falling asleep at the movies

Posted on by November 5, 2015

1380070133_ghNX7D3QROm7b4xiA2Tl_dave-chappelle-fuck-yo-couch - Copy

The media.

The darned media tells us all these reasons that things are going to pot up in our brains if we can’t remember things as easily as we suppose we remembered them ten years ago.

So….when I get up at 3:45 because the sudden migration of the under-7-set makes that the only way anybody is going to get any sleep…..and my head is confused and fuzzy as can be…and I can’t remember what my user name is for this blog so that I can log in and start writing….when that happens….when that….WHAT WAS I SAYING?!!….when that happens, I think that I already have the beginnings of Alzheimer disease.

Just because I’m tired and confused, I think that my cognitive function is running to another tree like a diseased squirrel with a stolen nut in its mouth.

Stupid media.

Last night, I fell asleep on the couch again.

I was watching this movie…. Indulgent ….no….Insufferable….no, that wasn’t it….INSURGENT!! THAT’S IT!!

Insurgent_poster

At the end of the movie, I woke up and realized that I didn’t understand any of what the climax was about.

The good guys win.

I guess that’s a spoiler.

Sorry.

I got up at 3:45 this morning because the little guys were crawling into our bed.

I started watching the movie last night at 9 because that’s when I woke up in Nate’s bed after helping him get to sleep.

We don’t watch scary or action packed movies… or movies that might have bad language….. or really sad movies or movies that aren’t animated or….

At night, we watch our movies… and I fall asleep on the couch.

The only one that kept me up recently was “Far from the Madding Crowd”.

It takes a great movie to keep me awake.

I fell asleep fast watching this sequel to “Divergent”.

That’s what keeps me young, though….kids…and, knowing that I have things in my life that are so steady that I’ll always be able to count on them…..like falling asleep on the couch.

Why worry….when my life is still so predictable?

What was I saying?

Where’s that squirrel?

homestead.

Posted on by November 4, 2015

Grit-Nourishing-Homestead

I started reading this book last night.

It’s a good one.

End of review.

NewYorkTimes….sign me up.

I’m kidding…that would be a really crummy review.

This book deserves better than a crummy review.

I have a library full of this kind of book….but I’m not any farther along in my understanding of how to homestead.

Maybe I’ve internalized it all…and, when the moment comes and I’m staring our new cow in the face, all that stored knowledge will come back up to the surface when I need it.

I kind of suspect that I just have a bunch of books on sagging bookshelves, though.

I don’t know what I know.

I like Ben Hewitt….clear writing….humor….and a lot of good information that I haven’t read anywhere else….or…anywhere else collected like it is here.

He talks about fermenting as a food preservation method. That was something that I hadn’t seen in a homesteading book.

(A short PS….Jenny said, “What? People have been fermenting for years….” . That must have been something I wrote before I had my coffee.)

He talks about the “economics” of running a homestead….how much money it takes and how much value you get out of this kind of lifestyle.

He talks about value….even when it’s not financial value….or, maybe, especially when it’s not financial value.

He talks about raising a family and educating his children….or allowing them to educate themselves.

He talks about caring for the land….and living on it in a way that supports his family without harming it.

He talks about being conscious of the need to plan ahead for when he and his wife are older and still have to care for the homestead.

This is good stuff.

I’ve read a bunch of “homesteading books”….and I have a feeling that this is going to be one of my favorites.

And…reading this and the big box of Mother Earth News and Countryside magazines I found on the free table the day I checked out this book…I realize how long I’ve been obsessed with homesteading and farming.

That’s been such a strong interest for a bunch of years.

This book would be a good introduction to the subject if you’d never read anything about raising a family on a small homestead.

Here’s an Amazon link if you want to buy a copy through them….

 

Check out his website/blog….it’s excellent, too….. http://benhewitt.net/ .

bashing walls

Posted on by November 3, 2015

This was featured in a Casey Neistat video that I watched this morning….but to only show the Casey Neistat video would make me look pathetically obsessed with Casey Neistat videos….so I showed the actual video that Casey Neistat linked to instead.

It’s a good thing to not look pathetically obsessed with anything.

Who wants to be pathetic?

Steve Jobs….talking about what “life” could be if we didn’t have a preconception about what life held for us.

I’ve been listening to James Allen while I drive around on the mail route lately.

James Allen?

The guy who wrote “As a Man Thinketh”?

You know that guy?

Steve Jobs brought us the Ipod.

EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT STEVE JOBS.

How many know about James Allen?

The thing about it is that James Allen seems to say just as much or more that wakes me up and makes me think, “Hey!!” as Steve Jobs.

