Every year, I pick a word. The first one was at the end of 2022; I picked “honesty” retroactively. Because I wasn’t really being honest with myself about my personal and professional development. As I continue using these words, I’m realizing that both of those forms of development help each other. It’s a symbiotic relationship. When I develop myself professionally, my personal life benefits and vice versa.
Previous Years Words
You can review previous posts that I created in January to read up on my path. Others were “Consistency“, “Integrated“, and last year was “Novelty“. This year I will Focus.
I’ve got to the point where I realize that I’m not choosing these words. It’s not really accurate to say that these words choose me, either. Seeing as they’re just a verbal representation of ideas. It’s more like the ideas have found me, and I’m allowing them to shape me. (If you can subscribe to the ideas of Elizabeth Gilbert and Rick Rubin; that ideas exist separately from the humans that find them.)
Why Focus after Novelty?
Last year, I spent time remaining mostly sober and seeking out novelty. Novelty is about saying yes to experiences, seeking out new opportunities, and doing as much as you can. Then those experiences leave impressions or memories on your mental timeline. This, in turn, expands your perception of time. Since time is a construct of the mind anyway, our perception of it is all that matters. Broadening our experiences in the name of making our lives feel longer may be the closest thing we will ever get to time travel.🧘
I: spoke at conferences, pretended I started my own conference, started a podcast, recorded live podcasts, continued certifications in Game Learning, and developed a card game about my industry… …all while spending time with my family, updating a rental propery and learning how to play Pokémon Go.
I have noticed my “words of the year” tend to expand and then contract. Go out, try new things, and then reel it back in. Like an ebb and flow, like an inhale in an exhale. Like contrasting values to create a physical form on a two-dimensional surface.
Novelty was about expanding, saying yes to new things, whereas Focus is about contracting. I selected focus, and then the word opportunity came to me; something about that didn’t feel right. Having a year of novelty and then a year of seeking out opportunity. Somehow it seemed to distort the balance like a double yin and not enough yang.
Focus
I need more focus. I need to focus more on what really matters. Spending time with my kids while they are still young and still need me. I need to focus on opportunities that provide a return. In this way, it’s all connected anyway, but this is a better way to frame it.
Was it not enough that my wife shared, “You need to focus, David.”
My mom also said, “You are always running somewhere lately. You are always in a hurry.”
That’s not like me. That’s not how I naturally am. The year of Novelty turned me into a scattered runner. Trying to do more novel things, and I need to round that off. This morning I had a realization after an early set of yoga with some black coffee. I had a good feeling, and it came to me as a visual… I tried to recreate it with Adobe Firefly, and it isn’t half bad…
This morning, I had a realization. This place I am visualizing has a certain mental buoyancy. You effortlessly float above all the sludge. All the worry, all the dread, all the ignorance, and all the drunkenness. Like a small raft floating over an ocean of beasts, poison, and misdirection. Not hydroplaning over the ocean, and not sinking either. Between the layer of dark oily liquids and the thick air, hovering, balanced.
Focus = Relaxed + Aware
I was listening to the first episode of 10% happier, the podcast by Dan Harris. He had his master instructor, Joseph Goldstein, on the show. They were talking about a new book. They’re writing where they’re using. Dr. Goldstein‘s catch phrases on how to be better at meditating… things like “When you are sitting, realize you are sitting.” Or “Just try again, just keep trying.” Or “Mara, I see you.” Mara here being the embodiment or physical representation of ignorance or temptation.
The part of the discussion that really stood out to me was absolutely fundamental. The idea of being both relaxed and aware. That really is the goal of meditation, isn’t it? It’s the goal of all religions. If you’re too relaxed to get all spaced out. If you’re too aware, you start to get too deep and start worrying about things. Things that don’t matter or that you can’t control. It is obvious, and it is easier said than done.
This Must Be the Path!
I wanted to find a single word that represented both of these things: being relaxed and aware. I’m not 100% certain that when I went back to the word, focus, I hit the mark. I do feel it fits the bill. I really don’t feel like I’m forcing a square peg into a round hole. Feels more like I loosely inserted a round peg into a square hole. It fits, but there’s some empty space around it. It doesn’t wiggle, there’s still room for improvement, and if you’ve read any of my stuff you kind of know that that’s my thang.
I started writing this post in March of 2023, but somehow haven’t found a way to finish it until December 29th, 2023. The additions I have just made in December before posting will be in bold text. I think it is because I feared I would not be consistent in this method. Another fear I had was that I have a bachelor’s degree in theater and a master’s of science in Instructional Design. I am not a medical doctor so giving health advice seemed like something I was not qualified for.
I went for a physical check-up with my PCP On April 19th of this year (2023) and after looking at my numbers he asked if I was doing anything differently. I said I was and explained a bit of what I have to say in this post. He said, “Well, whatever you are doing it is working. You could teach a class on this.” I agree with him, I don’t know if he knows that I work on learning, but, yeah, I could teach a class.
