed most nights I feel primed to get up and get a workout in; only to have the motivation evaporate in my sleep.  This morning was different. I woke early and turned on my nightstand lamp. I was out of bed before 7 and decided to take advantage and go for a jog. I found my sweats, put on my hat gloves and my old down vest and ventured out. My Bluetooth earbuds still had some charge and I was feeling something melodic and metal. Ghost filled that void and I started around the long block with a brisk walk to the tune of "Dance Macabre" (random Joe fact: Macabre happens that be one of my favorite words).  The Walk turned to jog as I turned my first corner, careful to avoid the freshly frozen puddles that would put a Zamboni to shame. The air was cold on my arms, but the rest of me warmed up quickly and I was surprised at my endurance as my last non-treadmill cardio was in October.  The morning movement felt good. I was able to clear my h...

I recently found this gem (above) from the college days. Well actually my daughter found/presented me with it as it came out of some stuff from her mom's house. This was my freshman year and was likely sore enough that the face is expressing legitimate discomfort.  For some reason I only recall taking Freshman and Senior year (below) pics. Maybe I skipped them the other years in favor of napping or dinner?  It is an interesting contrast to look at the two. There's definitely some size differences, not to mention freshman year was the only year I tanned up well. I guess I got smart and learned how to stay out of the sun. 

It's 10 °F (-12 °C) outside. At least it's usually sunny on the coldest days here in Minnesota.

Dabbling with the Google Maps API I'm in a tinkering mood. I also have a couple of ideas that involve messing around with Google maps. Thus, I researched embedding a map on my page. It's pretty basic so far, there's a lot of hunting through references and tutorials for the right commands and I had to learn a little about Google Map's application programming interface (API), javascript and GeoJSON (a map data format for adding features to map data). So here it is, Bloomington, MN with an itty-bitty flag. Simple first steps to perhaps something bigger.

24 Hour Time 12 Hour Time

I'm in the midst of remodeling my basement. part of this is refreshing some of the electrical including moving a wall switch and installing some recessed lighting  using handy LED replacements. The wall switch is part of a four-way switch where the lights at the bottom of my stairs can be operated at the main entry, bottom of the stairs and at the lower back door (walk-out style basement). Multi-way switches can be a little tricky to figure out. There are different ways you can wire depending on where the power comes in relative to the lights. Fortunately, the internet is good for something besides political rants and I found this handy illustration. : buildyourowncabin.com has some handy wiring diagrams Again, be sure to get the right diagram for your needs and always DO THINGS TO CODE! If you feel at all uncomfortable, hire an electrician . You can hire a handyman through Amazon now. The main thing to note is that you need to buy the right switches and the r...

Icehouse in Minneapolis has live jazz on Monday nights. Check it out if you need some thinking music.  I watched Luminous Flux from above the dining area.

If you can't tell by this blog being all over the place, I like a little variety in life. I definitely treat hobbies as though I were running between free samples at the grocery store. Working for a small business I tend to wear a lot of various "hats" from physicist and engineer to proposal writer and program manager to developing software to help expedite data analysis and report generation. Over the last couple of years I have been fascinated by the concept of the side hustle. That side job you do to earn some extra fun money. Part of this has felt necessary as divorces, even somewhat amicable ones, are expensive and there's a little debt to pay down. Another part of it is pure curiosity and the entrepreneurial challenge. An example of taking on such a challenge has to do with eBay. I had previously dabbled with selling on eBay, unloading an old stock of CDs and DVDs. Then one day my dad bought an overstock of nail gun parts and wondered if I coul...