That’s funny.

James Allen has been gone for quite a while.

He didn’t invent any Ipods.

He wasn’t a rich and powerful inventor.

And…..JAMES ALLEN ROCKS!!

But…so does Steve Jobs, too….even if, from some of the stories that I hear about him, he could be kind of a jerk.

Maybe the real “secret to life” is recognizing that even if somebody isn’t famous or powerful….or even, like James Allen, a famous author….even if they’ve only lived a life of “quiet desperation”…these people have something to say about what the real secret of life might be.

Maybe that’s the secret?

Believing that every one of us….no matter how humble….or, even better, because they’re HUMBLE…has something of value to contribute.

Maybe.

But getting back to this Steve Jobs stuff….knowing that the walls that we think box us in are really only an illusion is a huge lesson to learn.

Our potential is huge if we can get around (or over) our fears and preconceptions misconceptions about what life allows us.

I’m really just trying to psyche myself up.

I have to drive my loop again soon.

Same old, same old.

I need psyching.

There is a lot of good in the world….and a lot of opportunity.

And….whether it’s Steve Jobs or James Allen or some quiet “nobody” (aha….what’s that?)….people often have interesting things to say about the “meaning of life”.

Very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6H0OwnIvs8

sincerity

Posted on by November 2, 2015

Found this when I was looking up videos for another blog post.

Wranglerstar.

That’s funny that he mentioned Casey Neistat.

He has good taste in “creative people”….and I appreciated his explanation of the “HE’S NOT ONE OF US” response that he might get from his “religious” acquaintances.

I think that Wranglerstar is probably a pretty good dude.

And…I know (from his videos, at least) that he seems to be pretty earnestly and consistently sincere.

Sincerity.

Man.

That’s something good to shoot for…consistently and earnestly and energetically sincere.

Watch any of the YouTube videos that Wranglerstar has done and you’ll see what I mean.

They’re all safe to watch, too….nothing that you’d be embarassed about if your child wandered into the room while you were watching them….no violence or bad language or anything like that.

And, something that I’ve noticed about these Casey Neistat videos, too….is that, if he’s swearing, he bleeps it out…so I guess he’s a pretty safe bet, too.

(Watching this Casey Neistat video, I realized that he drops the occasionally un-bleeped F-bomb…towards the end of this video…but that’s a rare thing. Most of the time, he bleeps them all out….)

And, like Cody/Wranglerstar explains in his video….even though their lifestyles are so different, he really appreciates what Casey Neistat does with his videos.

Open-minded and sincere…..good, good, good.

 

 

sleep a little

Posted on by October 31, 2015

Everyone has a different life to live.

I was going to write something kind of snarky about “all that time….and only 3 hours for his family?!! What?!!” ….and then I started thinking about it, and realized that 3 hours or so is pretty typical.

I come home from work so tired sometimes that my “quality time” is probably kind of low quality.

I spend a lot of time doing something that I’m pretty sure isn’t as interesting or energizing as what this guy is doing…and when I get home, I bet I’m not usually a ball of fire.

I fall asleep on the couch a lot.

I’m not really bored very often….usually I can find something kind of interesting to do….but I’m not all that interesting in the evening.

His routine of three hours of exercise in the morning is a good way to start…I’m sure it helps keep him going as the day progresses.

Compressed time that’s focused and given completely over to the activity is better than a full day of “kind of being present”.

I’m glad that I realized that before I went into full “snark mode”.

3 hours of good time isn’t so bad.

draw my life

Posted on by October 31, 2015

I’m going to stop posting these….just a couple more and then I’m done….but, for now, they’re pretty interesting to me.

One more….tomorrow…with some questions….and then I’m done.

Promise.

This guy is a busy guy.

Listen to this story of his beginnings, and you can understand that sometimes things work out…even if the beginning is pretty hard….and that energy and enthusiasm….and obsession with something interesting….is something that can lead to those things working out.

Here’s another video…and…another story.

Check out this guy’s stuff on YouTube….it’s all pretty interesting.

Casey Neistat is his name.

 

two-dollar bills

Posted on by October 30, 2015

Oh, my goodness.

What a smartypants.

What a smartypants with seriously artistic video making skills.

Hah!! This is so great!!

MORE SMARTYPANTS….ES!! MORE SMARTYPANTSES!! SMARTYPANSEES?

Forget doing endless blog posts about bicycle touring….I’m on a new favorite subject.

Casey Neistat!! The two-dollar bill!!

Nah. That’s crazy.