Picture of me walking outside of the Hospital after that very PCP visit in April, 2023
The main thing I want to stress is simply the weight gain I experienced. I acknowledge that weight gain is only a single measure, but if you are changing habits and are overweight, then weight loss is a good place to start. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall and the most I have ever weighed is about 250 lbs US.
I used the YMCA app to track my workouts and my weight. I managed to get down to about 202 right before our trip to Thailand. This screenshot was taken around June 8th when I was about 208 lbs. So this is what was happening with my weight a year previously to June 2023.
Then while we were in Thailand, (while I was on vacation) this happened.
This is what I looked like before all of this started
And this is what I looked like after.
Below this point is the original post I wrote in May of 2023, I will add more pictures and videos to support my point:
No More Sugar
I have made a promise to myself to explore the concept of consistency in 2023. Most importantly, I have successfully eliminated raw sugar from my diet. Cane sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, and yes even honey are things that I simply do not eat for now. I will eventually go back on the Maple syrup and the honey I think, but for now, for consistency around not eating honey, they are out. In addition to that sugar has been shown in research to be not much better for your body than vodka, beer, rum, malt Liquor, Milwakees Beast, Nattie, Stag, etc.
“Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat,”
“The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke,”
So how do I sweeten things, well, the short answer is Stevia or Monkfruit. Even certain sugar alcohols have no calories but tend to confuse the body and still disrupt the insulin cycle. So, for the most part, I don’t eat sweet things, but if I have a sweet craving I use the Steevia and Monkfruit packets I get at Costco.
The first video I watched that inspired this whole health journey is this one:
I understand that Dr. Berg is a chiropractor and not a dietician, but hell I’m an instructional designer, so I don’t have much room to judge. Still what he is saying is accurate, at least for the most part, and I am holding myself up as an example that it works.
While we are on the subject, I would simply like to bring up the point that the “practice” of medicine is still perceived to be an art as much as a science. I believe it was this podcast that explored the concept that the practice of medicine doesn’t look as much at the newest science but more along the lines of “This is how we have always done it.”Or, “This has worked so far so let’s just stick with it.”
Click on the image below to read the transcript and hear the audio.
If there is one thing other than sugar that I am consistently working toward it is insulin resistance, or finding ways to reduce the number of times per day my body starts creating insulin. This is a key to health because then when we actually do create some insulin our body reacts more effectively, and when we are not creating insulin our body goes into a rest state. The state of autophagy is when your body cleans itself out. It throws out all the junk, the bad mitochondria that lead to well, cancer.
Autophagy –
Consumption of the body’s own tissue as a metabolic process occurring in starvation and certain diseases.
Destruction of damaged or redundant cellular components occurring in vacuoles within the cell.
OxfordLanguages – Google
As the title suggests I have consistently undergone Intermittent fasting. I have vowed to skip breakfast and have not eaten it for just under 4 months (as of April 2023). I know that skipping dinner would be healthier because it would improve my sleep, but I wanted to start with something I knew I could be consistent with. I wake up and have a cup of coffee, If the day before was rough or a cheat day, I might add some ghee or cream in to make some bulletproof coffee but on a normal day, I only add stevia or cinnamon if anything. Two weeks ago I went for a two-day fast, on Thursday and Friday, and then ate a late breakfast on Saturday. It felt great and I was surprised I could do it.
At one point throughout this entire year, I fasted from Thursday to Sunday. I did not eat anything but water and coffee for over 72 hours. It was intense but overall I really enjoyed it. My fasting this year has ebbed and flowed, but overall I have fasted at least once per week to allow my body a chance to clean out the junk and decrease the chances that I have live cancer cells in my body. As I mentioned previously I have watched a lot of Dr. Berg’s videos, and here is his take on fasting. I like how these videos feel like a course in a classroom and he provides simple actionable advice.
The concept of fasting really did pick up for me later in the year. I can also use this opportunity to share another health goal I set for the year. This one is more about longevity and also focuses on no sugar, no alcohol, and fasting. I often listen to the Ten Percent Happier podcast on meditation.I first listened to the How to Get Fit Sanely series, and I listened to the episode with Dr. Mark Hayman before the others, and after listening to the others I still like this one the most.
I like his concept of having a long health span not just a long lifespan. Live a long healthy life. He also uses research from the blue zones, and he gets a bit carried away with supplements, but I really like his concepts of hot saunas, cold water baths, and eating the fruit of wild stressed plants. I got his audiobook from the library and put it on my phone for my trip to Thailand. Well, both of these books actually.
His message is not really groundbreaking… basically, maximize the nutritional content in your food. Minimize carbohydrates and sugar. Eliminate alcohol. Add small stressors to your lifestyle like working out, hot saunas, and cold baths. This habit activates your recovery systems, but once the repair is completed these systems keep on working. The idea is that this will increase your “healthspan“, not just your lifespan.
I have listened to Young Forever the most and found it very compelling information. Some of the information on nutrition and supplements is overwhelming, but it’s easy for example to remember to eat loads of pomegranate and kiwi fruit. Overall, it is just the principle of what makes you feel healthy, so find ways to stick to that.
I have the audiobook on my phone now so tracks from that book will randomly pop up when I mow the lawn. On one such occasion, there was a statement that Mark Hyman made about how new science is always heavily criticized by the scientific community. He basically claimed that old ideas in the world of science usually die out when those who believe them die. So, paradigm shifts in the scientific world are incredibly slow. What is considered “true science” or “legitamine science” is a relative term and changed throughout the ages.
Now a skeptic would think, “Well, of course, Dr. Hyman would say that how convenient, because he is a quack and he is full of $#!+.”
…And yet another person could hear that and think, well all of these ideas are new and have not all been thoroughly tested beyond a doubt with conclusive controlled studies. That is what you get with new or cutting-edge science. I could give it a shot and see how I feel. That is more what I did and I have to say that it worked for me. People are all different and what worked for me might not work for everyone else. Finding what works for you is what the health journey is all about.
As I mentioned I got into Mark Haymen from the Ten Percent Happier podcast on meditation. They had a Get Fit Sanely series, and I enjoyed all of them. I recommend you check it out!
Of the series these were my 2nd and 3rd favorites:
Your brain on Food was especially compelling and I share some of the food I crafted later in this post.
I also gave the intuitive eating episode a go. It was very compelling because it was obviously the favorite plan shared by the host, Dan Harris, but it didn’t work for me as well. Intuitive Eating was something I attempted later in the year, and it really led to me overeating and basically eating whatever I wanted between most of November and December. You can look at the chart for the whole year to see the overall result.
So, you can see above that my year was a net loss of 14 lbs. The low point in the middle was July when we visited Thailand and was my main goal to have a trimmed physique. The flat part after that was a result of my 50-Pushups a Day Challenge. Then after that, I listened to the intuitive eating podcast and added cheat days. Then October and November became a cheat month.
Consistently Nice to Myself
It has not always been easy cutting out raw sugar and then not eating for more than half the day. When I first started on this path I was happy to have the guidance of Dr. Eric Berg DC. His videos on the “Healthy Keto” approach made a lot of things fall together for me. Healthy fat is important in this transformation. It is the key to letting go of sugar. This is because our bodies are geared to store energy as Ketones and then burn that energy as fat fuel. Fat is a very efficient fuel for us. Sugar was not part of the equation until recently.
Here is another Dr. Berg plug on how to get started on “Healthy Keto.”
I have added cheat days after implementing “The Four Hour Body” method by Tim Ferris. This has really helped with the psychology of keeping on track with this method. On Saturdays I can eat whatever I want, I still fast in the morning, but I break my fast with foods high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. There are also extra exercises I can do on this cheat day but I am normally working in the yard anyway so I don’t do them! This concept of how to have a cheat day really worked for me so I recommend checking it out. I mostly just added the workout to my schedule 3 times a week from this method. I have also added carbs that are not “white”, any carb that is or can be white. So, bread, potato, pasta, and rice are out, but yellow corn, sweet potato, or purple potatoes can be eaten in moderation.
Overall the cheat days work well for me as a psychological break, but they often turn into cheat weekends, and then coupled with intuitive eating they become cheat months or cheat seasons. So, they work but they should be used in moderation. If you just eat whatever you want one day a week then you really are not on a real ketogenic diet, because a bad cheat day can kick you out of ketosis for up to 4 or 5 days after.
I would really like to emphasize the workout sessions from “The Four Hour Body” as those helped immensely to use the “Minimum Effective Dose” MED of exercise to stay healthy and save time.
Consistently Well
So, far this health journey has been a journey of learning. It really is about finding what works for me to stay fit, and feel better about myself. I would say that cutting out sugar and snacking are the two biggest accomplishments of the year, but eating loads of vegetables, working out more, and cutting alcohol almost out of the picture have all helped tremendously.
I have also gotten into cooking healthy food at home and post about that a lot on my Instagram account.
Above Tuna and salmon salad have high protein count and salmon contains leptin, which signals to your system it is OK to burn off your fat as fuel.
Parsley rivals kale in nutrients and has more vitamins K, A, and C, and it is very easy to grow at home.
Amid all this fasting and eating a Ketogenic meal plan, I also got into fermenting foods because why not!?
Cole slaw mix on left, and peeled garlic on the right, both in a sea salt and purified water brine
If you adhere at all to the concepts of probiotics or even pre-biotics then fermented food is a way to cultivate good bacteria that help your gut work properly. I am not sure exactly where I stand on the science of all this but when I eat fermented food I do feel better.
I have been talking a lot about alcohol but have not directly written about it in this post. I had a dry January and that stretched out to 5 months of no alcohol. On Father’s day, June 16th, 2023 I drank a LOT of good bourbon and learned that drinking while you are on a Ketogenic diet has disastrous results. You basically get two or three more times drunker than you normally would. I also gave a few of the new NA beers a shot because they taste good but most of them still have high calories and sugar.Before you roll your eyes, there have been strong developments in vacuum stills that manage to preserve the flavor of the beer while removing the alcohol.