Who could build a blogging career posting another man’s videos about his fondness for the two-dollar bill?

Not even me, that’s who.

Not even me.

So, this won’t be another rabbit hole that I’ll be going down…no matter how interesting the subject.

Watch some of these videos on my blog….then look for them on YouTube.

Look for “Casey Neistat”.

They’re pretty darn good.

Maybe you could even ask him for some stickers?

 

bike lane

Posted on by October 29, 2015

I read about Casey Neistat in Runner’s World last month.

I’d heard about these bike lane videos “way back when”…but until the article “jogged my memory”, I didn’t remember anything about Casey Neistat.

What a funny, creative dude!

There is so much useless content on the internet, and, maybe, this is more of it…but I don’t really think so.

I think that this kind of thing is what the internet was designed for.

Well….probably not, really…but it’s pretty interesting….

Good, good stuff….and Casey has a lot of creative and physical energy….so ….there’s plenty of it.

It’s fun to discover new things.

This is why the “selfie stick” exists.

I finally figured out that self-absorption could be a lot of fun….and interesting, too.

Thanks for that, Casey.

Two-wheeled Norway

Posted on by October 28, 2015

Wherever you go….go happy and expecting the best.

Hah!! Pollyanna!!

What does it hurt to struggle towards a positive worldview?

What could that hurt to struggle up to the surface for air?

What the heck?

I’m just screwing around….waiting for the coffee water to boil….thinking about riding my bike around Norway.

Cycle touring is a good “rabbit hole” for me….when it’s raining outside, and I have another day of letters and packages to deliver ahead of me, it’s easy to be dry and inside the house… watching another YouTube video about somebody riding their bike through a beautiful location.

And beautiful it is….NORWAY!!

Watching this made me think of a lot of some of the land up around the Pacific Northwest.

It takes him a couple of minutes to get up on the bike at the beginning of the video….talking about his plans for the day….and…then…after a cold ride, he stops at MCDONALDS FOR A COUPLE OF ORDERS OF FRENCH FRIES!!

FRENCH FRIES!! AT MCDONALDS!! IN NORWAY!!

What’s to worry about when you can find a McDonalds anywhere in the world?!

I’m kidding….I don’t like McDonalds.

I’d rather eat lutefisk than a BigMac.

No….lutefisk is pretty rough smelling.

I’d eat the fries….even if they aren’t a traditional Norwegian delicacy.

Maybe you can order a big helping of McLefse at the McDonalds in Norway?

I’ll have to climb back out of the rabbit hole at some point, though…..there’s only so many of these videos I can watch.

What I really should do is clean and lube all the bikes and get my family back out for some more rides.

In-between videos, I really should do that.

Nah…it’s raining like crazy this morning.

I’ll think about riding my bike some other time.

the best (hype it up)

Posted on by October 27, 2015

This guy, Simon Lamberts, makes some of the nicest cycle touring videos I’ve seen.

You can find him on YouTube under “forestyforest”…he’s uploaded a small handful of videos and they’re all great.

Cycle touring.

Man…it looks so good.

But…show me a cycle touring adventure with a Burley trailer and a tagalong.

I’ve seen people do it….I know that it’s possible….why not do it?

Just….do it. Do it. Do…it.

What holds us back?

What a person decides they are going to do becomes their new possibility.

duh.

I mean really decides….not just imagines or dreams about doing…. but gets convicted about…commits to….that’s what makes the dream a juggernaut.

It’s always easy to be conservative or realistic….but, most of the time, that’s just a dodge.

What you really want to do….really want…is going to happen if you don’t listen to the inner voice that keeps saying that you’re “too old” or that you “don’t have enough money” or that the idea is just plain stupid.

And that’s just the inner voices.

You have to be careful who you share your dreams with….the outer voices can be a real killer, too.

That may be wishful thinking….not everything we want to happen comes to be…but belief sure does get you a lot closer to realizing your dreams than just accepting the status quo.

So much of adventuring is attitude, not situation….and it surely doesn’t always have a lot to do with knowing with certainty what the outcome of an effort is going to be.

My attitude about things kind of sucks….is lacking, sometimes.

I owe it to my family to have a better attitude about things.

They’d like some big adventures, too.

This guy’s videos are pretty great….but to call them the “best” is really just hype. I suppose that to call them an “excellent another” would be a better way to describe them. They are great….great, great, great.

There are so many places….near and far….that are pretty darn amazing if viewed with the right eyes and the right heart.

Some things are amazing no matter what you bring to the party.

Some of the things I’ve seen out in the world can set you up for life….better attitudes forever.

Adventure.

Adventure!!