This Samuel Adams was especially delicious but it was actually more of a NA malt beverage, and the calories were just under 100 so not terrible. Still, hands down the NA beer I liked the most and felt the best about drinking was by Athletic Brewing Company.
Let’s just call it what it is. Alcohol is a toxin. It is a poison that destroys every part of your body. It diminishesthe body’s ability to produce muscle mass so it is not good for athletic recovery. Alcohol has been shown in multiple studies to have carcinogenic properties. More recently I have read that alcohol simply hinders the mitochondria in your cells which both provide energy to the cells and take out the trash. So, alcohol might make us feel good for some time but at the end of the day, it is just as bad or worse for you as sucrose or fructose.
So, this ended up becoming a long meandering post, but then again, it took me nearly a year to write it. I am happy you made it this far and I hope I brought up a concept or a guru that spoke to you. I would love to hear from you, and more about your personal health journey, and what has worked for you. Please send me aline or reply to this post.
If you have seen any of my November posts you might have heard me say that I was consistently not shaving my beard for November. It was No-Shave-November over here and my wife and my daughter were none too impressed. My daughter pretended to think it was cool but my wife was very open about how it made me look old and she thought it was not lovely.
This post should have come out at the beginning of December but I spent more time than I had anticipated on my last post: Long Rich Life of Novelty.
Dave at Target to buy minty beard balm with his adorables
Why did I have a beard for November? Well, I am not going to lie, I like having a beard. However, the movement is about more than just doing what you like. I have a good reason to shave my beard, my wife hates it. No Shave November is actually a movement that recognizes men’s health. It is a statement to open the door for discussions around types of man-specific cancer and mental health. When a person struggles with their health they often lose some or even all of their hair. No shave November is an opportunity to grow out the hair, appreciate that you have health, and be thankful that you are healthy.
A Simple Birthday Present
Luckily, my wife’s birthday was at the end of November, so I could shave the beard just in time for her birthday present. Unfortunately, for my wife, I still had the beard for our wedding anniversary but I think we look distinguished.
Dave and his wife, Jeab at the Ritz Carlton St. Louis
Dave and his wife, Jeab at Oceano Bistro, Clayton, MO
I Had Options
I do not have any pictures of after me shaving, to see that you have to watch the video of me shaving my face for my wife’s birthday.
In this video, my son documents my act of shaving my face
I did have options, but when I was searching around on the internet for beard knowledge I found pictures of other options I had. I found these images that I probably do not have the rights to use on this blog, but they are also probably a FaceBook post from an Instagram post from Reddit, so they have gotten around at this point.
Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers
Some dude who is not famous like Oakland A’s starter Mike Fiers
I don’t know what you call that type of curly “G” shave but I got some flac when I posted it on my social media. Then there is this guy who is all over the internet with his spiral beard but I can’t seem to find his name
Spiral Beard
Spiral Beard
OK I Lied, I Do Have a Nice Shot of Clean-Shaven Dave
We were fortunate to go to the Missouri Botanical Garden Light Glow with our good friends, the Prechtels, this year! Yes, I have friends. What? Why are you looking at me surprised like that?
You see!? Real friends, I have. I didn’t even pay them to hang out with me. …Well, I bought the tickets but they paid me back on VENMO right away.
In conclusion, I feel that there was some friction around growing a beard for health awareness in men, but nothing that would deter me from doing the same thing next November 2024!
Thanks for reading!
David Kolmer is an Instructional Designer who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theater and a Master of Science in Instructional Design and Educational Technology. Sometimes he shaves his beard and other times he does not. When he chooses to not shave his beard he always insists on keeping his beard well trimmed and adds minty beard balm from Target that his daughter says smells very good.
In this video, I highlight the progression from using my computer’s built-in web camera and microphone to using suggestions from connections at TechSmith (Andy Owen and Matthew Pierce) to using my iPhone 12 mini as a camera via the free version of Camo Studio.
V2 of this video.
Camo Studio is Great
I am impressed that I can use Camo Studio by downloading respective apps on my Windows PC and Mac iPhone 12 mini. The free version is limited but really does more than I expected. The only limitation I see is that I can only record in 720p and not 1080p resolution. While working on this post to make sure my thumbnail was the right ratio I received information from TechSmith and there was Andy Owen again. So, thank you two times Andy Owen!
He looks surprised that he is being so helpful. Don’t be surprised Andy Owen, you are always helpful, and so are you Matt Pierce, you guys rock.)
Honestly, it might’ve just been another message for you, another part of your day, but it meant the world to me. It helped me move forward.
Microphone Improvements
I also updated my process by using the Microphone I obtained when I purchased the Comica CVM-VM10-K. In the video, I call this microphone a powered condenser microphone, but I don’t think it actually is. The microphone is simple a High-quality cardioid microphone. I am questioning if this really improved the sound quality of what My phone already has, but at least the mic is pointed at my face!
More on Mics
The MXL-990 condenser microphones
I also owe a big thank you to my friends, Caleb Willitz, who is a well-known audio recorder in the Chicago area. He has given me a measurable amounts of advice on how to build a better sound booth. Also, my very good friend Ted Schaefer has confirmed much of Caleb‘s advice, and then also recommended a pair of infamous condenser mics, that are known for high-quality at a reasonable cost.
I have purchased 2 phantom-powered condenser microphones but do not have my Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 compact audio studio hub, so more to come on my sound clarity! Not to mention my lighting, which I do mention in this video. Special thanks to my friends at Articulate for the free light, I won’t stop using it, but plan to add more lights.
Music
Polo & Pan – Ani Kuni (CC)
John_Kensy_Music – Mindfulness Relaxation & Meditation Music
I want to share that I have lived a full life. I have sucked the sweet marrow out of life and lived life to the fullest. I should have died multiple times but I did not die, and for that I am thankful. I love that I am alive.
Thanksgiving
This is a big holiday in the United States. It had never been my favorite. The staples are glutinous action and binging American football. Oh, and we pretend that we did not euthanize the native Americans. These are not things I hold close to my heart. Give me Halloween and Christmas all day long, but I can leave Thanksgiving at the dinner table.
When the Puritans and the first white people landed in the American nation we had basically no plan. I say “we” here because I am German/Hungarian and therefore caucasian, but I do not adhere to any of the Puritan doctrines. (Idealistic Christian beliefs that included spreading hate and fear of those who who ar not white and heterosexual.)
The first white people in the Americas were lost and afraid. They probably ate corn and some deer with the Native Americans in a desperate attempt to stay alive. This has evolved into a gluttonous feast around pumpkin pie, sugared cranberry, and Turkey. I mean, Turkey is a superfood so I am totally on board with that part, regardless of the historical inaccuracy.
In fact, we had such a poor plan that the first white British colony resorted to cannibalism just to survive. and then there is the fact that we wiped most of the Native Americans off the face of the earth. Not no real reason to celebrate in my book. In spite of all of this, I am still happy and I am still grateful.
If you disagree you should listen to this masterpiece by Avery Trufelman
Thankfulness is a buzzword. Let’s just call it what it is. At this point, it is a painful offshoot of the frenzy of consumism by the most successful capitalist society of all time. But the US needs to watch out because China is closing in on us for such a prize.
That is not what I mean in this post. I am talking about being grateful for the benefits of gratitude. Now there is plenty of research on how this act of being thankful decreases the stress hormone cortisol, and I am an avid listener of the 10% Happier Podcast, but I am going to fall back on Headspace in my content curation here because Headspace is the BOMB.com. If you are not using Headspace then where have you been!? You need to get on that, BOSS!
What is one thing you are thankful for today!? Be mindful of being thankful for what is good. The delight will overwhelm you and the fact that we have systematically disenfranchised the women and people of colour in this world will start to matter less. Or at least, they will not overwhelm you with guilt as they tend to do for me on this dreadful holiday of denial of history.
Move Forward
I got dark here. I got a bit too real for some. If this is too real you need to grow a pair (testicles or ovaries, however, you identify.) If you live a life of privilege you need to own that shit and live up to it. You need to capitalize on that shit so that you can empower those who have been disenfranchised by the very systems that empower you.
“When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect towards others.”
Back in September of 2023, I took a lot of videos about all the fun I was having on a work trip. It took me a while to get to a point where I wanted to work through that video footage and share it. In fact, I grew a beard for no shave in November and have since shaved it off for my wife’s birthday. So here we are a whole beard later.
Are work trips always fun, well, not really, especially if you have to travel all the time for work. I have done that and after a few months, it gets old. However, there is a secret weapon that I plan to explore further and it threatens to be a theme for me moving forward. That concept is the one of Novelty. Specifically how novelty can increase your lifespan, or at least your perception of your lifespan, which to be fair is the same thing… more on that later, but for now, let’s talk about how amazing this short work trip was. I flew out to Savanna with a layover in Nashville on Southwest Airlines on a Wednesday morning. That night we had dinner with the whole team and on Thursday we had our big meeting. I could have flown home on Thursday but I snuck in a bit more novelty by hanging around Thursday night and flying home Friday morning.
I do not want to downplay the Pirate Nature of this work trip. So look out for the pirate themes… Not sure how ya could miss it ya SWAB! offen’ ya goes ta swab Vee starbird bow. Make Haste! A.I. review shared that I jump around aimlessly from topic to topic here and do not have a point. How else should a good Pirate behave?
AdobeStock_467304940
Savannah Was Great
So, off to a good start on this business trip. We were in a fun town. It’s not easy to have such a novel experience when you are stuck in the belly button of Newark. Luckily the video below starts at the Savannah airport and quickly progresses a restaurant called The Pirate’s House – ARGGHHH.
Travel for Work or Pleasure?
…
Yes.
Well, why can’t it be both? With a bit of intentional effort, it usually can.
Although the reason for this trip was to capture feedback from our talented SMEs on the EPEC training content provided by NAED, the footage I captured had very little to do with that process. This is in part because I simply didn’t think to capture that video of us working, but also because we were discussing learning content that is developed for sale by the National Association of Electrical Distributors, so I didn’t feel comfortable doing so.
In hindsight (Which is normally in 20/20 they say) I should have captured more video of us actually working on the training project itself. It is not exactly exciting, (unless you are a learning nerd like I am or an electrical products nerd like our SMEs,) but it is nice to see how passionate our reviewers are about being factual and transparent in presenting the landscape of the electrical distribution market. Moving forward I think our Marketing team would enjoy having that sort of content on hand, so I might make an effort to start capturing it.
What We Did While Not Working
Now I have only been on two of these trips, but from what I gather we normally find time outside of working hours to just walk around. This time we were tipped off by one of our talented SMEs that there was a Prohibition Museum within walking distance of our hotel. So we definitely hit that up, and that is definitely represented in the video above. My leader, Kitty, found a fantastic restaurant to dine at called The Pirate’s House – ARGGHHH. (I would like to point out that this “ARGGHHH” was not added by me but by the top Google result for the restaurant’s home page. So, yeah, that says a lot about how cool this restaurant is.
What Does Adjacent Really Mean?
Also, while wandering around we ended up in the Adjacent hotel lobby …or the Hotel lobby that was adjacent to ours. Actually, I am not sure if it was adjacent or what would even make it adjacent, but I do like the word adjacent a lot. It makes me sound smart-ified. That Marriot Hotel Lobby which was adjacent to our Boutique hotel lobby was filled with Geode Gemstones. I will say, that I did read some of the words found on signs in this location. This was done to make me look more smart-fied in front of my Boss, Kitty, pictured right. While doing this reading of words, I learned that most of these GEODES are the largest samples of such crystals in all of the globe. That is laden with novelty!
Picture of Improvement Dave (David Kolmer) and Kitty Lasinski, (Dave’s boss) in front of the largest of this type of Geode known to the human species in all of the known meta-verses.
Geodes are really cool and fun to look at. I definately did NOT touch them. … well, not all of them, I mean.
Improvment Dave
Geodes for Days!
So, when I exported these images from iCloud to my PC laptop running Windows, they exported as HEIC files. Normally they do not do that and I am still not sure why they did that this time. I have seen HEIC file format when I export original files from the Mac “Photos” app to my Mac computer, but I have never seen that working on my PC.
At any rate, when I loaded Mac format images into ADOBE Premiere RUSH to create the video they all imported inverted (or upside-down for the uninitiated.) Maybe, I was holding my phone upside-down when I took this mess of selfies and my phone auto-rotated them? I normally only see this file suffix for images I have edited…
Color me Confused!
…and in awe of this ginormous silver Dinosaur skeleton!
So, I say all this to explain, that there is a group of photos I opened as a batch in my Microsoft image viewer and attempted to export as a batch but the batch export didn’t work. I still had to export them one at a time to convert them to PNG files, but at least they were not inverted like in ADOBE for PC.
Now, I could have probably used the HEIC files on my V-log here, because WordPress and the internet are both awesome! …but let me tell you I have had more problems working with these HEIC files than I can share here. I can’t submit them on government web pages, and they never work on the apps for my kid’s school, and that is being done on my iPhone that created them. So, I tend to go out of the way to avoid using the HEIC file format. Yes, Apple, I said it, your format stinks! It smells of wet lettuce. I am sure it is great for all these groundbreaking early-adaptor reasons that I don’t know about. Like some layered spectral benefit that will most likely never benefit me. Mostly they just make me wish I didn’t have an iPhone, and that says A LOT, because I love my iPhone, but I am a simple man.
For example, this is the largest GEODE of this chemical format in the world and it looks like a certain part of the male human anatomy which I will leave unsaid and unwritten at this juncture! Heh! it doesn’t even fit in the shot!
So, either way, many of the exports that I opened as a batch had the tint all messed up, but those are actually kind of cool! so I will post those now to add a dramatic effect to how cool these GEODES were! …I guess the tip was broken off. Oh Well! It’s still the biggest! Does size matter? Not when you are the biggest!
Kind of reminds me of something. It’s on the tip of my lip…
There was a gigantic skull in the floor! (Grammarly wants me to say “on” the Floor. No, Grammarly, NO, bad A.I., it was IN the floor, under glass, lying on a bed of sand… and some rocks and shells and such.)
Crazy Dino-Fish Skull IN the frakin’ FLOOR
So, of course, I laid my body down parallel to the floor for to photograph mine-self. Hello!? I am Dave, have you ever met me!?
Remember the featured image of this VLOG post!? Well, it even got caught up in the Multi-dimensionally powered MAC/PC image tint fuede!
Who is in this photo!? Wouldn’t you like to know! Do you really think they want to be associated with this disaster!?
Break down the Tiled Gallery Mosaic with Curved edges SELECTOR!
So, in conclusion, traveling with the National Association of Electrical Distributors of the United States of America is an Electrifying experience.
I want to start by thanking my inspiration for choosing the word Consistency as my word for 2023. I got the idea of choosing the word from the great instructional designer Stephanie Gerald, who I guess is now passing the bar to be a lawyer so soon-to-be great ID and lawyer! I have the amazing Betty Dannewitz to thank for the idea of using the word Consistency from her amazing episode on creating a brand with the expressive Tim Slade, who clearly stated the need to be consistent in your brand on the If You Ask Betty Podcast. Credit where credit is due!
In this Vlog post, I explain why I chose to create my own logo and argue why creating things for myself works for me and aligns with my brand. I backpedal to September 25th, 2023 which was the height of my 50 Pushups a Day Challenge for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. It was about that time that I completed the design of my logo and you can see it was first used on Day 26 of that same challenge where I also praised the use of our subconscious mind.
In this video, I have three reasons why I argue creating your own logo is the best choice. (If you are at all inclined and have the resources to do so.)
Creative Control
The first benefit of designing your own logo is that you are in control of what it is and what it becomes.
You are in control of the whole process from design to export.
You made the product, it is now a part of you. You are connected with it.
You know it’s strengths you know it’s weaknesses.
In the video, I explain you have to turn off the editor and invite the muse into the room to create something. Then invite the editor back into the room to resume editorial functions. I drew this concept from the book: “Art and Fear” by David Bayles, and Ted Orland.
This book is fantastic and I can not recommend it enough. I might talk about his book with people I know and people I meet on the street or in airports, more than any other book. I guess you could say at this point, “This is my book.”
Financial Benefit
I saved money. I didn’t spend any money, I only spent time.
Money saved = Money earned.
I paid myself to create this logo, by not paying someone else to do it.
As promised here is the Freakonomics Episode: “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Money (But Were Afraid to Ask)” with a super-smart economist about spending less on trash bags. (Well, the trash bag part might not be in there, I might have made the trash bag analogy up, or it was from another expert on Freakonomics.) However, this episode still supports my point that spending less is good and is the same as making more money. (They also talk about how to invest money too, so that’s always good!)
It would have cost me $5 to $100 per hour to get a logo.
Did it take me an hour? No, it took 5 hours!
Do you want to see it? I recorded the whole thing! Some of the music I was listening to bled into the recording so it is not viewable in all locations. Sorry! (I am sure a VPN would help if you need to see it.)
5-hour video of my creating my own logo. (Well, 4 hours 1 minute and 37 seconds s, but it took over 5 hours and my video capture function continued to crash after 30 minutes of recording because of my RAM.)
Now, I’d like to point out again here that I am not a graphic designer (as you might have gleaned from that 5-hour video.) It might not have taken a professional graphic designer 5 hours to come up with a similar product. The value lost in that time is offset by my third point.
Moment of Learning
I gained new skills, and I had a fun time doing it! I worked in Adobe Illustrator to create this logo. (Well, first I got lost in Adobe Photoshop, applied all the filters, and got to a spot that was kind of OK.) Then I went into Adobe Illustrator.
I am not very experienced in Illustrator, but I want to be!… with Adobe’s job aids, I was able to work through the flow at my own pace and build some confidence in designing in Illustrator.
In this way, I was building skills that I can use as an instructional designer or even a graphic designer if I ever choose to do that to myself…
“Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not.
It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it. It’s like saying, “I’m not good at being a monk.” You are either living as a monk or you’re not.
We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output.
The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.”
You might not be aware but for October, I continued my consistency challenge. I paid homage to the great Chinese philosopher Lau Tzu by consistently NOT posting on my blog for a whole month.
Sometimes the best action is to not take action and I must say, a break was nice, after a month of posting every day for my pushup challenge and posting as frequently as I could for a biking challenge.
Some pumpkins I carved with my kids. and some pictures of them moving in a slow shutter speed shot to look like “Ghosts.” Fun stuff as we prepare for Halloween!
What’s Next for Me!?
I will say that I have not shaved for the end of October and I will continue that for no shave in November. So I will be consistently NOT shaving the hair off my face for November. I want to share my inspiration. (Please read my response to this initial FaceBook post.
So you can see below that I have gotten a bit of a head start. My social media is not flattering. I am very transparent about how amazing my life is not. Here I have tagged myself #iswalking. I walk a lot and it is my most frequent tag on Facebook:
Here I am at the checkout at the local “Schnucks- the friendliest stores in town” They are inexpensive and their produce is sometimes OK. I am back on not drinking alcohol, so this is a very special #iswalking selfie.
I think I should be consistent in this #iswalking. I did not do that when I started, but I think I might. Well, I should, just to be consistent.
That Will Not Be All
So, as you might have guessed, October was the month of consistently not doing. I will continue to not do something in November by not shaving, but I will continue to start writing again. I am thinking about how I did 16 days of learning to design in 3D and then I completed the training modules and worked on an art piece, had trouble exporting to other Adobe applications, and then just stopped. Well, I was feeling tapped out. I was feeling very vulnerable for not knowing how to export and I didn’t want to force any creative ideas. However, now I have some ideas I would like to pursue in that space so I plan to return to that 30-day challenge and even though it is not 30 days back to back I can at least still follow through and be consistent in completing the challenge.
So even though this was on October 1st, I will consider this the final ride of my Cycling More Consistently in September Odyssey. We drove over an hour and a half total for a 1-hour ride along the Katy Trail just North of New Haven, MO.
That being said, this might be the last official tour of the challenge but I have already recorded the next installment of Improvement Dave cycling. It is in the woods, it is mountain biking and there will be blood (literally). So, yeah, I am not going to stop cycling or making cycling videos anytime soon.
Video Evidence of the Ride
This Video Highlights the Content Below
Getting Thereis Half the Fun
Google Maps recommends a route that is just over an hour.
We took the scenic route for 41 minutes.
My daughter threw up right around Balducci’s winery, which was one of our favorite wineries and pizza spots until it was bought by a large conglomerate and they ruined it. Sorry, not going to pay top dollar for frozen pizza. Now the only thing useful at Balducci’s is the dumpster.
We stopped at Quick Trip to get coffee and slushies. (The slushy and the crazy backwood roads are probably what caused my daughter to “blow chunks”.) …at any rate, I was so very excited to see that the bill was exactly $5.55 after tax. I explained to my family that 5 is my lucky number.
Why is #5 My Lucky Number
In the United States (and most of the West) 7 is lucky. In China, Thailand, and most of the East 9 is lucky. So I figure I can like any number I damn well, please.
The number of men is “5”. (6 being the number of the Satan, and GOD is 7 in traditional Judeo-Christian thought.)
The number I swam for as captain on the J.V. water polo team in high school, was “5”.
Our numerical system is based on repeating 10s so “5” is the center, to me this represents the “middle path” or the “straight and narrow”.
I spent 7 lucky years in Thailand and saying #5 in the Thai language is “Ha”. So “555” is synonymous with laughter or happiness.
I don’t really have a 5th reason, but I want a list of 5 reasons for why I like “5”. So, I imagine being 5 years old probably is one of the best ages to be. Self-aware, but you still have that “Child’s Mind.”
Where Were We?
Well, on my Google Maps, I dropped a pin long ago and named it “Riverside Jamz“. More specifically, we were north of New Haven, MO, due west of St. Louis, MO. Just south of a little town called Pinckney, MO. If you have never heard of Pinckney, that’s because it is in the middle of nowhere. Neither Google nor Wikipedia have a single picture or even a population count. Google Maps does not go through Pinckney and the best picture I could find online was this. (below)
Setting Up
When we arrived I started by getting all the bikes set up.
There was only one picnic table in the shade and the table top was not level. I didn’t get a good picture of the table before I started to level it with the pile of limestone rocks nearby, but trust me it was not useable. I then leveled out the benches as well. We threw a quilt over the table and had a nice lunch of spring rolls, salad, and melon.
While we ate a few families drove by the road on little buggies, and then a family drove up in a truck pulling a pontoon boat. This made the trip feel like a short vacation away from our normal routine.
The Ride
After we ate we packed up our picnic stuff and got on the bikes. For a 41-minute drive one way we did a nice 1 hour ride on our bikes. So, that was a lot of driving for a 1-hour bike ride, but we just really liked this spot because of the old bridge right on the river. We have stopped at this little spot on the side of the road 3 or 4 times now.
The only issue we had on the ride was that a chain fell off the gear so we had a fun time working on getting that put back on as a team.
We found it one time while driving home from my uncle’s farm out in Osage County, MO. This is also known as the middle of nowhere, MO.
It was another perfect day. Living life to the fullest, sucking the sweet marrow out of life, and making great memories.
Music
Polo & Pan – Ani Kuni (CC) Polo & Pan – Feel Good (CC) John_Kensy_Music from Pixabay Mindfulness Relaxation & Meditation Music (CC) To Hot to Play, Lobo Loco Free Music Archive (CC)
This was the final day of the cycling more often in the September challenge. Getting out and riding around the park right next to our house was sublime.
Video Evidence of the Ride
Enjoy the Little Things
This challenge has taught me that the process is more important than the destination. I never really rode to any specific place while riding as much as I could in September. Spending more time with my family, getting some exercise, and seeing places I never would have seen otherwise. These were the benefits of cycling more frequently in September. Being grateful for the simple pleasures in life and recognizing them as the moments that make up our life, is the secret to happiness.
Some Pictures of the Ride
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Music
John_Kensy_Music from Pixabay Mindfulness Relaxation & Meditation Music
Polo & Pan – Ani Kuni
Music by To Hot to Play, Lobo Loco, Free Music Archive (CC)
Improvement Dave 